CLOSED!

A decision has finally been reached...

Bring the rain has run its course for me and i have decided to move on. There are many reasons for this but I won't go into detail now

I have moved my blogging activities to Patient With Me. Please feel free to visit and follow as the journey will continue...just a new chapter.

Quick Hello

Hi and thanks for stopping by.

IF you check this blog out regularly you cant have failed to notice that i have not written anything in a while.
The reason for this is that I simply don't want to write just anything and have been trying to figure out where I want to go with this.
I am not a great writer and can only write what I feel,

I want to be honest about my feelings and what's going on in my life. I also want to have a bit of fun.

I'm not sure if I am going to continue on this blog or start afresh...we'll see

In the mean time I leave you with this!




God bless.

Great Video

More on Worship

I recently wrote a post on worship.

Since then I have been on a bit of a search for the meaning of worship, and I have to be honest and say that I feel like I have only scrapped the surface.

one of the questions I am looking at is:

What does Worship look like to our God?

We can stand and sing great songs with robust chorus's and big verses and heart felt lyrics but unless the heart of the individual singing the lyrics are truly seeking to worship God then they mean nothing to him.
God is looking for hearts of worship and lives that are lived in total worship to him.

Don't get me wrong I love nothing more than singing great songs to the Lord but I have learned that unless I truly mean the words that I sing they are empty and all God can hear is Blah blah blah.
Also when I am leading worship, If I don't mean every word I sing, how can I expect for the congregation whom I am responsible for at that moment - to get the the throne room?

I have to mean it, I have to live like I mean it, there is no pretending to mean it, there is no hiding from God!!

I know this hasn't fully answered my question but this is a Journey!!!

"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:24

Let me know your thoughts on worship!!

Questioning?

Currently I find myself in a bit of a situation.

I am finding myself questioning certain aspects of the word being received. there is a reason for this which I wont go into!! but lets just say that I am not convinced on some of the preaching being given at the moment.
I honestly believe that our pastor seeks God for the word but I am also aware that little "self" can creep in at times
I know that it is good to question some things and that there are times when this is healthy but right now through this period I don't feel that I am questioning in a healthy manner.

Questions?
Is it healthy to question the word?
can this do more harm than good?


Let me know you your thoughts!!


***** To Clarify **************************

It is the Preached word I am struggling with NOT the Written Word ( The Bible!!)

Worship

Lately I have been reading " A Passion for your name" by Tim Hughes. Its all about Worship.
To be quite frank it is possibly the best Christian book i have read to date...well almost!!
At the Same time as i am reading this God has been teaching me about worship.

Now i know worship is a spiritual act but there are physical elements to worship.

If you go through the bible it is full of examples of physical and spiritual act of worship. lying prostrate, arms are raised etc etc etc.

Me however for the last 20 or so years worship with my hand in my pockets or my arms folded or just be hind my back.

That was until a conversation with my wife changed the way I thought.
The conversation went something like this
Me:" i wish we could do away with the chairs some times in church"
Wife " Why?"
Me" Cause i think that i limits us in our worship, whens the last time anyone danced, getting rid of the chairs would encourage them"
Wife "Thats rich coming from you... You just stand there with you arms folded if your not playing guitar!!""
I wish I could get across the venom with which the statement was delivered or the amount it cut to my heart!!
But I have to say she was right and she had a point. I never express my self physically to God EVER!!
This stuck with me for quite some time then at work's prayer day we sang "The Stand" by Hillsong united and that was it for me i had to make a decision there and then.. a line from the chorus goes
"So i'll stand with ARMS HIGH and HEARTS ABANDONED" so basically hit hit me that if I sing this line and dont do it I was lying!! I have never been convicted of anything so strongly before!!
So i did it and the freedom was unreal it added a whole new level to worship for me, I didn't care who I thought was watching i didn't matter it was all about God!

How do you express to God Physically?
What's your favourite worship song right now?


My Favourite Worship song at the moment!!
Enjoy

Update!

Hi All.

Just wanted to let you know

1- My niece is now home, only 3 day s after being diagnosed with Meningitis. I went to see her yesterday and she was perfectly fine but we are still waiting for test results. Please continue to pray for her and that my Brother acknowledges that God had his hand in her healing!!

2 My cousin will be back home tomorrow. they are still waiting for test results also but it is a good sign that he is allowed home. Please continue to pray for him and his family through this difficult period.

Many thanks for all you prayers so far.

If you have anything I can pray for for you please let me know!

God Bless

Urgent call for Prayer

Anyone who drops by.

Please pray for my niece.

She has been diagnosed in the last couple of hours with Meningitis!! she is just 2 months old.

All prayers are welcome and as I have just explained to my eldest daughter we can never pray too much!!

Many thanks!!!

God Bless

On spirititual knees

Over the last 20 years or so i have had a persistent knee problem, which has now resulted in what's called an Oestochondrial Defect put simply a bit of the joint has worn away and a small piece of cartilage is floating around the knee joint. This is now causing my knee to lock into place causing excruciating pain!!!

The piece of cartilage is incredibly small but is temporarily totally debilitating.

Every part of me screams with pain and I cannot move forward until it has moved!

Why do I tell you all this...simply for sympathy!!
But it did get me thinking about the body of Christ.

You see in the Body the smallest problem can cause the whole body to come to a stand still, and quite often God will not allow the church to move on until the issue has been resolved.
He loves each and everyone of us so much that he would not allow pain or sorrow or trouble to be unresolved in the body.

How cool is it that we have a God who loves us this much!!
Just think about your job... does you boss stop everything because you are having problems.....highly unlikely he just wants his business to run and doesn't particularly care about your troubles.
But God is much bigger and has much more responsibility but will stop everything just for you.

Awesome!

Please Pray

My cousin Michael was taken ill with a stroke last night - (in California)

He is only 34 and has today been Diagnosed with 2 brain tumours.
Please remember him and his family in your prayers.

God bless!

Gary Moore 1952 - 2011

Pure Genius!!
One of my all time favourites!!

Bring The Rain

I heard this song again this week and I was reminded why I called this blog Bring the Rain!!
I think the lyrics say it all really.
With all the bad stuff that has happened so much more good has happened. When we focus on all the negativity we can forget how much God has done for us, how he is ALWAYS there, how he will never forsake us!

Enjoy

Whats are your songs of the moment?


MercyMe - Bring The Rain

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I’ve gone through

The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You

Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It’s never really ever crossed my mind

To turn my back on you oh Lord
My only shelter from the storms
But instead I draw closer through these times

So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory

And I know There’ll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that’s what it takes to praise You
Jesus Bring the Rain

I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain

You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what’s a little rain

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty

Yo!

Right now I am sat with my lap top, wanting to write a post but without a clue what to write about.
Several issues are going around my head at the moment
Hypocrisy in the Church
Getting the Job done
Worship
lead or be led
How can Russell Brand win an outstanding award to comedy award!

But really I just want to say hi!!

I am loving life. My family are fantastic, my wife is awesome and my kids are even more awesome!! I have a Job i love. I am loving church and stuff at the moment

I hope that if you pass by everything is going great, let me know!! if its not let me know and i can at least pray for you

Say Hi!

Shame Shame Shame

I am incredibly proud of my Eldest daughter (And my youngest for that matter!!) She is totally fearless when it comes to talking about God





She is not ashamed to:
speak about Jesus - Even when it costs
Ask for prayer
Turn to Jesus
Stand up for her Beliefs
Turn to Jesus

For All this I am proud! but ashamed of myself.

I fail to speak about Jesus when the opportunity arises
I fail to ask for prayer
I Fail to turn to Jesus

I don't know why I fail so often because I am not ashamed of my Christianity nor am I ashamed of Jesus.

This is my prayer!

Lord I want to be better for you, I am not ashamed of you Lord yet my actions do not prove that.
Help me to take the opportunities that you give to talk about you. Lord Help me to trust that you can answer my prayers and to ask for prayer when I need it.
Lord be my life, my all, my everything

Amen

COMING SOON

Hello to any who pass by!

A new post will be coming soon.
In the mean time
Hope you had a Great Christmas and new year!

A risk worth taking!

I realise that I haven't posted in a while to be honest I have been struggling spiritually and a lot of things have happened in the family over the last few weeks!

Last week one of the young guys at work did a little preach on risk taking and it is a subject which has stuck with me ever since. To be honest I don't know why it stuck but somewhere it must have struck a cord.

I have started reading Exodus and I realised that risk are things which we as Christians need to take more of.
Imagine if Moses didn't take the risk....
Moses took a risk when he initially killed the Egyptian, a risk which it turns out was a bit of a failure... but out of that he found a purpose, he found that he was loved by God and the God was going to use him in a very specific way.
Moses took a risk when God told him to return to Egypt, He took a risk going to Pharaoh but ultimately he took the risk that God would show up just like he said he would.
I'm pretty sure that When Moses set off on the journey he at some point had doubts.

for me a risk is anything which may end in embarrassment and makes me vulnerable.. I hate being up in front of people...which is difficult when your in the music Team!!
However the first time i had to lead worship there was just me, 1 singer and the pastor and i had 24 hours notice that i was doing it!! It was a Risk!!!
From that risk God has shown up time and time again but I can still fall back on ME! and its straight back to square 1!
I took a risk returning to God. I was a lapsed Christian when my now wife and I got together, I had been hurt by some stuff relating to old members of the church and was initially not prepared to take the risk of returning. But I took the risk and found a love I had not experienced previously.
It was a risk for me to take my current Job but God has blessed it so much!

Basically every risk I have taken for God has led to something wonderful happening.

I also know that God is calling us to take bigger risks in his name. Unless we take risks the world will not experience the love which God has to give.
They will not understand how Jesus died for them and took their sins away
Its a risk to speak to your neighbour about God, Its a risk to give a little extra to the poor,its a risk to show love by actions, its a risk to speak of an amazing love... you never know how people are going to react. But ultimately its a risk worth taking.

Becoming Like Children

Matt 18:3
"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven"



(old photo!)

Anyone who knows me knows how proud I am of my children.
Well I have to be honest and say I am more than just "proud"

We (my wife and I) have done and are doing our best to bring our children up to believe in Christ and to never be afraid of their beliefs. Well so far so good!! in the midst of all our struggles, problems and issues with our faith are my 2 angels! they have no fear , no issues and proclaim the Good news to all who listen, they may be only children but we could learn so much more from them

On Friday Night we went to A Christian Concert (LZ7 ) they had a ball!! but the best for me was yet to come.

On Saturday Morning there was a knock at the door and one of my Eldest child's friends came to the door my eldest immediately started telling them about the concert but also went on to tell them about the songs,that all the songs were about Jesus and how cool it was that she went to a concert all about Jesus!!

Me lying in bed thought WOW! how amazing is it that she can just come out and say it yet me a 36 year old man struggle to even mention it to my non Christian friends.
I am incredibly lucky to be working for a Christian Charity now but for years i have worked elsewhere...........I have I left a lasting impression of a Christian in their midst or something else, my guess would have to be something else.

But i know my eldest has left a lasting impression on not just the person from Saturday but from other friends too. she is so proud to be a Christian and has such faith in Jesus that it puts me to shame.
There is so much yet that I have to learn and I couldn't go much further than looking at home!!



Matt 18:3
"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven"

Human Trafficking

John 10:10 (New International Version)

¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

(All links open a new Window!)
A Few months ago I attended an event in Manchester Called "The Stand". The event was put on by a Christian Charity called Hope for Justice.
The event was to raise the awareness of Human trafficking in the UK and to enable the Local church to actively combat this issue!!
Ever since that day both my wife and I have had a real heart about the issue and it is one which breaks both our Hearts, we have both written about it several times.

Unfortunately in the UK we are still not doing enough as a church or politically to combat human trafficking and i feel that it is very much swept under the carpet by some, but the issue is currently being debated in parliament. This is a step in the right direction but its just that a Step there is so much more that we as a church can do and should be doing. My admission today is that i am not doing enough! particularly for an issue which weighs heavy on my heart.

Please read the story below, there are many more stories very similar and worse.

Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con):
"So where are all those slaves, and whom does this affect? In the United Kingdom, the main victims are women and children. They are often tricked into coming to this country, usually with a promise of some sort of job. When they arrive here, they are often locked up and forced to have sex with up to 30 men a day. I shall give the House an example. I met a 14-year-old Kenyan girl who had been trafficked into this country by a middle-aged white man on a passport that did not bear her name and did not have her picture on it. She was taken to Liverpool, locked in a house and forced to have sex with numerous men. Luckily, she escaped after a few days and was helped by a national charity. She was one of the lucky ones, if you can call it lucky to endure what she had had to. She managed to escape, but how many girls do not manage to do so? How many girls are locked in houses such as those while we are debating this issue today? Even if there were just one, that would be one too many, but there is not just one; there are thousands."
(taken from the Parliamentary publications page.)

PLEASE - Pray for victims, Pray for the authorities, pray for those brave enough to stand up to these traffickers!
Raise the issue in your church, in your family, with your friend, lets make the world far more aware - Lets do something!!!

But ultimately remember, Christians, We are in a battle and it is a battle that we ultimately win!!

Isaiah 25:8 (New International Version)

⁸ he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces.


Amen!

See no Evil, Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil

One of My Pet hates is Blasphemy in Films or on TV, I turn off!. This seems extreme to some Christians but not to me! there are good reasons for this and I will do my best to explain.

It does mean that I cant watch some Really good films but this is what's called Sacrifice!

Blasphemy is the ultimate sin against God. In Matthew 12v31 Jesus Says
"blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven"
For Me if God Abhors blasphemy so much that it is a sin which "will not" be forgiven, how can I then let such a sin into my home?


It took me along time to introduce this as a rule in my home but it was an issue I wrestled with for quite sometime, My Wife was convicted of this way before I was and to be honesty it annoyed me, we couldn't get out some really good films or watch certain TV programs but I stuck with it because spending time with her was more important than the programme! But I Kept asking God why this was so bad and what was so wrong with me watching it because if I switch it off, it will still be there so what good was it doing anyway.
One evening I was reading through my bible when I came across the scripture above whilst making my way through Matthew, and it suddenly made sense!! Why would I allow something that offends God so much into my home?
If one of my children came how one day and started blaspheming how would that make me feel? the thought knocked me for six!

If I tell him that I love him and then allow my favourite TV character to Blaspheme in my home, do I really Love him as much as I claim?
Jesus Said that the greatest Commandment was
"Love the Lord your God with all your Heart and with all your soul and with all your Mind" Matthew 22V37

If I watched things that blasphemed the name of Jesus was I loving him with all I am or was the program / Film more important?

Was I allowing this to enter my mind?

What we watch is a direct reflection of who we are and if, as Christians we allow this sin into our homes and minds,then what does that say about our relationship with God?
Please don't get me wrong I am no better than others!!!! I am not saying this to say "look at me Look how righteous I am" cause the truth is far different! - but I do find myself explaining my stance quite frequently!

The question I frequently ask in reply is If it was the name of Allah or some other god used in vain what would happen?

We know from historic events what happens when Allah's name is take in vain in the media, there is a public outcry, But Jesus is OUR Lord and Our Saviour yet we sit by and do nothing! if we as Christian would stand together and simply say "no - We wont watch this", then film / TV producers would sit up and take notice.




Again I am Not judging Christians who do allow this - This is my stance !! and how I feel about it!


God Bless!

The Sway the Truth and the Life!

You ever notice how during a service Christians Sway....

I am sure that there must be a spiritual reason but here's what I think:


1- To much on the night before - you know the score an old friend invites you out for A drink but 1 becomes 2 , 2 becomes 3 and before you know it your running down the road at 1am singing "footballs coming home" so in order to deflect from this you just close your eyes and begin to sway in a valiant attempt to appear super spiritual, when really you just want to sleep.

2 - The person next to you has a particular odour which you want to avoid so you begin to sway from side to side just to take the odd gulp of clean fresh air, problem is that the person on the other side thinks your a bit nuts and begins to sway to keep away from you.

3- the person next to you is a bit nuts.

4- to irritate the person behind - you do the side to side sway on purpose because you are 6ft tall and the person behind you is only 4ft, your church has one of those screens that hang on the wall and you know that if you sway then the person behind has no chance of viewing the screens.

5 - to avoid the person in front who is annoyingly swaying, possibly deliberately to stop you seeing the screens!!

6 - you want to get a closer look at the thing the person in front / to the left or right has on the floor, this could be in the form of the forward to backward sway or the side to side sway, just be careful I have seen many people sway just that little bit to far........

7 - to relieve boredom - your worship leader has been up all night seeing to his 3month old and is playing all the easy songs mainly from the 80's which are really annoying.

8 - Exercise - Let be honest , this is the only chance this week you have had for any exercise so in an vain effort to try to get a little in you use the 20min worship session to get those leg muscles going to prevent them wasting away!

9 - You want everyone in the room to think that you are a very very spiritual person, so you close your eyes but every so often you take a peek to see if anyone is watching, if they are not, you up the swaying ratio until either someone notices or you fall over, thinking that maybe someone will think you have been slain in the spirit - come on I have seen you - you kn ow who you are!!

10 - because some wally close by is pretending to be super spiritual and is trying to get a Mexican wave effect going until they fall over and now your sway is to stop yourself from wetting yourself with laughter.


I'm sure there must be more but I cant think of any. let me know if you have any ideas!!