07: Let your light shine among men that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16

I can remember being in Harlow in Essex, sitting in the living room of my parents house as I was about to embark on a ‘mission trip’ with an organisations called UFM. (Un-evangelised Field Missions)
I say ‘mission trip’ because it was a 6 week ‘look and see’ type thing. I was part of a team of people in their 20’s taking 6 weeks out to just go and see, and where possible get stuck in. I also hold the idea of ‘mission’ lightly as it isn’t just something you do when you go abroad!
Anyway, there I was sitting in the living room thinking about this trip and I came to the conclusion that I shouldn’t go, I wasn’t the model Christian bloke or missionary material, and I just felt so inadequate set against the spiritual calibre of other people on the team.
After some frantic praying and thinking about the worst possible scenarios that I would face in the wilderness lands of Brazil, I decided to go for some comfort from the bible.
I wasn’t sure where to even start to get comfort or direction at this point so I stuck my finger into the bible at a random page and started to read. Something about dogs and vomit, followed by the wickedness and sin of a nation so I shut it again. Well, me being me, I decided to try again and this time went into the New Testament, bit safer I thought!
I found this verse, the one I have suggested you memorise. The point is, God’s word (even if we open it and jab a finger in) is living and active, and the Holy Spirit can take your feeble attempts at trying to hear from God and speak to you. He did it with me that evening.
As I was reading this verse I sensed the Holy Spirit comfort me, weird I know. I was comforted with a thought that went like this:
‘Just be you, I made you, love you and you are the man I want you to be. Be you, follow me and let me do the rest.’
That might sound simple and stupid, but in that moment it was like a breathe of fresh air. It meant I didn’t need to measure up against anyone else, try and be anyone else, or continually try and be a better man. Jesus loves me.
I decided to believe that, hold onto it and go forward from that place. The time in Brazil reformed and redirected my life forever. Amazing what God can do.

Image Credit: Ben White

08:”The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalm 23: 1-4

In at number 8 are these few verses from the Psalms. Now I realise that this is actually a lot of the bible to memorise but you will be surprised at what the limbic system in your medial temporal lobe is capable of! I know, that sounded smart, didn’t it? (I google it!)
SO why are these verses good to memorise and have loaded up ready for quick retrieval? Well I think this is firstly about order and priorities in our lives. We are left with no doubt who is in charge in this Psalm and who needs the guidance, rest, safe travel and support through what can be dark places and times in our lives.
The Lord is the Shepherd and he guides, his presence in our lives can drive out fear. Even in his direction and rebuke we can find comfort. What does that mean in real life?
Well, what it means is something you might not like and welcome initially. You see God is Abba Father he welcomes us and invites us into his presence, his work in our lives is right, true and perfect. We can praise him and worship him because he is worth all of that and more. But, sometimes the valley is dark and the fear is real and sometimes, he makes us rest, lie down in green pastures.
The Psalm doesn’t say he invites us to lay down and rest, or suggest it as a good idea, he makes it happen. This is not an issue of free will, the Psalmist was in relationship with God, he had invited God, his shepherd, to do what he desired and have free reign! So the Lord made him rest.
There will be times, moments and even seasons in our lives as Christians where we are made to rest. We battle, fight, wrestle and push but a time comes when we can do nothing but yield, and its that moment I think we are getting a glimpse of with this Psalm.
So what happens when you find that God has made you rest? You find green pasture, you find quiet waters and a refreshing for your soul.
Listen, I am walking with friends who have been hit with the most life crippling situations. They have fought, wrestled and done all they can, but hidden in the storm is rest. It’s a rest that the world can’t understand because it can look like peace. How can peace be present in such a storm? How can you be like this whilst cancer or death or hurt is raging all around you? Perhaps this is just one of those incredible things that make us marvel at how God works, and whilst we don’t really understand it, it happens.
For me, this is a great bible verse to memorise.

Image Credit: Ben White

We’re back – and it is time for another bible memory verse to wrestle with. This one I am sure you have heard before but what’s it all about? Let’s see if we can take this verse into the week and commit it to memory.

09: Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4

So I was chatting to Suneel recently, Suneel heads up CVM’s international arm and does an incredible job at it too. As we walked together it was a cold winters night, snow had started to fall and we reflected on some of the trials that we face in our journey as Christian men.
This verse is part of a profound and deeply troubling section of the bible as it provides some context to the trials we face. But also, to a degree it seems to invite / accept the inevitability of them rather than live life trying to avoid them.
The idea here is that having endured trials and difficulties, of many kinds, we will be lacking in nothing! That is a big carrot on a stick to be honest. Who doesn’t want that sort of DNA and life, a life where they are lacking nothing?
Trouble is, the road that this verse begins to describe, the path to get to this goal is a brutal one where not only will you find adversity, but you must consider these trials as pure joy!
Ok, let’s just turn this back a step. So, you say, I’ve been made redundant, seen marriage failure, death, misery, betrayal, bankruptcy, crippling debt or health scares, and somehow this is to be held as pure joy?
Not just joy, but joy in its purest form.
The birth of a new baby is joyful, the surprise birthday party or passing your driving test, that joy right? Not the threat of heart attack, cancer or bailiffs knocking at the door. Or have I missed the point here? Am I confusing joy with happiness?
You know this and I am sure you have seen it before, but happiness isn’t the same as joy. I can be desperately unhappy but experience joy in my life. Perhaps then the best way of describing this joy is by swapping the word to something else, like triumph.
I can feel a sense of triumph even when the wheels have fallen off my life, I can hold onto a present and future hope of triumph that a light will shine again, a new day will come and this trial will relent and I will stand victorious.
Maybe that helps process this one? Either way, this working out and going through trials in our lives can be a source of pure joy. Not one for the faint hearted, but I suspect there are loads of us reading this who can’t explain what this is like but know it happens.

Image Credit: Ben White

Growing up I was taken along to church and soon discovered an incredible gift, I was amongst the elite few in Draw Swords and Bible memory verses. You might be asking what these two arenas of combat are and who are the chosen warriors that compete in such crucibles of courage.
Draw Swords, basically, bible under the arm (sword in sheath) someone calls out the bible verse and shouts ‘charge.’ At which myself, and a few others in the elite group, instantly found said verse and stood up reading it, win. A classic church game to keep the kids engaged, the other was simply a test of memory powers.
The point of this trip down memory lane (see what I did there?) is to call out 10 bible verses that we can work on committing to memory during the week. Verses that will come with some explanation and discovery but basically, it is CVM’s top ten list of memory verses for 2018.
Here we go.

10: Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:3-4

Ok, so I want to throw a bit of a curve straight into this top ten. What happens when we get given a bible verse and it talks about us getting the desires of our hearts and enjoying safe pasture, when in actual fact, if we are honest, life has given us a proper kicking and we feel like our prayers bounce off the ceiling and come back empty.
I am just being real here.
Maybe you have been there, and you go to the bible and find this stuff and it just doesn’t seem to add up, at all. So, what’s the take on this then? How does this stuff level out and find a balance in our lives?
This Psalm seems to be contrasting a couple of things, chaos, destruction, seemingly unpunished gains and the success of evil people against the faithful few holding on. I think it would also be fair to say that most of us have felt like that at times too.
There is a theme of God aligning himself, carrying, supporting, building up and walking with those who refuse to delight in the evil they see and the traps and value the world holds onto. This is presented as a duty, a calling if you like, but also a privilege. It also requires people to trust in God and to consciously turn their hearts to do good things.
It seems to me that when we are doing this stuff we do actually delight in the direction that trusting God brings, whilst at the same time doing some good, the evidence if you like, of God in our life. But what about the ‘safe pasture and the getting the desires of our heart’ thing?
Does it mean safe pasture, no trouble will ever come? No, it can’t do. There have been too many Christians who delight in God and have demonstrated incredible kindness etc, but have been hit by the most brutal elements of being human and caring about others. So, what this safe pasture must be is a compass and guide to seek and look for in a time of darkness and hostility. It is not a bubble of protection from the world around us. Could it then be described as being more about seeking peace rather than trouble, blessing others rather than cursing them?
Does this mean then, that if I can do that then I will get those euro millions numbers I have been waiting for? The desire of my heart? No, as I think the desires of a heart walking as close as possible to God will actually be shaped and focused on more than getting rich and buying a Ferrari.
So what do these desires look like then? I think they are more about love, justice, mercy, hope, value, kindness, generosity and peace than amassing an abundance of stuff. The bible, if we consider it as a whole, seems to put these values way above the striving after material ambition that we can so often hold onto as a desire.
Hmm, ok I am feeling rather challenged, time to stop, anyway…that was our No.10 memory verse.

Image Credit: Ben White

Sign up for the ultimate connection!
For quite some time, 8am on a Sunday morning in our house has become a special time. Not much gets in the way of the whole family gathering around a computer screen to catch up with my Mum in New Zealand.
Despite this being a familiar activity, I’m always amazed by the technology that allows us to spend time together; to see live what’s happening on the other side of the world. Not only do we chat, but often we’ll take the laptop outside to look at how the garden is doing, play ‘hide and seek’ with Niko the dog, as we move away from the screen and back again. From 12,000 miles away Mum will help her grandchildren with their homework. We’ve cooked together, ‘attended’ each other’s parties, read and listened to stories and loads more. And all for free!
This year marks the 142nd anniversary of the establishment of a direct telegraph link between Britain and New Zealand. Imagine then, a Victorian family of four, huddled around the ‘iPomegranate 6S telegraph machine’, eager to tap out a message to their loved ones in the furthest outpost of the British Empire.
As we look further back, history records the numerous challenges and frustrations of long distance communications. Letters and messages taking days, weeks, even months to arrive at their destination. With many never getting there at all!
In the Bible we can read of some unusual ways in which God communicated with His people; sometimes via angels, other times through dreams. In the book of Daniel a hand appears and writes on a wall at Belshazzar’s feast. We see God moving as pillars of cloud and fire to guide the Israelites on a journey. He even spoke through the mouth of a donkey in the story of Balaam.
Yet over all of that time, as today, there has been one form of communication that is always available, always immediate, has infinite bandwidth and costs us nothing. Even more staggering than the miracle of Skype is knowing that the moment we turn our voice and heart to God in prayer He hears our voice. An optical fibre cable may carry thousands of voices, but God hears billions of people simultaneously and answers them all.
Think about that. We can actually talk directly with God, the creator of the universe – creator of you and me. Not only that, He listens and answers. It really is an awesome thing, whether you’re a lifetime pray-er or just starting out. There is real power in prayer, life changing and life sustaining power. Archbishop Justin Welby said this: “In prayer God invites us to be His partners in the transformation of the world through transformed lives”. (‘Thy Kingdom Come’ – Jan 18)
So, if you’re not already doing so, how about making prayer, communication with God, as natural and desirable as the other things you do every day? There are loads of fantastic resources available to help you get started. CVM has produced a great little book called ‘Man Prayer Manual: How, When, Why?’, by Carl Beech, which offers honest, practical and inspirational advice. If you’re a seasoned pray-er, perhaps you could encourage someone else to start praying and offer to support them in that journey.
Wherever you are, the delight my family experiences for 45 minutes every Sunday morning is tiny compared to the joy each one of us can have in a lifestyle of communicating with God through prayer; committing each day to Him, seeking His will for our lives, hearing His voice and sharing with Him in everything we do.

Image Credit: Fré Sonneveld.

In considering writing something for Valentines day, I have to confess the commercial pomp and fizz around the day does little for me and my wife. However, readers beware, there is a hidden trap that many men have fallen into.
It’s that conversation the week before about Valentine’s day, you know the one. ‘What are we doing this year, shall we not worry about getting cards and gifts etc.’ To which you agree enthusiastically and forget the date carries any real significance. (Maybe, that’s how it is for me anyway.)
Then you wake up on the 14th I think it is, and find yourself face to face with a card from your partner, with a ‘you knew we would still give cards really’ look on their face.
Your mind reels, you have nothing, the trap has consumed yet another Valentines day dreamer.
Ok, maybe that load of waffle doesn’t represent you at all on Valentines day, maybe you are way above the curve and have years of making a statement of love and devotion.
One thing you might not have thought about on Valentines day however, is that for around 1.4 million Christian women in the UK this day is a painful reminder of the waiting game. These Christian women in the UK are unmarried looking for a decent Christian man in their lives but the fellas just are not there, numerically and spiritually. For many of these Christian women the option to stay single and probably childless, or marry a non-Christian fella, is not what they want to do.
At CVM we have formed a fantastic ministry partnership with a steering group of thinkers called ‘Engage.’ Engage have a strap line that says ‘making Christian marriage possible.’ I like that. It doesn’t say compulsory, as for many people singleness is a choice and we respect that of course, but that isn’t the case for everyone.
Engage are a voice to the UK church on issues of how we deal with singleness in our churches. This includes dating, how we reach more men with effective evangelism to reduce this deficit and how we can invest significantly in Christian marriage.
I hadn’t ever really thought about Valentines day being a complete nightmare for so many women in the UK before, these moments of coming together, where lives are intimately shared, albeit with commercial hype, are real pressure points.
Maybe this year have a look in your church and see if you can connect with Engage and support them to make a positive impact in the lives of so many women.
You can find out more here: engage-mcmp.org.uk

Image Credit: Roman Kraft

No .01 Sets his face to Jerusalem

I want to finish this series with something simple but the most profound moment of action we’ve got. In the bible we get this moment building up where Jesus is teaching, preaching and journeying along but then in Luke 9:51 there is a turning point.
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. Luke 9:51
After this, Jesus starts to teach about the cross, he alludes to it with his disciples and lets them know what is to come. I think that sometimes it is easy to see the cross as something that may have caught Jesus out or off guard. Like he knew something was coming but not sure what.
In Luke 9:51 we have this moment where Jesus looks towards Jerusalem, the last part of his life and journey, and is absolutely resolute. He purposely sets his face towards it.
For me, this is Jesus saying ‘here I come.’
Here I come with the weight of salvation on my shoulders.
Here I come with the hope of the world on my back.
Here I come to give everything because I love you.
Here I come because my Father has sent me.
Here I come, your will be done.
What are you resolute about? Have you ever had that moment in your life where you set your face to something? Forgive me if you feel this is stretching the narrative too far but I like to think of myself in Jerusalem.
Jesus setting his face towards me.
Jesus sets his face to my sin.
Jesus sets his face to my pain.
Jesus sets his face to fix our relationship.
Jesus sets his face to call me back.
Jesus sets his face to save me.
Jesus sets his face to forgive me.
The weight of this Bible chapter in the life of Jesus is so vivid. He retreats to pray, asks God to help but yields to the plan and not his will but that of his father in heaven. Jesus weeps tears of blood and the decision to set his face to Jerusalem comes with the highest cost.
But that cost has won the greatest victory you and I can ever see.
We can be free men, the action of Jesus has set us free indeed.
Will life be easy sailing with no storms? If I need to answer that you haven’t been on the path long enough. You will know that Jesus is greater than any storm in us, he sets his face to you and calls you his friend.
Thank you Jesus.

Image Credit: Word for WORD Bible Comic
The Word for WORD Bible Comic is a historically accurate, unabridged and untamed graphic novel of the Bible with a high view of Scripture.

No .02 Father Abraham

So, if you have been reading the bible for a while I am sure you are very familiar with the story of Abraham, or Abram as he started off.
Maybe, like me you have that infuriating song now starting to creep its way back into your mind…forgive me..
Father Abraham has many sons, many sons had father Abraham…
Thing is, when I read the exploits of Abraham, the picture I get in my head is of this old bloke, white beard, white wavy hair looking all, well, old. I hadn’t ever really thought of Abraham as a warrior or action man in that sense.
Now my maths could be off here, so if it is let me know in the comments, but the way I see this, Abram is promised a son, he waits about 20 years for that son who arrives when Abraham is 100 years old. So he must have been about 80 when the promise came in. The promise came in just after Abraham rescues Lot, could be a few years in it, so I think that when Abraham rescues his nephew Lot (the action in today’s blog) he was about 75+ years old.

“Don’t be discouraged, you will find with God, that it is never too late to get involved.”

If my maths is correct, and Abraham was a man in his 70’s, going to battle is very impressive. The story was that Sodom, where Lot lived got sacked by four kings that had come together, they took Lot and a load of other possessions with them as spoils of war.
“When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
Genesis 14:14-16
I love this moment of action because Abraham could have processed this in loads of ways that would avoid some sort of direct action. “I’m too old for this, there must be someone else, this can’t be happening, where can I bury my head and hope this goes away?’
Abraham gets news of this and calls out for back up from his own household and immediately goes into action. Men, I think there is a danger for us blokes to get old and comfortable too quickly. We can take our foot off the gas and drop into a rut so easily when we actually have a lot of battling left to do.
I’m not saying this is all about your energy and a physical fight, I remember a guy who mentored me for a few years with incredible insight into the bible. He just made time for me, made it a priority and didn’t forget to show up.
The battles will be different shapes and sizes but the point is, God isn’t finished until he calls time on the earth suit and calls you home. Take courage from Abraham, even in his 70’s he wasn’t done fighting yet.

Image Credit: Word for WORD Bible Comic
The Word for WORD Bible Comic is a historically accurate, unabridged and untamed graphic novel of the Bible with a high view of Scripture.

No .03 David and Saul

It was difficult to pick a single moment of action from the life of David, there are so many situations, moments and battles. However, this is my ‘go to’ moment in his life that has been challenging me recently.
David and Saul’s relationship was not going well, Saul was bitterly jealous of David and pursued him with hatred and murder in his heart. Saul and his few thousand elite fighting men get word that David is in the desert of En Gedi, so he makes chase. They were searching for David and came to an area where sheep were kept, alongside this location was a cave. The bible says that Saul went into the cave to relieve himself.
Here is the interesting bit, not what the bible meant by relieve himself, but the opportunity for David to murder Saul in the shadows. Saul didn’t realise but David and his team of very elite warriors were in the far reaches of that same cave! Keeping very still and with eyes adjusted to the darkness they watched Saul creep in, stumble around and settle.
Now David wasn’t a silly bloke, if your enemy makes a mistake like this, running him through in the cave wouldn’t have been a bad move, surely? David’s men thought the same, this is what they said:
The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.”
1 Samuel 24:4
I found this amazing, because what we are seeing here is how ‘they’ interpreted things God had said to David! But David wasn’t convinced, he didn’t kill Saul, just snuck up cut off a bit of his robe. This is incredible wisdom, discernment and surrender to God. In the moment, our closest mates might speak into our lives with how they see God’s promise and words being realised in our lives but that doesn’t always mean they’re right! David wasn’t buying it, and I think I know why.

“I want to be able to really discern God’s direction and voice in my life, what about you?”

David had learnt to trust God, his heart and the compass or conviction that God had instilled in his heart. In his life that compass went badly wrong, but he really knew something of God’s heart and that directed his life in the most amazing ways. Read this next bit if you’re not convinced:
5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.
David had cut a piece of Saul’s robe and felt a massive conviction in his spirit that this was wrong. David goes out of the cave and lays prostrated before Saul (his deadly enemy focussed on murdering David!) Face down in the dirt he surrenders! Not only risking death but losing face in front of the men he was leading and the 3 thousand odd that were fighting for Saul.
David didn’t give a stuff about what anyone thought, only what GOD thought!
What happens in your life when the heat is on and everyone around you gives advice? It might be great advice, or it might be their best guess. Are you able to hear Gods voice of wisdom and conviction in your spirit? David knew this stuff and it was integrated into his walk, journey and relationship with God.
I want some of that!

Image Credit: Word for WORD Bible Comic
The Word for WORD Bible Comic is a historically accurate, unabridged and untamed graphic novel of the Bible with a high view of Scripture.

No .04 King Asa

I like to read in the Old Testament about the kings, the battles and the adventures they went on. One of the battles that you might not have stumbled across is found in the life of King Asa.
The bible, when it talks about the period of kings in Israel and Judah, often says one of two things. 1. They did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, or 2. They did what was detestable in the eyes of the Lord.
Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.
Asa was king in Judah and had a time of peace after he had gone through the land destroying all the paraphernalia set up to worship false gods. King Asa had about “300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valour.”
2 Chronicles 14:8

“Here is the thing, sometimes, even when everything is right and you haven’t done anything to warrant the nightmare on your doorstep, it still turns up!”

King Asa had done a good job; he had sorted the people out and their wavering devotion to God. He had good relationships within the kingdom and around it, he had fortified the cities and established a decent army, good times.
Here is the thing, sometimes, even when everything is right and you haven’t done anything to warrant the nightmare on your doorstep, it still turns up! For King Asa this nightmare was an army led by Zereh the Ethiopian, and when I say army I mean an army of a million men and 300 chariots. That’s a big problem.
Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you. 2 Chronicles 14:11
King Asa, his army and the authority from God, enabled him to defeat the Ethiopian army, all 1 million of them! King Asa chased them and not one survived. Again, this stuff isn’t easy reading but it is there in the bible and we can’t ignore it.
So what’s the point with all this stuff? Well I actually want to make two points. The first is the one we have just explored, stuff, trouble, chaos and the odd punch up in your life will happen. Even when you are ‘doing’ everything right. Depression might hit, financial crises, marriage breakdown, sickness and death. We can follow King Asa’s example and fall to our knees and call on the name of the Lord. Won’t mean you get the outcome you want! But it will ensure you are not alone in the fight.
Second thing to mention is that King Asa didn’t actually learn from this. Trouble came knocking again in his life, and instead of running to God, he ran to his network, his partnerships, he allies, basically he relied on his own strength, and it failed!

Image Credit: Word for WORD Bible Comic
The Word for WORD Bible Comic is a historically accurate, unabridged and untamed graphic novel of the Bible with a high view of Scripture.