Monday 27 September 2010

Evangelism in the Park

Hello again. Well after last week's success of God making a young lad's leg grow I was a bit apprehensive as to whether anyone would be in the park this week as all the young people who I spoke to last time said they wouldn't turn up.

When I got there, ALL of the young people from last time were there and they'd even brought along some of their friends. The first thing they said was; "Pray for them and make their legs grow!" It was the best thing they could've said. I definitely wasn't expecting it either.

As the two young people who wanted their legs to grow were girls I couldn't pray for them to protect myself but for the next two hours they asked questions about Jesus and all of the young people were listening. The guy who's leg grew the week before was still as determined as ever to try and prove God wasn't real but wouldn't let me pray for his smoking addiction because; "if God was real He might take it away!"

This time around I had two friends join me, Gemma and Jenny. We all shared our testimony's about how God had impacted our lives and it was such a massive encouragement to us all. The young people even said they'd be there next week. Please pray God would reveal Himself to these young people. After all that's been happening, I know He will.

Praise God!

Monday 20 September 2010

Treasure Hunt

Hi All. Just wanted to share with you what happened to me after work today.

During my lunch break I was driving home and I really felt God tell me to go to St John's Park to find a guy named Nigel who was wearing a grey hoodie, with a right shoulder injury. Just so you know, at this point I was not asking God to talk to me and I wasn't even praying. It was totally out of the blue, so therefore I knew it was Him.

After work I went to St John's Park and sat on a bench for about half an hour, waiting for a stranger in a grey hoodie to walk up to me clutching his right shoulder. It didn't happen like this at all. In fact there was no one with hoodies in sight. Right there and then I could've given up - but as this was God's plan and not mine I didn't go.

The next thing I did was drive around to the other side of the park and try and see if there were any young people in the skate park wearing hoodies. As I walked towards to skate park all I saw was a load of school lads on BMXs and skate boards, but as I got closer I noticed a group of lads chatting and the guy stood in the middle was wearing a grey hoodie. At this moment my heart thumped out of my chest and I actually said something along the lines of: "Thanks God. A bunch of young people who are going to rip me to pieces. But it's not about me." So I walked over to them, but walked straight past. The guy in the grey hoodie stared at me as I sheepishly scuffled along, trying to look cool at the same time.

But I knew I had to approach them. So I did. All of them turned to me and stopped talking and I could sense that they were already looking me up and down, thinking 'what on earth is that bald fat bloke doing here?'

"Hello. Are you called Nigel?" I said to the lad. "No, **** off! I wouldn't have a name like that." Oh, I thought. By this time i felt the size of a mouse and imagined them to give me a happy slapping. They didn't. So I asked again, "are any of you called Nigel?" "NOOO!" OK, then. That's a definite no.

Then the lad in the grey hoodie said; "Why are you looking for a guy called Nigel?" I took a deep breath and said; "I am a Christian and felt God say to me to look in this park for a guy called Nigel in a grey hoodie with a shoulder injury. You are in a grey hoodie, do you have a shoulder injury?" No, he said.

So for the next 5 minutes I was asked loads of questions from these young lads, mainly inquiring if I was a weirdo or a nutter and was I about picking up young guys? I can understand why they were asking these questions. One of them said he was an athiest. I said; "oh that's good then. Because if God didn't exist there would be no athiests." He looked a bit puzzled and his mate on a BMX said; "You gotta admit, mate, he does have a point."

Then the guy in the grey hoodie said; "I totally believe that there was a man called Jesus who was a decent bloke and who really did die on a cross. But I can't believe that He rose again." I knew at this point I was talking to the right guy. I also knew that God hadn't given me a load of false info just to make me look stupid, it was about getting my attention and to see if I did as He said. I was then asked by the athiest to say how I knew God was real. So I told them all that I have seen signs and wonders and talked about the fact that I've seem limbs grow and that I myself had my left leg grow.

They asked me how so I asked them to sit with their legs out. The athiest said he's never do it, but the guy in the grey hoodie said go on mate, what have you got to lose? So the athiest sat down and I held up his feet by his heels. Sure enough one was shorter than the other by about half an inch. I asked if I could pray and he said yes. I said; "In the Name of Jesus, leg come down." And it did.

The guy on the BMX was nearest and he just stared at this mate. The athiest jumped to his feet and moved about testing his legs. He then ran away swearing and saying that he was a bit drunk and it couldn't of happened. So I asked him to sit down again to check and he did. It then looked like his leg was shorter again but his left shoe was loose and I pushed it back on. All at the same time his mates all swore together and were asking me to try "it" on someone else.

I didn't because I knew that God had already demonstrated his power and scared the living daylights out of this young lad. The guy in the grey hoodie then said, "So what's the meaning of life then?" I said I didn't know but told him a little about the meaning of my life. They were all pretty taken aback and I then said that I'd be back next week to answer any more questions.

It was an amazing 15 - 20 minutes that I could have so easily passed up. But when God tells you to do things, it's so much better if you do them. You never know what's going to happen.

Saturday 11 September 2010

Let's get it started

Hi Everyone. I'm sorry it's been a while since I last wrote some thing but you know how life can be. The importance of things that aren't that important get in the way and then you forget about what you should be doing.

Life has been pretty mad of late and my wife and I are trying to work out where we're meant to be, what job I'm supposed to be doing, etc. Speaking of which, I have decided to go back into journalism after 6 years as a full-time carpenter. I have enjoyed my job but journalism is what I was trained in and after laying it down just before I got married I now feel it's time to go back into it.

It wasn't a decision I took lightly, either. These kinds of decisions take lots of thought and prayer because I don't wish to lead my family down a cul-de-sac but make sure they are safe and have a regular income. My carpentry job has been brilliant in terms of finance but it's got to the point where my love for the job has grown less and less and I cannot go on any longer knowing that my heart just isn't in it.

Journalism is my passion. I love writing and I actually miss it so much that I wonder why I ever came to the decision to give it up. Well, actually, the reason I gave it up was because I felt God told me to so I guess you can say that choice had a fair degree of substance to it. But now I feel God is preparing me for more writing. I hope it's more to do with Him than cars and stuff but I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Other stuff going on in my life include being in a band. I am the bass player for a band called Jagged Dogz which I enjoy massively. I didn't think for one moment that after spending 16 years playing bass in church I'd end up in a rock band but it kinda just happened. We have written a few tracks now and one is going to be used in a film called The Estate which is a pretty violent film but I'm happy to be a light in the darkness, if nothing else.

There's nothing much else to say write now but I am going to start making more regular contributions to this and please tell your friends to read it because I'm going to use this as my spiritual soap box from now on and I really want to reach people I don't even know. After all, it's not Christians who need the gospel, it's for everyone else.

Right. Time to go but as I say, please tell your friends. Ta x