A rock like no other
I love the word of God and the way in which it is always relevant to our day and our times.
Some of you will be glad to know that I have finished reading Deuteronomy!! But before I leave
In recent days we have had a number of bereavements in the Corps. There is a sense of loss but we have cause to rejoice as well as grieve because of the glorious hope of the Resurrection.
In Deuteronomy 32:31 Moses reminds the people of God have a sure and reliable foundation that those without faith in him do not have.
"For their rock is not like our Rock."
He goes on to say in v 39
"See not that I myself am he! There is no god beside me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal and no one can deliver our of my hand,"
Strength for the day
We have all been very busy with all the usual activities, family committments and holiday club looming large on the horizon. Life has been full, rewarding but physically tiring.
What great promises to read in the light of that from Deuteronomy 33:25 and 27!
"Your strength will equal your days." (NIV) or "As thy days so your strength shall be." (AV)
"The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms."
God bless
Carol
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Carol Young reading.
Contestants on University Challenge always introduce themselves by name followed by what subject they are studying. My name is Percival Boddington Smythe reading Physics, Higher Maths or Ancient Greek or something equally mystifying.
It is not one of my ambitions to appear on the programme as I am a realist. I only ever answer about three questions in the whole contest. However on this blog I would like to introduce myself as:
Carol Young reading.
Reading what? Well all kinds of things but I am always reading something. Carol Young reading sums up a big part of my existence. Not that I am one to boast of course but I have actually read War and Peace! However don't test me on it. I can't remember any of the Russian names!
Anyway apart from drone on about the joys of reading I wanted to pass on some gems of wisdom from the books I am reading today.
"We have to treat the body as the servant of Jesus Christ: when the body says "Sit" and He says "Go" go! When the body says "Eat and He says "Fast, fast! When the body says Yawn and He says, "Pray", pray!" (Oswald Chambers Daily Thoughts for Disciples)
"As I complete this book we have lived 8 years without our boy. I think of him every day. I miss him. I still have moments where I sit and shed a tear. Instead of being overcome with grief, I have overcome grief with the comfort God gives me. Rocky will not come back to me but I will go to him. In the meantime, life is enriched in beauty and opportunity because of the comfort of God." ( Steve Redman "At least it's not raining" The story of one family's fight with childhood cancer)
"I've learned that whenever you need to change something, start small but start now!"
(Wayne Cordeiro The Divine Mentor)
"Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth." Deuteronomy 23:23
God bless
Carol
It is not one of my ambitions to appear on the programme as I am a realist. I only ever answer about three questions in the whole contest. However on this blog I would like to introduce myself as:
Carol Young reading.
Reading what? Well all kinds of things but I am always reading something. Carol Young reading sums up a big part of my existence. Not that I am one to boast of course but I have actually read War and Peace! However don't test me on it. I can't remember any of the Russian names!
Anyway apart from drone on about the joys of reading I wanted to pass on some gems of wisdom from the books I am reading today.
"We have to treat the body as the servant of Jesus Christ: when the body says "Sit" and He says "Go" go! When the body says "Eat and He says "Fast, fast! When the body says Yawn and He says, "Pray", pray!" (Oswald Chambers Daily Thoughts for Disciples)
"As I complete this book we have lived 8 years without our boy. I think of him every day. I miss him. I still have moments where I sit and shed a tear. Instead of being overcome with grief, I have overcome grief with the comfort God gives me. Rocky will not come back to me but I will go to him. In the meantime, life is enriched in beauty and opportunity because of the comfort of God." ( Steve Redman "At least it's not raining" The story of one family's fight with childhood cancer)
"I've learned that whenever you need to change something, start small but start now!"
(Wayne Cordeiro The Divine Mentor)
"Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth." Deuteronomy 23:23
God bless
Carol
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
England Won
England won on Sunday! They beat Australia at a proper sport- Cricket!
I really don't like football. I find it soooo boring. You can watch a whole game for 90 minutes + all the added on time for the theatrics when the players have pretended to be injured and there be no points scored at all! I can never remember that happening in a game of rugby. There is always something on the board! I love Rugby. All this nonsense about England not having won the World Cup since 1966. Yes they did! In 2003 - in Sydney at Rubgy!
I would like to say that now that England are out of the football world cup, that this means that we don't have to have it on in the house anymore but I live with a husband who likes every sport from motor racing to carpet bowls! ( Well he doesn't really like horse racing or sycronised swimming but most other things)
OK rant over!
Well except to say that generally speaking we do have a tendency to overlook some victories. Our English cricketers won against the Aussies! How great is that?
How many times do we fail to thank God for victories won and blessings received because we have focussed on something that has not gone the way we wanted it to.
I will admit that sometimes I have come home from the meeting and the preaching was good, the worship uplifting, the prayers fervent and the fellowship supportive but I can only think, there were not so many there today and nobody put the Bibles away!
So I'm thanking God today for some victories won over the enemy that I have seen in the past few days.
Some kids turned up for our new Quest group and listened to a short message about God being real.
Late night Prayer Patrol in Bristol on Friday was strategic and we heard God speak through his Spirit. Told a drunk God loved him and prayed with a volunteer ambulance man.
One of our soldiers trusted God and obeyed the prompting of the Holy Spirit to do something very difficult.
Prayer School- What a joy. Testimony of a spiritual breakthrough, freedom in sharing and lovely prayer time, This was especially good as some who said they found it difficult to pray freely in front of others did great.
Personally disciplined myself to leave work behind and sit on a beach for two hours and relaxed!
On a really hot day, when we didn't expect kids to turn up for our Lunch time Drop in, we had a bunch of kids turn up and stay. We were able to come alongside an offer support to one girl in particular.
We're a band that shall conquer the foe
If we fight in the strength of the King
With the sword of the Spirit we know
We sinners to Jesus shall bring
I believe we shall win
If we fight in the strength of the king
God bless
Carol
I really don't like football. I find it soooo boring. You can watch a whole game for 90 minutes + all the added on time for the theatrics when the players have pretended to be injured and there be no points scored at all! I can never remember that happening in a game of rugby. There is always something on the board! I love Rugby. All this nonsense about England not having won the World Cup since 1966. Yes they did! In 2003 - in Sydney at Rubgy!
I would like to say that now that England are out of the football world cup, that this means that we don't have to have it on in the house anymore but I live with a husband who likes every sport from motor racing to carpet bowls! ( Well he doesn't really like horse racing or sycronised swimming but most other things)
OK rant over!
Well except to say that generally speaking we do have a tendency to overlook some victories. Our English cricketers won against the Aussies! How great is that?
How many times do we fail to thank God for victories won and blessings received because we have focussed on something that has not gone the way we wanted it to.
I will admit that sometimes I have come home from the meeting and the preaching was good, the worship uplifting, the prayers fervent and the fellowship supportive but I can only think, there were not so many there today and nobody put the Bibles away!
So I'm thanking God today for some victories won over the enemy that I have seen in the past few days.
Some kids turned up for our new Quest group and listened to a short message about God being real.
Late night Prayer Patrol in Bristol on Friday was strategic and we heard God speak through his Spirit. Told a drunk God loved him and prayed with a volunteer ambulance man.
One of our soldiers trusted God and obeyed the prompting of the Holy Spirit to do something very difficult.
Prayer School- What a joy. Testimony of a spiritual breakthrough, freedom in sharing and lovely prayer time, This was especially good as some who said they found it difficult to pray freely in front of others did great.
Personally disciplined myself to leave work behind and sit on a beach for two hours and relaxed!
On a really hot day, when we didn't expect kids to turn up for our Lunch time Drop in, we had a bunch of kids turn up and stay. We were able to come alongside an offer support to one girl in particular.
We're a band that shall conquer the foe
If we fight in the strength of the King
With the sword of the Spirit we know
We sinners to Jesus shall bring
I believe we shall win
If we fight in the strength of the king
God bless
Carol
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Evangeline Booth on the scourge of alcohol
I was reading a book on holiness called Go and Sin no More by Micheal L. Brown (Regal Books) which I picked up at a second hand book shop when I surprisingly came across a quote by Evangeline Booth expressing her views on alcohol.
She says, "Drink has drained more blood, hung more crepes, sold more homes, plunged more people into bankruptcy, armed more villains, slain more children, snapped more wedding rings, defiled more innocence, blinded more eyes, twisted more limbs, dethroned more reason, wrecked more manhood, dishonoured more womanhood, broken more hearts, driven more to suicide and dug more graves than any other poisonous scourge that ever swept its death-dealing waves across the world."
(Cited in Albert M Wells, Jr Inspiring Quotations: Contemporary and Classical (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1988)
I don't think she likes the stuff!
Anyway it was one more confirmation for me to keep going in supporting the campaign to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol in the UK. And if I needed more confirmation I returned from holiday to find out that there were several violent disturbances in our village last Saturday during the Annual Rag Day Festival. This was fuelled by alcohol and sadly involved a lot of under-age drinking. It spoiled what had been a lovely community event.
Since my last posting I have received an email back from Tesco's thanking me for supporting their policy on alcohol pricing. However in response to my suggestion that they take the lead and setting their own controls they pointed out that they would fall foul of competition laws and if only one supermarket raised their prices unilaterally, people would just buy their alcohol elsewhere. Well I'm not really surprised by their response but at least I had a reply, which is more than can be said for the Co.Op.
Anyway I'm not giving up. I'm going to keep writing to other supermarkets and talk to local politicians. And pray. I would love to hear from anyone who is interested in getting involved.
God bless
Carol
She says, "Drink has drained more blood, hung more crepes, sold more homes, plunged more people into bankruptcy, armed more villains, slain more children, snapped more wedding rings, defiled more innocence, blinded more eyes, twisted more limbs, dethroned more reason, wrecked more manhood, dishonoured more womanhood, broken more hearts, driven more to suicide and dug more graves than any other poisonous scourge that ever swept its death-dealing waves across the world."
(Cited in Albert M Wells, Jr Inspiring Quotations: Contemporary and Classical (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1988)
I don't think she likes the stuff!
Anyway it was one more confirmation for me to keep going in supporting the campaign to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol in the UK. And if I needed more confirmation I returned from holiday to find out that there were several violent disturbances in our village last Saturday during the Annual Rag Day Festival. This was fuelled by alcohol and sadly involved a lot of under-age drinking. It spoiled what had been a lovely community event.
Since my last posting I have received an email back from Tesco's thanking me for supporting their policy on alcohol pricing. However in response to my suggestion that they take the lead and setting their own controls they pointed out that they would fall foul of competition laws and if only one supermarket raised their prices unilaterally, people would just buy their alcohol elsewhere. Well I'm not really surprised by their response but at least I had a reply, which is more than can be said for the Co.Op.
Anyway I'm not giving up. I'm going to keep writing to other supermarkets and talk to local politicians. And pray. I would love to hear from anyone who is interested in getting involved.
God bless
Carol
Friday, 21 May 2010
Alcohol price limits
Alcohol price limits
I am not exactly crazy about our new coalition government but I will definitely be urging them to keep their promised to introduce a minimum price per unit for alcohol. At present it is possible to obtain alcohol in some places for just 10 pence per unit - less than a bottle of water .
Today the biggest retailer in the UK, Tesco has backed the plans and is also looking to take other measures to address the issue of binge drinking in the Britain. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8696097.stm
This will not solve the problem of binge drinking or deal with the mindset of drunkeness being a badge of honour in our country but it has to help. Please take action by letting Tesco's and the government know you support this measure and lobby other supermarkets to follow.
Personally I believe that we also need to restrict the availability of alcohol in supermarkets. Alcohol is a dangerous drug, selling it alongside the baked beans and the biscuits makes it appear to be just another commodity that is a normal part of the weekly shop. In the UK we restrict the amount of headached tablets a person can buy in one go but not the amount of alcohol.
Please let's also get on our knees and pray that our nation might be released from the curse of alcohol abuse. I am also praying that the Salvation Army rises up to the challenge of its historic mandate of campaigning for reform in this area.
God bless
Carol
I am not exactly crazy about our new coalition government but I will definitely be urging them to keep their promised to introduce a minimum price per unit for alcohol. At present it is possible to obtain alcohol in some places for just 10 pence per unit - less than a bottle of water .
Today the biggest retailer in the UK, Tesco has backed the plans and is also looking to take other measures to address the issue of binge drinking in the Britain. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8696097.stm
This will not solve the problem of binge drinking or deal with the mindset of drunkeness being a badge of honour in our country but it has to help. Please take action by letting Tesco's and the government know you support this measure and lobby other supermarkets to follow.
Personally I believe that we also need to restrict the availability of alcohol in supermarkets. Alcohol is a dangerous drug, selling it alongside the baked beans and the biscuits makes it appear to be just another commodity that is a normal part of the weekly shop. In the UK we restrict the amount of headached tablets a person can buy in one go but not the amount of alcohol.
Please let's also get on our knees and pray that our nation might be released from the curse of alcohol abuse. I am also praying that the Salvation Army rises up to the challenge of its historic mandate of campaigning for reform in this area.
God bless
Carol
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Pray for Souls
It's a busy week for us, prayer wise at Pill Corps. As well as the usual early bird Prayer Meeting on Tuesday, Prayer walking tonight and cell groups, this Friday it's Pray for a Day. We set aside a day (9am-9 pm) to pray for the many prayer requests that come in from around the UK Territory and also from further afield. We have already had a whole pile of emails. What is encouraging are the folk who tell us about the answered prayers.
I recently signed up to the Praying for Souls group over on the iSalvo's site (http://www.isalvos.net/group/prayforsouls) and discovered that we are praying at the same time as a prayer event in Western Australia. We have promised to pray for their evangelism conference, Go for Souls which is on Saturday. It really is true, you can touch the world through prayer.
On Saturday I am leading the Bristol Prayer School. We have already had one session and it went really well. There are 5 of us going from Pill. This weeks teaching is "How does God speak?"
God bless
Carol
It's a busy week for us, prayer wise at Pill Corps. As well as the usual early bird Prayer Meeting on Tuesday, Prayer walking tonight and cell groups, this Friday it's Pray for a Day. We set aside a day (9am-9 pm) to pray for the many prayer requests that come in from around the UK Territory and also from further afield. We have already had a whole pile of emails. What is encouraging are the folk who tell us about the answered prayers.
I recently signed up to the Praying for Souls group over on the iSalvo's site (http://www.isalvos.net/group/prayforsouls) and discovered that we are praying at the same time as a prayer event in Western Australia. We have promised to pray for their evangelism conference, Go for Souls which is on Saturday. It really is true, you can touch the world through prayer.
On Saturday I am leading the Bristol Prayer School. We have already had one session and it went really well. There are 5 of us going from Pill. This weeks teaching is "How does God speak?"
God bless
Carol
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Wholly Holy Roots 2010
1. Relief
The Roots Conference came back to it own roots. There cannot be a more fundamental root of the Salvation Army than holiness and our own Salvation Army speakers were particularly good at bringing out the essential core truths.
2. Prayer Power
As a member of the Prayer Team I did not get to many aspects of the programme but the prayer room was an amazing place to be. It was I believe the power house of the week-end. We prayed for the Roots event in the prayer room but the prayer room itself is also very much part of the event as delegates visited for prayer and ministry. In addition prayer team members visited the venues and prayed for those ministering in them. For me it was amazing to stand right in the middle of the theatre in the last session and pray for the leaders and delegates as they were sent out to be wholly holy in the every day world.
3. Revelation
For my part I love to not only to talk to God but to hear what he is saying. I am so grateful that in these days I am allowed to operate in my prophetic gifting, speak into peoples lives and watch God set them free or embrace his call.
One of the things that God spoke to me about was about brokeness. In Christian circles today we hear a lot about God wanting to heal the brokeness of people. I endorse that entirely. We are called to be agents of reconciliation. The need for there to be reconciliation at all points to something being broken. There are broken lives, broken relationships, broken communities all around us.
But I think we get a bit imbalanced if we only think of brokeness as something negative. Being broken is an essential element of holiness. In fact I believe that so much of the brokeness we see in people is due to an unwillingness to be broken where it matters. If china bangs against steel, the china will inevitably break and no matter how much you repair it or replace it, whilst it keeps hitting steel it will keep on breaking. In human beings the steel wall of self must be brought down and broken. Sadly some of our Christian counselling instead of advising people to deny themselves and die to self , comforts it and placates it.
In the Calvary Road, Roy Hession writes, "To be broken is the beginning of Revival. It is painful, it is humiliating but it is the only way. It is being "Not I but Christ." and the "C" is a bent "I" The Lord Jesus cannot live in us fully and reveal himself through us until the proud self within us is broken."
I am delighted to say that I met people at Roots who came for prayer who came with that willingness to be be broken and I am excited about what will be able to do with them and through them as he fills them with his power and glory.
4. Personal
As for me. Well I didn't get let off the hook either. I spent a lot of time praying for others and with others but God also talked to me about what I need to do for him. Danielle Strickland spoke very powerfully on Sunday evening about our holy calling to be the people through whom others see God.
When I knew I was moving to Bristol, the Holy Spirit asked me, "Are there still slaves in Bristol?" I knew the answer was yes and the outcome of a whole process of exploration of what I should do about that meant I joined Peacemakers Prayer Patrol . Whenever I can I join a team and walk the city streets praying with people. The initial connection I made with all this was prostitution and human trafficking and I think there is still an element of that but what I have encountered on the late night city streets is the curse of alcohol abuse. The Holy Spirit challenged me through Danielle to take more action. I am going to begin or join in some kind of campaign to address the issue of cheap alcohol being sold in supermarkets.
Pray for me in this. My immediate reaction was "Come on Lord, don't I have enough on my plate already!" However I have learned that if this is of God, he will find me room to do it.
God bless
Carol
1. Relief
The Roots Conference came back to it own roots. There cannot be a more fundamental root of the Salvation Army than holiness and our own Salvation Army speakers were particularly good at bringing out the essential core truths.
2. Prayer Power
As a member of the Prayer Team I did not get to many aspects of the programme but the prayer room was an amazing place to be. It was I believe the power house of the week-end. We prayed for the Roots event in the prayer room but the prayer room itself is also very much part of the event as delegates visited for prayer and ministry. In addition prayer team members visited the venues and prayed for those ministering in them. For me it was amazing to stand right in the middle of the theatre in the last session and pray for the leaders and delegates as they were sent out to be wholly holy in the every day world.
3. Revelation
For my part I love to not only to talk to God but to hear what he is saying. I am so grateful that in these days I am allowed to operate in my prophetic gifting, speak into peoples lives and watch God set them free or embrace his call.
One of the things that God spoke to me about was about brokeness. In Christian circles today we hear a lot about God wanting to heal the brokeness of people. I endorse that entirely. We are called to be agents of reconciliation. The need for there to be reconciliation at all points to something being broken. There are broken lives, broken relationships, broken communities all around us.
But I think we get a bit imbalanced if we only think of brokeness as something negative. Being broken is an essential element of holiness. In fact I believe that so much of the brokeness we see in people is due to an unwillingness to be broken where it matters. If china bangs against steel, the china will inevitably break and no matter how much you repair it or replace it, whilst it keeps hitting steel it will keep on breaking. In human beings the steel wall of self must be brought down and broken. Sadly some of our Christian counselling instead of advising people to deny themselves and die to self , comforts it and placates it.
In the Calvary Road, Roy Hession writes, "To be broken is the beginning of Revival. It is painful, it is humiliating but it is the only way. It is being "Not I but Christ." and the "C" is a bent "I" The Lord Jesus cannot live in us fully and reveal himself through us until the proud self within us is broken."
I am delighted to say that I met people at Roots who came for prayer who came with that willingness to be be broken and I am excited about what will be able to do with them and through them as he fills them with his power and glory.
4. Personal
As for me. Well I didn't get let off the hook either. I spent a lot of time praying for others and with others but God also talked to me about what I need to do for him. Danielle Strickland spoke very powerfully on Sunday evening about our holy calling to be the people through whom others see God.
When I knew I was moving to Bristol, the Holy Spirit asked me, "Are there still slaves in Bristol?" I knew the answer was yes and the outcome of a whole process of exploration of what I should do about that meant I joined Peacemakers Prayer Patrol . Whenever I can I join a team and walk the city streets praying with people. The initial connection I made with all this was prostitution and human trafficking and I think there is still an element of that but what I have encountered on the late night city streets is the curse of alcohol abuse. The Holy Spirit challenged me through Danielle to take more action. I am going to begin or join in some kind of campaign to address the issue of cheap alcohol being sold in supermarkets.
Pray for me in this. My immediate reaction was "Come on Lord, don't I have enough on my plate already!" However I have learned that if this is of God, he will find me room to do it.
God bless
Carol
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
