April 2010

“Who told us we’d be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
We’re asking why this happens to us
Who have died to live, it’s unfair”

This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We’d be held” (Natalie Grant)

This song keeps appearing in my life over the last couple of years and I guess it addresses one of the greatest challenges to our faith – where is God when everything falls apart?
I recently heard of someone who had attended church for many many years and held tightly to the belief that as Christians, we are protected from life’s disasters. It made me wonder how she had managed to get through so much of her life without seeing someone of faith in pain.
A while ago, at church, there was a time of open prayer during which I felt led to pray “Thank you God that though you are so powerful you hold us in your hands.” The children were out at their activities and my then five year old daughter came back with some “words from God” she had written down while she had been in her group:
“Our God has made us all. He is powerful and He looks after us. He is inside us. He has got us in His hands. He has us in His head and in His hands.”
Truth is, this side of heaven we’ll probably not know the answers to those really hard questions about the pain that comes our way but I believe we can know we are held by big hands.

Last night saw the first televised British election debate. Today the media is filled with reactions, analysis and opinion polls. It certainly made for interesting viewing. At Activate we encourage you to pray for the election, make sure you are registered to vote,(the deadline is the 20th of April) and on May 6th -vote!


There is another way you might consider getting involved and making your voice heard now as a Christian –The Wesminster Declaration.

An interdenominational group encourages people to sign up to a statement of belief, the details are copied from their website for you here –

Protecting human life, protecting marriage, and protecting freedom of conscience are foundational for creating and maintaining strong families, caring communities and a just society. Our Christian faith compels us to speak and act in defence of all these.

Our beliefs and values
As Christians we reaffirm historic belief in God the Father (who created us and gave us the blueprint for our lives together); in God the Son Jesus Christ our Saviour (accepting his incarnation, teaching, claims, miracles, death, resurrection and return in judgment); and in God the Holy Spirit (who lives within us, guides us and gives us strength). We commit ourselves to worship, honour and obey God.

As UK citizens we affirm our Christian commitment both to exercise social responsibility in working for the common good and also to be subject to all governing authorities and obey them except when they require us to act unjustly.

Marriage
We pledge to support marriage – the lifelong covenantal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife. We believe it is divinely ordained, the only context for sexual intercourse, and the most important unit for sustaining the health, education, and welfare of all. We call on government to honour, promote and protect marriage and we refuse to submit to any edict forcing us to equate any other form of sexual partnership with marriage. We commit ourselves to continue affirming what we believe as Christians about sexual morality, marriage, and the family.


Conscience
We count it a special privilege to live in a democratic society where all citizens have the right to participate in the political process. We pledge to do what we can to ensure our laws are just and fair, particularly in protecting vulnerable people. We will seek to ensure that religious liberty and freedom of conscience are unequivocally protected against interference by the state and other threats, not only to individuals but also to institutions including families, charities, schools and religious communities. We will not be intimidated by any cultural or political power into silence or acquiescence and we will reject measures that seek to over-rule our Christian consciences or to restrict our freedoms to express Christian beliefs, or to worship and obey God.



Commitment
We call upon all those in UK positions of leadership, responsibility and influence to pledge to respect, uphold and protect the right of Christians to hold these beliefs and to act according to Christian conscience.


Over 22,000 people have now signed the Westminster 2010 Declaration. This is a very important opportunity to press home some of the issues that are important to Christian voters. We’d love to have 100,000 signatories before the general election.

Therefore, please:

· Sign the declaration at www.westminster2010.org.uk

· Download and print copies, take them to church and encourage others to sign, including church leaders.

· Contact your candidates and press them to pledge support – contact details for candidates in your constituency are available at www.yournextmp.com.

Key Signatories
•Lord Carey – Former Archbishop of Canterbury
•Cardinal O’Brien – Catholic Church in Scotland
•Michael Nazir-Ali – Former Bishop of Rochester •Steve Clifford – General Director, Evangelical Alliance
•Lyndon Bowring – Executive Chairman, CARE
•Paul Ashton – CEO, Prospects for People with Learning Disabilities
•Steve Brady – Principal, Moorlands College
•Julie Anderson – Founder, Prayer for the Nation
•Anita Cleverly – UK/European Director of ASK Prayer Network

Have you ever thought that one individual cannot acheive anything? If you have ever felt powerless then try watching this clip from India – I was moved to tears. Malcolm Duncan showed this clip at Spring Harvest, perhaps it will motivate you or maybe you could share it with someone else. If we can work together than we can acheive great things – and I would add that if we work together with God, then nothing is impossible!

Inviting your neighbours round for a pot of tea must be one of the easiest ways of reaching out and getting active! This June you can do this for a great cause as Open Doors invites people throuhout Britian to open their kitchens, gardens or halls for a tea party in support of persecuted Christians in Iran at some time between Friday 4th and Sunday 6th June. They have prepared a pack to get you motivated, which includes invites and a quiz, and will be delighted for any support, large or small gathering.
www.opendoorsuk.org/teaparty