HERE. WE. GO! The top 3. It is normally at this point at CVM events we would throw in a ridiculous curve ball to create anarchy. I won’t’ do that here…..ok, here is what I wanted to use.
‘As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.’ Proverbs 26:11.
(I was also going to Songs of Solomon, but thought I had better leave it there.)

03.  Then he said to me, “This is what the LORD says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. Zechariah 4:6

Old Testament this time and a word of great encouragement spoken to a bloke called Zerubbabel. He was tasked with rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem after a group of Israelites captives had started to make a return from Babylonia.
Zerubbabel was greatly discouraged, disheartened and struggling against the scale of the task at hand and how it would be accomplished. It was in this moment of despair that he gets an amazing word from God.
What has this got to do with us today thousands of years on?
I think there is a tendency for us fellas to get ourselves stuck in lots of different situations in life, mistakes or challenges that take us into deeper water than we expected to be in. When we are in these places we tend to do a few things, use all the effort, fight and energy we can to sort it out, then when that runs dry, we pray and surrender it to God.
I have done this so many times in my own life, wrestled with stuff and ended up exhausted, disheartened and frustrated. It is always at this point I stop and surrender, pray and invite the Holy Spirit to get involved. What I have seen in this pattern is that when I realise this fight isn’t won by my own strength, power and force, but by a move and work of the Holy Spirit, the battle changes, for the best.
On one occasion, I was speaking at a men’s event, turned up and the bloke I was chatting to said ‘oh yeah, heard you speak before, love your jokes and the accent, brilliant.’ Whilst it was a kind compliment, it troubled me. I wasn’t seeing anyone come to faith when I was speaking, just blokes laughing at the jokes. I realised that whilst the gags are funny, really funny, I wanted more than that, not by power, force or jokes, but by the spirit!
This changed things for me, one of the first things I do now is yield to the Holy Spirit, then start to move and work. Yield first, invite the Holy Spirit to direct and speak and then we move.

OK, we are almost into the top 3 in this definitive list of my favourite bible verses. Of course, there are more and I could have made a top 100 but I think you may have got bored and stopped reading this blog series, maybe you have already….. hello?

04.  We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:7

In this bible passage the apostle Paul is exploring some amazing theology about who God is and how God has set himself in the heart and lives of those who believe and follow him. In doing this, we are, incredibly, able to see something of the glory of God, the same wonder and glory that is seen in Christ.
Incredibly He has chosen to ‘dwell’ on us and in us. The presence and power of God, the glory and light of God in us; we can see it at work and be part of something incredible.
Here is where the verse I have put as my number 4 comes in. This presence of God is a treasure beyond human value, and it’s kept inside a jar of clay or in my case an old mug! That’s me, the mug, and inside is this treasure, incredible light and glory, put there by God when I gave my life to him and was born again and filled by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Still with me? Bit heavy this one.
I remember reading a quote from a Chinese Christian who suffered false imprisonment and who sadly died in prison, Watchman Nee. He said (something like) this. ‘The church doesn’t need more vessels; it needs to see more of the treasure that’s within!’
That made me laugh because he was right, the vessel isn’t what people need to see more of, not more of Nathan and all he can do, it is the treasure within they need to see, that is what will set people free. When our lives allow the glory of God to shine brightly through, I think it is then that we will see people encounter more of Jesus.
Does that mean the vessel is useless and without value? No, not at all, after all God has chosen to dwell there, a place of great value and significance. But, the vessel must be yielded to the treasure within and not the vessel controlling and hiding the treasure!
OK, I need to read all that again, was a wee bit heavy.

We are half way through the ultimate top ten list of bible verses that have impacted and spoken the loudest to me. I would love to hear your top ten, tweet me or email CVM.

05.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:16

This is from a passage where Jesus is teaching on a mountainside and it has become a favourite amongst loads of Christian speakers and writers.
Jesus sets the bar high and shows just how incredible God’s ideas are when it comes to how we live and why we are living. Talk about a culture of the opposite spirit! If someone curses you bless them; those who are humble will inherit the earth; God blesses mercy; he delights in pure hearts and blesses the people who are persecuted.
I remember sitting in Harlow, Essex (oh Harlow how I miss you), I was 20 years old and living at home. I was invited to go to Brazil on a church trip for 6 weeks. A few weeks before we went the team started to get to know each other, I got a letter from one of the team members. It was like the lost letter that the apostle Paul had written, deep theology, beautifully written and full of God stuff that left me feeling seriously out of my depth.
After reading that I wasn’t sure I should even be going let alone calling myself a Christian, so I had a few days of feeling stressed then decided to read the bible. I opened it around this section and when I was reading this verse (Matthew 5:16) I felt the Holy Spirit bring an incredible comfort to my spirit.
It was like this: “Be who and what you are Nathan, a son, and a follow of the Christ. Focus your life on that and the rest will sort itself out.”
I am not sure why but it just made sense, I was ok with that. I needed to not try and measure my life against someone else, gauge my spirituality against another persons. The point of a relationship with Jesus is that it is your relationship, unique and not to be compared or held up against persons.
Twist in this story? When we got to Brazil the bloke who wrote the lost letter of Paul was the one person who ended up creating more chaos and upset than you could imagine.

Let’s try a doxology for this weeks blog and next top ten bible verse. If you are new to the world of doxologies, don’t worry. It’s nothing you will need cream for from the chemist, it’s just a posh word for an awesome section of prayer and praise that we can find in the bible.

06. Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen. Jude 24-25

When I was working for a church in Essex this would be my go to section in the bible to end a service. There is always that awkward bit after the final song when people just stood looking at me. I was never sure what to say so it seemed right to finish with a prayer.
I am not always that fluent in the moment with prayer and so I go to the bible to find prayers that have already been written that express a clear heart for God. In essence, these are doxologies.
A good mate of mine who sadly passed away in his 40’s was the vicar at the Church of England in the area where I was working as a pastor. He got me into set prayers and sections of the bible like this one, it helped loads.
Sometimes if we are honest we just don’t have the right words. Maybe the situation is so stressful you just don’t know what to say, or words have lost their weight and you’ve got nothing left. That happens sometimes in life.
This section from Jude is amazing because it keeps the main thing the main thing. All glory, majesty, power and authority are his, they have been, will be and always will be.
I don’t know about you but when words fail and you just need to find a prayer the Bible is the place to go. It has the lot, and here we can be without doubt, God is in control even if we can’t see how, when or why things are how they are. He is still in control.

Slight curve ball this week, we are digging around in the Psalms. If you are finding your way around the bible for the first time, the Psalms are a great place to start. Real life stories of individuals and communities learning to live in a relationship with God. The highs, the lows, the battles and the failures. It is all here and makes for incredible reading.

07. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5

I have read the bible from front to back and have been following Jesus for about 30 years but only last month did a mate show me this verse and it was like I had never seen it before.
If you are anything like me you have messed up your life in a few ways and found yourself dealing with the consequences of those actions. Of course, the way we mess up and the scale of the impact will vary greatly and scar and mark our lives accordingly.
However, I think one of the things that lingers and sticks to us all, regardless of what the mistake was, when it was or who it hurt, is that guilt can fuse itself to us and not let go.
Guilt over that action, the people who were hurt and the person you had become can shape our lives in the most drastic ways, but they don’t need too.
I have read so many times that I am a free man and my relationship with Jesus means that I can know that forgiveness and freedom now, fully. But do I experience that freedom? Or does the guilt strangle and choke it out of me before it even becomes a reality?
Here is the thing, David, the bloke who wrote this Psalm messed up, but he found freedom from guilt and this is important. He took his sin and mistakes to God, without mask or veneer and God forgave him, for the mistake and the guilt.
David found freedom from the guilt of his sin and mistakes, he found freedom!
We are not supposed to be slaves to sin or trapped in guilt and the web of lies that it so often creates around us. That doesn’t change the reality of the mistake, its impact and devastation, but it can bring healing. Maybe this verse should be a lot higher than number 7 but all the same, here it is. Free men!

Image Credit: Aaron Burden

Ok, so were back with another in the ultimate top ten ever made, and this time I am playing it safe with one of the most well known bible verses ever. Or am I?

08. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NLT

I think we have maybe all seen this verse spray painted on a wall at some point in our lives, but it has been used so many times in so many places. Sportsman have run around with it on T shirts, and even eye patches. It been written at different events shown on TV for millions to see but it still hasn’t lost any of it’s importance and impact for me.
The verse comes from a conversation Jesus is having with a religious guy called Nicodemus (who’s journey was just amazing and well worth looking at). Nicodemus doesn’t appear much in the Bible, I think only 3 times.
He questions Jesus in the dead of night about being born again, a secret meeting with Jesus so Nico’s mates don’t find out perhaps! The we see him defending Jesus amongst his peers, a bit of public stand. The last time we see him is after Jesus has died and Nicodemus is part of the team retrieving the body of Jesus.
The thing is with John 3:16 and these words of Jesus, it is in layers and each one has incredible relevance for not just who we are but whose we are.
God loved the world – Love is the foundation
He gave his only son – the biggest rescue mission ever to save a world He loved
Whoever believes in Him (Jesus) – A choice, it is yours and mine to make
Eternal life – This isn’t the end, a hope and promise in the life to come
I don’t know about you but I wrestle with the bible at times, I struggle with my understanding of who God is and what He has done. Sometimes I question my faith, and the doubts can sneak in. I struggle when I see the pain in the world and see God’s heart and response at times. I have all this going on, perhaps like lots of you do, but I am choosing to believe that this is the truth. God loves what he made and decided to save it from eternal separation from Him. We get to choose him now, while He can still be found we have that choice to make.
Many say no to Jesus because it is a choice, and it cannot be made for you by someone else.
I have decided to make my choice to follow Jesus, his promises and his word, I guess I’m staking my life on it.

Image Credit: Aaron Burden

Welcome back fellas, let’s do another in our top ten list of my favourite bible verses. Don’t forget, we would love to hear from you and know what you think.

09. Blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT

There are (as ever) verses before this that set the scene, so it is important for us not to lose the context here and just pull a single verse out and make it fit our lives. The main thrust though, is that when we try and put our confidence, trust and hope in the flesh, be it other people or our own ability, strength and resources we will fail. If your heart turns from a child-like reliance on God you will be like a tree in the desert, cursed and dry, finding no pleasure, purpose or hope in life.
With that in mind, it makes the next verses really powerful. Not cursed but blessed are those who trust in the Lord, making Him their confidence and hope! Wow.
The verses go on to paint a picture of what that sort of man would look like, a tree planted with deep roots that are fed, nourished and maintained. When the problems come along, (and I think we would all agree that life isn’t linear!), life’s course will twist and turn a lot at times, but the storms won’t destroy us.
I don’t know about you but it has been these verses and promises, like this that have held me in so many storms that makes me unable to deny the Bibles relevance and authority over my life.
This verse talks not just about ‘getting through’ the storms that come, but almost getting through the storm with an indignation, and victorious shout. Now that is more than just your faith being an anchor and crutch during difficult times. This is about a rooted hope and confidence that cannot be shaken.
This is powerful to write about but it is nothing compared to the person or people you meet who still have this hope and confidence, even after being trashed by storms in life. Amazing!

Image Credit: Aaron Burden

If you have been in connection with CVM for a while or been to any of our events you will know that the top 10 isn’t just something we do, we own it.
I’m not sure where or how this started but we love a good top ten at CVM, and when it comes to planning for the Gathering, it gets real.
I started to think about the ultimate top ten and for me it would need to be my top ten bible verses and why. So, without further ado, let’s go for it. Stay with me for the next 10 weeks and if you want to, tweet or contact us with your top 10 bible verses.

10. So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore.

Hebrews 13:13 NLT

You might have come across this one before but I doubt it as it’s a bit of a hidden gem.
The context is who Jesus is and what he has done, and then that incredible shift over to us , us not being stuck or afraid to be all in for Jesus, even if it costs you everything you have!
I remember being in France looking at the preserved WW1 trenches and seeing the horror of just how close the battle was. It was easy in the trench to get as low as I could and find a spot to be that wouldn’t offer complete safety but would keep me out of the line of direct fire. Huddled and tucked up in the corner I could get a small insight at how it might have been, a truly desperate time and one for real courage.
I had a bit of a moment in that trench thinking about my life as a Christian bloke and how easily it is to find a safe corner away from the heat of battle. When the conversation is about God and I keep quiet, or the moment to pray out loud and I choose the inner prayer. These opportunities come and go all the time and this verse hit me hard.
Am I willing to go outside the camp, away from the comforting heat of the camp fire to be willing to bear the disgrace He bore? Yeah, I am. Will I speak for Jesus, be his hands and feet, be the man the Captain calls me to be even if it means I step up onto the parapet and stick my head up over the top of the trench? Yeah, I am.
Let’s go out to him fellas, outside the camp because that’s where he seems to be, engaged on a rescue mission in enemy territory!

Image Credit: Aaron Burden

1. You
We made it, congratulations and thank you for journeying with me over this 10 week adventure. I hope it has been interesting and engaging, I enjoyed writing this series of blogs.
OK, no.1, you matter.
In the list by Aseem, published by the Observer, the top slot goes to this one, ‘you matter’.
Perhaps you have felt that cloud descend that says ‘you’ve got no value, your opinion doesn’t matter, the way you think, talk and act doesn’t matter and no-one notices you anyway.’
It is such an easy place to find ourselves in but the amazing thing in all this chaos of self doubt and loneliness is that a voice calls from the deep and says ‘you DO matter.’
Jesus not only calls us from the deep with a message of hope and value, he also knows what this feels like! This is amazing, that God’s son knows how this feels.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15
The bible tells us that Jesus knows this life, he knows what it feels like to be human, all our stuff he knows it.
Jesus knew that his father loved him, and valued him, he knew it, yet on the cross he felt the agonizing separation and pain of taking on sin, the mess of humanity. Did Jesus feel that sense of isolation, loneliness and doubt of ‘do I matter’?
If we reason that Jesus knows our struggle in every way then yes, he must have experienced these feelings and emotions.
Now here is why the resurrection of Jesus is so amazing, not only did he rise to life again in victory over death, he defeated the power of these lies about our value too.
We are and can be forgiven, from all sin! We can be free men, free men! No longer enslaved by sin, fears, doubts and the pains of not knowing if we matter to anyone.
Jesus carved our value into history on that cross and sealed it in permanently when he rose from the grave, you matter!
Be free from the doubts of identity and take your place as Gods loved and treasured possession. Jesus is your captain, brother, rescuer and friend.
Thank you Jesus.

Image Credit: Aaaron Burden

2. Thinking clearly
Being able to distinguish between facts and opinions. At Bible College I struggled with this transformation of the mind.
At no.2 in the list of the top 10 important things you need to know in life we find this one, ‘thinking clearly’.
Essentially this is defined as being able to distinguish between facts and opinions and then manage and think clearly in life. Valuable stuff, but I think we still need help with this at times.
When I was at Bible College it felt like my whole faith was being dismantled. We would be presented with a series of opinions from theologians on a subject which were then discussed and explored in class. I would find myself agreeing with an opinion and feeling secure but then another angle was presented, completely different and I was then pulled that way, in the end I was stranded in the middle without a paddle.
Therefore time at bible college was both great and terrible at the same time! It was so difficult to work out what I believed, and to be able to filter through the noise of so many views, opinions and in some cases facts.
How we do that in life, at work and at home varies depending on what we are doing and what family and community we are part of.
But, what I can say to you with absolute, 100% conviction is that when we invite the Holy Spirit into this process it is a game changer.
The Bible is God’s word that is living and active so when you use it in and over your life, expect things to happen.
One of the passages in the Bible which touches on this subject is this:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2
I have prayed around this verse lots of times in my life, especially when the way ahead looked messed up, my mind confused and I need that clarity of thought. I have used it hour by hour in some cases, day by day or week by week, and the truth is it works.
There is no magic here or special effects, this is just called yielding to the Holy Spirit and inviting him to have control, even over how we think.
He will transform our thoughts, I have seen it first hand with absolute clarity, it works.
Be transformed by the way you think, think clearly.

Image Credit: Aaron Burden