“Selah vie!”

/0 Comments/in /by

“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

The title for this blog post is a little bit of a tongue in cheek one.  A little bit of word play; instead of ‘c’est la vie!’ (That’s life in French) it’s ‘Selah vie!’; with Selah being a Hebrew word that occurs in two books in the Bible; Habbakuk and more prominently in the book of Psalms.

In trying to understand what ‘Selah’ means, scholars have come up with a few possible translations; one being that it relates to the Hebrew word ‘calah‘, meaning to hang or measure/weigh in the balance; check out Job 28:19. Another way to look at ‘Selah’ is that it takes its meaning from two Hebrew root words; ‘s’lah’ meaning to praise; and ‘s’lal‘ meaning to lift up. Other scholars believe it comes from the Hebrew word ‘salah‘, meaning to pause.

It could actually encompass all three explanations.

‘Selah’ indicating that we pause and value the words that have just been declared in the Psalm; and in that place of contemplative reflection upon the truths of God, we naturally lift up our hands and voices in praise to God.

That’s why I chose the verse from Psalm 46 above.

In the busyness of life and all that we are doing, when things get tough and we don’t know where to turn; instead of shrugging our shoulders and saying ‘c’est la vie!’ That’s life and there is nothing we can do about it; instead lets ‘Selah’; pause and think about God’s truths, God’s promises, God’s faithfulness, God’s power, God’s love.  Let us take time-out to spend gazing in wonder at our great Creator and Saviour; our God and King Jesus Christ.

In that place of awe and wonder, we cannot help but lift up our heads, lift up our hearts and lift up our voices in praise and adoration of our amazing Lord.

“In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” – Psalm 16:10

So this half-term let us take time-out and pause, reflect upon the value of God, and also the value He places upon us, and lets us lift up our hearts to Him in praise.

Be blessed.

Heroes Day!

/0 Comments/in , /by

On the 20th of October in Kenya, they celebrate ‘Heroes Day‘, or ‘Mashujaa Day’ –“mashujaa” is Swahili for “heroes”. This is a national holiday in Kenya, which is observed to collectively honour all those who contributed towards the struggle for Kenya’s independence or positively contributed in the post independence Kenya.

It is a day for all Kenyans to honour those who have worked and contributed towards the peace and prosperity of their nation.

It made me think of the list of Heroes of the faith that are described in Hebrew chapter 11. The write of Hebrews then goes on to encourage his readers that “since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:1

The example given by the heroes of the faith, who despite, opposition, setbacks and persecution that in some cases even led to their deaths, they stayed faithful to God and followed His call upon their lives right until the end, encourages us to do likewise.

Today we have even more heroes of the faith whose lives we can look at to give us encouragement and courage to stay strong and faithful in trials and temptations. People such as  Hudson Taylor, William Wilberforce, Gladys Aylward &  Mary Slessor. Heroes that blazed a trail of faith and devotion as they followed their Saviour.

But we also have heroes of the faith in our own personal lives, people whose faithful obedience has impacted our lives, such as the person who first told you about Jesus.

Today, on the 20th of October, spend some time thanking God for those people that He sent into our world and into our lives to make a difference.

Thank Him for those who selflessly serve and obey Him.

Thank Him for those He has placed in leadership over us, both spiritually and also nationally.

Pray for them too, that God’s will would be done in their lives.

Who are your heroes today?

How can you honour them and thank God for them?

Ultimately let us remember and thank the greatest hero of them all; Jesus.

“Asifiwe Mungu, Baba wa Bwana wetu Yesu Kristo! Kwa rehema yake kuu ametufanya tuzaliwe upya ili tupate tumaini lenye uzima kwa kufufuka kwa Bwana wetu Yesu Kristo kutoka kwa wafu” – 1 Peter 1:3 in Kiswahili (the national language of Kenya).

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”  – 1 Peter 1:3

“You can’t do life alone”

/0 Comments/in , /by

“As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.“ – 1 Corinthians 12:20-27

We held the last of our ‘We Believe’ series nights at Redefine.

It was yet another great night, where we looked at the importance for Christians to be in fellowship and community with each other.  We looked at how God had made it so that we had to work together to see His Kingdom come and will be done, both in our lives and the lives of our local community.

As a Christian ‘You can’t do life alone.”

The above passage from the apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth uses the metaphor of a body with its many different parts to illustrate this point. We need every part of the body functioning properly in its right place for the whole body to work.  If one part is missing or not working correctly, then the body will not function correctly.

We are all important in God’s kingdom and in His church, and we all have a vital part to play. In the human body we have some parts that are hidden and not very well known, such as the spleen.  However, without it our body would be much more susceptible to infection, amongst other things.

So too in the church.  If one part is missing, there is a life and vitality that is missing, and we all need to play our part.

A great opportunity for playing your part in the body of Christ is in prayer.  Supporting one another in prayer.

This coming Sunday we will be holding our monthly prayer meeting for the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre and we would like to extend an invitation to you to come along and fellowship with us and as the write of the book of Hebrews says “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.“

The prayer meeting we be held on Sunday 23rd October from 7-8pm.

We hope to see you there.

Volunteer Of The Year

/0 Comments/in , /by

We’re immensely excited and proud to announce that our good friend and team member Dewi has been shortlisted for the 2016 Youthwork Awards, Volunteer Of The Year Award. He is very deserving and a great example to us.

We nominated Dewi earlier this year because of his ability to encourage young people, his enthusiasm and consistency, his teachable nature, and his passion for teaching music. Dewi has been involved in our work for five years, and has always been a good friend and role model.

We’re excited that he’s on this national shortlist, and will look forward to hearing about how the ceremony in London goes in November.

If that wasn’t enough, Tim has also been shortlisted for his blog youthworkhacks.com for a 2016 Premier Digital Award for Most Inspirational Leadership Blog.

So why get involved in Llandudno Youth For Christ? Because God does immense work through this ministry, helping young people meet with Jesus and go on with Him. Consider joining our family an being part of of impactful movement that is getting recognition from across the UK.

If you’d like to consider joining our team, why not fill in an application form and start a conversation with us. Or just get in touch and chat!

Pray for Dewi – give thanks for all his work – and pray for even more fruit from his continued ministry.

“I will weorthscipe with all of my heart”

/0 Comments/in , /by

Last Sunday night with our ‘Redefine’ youth Bible study evening we looked at the statement ‘Everyone is a worship leader‘, and this blog comes out of the teaching given during the evening.

The title of this blog comes from David Ruis’ song ‘I will worship‘, but I have inserted the Old English spelling of the word worship: ‘weorth-scipe‘ or ‘worth-ship’.  This is the state or quality of having value or worth.  Or to convey the worthiness of something.  So we can look at worship of God as being conveying or acknowledging the worthiness or value of God.

When we turn to the first time that the word worship is mentioned in the Bible, we see the Hebrew word שָׁחָה – ‘shachah’ used.  This is in Genesis 22 when Abraham has been asked by God to sacrifice his only son Isaac; a son that God had promised to Abraham. The hebrew word here means to ‘bow down’ or ‘prostrate oneself’ before a superior or God. Abraham’s worship was not singing songs, doing a dance or painting a picture.  His worship was a sacrifice. His worship was obedience in the face of adversity. His worship was doing what God had asked him to do.

Worship comes from a place where we know that God is God and we are not.

We naturally bow down before our amazing God in the awe and reverence for all He has done for us and because of how great He is.

This awe and worship leads to action and obedience, as in the case of Abraham.

In the book of Isaiah, we see God paint a picture of the kind of worship He looks for: “Set free those who are held by chains without any reason…. Break every evil chain. Share your food with hungry people. Provide homeless people with a place to stay. Give naked people clothes to wear. Provide for the needs of your own family… Stop pointing your finger at others as if they had done something wrong. Stop saying harmful things about them…Satisfy the needs of those who are crushed. Then my blessing will light up your darkness...You will be like a garden that has plenty of water... ” Isaiah 58 (excerpts)

God doesn’t want long ceremonies or religious parades; He wants us to love Him and love each other.

Simple.

It all boils down to relationship and focus.  What or who we spend time with and on not only shows what is important to us, but it also shapes us.  So, if we spend time focussing on God, talking with Him in prayer and worship, we will naturally want to spend more time with Him; to use a quote I recently discovered; “As you know Jesus more, you naturally love Him more. The less you know of Him, the less you love. To know Jesus is to love Him.” – Eric Samuel Timm.

Our worship will direct and lead us in the way we live and in turn this will impact upon the lives of those around us.

So it can be said that ‘Everyone is a worship leader’

Let’s lead more people to know and discover our great God, so that they too can give Him ‘weorthscipe’.

 

 

 

 

post about worship following on from Sunday eve’s Redefine.

The Monthly Meet!

/0 Comments/in /by

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:23-25

For the past 4 years, here at Llandudno Youth for Christ we have held an event called ‘The Monthly Meet’. It is held on the 3rd Monday of every month during term time.

At the Monthly Meet we have gathered together a small group of full-time, part-time and volunteer Christian youth workers from around North Wales.

We meet together to share experiences, pray, network and drink good coffee. Each session is focussed around a specific training theme or topic. These nights are discussion driven and try hard to strike a balance between solid Bible theology and relevant application.

Our director here at Llandudno Youth for Christ, Mr Tim Gough, has personally been involved in Christian youth work for over ten years and knows just how easy it is to become isolated. In that spirit, of combatting isolationism and fostering a community spirit of Christian fellowship and partnering with each other, we would love to extend an invitation to you and your team to join us at the Monthly Meet.

You can find us on Facebook here: facebook.com/groups/monthlymeetwales/

We meet, as stated above on the 3rd Monday of every month during term time, from 7-9pm at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre, Llandudno, LL30 1LA. There’s plenty of free parking, and we’ll have good coffee waiting for you.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” – Acts 2:42

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1

Our first get together this term is October 17th.

Hope to see you there.

“If you build it, He will come”

/0 Comments/in , /by

The above quote is taken from the 1989 Kevin Costner film ‘Field of Dreams’ and it is often misquoted as “If you build it, they will come.”

In the film he hears a voice that gives him the task of building a baseball pitch on his land.  I won’t say much more, see the film if you want all of the details.  However, there was a fulfilment to his endeavours.  The building it, lead to miracles happening.

Another man who felt compelled to build something was Nehemiah.

Nehemiah; whose name means ‘God comforts’ was a Hebrew born in exile under the Persian empire. At the start of the book of Nehemiah, he is the cupbearer to Artaxerxes King of Persia; around 444/445 B.C. When one of his brothers returned with news from Jerusalem, this is what happened: “In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

They said to me,‘Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.’

 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah 1:1-4

Nehemiah learned about the great need of the people of God in Jerusalem and his response was to weep, fast & pray.  He immediately turned his focus and attention to God.

But he didn’t just pray.  Out of this time spent with God, he felt emboldened and compelled to action. He spoke to the King and with God giving him favour, he was able to go to Jerusalem and start the work of rebuilding the walls.

This work was not without its difficulties or opposition.

Whenever we are building something for God the enemy will always oppose the work. He will try to use circumstances and people to discourage, hinder, and threaten the work we are doing to build God’s kingdom.

It was the same for Nehemiah; he had to contend with the likes of ‘Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab’, but was resolute in his purpose, and most importantly, he did not try to do the work alone.

Nehemiah got everyone involved in the work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

Even when they discovered a plot by their enemies to take them all by surprise whilst they built the wall; Nehemiah encouraged them and focussed them on who they were building the wall for; ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.’ – Nehemiah 4:14.

They were building the wall together, some with a sword & shield in hand to protect each other.  Building it for God and for their neighbour; for their families, their children & their children’s children.

It’s the same today, when we work together in building something for God’s kingdom, we are also building something good for our neighbours, our families, our children and leaving a legacy for our children’s children.

At Llandudno Youth for Christ we are wanting to build the Kingdom of God, one soul at a time.  Letting young people know about Jesus, and giving them the opportunity to discover a relationship with Him.  As part of this work, we need fellow builders.  Those who will come alongside us and work with us; whether it be helping out at our Saturday Cafe Reverb@St John’s, at our Sunday evening Bible Study: ‘Redefine‘, our Thursday after-school drop-in ‘Reverb – Youth Space‘ or praying faithfully with us at our Monthly Sunday evening prayer meetings; we greatly need and appreciate you being part of building walls of faith, hope & love in Llandudno and beyond.

If you want to help us with this great work, please contact us via email: llandudnoyfc@gmail.com, by phone: 07517 429 763 or by post: Llandudno Youth for Christ, c/o Ty Llywelyn Community Centre, Ffordd Yr Orsedd, Llandudno, LL30 1LA.

“If you build it he will come.“

“Saved People, Serve People!”

/0 Comments/in , /by

“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me “Teacher” and “Lord”, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” – Jesus (John 13:12-17)

Last night at our weekly Sunday evening Bible Study we looked at the whole issue of servanthood, servant-heartedness, serving one another.

The title for the evening was the same as the one for this Blog post.

Philippians 2:5-11 was the main text we referred to in looking at how God calls believers to serve not only one another, but the world around us.

As always we look to Jesus, the author and completer of our faith. Jesus who we follow and who, by the power of His Spirit at work in our lives, we are becoming more and more like as He transforms us into His image (see Hebrews 12 & 2 Corinthians 3).

This humility of Jesus that we see in Philippians, is also on full display in the act of washing His disciples feet. Walking on the roads in 1st Century Palestine was often a messy and dirty affair.  Your sandals were open to the elements. Your feet could get covered in dust and dirt and even animal droppings. Pooh indeed!

Maybe you cut yourself and the blood mingled in with all of that dust & pooh. There might even be blisters.

Pretty yucky.

Yet it is these feet that have been dirtied by walking through the world that our Lord and Saviour washes.

He is willing to kneel down and get his hands dirty to clean the feet of those He loves.

The Creator of the Universe.

The great ‘I am’ humbles Himself to serve those who have given up everything to follow Him, even one who will deny Him and one who will betray Him. Jesus’ love is unconditional and extravagant.

The hands that formed the first man out of dirt are now washing the dirt away and cleaning the feet that He created.

Our God wants to be involved in our lives.

He wants to clean us up and make our lives beautiful.

He also calls those of us who have had our feet washed by Him, to go and serve those around us in the same way. To humble ourselves and get involved in the dirt and dust and mess of life and bring His cleansing and life.

Saved people, serve people.

Let’s go out there and serve others and in doing so, serve Jesus.

PS: The next Study in our ‘We Believe‘ series will be ‘Everyone is a Worship Leader‘. If you are aged between 11 and 18 years old, or know someone who is, perhaps you or they want to come check it out on Sunday 2nd October @ ‘Redefine’, Ty Llywelyn Community Centre, Ffordd Yr Orsedd, Llandudno, LL30 1LA.

 

Store it up!

/0 Comments/in , /by

‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.‘ – Jesus

During the whole of this discourse by Jesus, He is trying to get his listeners to realise that the true rewards of a relationship with God, are essentially a relationship with God.

He compares the Pharisees and their hypocrisy of doing ‘righteous’ acts in full view of everyone in order to be praised by others, with the person who does the same acts out of a heart of love in relationship with God.

Acts done without any thought of or desire for the praise of man, but done to please God alone.

The ‘treasure‘ that Jesus keeps referring to is, I believe, the praise of God in heaven. That ‘well done good and faithful servant’.

Also, within the context of treasure and reward, Jesus tells his listeners to ‘not worry‘ about their life, what they will eat or drink, but to trust in God’s provision for their lives. A trust that will flow naturally out of relationship.

Our focus should not be on building empires and kingdoms for ourselves here on earth. Getting the biggest car, and best ‘stuff’; but rather on ‘seeking first His kingdom’. It’s a shift of focus, putting our hearts in the right place. Not on the temporal and earthly, but on the eternal and heavenly, for ‘where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’

What is our focus in our day to day?

Are we seeking to build God’s kingdom? Are we praying for His kingdom to come and His will to be done in our lives and the lives of those around us?

With that thought in mind, we are having the first of our monthly prayer meetings this Sunday 25th September, 7-8pm at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre. We would love for you to join us this coming Sunday and pray for God’s kingdom to come and for His will to be done. To pray that the lives of young people in Llandudno and beyond will be transformed by the good news of Jesus.

Let us put effort into where our heart is; for “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Galatians 3:1-4

Let’s store up treasures in heaven today!

Redefine – We Believe Series!

/1 Comment/in , /by

Last night we held the first of our Redefine meetings for the new term.

The title of the night was ‘Found People, Find People.’

It was a great night where the young people go to grips with the challenges Jesus give us as believers in the ‘Great Commandment’ and the ‘Great Commission’.

Above is the promotional video for the series, with the titles of each night’s topic:- Found People, Find People. Saved People, Serve People. Everyone is a Worship Leader. Growing People Change. You Can’t Do Life Alone.

Each week we will be looking at 5 different applicable creeds or beliefs that will help the young people walk out their faith in real and practical ways.

As said above, last night we looked at how we love God and our neighbours and how out of that place of love we are commanded to ‘go’ to share Jesus with those around us. Not merely to ‘evangelise’ them, but to actually walk with others and ‘make disciples’; just a Jesus walked with his disciples, sharing life and bringing ‘Kingdom’ transformation to their lives.

Next Sunday we will be building upon this foundation stone, for as Jesus said after being asked which is the greatest commandment in the Law? ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’ – Matthew 22:37-39. Loving God and loving others is the foundation upon which everything else hangs and depends.

Our going and serving flow from this.

We really hope that this series of evenings will encourage, challenge and transform the lives of the young people that come to the events; and we look forward to seeing what God does in and through what we are doing.

Please continue to support us in Prayer, Provision and with People (we are always looking for volunteers to help us in the work that we do).

If you are interested in helping in any way with the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email: llandudnoyfc@gmail.com, by post: Llandudno YFC, c/o Ty Llywelyn Community Centre, Ffordd Yr Orsedd, Llandudno, LL30 1LA, or by phone: 07517 429 763 (Mondays & Thursdays 9am – 5pm).

Have a great week and “go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” Matthew 28:19-20