Following Jesus

Ralph Neighbour- The Power of Prayer

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Ralph Neighbour gives this stunning description of prayer in the Ukraine

The Power of Prayer

 

 

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by Ralph Neighbour

Perhaps a million pages have been published through the years on the subject of prayer. Men like E. M. Bounds and Watchman Nee are a couple of my favorites, and you have others to add to the list.

The problem is not that we need another series on prayer to be penned. It is the issue of praying where we are deficient. TOUCH Outreach Ministries surveyed 500 pastors from our mailing list of those purchasing cell materials in 1986 and we learned that they averaged, by their own admission, praying seven minutes a day!

I have been powerfully impacted by Pastor Vladimir Muntyuan who has founded and led the Regeneration Church in the Ukraine. He was raised in a communist city and had no contact with religion as he grew up, spending much of his youth in prison. At 19 he had so abused his body doctors sentenced him terminal and sent him home to die. It was then he met his first Christian who witnessed to him on the street and gave him a copy of the scriptures. As he read it he was thunderstruck with the God who healed. He determined to fast and pray until he met Christ. He had a Pauline confrontation with Him and was instantly restored to total health! From the start, prayer was precious to him.

I could write pages about this man’s ministry and how he now leads one of the fastest growing cell movements on earth. But I want to focus on his prayer life. On one of my first trips to coach his church I came to lead a major weekend training event. He greeted me by saying, “I will not be with you. I am going to the Crimea to spend this week in prayer.” I soon learned from his team that he spent much of his time alone in prayer, often sending for one or more of the team to join him for a period.

But this event blew me away: he said, speaking to 12,000 delegates who were together last year for a solid month in a cell church event they call “The Mountain of Moses,” where each day begins with 3 solid hours of prayer,

“I got so busy with the team preparing for this event I missed my prayer times. When I returned to meet with the Holy Spirit after those three days, He said to me, “Vladimir, I am glad you are back! I have missed you!”

Living among his team for weeks at a time has revealed their total focus on hearing the voice of God for the entire movement. Friday nights thousands of cell members gather to pray from 8 pm to 3 am. I spoke for an hour at one of those sessions and was deeply moved when at midnight, they packed up all the chairs against the walls so they could become one huge crowd, gathering with hands raised, praying aloud for the power to move in their midst. So precious are these sessions, so filled with His glorious presence, that the home cells are empowered for their weekly ministries to their unbelieving families.

We Americans have so much to learn from our Ukrainian brothers and sisters!

Celebrate Life

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risen5815The heart of Christianity is the celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the season called Easter.

On Good Friday we remember that Jesus died on the cross and that His death purchased the redemption of everyone who puts their faith in Him.

On Easter Sunday we celebrate the most amazing fact of history- Jesus is no longer dead, but He is alive. Not alive in a diminished “living dead” kind of way but in a new enhanced kind of way.

The Christian conviction is that followers of Jesus will also be raised to eternal life, to a new life with Christ.

From the earliest days of the church Christians have celebrated this reality. The period from the evening of Holy Thursday through to Easter Sunday was called the “Great Three Days.” New converts were baptised on Easter morning to enter their new life on the very day that Christ was raised to life. In time the Easter season was stretched to cover the full 50 days to Pentecost- after all this is a big fact worth celebrating to the max!

Some people don’t like the celebration of Easter because of its similarities to pagan myths. For example, there is a belief that the Old Testament person Nimrod became a false god and was worshipped in the Ancient Near East because after his death some people claimed he had come back to life in the form of his illegitimate son. They also say that Christmas is pagan becasue it is the celebration of Nimrod’s birth not Jesus’.

The existence of false celebrations does not make the real thing false. In science it is said that “correlation does not imply causation”- in other words, the fact that two different things seem related it doesn’t necessarily mean that one causes the other.

Let me ask you this. Does the existence of fake $20 notes mean that you should reject real $20 notes?

The presence of false resurrection myths should not stop us celebrating the real thing.

I will kick up my heels and sing praises to God and proclaim the ancient truth:

Christ has died

Christ is risen

Christ will come again

Hallelujah!

Karina Kreminski: Four Everyday Disciplines You Must Have to Experience Community

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We talk a lot about community at New Life, but what do we need to change to become a community that makes people outside say, “I want to be like that”?

Karina Kreminski writes:At

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Four Everyday Disciplines You Must Have to Experience Community

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Karina KreminskiWritten by  
on March 16, 2016

I’m tired of Christians using the word community without meaning it.

As I said before:

“I think the church must display an even deeper expression of community in our world. We are after all, a community which is modeled in some sense on the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We can offer a manifestation of community which is counter to the false narratives of our world, shaped by reign of God values and led by a people of God who practice embodied love towards others. Why are we so slow to present this to our world? I’m not saying that there are not any churches which do community well. Maybe your church is one of those. But do I see churches courageously practicing the alternate values of the kingdom of God which create authentic Christ-centered spiritual community? Do I see the church leading in our society by building true community? Not really.”

There are impediments to building community, so we need disciplines that we can cultivate in our lives which help us to build community.

Community should not be romanticized, it is difficult and sometimes even an unpleasant work to nurture community when the kingdom of God is our inspiration and rubric. Instead, it involves engaging in regular practices which commit us to more seemingly ordinary things. I think that as we practice these ordinary disciplines, we will see the extraordinary take shape as the Spirit of God moulds his people towards true community.

Read the full article here

The War On Christians Continues

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Some people say that claims of Christians being persecuted in the West are merely that our previously privileged position at the expense of other groups  is being removed. The fact is that cultural “elites” are working hard to remove all traces of chrsitianity from the public spheres.

From IPA:

Religious freedom is under attack at Australian universities

by on March 15, 2016 in Education
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The University of Sydney Union has threatened to deregister the Sydney University Evangelical Union over the requirement that members have faith in Jesus Christ.

The University of Sydney Union, a student-led multi-million dollar organisation responsible for the provision of services and management of the university’s clubs and societies program, considers the requirement that members of a Christian club be Christian as “discriminatory”.

Deregistration, in practice, would starve the Evangelical Union access to funding, orientation week stalls, and room bookings, making it very difficult for the society to function.

This move comes from the same University of Sydney Union which has spaces exclusively reserved for queer, female and international students.

Bible Society, which has previously reported on discrimination against Christians on campuses across Australia, reports on comments from Sydney University Evangelical Union president George Bishop:

The Executive believes that it is necessary, to maintain our identity as a Christian group, to maintain a faith-based declaration as part of the membership process

The Executive believes that individuals who wish to join any society need to be able to ascribe to the core beliefs, objects and aims of the society – which for a Christian society necessarily include faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ.

The University of Sydney Union, which all students fund through a compulsory levy, the Student Services and Amenities Fee, is suppose to equally represent all students. However, it appears some students are more equal than others.

Is Easter Pagan?

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Every year, about this time, there is a bit of a controversy about Easter having pagan origins and therefore christians should not celebrate it.

It seems to me that it’s a bit arrogant of people to assume that after 2000 years of christian tradition they alone have the truth about Easter and everyone else has been deceived. It is possible, but you really have to do your research before making such an assumption.

As far as christians are concerned, Easter is the grand celebration of the central historical fact of our faith- Jesus died on the cross and then on the third day He came back to life, raised by the power of God the Father.

The resurrection, as far as historians can tell happened on a Sunday, and from very early days, the church had its worship celebrations on Sunday (or the Lord’s Day as they called it), even the Jewish christians who were used to worshipping on the Sabbath. Every week was a celebration of the mystery of the resurrection.

Let’s get the easy stuff out of the way first- Easter eggs and Easter bunnies have nothing to do with the resurrection. Christians do not worship eggs, chickens or rabbits. These things were often used as symbols of spring which in cold climates is about new birth after the death of nature in winter. Christians have often said “Aha! Great teaching aids to help us understand how Jesus’ resurrection brings new life to His followers.” The church in its worship has never elevated these symbols to be important.

The one important Easter symbol for christians is an empty tomb. Christ died, Christ was buried, Christ rose.

Some people say christians should not celebrate Easter because the name itself is derived from an ancient pagan goddess. That’s true, but only in English and German. In most European languages the word used is a variant on the Latin word pascha which refers to the Jewish festival of Passover.

The word Eostre is a Middle English word for the month roughly corresponding to April. Yes it is named after a pagan goddess, but most people back then thought about the month not the deity it was named after. According to the logic of Easter-haters, we should not be able to worship at all in January (named after the Roman god Janus) or March (named after the god Mars) or on any day of the week- all of which in English are named after Roman and Norse gods.

What about the dates which are based on phases of the moon and the equinox? Doesn’t that seem a bit like pagan worship?

Well Genesis tells us that God gave us the sun and the moon to mark the seasons. Jesus was crucified at the time of Passover, the date of which was set by the Habrew lunar calendar. The early church Fathers thought that Easter should be near Passover but not necessarily on the same day. In other words Easter is linked to the Passover festival but is not the same thing. So it was decided at the Council of Nicea  in 325 that Easter would be celebrated by all the churches on the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox (normally March 21st).

Just because Easter is linked to a phase of the moon and to the equinox, like some pagan feasts are, does not make it in itself a pagan feast.

So this year celebrate Good Friday and Easter as good christian festivals. The most important event in the history of humanity was the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He purchased redemption for our souls and offers eternal life for evryone who will follow Him.

 

 

“How To Keep Falling In Love”- Ann Voskamp

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Ann Voskamp reminds us that we need to stay in love with Jesus:

Stay in love.

I tell the girl that in a hardly voice, the kind of voice that comes from a primal place.

Though, truth be told, she tells me she doesn’t know if she had ever found that love place in the first place — which, yeah, makes it relatively hard to stay in love.

Falling in love, staying in love? That’s what seduces across the radio waves. That’s what the lingerie catalogues woo us with, what the billboards tease us with, what the MTV videos hard sell.

When the world’s selling goods dressed up as love while the church is selling law dressed up as good news —–  guess where the next generation starts lining up?

Read the rest here

Was Muhammad a False Prophet?

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Steven Kilpatrick asks the question many in the church are afraid to contemplate. Was Muhammad a false prophet in the sense of  deliberately setting out to lead people away from Christ? In our culture of relativism and general disdain for religion, this is a question all christians need to ask.

Was Muhammad a False Prophet?

WILLIAM KILPATRICK

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Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves (Mt. 7:15).

Would “false prophets” include Muhammad? It’s an impolitic question to ask in these politically correct times, but, thanks to political correctness these are also highly dangerous times. Since a good deal of the danger emanates from the religion Muhammad founded, it seems reasonable to ask if he was a false prophet. And if he was, does that mean that Islam is a false religion?  And if it is, why are Catholic leaders so keen on declaring their solidarity with Islam?

It’s a case of either/or. Either the New Testament account of Jesus is true or Muhammad’s account is true. Since they contradict each other, they both can’t be true.

In the gospel accounts, Jesus is rather insistent that he is the Son of God, and the Koran is rather insistent that he is not.

Read the full article here

Some Thoughts From My Bike Ride

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I don’t pretend that any of this is original or particularly deep, but they are things I thought about during our Great Ocean Road Adventure.

It’s Easier In A Group

One of the little known facts about cycling is that wind resistance is one of the most relentless forces to overcome. In a tightly formed group the leader takes the brunt for the whole group- when they weary they fall to the rear and the next person takes over. A group thus travels faster and further than an individual. Migrating birds learned this millennia ago.

If you are travelling in a group you have to keep your eyes on the person in front, trusting they will not brake too suddenly and that they will point to hazards such as potholes.

There is a lot that can be said about shared leadership, mutual trust and unity just in that point.

Just Keep Going

Adina, who once pedalled barefoot from Sydney to Cairns, says “You just keep turning the pedals and eventually you get there.” In any field some people are pioneers, high flyers and super achievers, but most of us get to the destination by persevering and keeping at it. As the adage says, 80% of success is just showing up every day.

Whether you are a fast rider or slow, giving up won’t get you to your destination.

That applies as much to the faith journey as it does to cycling. If you want more of God, just keep pushing in; if you have a dream, keep praying and trusting God.

Right Thinking

Much of what we do is determined by our thinking not by our ability. Elite athletes talk about being in the zone by which they mean their mind is entirely focussed on winning the game. When I started to think that it was all too hard, my body would slow down and pains would appear in all kinds of places. At one stage on the third day, I had to roar and shout at myself to get my thinking back on track.

Christians sin when they lose the plot about what is important in life. King David fell into sin when he stayed home at the time “when kings go to war.” It’s the idle times or the times when we feel deflated or perhaps too self-important that we can start to focus on our own desires and pleasures, forgetting that we were bought at a price by Christ.

Slow Down

There is a difference between travelling silently at 20 km/hr as opposed to racing along the road in air-conditioned, musically enhanced comfort at 100 km/hr. You notice more, appreciate more. reflect more.

It’s true that many of us live lives that are too fast-paced, too hectic, and with too little space to relate to others and to God in any kind of deep way.

We’ve been conditioned to believe that faster is always better and that the more we can cram into our days the more significant is our life.

We live in a big country, and to get from A to B you need to travel fast. But sometimes, you just need to enjoy the journey and immerse yourself in the creation.

Take time to pray, to read the word, to think.

People Are Important

I loved the adventure. We travelled far and saw many things. I achieved something that was beyond my normal.

But it was little moments that made this week special. Connecting with my family. Re-connecting with an old friend not seen in almost thirty years. Stopping along the way to give and receive help from fellow travellers.

We are made for others. That’s why so much of the Bible talks about relationships. Jesus said there are only two important things: Love God and love other people.

Resist Religion

I know it was right to go on this particular bike ride this time. The organisers are planning to do it again next year, but I don’t know that I will go again.

Some people do this ride every year, and it is a big part of their annual routine. There is nothing wrong with that- exercise, friendship and raising money for a good cause.

I’m not assuming that it will be part of my annual routine because we too often grab hold of something that is good and we keep doing it long after God has moved on to something else and we don’t notice.

Some things in church we keep doing because the Lord is in it. Other things we do once or twice, and then move on to something different.

When we think that our spiritual well-being depends on slavishly following a particular practice or an event then we are into religion not the Holy Spirit.

I am sure that over the coming months more and more lessons will emerge from this road trip. I am thankful to the Lord for having the opportunity to participate in an awesome experience.

The True Meaning of the Church by Ralph Neighbour

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An excellent article by Ralph Neighbour about the true nature of the church
coaches_ralphNThe True Meaning of the Church

by Ralph Neighbour

When the average Christian hears the word “church” the immediate mental image is either a building or a large room in a religious structure with a platform and a preacher. Example: people say, “Are you going to church today?” This is a typical illegitimate use of the word. The question refers either to the building or the public gathering conducted there.

“Church” is not a Bible word. It comes from the German Kirk, defining a religious edifice. It is a bastard term birthed in the fourth century to define religious structures. Adolf Schlatter (1852–1938), Evangelical theologian and professor at Greifswald, Berlin and Tübingen, refused to use the term in any of his books, substituting “Community” for the word.

Jesus introduced the word ecclesia in Matthew 16 and then in chapter 18, used it for the second and last time. In the first reference, He described its mission: kicking down the gates of hell. In the second reference, he instructs how an ecclesia would deal with disputes between its members. Two members should settle issues together or invite a trusted third person into the negotiation. If that were to fail, it was to be presented to the ecclesia as the Supreme Court for a decision. The term ecclesia must refer to a community small enough for close fellowship to exist between all members.

That is why Christ’s body should be viewed “Cell” by “Cell.” Each is a basic Christian community where the intimacy Jesus described is present.

I had not earlier in my ministry grasped the size of “church” Jesus had in mind! How large could the gathering be Jesus used in Matthew to refer to ecclesia? It was obviously small enough for each member to be intimately connected with two persons in conflict.

I began to see that the 12 disciples were actually the prototype size for Jesus’ ecclesia. Twelve is approximately the number of people who can relate intimately to one another.
“Cell” defines the “Basic Christian Community,” the ecclesia, not the word “church.”

Jesus taught the ecclesia to “love (agape) one another.” 52 more times in the New Testament, we are called to consider how to connect to “one another.” The expression of dismembered body parts, sitting in rows, is described by the word “church.” The authentic “one another” life is found in the “cell.” The first word is cold, impersonal. The second word denotes what Paul called for in Philippians 2: “Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

The biblical description of life together in the ecclesia demands an intimate family of God, not an impersonal assembly of God. The destruction done to the authentic ecclesia by the use of the word “church” to describe it is massive! Let us join Schlatter and refuse to use it!

From joelcomiskey.com