Homiléō

Quick Thought: Sent to retake a lost Kingdom

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:56:00 +0000

Christians are undoubtedly an invading force who belong to another Kingdom.
We are not sent to conquer some foreign kingdom with the sword of violence,
But we are sent to retake a lost kingdom with the sword of love, which is the Word of God.

Dublin

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:36:00 +0000

We got away to Dublin for the weekend and got a good chance to walk around the city center. While Barbara grew up in the Dublin area she hasn't been into Dublin for about 15 years so she was as much of a tourist as i was and we both enjoyed the atmosphere of buskers etc. It was much different from Lisburn, and much better . . . can a northerner say that?

Anyway here are a few snaps

Nice to see Literature from Revival Movement on the streets

Inside Trinity

The Irish Tourist

Sand Sculpture

Music Man

Molly

Some Bridge

Fasion Show - 5th June in Hillsborough Village Centre

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Thu, 30 May 2013 14:35:00 +0000

Wise words from Robert Downing Junior

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Wed, 29 May 2013 21:16:00 +0000

In an interview with Sam Jones in Off Camera magazine Robert Downing junior said the following
[i've 'Bleeped' a couple of words out for you guys] And i'd encourage you to go and watch or read the full interview at Off Camera

"It’s important for me to demonstrate that I’m glad to be where I am, and I’m going to have an earnest and authentic empathy for the potential stress of doing things. I always want to be excited about what I’m doing."

Sam Jones replied: "Or else, what’s the point?"

To which RDJ said something about Sam Jones's statement that I thought was genius:

"Right, well then the point is, you go down that rabbit hole of just being an 'Bleep' – a really lucky 'Bleep' — all the time."

In a quick thought and probably a fair bit of guilt, i figured that we Christians can fail to actually live in excitement for the now and for what we're doing. Fail to be thankful and earnest over the circumstances and blessings we find ourselves in. We become really lucky 'Bleeps'

[I'll replace the Bleep with wingnutt - we become really lucky wingnutts]

Our demeanor and attitude fail to reflect that we have been plucked out of the pit and have been set upon a rock. We grump and huff and cry boredom while the one who dreamt up everything in creativity that knows no equal bids us to come into His presence - that's astounding! And we can be so negative of life, of circumstances etc that we are plainly a pain to be around. In short we are lucky wingnutts when we go down this route of thanklessness.

Sure, things may be pretty bad - i've tasted the bitter cup of real life too often it seems, and believe that the book of Job is probably the best field guide preparation manual for living - but, guys; brothers and sisters we know and are known by the true and living God, and He calls us His!

We have a reason to demonstrate that we are glad to be where we are and to be excited about what we are doing . . .

Just A Thought About Society & Religion . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:52:00 +0000

Yesterday's events were awful. And while we cannot tar everyone of one religion with the same brush, it should raise a flag of caution through out the UK.

But i think society has shifted so much in regards to religion that it no longer distinguishing between the religions. When the events of yesterday unfolded my FB & Twitter timeline saw comments giving out about religious fanaticism and i saw people vent against religion in general. There is an upsurging opinion among society that religion (all of it) is to blame for atrocities, and that caution and/or avoidance should be made towards all who hold religious beliefs; because surely they must be nutt jobs believing fairy tales?

So when a terrible act is committed from one religion, people frown not only on it, but on christianity as well. People Forget, or perhaps have not experienced the words of Christ that His followers love their enemies and do good to those who spitefullest use us. Perhaps the only way to turn opinion is to show that Christianity is no mere religion and that love, genuine and true flows from Christ through us to them . . .

How Can You Say the Christ Is the Only Way to God?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

HT:Justin Taylor

ReVisiting Old Books

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:22:00 +0000

I was in our shed the other day and while my books are still all in boxes from the move, i opened one at the top and grabbed a couple of books out. They are books i've read (in the case of A Godward Life; several times) but are a reblessing.

The Secret Key To Heaven by Thomas Brooks
This is all about prayer. Challenging, insightful and a banner for Christ saturated and focused prayers.

A Godward Life by John Piper
This is a collection of thoughts from Piper. Sort of usable as a devotional, with short chapters it's good food for thought. The pages are falling out of my copy so i have to keep re organizing them, but for this style of book it's been for me a nice one to return to through the years.

Do you re read? And Which Books have you found you do this with?

New Look BES Website

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:12:00 +0000

BES (Bible Education Services) have a whole new look to their website.
At Revival Movement we print a lot of BES lessons so i'm excited to see the website looking so good.

Check it out

The Legacy of Keith Green

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:51:00 +0000

I first heard of Keith Green when my friend Tim lent me a tape and his book No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green. When i use the word tape that shows that it was quite a few years ago, but i still find this guys music stirs, convicts & encourages.

Anyway, Trevin Wax recently interviewed Matt Papa about this guy:

The Legacy of Keith Green

Daily Life & What We Face

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:38:00 +0000

I reckon the two books of the Bible that speak most practically about what we'll face in our daily life are Job & Ecclesiastes:

1. Job - Life's gonna be hard, painful & there are times we'll wish we'd never been born. But God is ultimately watching, and is in control.

2. Ecclesiastes - There's nothing new under the sun and that thing we think will satisfy & make us happy won't. Solomon has been there, tried it & his t-shirt reads 'vanity of vanities...'

How Do I Live For Christ?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:01:00 +0000

A lot of times the question gets pondered as to how we as Christians can live a life that is pleasing to God.
If we're asking that question it's a good thing and i'm sure we can find a lot of great advice from friends, our church family, pastors, audio sermons etc. But by far the best place to go for practical living for Christ is His Word . . .

1 Thessalonians 4 is a good summary of Christian living and also contains motive & encouragement for all out Christ centered living.

Forgetfull

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Thu, 09 May 2013 05:30:00 +0000

I think i'm pretty good at my day job. I'm fairly confident at setting the folding machines up for various jobs & sizes. But yesterday i was asked to take a look at something on one of the folders i worked for a short stint about 10 years ago and i ended up holding my hands up and saying i couldn't remember.

Aren't we like that; forgetful?
I mean how much of that book that we read last year do we remember? Or how much of our schooling do we remember? Simple - we forget, and we forget a lot! And this is a good reminder to me that when it comes to everything; even scripture (maybe especially scripture) if i'm not around it, using it etc i will forget . . .

This is why, with our kids we have a question we ask every so often, when it is relevant:

"When we reach the end of the Bible, what do we do?"

Answer: "We start at the beginning again!"

Lets keep ourselves under the influence of Jesus through His Word.

The Beauty & The New Facet of Frozen Beauty

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Wed, 08 May 2013 07:48:00 +0000

Frozen Waves

Waves are magnificent! Who doesn't like sitting at the beach watching the ocean, or wading in and wave jumping, or going bodyboarding or surfing etc . . . Their unceasing movement and power is amazing to watch. But what if you could freeze them and inspect them closely?

Pierre Carreau photographed waves at high speeds, creating sculpturesque photographs that are just amazing.
To be able to see these powerful aspects of nature frozen in the moment, each one very different than the next and splendid is definitely worth taking a few minutes to look at.

Sometimes there's a new facet of beauty when movement ceases and we can take our time gazing at something that normally would just wash over us.

Freezing the Bible?
Perhaps it may be an idea to do this with our Bible reading today?
Instead of having a chapter or two wash over us (which is great), it may be nice for a change to stop on one verse or passage and spend time looking at it and thinking about it, letting it fill our thoughts for the day. To stare at it and the unique Christ saturated implications it has for us or the splendid view of our Saviour that it displays may just be as powerful as that hour long sermon mp3 . . .

Picture & info about the waves via fstoppers

We Like The Idea of God But Our Hearts Are Often Far From Him

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Tue, 07 May 2013 08:34:00 +0000

Liking The Idea Of Friends.
My daughter Faith loves the idea of playing with her cousin Katie. In fact both of them get excited about seeing each other and their immediate response is to wrap their arms around each other and hug with giggles. . .

. . . But then they go to war!

While they like the idea of being friends the heavy burden of what that actually means drives them to fight - and i mean proper fight; with punches and pushes etc. Once they realize the cost of sharing their Nanny & Granda, and realize that the other is playing with 'their' toys or has a 'toy' that they would like, or is pretty much breathing the same air they begin the fight.
This is realized in the hug they give one another when play times over and they go their separate ways.

We Like The Idea Of God.
I'm afraid that i'm/we're so often like these two little girls when it comes to God. I/we love the idea of Him, of knowing Him and of being with Him. But the cost of what it actually means to live for & walk with Christ can seem to cause me/us to respond like Jonah who ran as fast and as far as he could from God's call.
Sometimes if we're honest our minds like the idea of God, but our hearts are far from Him.

Repent
The Christian life is one of continual repentance and i guess our hope when we fall into this mode is to repent and ask that He would help us. That we would savor Him and that even if we are struggling, He would help us to remain faithful, to continue studying Scripture and bending our knee to Him.

Lets not be among those who call Him Lord, yet do not obey; who cry out Lord, Lord only to receive a response of "depart from Me, I never knew you".

Psalm 33:22

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:32:00 +0000

"Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be

upon us,

even as we hope in you."

14 Years in Revival Movement Association - Some Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:00:00 +0000

When the printing press was invented and the Bible along with the writings of the reformers started getting into the hands of common people, the face of religion changed. One of my all time heroes from Church history, William Tyndale was to have his translation of the Bible smuggled into England where men and women, boys and girls from all ages could receive God's Word and read it for themselves. Many received Christ as their sole means of grace and salvation.
And this happened all over Europe as the Scriptures became available to everyone.

Today Revival Movement Association ships all across our world; containers jam packed with Gospels, tracts, leaflets, books, booklets and various teaching materials. This literature is in the languages and dialects of those for whom it is intended.

And we get letter, emails and reports back every single day of how Christ is working to call the lost and build His Kingdom in the growth of His people.

And this is possible because of you!
Because Christ has stirred His people to pray and to give so that the Scriptures can be printed and shipped freely to others, Revival Movement continues to print more and more, to seek new improvements in machinery and to do more in reaching the World with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So with 14 years under my belt i am grateful to Christ, to the leadership of the work & to the people who partner with it in supplying the vast needs of the work.
Thank you

Give Us Clean Hands

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 05:00:00 +0000

It's a song that's been around forever, but this remains one of my favourites to come before God with:

Faith's Speech Over Easter

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 05:00:00 +0000

One of the delights over Easter was to visit with Barbara's family in Wexford. It was relaxing & fun.
But by far the most obvious thing to come from it was an improvement in Faith's speech and an increase in the number of words she used.

While she's in nursery etc up here, to have the 5-6 days (full days) of constant company and having to communicate with the other kids in play definitely helped her. So we're praising God even though the wee rascal has begun to give us a bit of back-cheek - though we don't tell her that!

Leadership?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:32:00 +0000

If you know of Michael Hyatt you probably read his latest email and/or listened the podcast.
If you haven't heard of Michael Hyatt you probably want to check him out . . .

In the latest arrival to my inbox the title read "The 5 Characteristics of Weak Leaders"

While this is more to do with business i considered these in light of Fatherhood and my home.
Here are the flaws he lists:

Flaw #1: Weak leaders hesitate to take definitive action.
Flaw #2: Weak leaders complain about a lack of resources.
Flaw #3: Weak leaders refuse to take responsibility.
Flaw #4: Weak leaders abuse the privileges of leadership.
Flaw #5: Weak leaders engage in acts of insubordination.

Interesting isn't it?

And it's called 'GOOD' Friday?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 06:40:00 +0000

"And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands...

...So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them...

...After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

"For our sake He [God the Father] made Him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him [Jesus] we might become the righteousness of God."

Everything and Nothing

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:37:00 +0000

We can gain the whole world and lose our soul. Success may not be long-term depending on what it is Define as being success, how we get there and where it takes us.

unless the Lord builds it our success is vain.

Equally we can have nothing in the world's term of success and yet have treasure in heaven that is more satisfying and secure. That treasure is Christ.

His success is the one that counts.

Ethiopian Orthodox Distributing Gospels

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:56:00 +0000

Sam & Gary are just back from Ethiopia and showed pictures & video this morning. It was amazing to hear and see of how the Ethiopian orthodox church has given permission for Gospels & New Testaments to be given out and actively get involved in their distribution.

With ripples already beginning i wonder how long it will last, but praise God for this tremendous shift as people are receiving God's Word in their own language for the first time . . . and with blessing from those who usually oppose . . .

Faith Melting My Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Faith, as many of my friends know has a problem with her speech and while therapy and an operation have helped she's still way...way...way behind. Tonight when i put her to bed she melted my heart.

Jake was away to BB and i decided to take a shortcut, skip our Bible story and fire her into bed. But she wasn't having any of it and declared:

"Esush Book" (Jesus Book)

So i told her the story of Jesus healing the cripple. After the story, before i had a chance to say anything she closed her eyes and said:

"Esush, mmm daddy back ease"

Which translated i guess was "Jesus fix daddy's back please".

She smiled, gave me a kiss and went to sleep.
Beautiful.

Is Infant Baptism in the New Testament?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:24:00 +0000

Recently i read an argument for infant baptism which related Collossians 2:11&12 as being the New Testament connection between circumcision and infant baptism:

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
(Colossians 2:11-12 ESV)

Yes i know both are mentioned but i just don't see it as saying circumcision is now changed to sprinkling your babies...
... in fact i see it plainly as being a passage to the redeemed - those who have been "raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God" and not as a covenant that by baptism we receive some promise of children being saved.

Or maybe that's my baptist goggles speaking.
What's your take?

Using Pain: Sermons & Website

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Boal) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:52:00 +0000

I woke Saturday pretty much crippled with pain in my upper back - shoulder blade and down my arm (muscle damage - apparently i'm getting old and my Captain America, incredible Hulk strength is waning a bit to be more like Arny or Sly in their hayday).
Rather than risk making it worse or creating a long term back problem my wife persuaded me to take a couple of days off work to let it ease; hence i find myself doped on diazipan (if that's how you spell it), ibrufen (again about the spelling) and kapak (same spelling issue). Along with a hot water bottle strapped to me.

But it's gave me time to listen a sermon which i recommend:

Also got to finally suss out a way to integrate private galleries to my website where people can purchase digital downloads from their event. Awesome i know!

So if you are in N. Ireland, Ireland or the UK or more specifically Lisburn, Hillsborough, Belfast, Dublin etc and you need a photographer for wedding photography, photo booths, children's portraits etc check out www.boalphotography.com

This following month will be the busiest of my photographic career so far with a number of photo booths coming up and a wedding as well as many 30 minute portrait sessions - which have become very popular and are great for children.