Walking the Talk

Walking the Talk

Lessons from James This is the second of five talks given at Lee Abbey in the summer (first talk here). Do take a listen or download it here: Below are some notes from my talk: A vicar was too busy to help a homeless lady who was needing help, so he fobbed her off with a promise to pray for her, and then continued on his way. She wrote the following poem and gave it to a local Shelter officer: I was hungry, and you formed a humanities group to discuss my hunger.I was imprisoned, and you crept off quietly […]

Lessons from James: Persevering through Trials

Lessons from James: Persevering through Trials stages of a chrysalis

James 1 This is the first of five talks given at Lee Abbey in the summer, do take a listen here: Have you had a bad day recently? Rebecca Dudley, editor of News Tribune, wrote: “Paul Johnson, 37, a mechanic from Maitland, had a day to forget last Tuesday. During the morning, he pushed his motorcycle from the patio into his living room, where he began to clean the engine with some rags and a bowl of petrol. When he finished, he sat on the motorcycle and decided to start it to make sure everything was still OK. Unfortunately, the […]

MINDBLOWING Resilience in Burundi

MINDBLOWING Resilience in Burundi

This is one of the most remarkable women I’ve ever met. Part of our job at GLO is to tell inspirational good news stories. Here’s Beatrice’s: She shared with such dignity as we sat with her. She was widowed ten years ago and left alone with her daughter when she was diagnosed HIV+ after endless chronic diarrhoea never getting better. She quickly lost 20kg, and initially gave up and drowned her sorrows in drinking: “The worst thing was knowing that soon I’d be dead and leave my daughter on her own.” But then her daughter gave her a present. It […]

Crazy Wild Workings in Burundi!

Crazy Wild Workings in Burundi!

Earlier this summer, I asked for prayers for our huge team of evangelists during their two-week summer outreach campaign, and the results and stories are in. As promised, here’s what happened. First, the stats: We sent out 850 evangelists across the country for two weeks.They worked alongside 47 churches in their respective areas. 13,831 people chose to give their lives to Christ.16,474 people who had drifted in their faith renewed their commitment.  Amazing! And there were other stories of marriages being restored, suicidal attempts thwarted or abandoned, community reconciliation and more.  So here are a few of the many stories – all I can say is ‘Wow!’ […]

Preparing for Dark Times – FearLESS and HopeFUL Resilience…

Preparing for Dark Times – FearLESS and HopeFUL Resilience…

We are entering a dark period of history, and we need to be ready for it. I fear we are far from ready. Are you ready? Am I? “God did not give us a spirit of fear.” (2 Timothy 1:7) I believe it is absolutely critical for believers in the risen Jesus Christ to embrace and live out this verse. We live by faith, not fear. Or at least that is how we are meant to live. But my observation in lockdown was that many believers were as susceptible to fear as anyone else, absorbing endless fear-inducing messages and being […]

Spiritual Heart Surgery

Spiritual Heart Surgery

A Selfish Heart – 1 Samuel 2:11-36  If you want to listen to last Sunday’s sermon, it was in my local church. The second in the series on Spiritual Heart Surgery, my given title was- ‘A Selfish Heart’, and the text was 1 Samuel 2:11-36. It’s not a passage I would have chosen to speak from, which makes it all the fun to dig into an unfamiliar text and find some real gold. I hope you enjoy it!

Hope for the Desperate in Burundi…

Meet my youngest, Josiah, as he shares with me in this short video on a desperate need right now in Burundi. Economically, Burundi has never been worse, even in the war years. There’s virtually no fuel, food prices are exploding, and the nation is back to being both the poorest and the hungriest country in the world (according to the World Bank). One of our staff recently commented that Bujumbura was ‘like a ghost town’. And yet, I’m so encouraged (and challenged) by how our faithful partners model such joy amid crisis, holding on to the Saviour and reaching out […]

Squeezed to the Wall in Burundi…

Squeezed to the Wall in Burundi… Squeezed

What oozes out of you when you are squeezed? Let me explain. A favourite quote of mine is by Smith Wigglesworth: “Be filled with the Spirit – that is, be soaked with the Spirit. Be so soaked that every thread in the fabric of your life will have received the requisite rule of the Spirit – and then, when you are misused and squeezed to the wall, all that will ooze out of you will be the nature of Christ.” Suffice to say, Burundians, already living in the world’s poorest and hungriest nation*, are being squeezed to the wall right […]

Life Built on Rock!

Life Built on Rock!

Matthew 7:24-29 Watch, listen to or download this sermon I gave last Sunday. Some notes and cool quotes from the sermon: Most of us have been educated way beyond the level of our obedience. It’s not about being biblically literate but biblically obedient… Is your life built on rock? Not feelings… “Believe God’s Word and power more than you believe your own feelings and experiences. Your Rock is Christ, and it is not the Rock which ebbs and flows, but your sea.” (Samuel Rutherford) “The waters are raging and the winds are blowing but I have no fear for I […]

Beautiful Healing Testimonies from Burundi!

Beautiful Healing Testimonies from Burundi! United Christians in Evangelism

Last Sunday night, we had an evening meal with GLO Partner United Christians for Evangelism (UCE). They are a superb outfit doing incredible things on minimal funds, which is what I find so utterly inspiring. When I was last out here in October, we had done an outreach in Gatamba in Karuzi Province, which had been a real adventure and very fruitful – some of you might remember the demon-possessed lady Teresa who had thrown both her shoes at me from the crowd who was then prayed for, set free, and helped to make a fresh go of life having […]

A Stunning Invitation

So I’ve been in the USA preaching this week, and felt led to this passage, which is not what a visiting speaker would usually choose if he wanted to get invited back!  What a passage! Just 9 verses, which include one of the worst and one of the best five verses in the whole Bible (which has 31,102 in total). I started with a few questions to reflect on, but you’ll need to listen to it to get the full impact: Listen to the audio or download here: “So I want to start with a question, a crucial question: What […]

37 Chemos, 10 Surgeries, and 22,000 Spectators…

37 Chemos, 10 Surgeries, and 22,000 Spectators… Jeremy Marshall Still Alive for a Reason Inspired Podcast

How would you be after 37 rounds of chemotherapy and 10 surgeries? In your weakened state, would you like to go onto a football pitch at half-time and share Jesus with 22,000 spectators? Six years ago, Banker CEO Watford-fan Jeremy Marshall was given 18 months to live. He’s still alive and making the most of every opportunity. His story is so inspiring, challenging and stirring! Four of my friends have died of cancer in the last few months. All of us have lost someone we care about, and all of us know people who are journeying right now on that difficult path. That is […]

Made Whole, Imago Dei

Made Whole, Imago Dei

Here is a talk I gave yesterday on being made in the image of God. Below is some of the material I shared: Some guests were visiting an orphanage and shared the Christmas story with the children for their first time ever. They sat, enthralled, and were then given materials to re-create the manger scene. All was going to plan until one of the visitors spotted six-year-old Abu’s efforts – he had put two babies in the manger. He was asked to repeat the story, and he did so perfectly until the end when he made up his own version.  […]

Bringing Christmas Hope!

Hope is in the air.  Francine is widowed with 7 children. Life is unbelievably tough. Her ‘house’ is a hovel – actually probably quite like the stable Jesus began his life in – without a toilet, electricity, or a front door to lock and provide security. But with your help, their lives (and others) will be radically transformed this Christmas! ICJ’s work in Murwi is about so much more than hand-outs. We’ve come alongside the poorest of the poor to journey with them out of extreme poverty. We’ve built a community centre with electricity so the kids can do their homework […]

It is with tears of joy that I am writing these sentences…

It is with tears of joy that I am writing these sentences…

The timing of my last visit to Burundi was in order to attend the strategic congress launched by Burundi Mission Alliance. It was the brainchild of Onesphore Manirakiza, so I asked him to write a report in summary. Over to you, Onesphore: “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; It will surely come; it will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:3 It had been always my dream to see church leaders from different churches in Burundi sit around the table discussing local and global […]

Speechless!

Speechless!

There are a few reasons why Innocent is the skinniest healthy guy I know. His stories are nuts. Read on… He realised as a young man that he had the gift of healing. On one occasion, he prayed for a hunchback who had been bent over for 18 years. The man immediately straightened up, and piled him high with avocadoes in gratitude! Another time, he was leading one of our Harvest Initiatives outreach teams, and they were taking a lunch break after the Sunday service. Two non-verbal (the currently PC term, I gather, for someone who can’t speak) girls asked […]

Brave Boldness and Damned Demons in Burundi!

Brave Boldness and Damned Demons in Burundi!

Greetings from Burundi! There is so much good to report from my short visit (49 meetings and counting so far after seven days), but I thought I’d just share a couple of beautiful encounters to stir your faith. GLO’s motto is ‘Transforming Burundi and Beyond’, and I love how stories from Burundi encourage you in the ‘Beyond’ around the world, wherever you are as you read this. Here goes, as posted on facebook: I met with Abdoul today. He’s a brave man. He used to be in charge of 15 mosques, and prided himself in zealously winning Christians over to […]

Chrissie Chapman – A Tribute

Chrissie Chapman – A Tribute Chrissie Chapman

Things would have looked very different if Chrissie had died when the doctors said she would. Decades ago, she was dying and had been given six months to live. She was partially paralysed, bald, her whole body was swollen ‘like a Michelin-Man’, and she had two wrecked lungs. On her hospital bed, she heard an audible voice: “It’s time to go home; I am going to heal you!”  She was allowed out of the hospital some weekends. One weekend, back in her apartment and resting on her beanbag, she believed she was dying but then suddenly felt painful pins and […]

Come and See!

Come and See!

Today’s talk is the fifth in a series given recently at Lee Abbey. Come to me Weary! Come to me Dirty! Come to me Hungry! Come to me Thirsty! Come and See, then Go and Be! Here are a few juicy bits if you haven’t the time to listen: You won’t have heard of Edward Kimball. This man was becoming increasingly active in church and wanted to make an impact with the youth. His constant refrain was ‘come and see’. There was one lad he saw great potential in but just wasn’t able get through to. In the end, Kimball just decided to […]

Thirsty!

Thirsty!

Today’s talk is the fourth in a series given recently at Lee Abbey. Come to me Weary! Come to me Dirty! Come to me Hungry! Come to me Thirsty! Here are a few juicy bits if you haven’t the time to listen: “Lord, please put salt on my lips that I might thirst more after you.” Augustine The revival on Lewis (1949-1952) was steeped in prayer. Seven men and two old ladies had decided to pray and not stop until God visited them in a powerful way. One night, at a prayer meeting held in a barn, one of them said, […]

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