Store it up!

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‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.‘ – Jesus

During the whole of this discourse by Jesus, He is trying to get his listeners to realise that the true rewards of a relationship with God, are essentially a relationship with God.

He compares the Pharisees and their hypocrisy of doing ‘righteous’ acts in full view of everyone in order to be praised by others, with the person who does the same acts out of a heart of love in relationship with God.

Acts done without any thought of or desire for the praise of man, but done to please God alone.

The ‘treasure‘ that Jesus keeps referring to is, I believe, the praise of God in heaven. That ‘well done good and faithful servant’.

Also, within the context of treasure and reward, Jesus tells his listeners to ‘not worry‘ about their life, what they will eat or drink, but to trust in God’s provision for their lives. A trust that will flow naturally out of relationship.

Our focus should not be on building empires and kingdoms for ourselves here on earth. Getting the biggest car, and best ‘stuff’; but rather on ‘seeking first His kingdom’. It’s a shift of focus, putting our hearts in the right place. Not on the temporal and earthly, but on the eternal and heavenly, for ‘where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’

What is our focus in our day to day?

Are we seeking to build God’s kingdom? Are we praying for His kingdom to come and His will to be done in our lives and the lives of those around us?

With that thought in mind, we are having the first of our monthly prayer meetings this Sunday 25th September, 7-8pm at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre. We would love for you to join us this coming Sunday and pray for God’s kingdom to come and for His will to be done. To pray that the lives of young people in Llandudno and beyond will be transformed by the good news of Jesus.

Let us put effort into where our heart is; for “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Galatians 3:1-4

Let’s store up treasures in heaven today!

“Ad novum alumni, ambulare cum Deo et frui in via.”

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The title of this post is in Latin and says ‘To new students, walk with God and enjoy the journey’. As you read on, you will understand why I chose this title.

“Sollicite cura te ipsum probabilem exhibere Deo operarium inconfusibilem recte tractantem verbum veritatis.” – II Timotheum II:XV. (Vulgate)

“Bydd ddyfal i’th osod dy hun yn brofedig gan Dduw, yn weithiwr di-fefl, yn iawn gyfrannu gair y gwirionedd.” – 2 Timotheus 2:15 (Beibl William Morgan)

“Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth.” – 2 Timothy 2:15 (Amplified Bible)

Last night at the final ‘God, Games & Goats” night of the summer we had a party themed night, with silly games such as ‘pass the parcel’ & musical chairs. There were party snacks and cakes and everyone had a great time.

It was though, sadly, the last night for some of the young people and volunteer leaders, who in the next 2 weeks will be heading off to Universities and Bible Colleges around the globe. Some will be as close as Bangor University, and others as far afield as Austria.

We prayed for those who are leaving to start a new adventure with God in new surroundings.

It is often hard to do this.  Hard to go somewhere new, and leave what is familiar behind; but we can take great courage from the Bible as it reminds us that the God who created the Universe, who holds everything together by the power of His word. Our God has promised that He will be with us even when we walk into new and unfamiliar territory.  He will never leave us or forsake us and in Jesus, He has revealed Himself as ‘Emmanuel’, the God who is with us.

So as our young people go to University and set foot for the first time in their new accommodation, our God is there with them.

As they walk down the halls of their new campuses, Jesus is right there alongside them; like the lion Aslan in the book ‘The horse and his boy‘ (read the excerpt here). “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:20b

This time at University is a great opportunity for them to grow in knowlege and understanding. An opportunity for them to grow in their faith and relationship with God. An opportunity to make new friends and broaden their horizons.

Let us pray for them.

Pray God’s protection and strengthening of them in this time.

Pray they will find a church family near University that will support them in this part of their journey as much as their church family that is sending them will.

A great resource for our amazing soon-to-be students is UCCF (the University and College Christian Fellowship), they have a fantastic website crammed full of more information and resources, well worth a visit. They also have created some short but insightful videos about life as a Christian on campus, such as the one below.

uccf2And they can help our students find Christian Unions at their University which will in turn help them find great churches in their area.

So once again, please pray for our young people who are heading to University.

Also, as we are equally, losing some of our amazing volunteers who are heading to University and Bible College respectively, we are looking for people to fill their shoes and help us with the work we do, so if you have a passion for Jesus, and want to help us impact the lives of young people in our area with the good news about Him, then please do not hesitate to contact us (scroll to the bottom of the page)

 

Who is the greatest?

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“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said:‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Matthew 18:1-5

The opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Paralympics was held last night at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio De Janeiro. It was a wonderful spectacle with dance, stunts, music and the lighting of the Olympic flame.

During the Paralympics, just as with the Olympics, each sports-person is competing to win the gold, to see who is the ‘greatest’ at their respective sport. It is a wonderful and thrilling time for all of us spectators as we watch these titans clash.

We love watching competition it seems.  Like all of the cooking, sewing and talent shows on the television; such as ‘the great british bake-off’ or ‘the X-factor’. We are watching to see who will win, who will succeed, who is the ‘greatest’.

This can also spill over into our lives, where we look at those around us as we compare ourselves with them. What kind of car do they drive, where do they live, what is their job, what is their family like?

Compare, compare, compare.

We are so competitive.

We want to be the greatest.

It makes us feel good about ourselves, but it comes from the wrong source.

Jesus’ disciples were asking the same question and as always, Jesus took their question as an opportunity to declare the kingdom of God. Turning all of their wrong ideas on their head to reveal the heart of God.

Jesus took the smallest, youngest, most inexperienced and unqualified person to show who was the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.

A child.

A little child is dependant on their parents for love, protection, provision, support. A little child is teachable, open to learn and discover. A little child is full of wonder at the world around them. A little child is humble.

Jesus was challenging the disciples to drop their own success, self-effort and self-righteousness. In God’s kingdom we rely totally on our heavenly Father. Dependant on Him, like little children.

Our comparisons and competitions drop to the floor when we see how loved we are and that our worth comes from what God thinks about us, not how ‘great’ we are.

From that place of receiving God’s love comes a freedom to love and accept others in turn.

“And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Matthew 18:5

“The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

When we do this, we see the Kingdom of God at work.

If you want to get involved in some work that is all about building the Kingdom of God, we at Llandudno Youth for Christ are always looking for volunteers to support what we do.

Whether it is at our Saturday Cafe, our Reverb – Youth Space after-school drop-in club, or Redefine, our Sunday evening youth Bible Study, or being a champion in your congregation promoting the work we do, we would love to hear from you and find out how you can get involved.

Contact us on tel: 07517 429 763. email: llandudnoyfc@gmail.com.

All Wright now….

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The Wright Brother flew right through the smokescreen of impossibility. – Charles Kettering.

The above is a quote about Orville Wright and his brother Wilbur, pioneers of aviation, who are generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world’s first successful airplane; the flight taking place in December 1903.

Orville was born on 19th August 1871. The son of a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ; Orville grew up in Richmond, Indiana & Dayton, Ohio.

After one of their father’s many trips speaking at churches around the USA, he brought back a toy helicopter for them to play with, and both Orville & his brother Wilbur recognised and acknowledged that playing with this toy influenced their work in aviation.

Their father’s small act of love for his sons had a great impact upon the whole world. When Orville Wright passed away in 1948 the turbojet engine for airplanes had been invented.

The Wrights opened up the skies to the whole human race.

Today missionary organisations make much use of airplanes to impact the world with the good news of Jesus. Organisations such as ‘Missionary Aviation Fellowship‘ or MAF for short, IAMA or the International Association of Missionary Aviation, and ‘Wings of Faith‘, to name a few.

It makes me think of how the rise of the Greek & Roman empires paved the way for the ease of the spread of the gospel. At the time of the ‘Acts of the Apostles’ most of the then known world communicated in Greek (as the main language of trade) and travelled along Roman built roads.

 God truly is wise and sovereign, and His great heart of love desires for “all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:30b-31. For “from one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. “For in him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:26-28.

It is amazing how God can take such small things, like the gift giving by the Wright brothers’ father, and change the world. After all He did feed over 5,000 people from just five loaves of barley bread and two fish.

What small act of kindness and love do you have in your hand that God can use to change the world?

Freedom!!!!

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On the 8th of August in 1991, John McCarthy, Britain’s longest-held hostage in Lebanon, was freed after more than five years in captivity. He had been held hostage since April 17, 1986 – a total of 1,943 days.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

This scripture is a great call out to us to stand firm in the freedom that Jesus won for us on the cross.

In looking at images to go along with this post I can across an image which is taken from the ‘Freedom Wall’ on the west side of the National World War II Memorial in Washington DC. On the wall itself the following words are inscribed ‘Freedom is not free’. The freedom we have from the tyranny that the Nazi party was trying to impose upon the world, cost a great many lives. We enjoy the peace and freedom that was bought with the shed blood of so many war veterans.

As Christians, the freedom we experience in Jesus comes to us as a free gift, but it cost Jesus everything. It is his shed blood that paid the price for our freedom. Freedom from sin and our past, but more importantly, in the context of Galatians; freedom from the law. Freedom from having to make ourselves right with God by our own efforts; a task that is impossible, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23. So “no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.” Romans 3:20. The list of dos and don’ts of God’s law just show us how utterly flawed and sinful we are and how we are in desperate need of a Saviour, even “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” Isaiah 64:6.

Paul is exhorting and encouraging the Christians in Galatia to not return to the performance model of trying to make themselves right with God by their own morality, but to continue to trust Jesus’ finished work on the cross.

As well as being set free from things by Jesus, we are set free ‘for’ things, namely ‘freedom’. The freedom here is the greek word eleutheria – ἐλευθερίᾳ. This word is used in 2 Corinthians 3:17 by Paul; “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom“, to convey the work and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Our freedom in Christ is one where we are no-longer slaves to sin, or slaves to legalism, or addiction, or fear, or our past.

We are free.

We are now adopted sons and daughters of the King.

Living a free life ‘FOR’ our King.  A life of freedom that demonstrates Jesus and the power of the cross for those around us.

In ‘Delirious?’s song ‘Jesus’ Blood‘ Martin Smith sings

There’s a secret I must tell
Of all the love I’ve found
And it’s hidden in my heart
The day you tore my world apart
Hallelujah, King forever, friend and Saviour
Jesus’ blood never fails me,
Jesus’ blood never fails me,
Jesus’ blood, Jesus’ blood
And this secret, it will run
To the corners of the earth
Where every woman, every son
Will carry high their chains undone
 Let us carry high our undone chains proudly and in gratitude to our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who has won the victory and bought for us our freedom at such a great cost.

Taste the rainbow of fruit flavours!

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From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. – Acts 17:26-27

Soul Survivor 2016 photo 40On our last night at Soul Survivor we all dressed up in different coloured tops due to the fact that the last night was, as always, fancy dress night, and this year the theme was ‘Noah’s Ark’. So with that in mind, one of the young people on the trip had suggested we go as the ‘Rainbow’ that is mentioned in the history of Noah’s Ark.

We had gone through other ideas such as dressing up as big game hunters who would chase the people dressed as various animals, but the rainbow seemed great and it stuck.

So we gathered together for a group photo in our variously hued attire.

As I looked back at the photos from our recent trip to ‘Soul Survivor’ this one really stood out to me and I thought about the phrase from the ‘Skittles’ advert ‘taste the rainbow of fruit flavours’. It made me think of the above verse.

God has made everyone on planet earth so unique, and different and amazing. We are all like a rainbow, each reflecting a different aspect of God’s nature. Demonstrating to the world around us our great Creator’s divine fingerprints upon our lives. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

Also, a rainbow is “a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky.“ 

So too we can reflect and disperse God’s light to those around us. He has made us all to demonstrate His glory and Jesus said that, as believers and followers of His, we are to let our light shine. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16.

So let’s give people the opportunity to ‘taste & see’ the Lord’s goodness in and through our lives. Let’s let our light shine and not try to be anyone but the person that He created us to be.

Shine!

PS: For those of you who have never been to Soul Survivor, here’s a little taster of what it’s like – Soul Survivor Week A Highlights

Be prepared!

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scout-logo-e1321878674385Be prepared is the motto of the scouting organisation. It’s also the advice that Tim Gough gave to our amazing Redefiners last night in preparation for our trip to Soul Survivor next week.

Yay! On Wednesday 27th July we head down to Stafford for a fantastic God-adventure!

Anyway, in order to help the young people going to Soul Survivor to ‘Be Prepared!’, Tim created a great guide to all the dos and don’t of camping at Soul Survivor, including a pack-list, camping tips, a daily timetable and other important pieces of information.

Getting ready for going on a camping trip got me thinking about the children of Israel in the desert following their exodus from Egypt. They had to camp as they crossed the desert. In the book of Exodus it states that “ In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.” Exodus 40:36-38
They had to ‘be prepared‘ to pack up their camp and move whenever God moved.  They had to be attentive to God’s presence and direction and follow Him wherever He lead them in the wilderness.

They had to be prepared at all times.

There was also a sense in which there was no permanence to their travels in the desert.  There was no settling down and putting down roots until they entered the promised land.  They were nomads, looking for a land that God had prepared for them.

In encouraging the church in Corinth to flee immoral living, the Apostle Paul writes “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11.  He had specifically mentioned some of the failings and sins of the children on Israel as they wandered in the desert. However in looking at the journey they took I see an image of our lives as believers, as we follow Jesus.

Like the Israelites, we flee from ‘Egypt’ (the world) and are saved from the power of death by the Lamb’s blood (Jesus’ death on the cross), we cross the Red Sea, symbolising baptism, and then we follow the cloudy pillar by day and the fiery pillar by night (God’s presence), until we cross the Jordan (representing death) and enter the promised land.

Like the Israelites, we are to ‘be prepared‘ to follow God’s direction and leading.

Like the Israelites we are to be aware that we are living in temporary accommodation and journeying to the home that God has prepared for us. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.” Hebrews 11:13 & “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires,which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:10-12 both convey the idea of followers of Jesus being foreigners and strangers on planet earth, looking forward to the land that God has promised us.

c27872ccfd9ee42e8cb739a254d4deacIn the lifetime that God has given us on planet earth, are we building houses and putting down roots, or are we pitching a tent, being prepared to follow God’s direction, knowing this is not our home, but looking towards something greater that He has in store for us?

Are you a MINION? And have you found a Gru worth following?

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On thursday nights at LLYFC we hold our ‘Reverb Space’  after-school drop-in.  During these evenings we sometimes hold a ‘cinema’ themed night.  Recently we had a ‘minions’ evening.  If you have ever seen ‘Despicable Me’, ‘Despicable Me 2’, or ‘Minions’, then you’ll know what I’m talking about.

The ‘minions’ are loveable, if a little bit gormless, minions that in the films, follow and work for equally as gormless, it would seem, supervillains, such as ‘Gru’ in the ‘Despicable Me’ films.

For this evening our director at LLYFC; Tim Gough, created a short resource to share the gospel relevantly, using the ‘minions’ as the medium through which to explain the good news.  Please read and enjoy Tim’s great work.

Minions exist to follow someone else – and they are just not happy until they do! Minions will travel the world to seek out a leader to worship, adore and serve but – even though they try really really hard – they are just a bit pants at it.

They drop a T-Rex into a volcano, get a Caveman eaten by a bear and accidently shoot Napoleon up the backside!

We’re exactly the same, y’know (ish… not so much with Napoleon). We were made to love and serve and be in relationship with someone who wants the best for us. We’re wired to be ‘Kingdom People’ who live with an awesome King – just like a Minion!

We Are Minions Too!

The problem is that we’re also not great at finding the right leader. We might spend all day worshipping a football team, a TV show or an xbox game. Then the team looses (idiots!), the show gets canceled (or kills the best character, grrr!), or you complete the game and have to blow all your money on the next one!

It might be that we decide to put all our faith in a best friend, parent or teacher. But even they – with the best of intentions – can let us down or stand us up too!

Hearts get broken and our world crumbles for a while. Life loses its purpose and direction and we start to feel pants…again!

Is There Anyone Worth Following?!?

Jesus Christ says “Follow Me” nine times! He’s a pretty consistent dude, eh? But you’ve gotta ask: why should we? We’ve followed all kinds of things and people before and that hasn’t worked out. Why follow a guy who died thousands of years ago and doesn’t even have an Instagram account?!?

The thing is that, if you read Jesus’ stories, in not one of them did he ever do anything wrong. He was just ridiculously awesome all the time! He Cared for people, never stood them up, was totally loyal and completely loving. In fact the

Bible tells us that he was completely ‘without sin’ (2 Corinthians 5:21 – that’s how you’ll find it on google or in a Bible) – which basically means he was absolutely perfect!

He Took The Freeze Ray!

He also died, yes, but for us! He jumped in front of a bullet that was heading our way. Y’see we do sin. Aka: We mess up! We epic fail (just like those quirky little Minions!) and if there is a God out there who is completely fair minded, then we have to make up and pay for those sins. However Jesus (who was sent by that God btw) paid for us by dying in our place.

Jesus also didn’t stay dead! Because Jesus was actually God himself in human form (I know! Cool, eh?… and weird!), death couldn’t hold him. That means he’s still alive today – doing his God-thing and making sure the world keeps turning.

Finally… I can follow someone like that!

So following Jesus is just sensible! We all want someone to give our life purpose and meaning, we’re gonna keep looking for stuff to fill that gap, and Jesus is just, well, EPIC! He’s perfect, he died for us – proving how good he is; and he rose again from the dead – proving just how powerful he is. I want to follow him!

Doesn’t That Mean I’ll Stop Having Fun?

Jesus does’t think that you shouldn’t like football, xbox games, telly, or having best friends and family. He wants you to live your life! But he also just wants you to put him first out of those things, so he can take care of you and guide you.

Jesus also does’t promise to make our lives perfect. But he does promise “never to leave or abandon us” (Hebrews 13:5). He will be with us in our darkest times. We can always talk to him an he will always listen and always understand.

Ok! So How I Do It?

So, just like a Minion who has found their Gru – lets follow Jesus! That means that we need to accept his friend request and click like. We do that by praying a simple prayer (I’ve written an easy one out for you on the back if it helps!). Praying is not a magic trick, it’s just talking to Jesus just like you would to anybody else – you can do it out loud or in your head. He’ll always hear you! Give it a try…

Hi Jesus…

Thanks so much that you love me and died for me. Thanks for taking the bullet for me. Thanks for loving me even when I’m a bit pants. Thanks for sending me a friend request. Thanks for wanting to know me!

I’m sorry for all the times I’ve been a bit rubbish. I’m sorry that I’ve ignored you until now and looked for other things and people to follow. Please forgive me.

I accept your friend request. Please hang out with me every day. Please help me to follow you, learn more about you, talk to you and trust you as I walk through life. Help me live life to the full!

Amen (that’s just a classical way of saying “Yup, I stand by what I just said!”)

Fab! So What Now?

It’s not easy following a guy that you can’t physically see! So here are three things that will help you keep cracking on!

1. Find a Christian friend or Youth Leader (get on google and look for for Church Youth Clubs in your area) that you’ve started following him.

We all need friends to help us out with these big choices.

2. Learn more about him in the Bible. You can download a Bible App (YouVersion is a great choice) or go online (Biblegateway.com is pretty good).

The Bible is actually a library of 66 books – hard to know where to start! Look in the contents for, or google the book of Mark. That’ll be a great start! If you like poetry and music, then maybe check out Psalms too!

3. Pray! Talk to him! Tell him what you care about, what you’re doing. Share with him your questions, your fears and your dreams. Get to know him by chatting!

Ask him to be with you, bring him your questions and remember to say thanks too – he’s worth it!

“Search for the hero inside yourself…”

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In chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews, we see the great list of ‘heroes of the faith’. A long list of people who did amazing feats due to their faith in God.

“who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.” Hebrews 11:32-39.

These guys were the original superheroes. The Spirit of God empowered these believers to do amazing things. Samson was so strong he killed a lion with his bare hands and his strength was so amazing that it brought the house down; literally (see Judges 16:23-31). Enoch was the original ‘beam me up Scotty’ guy. The Bible says that he was “walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.” Genesis 5:24. Elijah was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire. Talk about a fire exit!

Just a quick glance through the pages of the Old Testament and you can see what our awesome God can do with ordinary lives that are lived in faithful obedience to Him and His call.

In Hebrews the author states that even though all these amazing things happened as they walked in faith, “none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:40. Wow!

What was that better thing? What was promised that they were waiting for?

in one word – Jesus!

The Messiah. God’s appointed King to come and deliver His people from slavery to sin and death.

Jesus is the promise fulfilled. Jesus is the better thing.

The writer of Hebrews goes on to say that; “since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3. Followers of Jesus are encouraged to press on and keep on following in obedience, even when it gets tough, even when it gets difficult. Like the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11, followers of Jesus can, by obediently following Him in faith, be used by God to do amazing things.

Look at the lives of people like Charles Spurgeon, William Tyndale, Sundar Singh, Adoniram Judson, Brother Andrew, Corrie Ten Boom, Mother Theresa, William Wilberforce, John Wesley and Mary Jones to name a few.

People that have gone before us and left a blazing legacy of faith, like Elijah’s chariot racing through the sky. Even today, there are men and women who have answered Jesus’ call to come and follow Him. Men and women who are, by their obedience, transforming the world around them with God’s love. People like Heidi & Rolland Baker, John Kirkby, Andy Hawthorne, Canon Andrew White, Reinhard Bonnke, and Rachel Gardner.

Let us today, inspired by the lives of other Christians around us, and the lives of faithful God-followers that have gone before us, do like them and follow God and His call on our lives.

Who knows whose life will be transformed and changed by your simple act of obedience.

 

“Let the little children come to me”

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Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

nspcc-headerOn the 8th July in 1884 the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was founded in London.

This all came about because of one man; Thomas Agnew a business man from Liverpool visited New York on a trip in 1881 and whilst he was there, he visited the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (founded in 1874, and the world’s first child protection agency). He was so taken with the work they were doing, that he returned to the UK inspired to provide similar help for children in Liverpool. So in 1883 he set up the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (LSPCC).

Soon, other towns and cities followed, and in 1884 the London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (London SPCC) was founded by Lord Shaftesbury, Reverend Edward Rudolf and Reverend Benjamin Waugh.

Five years later Parliament passed the first ever UK law to protect children from abuse and neglect in 1889. This was a great triumph for the organisation and the culmination of their many years of tireless effort in changing the way society in Victorian times saw and treated children. By 1889, the London SPCC was renamed the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children due to having many branches now that covered Great Britain and Ireland.

It’s work did not go unnoticed and Queen Victoria became its first Royal Patron in 1895 when she granted the organisation its Royal Charter.

It has continued to champion the rights and welfare of children in the UK, often with hard hitting advertising campaigns.

We see that from the above quote from the gospel of Matthew that children are important to God. Another time where we see Jesus’ heart for children is when the disciples are asking about who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus calls a little child to him and explains to the disciples that “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Matthew 18:3-5. He goes on to sternly warn that “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Matthew 18:6.

Another charity that cares for the needs of children is ‘Compassion‘, which has as its motto, “Releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.” Just like with the NSPCC, Compassion was founded by the work of one man.  Rev. Everett Swanson made a ministry trip in the 1952 to South Korea to comfort the American troops, whilst he was there he grew increasingly troubled by the sight of hundreds of war orphans living on the streets, abandoned by society. Out of his desire to save the lives of these children ‘Compassion’ was born.

Its amazing what God can do with one man or woman who responds to God’s heart and call to seek and save the least, the last and the lost.

Do you feel that God is calling you to help with the work that we do at LLYFC?

If you like the Rev. Everett Swanson or Thomas Agnew want to help make a difference in the lives of the young people in North Wales, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

God bless.