Exceedingly abundantly, more than we can ask or think

That's a quote from the book of Ephesians, in the New Testament. God is able to do ....... Just now and then, we get an idea what that looks like!

It's all about the Foodbank again! It has consumed our life for the last couple of months. When I wrote the last Blog in September, I could not imagine what was to follow.

My vision was pathetically small!! I could see us having around 10 volunteers, a room full of food, and a couple of tables where folk needing food, could come and chat, on a couple of lunchtimes a week,  while we got their food ready.

God had much bigger ideas. Talk about playing 'catchup'!! Let's put it this way - we now have 60 volunteers, we have a 2000 sq ft ex-night club in the town centre, we have 5.5 tonnes of food ( 3 times the most we had planned for), and 20+ front line Agencies holding our Food Vouchers - our eyes and ears into the community.

We've only been open for 2 weeks, and already fed over 80 households, giving away 1 tonne of food!!

The scale of this project is huge compared to our little ideas. God's purpose for 'doing exceedingly abundantly- is to bring glory to the Church. God knows we need it!!

It's time for the church to become upright again. It is Christians who have taken the lead in these Foodbanks - right across the UK. It is an extraordinary move of the Holy Spirit. We've had lots of 'words' that the next Move of God would be totally different from the last one. God is always doing a new thing.

Could it be that the Foodbank movement is the beginning of the next outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Are we part of such a move of compassion and love for the lost, that salvation will be the most natural consequence?  I hope so!

Whatever, it is wonderfully satisfying to see the Foodbank open, and hear the collective sigh of relief all around Rochdale - no longer does a family have to be sent away from anywhere in Rochdale hungry and empty-handed any more. There is an answer, and it has been initiated by Jesus.

Thank God for the unbelieving volunteers who have worked so hard to get the Foodbank open, but God still gets all the glory, and may His church be given its rightful credit in the community for its loving actions.

Fruit (and veg!)

It's really funny how for years we have had 'words' from God about different things, but nothing seems to have happened, then SUDDENLY everything is happening at once, and these different strands of ideas seem to be converging. It will be interesting to reflect on what I'm saying now in a year's time, to see what has developed!

We've always believed in God's 'suddenlies' - they are everywhere in the Bible - and evidence of the Father at work. But to see it taking place is truly awesome, and He gets all the praise and glory.

The subject that is bringing all these strands together is ROCHDALE FOODBANK. This blog is not enough to tell all the stories of contacts and enthusiastic support, of generosity and warm, smiling, active partnering, from right across Rochdale, not only from churches but from front line agencies, GP Practices, and clubs and community groups.

One of the 'words' years ago was that the church was in danger of being a 'parasite' - feeding off the town for its growth and survival - but not putting anything back in. This disturbed me, and we started to look for ways to serve the people of Rochdale, with some small successes. But this Foodbank is on a totally different scale and having a significantly greater impact.

This project is already fruitful in terms of providing food for families in crisis, but also in relationships and in sharing God's love for people across this town.

I don't know what this will lead to. But I do know God is in it. We are just tryng to keep up with Him!

So never give up on God's promises to you. Always keep His words close to your heart, and know that one day, suddenly, He will begin to move. Persevere!Keep the faith!

Olympic fever!

It's impossible to avoid the excitement that exists around the various venues that are holding Olympic competitions. And I confess to being as emotionally involved as anyone!! Tears and laughter, highs and lows, stunning victories and shattering defeats. Wonderful stuff!

And to those who grudge the money spent on the Olympics - I'd rather spend it encouraging the younger generation of all the nations to compete safely and with mutual respect, rather than on weapons we put in the hands of these same young people to kill each other in wars.

When we hear Olympic Gold medallists talking about their journey, we often hear of setbacks and sacrifices, of stumbles and seasons of self-doubt and even giving up for a while. Yet, on the podium, not of that matters. What matters is achievement - and you can see that words cannot convey the emotion of achieving a life-time goal. Fantastic stuff!!

Being a Christian should be the same - both Jesus and Paul agree about this. Don't count the cost, says Jesus, just go for it - it's worthwhile. The journey of faith is not disimilar to that of the medallist. Persevere, says Paul. Don't give up!

Meeting Jesus at the end of  your life will be better than getting a Gold Medal - you'll get a crown, even!! So keep going, Christian, keep the faith. Struggle with doubts and fears, but don't give up!!

Who are these guys?

One of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite films -"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"! We are all at some time bothered about our own identity. Who am I? Where do I fit in? A lot of us feel we don't fit in, that the world can manage without us, that we don't belong. This feeling can be really strong if we have a parent missing from childhood, for any reason, good or bad.

In our society, we are increasingly identified by numbers - National Insurance, Passport, Post Code, Date of Birth. Sadly, our name is rarely sufficient.

But the model of society that God laid down was that we were all given a Name, and that name has it's own unique place in history -I am Iain, son of James, for instance. Even if we don't know our parents, we still occupy that unique space in history!! Nobody else can fill that space - just you!!

And our scriptures tell us that God loves to give us a Name to identify us. He says " I have summoned you by name - you are Mine!".  Wow! What a great God!

The problem is that the family line leads us all the way back to Adam, and his rebellion against God that has caused sin to pass down the family line to you and me.

The good news is that on the cross, Jesus died as the 'Son of Man(kind)' , and offered us the choice to be adopted by God as HIS SON. Amazing!

John 1:12 says " To as many as received Him, to those who called on His Name, He gave the right to be called Sons of  God".

So, whose son are you?

Torch smiles!

The sun shone, the crowds cheered, the band played, the police sounded horns! What a cheerful atmosphere in Rochdale on Saturday afternoon! And all to watch a complete stranger dressed in a white tracksuit jog along the Esplanade carrying a replica of the Olympic torch!

Was it worth it? Absolutely. Will it have a lasting effect? Absolutely not.

But it was good for this reason - it gave everyone a sense of national identity, of belonging, of being part of something bigger and good, of finding common cause, of celebrating our British community spirit. It just wont last.

But it made me realise that people are longing to gather round and support something good, which gives a sense of community identity.

That was the message that Jesus carried. Church for Him was never about synagogues (although he visited them) or religious observance. His message was all about a community of people who were being transformed by the presence and power of God into a family of trusting, loving, joyful friends of God.

When Jesus came into a town, there were crowds and noise and celebration - just like Saturday. Except He left a lasting impression.

One day soon, the people of Rochdale will gather round the Town Hall in their thousands to hear the good news about Jesus, and be changed for good, for ever.

I really enjoyed the Olympic Torch coming through Rochdale. I loved the sense of anticipation, and pent up excitement. I now long for the day when the same applies to the preaching of the Gospel. It is coming!!