The gate of heaven.

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I’m currently reading through the Bible Chronologically and am in the book of Genesis at the moment. It’s been really interesting and faith building reading about Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. How they were far from perfect, but trusted in God and had a relationship with God despite their flaws.

That’s really encouraging to me. God wants relationship with us despite our many flaws and failing and imperfections.

I’ve just read Genesis 28 where Jacob is on the run from his brother Esau after cheating him out of his birthright and receiving the blessing from his father.

Jacob goes to sleep and has a dream of a ladder resting on the earth and reaching up into heaven with angels of God ascending and descending upon it. He even sees the Lord, who says to him “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your grandfather, and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are now sleeping. Your descendants will be as many as the dust of the earth. They will spread west and east, north and south, and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. I am with you and will protect you everywhere you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

From being in a place of loneliness and being far from home, Jacob is encouraged by God and also put in awe of God. This becomes a marker point in his life. In fact Jacob sets up the stone that he used as a pillow as a memorial stone to God.

What hard places in your life has God transformed into gateways to heaven and places where He has revealed Himself to you? Where your place of hardness was changed into an avenue for God’s blessing in your life?

As you think about that, please also be thinking about the young people that attend the events we hold at Llandudno Youth for Christ. Please be praying for them, that like Jacob they would have a revelation of God that becomes a memorial stone in their life.

Have a great week and be blessed!

Our Father who is in heaven…

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For the next couple of weeks at Redefine, we are going to be looking at prayer by studying the  ‘Lord’s Prayer’. The prayer can be found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. In the passage from Luke Jesus tells them the prayer in response to His disciples asking Him to teach them how to pray.

It is a great part of scripture and really informs us well on how to pray.

I love the start especially as it focusses us first and foremost on the one we are praying to: God.

Our Father.

But not God as an impersonal omni-being that has created the universe and now stands apart from His creation, but ‘our Father’. Intimate and in relationship with His creatures. And it is not my Father, your Father, or their father, but our Father. There is personal and corporate ownership and belonging to the name Father. God is ours just as we are His. We are all His children, loved and treasured. We are all also brothers and sisters, equally loved.

Who is in heaven.

The Father we are praying to is above all. He reigns in the heavens where everything is under His feet. There is no situation or circumstance that we can bring to Him that is too big or too difficult for Him to deal with.

Hallowed be your name.

There is reverence in the prayer. Worship of God is the starting place of prayer. We lift our eyes up to our Father in heaven and ask that His name be kept holy in our lives and the lives of those around us.

And all of that is just in the start of the prayer. It is so rich and full and life changing.

Sometimes we say it too often by rote and miss all the beauty in it. Try reading it prayerfully this week, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to you more of God’s heart.

Also, please be praying for us and the young people as we look through the Lord’s prayer in the next couple of weeks. Pray that their relationship with God would grow and deepen as we look at the model prayer that Jesus gave us.

Be blessed!

New Year, New Opportunities!

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Well we’ve all returned from our week away in Manchester at the Youth for Christ National Conference. It was as usual a brilliant conference with encouraging talks, stimulating Bible studies and thought provoking seminars.

We as Llandudno Youth for Christ even ran one of our brilliant ‘Nerf Wars’ on the last day of the conference. This was a definite hit with all who took part.

We’re now back and raring to go. Ready for all that God has in store for us in 2020.

We’re looking forward to our first Redefine of 2020 this coming Sunday 12th January; and the rest of our various projects and ministries will all be starting up again after the Christmas break.

Thank you for all of your prayers for us during the conference. We were certainly encouraged and blessed by all the great input we received.

Please continue to pray for us and the work we are doing.

Please pray for the coming week with all of our projects starting up again. Pray that we would be able to share more of God’s transforming love with the young people; telling them about the good news of Jesus.

Thank you and be blessed!

National Conference Here We Come!

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On Monday 6th January a group of workers and volunteers from Llandudno Youth for Christ have travelled to Manchester to take part in the Youth for Christ National Conference.

This is a great annual event where Youth for Christ centres from all over the UK and even some from overseas, come together to pray, worship and grow in their relationship with God. It is always a great time and it really sets us up well for the year ahead.

Here is a short word about the conference:-

“Our conference theme is Transform. As you know we have been on a journey of change over the last few years; at the very heart of change is the desire to be transformed! At Youth for Christ we seek to be significantly transformed

at every level, starting with ourselves, then our ministry
and ultimately a nation of young people. We don’t desire change for change’s sake but the transformation that comes through close proximity to Jesus.

We will be unpacking the richness of Romans 12 and its impact on us as leaders. Each day we will have inspirational Bible teaching, life giving seminars and workshops, and soul-refreshing evenings of ministry. Conference 2020 will be bold and courageous as we seek to explore transformation that starts with us and finishes with young people’s lives being changed by Jesus.

I hope that you leave refreshed, encouraged and energised to see more young people’s lives changed by Jesus.

Blessings,

Neil O’Boyle

National Director”

Please be praying for the team from Llandudno Youth for Christ that have gone to the conference. Pray that they would hear clearly from God and come back envisioned for 2020.

Be blessed!