Pilgrim's Progress

The Word Is Out! (Version 4)

2009-11-02T09:00:00-05:00

Literally. Today, version 4 of Logos Bible Software is finally released. I’ve been part of a group of beta testers helping to get the new release ready, and there’s been a real buzz about this new release. Here are a couple of screen grabs of it running on my own machine.

It’s brimming with new and exciting tools, books and media resources. Ever since the first beta some weeks back, I’ve loved using it and am delighted to recommend it!

Visit Logos website for more information …

Fat of the Land

2009-10-01T21:50:14-04:00

No, not the Prodigy album.

It’s what the children of Israel ate the day they entered the Promised Land. That day, the manna stopped. It was time to leave behind the desert sustenance, and begin to enjoy the richness of the land they were entering.

Finally, after months of searching, I have found some paid employment. It is only temporary, for a few hours a week, but it’s a great start. It makes amazing use of my skills, gifts and experience – so much so that it really seems like a divine set up!

I’ll be lecturing in ICT (that’s computers, basically) to trainee teachers at a local university. I got the post through someone in church who works there already.

Funny thing is that every week for the last three months or so, mystery donors have been handing me money in an envelope, until last week, when they stopped coming. Almost immediately, I sensed God dropping this story into my mind … “the envelopes were the manna to keep you going in the desert … but it;s time to eat the fat of the land.” That very afternoon, the new job appeared on the horizon … thank you Father!

Still In Relentless Pursuit of REAL

2009-08-14T20:35:52-04:00

I thank God for the people in my life who are pursuing REAL and who encourage me to do that too.

This week I’ve had an extended conversation with a former Bible college tutor about our souls, and our journeys. I felt life coming into me as we talked and prayed. I also hung put with some friends from church, and I knew we were getting below the skin of things. I felt more alive afterwards. And then I had the chance to meet up with someone who wanted to chat about where he’s headed. I came away with a renewed determination to keep it real.

This is where it’s at for me.

I really don’t know where I’ll be in six months’ time, but I do know this. I want to be more REAL than ever, and encouraging others to be real too.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Co 3:17-18)

Soul Food

2009-08-05T15:48:43-04:00

For years, I have loved this prayer by St Anselm of Canterbury. However, I just discovered it’s been compiled (or gleaned maybe) from Anselm’s Discourse on the Existence of God.

I love the original prayer, but the full discourse is even richer. Anselm seems more concerned, at the outset of his discourse, to actually experience God, rather than simply theorise about the idea of divine encounter. George Muller understood this too, in his pamphlet, Soul Nourishment First.

I realise my soul has grown hungry and lean again, and it’s time to seek out some rich soul food. Here are some extracts from Anselm’s Discourse that grab me as I set out again in search of a well-fed soul.

‘Cast aside, now, thy burdensome cares, and put away thy toilsome business. Yield room for some little time to God; and rest for a little time in him.

Enter the inner chamber of thy mind; shut out all thoughts save that of God, and such as can aid thee in seeking him; close thy door and seek him.

Speak now, my whole heart! speak now to God, saying, I seek thy face; thy face, Lord, will I seek, (Psalms 27:8). And come thou now, O Lord my God, teach my heart where and how it may seek thee, where and how it may find thee.’ (St Anselm: Discourse)

Fear Him, Seek Him - Don't Be Practical All the Time!

2009-06-14T22:58:44-04:00

I'm amazed. Twice in the last week people have handed me an envelope with gifts of money in. On the first occasion, I had given a gift to a local prayer group to help cover event costs the previous day, and the envelope given to me contained the same amount as I'd given.

Today, a new insight struck me from a familiar Psalm - two kinds of people who do not live in lack:

Fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
(Ps 34:9-10)

I am currently seeking work, and money is an issue. But the practicalities must not consume all my energy and time. The Psalm urges us to set our hearts both to fear the Lord, and seek him.

And if we seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, all our needs will be supplied, sometimes in unexpected ways. May you be surprised by the generosity and provision of God!

Seek His Face

2009-05-28T06:37:11-04:00

Am discovering the joys of digital natural media painting. It's easier than you think and more rewarding than I ever imagined.

Lots of seeking the face of God at the moment as I try to discern his leading. That seeking takes many forms: a cry, a shout, a song, a prayer, a groan, a whisper.

Getting Away From It All

2009-04-29T08:12:42-04:00

It's all happening isn't it? Swine flu, credit crunch, and all the rest. And personally, it's all happening too, isn't it? And you know people who're going through it. Wouldn't it be nice to get on a plane and leave it all behind? Someone's been here before ...

I said, "Oh that I had the wings of a dove
I would fly away and be at rest;
I would flee far away an stay in the desert;
I would hurry to my place of shelter,
far from the tempest and the storm."
(Ps 55:6-8)

All of us would love to have a Fantasy Island (see image) - a place where we could escape to, and shut it all out. But that isn't an option we have. Instead ...

But I call out to God
and the Lord saves me.
Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
(Ps 55:16-17)

Don't keep quiet. Don't keep it in. Let it out. Get others to make a noise with you, for you.

And let's keep making a noise to God for a broken world, a world in desperate need.

Christus Victor

2009-04-11T12:53:02-04:00

I don't know what happened last night, but something changed. After feeling like I was walking in a spiritual desert for the last three weeks, unable to connect with God in any meaningful way, there was a quiet, but tangible sense that something was different. It felt like my prayers had finally achieved a little breakthrough and that something had shifted in the heavenlies.

Easter means many things, but it speaks of the wonderful breakthrough that Jesus accomplished. The breakthrough that makes all other breakthroughs possible.

Last week, on the shelf in my car boot, there were two little twigs which had fallen in the shape of a cross. I'm not sure how they got there, but I think they pointed me to this moment.

This morning I read the bit in Matthew 27 where Jesus is in the tomb, and the authorities try to prevent the body being snatched. It struck me that these extra measures only served to convince thousands that he really did rise, and the angel seems to mock their efforts by sitting on the rolled-away stone.

I am still waiting for many breakthroughs, but for now, I am grateful for renewed confidence that it's on its way. Here's my attempt to express this in visual form.

A Prayer

Crucified Jesus,
You smashed through all our bonds and set us free.
Come through for us, for a broken world.
Let your breakthrough be our breakthroughs.

And so, this Easter Saturday,
This waiting, seeking, searching, wondering time,
When Jesus has been crucified but not yet raised, may the breakthrough of Jesus come through for you, however long you've been waiting.

A New Season

2009-03-11T12:13:48-04:00

So I'm back. What a 9 months it's been. It will take me some time to process it, if I ever fully can. In an unexpected way I've come back with a sense of inner momentum, and a desire to "pick up where I left off in Canada."

Even already, it's been a time of reconnecting with old friends and feeling pretty reconnected, even after a week.

As for the future, no idea yet, but the call is to live in the present, to "seek Him in the wild places", and see what unfolds.

Homeward Bound

2009-03-01T19:42:11-05:00

>> Canada Files: Day 279

And so it ends, for now. Many great sendoffs this week as I prepare to return to the UK on Tuesday, to embark on the next chapter of this adventure.

I'm bringing home a truckload of great memories, the love of many new friends, and the riches of nine months spent in a great nation among some very special people, living in a town that has found a place in my heart.

Farewell for now, Canada, I hope to set foot on your soil again soon.

So this is me, signing off from Canadian communications.

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