Fire Fall Down

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As is a common theme, the blog post is named after a song. This time from Hillsong United’s album ‘United we stand’. I’ve put the video from the album below for you to listen to. You’ll understand why I chose the title as you read the post…

This coming Sunday evening at Llandudno Youth for Christ we are having our brilliant prayer gathering.

We will be holding these on the last Sunday evening of every month.

It will be a great time to call out to God on behalf of all the young people in this area.

We will meet at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre in Llandudno and start at 7pm; praying for God to come and bring change to our communities.

This is not something to be missed. Prayer is essential in the life of believers.

Image never speaking to the people you love? Ridiculous isn’t it?

So spending time talking to God in prayer is a must. Relationship involves communication and prayer is just that, talking to God.

It is also what changes lives, communities and nations.

You just have to open the pages of the Bible to see how God moves in response to prayer. “I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.” – Psalm 3:4

When Paul & Silas were chained in prison in the book of Acts Luke writes the following: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” – Acts 16:25-26

Wow!

Prayer opens doors, looses chains and set prisoners free.

When Elijah was facing off against the prophets of Baal, after he had given them plenty of time to implore Baal to answer them, and after he had made the task of lighting the sacrifices with fire by dousing the altar with copious amounts of water, the Bible tells us “At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: ‘Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.’ Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord – he is God! The Lord – he is God!’” – 1 Kings 18:36-39

In the book of Revelation we read the following “Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.”- Revelation 8:3-5

Amazing and humbling that God takes our humble prayers and responds with fire from heaven. I love that image: God’s fire hurtling earthward in response to our prayers to bring change. To deal with injustice, to bring God’s refining fire to change and transform lives and communities.

So let us be engaged with the task of praying for the young people in Llandudno.

It all starts with prayer and we want you to join with us in this gathering and see God change lives.

Be blessed

History Makers

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I’ve recently been listening back to some albums that God has spoken through in the past to me. It’s good to revisit times when God impacted your life. To view the marker stones in your life to remind yourself of God’s faithfulness to you in the past; and in doing that to encourage yourself that if He was faithful then, He will be faithful today and tomorrow. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.” – Hebrews 13:8

Songs by the band Delirious? have really impacted me, and a great song by them that encourages us to pray and to have faith in God’s ability and willingness to answer our prayers is ‘History Maker‘.

‘Is it true today
That when people pray
Cloudless skies will break
Kings and queens will shake?

Yes, it’s true
And I believe it
I’m living for you’

Those are just some of the lyrics from the song. It declares that prayer changes things. When we seek God, we will see nations changed, lives changed, people set free and Jesus lifted up.

In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul says to the Christians in Rome who are living in extremely difficult circumstances, suffering persecution and oppression by the ruling powers of the empire, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” – Romans 12:12. Another translation puts it this way “Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.” or in another translation it says “Be happy in your hope. Do not give up when trouble comes. Do not let anything stop you from praying.”

I love how this verse in all the many different translations really encourages us to be full of hope in God and for what God can and will do, to endure troubles and presecution and to never stop praying. Never stop meeting with God. Never stop devoting yourselves to prayer. One translation says for us to “give constant energy to prayer”. This is an active and energetic action. When we pray it is not a passive thing, but and active engaging with the God of heaven and earth; calling for Him to intervene and bring His kingdom into where we are to see lives, communities and nations changed.

Historically, there has never been a move of God that has not been preceded by his people gathering together to faithfully pray for God to do what only He can do; transform hearts and lives.

We can be history makers by coming together and praying for our families, our friends, or co-workers, our communities, our government, our nation and our world.

Charles Spurgeon said that “Prayer moves the hand that moves the world.”

On Sunday 25th February at 7pm in Ty Llywelyn Community Centre, we will be gathering together to pray for the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ; to see many young lives changed by the power of the gospel. This is going to be a great time of coming together as Christians to see God move in our communities.

We would love to see you there.

Let’s be history makers on Sunday 25th February.

Let’s pray to our amazing God and see Him change lives this year.

Be blessed!

The Restoration Man

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In Japanese culture, there is an ancient art form called Kintsukori or kintsugi. This is where a broken vessel is put back together with a colourful lacquer or a precious metal, normally gold. A successful piece of art is where the finished work shows that the piece of pottery is even more beautiful for having been broken and put back together. The literal definition of the term for this art form is to “repair with gold“.

I was thinking about this recently and realised that this is what Jesus does. He takes the broken pieces of our hearts and lives and puts them back together in such a way that our lives are more beautiful than before. Our brokenness lets more of His light and glory shine through. More of His gold show.

He is the true ‘Restoration Man‘.

When He touches our lives, people still see the cracks and the brokenness, but they also see where and how our wonderful Creator has lovingly and carefully restored us and brought our lives back together.

I’m sure that if we all shared our stories of how God has restored us in so many ways, it would be a real encouragement.

We’d see the gold of His love and glory shining through.

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” – 1 Peter 5:10

In Psalm 23, David declares that it is God who ‘restores‘ his soul, and in Psalm 5 he declares “Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart.” David recognised that only God had the power to restore him. Only his Saviour could mend the broken pieces of his life.

God doesn’t call us because we have it all-together, but rather because we are His and as a good Father, He wants to be in every part of our lives and bring the healing and restoration that only He can bring. We cannot fix our hearts. A.W.Tozer in his book ‘The Pursuit of God’ says “The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do.” The Apostle Paul puts it this way – “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.” – Phil 2:12-13

So this year, where there are broken pieces in your hearts and lives; like King David, give God your heart and all the broken pieces and you’ll be amazed at the restoration that He does.

Also, please continue to pray for the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ, that God would use this ministry to bring life, healing and restoration to many young people in North Wales; especially at the start of 2018. Let’s be amazing at how good our God is.

Be blessed!

Renovation, renovation, renovation!

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The title is a bit like ‘Location, location, location’, but it’s all about the ‘DIY SOS’ that we need, but so much more impactful and intense. This was the theme for the Youth for Christ National Conference. ‘Renovate’ being the exact title.

The word ‘Renovate’ comes from the Latin verb novare which means to make new, so it is all about God making things new.

“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.” – Rev 21:5-6

God is in the Renovation business.

But renovating something is a costly and sacrificial work. You have to tear down the old in order to rebuild the new. It takes time, effort, money, sweat & tears to complete a renovation project, but the goal is always worth it.

“Therefore, 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. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews 12:1-3

Jesus considered everyone who would believe in Him worth it as He faced the cross.

In the same way, as we pursue God and look for Him to renew our hearts and lives, it is at times going to be tiring, painful, costly and be full of tears and joy, but it will always be worth it. We must always consider the joy set before us of becoming more like Christ, of knowing Him in deeper and fuller ways as we submit to His divine work of renewing us. And remember it is His work in us, not our own striving. We submit to Him and He renews us.

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” – Philippians 3:7-11

So this year of 2018, Llandudno Youth for Christ is looking towards God doing something new in the hearts and lives of our supporters, volunteers and the young people that come to our events.

We encourage you to pray for us for all that God has in store as we take the gospel relevantly to many young people in 2018.

Be blessed!