Day 1 Ash Wednesday - welcome to the Lent Blog

It is that time of year again already.  Time to look forward to the most important time in the year - Easter.  Time for another year of Lent blogging.  Some reflections of life and faith to try to create a Godly focus.  So happy you can join me again over the next 40 days.

Im starting this year's blog on a rather serious note. 

At the start of 2018 the leader of my church ( Lisburn Vineyard) Andy Masters addressed the church
and said that he felt that God had told him that the coming year was going to be a battle.  But that we were not to be afraid of the giants in the land.  Rather we were to keep our eyes on the prize and trust that God was going ahead of us and with us into the year and that if we were obedient and stayed close to Him we would come through the battle into new places of victory and take territory from the enemy.

The afternoon of the day he preached that message one of our congregation was murdered in his own home.

The church was in shock.  It seemed like a rather terrifying response from the enemy to the battle we had declared.  Andy led the church brilliantly through the disbelief, shock, grief, fear that hit us as a result of Robert's death.   Eyes on the prize.  Do not fear. Hold firm and run the race........ and then just last Sunday another tragic death.  This time not someone from our church, but from another congregation in our town.  A very well known and much loved teacher who was a friend to lots of people in our church and to many many others.  She was killed when her car collided with a bus.  Yet more shock and disbelief.  And a sense that Andy's words at the start of the year hold more weight than we imagined possible at the time.

Christianity is not all blessing and joy and peace and hope.  Running alongside those things there is warfare in heavenly places.  There is an enemy who is out to kill and steal and destroy.  There is a narrow path and a narrow gate.  And there is the challenge to believe that God is good ALL the time. Regardless. Full stop.  End of.


We can happily sing and say that God is good when life is good and all is well with the world.  We can praise Him when our bellies are full and there is cash in the bank and we are in good health.  It is not so easy to rejoice when the redundancy comes or when our child is being bullied at school.  It is so much harder to believe that God is good when outrageous acts of cruelty and violence crouch at our door - or worse, break down our door and take up residence in our lives.   And yet our praise is His battle cry ( as the old song put it so eloquently)   The enemy wants to turn our hearts away from God in bitterness and anger and grief.  When we respond in the opposite way - with praise and hope and forgiveness and love the enemy is utterly defeated.  He recognises that he has no power over us - no matter what he throws at us our spirits are untouchable.  With Job we can say ' yea though he slay me yet will I hope in Him' and really really mean it.   Invincible. Victorious. Unbroken. Free

If there are strange and difficult things happening around you at the start of this year then take heart.  God is on the move.  He is upping the ante.  We are being called to stand in the battle.  We have stones in our pocket and we know how to use them. We shall see the giants fall. Do not be afraid. Stay close to Jesus and do what He tells you to do.

Sorry that this was a bit of a sobering opening to this Lent season...... but it was what was on my heart to say.  Please do share your thoughts as we go forward together into the next 40 days.