EVENTFUL NIGHT

The outreach last night in Temple Bar between 11pm and 2am was rather eventful.  The place was buzzing and we had significantly more discussions about the Gospel than we have on an average afternoon outreach.  The "Good News for Ireland today" NT Bibles, kindly given to us by Paul and Nuala O'Higgins of Reconciliation Outreach were gratefully received by 2 different ladies.  One such lady, Cathleen, went away with Romans 10:9-10 underlined in hers and a big smile on her face as she surrendered all to our wonderful King.  The other lady left her friends in the pub after they had seen us on the street for a good while outside the window,  and were talking about Jesus.  She was tough at first but then softened and was amazed of her gift of the Word.
While most people were sent to us by God the enemy sent one in particular who was highly demonised and slimy in his attitude.  We learn every day how to handle such matters and I have to confess I was momentarily taken in by his mock sincerity....I'm learning!
When a Brazilian Christian lady was standing beside me and the Jesus sign to have her photo taken I asked her, with great sincerity, to pray for the land of Ireland and I promised to pray for her country.  Ireland needs the mercy of God.

NIGHT FISHING RETURNS!

SHED BLOOD NOT ENOUGH!

At our recent outreach in Temple Bar we got into discussion with 3 ladies who were over from Liverpool for the day.  At least 2 of them were deeply impacted by the testimonies we shared about how God made Himself real to us through Jesus.  Initial hostility and resistance vanished to such a degree that they were deeply grateful to us for sharing the gospel. In a separate encounter I had the opportunity to pray for a younger Dublin chap for his migraine healing and...he turned to his friends in amazement declaring that the pain had instantly vanished.  Isn't God amazing!
Jim made a comment to me as we were travelling into the city which I have been thinking much about all week.  He said that there are no Christian youth on the street sharing the gospel....Let me know if I'm wrong on this one,  and if not then pray that the Lord of the harvest would thrust His labourers into the rich harvest. The need is immense and He deserves all. Reinhard Bonnke's Facebook post today said: To shed the Passover Lamb's blood in Egypt was not enough. It had to be applied to the door posts of the house to show its saving power. The same is true of the blood of Jesus. Apply it to your sinful LIFE. It will work. God bless you. 

LIVING GUILT FREE !!

Guilt is to sin what pain is to sickness. I once got a gum infection, which got serious because the chemist misread the dentist’s prescription and only gave me pain killers and not antibiotics! The pills removed the symptoms but did not solve the problem!

When we sin, we feel the pain of guilt. People try, and do many things to get rid of this pain (spend money, use drugs/alcohol, relationships, gossip etc) without success. The “painkillers” work for a short while but then the pain returns! To get rid of this “guilt pain” we must deal with the cause, sin. But how? You need to find someone who is not subject to sin to help and heal you. The Bible shows us that God loves us. It is His plan for us is to live guilt free and united with Him. To make a guilt free life possible Jesus, the sinless/innocent one, willingly took the cause of guilt (sin) upon Himself. He allowed himself to be crucified and killed even though He had the power to save Himself! He dealt with“the cause” and opened the door for us to live guilt free. Now God can offer us complete forgiveness and a guilt free life that does not compromise His Holy justice. Jesus heals us, He does not just numb the pain!

You can reject Jesus and live in deception or denial about your guilt …or you can ASK GOD TO APPLY WHAT JESUS DID ON THE CROSS TO YOUR LIFE AND GIVE YOU A GUILT FREE LIFE (forgiveness, a new start and a new heart!). This is called salvation, it is the first step into a guilt free life.

The Hangover Cure

There ended up being 7 of us today on Grafton Street holding high the wonderful Name above all names to the Patrick's day crowds. After a few hours of sharing Jesus to the many enquirers I personally felt exhausted, but delighted.  Jesus graciously healed one chap of a back problem and another lady of ...guess what... a hangover.  That particular lady was from Auckland in New Zealand and I'm sure that when she was planning her trip to Ireland she was probably thinking more of the Guinness than the Cure. To my knowledge nobody bowed the knee to the King but I trust and believe that of the many encounters we had the day will come when many will ultimately testify to the Good News they heard this St Patrick's day in Dublin.  We are honoured to be one of the few countries on earth where we can freely preach and witness on the street without fear of arrest.  This window may not last forever as the laws close in on Truth, Truth being a person called Jesus.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day from Dublin Ireland. We all like to let our hair down on occasions and if you venture onto Grafton Street today you'll find an entire nation doing just that!  It's probably a combination of a day off in early spring after months of near darkness and freezing cold, combined with an early surge of tourists, all youthful and sporting far more green than the Irish themselves, as well as a city wide festival atmosphere, that leads to this unusual celebration, not to mention a few scoops of alcohol at the wrong side of lunchtime.
In the fog of the revelry and madness the entire reason for the day off is mostly lost.  Who was Saint Patrick anyway?  Some think he simply replaced snakes with the mass and smashed up a good old pagan hooly in the process.  Myth and ignorance have a funny habit of taking root when it suits people but, for the day that's in it, it's worth looking at who he really was.
By the time the 5th Century came around the Roman Empire was in decline and anarchy was breaking out on its fringes in these isles.  Lads were swiped and sold as slaves and thus Patrick as a teen found himself with the sheep in Antrim.  From his past he remembered what God had done for him and he apologized to the Creator for his personal rebellion and selfishness. The first and biggest miracle happened then...his heart was changed and his hatred diverted from God to sin and his love also switched from sin to God.  He then began to hear the voice of God himself and was led to get the boat home to Wales.  The captain told him to get stuffed but God nudged him to persist and he was soon on the ferry.  Sundry adventures followed and trials including the amazing provision of food, in the form of wild pigs when all seemed lost to his unbelieving travelling companions.  Later on he was called back to Ireland to bring the life changing message about Jesus and what His death means for us.  Through many travels, much preaching, healings, baptisms and church plantings the entire nation was, in a short space of time, transformed for the better and this led to Ireland became a leading light in an otherwise very dark dark ages.
Now back to the Grafton Street of 2015 as another drunken teen falls to the floor and the nation staggers under the leadership of men and women who have lost their moral compass I believe the time is again ripe for a revival of truth where the personal saving work of Jesus Christ can again lift the Irish, and their foreign guests, out of the abyss...in even sense of the word!  Happy St Patrick's Day!

Ask Questions to expose truth on same sex "marriage"

Often the best way to get people to depart from non-fact based assumptions is to ask pointed questions.  2 issues come to mind in the debate (or lack thereof!) on gay marriage these being:

Opponents of gay lifestyles and marriage are portrayed as being Homophobic.  This leads to my first question: "Can you explain the difference between homophobia and  non-homophobic opposition to homosexuality?"

The second issue is the claim that being gay is inherent, as opposed to a choice. Since the 1986 US supreme court Bowers v Hardwick case (where the rights of individual states to criminalise homosexual conduct was upheld) the gay movement changed tack and began arguing (without scientific basis) that homosexuality was immutable and therefore in line for constitutional protection. To this day this is the (clever but dishonest) political strategy used worldwide and we are witnessing the next step of this evolution in Ireland with the upcoming constitutional question.  Politicians are falling over themselves in the blindfolded politically correct race to support this referendum without a calm thought on this point.  Is homosexuality innate or a choice? So here's my second question on this sub topic: "Are you aware that  If an identical twin has same-sex attraction the chances the co-twin (which has same DNA) has it are only about 11% for men and 14% for women according to 8 major studies in the last 2 decades."  This fact flies in the face of the "innate" argument.

Men and Women are different and both essential for marriage. Lawmakers have a duty to protect family and the extension of marriage to a pair which excludes one sex if adopted will have to then be promoted to young children as "normal" when it is manifestly unnatural. I spoke to a Labour party TD recently on the matter and he assured me that he was of the view that society had changed and we need to get with it.  I asked him if everyone was stabbing each other  in 20 years time should the law follow suit and allow that.  He said no because that is harmful.  It al sounds a bit arbitrary to me.  The majority can be wrong.  I would argue that truth ought to be established by something more that a plebiscite.  I make no apology for the fact that as a christian I believe our Creator established the truth about sexuality, among other matters, and to violate His design leads only to wheels falling off wagons.

No bile for Easter Bunny!

The recent Stephen Fry outburst against God on RTE shows how much atheists hate the One they don't believe in. Seems odd that the easter bunny, or any other fairy tale for that matter,  doesn't attract such bile. It's also interesting how atheists have no problem in believing in Julius Caesar, probably because Caesar makes no demands of them whatsoever.  On the other hand if God exists then their very (self centred) life is an affront to Him.  When I say self centred I am not suggesting that they are not "kind" people who don't help old ladies cross roads etc. but that their entire "raison d'etre" is ..."we ourselves" (translated as Sinn Féin in Irish).  I lived that life so I do know what I'm talking about.  I lived for a divine trinity: me, myself and I.  I was the most important person in my life for the first 23 years of my existence until the day I apologised to my Creator and got down off my high horse of pride. In Fry's outburst he blamed God for the corruption in creation.  This is typical ...reject the One who holds all things together and then blame him for things coming apart.

2 Words 2 topics: Gay Marriage

John Manning, host of Godtalk radio programme (90.3 Near FM Sundays 4pm) asked me to comment on his recent radio programme. The result was this letter which I sent to him. It caused me to think about the upcoming referendum on Gay marriage in Ireland. Here it is in its entirety:

Dear John,

Your programme last week was excellent.

While homosexuality is a hot potato which few have the courage to discuss the issue of Gay Marriage is being forced upon us to both discuss and vote in the near future.  I for one will be voting NO.

Gay Marriage is 2 words and 2 topics. Marriage first of all is primarily a Covenant. Covenant is about unbroken commitment. God’s word is all about covenant, primarily God’s covenant with man sealed with the blood of Jesus, something your listeners might be familiar with. Many however don’t believe in God and don’t want to know Him in any way, as it might cramp their sinful style .  If something is made for a purpose and someone uses it for a different purpose it might be called a perversion. If a car is designed for transport and I use it as a hen house then that’s a perversion. God created man and God created woman, different but both essential and complementary. I won’t get into the biological details but clearly God who created sex made Man and Woman amazingly compatible together and for a procreative purpose, as well as one of intimacy…but Covenant was essential before such union.  This is where marriage comes from.  Man did not invent it.

The apostle Paul in his first letter to the immoral Corinthian church (6th chapter)  made it clear there is great danger in sex before marriage as we become one with the harlot (or sex partner) and we should run from this type of union. This is what he said: 

16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”^b 17But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

We live in a fallen world saturated with temptation of every description. In our religious upbringing in Ireland we are thought to nit pick every sin out of our lives but this is impossible without first having the miracle of a heart transformation through a relationship with Jesus Christ as you speak of in your healing and conversion prayer.  It appears hypocritical for a glutton or a liar to tell a homosexual he is in sin. However God’s word makes it clear that practicing sex with one of the same sex is offensive to Holy God.  Much accusation is hurled against not only Christians but also directly at God’s word because of this clear condemnation of homosexuality.  

God himself is much mis-understood. For example on RTE tonight Gay Byrne will be talking to actor Stephen Fry who says:

“Why should I respect a capricious, ean-minded, stupid God who created a world which is so full of injustice and pain?” 

For an intelligent chap he displays an extraordinary lapse of intelligence in attributing evil to the creator. When God made man it was in HIs image and with free will, and it was the exercise of the free will against God that started this whole messing up of His wonderful creation, one which God called “Very Good” at the end of day 6.  To blame the creator for the perversion is akin to blaming Toyota when I drunkingly wrap my car around a tree . Not very smart.

Christians are called to love all people including those who practice homosexuality but we are also called to speak the truth in love and the truth is: God created, man (and woman) perverted but then God came down in the form of his son Jesus and took the rap for all the perversions and opened up a way for fixing the mess personally and corporately.

Gay marriage may or may not become law in Ireland and the day after the vote I don’t expect a change in peoples behaviour.  What would be nice is a lifting of the blindness over Ireland whereby all could see the true nature of the loving creator God we have so callously violated and His awesome Son Jesus.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes to you and your dear listeners.

Anthony Brabazon

Hardening of arteries...Hmmm.

The recent diabolical attacks in France were truly appalling but so too was much of the commentary. I have never read the Koran nor have plans to do so but have had many discussions with muslims and on the most part they have not been radicals. If the truth be known they, like many "Christians" in Ireland and western europe are trusting in their works to appease holy God. This is not how its done. If it was then Jesus wasted his time at the cross, which he didn't of course.

Most media, political and press commentators (i.e virtually all the voices you will hear) come from the assumption that mankind is basically good and that if they "misbehave" it's someone else's fault. They means that if Hamas fires rockets into Israel then its Israel's fault for "being the aggressor".   If muslims are radicalised and turn violent then it's America's fault for their "war on terror".  The blame game started the moment after sin started on this planet. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed serpent, remember.

God has a different view, one I believe, and that may not be politically correct but yet is 100% true: mankind is rotten and in need of redemption by God himself (Read Paul's letter for the Romans if you don't believe me).

Deception comes, again according to God, from a hardness of heart towards the true God (Ephesians 4:18 for this one).  We are warned by Him to not harden our hearts if we hear His voice yet too often too many do and the depth of the utter stupidity in their belief system becomes staggering..and yet they rigidly and stubbornly believe such nonsense.  We talk about hardening of arteries but who talks about hardening of heart?

Long Standing Strongholds...no more!

New Chris Rowe Podcast worth listening to available here. Don't forget to comment if possible. Blessings. http://shalomdublin.wordpress.com

SIgnificance and recent origins

Hubble Telescope image of Fomalhaut debris ring

While I was having a leisurely coffee at the Grand Canal basin today I heard some chaps walk by having a rather animated discussion about the significance of man in the Cosmos .  What I heard during the brief moment as they passed was that the universe was billions of years old yet man has only been around for a fraction of that time and is therefore very insignificant.  All I could think of was that they had taken the Kool-Aid like most people who are fed with the Darwinian view of the cosmos which is propagated virtually everywhere. The tragedy is that they were unaware of the fact that man's life is of far more significance and recent origin. The entire cosmos was actually created for man (and woman) and it wasn't billions of years ago but merely thousands. I know I wasn't there at the creation to witness this beginning myself but I can rest on the truth of God's word on the matter, a view that is also supported by true, non Darwinian, science

LIVING GUILT FREE

Guilt is to sin what pain is to sickness. I once got a gum infection, which got serious because the chemist misread the dentist’s prescription and only gave me pain killers and not antibiotics! The pills removed the symptoms but did not solve the problem!
When we sin, we feel the pain of guilt. People try, and do many things to get rid of this pain (spend money, use drugs/alcohol, relationships, gossip etc) without success. The “painkillers” work for a short while but then the pain returns! To get rid of this “guilt pain” we must deal with the cause, sin. But how? You need to find someone who is not subject to sin to help and heal you. The Bible shows us that God loves us. It is His plan for us is to live guilt free and united with Him. To make a guilt free life possible Jesus, the sinless/innocent one, willingly took the cause of guilt (sin) upon Himself. He allowed himself to be crucified and killed even though He had the power to save Himself! He dealt with“the cause” and opened the door for us to live guilt free. Now God can offer us complete forgiveness and a guilt free life that does not compromise His Holy justice. Jesus heals us, He does not just numb the pain!

Now back to the issue of gay marriage...

I heard to said by a proponent of gay marriage that "You are entitled to have my opinion". Huh? Of course we are entitled to opinions, as long as they conform to the liberal left...or else watch out for some language, fit for neither child nor adult!  The internet is great in many respects but it is also a gathering place for anonymous people who like to remove all doubt about their ignorance by displaying thoughts they would never utter in person.
Now back to the issue of gay marriage: If we jettison God's opinion on this among other matters we are absolutely rudderless in a sea of change.  We are simply left with what "feels" good with no solid basis. When I was a kid it "felt" good to eat sweets all day long (bad idea).  Many married people let their eyes wander and "feel" they should get involved with another of the opposite sex (bad idea). Many hot blooded teens "feel" they should follow whatever urges their hormones were leading them to, even if it meant doing acts reserved for marriage (bad idea).  If we are purely lust led animals you might understand the argument but...we are not!  Many fight this idea of a moral Creator because they feel hopelessly inadequate in meeting His standard...too right...it is hopeless, if you reject Jesus in every way, except as a piece of your curse word vocabulary.  The amazing thing is that he did become a curse for us that day he hung on  a tree, a curse for us so we can be free from the curse of sin.
Now back to the issue of gay marriage: If "feelings" are everything then why stop at 2, why not include animals, why should marriage be closed and not open? I heard 3 lesbians in USA want recognition in some bizarre union, don't ask the details! God created in a particular order (Adam and Eve you may recall) and God made sex. The fall brought corruption or perversion to the order God set and when He is rejected literally anything goes.
Now back to the issue of gay marriage: I am aware that this is hot button issue but with laws coming down the tracks in Ireland I believe it is valid to state that marriage is a gender based institution...period.  I clearly don't agree with homosexuality but when I meet gays I treat them with normal dignity and respect as people without agreeing with their sex orientation. God loves every last homosexual in Ireland and elsewhere so much that He bankrupted heaven by sending his most precious, His own Son Jesus, to take the hit for them and offer them new eternal life. Yes the bible calls homosexuality sin, as it does drunkenness, gluttony, lying, theft and lust. Did you ever get plastered, eat too much, tell a fib, download music illegally and take a prolonged look at one of the opposite sex with unhealthy thoughts...We're all the same boat...needing Jesus!

Pope's Big Bang ...or whimper?

It's being posted across the web, blogosphere, twitterati and facebook as news...yet we've heard this before. The leader of the Roman church, quite nice chap in many ways, has reiterated what he was told in chemistry class and said God used the big bang and evolution, or something to that effect. This has been official Roman Catholic policy for a while, but it causes problems of Biblical proportions. Now before you post me the latest Dawkins directive or simply steam off in a predictable rant against a view that is nowhere to be found is our PC text books (which uses language of absolute certainty for an event at which nobody alive or in living memory attended (i.e the beginning)) let me make a very simple point as follows:
The word of God is child like clear that death entered the world because of disobedience to God (ahem..sin..ssssh don't mention the war!). We expect atheists, those chaps who have more faith than me (by believing all this amazing cosmos, nature and microorganisms arrived by total chance with no brain input from anyone), to promote the idea that death is part of the process in giving life as we see it today. The Bible portrays the very opposite in saying that the creation, which The Maker called "very good" was indeed perfect and then became corrupted by a malfunction (i.e rebellion against the Creator or ssssh don't mention the war! "sin"). This same Maker said "If you sin you'll die". Why doesn't the scripture record Adam (assuming he was the first fully upright ape man) saying to God in reply "Die?.. but I'm standing on the bones of generations of ape men and other simpler creatures so you can't be telling the truth, sorry!".  I could go on, but my dog is looking at me asking for a walk before I go to bed so I'll sign off here. In conclusion I'd like to state that too many confuse the creation with the corruption and when they observe an imperfect world today, beautiful but ugly also, they think we are on a journey towards perfection, not knowing that in the past before that fruit got nicked...'twas a perfect world where man and woman walked with Maker.  Now the mission of Jesus, the innocent, satisfying the justice of Holy God by his death, so we could legally be forgiven when we turn and believe, makes sense for the first time and the last enemy (aka death) can be defeated. Wow.

TIME TO GO NIGHT FISHING AGAIN

This Friday (18 July 2014), God willing, we will be night fishing in Temple Bar Square between the hours of 9.30 and 11.30. If you know Jesus, pray for an outpouring of the Spirit of God through our work. The revellers, tourists, stag parties, hen parties and others all have a Father who is calling them and on occasion some hear the call and respond to the wonderful life giving gospel of grace. Many ignore us but we are there for the one who turns. As an evangelist it is always exciting but so too is sit sobering to see the utter hatred many have for God who graciously is giving then their next breath and heartbeat. If you don't yet know Jesus then come out and find us (just look for the Jesus signs) and ask us what its all about...it could be the smartest move you ever made.

Election of a Different Sort

Politicians ! { Poly = Latin for "Many"  Ticks = Blood sucking creatures} They're all the same ! Full of promises that are null and void when the last ballot box closes!

It's not just Politicians.

We are all the same - God said  " We all like sheep have gone astray,  each to his own way"

Zero Tolerance

Imagine if it was a crime to live a less than perfect life and you were arrested.  The legal team accusing you had full information on all your failings.  While you prepared your defence saying "no one is perfect'  you discover to your horror that the judge himself is perfect and because of the law has no discretion to pardon you.

Oh dear, how sad, yet how true to life when we consider the message of  God's word - Worse still it says that the outcome of sin 

(any sin) is death (eternal separation from God).

Now for the comforting news

The Judge  struck the hammer confirming your guilt but before the guards take you off in chains the judge removes his wig and cloak, steps down, comes to the guards, offers to take your place, gets handcuffed and is lead off to the cell.  While you stand there speechless the judge looks back and says to you "you're free to go - I'm paying the price"

This actually happened

Your death sentence was taken by Jesus personally so that you could be forgiven and released from sin's power, addiction and consequences.  You can now have a personal friendship with God through Jesus because God's justice is satisfied by his death.

What now?

Get to a private place, Apologise to God for your self centred life, talk to Him now, ask His forgiveness and invite Him into your life as boss. Be prepared for an internal transformation. He is listening and will answer - believe me.  Make your election to God sure.

AVOIDING DISASTER

We’ve come a long way since the Titanic sank due to the absence of a two-way telegraph system. Iceberg warnings were not picked up because first class passengers had the poor telegraph operator occupied sending frivolous greetings on this new gadget.  Disaster due to poor communication.

The inventor of the clockwork radio was motivated by the tragic spread of AIDS in Africa due to poor basic health information. This in turn was due to lack of radios caused by the high cost of replacement batteries. Another disaster due to poor communication.

Today communication is the buzz word with texts, internet, e-mails and mobile phones everywhere.  A goalkeeper recently conceded a goal due to a call on his mobile.  Yet with all these methods of talking we still seem to have a big problem with our communication with God.

Doesn’t voice mail annoy you?  You’ve made the effort and taken the time to call someone and lo and behold they can’t hear you!   Worse still is the message “Voice mail has not been activated”.  God had that same feeling, only much worse, when Adam hung up on Him in the garden.  His and Eve’s sin separated them and broke the line of communication.  How tragic. No wonder the world is so messed up.  The source of all wisdom, love and life, God Himself, has been largely cut off.

Communication can however be re-established along with a wonderful relationship with God, when we allow Jesus to take our sins.  That’s why they call it good news, He died, the good guy for <nsert your nick-name>  the rebel. Now all that remains is for you to communicate by talking honestly and openly to God in the same way as you would talk to a friend. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved from  a disaster due to poor communication.

Want to know more?  Then talk to Jesus directly… now.

COSMIC EXPLOSION QUESTIONED

Patrick's Day in Dublin on Grafton Street is an Evangelist's dream. It is packed with people, all out for a good time and with plenty of time on their hands to ask questions about Jesus. I nearly went hoarse, and that was without any street preaching!  Many heard about God's love for them as shown by Jesus at calvary for the very first time. One group of people said that their mate was an atheist. I asked if I could shake his hand and they were quite surprised at this. I congratulated him on having more faith than me as he believed that all these people enjoying St Patrick's day are the result of a cosmic explosion in the past. I asked him if he thought we came from monkeys, to which he replied "of course" I then asked where the monkeys came from. "There was a big bang". "Oh I said they're was a bang and then monkeys arrived". "I didn't say that " he said. "Where then did the monkeys come from?" I asked. He then admitted that he wasn't sure and so we all witnessed the conversion of an atheist to an agnostic. It was all done with much humour but to get people to think I believe is a great first step.
Another lady asked me about Jesus and I asked her her name and when she said "Hannah" I asked if she knew what it meant and she said "no". After telling her it meant grace and that Hannah in the Bible cried out to God for a child (Samuel) who became a prophet, she was riveted. I then informed her about GRACE: God's Riches At Christ's Expense and you could have bowled her over with a feather.  There were many other encounters, one being with a buddhist girl.  I asked her what the source of her (reincarnation) information was and she had no answer.  In evangelism we are not trying to outsmart people at all but often many untruths have to unravelled to open the door for the light of the Gospel. The Photo shows Jim and Aengus busy holding church. Overall we found a great degree of openness in our many discussions and we trust that God will work on the many hearts for His glory.

NEVER FORGET HIS LOVE

Chris Rowe + Myself with music by Jim Feeley

After the king extended grace to the servant who owed him a fortune this same servant grabbed another person by the throat on the way home demanding that much smaller debt be settled. He had the unfortunate tossed in jail without mercy. Do we do this. You bet we do. Those who saw this were grieved and reported it to the king. Unforgiveness is grevious and a true scourge amongst humanity and, dare I say, some of God's people. We have been forgiven when Jesus extended grace and mercy to us when we deserved the judgement of law. Then we turn around and act legalistically towards others. Lord have mercy! Jesus came with grace and truth, can we in His name come any other way?  This message is for all the evangelists out there. Never forget his love and grace when administering truth to the people.

SO YOU DON'T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH ANYMORE?

This is the title of one of Wayne Jacobsen's books and understandably it struck a chord with many. As a former pastor his focus now is on relationship with God as opposed to the formal structures of organized religion. This really challenges "clergy and laity" alike (including pentecostal "clergy and laity"). In my recent interview with Wayne I was quite disarmed by the way I would ask general questions about churchy matters and get answers which always focussed on Jesus. I was very impressed with his openness, honesty, freshness and humour....and his advice to Run, Run, Run from legalism. Here is a link to interview at pilgrimtalk.wordpress.com

Who do I have in my coffee shop?

Grafton Street on St Patrick's day is a sight to behold. It is crowded with people young and middle aged, the old of course having more sense, and the vast majority have little or no idea of St Patrick's message (i.e. the message of the cross). We spent about 2 and a half hours, in the freezing rain, sharing the truth with enquiring people as we held our (waterproof) "Jesus" signs high. A certain member of our small band, who has been known to silence streets with her preaching, was herself silenced by the high volume background noise of the day.

Despite this there were numerous valuable witnessing encounters. On one discussion a young chap said "are you a creationist" to which I retorted " Of course. Are you an evolutionist?" when he replied in the affirmative I asked him about his own lineage and after he mentioned the fish I asked how could it be that the gills he breathed through could suddenly become lungs. The discussion was always good natured in that I cared about these people, actually it was God caring through me as I might have acted differently if left to my own resources!

On another encounter a young girl (15 I guess) approached me to tell me that she loves Jesus and she has just been to Lourdes. I asked her if that is what she would say to God at the gates of heaven if she died to which she said yes.  I then informed her that this was idolatry as she was trusting in her own works and not in the work of Jesus at the cross. As I relate this story please understand that I didn't communicate it with a "smart Alec, holier than thou and judgmental" attitude, far from it, I simply wanted her to look to Jesus like never before and realize the futility of her own efforts to please Holy God.

I know God is changing my heart, bit by bit, because of my reaction to those who openly mock and laugh, as some did. By God's grace I can point at them who raise their voices against Jesus and declare out loud something like "Jesus loves you sir!" It can arrest the demonic activity in  a moment and I am motivated to say that in the conviction that Jesus wishes none to perish but all to come to repentance.

We were blessed when a Brazilian family joined us for outreach, encouragement and fellowship afterwards over a cup of coffee. There was such love and encouragement between this merry band of seven  that the coffee shop owner at the end asked me who we were....Roll on Revival!

OUTREACH PLANS 2013

Joe preparing for his trips outside Dublin

God has called us to bring the good news to the people of Ireland. As well as street outreach in Dublin 10 day trips are planned for 2013 to towns around Ireland (midlands and east coast generally). If you wish to join our ad hoc band of street evangelists for the day then contact Anthony (087 9795454) for details and we would be delighted to see more workmen and women for the glorious harvest fields. Our only agenda is...Jesus. Details are on the sidebar under "Outreach Calender"

Finished with Syrup

photo by lkireland (on instagram)

Pilgrim Talk 68: Finished with Syrup

When you taste honey you can truly say "I'm finished with syrup". The best will spoil you for the good and so it is with the sure promises of God. Even though we battle through set backs and disappointments we can press on because the One who gave the promise is, and always is, faithful. William Wilberforce persevered for a long time to see the abolition of slavery and while he almost gave up the fight..he didn't. He was motivated by a dream and couldn't settle for anything short of this. Enjoy this episode where Ant and dave again chew the spiritual cud. Listen here

EVANGELISM: MOTIVATED OR TERRORIZED?

Joe recently joined us for some outreach and we are blessed to have one of the most "chilled out" fishers of men you could imagine. Here he is outside the Aviva stadium after the recent American football game

It's been a while since the last post, mostly because of the time I have been giving to Radio and Podcast work (see Pilgrim Talk on the left hand side of this page) but I thought I'd "catch up" with a few thoughts. It's hard to believe that the weekly podcasts have been going for more than a year and that we have a small audience but my main passion remains EVANGELISM which means getting the good news out. Jesus did a truly amazing job at Calvary and we are the delivery boys with this message. The rising tide of secular humanism, atheism and Darwinism, especially in churches, make this message more vital than ever. 

Evangelism is the one word that motivates some believers and terrorizes others. Why is that? We have all witnessed bad evangelism done under compulsion, yet some of us at times have experienced God's grace operate through us in sharing His message on occasion and the feeling is truly irreplaceable. It is this type I encourage yet I know we don't do so that we feel good, we do it because of our hearts for Jesus and for the lost (..ehem..pre-believer).