Broken Bedside Manner - Part 2

Please read Part 1 first!

Over the years I've prayed for lots of sick people in the name of Jesus and some have been healed, some haven't. In that time I feel like God has taught me something valuable about ministering to broken people (physically or otherwise). People coming to you for prayer are often afraid of what may or may not happen or are anxious about being in front of lots of people. They may be wavering in their faith in God or hoping that the Holy Spirit doesn't show you the root of their real problems! They're vulnerable. They might have their defenses up because of past injuries from the Church. Often a slap on the fourhead and a "BE HEALED IN JESUS' NAME" is not what these people need. "BELIEVE AND YOU'LL RECEIVE" can just drain on people's faith if they can't force themselves to believe. If they don't know God and you're supposed to be representing Him, they may end up hating Him. This is terrible bedside manner!

Broken people need to be loved and appreciated, cared for and comforted. Jesus didn't only demonstrate power, He embodied Love! When broken people came to Jesus they were met by His love and compassion and so when they approach us in search of Him, they should get the same. Bill Johnson, an american minister says that everytime someone comes to you for prayer they should encounter the love of God through you whether they get healed and all their problems are solved or not. Experiencing the love of God creates a desire for Him, desiring Him attracts His presence and His power is in His presence. This means that if someone encounters His love, God can continue to work in that person after they've left your care. I hope you're still thinking about this in relation to non-physical healing.

The presence of God in our lives is what makes us whole as human beings. When we minister to the broken out of obligation we're ministering out of ourselves instead of out of His love so we have nothing to give anyone except for what we're feeling in that moment. Fear and unbelief often keep us from showing genuine care. I've found that sometimes when I've prayed for someone to be healed and nothing has happened instantly, the next time I see them I avoid the topic! Just being honest. In the past this may have been for many reasons inc. not wanting to tarnish my record of people healed (sickening I know but Jesus loves me), not wanting to risk finding that my lack of faith kept them from their miracle or just not wanting to have to pray for them again knowing it might not happen again etc etc. Basically it was selfishness. All about me. Are we moved by the suffering broken people are going through in comparison to the life God wants them to have?

We cannot get around the fact that caring for the broken takes times and effort and energy (both human and Divine). The quick fix isn't always the solution. I have friends who were alcholics and drug addicts prior to becoming Christians. For some of them their addictions vanished overnight and God healed them completely. For others they had to walk with people through the rough processes of recovery and lean on others for support. If we try to love broken people from ourselves, we run dry because our love is finite and limited. We need to allow the love of God to flow through us because that is a river that doesn't run dry. When we encounter the broken we must be ready to give them the affirmation and comfort they need until they are ready to walk in their new found wholeness.

Thanks for reading!

Broken Bedside Manner - Part 1

Google definition of bedside manner: "manner or conduct of a physician in the presence of a patient."


"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified."
Isaiah 61:1-3
     Brokenness has many different symptoms, it may be poverty, it may be insecurity, it may be fear or past wounds that haven't healed. It may be destructive relationships, substance abuse or laziness. Since sin entered the world humanity seems to have a tendency towards brokenness even to the point where those who are whole create issues for themselves in order to fit in with everyone else! I'm not really sure at the moment whether I think "whole people" are people without issues or just people whose issues are in submission to them  rather than the other way around. Maybe it's both. Either way, Isaiah shows us that the brokenness of humanity is not God's will as Jesus came to bring an end to it.


     One of the main responsibilities and privileges of the Church in fulfilling the ministry of Jesus is to serve and care for those who are broken and see them made whole. Throughout Scripture the Lord pretty much says there's nothing He loves more! (Isaiah 58:6-12; Matthew 25:31-46 to name a couple) Many churches have specific ministries to specific groups of broken people and they are fantastic. We have people that venture out across the globe on missions trips to give time to serving those who are broken whether in the sex trade in Thailand or in marriage counselling in the UK. All of these are fantastic but I want to raise a question. Is (y)our heart for the broken?


     As with many activities in the Church that we're afraid to engage with, it's really easy to stand back and applaud those who selflessly give of themselves to see the broken made whole. We can agree theologically with what they're doing and think "Yeah it's great that someone is doing that" and have absolutely no change happen in our hearts and therefore our lives. Or worse we can restrict our time for serving the poor to our missions trips or ministry nights. The issue comes when we minister to the broken while our heart is not in it. Think back to when you were a kid and you hurt yourself. You're crying and the world is pretty much ending. You run to the nearest trusted adult for help in all your vulnerability. If all you get is a plaster (or worse maybe even a "stop being such a baby"), you're going to be miserable for a long time afterwards! What we need in that moment is authentic sympathy mixed with affirmation ("You're such a brave boy!") combined with the mystical power of the "kiss-it-better" finished off with the embrace that doesn't end until the pain has gone! Then you run off, ready to take on the world!


     Broken people can tell when someone is attending to them out of obligation and guess what? It sucks! It makes you feel horrible, like a faceless name on a long list of arduous chores! People actually often get more injured through that sort of ministry, thinking "Not even the people who're supposed to care care about me!" Jesus didn't treat people like this. We find Him giving His full attention to the people who came to Him and engaging them, meeting them where they're at. Jesus touched the leper who hadn't been touched for years and healed him when He could have just spoken a word. Jesus allowed the children to come to Him so that He could bless every single one! And although it seems gross, Jesus put his own spit in the eyes of a blind him to restore his sight! He gave something of Himself for the restoration of another. Broken people need to be accepted in their brokenness in order to be led into wholeness.


Thanks for reading. Please read Part 2!

Poem: A Request from the Young Men of the Nation

A Request from the Young Men of the Nation

Show me a man who can carry the weight of the world on his shoulders but knows when to lay it down.

Show me a man who can walk with confidence without falling prey to pride.
Show me a man who knows how to be humble before both God and men.
Show me a man whose possessions don't possess him but instead are collected for the good of others.
Show me a man who fights for justice while surrendering to love.
Show me a man who has mastery over his emotions but does not deny them.
Show me a man who kisses his children and tells them he loves them.
Show me a man who can wear his heart on his sleeve without a designer label.
Show me a man who always has an answer but doesn't have to say it.
Show me a man who encourages his friends without patronizing them.
Show me a man who can keep his faith in the darkness based on what he saw in the light.
Show me a man whose life isn't as precious to him as the next man's.
Show me a man who values peace over victory.
Show me a man who respects before it is earned.
Show me a man who forgives before it is asked of him.
Show me a man whose romance is not limited to February 14th.

Show me such a man, find him if you can so I can grow up to be just like him.

Climbing Jacob's Ladder to Get Over Ourselves!

     One of the main things God has taught me over the last year is the simple fact that the Church is made up of people. PEOPLE!!! It makes me think "God...I know you wanted somewhere to live on earth but why on earth did you choose PEOPLE???" People are crazy! People are annoying! People are ignorant! People are rude! People are fickle! People are mean! The list goes on.


     However God knows better than me (Phew! Praise Jesus!) making His Temple out of people is a great idea because it's His. It's up to us then to figure out how to make this thing work right? Wrong. We think if we just act nice to everybody, everything will be "okily dokily". But instead we end up festering with negative emotions inside and actually the Church just becomes a beautiful looking cake that's rotting on the inside. The Sunday morning smile and small talk is poison to the Church.


     The Church by it's very nature is spiritual and supernatural but we don't always believe that. We believe that some things should be supernatural and other things should be done out of human effort. Paul thinks differently though. Paul reckons we should walk by the Spirit and that walking by the Spirit will mean we don't gratify the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16). He goes on to say 19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; HATRED, DISCORD, JEALOUSY, fits of rage, SELFISH AMBITION, DISSENTIONS, FACTIONS 21and ENVY; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
I've emphasised the ones that are unfortunately pretty commonly found in the western Church.


     Paul tells us that in order to live like this in the Church we have to live supernaturally, we have to walk by and be filled with the Spirit. So what happens when the church leaders turn down your request to preach on a Sunday morning? Do you let selfish ambition flare or do you walk by the Spirit? What happens when everybody pays more attention to someone else than you? Do you stew in envy or walk by the Spirit?


     What if we started using the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit to invade our everyday lives as the Church? What if we used the gift of discernment instead of pulling that prank on our friend who just isn't in the mood? What if we moved in the gift of faith to see that someone is made in the image of God and so we shouldn't be kicking off at them? What if we used the gift of healing to heal our own wounds and enable us to forgive supernaturally? Just thinking out loud here...


It's not just a case of trying harder. We have to submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit's teaching, shaping and moulding. We're the Body of Christ right? Who knows how to be Jesus better than His Spirit?

Poem: Grace

The grace of God is not a dish cloth to wipe up the messes we make
but a safety net that catches us after the risks we take
and the steps we make as the Spirit breaks sin's hold on us!
A heavenly gift to lift us from the rift caused by the original lie, that flowed out on us the day they thrust that spear in Jesus' side.
So for now I'll embrace grace until I finish the race and we're face to face in that holy place, Heaven.
For now I'll continully shoot for the purity pursuit to produce the Spirit's fruit for the hungry.
He desires me to enquire of Him to inspire the liars to flee from eternal fire and set their sights higher.
It's His grace that allows me see all the things i can be and get done because of the One who hung on a tree.
His grace calls the prodigals from the farthest nations
Enabling saints to step into a life of consecration
To become a physical manifestation of that same grace.
Thank you Lord for Your grace.

God does not love everyone equally

What I mean by that is that parents often say they love all their kids equally (easy if you have one) but they mean that their love is spread evenly between each child. I don't think it's that way with Father God. I think that God's love is all for me. I say that because God is infinite and so is His love and so He doesn't have to spread His love evenly between His children because it doesn't diminish with use! All of God's love is for me and ALL of God's love is for YOU! You can have as much as you want!! It doesn't run out! Think about that, ALL OF GOD'S LOVE!!!! Ask God to let you experience more of the love He has for you and watch what He does! Go on! I dare you!


Do listen to this and go crazy about our Father God who loves you completely all the time with all the love He's got! He's not holding out on you, He's holding out FOR you! Ask Him! Ask Him!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmzuPLBot5Q


You might want to have a boogie afterwards... so here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_KXsMCJgBQ


Haha I'm sorry the crazy title made you read it! Well I'm not sorry...I'm sorry if it upset you. :-)

Church on Tour

    Over the centuries there have been small outbreaks or "outpourings" or "renewals" of the Holy Spirit (or whatever we want to call them) in different churches and denominations around the country. These have been quite short-lived and their impact is often "small" but glorious all the same. I think this is because we can all be a bit pompous towards anything that doesn't start in our own church or our own network. We draw up checklists and say that "a true move of God should have this, this and this, so it's not a move of God." I reckon there have been times we've missed out on what God was wanting to release to us because we haven't been willing to a) get over ourselves and b) travel.

     There is still quite a powerful sense of competition between different churches and denominations in the same city, all believing that they and they alone are God's answer. We all rightly expect God to do something mighty in our church whether it's massive salvation, manifestations of the Holy Spirit or angelic visitations but in my opinion we wrongly expect that it all has to start with us in our church in order for it to be from God or for it to benefit us. For example let's say we've been praying to God to see more people healed in our church in Nottingham and we hear that a church in Edinburgh has received huge breakthrough in healing. For a lot of us our first thought isn't to jump on a train and go humble ourselves to learn from the church in Scotland and what God is doing there. Instead we keep crying out to God to come and do it here for us. We miss the fact that God only has one Church in the UK so if the Church has been crying out to see more healing (through it's mouth in Nottingham), God has released it to the Church, just maybe not directly to that congregation. So the question comes, how badly do we want it?

     It works both ways. If we step back and say we are looking for God to move through the whole country, why would we stay so focussed on our city alone? If we want God moving throughout our city, why would we focus on our local church alone? If we get breakthrough in an area in our local church, do we keep it to ourselves or do we let the rest of Jesus' Church in our city know what's happening and share the grace we've been given? If we see another city that needs breakthrough in an area that we're succeeding in, do we expect them to come to us or do we go to them to serve them and give to them? We need to get the Church on tour! I'm not just talking about special leaders with titles but people who are full of the Holy Spirit and in-tune with what God is doing who have a heart to see His glory radiate throughout the Church. Imagine planting seeds of the kingdom wherever we meet Christians. What if you prayed for God to release the breakthrough in prayer that you've had in London in the tiny little chapel you visit while on holiday in the Lakes? What if you discover that they have powerful encounters with God during their times of praise? Ask them to pray for you!


There's lots of questions in here but I'm thinking of it like this: God's presence is everywhere but His manifest presence is His choice. If He is choosing to powerfully manifest His presence somewhere on this planet, why wouldn't we run there to see Him?! We live on a tiny island, we have cars, trains and planes. Let's use them to build up the Church and stop hoarding God's gifts like greedy children. The Church is one Body so unity is our reality. Our experience of it however is limited by our decision. I think God sometimes works this way to develop humility in us at the same time as releasing to us the things we've been asking for. I'd also apply this principle to other supernatural things like restored marriages and obedient young people who aren't insecure. If we see these things in other churches, let's get humble, pack up the van and go on tour!

Thanks for reading :-)

Interior Design - Part 1

     "Oops! I did it again!" I bet you never thought as a Christian your theme song would be so Britney Spears heavy! You were doing so well when BOOM!! You've messed up again. It feels as if someone has snuck into your house just after you've tidied it and gone Family Guy chicken fight on it! You just got everything where you wanted it and now it's a mess again. What to do? What to do? The answer may well be in interior design.


2Corinthians 4:16 says - So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.


     Our first point is to not lose heart. It's easy to grab a silly hat and a party popper and join the pity party but hold your horses a second! If we start to understand that we are designed in a particular way on the inside (each of us different) we begin figuring why we fall into the cycles that so frustrate us. Many of us go for a long time trying to make certain things in our life work for us and wonder why everything else keeps collapsing.


     It's kind of like when your friend gets some furiture or a painting that goes with nothing else in the house and they spend hours trying to find a good place for it. When they ask for your advice all you can hear in your head is the beeping of the binmen's truck! Or when someone who lives in a tiny house gets a gigantic television that means you have to turn your head to see who's talking to who! There's not enough room! Sometimes you just have to throw things out. Not because they're bad but because they don't suit your interior design.


     Sometimes you need a sovereign act of God to destroy a sin cycle and sometimes you need to pay attention to interior design. The devil wants to decorate your interior with sin that he can hang shame and guilt on for the world to see and as a constant reminder to you that you're not good enough for God. If you do nothing, he'll just carry on. Broken promises are scattered around the house and every cupboard in the kitchen is made of cynicism with a rough, bitter finish. It's up to you to decide if you want to help him.


     People have a tendency to delve deeper into sin once we've made a mistake because we want our interiors to match (and often we start trying to make our exterior match as well).

Refined in a Fire

     I think that God often doesn't want to change our situations when we think that they're bad because He doesn't want us to miss out on the opportunity of going through some adversity with Him at our side and emerging with more wisdom, understanding and faith in Him. I've definitely been guilty of thinking that if a situation is difficult, "God can't be involved because Jesus died to make my life easy. This is hard so it must be the devil!" Ha! A quick look in Paul's letters and I find verses about horrible words I wish weren't in the Bible like struggle, perseverance, endurance and suffering. I hear Paul telling people to get excited at these things! Are you kidding me? Come on God just do everything for me! Sometimes God will ride in dropping miracles everywhere but apparently sometimes He has other plans...
     As we spend time in His presence, He draws out from us His own image and equips us to take on our situation. I am the one who needs to choose that instead of complaining about my situation I can renew my mind knowing that if He hasn't removed the situation He must believe in me! I'm starting to understand that any situation I encounter God is ready to use it to build me up. Any situation. Good, bad, big, small, whatever. This should give us confidence right? If we strap on our armour and go into battle He goes before us leading us as we learn on the job. If we lose now and again we can still claim victory over fear because we didn't run from the battle line! When we emerge victorious, we come out with the keys to see others liberated in the same way but usually quicker. God is a genius and one thing I've been blown away by is the way He produces progression in the Church. One person can spend a year working through an awful situation and emerge stronger having been equipped with wisdom and character so that they can see 10 people come through the same situation in half the time with twice the blessing! WHAAAT??? That's big picture thinking! I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be God hearing your children cry out for deliverance and withholding it because you know that their perseverance will mean so many more get impacted by what they learn!
     Before crying out to God to change the situation, how about we ask Him, "So what do you think Dad? Can we take em?" Sometimes He'll say we're not ready and others He'll say "Put on your armour lad/lass, it's gonna be a tough one but I know you can do it!" Are we willing to take hits so that we learn hard lessons for the benefit of others? If the answers is yes, let's suit up!
     I've grown up thinking that praying for the instant miracle is always the way to go and then not really knowing what to do if it doesn't happen instantly. I'm starting to think that committing in my heart to a potentially long process that will require me to trust God long-term is better because either I will walk that path and grow and develop with Him or He will see my faith and perform the miracle anyway. Just another thought. Thanks for reading.

"One person and God is the majority." 

The Sin Next Door

Check out Genesis 4:7b

The context of the story is that Cain and Abel have just brought their offerings to God and He's accepted Abel's and not Cain's and Cain is ticked. God gives Him a warning and a challenge that I think we should all take into account more seriously. "sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for^c you, but you must rule over it.”


Picture the scene. The sunrise gently warms your face through your bedroom window as you wake up to the sound of morning birds sitting in trees swaying in the breeze. Jesus is already downstairs making breakfast out of Bible pages. You take your time over it and enjoy a hearty conversation with Him about your day. You finish up with a fresh glass of living water from the well inside you and you're ready to take on the world! As you open the front door, silence falls. A deadly silence. You can't see it but you know it's out there. You know it's waiting. You know it's watching.


Carefully but confidently you step out onto the driveway and you hear the heavy breathing but can't quite tell where it's coming from. With each turn a darting shadow avoids your direct gaze. Suddenly the sound of rapid paws on the ground is heard but stops abruptly. Jesus leans out of the front window and shouts "Heads up!" Looking upward you see the huge Beast of Sin sailing through the air, claws outstretched and mouth wide open. In one movement you take a simple step backwards and draw your sword causing the enemy's pounce to fall short. It rears up on it's hind legs to appear larger but you run in and force your sword through the exposed flesh. The beast falls dead.


Sometimes, this is the right way to deal with sin. We have to learn that sin is not passive (it is first described in the Bible by God as being a beast with desires waiting to pounce) but it is aggressive in pursuing its victims. Sin isn't an entity or being but the way it operates is vicious and so our response is to fight it! Our warfare isn't based on our own strength, but the strength of our relationship with Jesus. If He is our source and His Word is our foundation and we draw power from His Spirit, we win the battles over sin. He's already won the war. Many Christians want to leave their daily victory over sin to Jesus alone but God challenges us here to rule over sin! He invites us to partner up with Jesus to live in the victory He won over sin on the cross by living by the Spirit and not by the flesh each day. Sin will always try to make itself look bigger. When this happens, you know it's time to crucify the flesh again.



However, sometimes the day goes a little more like this.

Picture the scene. The annoying light of the Sun shoves its way into your room partnering with the inconsiderate birds who decide to vandalise your eardrums. Jesus is already downstairs making breakfast out of Bible pages but you're late so you don't really have time to chat with Him. You wolf down a couple spoons and you're out the door and on the driveway. You can't see it. You know it's out there. You know it's waiting. You know it's watching. You... really can't be bothered. You wack your earphones in and make a move.

You hear a distant, faint shout just as you fall to the ground and you feel the weight of sin bearing down on you. You fumble for your sword but in your mind's eye you see it on the kitchen table. Looking back to the house you see Jesus standing at the front door but the beast spreads its wings to appear larger and obstructs your view. You're waiting for Jesus to jump in and save the day but you're still pinned down. It seems to be growing larger and heavier and its getting harder to breathe. Its eyes transfix you in their cold, dead gaze. You feel the creature's venom begin to permeate your body through your pores and head towards your heart as you start to go numb. Finally regretting the way you went about your morning, your tears of repentance release the living water inside you and drinking it you are strengthened and begin struggling. After fighting your way out from under the beast Jesus stuns it with a blow to the skull from His cross giving you the time to find your sword and kill it.

This isn't just about starting your day right or having your "quiet time" in the morning. This is about your attitude towards Jesus in all things. You can't give Him too much attention as He'll always have something great for you. Without spending time with Him we lose perspective on sin and it becomes more and more trivial to us. We lose power over it because that also comes out of relationship with the One who defeated it forever. It's not a one time deal. Jesus told His disciples to stay in His love (John 15:9) because that's where strength and effectiveness comes from. He wouldn't tell them to stay if it wasn't possible to stray!

Sometimes when we mess up we start to see our sin as bigger even than Jesus and we lose sight of Him. Guilt sets in and so does the voice of the accuser and we start to feel impure. This is why Jesus tells us that the pure in heart are blessed (Matthew 5:8) because they see God. They see Him as He is, full of grace and truth, pouring out forgiveness. It's through repentance that we get restored.

Final thought: 2Timothy 2:22 - "Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."

All that being said, if you're having to struggle and fight with the same sin everyday, maybe you should just move to a better neighbourhood and get some new friends...

Understanding Forgiveness - Part 4 - The Unoffended Heart

Check out part 3...
http://tony-campbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/understanding-forgiveness-part-3.html    

God has been teaching me about the principle of an unoffended heart. This is a heart that regardless of past disappointments and hurts still remains open and bursting with love. The owner of an unoffended heart is not a weak-willed, attention-starved desperate individual but rather a person who is stronger than most of us in being able to see past offences and loving the people behind them. I am convinced that an offended heart is prone to cultivating unforgiveness as well as isolation and loneliness. People who often feel inexplicably lonely in the presence of many friends are likely to have an area of unforgiveness that they are yet to deal with. I believe an unoffended heart is nothing short of supernatural and requires the intervention of God to produce. An unoffended heart will keep the door open even after someone has brought in their muddy shoes. The spirit of the age says those who bare the burden of unforgiveness can never trust again but the Spirit of Christ says "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28) He who prayed for the forgiveness of those who stripped him, beat him, humiliated him and nailed him to a cross is the only One capable of giving us a heart that returns evil with good and hatred with love (Romans 12:21).


Father I pray that you would teach us to love selflessly and outrageously and forgive immediately out of the overflow of an unoffended heart that has known Your unconditional love.

Understanding Forgiveness - Part 3 - Unforgiveness

Part 2...
http://tony-campbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/understanding-forgiveness-part-2-paying.html

Unforgiveness is seen as completely justifiable in today's society. We can all probably identify something that is fine not to forgive someone for or at least to delay forgiveness for. Think of a big furry dog covered in mud (weird I know) walking around inside a nice white house. Everytime it enters a room it's only a matter of time before it does the standard crazy-dog-shake and dirt goes absolutely everywhere! I understand unforgiveness as being like this. As Christians each one of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit and God lives in us (1Corinthians 3:16) making us more like Jesus by renewing our minds (Romans 12:2). Unforgiveness is like inviting that paint-covered dog into the house. It will start in the front room and shake around until the room looks different, dirtier. It will eventually move into the next room and do the same, changing the appearance of the room. If unforgiveness goes unchecked in our lives it begins to twist and change our perceptions. We develop trust issues, become paranoid. As a result we isolate ourselves and build defense mechanisms to prevent ourselves from being vulnerable or hurt again. I believe that one of the main tactics of the devil in taking people down is isolation. In the beginning God said it is not good for Man to be alone (Gen 2:18) and the enemy knows that our faith can fail us in the absence of community and encouragement. If you want to know the areas of your life where the devil may be attacking you, have a look at where you're being separated from people who are positive influences on you. Anyway, unforgiveness is an intruder in the house of God and when detected it should be cast out immediately! Unforgiveness ruins lives. What if we all cast unforgiveness out of our hearts? Why don't we?

Check out part 4...
http://tony-campbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/understanding-forgiveness-part-4.html

Understanding Forgiveness - Part 2 - Paying the Cost

Part 1...
http://tony-campbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/understanding-forgiveness-part-1-free.html

I reckon one of the reasons we don't see forgiveness that way is because we miss one of the main components of forGIVEness. It involves giving! Most of our attitudes towards forgiveness are passive and so we wait to receive an apology so that we can take the offense we've stored in our heart and "let it go". I believe forgiveness is not the passive letting go of an offended heart but the rejection of the pain of the offense in exchange for love which is then poured out on the offender whether they are sorry or not. Forgiveness is a gift and the best gifts are undeserved. We also often see forgiveness as a bargaining chip "If you do this, I'll forgive you". In this case, forgiveness is no longer a gift but actually becomes payment and the person receiving it becomes fully deserving of it. The virtue of the giver is lost. Forgiveness is supposed to cost us something. That's what giving is. Sacrifice. As Christians we understand that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8) and therein lies the beauty of our salvation and the divine model for forgiveness! What if we sought to model this forgiveness to the world? Why don't we?

Check out part 3...
http://tony-campbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/understanding-forgiveness-part-3.html

Understanding Forgiveness - Part 1 - The Free Gift

I've been at Bible College for a year and one of the biggest lessons God has been teaching me (which isn't a subject in school) is about forgiveness particularly as it applies to Christians but also more widely. I think one of the first things He opened my eyes to is the fact any Christian who withholds forgiveness doesn't understand it. By virtue of being a Christian we give up our right to withhold forgiveness from anyone who wrongs us as our lives were saved by One who laid down everything so that forgiveness could become available to us. As living perfection Jesus had every right to both judge and condemn us but instead He chose to lay His life down so that we could have the Father's forgiveness. Think about a time when you've come to knock on a door and someone opens it before you manage to. I think that forgiveness should be like that. Forgiveness is not a response to an apology but a change of heart in the name of love that occurs following an offense. The death of Jesus has made the forgiveness of God the Father available to the those who turn from their own ways to His and so as soon as someone repents (raises their hands to knock on the door) the forgiveness of God bursts out over them in a flood of love and grace washing away the offense (the door swings open and a warm embrace waits on the other side). What would happen if we saw forgiveness that way? Why don't we?

Check out part 2...
http://tony-campbell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/understanding-forgiveness-part-2-paying.html

Blogging: The voice of the unheard

I've noticed (not a new discovery) that a lot of the reasons behind people starting blogs is because they have something to say and no-one else will listen. I'd be lying if I said that that wasn't a small part of the motivation behind me starting a blog. I do actually have lots of people who patiently and graciously listen to all of the weird and wonderful things that bounce around in my head and I'm grateful for those people in my life. I'm a Christian and I believe God speaks both to me (probably not in the ways you're thinking) and through me so a large portion of this blog will be committed to what I believe He's saying to me. This does not mean however that my blog is primarily directed at Christians or anyone else for that matter. It's likely to change with every post to be honest.


This blog is not primarily a cry for attention or recognition (although admittedly there's a little of that in there) but the thing is I have lots of thoughts that whiz through my head and I'm starting to feel more responsible for getting them written down because I believe that if they are developed, they'll actually be able to help people and bring them into a greater enjoyment of their lives.


I can't promise that there won't be the odd rant or rave about this or that now again so if you do end up reading this...sorry. Bear with me. I'm growing too! As I would like to get into publishing later in life this blog is also a practice ground for me so constructive criticism is very welcome!! I'd love to hear thoughts and ideas about what I write and how I write it. I want to get better.


I hope I've made the goal of this blog clear and I hope that if you've read this far you'll be willing to keep me accountable to what I've set out to do.


Thanks for reading, I hope you continue doing so and that you get blessed.