Welcome to All4God

Young people uniting
Standing as one
Working to advance the kingdom
To reach lives, to touch souls
Being a generation that seeks God’s face

Are you sitting comfortably?

We like our comfort. You would be hard pressed to find someone who would rather sleep rough than in a five star hotel. Given the choice most people would rather live in a ‘safe’ country like the UK than war torn areas such as Iraq. We try to avoid situations that may bring conflict. Our society of political correctness does its best to cause no offence to anyone. If we suffer any sort of persecution for our faith we pray that God would remove it. Yet the Bible teaches something radically different. Something completely counter-culture.

1 Peter 2:21 says “This suffering is all part of what God has called you to. Christ, who suffered for you, is your example. Follow in his steps.”

God has not called us to a life of comfort. He has called us to ‘pick up our crosses’, to take the narrow path. But are we suffering? Around the world there are areas where Christians face great persecution. But here in the our country? In our town?

If God has called us to suffer, and Christ himself has warned us that “everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me” (Matthew 10:22) and we are living a life of relative comfort, are we doing enough? Are we standing out from society? Are we living as new creations? Does the devil see us having enough impact to be worthy of attention and attack?

We want to make our lives comfier. We look to build bigger houses and grander churches. But are we building on the sand or on the rock? We crave after material things that soon go out of fashion, yet Jesus tells us to be his follower we should sell our possessions and give the money to the poor. We look for ways to get away with doing the bare minimum, yet Jesus tells us to go the extra mile. We want a comfortable, easy life, yet we are called to suffer for the sake of the gospel.

We are saved because Jesus was willing to suffer for us. We are called to be like him. We need to “arm [ourselves] with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer” (1 Peter 4:2). We need to follow Jesus’ example in everything we do. This includes being prepared to suffer hardships for the sake of the gospel.

“But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!” (1 Peter 4:16) - do we see it as a privilege to suffer for being a Christian? Do we thank God when the world insults us? Or do we ask that the world would accept us? Because perhaps rather than being accepted by the world, we run the danger of becoming acceptable to the world. If we don’t have the mentality that it is a privilege to suffer for being a Christian then perhaps we will not live in a way that will cause the world to hate us for our allegiance to Christ, instead taking a path that will nor provoke any persecution.

Romans 8:28 reminds us that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” God can use times of suffering to (amongst other things) teach us, to bring us closer to Him, to discipline us, to make us more reliant on Him and to aid our witness as we show those around us that we have overcome or are enduring the hardships with God’s help.

Brother Yun goes as far as to say ‘It’s not those in prison for the sake of gospel who suffer. The person who suffers is he who never experiences God’s intimate presence.‘(The Heavenly Man pg189-190). For many years Brother Yun was in prison, beaten, tortured and persecuted because he was a Christian in communist China. Yet he came to realize that through his persecution he was getting opportunities to reach out to and save many criminals. He was getting to spend time in prayer and meditating on God’s word that his busy life as a pastor in the underground house church movement hadn’t allowed for. His physical suffering brought him closer to God, and allowed him to experience His intimate presence.

So if God has called us to suffer, if Christ has led us by His example and suffered, if God can use suffering for His glory and it is a privilege to suffer for God’s name, are we going to be content sitting comfortably, or will we be prepared to do and say the things that will put us in the firing line from the non-Christian world?

Running the race part 1

[Dashby is a new member of the All4God writing panel. He has just finished A-Levels at Wallace High School Lisburn, and is presently on a gap year with Open Air Ministries. He will be writing a few articles sharing what is on his heart and helping you grow in your relationship with God.]

The Olympics hit China spectacularly this summer with the track and field again being the centre stage. Usain Bolt made setting world records seem effortless and all the training and pain for the last 4 years was rewarded for all those who took part and represented their country. I’m now into my third week of my GAP year and there have been 2 verses that follow me wherever I go, these verses if taken to heart by God’s people would transform this world again but the problem is the Church in the West especially is cold and I am the first to hold my hands up and say that so often Christ and His Kingdom is not first in my life, I may say He is or even think He is but when I actually take a step back and see where I am at so often I’m living for myself, God is an afterthought, my relationship with my Saviour comes perilously close to routine and ritual at times. I want to look at the first verse in this part,

“Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking onto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12 v1-2)

The Epistle to the Hebrews is an incredible portion of the bible, the first 9 chapters outline the doctrines that we need to cling to, of how we are made right with a Holy God, then the doctrine is applied with practical application in the latter chapters. The above verses are preceded by the great testimonies of the Old Testament saints, those who trusted and those who died with an unshakable faith in their God. Get the picture, you are in the ancient Greek amphitheatre, running the race and all around you are the faithful who have gone before you, the word “cloud” gives the impression that they are so numerous that individuals can’t be singled out, these witnesses are not just spectators cheering us on, they are Godly examples of the faithfulness of God. The Christian life is not a bus ride to heaven, it is a race, a race that is going to take all your energy, all your strength but we have those around us who’ve gone before and encourage us to keep going in God’s grace.

“let us lay aside every weight.”- When athletes were training for the race in the games, they would tie weights to their legs to strengthen their muscles, but when it came to race day no one ran the race with these weights on, no every excess bit of weight was discarded so that the runner could go as fast as possible. We have so many weights in this life, notice that weights are classed as different to sin, they may not be wrong in themselves but they hold us back from running to our full potential. Every person’s weight can be different, you may have the rucksack of relationships with the opposite sex; you might have the lead boots of watching things on TV that cause you to be distant from God. We are called to lay it aside, yes that may be difficult to do and our hearts may deceive us and make us think that it’s not obviously sinful but we need to lay it aside. Recently I have had to do this in my life concerning a number of things. It’s my prayer that you will truly evaluate your walk with the Lord, what weight is holding you back? Remember that you only really feel the weight when you’re running; a heavy bag on your back isn’t too bad when you’re sitting or standing or even walking but when you run it’s not too long before you notice it!

“and the sin which so easily ensnares us”- As Jerry Bridges illustrates in his book “The pursuit of holiness” sin has been defeated in our lives when we became Christians but it still rages a guerrilla style warfare within us. We all have those sins, which keep raring their ugly heads and pulling us down, ensnaring us and tripping our feet as we try to run. The question is how bothered are we about our sin? Do we ask God each day to search our hearts and take away the lust, the pride, the selfishness and the judging of others? We see the sin in our hearts when we look at God, when we spend time in the quiet place in His Word and in prayer. Just this weekend God’s humbled me, I’ve been trying to run in my own strength and doubt hit me and God used it to drive me to my knees, looking at my life I see that my time with the Lord is nowhere near what it should be. Would Usain Bolt be able to run like that if he had only trained for ten minutes a day? Yet how often do we tick the box in our minds that we have “done our quiet time” with only ten minutes before we turn the light out. We desire revival in the nations where the majority have turned from God, yet if truth be told, revival needs to come to the Church first, look at any person in the past or the present who have been used mightily by God, you find them on their knees more often than not, great men and women who spent hours, even days in prayer and were rewarded for it. We need to honestly ask ourselves, Where does prayer come in our lives?

“Let us run with endurance the race set before us”- The race is determined, it is set by our Father in heaven but we need to run it, it’s ours to run. We can’t move forward on someone else’s endeavour or faith, it has to be our own, we need to give our all, will all the TV we watched instead of seeking the Lord matter when we are on our deathbed? Will all the hours we wasted doing meaningless things matter? No, what will matter is what you did for your God, how near you drew to Him; how many lost perishing sinners you brought to Him, that’s what’s going to matter. You’re going to need endurance, you’re going to fall but get back up, and you’re going to feel the weight of needless burdens, sling them off and be free; if you’re truly running the devil is going to attack with all that he has but keep going, there’s a finish line ahead! No more walking, no more getting distracted by fleeting pleasures of sin and this world. Hebrews 12 v1 screams to us, RUN, RUN, RUN!

Take Action - Feed the Hungry

This is the first of a regular new series of short articles that are centered around simple ways you can live out your faith, things you can do to show you are living all4God. Mostly they will not involve any significant cost to yourself (except time) and many will not cost you anything. Such as this first one, Feed the Hungry:

Matthew 25:36,40 “For I was hungry, and you fed me …. I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”

Jesus says that when we feed the hungry we are doing it for Him. But when was the last time you saw someone around you suffering from starvation? In the Western world if someone is hungry it is either because they are about to eat, or are on a diet. But around the world many are suffering from starvation. And you can do something to help. Just by clicking a button on The Hunger Site once a day will donate rice to those who need it most due to money raised by displaying adverts on the site. You can make it your homepage and click every time you go online.

And if you want to do more, you can play the free rice game - by guessing correctly the definition of a word you will donate 20 grains of rice. And you can play as much as you like - you can even find it on Bebo and facebook (serach for the donate rice app). Or if maths is more your thing, search on facebook for MoreRice.

Take action and feed the hungry today!

Walking on Water

You will probably be quite familiar with the Sunday School favourite story of Jesus walking on water, found in Matthew 14.

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them [the disciples were in a boat on the lake], walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

(Matthew 14:25-31 NIV)

While this may be a familiar passage, in his book Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell puts a fresh spin on things in his unique, short sentence style.

“So this disciple [Peter] gets out on the water and he starts to sink, so he yells, “Jesus save me!”

And Jesus says, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Who does Peter lose faith in?

Not Jesus; Jesus is doing fine.

Peter loses faith in himself.

Peter loses faith that he can do what his rabbi is doing“[Velvet Elvis pg 133]

God wants to use us. He has plans for our life. “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV). This plan is not a random plan - there is a reason behind it. God didn’t just randomly pair up people with plans. He knows what you are capable of, what skills you have, even how many hairs are on your head. He has devised the plans He has for your life because you can achieve them. It is not an impossible plan. It may seem impossible to us in our own strength, but we are not alone! God is with us, and with God ‘nothing is impossible’ (Luke 1:37).

But do we have faith in ourselves? We can have faith in God, faith that He is there, that He cares for us, that He loves us; but do we have faith in our own abilities, or will we sink the moment we step out of our comfort zone/boat and get confronted by the wind of opposition? Will we choose to listen to the devil when he tries to bring us down, telling us we aren’t good enough, telling us our plans will fail, or will we listen to God when He says “I chose you!”?

Standing before Goliath with just a sling shot David had faith that God would protect him. He also had faith that he could do what God had called him to do.

God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called. If God has called you he will give you the ability to live out the calling. Do you have the faith in your ability? Do you believe that whatever situation you find yourself in, God will equip you, if you trust Him to?

The good news is of course, if we do lose faith, if we do start to sink, the moment we cry out to God he will reach out and save us. He will not let us drown.

Will you step out onto the water this week with full assurance that you can do whatever God calls you to do? And if you can feel yourself sinking, will you have the humility to cry out for help and acknowledge that you need Jesus’ help?

Weekly Debate on the forum

It’s been a bit quiet on the All4God forum lately, so here to generate some discussion is a pretty controversial debate topic - the catholic church. What are your views on it? Do you see it as a valid form of Christianity? Are you a member of it? Do you agree with it? Discuss here! Not a member of the forum? You’ll need to register before joining the debate…

Time is Limited

“Tomorrow is not a promise, but a chance.”

What would you do if you were to die today? Where would you spend eternity? Eternity is in your hands, and you can change it.

Everyday, Christians and non-Christians alike are saying “tomorrow. I’ll do it tomorrow.” The fact is, there may not be a tomorrow.

The LHC (Large Hadron Collider), a science experiment designed to recreate the conditions and energies that existed moments after the start of the Big Bang, is said to have the ability to destroy the world. This may be a very very small possibility, and may never happen, but the possibility is still there. You may argue that there is NO possibility. The truth is, it doesn’t matter.

I am not going to try to guess or predict whether this is going to bring an end to our universe, any more than I will try to predict the second coming of Jesus Christ.

This should be a reminder that our time on earth is limited, and that an end can come at any time. Maybe we have more than a few months to live, and maybe we have less.

But from today, I am going to live each day as though it is my last. I am going to give myself to God and serve Him with everything I have, right here, right now.

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