REVIVAL IN LEICESTER

On Saturday, revival came to Leicester.

I’m a bit of a Christian History geek and have studied revival most of my Christian life. And I’ve been fortunate enough to experience revival out in Argentina. So what I saw and experienced on Saturday at Chroma Church Leicester was, I think, the real deal.

The event was a leaders gathering of around 300 leaders from around the UK, starting the year off with a time to worship, prayer and of encouraging each other. Led by Steve & Juliet Barber and Paul & Sue Manwaring, the two days together were precious. More than that. On Saturday afternoon God came.

I know the theological arguments that God never leaves, but there was a time on Saturday afternoon, 8^th January 2022, when His presence was so thick in the atmosphere, it was hard to stand. It was impossible to stop worshipping. We were in His presence. There were angels in the room. Time became unimportant.

The weekend was not particularly a time for healing, but God healed anyway. 25 confirmed bodily healings and probably many more, some just happening as we worshipped.

Saturday afternoon saw a number of young women spontaneously take the stage and pray and prophesy over the leaders. Generations together meeting Him, receiving His mandate for the year ahead.

Revival is always accompanied by prayer, so it is no surprise that as preparation for this event, the church at Chroma had spent three days in prayer and fasting, with over 100 people turning up to pray each evening right at the start of the year.

Historically, revival comes at moments of crisis. None more so that now, at the end of a worldwide pandemic – something no one living has seen before.

Why Leicester? There are many revival prophecies over this city (there’s a need for a separate blog on that). It’s a city that has embraced a multicultural society in a way few other cities have, so it seems an appropriate place for a new Pentecost. In Jerusalem on that first Pentecost outpouring, there were people from ‘every nation under heaven’ (Acts 2:5). And so for Leicester. The BBC calls it the ‘most ethnically diverse’ city in the region, with well over 50% non-white residents.  Pretty much in the centre of the country geographically, Leicester has become a hot spot for the work of the Holy Spirit.

Revival has come to Leicester.

The Offence of Christ

Christianity claims that there is only one way to God. And that has become a problem.

Let’s look at the offending words in the Bible. Jesus is speaking and says ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’

There it is. Black and white. No room for manoeuvre on that one.  

It looks offensive, arrogant even. And as a Christian, it’s one of the main challenges I get from those of other faiths or of no faith.

But there is another scripture I need to highlight. Jesus is speaking again: ‘the one who seeks finds.’

That’s clear too.

And it’s the key to this particular riddle. Yes, Jesus is exclusively the way to God. But yes, everyone can find Him.

The claims of Christianity would indeed be arrogant were they to be claimed as some secret way achievable only to a few (in much the same way as a secret society might claim). But the opposite is true. He is there for all and if you seek Him you will find Him.

If you’re reading this with doubt as to whether this is true, let me encourage you to carry out a little experiment over Christmas. Read Mark’s Gospel. It’s the second book in the New Testament and it’s the shortest and easiest to read of the gospels.

As you read, start with a prayer, asking Jesus to reveal Himself to you. He will. That’s His promise.

Now back to the problems Christians face today. Certainties are offensive in today’s post-modern world. The dear old BBC avoids Christian content and promotes alternative values. It’s uncool to have values that appear to be certain. Live and let live. Don’t claim to know the truth.

But that’s what I do claim. Not built upon my own knowledge but on the basis of what the Bible says.

For centuries the views I have expressed above have been the foundation stones of our nation. It is a comparatively recent phenomenon to accuse Christianity of being offensive and arrogant because of the certainty of its beliefs.

It’s Christmas, a time for carols. This is one of my favourites:

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered
Will soon deliver you

Wonderful words. And not just for Mary of course. For all of us.

There is only one way. And it’s not arrogant to say that. Because that’s not the end of the story. Thankfully, there is life for all. That baby boy grew up, lived, died, rose again and offers us new life.

All who seek Him will find Him.

REPOST: Remember to Put the Glass Down

With fear dominating the news in these times of Covid, this Repost from 2016 seems appropriate:

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question.

Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: "How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralysed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

She continued, "The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything."

Remember to put the glass down.

With thanks to Anthony Harwood in Lusaka for this story

Destroying Fear - A Call To The Church

It was the newscaster Martyn Lewis who suggested our news diet was too grim and too filled with fear. That was back in 1993.  Nothing has changed. In fact if anything, it’s much worse.

More recently, Martyn Lewis said this:

“How ironic… that a profession so committed to fairness and accuracy in the stories it [covers], does not fully extend those qualities to the news agenda - the choice of television news stories.

Good stories are there ….. But too frequently they are given low priority. News editors across the world stress the need for young reporters to hunt for conflict and criticism. If they don't find it, fewer of their stories are used. So another generation of journalists is infected with old standards and judgements.” (USA speech, 2011)

Our headlines are fear related. Pretty much each day and every day. The television news starts with the latest riots, the government failures, the lack of food, the lack of transport, the lack of petrol, the lack of toys for Christmas…. You can fill in the blanks I’m sure. Much of this is fear-mongering. The promotion of stories to provoke fear… to provoke an audience.

Many have fallen prey to fear as a result. I heard a business woman recently charging the Church to live without fear, because there was a wave of fear affected people in need of prayer, coming their way as a result of Covid.

The Bible tells us that ‘God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.’ (2 Timothy 1:7).

There it is. That’s how we live as Christians. We appreciate the need for care. We keep to the rules. But we don’t live in fear.

No more so than with our response to Covid. It’s serious but there need be no fear. There is a significant difference between a measured and careful response to the virus when compared to one borne of fear that leaves the Church paralysed just at the point when it is needed most.

It’s time for the Church to be opening its doors wide, welcoming all, praying for those affected by Covid and seeking God and His purposes, which are way beyond the fears propagated in the press. It’s time for Christians to be back worshipping together. Online services can only take you so far. There is a need to meet, to pray, to encourage in a way that is forever limited on a TV screen.

I’m not sure the BBC or the Daily Mail are about to move away from their fearmongering. But the Church can. Let’s step into all that God has planned for us. We are the body of Christ, we are a voice for the lost, a healing hand for the hurting. And a declaration of faith in the future for those chained in fear.

The Decline and Fall of the BBC

I love the BBC. It’s all I was allowed to watch as a child- ITV had adverts and that was frowned upon in our house!

But the BBC today is a shadow of its former glory. Partly this is to do with competition but partly it’s to do with an extreme liberal agenda.

I need to qualify my blog at this point…. Those that know me will know that I am generally left wing, regularly vote Labour and have never voted Tory.

There. That’s got that out of the way. Important to say though as I may be judged to be a right wing Trump supporter in what I’m about to say.

The Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer commissioned a survey carried out by pollsters Savanta ComRes. This identified that 49% of the younger generation are praying regularly.

The BBC reported on this and then interviewed Muslims and Hindus. Despite the fact that in covering a representative slice of the population, the report mainly interviewed those leaning towards a Christian faith or no-faith.

But no mention of Christianity from the BBC. None at all. [The link to the article is here- the on camera report was worse still!] No interviews with church goers. Just Muslims and Hindus. The Muslim population in the UK is around 6%. The Hindu population is around 2%. So, BBC, where are the other 92%? Why did you ignore them?

The answer is not hard to find. The BBC is no longer the unbiased bastion of broadcasting it once was. Did they invent ‘Woke’? Probably.

I love some of their left wing slant. I love their inclusiveness. But to deliberately exclude Christianity on a poll that was commissioned by Christians and shows that church going and prayer (in person and online) is growing is appalling.

I laughed at their super inclusive Doctor Who stories at first. Until it became so invasive, the plots no longer mattered.

But this is far more serious. This does matter. A good news story about Christians has been buried. And the BBC appears to have done it deliberately.

Maybe that licence fee I have defended for so long should no longer be defended. Shame on you BBC.

Fearless

The first British woman to win a major since Virginia Wade in 1977. The youngest Grand Slam winner since Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2004. The first qualifier to win a major title. Eighteen days and 10 matches without dropping a set -the last player to triumph at Flushing Meadows without conceding was Serena Williams. Ranked 345th in the world at the start of 2021, she’s just proved she’s number one.

After Emma Raducanu pulled out of her Wimbledon fourth round match, citing breathing difficulties, it brought some criticism from the tennis fraternity. John McEnroe was quoted as saying:

“How much can players handle? It makes you look at the guys who have been around, and the girls - how well they can handle it. People say: 'You were so bad on the court, you used to misbehave'. But yes, I was the norm. These guys who can keep their composure, and the girls out there, are amazing.”

The reference to others who did not give in was an implied criticism of Raducanu’s withdrawal from Wimbledon. McEnroe went on to suggest she needed to play more tournaments at a lower level to increase her resilience.

His comments didn’t go unchallenged but in his typical bullying style, Piers Morgan waded in, saying:

 “Ms Raducunu’s a talented player but couldn’t handle the pressure and quit when she was losing badly. Not ‘brave’, just a shame. If I were her, I’d tell my fans to stop abusing McEnroe and seek his advice on how to toughen up and become a champion like he was."

Well, it turns out she was tough after all. During lockdown she played outside against the local garage walls. And a month ago she was completing her A levels at school. Then she went and won a Grand Slam from an impossible situation.

I loved her never-give-in attitude. I loved the way she battled. And her understated acceptance speech after the victory too.

This is what the Queen said in a message to Raducanu: “It is a remarkable achievement at such a young age, and is testament to your hard work and dedication.”

At 18 years of age she is fearless. There’s something to be learned here. However old we are, let’s stay focussed, free from fear of failure, willing to keep going no matter what. As we age, for too many of us, we begin to consider the ‘what if’s’ of failure. Let’s not do that. Let’s be fearless. Let’s win.

Don't Ask me For The Answer, I've Only Got One

I was singing an old Larry Norman song this morning. One phrase has stuck with me through the day:

Don't ask me for the answer, I've only got one: 

That a man leaves his darkness when he follows the Son. 

Yep. That’s pretty much sums it up as I look around me. A world pandemic. The killing of George Floyd. Climate change. And now the Taliban. 

Add to that earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes and forest fires. Myanmar, Hindu fundamentalists, terror attacks, random shootings.

To claim to have answers to the politics, the science or the religious hatred is to claim to be foolish.

I have no answers. But one.

Yet that answer overcomes every political motive, every advance of violence, every voice of hatred.

That answer is Jesus.

He had no servants, yet they called Him Master.

He had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.

He had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.

He had no army, yet kings feared Him.

He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.

He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.

He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.

 

His name is Jesus.

He came as God’s Son. He died for you and me. And He’s still changing lives today. Ask Him to change yours.