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And what an
experience it was. For Just10 weeks from April 22nd, through May and on to
June 24th, if it was Tuesday it must be Just10! Our
expectations were high, and on the last night David Vardy said “Our
expectations were exceeded.” But we already knew that. God’s Word through
testimony and J John’s teaching, coupled with powerful and emotive ‘songs
of praise’ from the worship group literally touched people in a deep and
personal way, as one of our very regular regulars commented after the
first night “It’s wonderful to hear the truth spoken so clearly.”
For me it’s been a
privilege to see people moved to sacrificially find the bus fare each and
every week in case they missed any Word which they knew was for them. Some
have been moved to tears by the sight of streams of people just like us
going forward to symbolically signal a change in their lives, or to
receive Jesus for the first time. We have been challenged, we have laughed
at the innovative ways J John has used to touch a raw nerve and expose
God’s point of view as revealed in scripture, and we have cried at the
exposure of our human rebellion in the face of His amazing Grace! He has
made us think about the everyday ways that we miss-use God’s name,
prioritise the wrong things and devalue ourselves as being made in His
image.
For those who like
statistics, close on 45,000 people attended at Gateshead and our bus
carried around 380 of them
from five different local
churches,
paying £1620 in fares between
them. Over 2,000 lives have been re-focussed on Jesus (1,290 of those at
Gateshead) and 32% of them were new to the Christian faith.
Tuesday nights
will never be quite the same again, we got used to the ministry of our
‘cabin crew’ who shortened our homeward journey with singing and music on
the ‘flute, lyre and cymbal’ between mouthfuls of sweets, nuts and
sausages on sticks. I was silently disappointed on the last night when the
‘fatted calf’ failed to make an appearance in a burger bun, but hey,
we got iced cup cakes instead, that’s life.
Having said all
that, where do we go from here? God’s Word cannot fail to bear fruit and
fulfil His purpose. He will either use us and carry us forward on eagles
wings, or He will use others and leave us behind, tethered to our idols
and unable to leave the ground let alone soar to new heights of witness
and service. He does not demand, He gave us just10 points of loving
guidance to live by and took the risk of allowing us to make the choice.
How do we choose which way to go? ...... Then, He died in our place and
we knew; Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, now we can take the
risk to choose Him every day!
With thanks for
answered prayer and to all who made it happen, Keith |
