Five weeks ago, I put a report on this website about how a small group of Christians, on one of the islands in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu, had been affected by the deadly cyclone “Pam”. A week later, I was able to explain that a fund, accessible online, had been set up in New Zealand, whereby these brothers and sisters of ours could be helped. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s all in the two short articles below. The second of those two articles was, of course, written first – so… read more →
Last weekend (as I write) was what is commonly called “Easter Weekend”. On the Saturday morning, there suddenly came to my mind a “message” that was centred on the events between Jesus’ Crucifixion and His Resurrection. I wrote the “message” down, after which Mavis and I felt it right to send it to about two dozen of our close Christian friends (mainly, but not exclusively, outside the traditional church scene). We were quite taken aback by the response. A surprising number of the people to whom we sent the message e-mailed back to say that,… read more →
The other day, I was pondering the parallels between Physical Fitness and Spiritual Fitness. (Such parallels are hinted at, several times, in the New Testament.) With regard to straightforward Physical Fitness, the first thought that came to me was the very obvious one that there are two keys to success in that area: 1) Taking the right kind of exercise and 2) Eating the right kind of food. It is not essential, of course, for exercise to be formal and organised (e.g. in a gym); it can be informal, and in the normal course of… read more →
Some of you may remember that, back in February 2012, I wrote an account on this website of a remarkable development – both practically and spiritually – that took place on one of the islands in the Pacific. The whole thing had been triggered-off by simple “Cross-my-Path Care” on the part of a Christian family in New Zealand who, like many of my readers, serve the Lord outside the “Organised Church”. I explained that UNICEF had eventually become interested in the practical side of what had happened – the installation of a proper water supply… read more →
About a year ago, I related a series of incidents that had happened on a remote island in the Pacific. It was a story of how rich blessing, physically – mentally, socially and spiritually – had developed, quite outside the usual church structures, as one family had responded to the leading of the Spirit. Now I have another such development to report to you – this time from a remote corner of Kenya. This particular “report” has been written by a friend of mine in Ireland: David Rice. (David did all the practical and technical… read more →
Over the past few weeks, I have been reading through the Psalms. About a week ago, I reached Psalm 44, and I felt it exactly described the situation of a number of different people I have been in touch with recently. It’s a song of disappointment – a ballad of dashed hopes. It starts off on quite a positive note, recalling how, both in the distant past and in the more immediate past, God had frequently delivered His People from difficulty and defeat. In verse 9, however, the tone changes: “But now, you have rejected… read more →
Just over a month ago, I wrote an article on this website about Jesus’ expressed desire that his followers should very definitely be disciples. (If you haven’t read the article already, you’ll find it immediately below this one, on this Home Page.) Among other points that I made, I claimed that any kind of ‘Evangelism’ in which Christians engage should aim at winning people who would have a serious lifelong commitment to walking daily with the Lord, to learning from Him and to doing what He says – rather than simply aiming at making ‘converts’,… read more →
You may remember the story I reported a few months ago, under the title “A Story that should Strengthen You in your Chosen Lifestyle”, where I told what had happened to a New Zealand “out-of-organised-church” family, when they befriended a migrant worker (George) from one of the Pacific islands. Well, as a result of family members actually going to the island
For those of us who are now serving the Lord outside the Organised Church, listening for God’s voice, as He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, is rightly considered very important – on a par with heeding the guidance He gives us through the Bible. We have turned our backs on a lifestyle where, among other reservations that we had, we felt that far too much of our service was prompted and directed by church programmes.
Just before Christmas, Mavis and I received a letter from friends in New Zealand. It recounted a series of happenings which both of us found very interesting and very encouraging, and we think it is worth passing on to our fellow “out-of-traditional-church” Christians. The letter came from a couple in their mid-sixties – Graham and Shirley – who have followed the Lord outside the ‘Organised Church’ for twenty years. In the seaside town in which they live, they are part of a small family-style group of believers, numbering just eight people.
