I was looking at Pharaoh with the ‘we get up early on Friday because we are mighty men of God’ group this morning. We followed a study in my mate Carl Beech’s fantastic book Spadework. Turns out none of us really want to walk like that particular Egyptian. The pride and arrogance he displayed in continually saying no to God is what got him in so much trouble. You think Gordon Brown has problems this morning with the awful drubbing his party is receiving in the local elections around the country? Read the list of plagues – it could be worse! Unlike Mugabe, at least there’ll be some contrition. No doubt we’ll be hearing from various Labour politicians today about how “…the people have sent us a clear signal that we’re going to listen to and make all the necessary changes… blah blah blah…” I imagine Pharaoh said something very similar as his nation lurched from bad to worse. He was surrounded by ‘wise men’ who told him he was great, and it would all soon turn a corner and […]
Author: Anthony Delaney
I speak, I write, I lead.
The Great Hyacinth Mystery
IN THE beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth. (Amplified Bible). Thus starts the beginning of the book of the beginning, Genesis 1:1. All kinds of theories exist about how that happened, but the problem the theorists have is that however clever they are, they’re not eye witnesses – they were not there at the time when time started. Just next to my house is a field. In the field is a patch, 40ft square, where the most beautiful hyacinths are just starting to flower. Driving past, like many visitors to the village, you might wonder why this patch just happens to be there in a farmer’s field. How did that come about? Who planted them? What you won’t think is, “That ‘just happened.’ ” In the words of physicist/ cosmologist Paul Davies, ‘….the big bang represents the creation event; the creation not only of all the matter and energy in the universe, but also of spacetime itself.’ Not just matter and energy, but physical space and time came into existence at the Big Bang. […]
Focus on Jesus – and what he wants
We should focus on Jesus – and on what He wants us to do. I like how the Message put vs 17: God didn’t send me to collect a following for myself, but to preach the Message of what he has done, collecting a following for him. It’s possible for human leaders to end up attracting followers to themselves, it’s natural that it would happen. The problem is that any human leader has feet of clay and will let us down. We have a banner which is displayed in the entrance hall where we worship in East Horsley. Some well meaning person put my photo and name on it, as well as a big message; “Welcome to L1FE.’ I really don’t like that banner. I am a leader, it’s a gift God has given me. But I don’t want to attract my own following. I have been privileged to lead some people to the Lord, but it’s the Lord who draws people. Years ago a man I didn’t know prophesied over me, “You are a reaper. God has called you […]
Focus on Jesus, not human leaders
…the day you start church leadership is the day your ministry stops because according to and Ephesians 4 model one is meant to be an empowering enabler of others. My role therefore is not to DO ministry so much as to Discover, Develop and Deploy the Saints for their ministries!
FOCUS ON JESUS – the reason we’re here
In this 40 Days of Community we’re doing as a church we’re remembering that churches are made up of imperfect people. The apostle Paul would have agreed! Because he had to address a lot of problems when he wrote to a very gifted, but very immature and divided church in the city of Corinth. Paul heard from Apollos that there were problems there, then he got a letter from the church itself, and finally while he was living in Ephesus, some friends visited and told him some really disturbing report about the church. Yes they were gifted, Paul said, in fact they did not lack ANY spiritual gift… BUT there was little evidence of the fruit of the Spirit there! You know you can have gifts – without love? Paul heard about moral failures, sexually immorality, abuse of the Lord’s supper, false teaching and failure to follow through on promises to be generous with their money. This church had divisions, nastiness, gossip, lawsuits, jealousy and envy. They were about as mixed up as any church ever got! You know why […]
The most important thing about family?
I sometimes get asked to write for a men’s magazine called Sorted. The editor, Steve Legg, contacted me a couple of weeks ago to ask if I’d write an article on the subject of Family, but the deadline was just a couple of days away. We were getting ready to go up North, for what was had been booked as a holiday yet ended up as a very busy time, which I’ll write about again. Anyway, I initially figured I could squeeze the time in to write the article, along with all the other things I had to do for work. All it would take was : less helping at home, spending less time with Zoe and the kids, creating more stress for myself and everyone, putting in more time in the study – doing ‘the work of the Lord.’ I could probably even do it so they’d all feel guilty if they tried interrupting such important work, I’m a past master at it. Then again, I nearly lost my family doing just that years ago – ended up in […]
Only one life
Two little lines I heard one day,Travelling along life’s busy way; Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat; Only one life,’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears; Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score; When self would seek to have its […]
Resist the lion!
This clip shows that it’s so important we stick together – and fight!
Needs overrule the golden rule
Very often when talking to couples preparing for marriage, or those struggling through it, I recommend a book called ‘His Needs, Her Needs‘ by Willard F Harley. Dr Harley lists the emotional needs of men and women. He writes about the invisible ‘love bank’ inside all of us which needs to keep on being filled up – because life is making withdrawals all the time. I don’t agree with his lists, but the concept of emotional needs is undeniable. It’s not wrong to have needs, in fact we were all made with physical needs, spiritual needs, relational intimacy needs. If you were to stop the average person in the street, “What was the first thing that was bad in the Bible?” most who even had pub quiz knowledge of the story would say, “It was the snake. That snake who got them to eat the forbidden fruit.” Wrong. Phone a friend. Or use a lifeline, or better still, read Genesis 2:18 God said, “It’s not good for the man to be alone.” So God invented marriage, where Husband and wife […]
The real challenge is not winning the race
I’m sitting here with my leg up. The last few weeks have seen me increasing my mileage on my runs (no special reason, not doing the London Marathon this year, though I’m considering doing something similar later in the year). Half way round a fast – for me – 8k this morning and felt a twinge in my left calf, decided to press on. By the end it was sore! There’s a great book I’m picking up that’s got me motivated. Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an all-night runner. Wow. It’s a kind of memoir, well written, about this crazy man who has … well, let him tell you the kind of things he does. Reading his book kind of puts a sore calf in perspective. I have over the years done a few marathons, when I was in my late teens and twenties I even did a couple of mountain marathons and even once did 50 miles over night – ended up in hospital at the end with a busted knee! The thing which struck me about the video is […]