A couple of weeks ago I was at Ruurikkala, a YWAM base in Evijärvi, which is about 5 or 6 hours north of Helsinki. I was there for a 5-day conference over the Easter weekend called 'Going Deeper', having been invited by my friends up there who run the YWAM base. I arrived a couple of days early just to spend some time there and find out about the plan for the gathering. Ruurikkala is a guest house set in pretty beautiful surroundings, right next to a lake, and it's one of those places where God seems to speak very clearly through His creation.
The conference itself was pretty awesome. There were about 90 people there, pretty much all aged between 20 and 30, and from all over Finland. The 5 days consisted of worship, some really great teaching, great food and time getting to know each other. I was helping to facilitate our times of corporate worship (in a combination of Finnish and English), which was really great. It was amazing to see how people became so much more free in worship over the course of the 5 days, some of whom clearly weren't familiar with a more 'free-flow' approach to worship.
We had some wonderful teaching, on stuff like identity in Christ and living in the rest of faith. Over the five days God did so much in people's lives, especially inner healing. Many people shared stories at the end of the gathering of how God had brought healing to some area of their heart. God's really given me a love for Finnish people, so seeing what God was doing in these people's lives was really amazing.
Another highlight of the time for me was getting to meet and get to know a number of really cool people. I've found that Finns, once they open up to you, will be completely open, which makes it quite easy to connect on a deeper level with them. I also enjoyed to talking to people who didn't speak much English, forcing me to use my Finnish. It seems I've got to the point where I don't worry too much about making mistakes and just try to talk, which obviously is quite important in learning a language.
So yeah, I had a great week there, and can't wait to see more of what God is clearly doing in this nation.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Media and discernment
Over the past week a lot has been made of Finland's election results, given its possible implications for Portugal's bail out by the E.U. The 'True Finns' party, who oppose EU membership and mass-migration, made pretty huge gains. Much of the media has over-emphasized the 'anti-imigration' stance and written them off as racists (although anyone who even discusses immigration seems to be labelled the same way). To be honest it was hard before the elections to get much media coverage of it in English. And due to the media portrayal I absorbed, I wasn't a big fan of the party.
However, many Christians I met seemed to see them in a slightly different light, which interested me. After the elections I some time with some people praying for Finland who clearly weren't against 'True Finns'. They began to explain to me why they believed the election results could be a positive thing, and it gave me more light on the subject. Then we spent time praying for the new parliament and the nation.
While praying, it dawned on me that I'd simply accepted the media's views without asking God about the situation. I know that there's a lot of stuff in the media that you really can't take at face value (the whole Middle East subject being one of them). I had to repent to God for my pride and thinking that by being 'well-informed' I therefore understand things (although it turns out I'd only got half the picture).
I'm still not a fan of some of True Finns' policies, but my eyes were opened again to the fact that politics and the media are governed by a different system. We need discernment from God to really find out what's really going on and what His purposes are for our nations. I believe there is so much more going on in our world under the surface than what the media is telling us. We need our spiritual eyes to be open and to be listening to what the Spirit is saying in these days.
However, many Christians I met seemed to see them in a slightly different light, which interested me. After the elections I some time with some people praying for Finland who clearly weren't against 'True Finns'. They began to explain to me why they believed the election results could be a positive thing, and it gave me more light on the subject. Then we spent time praying for the new parliament and the nation.
While praying, it dawned on me that I'd simply accepted the media's views without asking God about the situation. I know that there's a lot of stuff in the media that you really can't take at face value (the whole Middle East subject being one of them). I had to repent to God for my pride and thinking that by being 'well-informed' I therefore understand things (although it turns out I'd only got half the picture).
I'm still not a fan of some of True Finns' policies, but my eyes were opened again to the fact that politics and the media are governed by a different system. We need discernment from God to really find out what's really going on and what His purposes are for our nations. I believe there is so much more going on in our world under the surface than what the media is telling us. We need our spiritual eyes to be open and to be listening to what the Spirit is saying in these days.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Jealous Love
I've sung the song "How He Loves" so many times, in England, Finland, America and Israel, and also at my sister's wedding. I've heard the Jesus Culture recording, the David Crowder Band recording, the Glorious Unseen recording, John Mark McMillan's original recording of the song, and many other worship leaders' versions. The song has something powerful in it that our generation (and every generation) needs to know. It tells of the jealousy in God's love, the deep, unrelenting passion in God's heart for us.
He wants me, all of me - my weakness, my brokenness, my gifts, my talents, my time, my trust, my wholehearted devotion. I am Jesus' inheritance, His purchased possession, and there is something in me that longs to be completely, wholeheartedly His. Now I know this is a process will take my whole life, but what a life that will be. Yes, there will be many times of testing, times of weakness and times of sheer frustration. But I am determined that Jesus will receive the fullness of His inheritance in me.
So, I saw this video last week, and it's basically John Mark McMillan telling the story behind this song. I've watched it a few times already, and it is truly amazing. I think it also gives some idea of why the song has captured the heart of people around the world.
He wants me, all of me - my weakness, my brokenness, my gifts, my talents, my time, my trust, my wholehearted devotion. I am Jesus' inheritance, His purchased possession, and there is something in me that longs to be completely, wholeheartedly His. Now I know this is a process will take my whole life, but what a life that will be. Yes, there will be many times of testing, times of weakness and times of sheer frustration. But I am determined that Jesus will receive the fullness of His inheritance in me.
So, I saw this video last week, and it's basically John Mark McMillan telling the story behind this song. I've watched it a few times already, and it is truly amazing. I think it also gives some idea of why the song has captured the heart of people around the world.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
24/7 Prayer Finland 'Yhteyspäivä'
A couple of weeks ago, we had a 24/7 Prayer Finland gathering in Helsinki. About 50 people came along, some more directly involved with 24/7 in Finland and others keen to find out more. Despite the range of different people there, the overall feeling of the day was one of togetherness and family.
During the morning, various people involved with 24/7 in Finland shared something of what God has been doing where they are. It was really amazing to hear about prayer going on in prayer rooms, schools, day care centres, and Lutheran churches, in different places across this nation. Seeing people of different ages and from different church backgrounds share was pretty great, and helped me see that what God is doing here is so much bigger than the boxes we put ourselves in.
Both Susanna Rychiger, who heads up 24/7 in Switzerland, and Ian Nicholson, who is part of 24-7 Prayer's International Leadership Team, came to Finland for the weekend, and they both taught and shared with us some stories from their lives related to prayer.
These stories inspired, encouraged and challenged me, and throughout the day I got more and more passion to see prayer raised up across Finland. Our simple prayers, spoken and lived out in our everyday lives, can really change things.
One other highlight for me was towards the end of the day, when we spent some time praying all together for the relationship between the generations. There was repentance and humility on all sides, as well as love and reconciliation. It was really amazing to see God bringing unity between the different generations, which goes so much against today's Western culture, and i think particularly today's Finnish culture.
So overall, it was a pretty great day, and I'm excited to see more of what God is doing in Finland and the part 24/7 has to play in that.
During the morning, various people involved with 24/7 in Finland shared something of what God has been doing where they are. It was really amazing to hear about prayer going on in prayer rooms, schools, day care centres, and Lutheran churches, in different places across this nation. Seeing people of different ages and from different church backgrounds share was pretty great, and helped me see that what God is doing here is so much bigger than the boxes we put ourselves in.
Both Susanna Rychiger, who heads up 24/7 in Switzerland, and Ian Nicholson, who is part of 24-7 Prayer's International Leadership Team, came to Finland for the weekend, and they both taught and shared with us some stories from their lives related to prayer.
These stories inspired, encouraged and challenged me, and throughout the day I got more and more passion to see prayer raised up across Finland. Our simple prayers, spoken and lived out in our everyday lives, can really change things.
One other highlight for me was towards the end of the day, when we spent some time praying all together for the relationship between the generations. There was repentance and humility on all sides, as well as love and reconciliation. It was really amazing to see God bringing unity between the different generations, which goes so much against today's Western culture, and i think particularly today's Finnish culture.
So overall, it was a pretty great day, and I'm excited to see more of what God is doing in Finland and the part 24/7 has to play in that.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Come&Live!
A friend sent this video to me recently, and it is just so amazingly inspiring. It's done by an amazing bunch of people called Come&Live!, I'd recommend you check it out.
I'm helping to organise a nine-day-long 'worship and prayer tour' in Finland this July, visiting five different places. Our heart is very similar to the video below, and I've started to get a bit excited about it having just seen the video.
Enjoy
I'm helping to organise a nine-day-long 'worship and prayer tour' in Finland this July, visiting five different places. Our heart is very similar to the video below, and I've started to get a bit excited about it having just seen the video.
Enjoy
NEW ZEALAND {Our Story} | A Come&Live! Documentary from Come&Live! on Vimeo.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Not only meek and mild...
In C.S. Lewis' 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe', Mr Beaver, talking about Aslan, says to Lucy, ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king I tell you’.
We often have a pretty clear picture of Jesus' gentleness, humility and servant heart; we see pretty clearly the 'Lamb' aspect of Jesus' nature. But as my friend Aki said on Saturday, we in the Church have often emphasised this, leaving another side of Jesus' character overlooked. Jesus is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
What I'm referring to isn't only important in terms of rediscovering what it is for us to be a man and follower of Jesus. This has been the focus of a number of books and teaching series, and is very important. But our understanding of 'Who Jesus truly is' must be central to everything.
I've recently been kinda fascinated by Jesus as presented in Revelation. In chapter 1, verses 12 to 18, we get a picture of the ascended Jesus, glorious and powerful. Eyes like a flame of fire, voice like the sound of rushing waters, out of his mouth goes a sharp two-edged sword, etc. This picture of Jesus is fascinating and awesome, and I really feel that it is something we really need to re-discover.
If you want some stuff on this passage in more detail, Mike Bickle's notes on Revelation 1 are pretty amazing, see them here
We often have a pretty clear picture of Jesus' gentleness, humility and servant heart; we see pretty clearly the 'Lamb' aspect of Jesus' nature. But as my friend Aki said on Saturday, we in the Church have often emphasised this, leaving another side of Jesus' character overlooked. Jesus is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
What I'm referring to isn't only important in terms of rediscovering what it is for us to be a man and follower of Jesus. This has been the focus of a number of books and teaching series, and is very important. But our understanding of 'Who Jesus truly is' must be central to everything.
I've recently been kinda fascinated by Jesus as presented in Revelation. In chapter 1, verses 12 to 18, we get a picture of the ascended Jesus, glorious and powerful. Eyes like a flame of fire, voice like the sound of rushing waters, out of his mouth goes a sharp two-edged sword, etc. This picture of Jesus is fascinating and awesome, and I really feel that it is something we really need to re-discover.
If you want some stuff on this passage in more detail, Mike Bickle's notes on Revelation 1 are pretty amazing, see them here
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Only to sit and think of God
A while ago while reading "Celebration of Discipline", one particular passage really struck me. In the chapter on meditation, Richard Foster quotes this verse from a hymn by Frederick W. Faber:
"Only to sit and think of God,
Oh, what a joy it is!
To think the thought, to breathe the Name,
Earth has no higher bliss."
This idea is something I've been trying to work into times of corporate worship, particularly at the beginning. Many people have said that we must begin with 'seeing' God, and then worship is a natural response to that revelation. So what I've done is simply to leave space at the beginning of a time of corporate worship for people to give their thoughts, the stresses and worries of life to God, and simply to meditate on Who God is.
It's very easy to rush into worship with lots of words, and at times that may mean that people aren't really 'engaged' in worship until the second or third song. For myself there are times when I remember half-way through the first song Who it is I'm singing to. The unfortunate reality is that our lives are lived often without a constant awareness of God. So we need to take the time to really focus on Him, and yes, that may mean we don't get through all the songs on our list (if any of them). But I would question whether our priority is to get through a song list, or simply to encounter the living God.
Spending time simply meditating on God's character and qualities causes praise and adoration to flow out. This may simply mean silently encountering God within us, or it may involve meditating on Scripture which tells of Who God is. Then we may be ready to sing together, knowing clearly Who it is we are worshiping.
"Only to sit and think of God,
Oh, what a joy it is!
To think the thought, to breathe the Name,
Earth has no higher bliss."
This idea is something I've been trying to work into times of corporate worship, particularly at the beginning. Many people have said that we must begin with 'seeing' God, and then worship is a natural response to that revelation. So what I've done is simply to leave space at the beginning of a time of corporate worship for people to give their thoughts, the stresses and worries of life to God, and simply to meditate on Who God is.
It's very easy to rush into worship with lots of words, and at times that may mean that people aren't really 'engaged' in worship until the second or third song. For myself there are times when I remember half-way through the first song Who it is I'm singing to. The unfortunate reality is that our lives are lived often without a constant awareness of God. So we need to take the time to really focus on Him, and yes, that may mean we don't get through all the songs on our list (if any of them). But I would question whether our priority is to get through a song list, or simply to encounter the living God.
Spending time simply meditating on God's character and qualities causes praise and adoration to flow out. This may simply mean silently encountering God within us, or it may involve meditating on Scripture which tells of Who God is. Then we may be ready to sing together, knowing clearly Who it is we are worshiping.
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