'image of the week'

Give thanks

'unto us a child is given'

HUXLEY Bowles born 24th October 2006
to Clair and James
at 9am weight 7lbs

'Call to prayer'

Let us remember 247Hemel prayer and to remember to pray for those in need.

“Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24). God reads the prayers of our heart even before they have been formed into words or vocalized by our mouth. Prayer becomes not so much trying to remember the names and needs of each person or group. Rather the task of intercessory and petitionary prayer becomes opening our heart to receive all the needs and then asking the Holy One to read what is there. In some ways, it is more difficult than simply naming names and asking for God’s assistance, because it requires the full opening of the heart and soul to our own pain and the pain of the world. But, the God of love takes our offering and blesses our love. The God of love hears our heart and blesses those we love. The God of love lifts the needs from our heart and takes them into the heart of heaven. And we, we stand amazed, at the miracles that unfold.
Renee Miller

'Seeing is believing'

Pauls Conversion


Watching Simon Schama's Power of Art last night, educating us on Baroque Art, how Caravaggio a struggling Christian artist, became as famous for his mood swings and aggressive behaviour as for his art.
Because of his upbringing and earthy view on life his paintings depicted life in a new and powerful way.
He was patronised by Cardinals and his pictures portrayed the gospel message in a new and challenging style which even those in society who couldn't read could understand, or at least see the dramatic accounts of the bible in a way they could not comprehend before.
I'm reminded of that often quoted line of St Francis of Assisi.
"Go and preach the gospel and if neccessary use words"
So it was interesting to see someones life dramatised in such a way and see how the gospel was portrayed as Cromwell would say ' Worts and all'

Image Of The Week

Please take a moment to meditate

' The Body Is Made Up Of Many Parts '

1 Corinthians 12: Teaches us that the body is made up of many parts, each having an important role to play.
The body may look and function well , but God the Head promises we will have life in all its fulness if we seek His ways.
So often we are guilty of allowing our own heads or those of others to direct us, rather than seeking Him.
Its at times like this when the body can suffer and parts fail to function or worse still are cut off.
So let us take a holistic approach to our walk, thinking and acting in a way that the whole body benefits.

"Suffer the little children"

Thailand Orphanages

Interesting,challenging,disturbing, words can't describe what we saw and heard last night from Meg.

That old cliche' where there is life there is hope,I guess sometimes all we can do is pray, for these and other children who society has written off.

I remember reading a story of someone who prayed for a situation asking God for an answer.

The unexpected answer came "you are".

So let us remember to pray for these children.

I had a dream

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around.
We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels.
My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said,
"This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.
I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.
Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.
The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the People asked for are processed and Delivered to the living persons who asked for them."
I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many Blessings had been requested and were Being packaged for delivery to Earth.
Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station.
To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section," my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He Seemed embarrassed "How is it that? There's no work going on here?" I asked. "So sad," the angel sighed.
"After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments. "How does one acknowledge God's blessings?" I asked. "Simple," the angel answered. "Just say, "Thank you, Lord."
"What blessings should they acknowledge?" I asked.
"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world.
"If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
"And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity."
Also ..... "If you woke up this morning with more health than illness .... You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.
"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ..
You are ahead of 700 million people in the world. "If you can attend a church meeting without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world.
"If your parents are still alive and still married ..
You are very rare.
If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair." Ok, what now?
How can I start? If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.
Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you want, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.Attn: Acknowledge Dept.: Thank You Lord! "Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and for giving me so many wonderful people to share it with."

Unexpected places

' The writings on the wall '

Jesus said " I am the way the truth and the life"
If we know the way we need to know the truth,
it is sometimes found in unexpected places,
but if we seek His truth we need to be sure.
We know His word is true but in order to move forwards we need to be guided by truth.If Trust and Truth both have U in the middle,does it follow that UR the center of Church ?but thankfully if IM in Him, Jesus will always have US at the end.

Image of the week

please find a moment to meditate

What are we looking for?

The following is part of an artical in todays news http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/5392906.stm

Social networks raise some fascinating questions, and perhaps offer some clues about how we will be reaching out to each other in future.
The virtual world of Second Life is a highly sophisticated online social network where around 400,000 users play out their lives in thousands of acres of digital space.

In the words of the U2 song
"I still haven't found what i'm looking for"

I would ask the question have we or are we all still looking?
If society is to continue in the way that it was meant to (created to be community) a living breathing loving growing body of life.There needs to be dialogue and eye contact the feeling of belonging to something worthwhile.
So is the virtual world a sad place where sad people find answers and love or is there a better way?
Answers on a postcard

A new light is burning

A new light is burning, praise God 247 prayer has begun.
We thank God for this new initiative to lift and wave a banner of prayer 24hours a day 7days a week over our town. We thank God for churches working and praying together.
Check out the good news on http://www.247hemel.co.uk/

Worthy of Meditation (thankyou jonah)

STEEPLE SONGby Don Francisco
I don't care how many buses you own
Or the size of your sanctuary
It doesn't matter how steep your steeple is
If it's sittin' on a cemetery
I don't care if you pave your parking lot
Or put pads upon your pews
What good is picture perfect stage
If you're missin' all the cues?
I don't care if your pastor's super-powered
And your program's always new
What you need is love and truth
And men are going to come to you
It doesn't matter that you know the Bible
If it's all just in your head
The thing I need to ask you is
Have you done the things I said?
Do you love your wife?
For her and for your children
Are you layin' down your life?
What about the others?
Are you livin' as a servant toYour sisters and your brothers?
Do you make the poor man beg you for a bone?
Do the widow and the orphan cry alone?
I don't care if you pray for miracles
I don't care if you speak with tongues
I don't care if you said you love Me
In every song you've sung
It doesn't matter that your sacrifice of praise
Is loud enough to raise the dead
The thing I need to ask you is
Have you done the things I said?
Repeat Chorus
Lord, when were You a prisoner
That we did not come to You?
When was it that we saw You sick
That we didn't follow through
Every time you turned your head
And pretended not to see
When you did it not to the least of these
You did it not to Me
Do you love your wife?
With all you've got inside you
Are you layin' down your life?
What about the others?
Are you living as a servant
To your sisters and your brothers?
Do you make the poor man beg you for a bone?
Do the widow and the orphan cry alone?

Which way do I go?

Life is full of issues from the small so called insignifficant, to major life changing decisions that affect us and the world around us.When push comes to shove we have to make choices.
As Christians seeking Gods guidance is paramount but the reallity is hearing and understanding the Father heart of God and the reprocussions of our actions seems increasingly more difficult especially when it does have a knock on effect.
Direction taken in its litteral sense is a choice, but as we seek Him we want our lives to be in His will.
Jesus was and is the ultimate leader so as we strive in a world that bombards us daily with allsorts of subliminal junk, how do we cut through this jungle and see the Glory that is before us?
Scripture tells us to wear the full armour of God, to seek first His kingdom, pray in all circumstances. So its simple??


Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us-and those around us - more effectively. Look for the learning.
Louisa May Alcott

A Wind Of Change

Where are our Prodigals?