Hands Held High

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I used to be in a Christian school’s work drama team and we performed many different sketches in our time. Some really good, others quite cheesy.

One that we performed was called ‘Hands’. It spoke of how we can use our hands to build and create or damage & destroy. To love or to hate. To welcome or reject. It spoke of how man had chosen the darkness, disconnection & death when Adam turned away from God; and how Jesus the second Adam came to forgive and redeem us. How His hands were pierced by our hands nailing Him to the cross.

Now as redeemed believers we can lift our hands to Jesus in worship and adoration. Listen to Kari Jobe’s song Hands to the Heavens below.

Indeed in the Bible 2 of the words used for worship, involve the lifting of the hands: they are Yadah & Towdah. With the word Yadah (יָדָה) we get the image of throwing out the hands to God in confession and thanksgiving. We are raising our hands in a sign of surrender and casting our cares on Him. Aknowledging that He is God and we are not. That we are totally dependent on Him for our victory and indeed everything.

Saying that makes me think of Moses with Aaron & Hur; In Exodus 17 the Israelites were fighting the Amalekites and when Moses hands were lifted high with the staff God had given him above his head, then they were victorious; but when his arms were down they were pushed back, so Aaron & Hur helped Moses by holding his hands up. This links in well with last week’s blog post about ‘We’re in this together’. Moses was tired and he needed his hands lifting up. The battle had worn him out so he needed the support of his friends.

Sometimes were are that way too; we are tired and battle-worn and need the support of friends and family to lift our hands up to God for us to see the victory.

This Sunday the 25th March at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre from 7pm we are holding our monthly prayer meeting for the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ. To pray together that God would impact young people’s lives and for us to see their lies changed by Jesus. Please join us and let us lift each others hands up to God and see many victories won for His kingdom and His glory.

Be blessed!

PS: I found this image for how to use our hands as a reminder in prayer. 

We’re in this together.

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I wanted to write in today’s blog post about how, as Christians, we are not designed or made to do life alone. God is a triune God. He is Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

Before anything had been spoken into life by God, He was in perfect relationship, the 3 in 1 God of all creation. We see that in Genesis “Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”- Genesis 1:26-28. When creating man, God said let us make human beings in our image. He wasn’t talking to the angels, but was talking to Himself. I love that. God is a relational God. He wants to be in relationship with us.

Jesus came to restore our broken relationship with God. “For this is how much God loved the world—he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. “God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Saviour and rescue it! So now there is no longer any condemnation for those who believe in him, but the unbeliever already lives under condemnation because they do not believe in the name of God’s beloved Son.” God has done everything we need to restore relationship with us, His heart is for relationship, and as we are made in His image, we are designed for relationship with one another. To walk together hand in hand with each other and God.

In the book of James we are told to “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” – James 5:16 and in Galatians we are told “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2

We are not strong enough to do this alone. We are called to do life with God and each other.

So if you are struggling in an area of your life, don’t go it alone. Speak to another Christian and pray together, inviting God into the situation, and see Him bring the victory.

Also, I just want to remind everyone that on Sunday 25th March we will be meeting again at the Ty Llywelyn Community Centre to pray together for the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ. Starting at 7pm and meeting until 8pm. Let’s come together and pray for this great work, lifting up our hands to God, for us to see Him move.

Be blessed!

Fire Fall Down

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As is a common theme, the blog post is named after a song. This time from Hillsong United’s album ‘United we stand’. I’ve put the video from the album below for you to listen to. You’ll understand why I chose the title as you read the post…

This coming Sunday evening at Llandudno Youth for Christ we are having our brilliant prayer gathering.

We will be holding these on the last Sunday evening of every month.

It will be a great time to call out to God on behalf of all the young people in this area.

We will meet at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre in Llandudno and start at 7pm; praying for God to come and bring change to our communities.

This is not something to be missed. Prayer is essential in the life of believers.

Image never speaking to the people you love? Ridiculous isn’t it?

So spending time talking to God in prayer is a must. Relationship involves communication and prayer is just that, talking to God.

It is also what changes lives, communities and nations.

You just have to open the pages of the Bible to see how God moves in response to prayer. “I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.” – Psalm 3:4

When Paul & Silas were chained in prison in the book of Acts Luke writes the following: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” – Acts 16:25-26

Wow!

Prayer opens doors, looses chains and set prisoners free.

When Elijah was facing off against the prophets of Baal, after he had given them plenty of time to implore Baal to answer them, and after he had made the task of lighting the sacrifices with fire by dousing the altar with copious amounts of water, the Bible tells us “At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: ‘Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.’ Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord – he is God! The Lord – he is God!’” – 1 Kings 18:36-39

In the book of Revelation we read the following “Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.”- Revelation 8:3-5

Amazing and humbling that God takes our humble prayers and responds with fire from heaven. I love that image: God’s fire hurtling earthward in response to our prayers to bring change. To deal with injustice, to bring God’s refining fire to change and transform lives and communities.

So let us be engaged with the task of praying for the young people in Llandudno.

It all starts with prayer and we want you to join with us in this gathering and see God change lives.

Be blessed

History Makers

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I’ve recently been listening back to some albums that God has spoken through in the past to me. It’s good to revisit times when God impacted your life. To view the marker stones in your life to remind yourself of God’s faithfulness to you in the past; and in doing that to encourage yourself that if He was faithful then, He will be faithful today and tomorrow. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.” – Hebrews 13:8

Songs by the band Delirious? have really impacted me, and a great song by them that encourages us to pray and to have faith in God’s ability and willingness to answer our prayers is ‘History Maker‘.

‘Is it true today
That when people pray
Cloudless skies will break
Kings and queens will shake?

Yes, it’s true
And I believe it
I’m living for you’

Those are just some of the lyrics from the song. It declares that prayer changes things. When we seek God, we will see nations changed, lives changed, people set free and Jesus lifted up.

In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul says to the Christians in Rome who are living in extremely difficult circumstances, suffering persecution and oppression by the ruling powers of the empire, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” – Romans 12:12. Another translation puts it this way “Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.” or in another translation it says “Be happy in your hope. Do not give up when trouble comes. Do not let anything stop you from praying.”

I love how this verse in all the many different translations really encourages us to be full of hope in God and for what God can and will do, to endure troubles and presecution and to never stop praying. Never stop meeting with God. Never stop devoting yourselves to prayer. One translation says for us to “give constant energy to prayer”. This is an active and energetic action. When we pray it is not a passive thing, but and active engaging with the God of heaven and earth; calling for Him to intervene and bring His kingdom into where we are to see lives, communities and nations changed.

Historically, there has never been a move of God that has not been preceded by his people gathering together to faithfully pray for God to do what only He can do; transform hearts and lives.

We can be history makers by coming together and praying for our families, our friends, or co-workers, our communities, our government, our nation and our world.

Charles Spurgeon said that “Prayer moves the hand that moves the world.”

On Sunday 25th February at 7pm in Ty Llywelyn Community Centre, we will be gathering together to pray for the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ; to see many young lives changed by the power of the gospel. This is going to be a great time of coming together as Christians to see God move in our communities.

We would love to see you there.

Let’s be history makers on Sunday 25th February.

Let’s pray to our amazing God and see Him change lives this year.

Be blessed!

The Restoration Man

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In Japanese culture, there is an ancient art form called Kintsukori or kintsugi. This is where a broken vessel is put back together with a colourful lacquer or a precious metal, normally gold. A successful piece of art is where the finished work shows that the piece of pottery is even more beautiful for having been broken and put back together. The literal definition of the term for this art form is to “repair with gold“.

I was thinking about this recently and realised that this is what Jesus does. He takes the broken pieces of our hearts and lives and puts them back together in such a way that our lives are more beautiful than before. Our brokenness lets more of His light and glory shine through. More of His gold show.

He is the true ‘Restoration Man‘.

When He touches our lives, people still see the cracks and the brokenness, but they also see where and how our wonderful Creator has lovingly and carefully restored us and brought our lives back together.

I’m sure that if we all shared our stories of how God has restored us in so many ways, it would be a real encouragement.

We’d see the gold of His love and glory shining through.

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” – 1 Peter 5:10

In Psalm 23, David declares that it is God who ‘restores‘ his soul, and in Psalm 5 he declares “Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart.” David recognised that only God had the power to restore him. Only his Saviour could mend the broken pieces of his life.

God doesn’t call us because we have it all-together, but rather because we are His and as a good Father, He wants to be in every part of our lives and bring the healing and restoration that only He can bring. We cannot fix our hearts. A.W.Tozer in his book ‘The Pursuit of God’ says “The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do.” The Apostle Paul puts it this way – “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.” – Phil 2:12-13

So this year, where there are broken pieces in your hearts and lives; like King David, give God your heart and all the broken pieces and you’ll be amazed at the restoration that He does.

Also, please continue to pray for the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ, that God would use this ministry to bring life, healing and restoration to many young people in North Wales; especially at the start of 2018. Let’s be amazing at how good our God is.

Be blessed!

Renovation, renovation, renovation!

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The title is a bit like ‘Location, location, location’, but it’s all about the ‘DIY SOS’ that we need, but so much more impactful and intense. This was the theme for the Youth for Christ National Conference. ‘Renovate’ being the exact title.

The word ‘Renovate’ comes from the Latin verb novare which means to make new, so it is all about God making things new.

“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.” – Rev 21:5-6

God is in the Renovation business.

But renovating something is a costly and sacrificial work. You have to tear down the old in order to rebuild the new. It takes time, effort, money, sweat & tears to complete a renovation project, but the goal is always worth it.

“Therefore, 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 that was 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

Jesus considered everyone who would believe in Him worth it as He faced the cross.

In the same way, as we pursue God and look for Him to renew our hearts and lives, it is at times going to be tiring, painful, costly and be full of tears and joy, but it will always be worth it. We must always consider the joy set before us of becoming more like Christ, of knowing Him in deeper and fuller ways as we submit to His divine work of renewing us. And remember it is His work in us, not our own striving. We submit to Him and He renews us.

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” – Philippians 3:7-11

So this year of 2018, Llandudno Youth for Christ is looking towards God doing something new in the hearts and lives of our supporters, volunteers and the young people that come to our events.

We encourage you to pray for us for all that God has in store as we take the gospel relevantly to many young people in 2018.

Be blessed!

Standing at the portal of the opening of the year!

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So, as we bid a final farewell to 2017 and look ahead to 2018; I thought it would be good to be reminded through the lyrics of the hymn ‘Standing at the portal‘ of God’s goodness and faithfulness. To take all of the fears, trepidations and excitement we have as we bravely face another year and hand them all up to God, knowing that He will never fail us. That He is big enough and strong enough to keep us in 2018.

I love the fact that the hymn is called ‘Standing at the portal‘, it makes me think of the 4 Pevensie children from the ‘Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe‘ as they stepped into that wondrous wardrobe which would transport them from earth to Narnia. They were standing at the portal to another realm and must have been filled with a sense of fear and wonder in that instant before they crossed the threshold. The same goes for everyone of us as we look back at 2017 and look forward to 2018.

What will 2018 hold for you? What will 2018 hold in store for Llandudno Youth for Christ?

One thing I know, the God who has faithfully held us and supported us, will still do so in 2018. The generational God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob will continue to use the work of LLYFC to reach out to young lives with the life changing gospel of Jesus. The ever present great ‘I am’ will be ever present with us through every part of 2018.

So “Onward, then, and fear not, Children of the day; For His Word shall never, Never pass away.” God will be with us as we step into 2018, He has promised to never leave us or forsake us, and when we do cross the threshold of the year, we will find ourselves at home because God is with us, and wherever God is, there our home is, there our heart is. “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.” – Matthew 6:20-21.

So as we step into 2018, say prayers of thanks to our faithful God for all the ways in which He has shown His faithfulness and then pray for His wisdom, His guidance, His provision for you in 2018, and finally praise Him for His presence with you as you step into 2018, hand in hand with the Creator of the Universe –

“So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

Be blessed and Happy New Year!

Deep Pan, Crips & Even….

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So the joke goes like this – “How does Good King Wenceslas like his pizza?” “Deep pan, crisp & even!” I can already hear the agonised groans. It’s not like everyone hasn’t had their fill of terrible jokes courtesy of Christmas crackers everywhere….

Yes today, the 26th December is St Stephen’s Day, or ‘Boxing Day‘ as it is known traditionally in the UK. The song to which the joke relates is ‘Good King Wenceslas‘, which talks about the feast of Stephen, or St Stephen’s Day. In the lyrics it talks of the snow being ‘deep and crisp and even‘; hence the pizza joke.

Now, not everyone agrees upon the reason we call the day ‘Boxing Day‘, but for me the most reasonable explanation is that it comes from an old tradition where servants, after having waited on and served their masters in the hall or great house of the estate on Christmas Day, would be allowed the following day off to visit family, and part of this day off was the receiving from their masters of a box filled with gifts, financial bonuses and sometimes leftover food.

British diarist Samuel Pepys also mentions in an entry from 19th December 1663, the custom of tradespeople, such as postmen, collecting ‘Christmas Boxes’ full of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks from their customers for their good service during the year.

Another way people have explained the name of ‘Boxing Day‘ is that in the early years of the Christian church under the Roman Empire, metal boxes were placed outside churches and they were collected in on Christmas Day and then the  monies raised were distributed to the poor during the feast of St Stephen, which is that same day as ‘Boxing Day‘: Hence the name.

Whatever the reason, behind the origin of the name; it is great to see that we have a reminder that Christmas is not about stuffing our faces with stuffing and other foods, but about God generously giving out of His richness to a world impoverished and in need.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” – 2 Corinthinas 8:9.

Just as Jesus came down to earth as a baby, humbling himself and thinking of our need, let us this ‘Boxing Day‘ think of others in need and in some way bless those who are struggling this Christmas; maybe contact an organisation such as the Conwy Food Bank and see how you can donate food that will be a true Godsend to someone at this time, or in some other way help, volunteer, or bless those around you.

Whilst talking of blessing those around you, I want to take this time to thank all of our amazing volunteers with Llandudno Youth for Christ. Brilliant people who take time out of their lives to help us make an impact in the lives of young people in our area. We really appreciate you and all that you do, and pray that you have had a blessed Christmas, and we look forward to what God is going to do through the work of LLYFC, with you as an integral part of that work. As the apostle Paul would often call those who ministered with him, you are our fellow workers in God’s service.

So, this ‘Boxing Day‘ not only be blessed, but be a blessing!

Hail the Son of Righteousness! – Merry Christmas

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A very merry Christmas to all of our amazing supporters!

“Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris’n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

It’s Christmas day and we are celebrating Jesus’ birth.

A light in our darkness.

The Saviour of the world has come, and the world would never be the same again.

So this Christmas, may Jesus, the Light of the world illuminate your life and bring you great joy and peace.

Be blessed and merry Christmas!

 

He came down…

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At Christmas time we can become too familiar with the words of the songs and carols we sing; like when we do anything many times, it becomes automatic and we don’t think about what we are doing. We drive a car or write a letter and don’t have to stop and think about every single move we make along the way; we just do it.

The same can happen as we sing songs; especially at Christmas time; with many of the carols written in forms of English that is no-longer used; we just gloss over them and enjoy the melody and the whole sentiment of enjoying singing at Christmas, but don’t engage with the amazing truths that the Christmas carols that we sing bring to us.

In the top 10 of Christmas carols, (you can comment below on what are your favourite carols and why) I’m sure the following would definitely appear – ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing‘, ‘Joy to the World‘, ‘O Come all ye Faithful‘, ‘Once in Royal David’s City‘, ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem‘, ‘Silent Night‘ and of course ‘Away in a Manger‘.

Any of those songs above in the Christmas list can be sung without us really thinking about what they mean, to us and to the world around us.

Let’s look at some of these lyrics and see how they can reveal to us the amazing wonder and good news of Christmas: ‘Joy to the World , the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room,..’ – wow! This song declares that Jesus is the King of the whole world and encourages us to let Him into our hearts; what a brilliant message at Christmas.

‘How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven. No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in.’ – I love these lines from ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem‘, they truly convey to me the wonder of Christmas, that Jesus didn’t come with pomp and ceremony, but humbly and simply and wants to be a part of our lives.

Now the impetus for this post came after watching a video by the Christian outreach ministry ‘Speak Life‘, that was titled ‘He came down’ and refers back to the line in ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ – ‘He came down to earth from heaven, who is Lord and God of all.’

That single line really impacted me, like I’d never read it before.

‘He came down…who is Lord and God of all.’ This tiny baby, God in the flesh. God with us.

The earth shakes, the heavens roar at the audacious love of our Saviour.

God become man – ‘pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel’ (from ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’). It makes me want to kneel in awe and wonder before my Creator, lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling, small, humble, fragile, yet fully God.

Amazing.

So as you prepare to celebrate Christmas, take time to be awed and amazed by the God who came down.

Be blessed and a Merry Christmas!

(The original video that inspired this Blog post)