I’ve been listening to Kathyrn Scott’s new album which has a track called “Everything changes.” Its lyrics are “When You come, everything changes”

Here in Glasgow the Lord is coming into peoples lives and everything is changing…He is stirring hearts towards His Kingdom. I’ve just finished some healing on the streets for our missions week- You may want to be encouraged by a beautiful story from that week in which everything changed…

We were handing out some leaflets about God’s healing at byres road/uni avenue junction and I gave a leaflet to a few guys who were sitting on the summer seat there, asked if they wanted prayer and they looked at me like i was crazy and refused.

About 5 mins later a couple stopped on the street- they were non-Christians…the man said he was an atheist. His wife had extreme allergy problems with hayfever. Her eyes were swollen over and her face was covered in hayfever juice from her eyes! I prayed for her and eyes became unswollen and the tears stopped! Her husband had arthritis and one of the american girls prayed for him- his hand became pain free. They were astounded. Huge smiles soon appeared on their faces. The man started asking more about Jesus. They were so grateful to God.

MEANWHILE…the guys on the summer seat watched all that was going on…they heard the gasps of the couple…they saw them hug us after God had healed them…and after the couple had left they very quickly came up and asked if they could have some prayer too!! (even though they weren’t sick!) So we had the opportunity to just prayer with them and speak God’s words into their lives as well as just explaining the gospel to them, right there on the street.

And to add to God’s faithfulness…the couple who God healed came to church on Sunday also- hayfever and hand still being healed!!

God came- and everything changed.

“We have been called to be fishers of men- not keepers of an aquarium.”

I found this post saved in my draft posts from Christmas… It never quite made it to my front page and was only meant to be a reminder to myself of what has been happening in Latvia, but as I plan to return in the summer for the 4th time, taking a team with me from Scotland, it seems appropriate to post publicly the wonderful things God seems to be doing there over the long-term….

“John spent a great deal of time “preaching in the wilderness” and Jesus spent time with his father alone “away from the towns.”

The past 10 days in Latvia were great. I went with a few reasons- one major one was to rest in the Lord “away from the towns” or in the “wilderness” of Eastern Latvia. It sure was restful and was finally able to spend a great deal of time in worship, prayer and seeking Him.

 I also spent half of my 10 days with the orphans in the rural village- delivering shoes to children. One of the stories of my time there: Olya (name changed) is a kid who isn’t an orphan, but has been treated badly by her parents and eventually has been abandoned by her dad completely. The past 3 times I have been to the village she has referred to me as “Pappa Phil” as she just longs to be loved as a little kid and know that someone thinks she is valuable. So when I didn’t tell her I was coming at Christmas it was a surprise to see her coming back from school. She left her schoolbag with a friend and started sprinting towards us and since then spent most of the time we were there with us- smiling from ear to ear. It was so beautiful to see a kid who has been touched by the love of God. These kids have become part of my life and I praise God that I can begin to see the difference love is making in there lives… Please Lord, let us be vessels of your vast, unconditional love- let lives be changed through love- the precious love you first showed us.

The time there was crazy: I knew I’d be spending time with permanent missionaries there, with the orphans, with the widows, but what I didn’t expect to meet some of the most wonderfully humble church leaders I have ever met. I was invited to have a meeting with the cardinal of Latvia: I was daunted and didn’t quite know the “etiquite” and also was dressed in pretty rough clothes as I had been travelling from Scotland!) When I sat down in his office, (with a cup of finest Latvian tea!), I was overwhelmed with the humility of this man and was genuinely encouraged by his hospitality- please Lord continue to humble me.

Latvia- continue to set hearts on fire for you, Lord.”

Saved: December 2007

For a long time now I have been convinced that the Lord is raising up a generation, but never before have I ever felt the same passion I do now to be part of and see others in that generation equipped, encouraged and sent out, crying out with all their hearts ”Here I am Lord Lord- send me.”

Last Saturday night a friend of mine organised a prayer meeting in her local church. It was the night before Easter Sunday. We worshipped and praised for a while and then the Lord really grabbed our hearts for our town. We prayed. It lasted for 4 hours. For 4 hours I saw 20 people in my generation from so many different denominations and backgrounds lift their town up to God in deep, passionate prayer. I believe it is significant and it has engrained in my heart even more the fact that another generation is being raised up, who are spending their lives clinging to Jesus for all they are worth, trusting Him for their own lives, but also for the people around them…

I love the lyrics of this verse of “Hosanna”
I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith
I see a new revival
Staring as we pray and seek
We’re on our knees, we’re on our knees

(Hosanna- Hillsong)

I spent some days in Donegal, Ireland, last week with a few friends- what a beautiful place:

         

…I read this again last night:

“Do we see what He sees? Do we feel what He feels? Can we hear the cry of His heart for the lost? This is poverty of spirit. God is calling us to be poor in spirit. When we are poor in spirit, we no longer compete. We no longer jostle for titles. When we have no drive to be noticed and known, we are not offended by lack of attention. We find no satisfaction in ministry status. Then we can walk in unity, preferring others above ourselves. Our only desire is to live the life of a humble servant lover of our Lord Jesus.” (from the Bakers’ book “There’s Always Enough”)

Please Lord.

I was blown back the other day (infact it was a few weeks ago…i haven’t been able to blog in a while!) when one of my friends came to me with a phrase that left me speechless. I have had the priviledge of seeing this guy grow into a wonderful man of God over the past year. He’s a “young Christian” in his own words, but to me he has really grasped the fathers heart. He came to me and said this…

 “I don’t know exactly what I’m doing, but I’m doing it anyway!”

He was talking about serving. He was talking about loving God. He was talking about loving people. He’s one of the most exciting guys to be around because He just has a thirst for God. I was reminded of him when I was reading Brother Yun’s book “Back to Jerusalem.” In it he quotes Oswald Chambers….

“If you give God the right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you. God’s experiments always succeed”

Oswald was a wise guy. Please Lord bring me back to the simplicity of your word. Please Lord let me do only what I see you doing, without questioning it. Make me a holy fool. Make me a holy experiment.

To be continued…

I’m happy when someone has just discovered what it means to love Jesus and know his love back.

 I was in the south side of Glasgow last night. I was at a different church from usual. I guess I was there sneakily? In January I’d been to the same church and felt God saying he was bringing the south side into revival in the month of September. I wanted to check it out. I wanted to see what God was doing through these guys.

So when I listened to what they had been up to tears of joy were welling up inside of me. Over the past month they have been on the “love offensive” I guess you could call it. They have been determined to share love with the unlovely, and hope with the hopeless. They serve coffee and tea to the homeless, prostitutes and locals. They pray with them.

So God showed up. 94 people over the past month became Christians… 94 people discovered what it means to love Jesus and know his love back. God is faithful.

It gave me a challenge to be on a love offensive.

So I turned up in Luss, beside Loch Lomond a few days ago. It turns out this is where a Irish guy called St. Kessog first started spreading the gospel in Scotland. He planted a church here. He spent a few years ministering in the area and was then martyred for his faith. I don’t know much about the guy other than what I found out from people telling me on the day…but it seems to me that if he was willing to give up everything then he “got it.”

In this small country there are so many hurting people- people who have never been loved. People who have never had hope. People who are poor. People who are lonely.

It looks like God is calling us to “give it all up” for them, to give every ounce of energy, to lay it all down. This is where St. Kessog saw God move so powerfully. We want to see it happen again. We want to see the unlovely loved, the hopeless filled with hope, the lonely finding a new family.

 How about, as well as individuals willing to give it all up for Scotland to know God- How about an entire generation of individuals? Bring it on!

Often before I’ve said, “I’ve given up everything…” for God.

Perhaps Vlad (name changed for protection) understands better than me what it means to give up everything. 6 months ago Vlad was a muslim. He prayed to Allah. He prayed 3 times a day. Infact, not only was he a muslim, he was also a Chechyan who faught for his religion and his nation. He’d stabbed people and more than likely shot others. 6 months ago He was rescued by God. He gave His LIFE to Him. I spent 7 weeks with this man who is full of joy. I got to know a bit about him, where he had come from, where he was going. Vlad came to me in the final week and told me that he intended to go back to where he had come from in Chechnya, but not just to live a ‘normal’ life- he was going back to be a missionary. He also told me what this meant…

 Over the past few years many Christians have been killed for their faith (notice the bullet marks in the picture above, taken only 2 weeks ago), with pastors of house churches even being beheaded. I spent a few days there which was risky- never mind spending my entire life.

What awaits Vlad suddenly became more clear. This was a man who wanted to have new brothers and sisters in our family and was willing to give up his life so that others could have a life in Jesus. Vlad has decided that he’s gonna be a missionary… and more than likely a martyr for his faith. So as I stood hugging this man who had once killed people for His beliefs I knew that he was willing to give up his life as an offering to Jesus.

Cindy Ruakere was ministering alongside us. This and many of the similar stories from the school in Armavir brings even greater depth to her song:

That the Lamb may receive the reward for His suffering,

That the Lamb may receive His reward through me. 

Only by grace can this ever be done,

To Lay my life down is as a gift from the Son,

And to the Lamb,

Who stands among us as King,

I give up my life,

I give up my life,

I give up my life as an offering

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There were 25 graduates from the school and many of them have made the same decision as Vlad. Please pray for them.

Am I ready to give up my life as an offering?