I'm Glad You Found Me....

 I'm so glad you came by. But I have moved to two new sites.

My main blog can now be found at ralphturnerwriter.com

And anything to do with the revival in Leicester can be found at revivalinleicester.com

I do hope you will join me on our continuing journey together.

Israel: It's more nuanced than you might think

The tragedy in the Middle East right now brings out interesting political views within the Christian community. This blog (a little longer than my usual ones, sorry) tries to bring some balance to the debate, and to the prayers.

Much of what is being published on Chrisitan social media seems to assume a rather black and white picture – Israel good, Palestine bad. But as in all conflict, there’s good and bad on both sides.

So when Christians pray for Israel, it needs to be with compassion and with awareness. Awareness for example that the current Prime Minister is subject to investigations relating to bribery and fraud.

He has tried to maintain power, hence avoiding charges, by embracing some extreme right wing political groups within his government. This has led to more extreme positions on the rights of Palestinians and an extension to the policy of forced removal of Palestinians from their land.

The continuing Israeli efforts to displace Palestinian residents of the occupied Palestine territories and to settle Israeli citizens in their place has brought their ‘policy’ to the attention of the United Nations. The UN statement in April 2023 says that what Israel is doing is in ‘blatant violation of international law.’ This, together with continuing blockades of the Gaza Strip has resulted in an armed Palestinian response. That is to be deplored, but it would be healthy as Christians to see there are significant political reasons for the uprising, not least the deprivation of citizens in Gaza.

Water is in short supply, electricity is intermittent, goods are effectively rationed due to Israeli controls. All this has been reported in the press, not least by Christian organisations. Some praying for Israel comes from a dodgy end-times theology. If we accept the Dispensational teaching (popular in America in the 1970s) that there is some kind of secret rapture and that God is focussed on the current geographic Israel as His people, then prayers become rather skewed. Everything looks to Israel.

 If you think I’m on my own in this view, I refer you to scholars with much greater understanding than me – See Tom Wright, ‘Surprised by Hope’, Simon Ponsonby ‘And the Lamb Wins’, and Ian Rossol’s ‘Win the World or Escape the Earth?’, to name but three of many. I’d like to suggest that a rather more balanced end-time view would see the Church as the new Israel.

Hence the Church can legitimately appropriate Old Testament prophecies such as Isaiah’s ‘Enlarge the place of your tent’ to the Church and not to geographic Israel. God still has plans for his original people. Paul makes that clear in Romans. But his people today are the Church, not those in geographic Israel. And that brings us back to prayer. We need to pray for Israel. And for Palestine.

Don’t forget Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Myanmar…. Pray for peace. Pray for those Christians on the front lines sharing the gospel. Pray for an end-time harvest. Pray for a bride of Christ on that final day, made up of every tribe and every tongue, every nation and every people. God’s plans include current Israel, but are so much bigger, so incredibly glorious. Keep praying.

REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (25) - HEALING IN THE HOUSE

Jesus hasn’t stopped healing.

That’s something we have been going after at Chroma Church in this revival.

A few weeks back, a man came forward who had been recovering from a heart attack. As he stood at the front, he decided to no longer accept his long-term heart condition and to believe God’s word. He decided to declare healing over himself. This he did every day from then on, and especially as he went to his hospital appointment.

The results were miraculous. He has fully recovered. The scans were clear. The checks were negative for any heart disease. He has been able to come off all medication.

Another man came forward a few weeks earlier, to ask for prayer for healing in the first of our Sunday meetings. He was from a Muslim background and had been brought along by his daughter. He had cancer.

The next day he contacted the office, to say that the ‘cancer had passed through his body’. We encouraged him to go back to the hospital to get it checked out. He did. He’s cancer free!

We’ve seen physical pain go in a moment. Sometimes when people come forward for healing prayer. Sometimes during the worship, and when they check out the pain it is no longer there. Backs have been healed. Significant leg pain has gone in an instant. Arms that couldn’t be raised, can now fully worship God without pain.

One man was unable to lift his arms above waist level due to a condition in his shoulders. He now stands pain free and arms lifted.

A lady with a hip condition, healed instantly. Tendonitis gone in a moment. Knee pain disappearing. Others go home and find the muscular pains they had dissipate over the next few days. Other have had to keep pressing in, coming forward for healing each Sunday. And then. Suddenly. The pain is gone.

Ears have been opened. Glasses have been discarded as Jesus heals eyes. Lumps disappearing as we pray. Migraines have gone. Depression has lifted.

As we fix our eyes on Jesus, as we worship God, the Spirit who heals the sick falls upon us.

Jesus hasn’t stopped healing.

REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (24) - WAVES OF LIQUID LOVE

We’d been away for a couple of weeks. But walking in to the 9.30 service on Sunday told us that God was continuing to work in just the same way.

When we arrived at Chroma Church five years ago, the first service was maybe a bit sleepy. No longer! The presence of God is tangible. From the first chord in worship, it’s hard not to kneel, just to acknowledge the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit.

The title for this post is ‘waves of liquid love’. It’s a well-known phrase from church history. When Charles Finney was baptised in the Holy Spirit at the start of his remarkable revival ministry, back in October 1821, he described it in this way:

‘Without ever having the thought in my mind that there was any such thing for me, without any memory of ever hearing the thing mentioned by any person in the world, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me. Indeed, it seemed to come in waves of liquid love, for I could not express it in any other way.’

Leicester is an exciting place to be. At the start of a new educational year, I’m expectant for much more. There are so many prophecies over our city, from people around the world who have never even been to Leicester, but felt in the Spirit that God was about something special.

We live in the good of those prophecies. Pretty much every meeting – the three services on Sunday, Student Church, Kids and Youth, Revival Nights and more – are soaked in the Holy Spirit. God’s presence is tangible. Waves of liquid love.

REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (23) - ALWAYS HOME

One of the delights of revival is the unity it creates. Not only between churches but within the congregation, across all ages and backgrounds.

We’ve just celebrated the end of another Leadership Year and Encounter Year at Chroma, for the students involved. Listening to their thoughts on the year was inspiring. Here we have a group of young people who are already turning the world upside down for Christ.

I loved the joy, the enthusiasm – the dancing! One student was planning to ‘upscale David’ with her dancing!

It’s so good that most will be staying in Leicester, and that for any that are moving on, as Pastor Steve said, ‘here will always be home.’

That’s true for the students, but it applies to all of us. What God is doing here is so precious, it will remain with us wherever we are in the world. And wherever we are, if you ask us about revival in Leicester, there will always be a smile. 

And maybe a dance….

REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (22) - UNITY

One of the hallmarks of revival is an increased unity.

It was such a privilege to see this for real at Tuesday’s Revival Prayer.

We asked for prayer as a church. Immediately two ladies came up to pray – one from Colombia, one from Argentina. And then two church leaders from other churches came to pray – one from Anthem Church Leicester, one from OneChurch Leicester.

Churches and nations in unity.

When the Holy Spirit moves, unity is the result. As we work together, unity is the result. As we worship together, unity is the result.

Grateful for all God is doing.

Windrush at 75

Well, this is a rare event. My passion for justice has just coincided with my passion for stamp collecting. Not often you can put that together in one sentence!

Well done to the Royal Mail for their commemorative stamps celebrating 75 years since the arrival of the SS Empire Windrush. (You can read about the Windrush story on my blog, here). The Royal Mint are also issuing a coin.

It’s great to celebrate the diversity of our nation and the richness brought to our shores by such events. But the Windrush arrivals were treated terribly, and we have to acknowledge that we still have a long way to go before we can truly say that the British Isles is free from racism.

The Black Lives Matter initiative in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, has helped (see my blog on this, here). But there is so much more to do.

In the meantime, we can truly celebrate the wonderful people from every nation that call Britain their home.