Parables, Canoes and Family Groups…

Well it’s been almost two weeks since I last wrote so a lot has happened as per usual! Last week we had lectures on the parables of Jesus by a pastor who works here in Sweden. In his last few lectures we had some of those special ‘life-moments’, where you realise a bit more about how great and real God’s Plan is, and the incredible joy in knowing that He invites us to be a part of His Story! We had a lovely time before the Lord, asking Him to show us our gifts and what He has given us to use for His Kingdom. Good times…

Then, last weekend was a travel weekend here at Holsby, so over Friday and Saturday, I went canoeing with 7 other guys from the dorm. The weather was beautiful, the craic was good and the food was even better! I got a bit of sunstroke on the way back so I felt pretty delirious upon my return, but nothing a good night’s rest didn’t cure

 

 

This week we have been looking at ‘Your life in the Big Picture’ so it has been a good topic, following on from our series last week. Its hard to believe that I will be back home in just over 2 weeks though - it’s crazy how time flies here! This coming Sunday we hope to go as a group of students to see the Passion tour in Stockholm so we’re all really excited about that! Some of the times of worship we’ve had here have been really special…

One final thing worth noting is a cool thing that they have here at Holsby (and in all the Capernwray Bible schools I think) called ‘Family Groups’. Basically, every student is assigned a staff family who they get to hang out with every other week, having a meal together, playing some games, having campfires, sometimes going out for coffee etc. etc. My family is a lovely German couple called Andreas and Simone, along with their 3 little kids. I dont have a picture of them, but below are the other students who are part of our family. They are a great, international bunch and all great examples of Jesus!

(Going anti-clockwise on the picture above: Jason, Lisa (Germany), Ailin (Sweden), Zebo (Russia), Bernadette (Austria), Ashley (USA), Tim (Germany), Annie (USA), Brendan (Canada)

 

Powerhouse…

One of the cool things about Holsby is that they have various outreach programmes you can get involved in during the week. When I first arrived, I signed up for most of them and then I realised that was rather foolish as it meant my week was swamped with things!

But one thing that I decided to keep pursuing is an outreach called ‘Powerhouse’, which is basically a YMCA kinda place for young people. There are computers with internet access, a cafe, a pool table and some cool games consoles. Its a great place to meet people and get out in the ‘real world’ a bit more!

The kids come from various different nations: Somalia, Iran, Eastern Europe, and ofcourse, Sweden. They are a great bunch and I love being there most weeks to hang out with them, chatting with them about all sorts of stuff. This Saturday past, I met a lovely 15-year old kid who we’ll call ‘Alex’ (not his real name.) He had a lovely manner about him, quite mature, and very open to chat. Here are some snippets from our 3 rounds of pool:

Alex: So, who is St. Patrick?

Jason: Well, what have you heard?

Alex: That he’s a man who wears green…and wears a hat?

Jason: You mean a leprechaun?! (smile) No, he was a man that was sent to Ireland by God. He had a dream etc. etc.

Alex: Really? So he was religious then. I didn’t even know that.

(Later on..)

Alex: So, are you religious?

Jason: (smile) Yeah I have a personal relationship with God.

Alex: Are your family?

Jason: Yes, they are too.

Alex: If your parents didn’t bring you up religious, do you think you still would be today?

Jason: Thats a really good question Alex. I dont honestly have the answer. I just have to trust that God works out His plan they way He wants it.

Alex: Ok.

 

Our conversation was very humbling. Alex was an open person, wanting to find purpose and meaning in life - like so many around our world. And while we had some great discussion, I was thankful that I didnt have all the answers. His last question really stumped me to be honest. And only in Jesus will he and all of us keep finding the Truth that sets us free. Please keep praying for Powerhouse and the kids there. They are all so precious in God’s sight…

Simple..

Life has been busy here at Holsby! Assignment deadlines are beginning to come around now so there’s been a lot of reading and study going on. I have really been enjoying the challenge again though, its amazing how quickly your brain goes out of ’study-mode’ once you leave university!

 I can’t believe that I am pretty much half way through my time here. Time has really flown by so quickly…too quickly to be honest. But yet I feel God has been using each week significantly and specifically to challenge my heart and refresh it at the same time. Every week has stood alone for its experiences and yet have all worked together to create a rich experience too.

Last week I had such an amazing trip and experience in Gothenberg. Wow, it was so good! 8 of us went up to join a small church there and do some outreach around their area. They meet in an area that has about 10,000 people living in apartment blocks all around, and pretty much all the people are from different nations. We got to go into a few schools, took a youth night, did some street work and singing and took part at a few Church services. It really was amazing.

But more important than what was done is what God did in our hearts. We went to serve but were served. We went to bless but were blessed so much more. We went to give but we received. The faith of this small Church re-awakened a passion in my heart, something that had been lying dormant for a while. I saw afresh what really makes me feel alive, what I really want my life to be about: Loving Jesus passionately, loving the nations in His Name. I just remembered some of the older days (in the Ukraine or Morocco) when all I wanted my life to be about was knowing Jesus and making Him known. Somehow, as life’s unfolded, I lost some of that dream and vision.

I dont know, words fail me at the moment. All I know is that despite all this learning and all these experiences, I feel I’m more simple than I’ve ever been.

The journey continues…

Week 2…

Another great week full of new experiences and explorations!

On Monday morning we had a ‘Solo Day of Prayer’ so we took time in the morning to be alone with our Lord. I sat by a gentle stream near the Chapel building for the morning and God really came and spoke. It was a refreshing time.

Our lecture topic this week was on ‘marriage’ so it was all very interesting and challenging! I think we all learnt a lot about the opposite sex so I guess thats always helpful for the future One thing that really stuck in my mind was when the lecturer said, ‘Its more important that you become the right person rather than waiting for the right person.’ I felt convicted about how often I focus on the wrong things in life - how we focus on other people meeting OUR needs instead how we can become more like Christ to serve them and meet THEIR needs. Another quote he said was, ‘Go into marriage to give rather than to get.’ Wow. Very humbling, especially for us men!

Building some good friendships with different people here, its just such a lovely opportunity to be in a living, daily community with the International Body! Learning much about Jesus through the colourful presentations I see in people’s characters.

Next week is our Gothenberg mission trip which I am really excited about. God-willing we will leave on Wednesday lunch-time and stay there till Sunday doing various outreaches in schools, on the street, at cafe’s, in youth meetings etc. Please do remember us all in prayer. I am expecting God to move in people’s hearts.

Sweden is a beautiful country. There is life all around in the forests, lakes and snow-covered mountains. But there’s something missing. Amidst the life thats all around, many miss the Life that’s all around. I sense there’s a need for purpose, a need for meaning in the people’s hearts here. Please pray for the many in this land that don’t yet know the King of Kings who died to give us life…

‘Show me a garden that’s bursting into life…’

He’s got the whole world in His Hands…

Well, I have been in Sweden for just over a week now and it has been a really blessed time so far!

(Stockholm - near my youth hostel)

 

 

(Holsby Brunn Bible School)

I arrived last Friday into a sunny and fresh-aired Stockholm and stayed overnight at a youth hostel there. It was a beautiful city, very continental feeling with a North European twist. I thought everyone would look like one of the members of Abba and certainly some of them do However, there were also a variety of Viking lookalikes, suave men, Middle Eastern families and I even heard quite a few Spaniards too. Its a very diverse city for being so North European.

I actually asked a few of you to pray that I’d meet an Iraqi Christian as it turns out Sweden has the biggest number of Iraqi refugees from the war. About 18,500 I believe. And although I havent spoken to one yet, I have definately seen a lot of Arabic folk and even have played football with a few of them. Please keep trusting for miracles! This nation has Creative imprints of Yahweh all over it and all the peoples here are His.

Holsby Brunn itself (the Bible college I am attending - www.holsby.org) has been really great so far. We have just finished our first week of lectures with Rob Whittaker from Capernwray Hall in England. He looked at 1 and 2 Timothy and in particular, the culture of Ephesus, false teachers and the role of women in Church etc. Really humbling and challenging stuff! So much to digest and its only the first week! But he had a great balance between teaching and exposition, while also having a devotional feel to each lecture. I still just cant believe that I am here, meeting people from all around the world, having great times of fellowship, and digging deep into the only Word that lasts through all generations! What a privilege…

I have joined a Worship team here, started football outreach with a local Swedish team (Division 9, Team B!!), going to a Drop-in centre tonight, hoping to go to Gothenberg for a outreach weekend in a few weeks and ofcourse, studying and reading hard too! Thankyou once again to all who have prayed and financially given to make all of this possible. It honestly feels like a deam come true and I couldnt be here without you guys.

Today the snow is falling, reminding me of God’s gentle gifts, flowing freely and constantly on us all.

He’s got the whole world in His Hands…

Saved by it, living in it…

Grace. It’s what makes the message of Jesus such Good news. The gift of God’s unending goodness and love completely free. We love because He first loved us. We serve because He first served us. We live, because He died and rose again to give us life. Everything is sheer gift.

 And yet, amazingly, Grace is so often misunderstood and misrepresented in modern-day Christianity. Over the last few years I have really struggled with it if I’m honest - with being completely accepted and forgiven based on Jesus’ sacrifice rather than anything I have done or ever will do. Its so counter-cultural - nobody ever gets something for nothing - and yet Jesus demonstrated just that: giving a sinful world what they didn’t deserve. Now, we can dance into Abba’s presence freely and with confidence. We need only come through Jesus who gave up everything He had in order to give us everything we had not.

That’s what Easter is all about. God’s Grace to a sinful world. Loving us while we still hated Him. Dying for us before we ever lived for Him. Making us righteous while we were covered in stains. Buying a freedom that we could never earn.

I am re-learning in these days how we are not just saved by Grace, but we also live DAILY by Grace. Don’t we often speak so much on Grace before conversion, but afterwards, focus so much on works? We have cultivated such a ‘doing-based spirituality’: the more you do, the more spiritual you must be. Try telling Jesus that for his first 30 years!! And as for me on my Sabbatical, I must be backsliding this year big style But the Bible is so clear that there are many who did a lot FOR God but never really KNEW God. Infact, often the things they did FOR God (like the Pharisees tithing, fasting etc.) actually ended up being the very things that drove them from truly being with Him. Tell me how that one works!

All this can happen when we take our eyes of our need of Grace every day. Whether we’re doing well spiritually or not. All of us make it through each day on the same Godly gasoline!

Certainly in my life I have often been tempted to think that more service for Jesus makes me more ‘loveable’ or more ‘pleasing’ in God’s sight, but such thoughts deny and dishonour all that Jesus came to do. “If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21) No, through faith in Christ, I am made righteous in God’s eyes. Full stop. Never can be more accepted. Never can be more loved. Never can be more cherished.

I think we as a Church need to remind ourselves that we are not only saved by Grace, but that we live by it daily. Whether we live 70 years as a Christian or 7 minutes before our death, we will all be equally welcomed into the arms of God and neither person is any more ‘righteous’ in God’s sight. It saves the Apostle Paul and the thief on the cross equally. It’s poured out at Pentecost and to prostitutes. It sustains doubters and deaconesses. It’s for the weak and the worshippers. It’s for weak worshippers! It’s for conference speakers and convicts.  Royalty and ragamuffins. Theologians and tax collectors. Christians who stumble and Christians who are thriving. All walk daily into God’s Presence the same way, covered by the same blood, loved in the same measure, equal in the eyes of God.

Grace sees no human efforts or accomplishments, simply the finished work of the cross through which we all can live daily.

That’s Good News.

This Easter, may you rejoice that through Jesus you are accepted and loved forever.

Sabbath reflections: A time to retreat…

One of the lovely things about being on a Sabbatical is that it gives you time for retreats. Retreats are a great antidote for our world of rush, although maybe it’s sad that we have to ‘retreat’ from everything to really be still. I guess Jesus did this from time to time, taking time away to be away from crowds and be alone with his Father (Matthew 13:1, Mark 1:35).   

A friend once commented how much Jesus must have missed his Father while on earth. I had never really thought about that before. Jesus must have missed Him terribly! So yeah, retreats are helpful to refresh and renew our souls and bodies. A time to get away. To be in a new surrounding. A time to think, to rest, to pray, to be.

A few weeks ago I was down at the Bendictine Monastery in Rostrevor for a few days - a beautiful place of peace and tranquility where faithful servants of God pray faithfully for peace and unity in our land. They have a guest house to stay in, serve wonderful meals, have worship services 5 times a day and even make time to fellowship with you inbetween times if you wish. I would highly recommend it, particularly if you’re in need of some ’soul-rest’ these days.

As I was there, I read portions of some great books on Celtic Christianity - something I have longed to learn about for a while now. And one of the things that struck me about those early Christians in Ireland and Scotland was how much the Trinity was a part of their daily lives. They embraced the Three-in-One as a mystery to be enjoyed rather than a problem to be solved. Suddenly God being our shield becomes a much stronger reality when we realise the three Strands of that Shield - Father, Son and Spirit. As we know, a chord of 3 strands is not quickly broken.

So, I just wanted to share a few quotes that I copied from the books I read. I hope they will be of encouragement. I would love to see a new generation of songwriters, poets, storytellers, web-designers, dramatists, film-makers, preachers, office workers, teachers and binmen who can somehow depict and enjoy more of this mystery in their daily lives. Enjoy!

(Quote by St. Patrick)

“For my shield this day

A mighty Power:

The Holy Trinity!

Affirming Threeness, confessing oneness,

In the making of all

Through love.”

…………………………………………….

(Unknown Celtic poet)

“Three folds of the cloth, yet only one napkin is there,

Three joints in the finger, but still only one finger fair

Three leaves of the shamrock, yet one shamrock to wear

Frost, snow-flakes and ice, all in water their origin share

Three Persons in God; to one God alone we make prayer.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

(Quote by St. Columba)

“We do not confess three gods, but say one God,

saving our faith in three most glorious Persons.”

……………………………………………………………………….

One of my heroes…

…is Martin Luther King Jr. He was an incredible example of someone who passionately lived and died for what he knew to be right. He reminds me of Jesus.

I would like to invite you to spend 1 minute 17 seconds of your life to watch an excerpt from his last sermon, just a day before he was assasinated.

Drama coming near you…

Just wanted to let you know about an exciting Drama presentation thats coming our way in the next few weeks. The banner above gives a basic indication of what it’s about but here’s the blurb from the website:

A remarkable true tale brought to life on stage - Rebekka will follow the amazing true story of three ladies who were sentenced to 3-years in prison in a remote part of Indonesia.  Convicted for running a village Sunday school and children’s social event, the play centres around Dr Rebekka Zakaria – how she coped with life in a primitive Indonesian jail, the effect it had on her immediate family, friends and career and how she, Eti and Ratna felt very strongly that even though they were in a desperate situation, this is where God wanted them to be. Dr Rebekka will accompany this brand new pulsating production and there will be a time for questions at the end.

Tickets are £6.00 or £5.00 if you book by Box Office at the number below. There are two locations it’s happening at in Northern Ireland:

Mon 18th Feb

Ballymena – Slemish College, Larne Road, Ballymena, BT42 3HA, Northern Ireland

7.45pm

01384 454808

Tues 19th Feb

Bangor West Presbyterian Church, Crawfordsburn Rd, Bangor, Northern Ireland, BT19 1BG

7.45pm

01384 454808

I have seen these guys perform before and they are very good. There are only a few actors and minimal sets normally, but they are very professional and it will be very challenging I’m sure. Plus it’s always good to get awareness of how our Christian brothers and sisters are suffering around the world for the sake of Jesus. Let me know if you wanna go sure, I hope to make it myself…

An interesting story…

Just today I received an email about a young Lithuianian girl called Akiane who has an amazing gift. Apparently, she was taken up to Heaven when she was 4 years old and ever since then, God has been giving her visions, pictures and words to put into a painting or into poetry.

I think she’s only 13 now but already has done some incredible work. I know how often we can be sceptical about these kinds of things, but the pictures have such an amazing display of God in them, I find it hard not to believe her story. If you have a few moments why not check out the Youtube video above which is about her life, paintings, and walk with God.