All4God <liveall4god>

"Living for Him 100% 24/7/365"

Page 1 of 3  1  2  3  Next >>> 
Reflections on sale at Summer Madness!175 days ago
 
Hey All4God fans
Summer Madness (Northern Ireland's biggest and best Christian teen/young adult festival) is happening this weekend, and with worship from Paul Baloche and Ryan Griffith, speakers such as Andy Hickford, Brian McLaren and Andy frost plus bands such as 29th Chapter, Four Kornerz and SixStarHotel it is shaping up to be one of the best SMs yet.

But there is more. Because All4God is excited to announce that at the SM bookstall you will be able to purchase Reflections, the collection of 45 devotions by All4God founder Peter McMurray, for just £5. The book is full of inspiring, challenging, raw, honest devotions that could be used as part of your quiet time, or just read through like a regular book. For added value there are also 3 appendixes of bonus content. (For more info check out: http://www.all4god.x10hosting.com/?p=164 )

SO if you are going to Summer Madness this year make sure you take a trip to the bookstall and check out Reflections - it'll make for some great summer reading, and give you some inspiration after SM has finished

Thanks,
Peter
 0 Comments 
1st Corinthains 1341 days ago
 
1 Corinthians 1:26-27: “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.”

We may feel weak, unqualified, unequipped for the task God has called us to (either a specific, personal task or just the general task of making disciples of all nations). We may be worried, afraid, unsure. We may think we don’t have the skills, the wisdom, the faith. Good news! That means we are exactly the sort of person God calls, according to this passage. God doesn’t call the euipped, he equipps the called. If God calls us, though we may feel we can’t answer that call, we can be reassured that he will be with us, helping us (In Joshua 1:5 God reminds us He “will not fail you or abandon you“.)

So if you are feeling inadequate for the challenge of living all for God, in whatever shape that takes in your life, be reassured - you are! But God has called us specifically because of our inadequacies, so that all the glory for what we achieve goes to Him, not us, and so that we can be a shining example to non-believers as to what is possible when you put faith in God.

To Ponder

* Do you let God get the glory in your life, or do you try to take it?
* In what ways do these verses reassure you?
 0 Comments 
Mary's Boy Child367 days ago
 
Mary’s Boy Child

I’m guessing you are probably pretty familiar with the whole Christmas story, including the bit where the angel Gabriel visits Mary and tells her that she has found favour with God and going to give birth to His Son, the Saviour of the world. (It’s found in Luke 1:26-38 if you want to read over it again.)

And the thing I want to focus on comes towards the end of that passage. I want to look at Mary’s attitude. And maybe before we get to that it would be an idea to look at just what was being asked of her. She was told that despite being a virgin she would give birth to a child – a scientific impossibility (at least until IVF made it theoretically possible). She was being asked to have a child out of wedlock in a time when society was highly religious, and getting pregnant out of marriage was one of the most taboo things she could have done. She would have had to put up with public shame and scorn. And to top it all she was expected to have faith that her child would have a kingdom that would never end.

I’m sure that most of us, if asked to go through that would try and get out of it, or try to argue that someone else would be better suited to that than us. That someone else would have a better level of faith. Yet look at Mary’s attitude: ‘Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”’ (v38)
When asked to do something for God, she had a totally acceptant servant heart. She didn’t try and get out of it. She didn’t make excuses as to why someone else should give birth to Jesus. God asked her (through the angel Gabriel) and Mary said ‘Yes’ to God’s plan. She saw herself as a servant of God. She was willing to do whatever it took to serve Him. She was prepared to put up with whatever came along with that – shame, public rejection, the possibility of losing her fiancée (remember when Joseph found out she was pregnant he wanted to divorce her until the angel Gabriel visited him too).

So maybe this Christmas we can learn from Mary. Maybe we can strive to get an attitude more like hers. Possibly the greatest gift we can give to the world this Christmas is resolving to have a determination to be like Mary and just say ‘Yes’ to God, no matter what He asks, no matter what the consequences might be for our reputation. And remember the words of Gabriel to Mary – “Nothing is impossible with God” (v37). Whatever God is asking you to do, no matter how impossible it seems, strive to give it your best shot and let Him work through you to achieve great things, just like He did through Mary’s boy child Jesus Christ.
 0 Comments 
Accountability394 days ago
 
{Wee exclusive for you - this isn't up on the main All4God.co.uk site til Thursday}
James 5 "Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed" (The Message)

When we sin we seem to have this culture of trying to keep it to ourselves, not letting anyone else know, putting on the mask of perfection. And inevitably this only results in us returning again and again to the same sin, like a dog returning to its vomit (re Proverbs 26:11). Time and time again we end up tripping over the same stupid things.

We know we shouldn't do it. We know it will only lead to regret. But we also know that no-one else will know. And we seem to worry more about being found out by others than by God. After all, God will forgive us. But that shouldn't be an excuse to sin.

Yet with the reassurance of forgiveness, and the safety of privacy we sin, and begin to crumble. A couple of clicks and no-one need ever know. A prayer of remorse and all is ok - until the same temptation occurs a few days later and we cave in again. And again. And then when the temptation gets more serious we suddenly find ourselves giving in, unable to resist.

But it doesn't have to be like that. James offers advice that will help us overcome the vast majority of temptations - be totally open and honest with your Christian brothers and sisters. When asked how you are let's resolve not to fob each other off with the safe option of ‘Fine thanks, you?', but be prepared to put our reputation on the line and admit when we are struggling.

"Confess your sins to each other". Chances are they will be struggling with something too, but are embarrassed to admit it as you seem to have no such struggles. But if we are open about our struggles then others will be more comfortable confessing to weaknesses and there will be less hiding behind a mask of togetherness when inside everything is falling apart.

We are not perfect people - there is nothing wrong with slipping up from time to time. What is wrong is refusing to admit to it. We deceive ourselves, and make it harder for others to be truly open without appearing exceptionally weak for being one of the few who doesn't seem to have it all together.

So let's be more honest with each other. Let's admit to our struggles. Strip away the masks of togetherness and righteousness. Confess our sins to each other, then pray for strength and healing. And when we know that we need to honestly admit our sins to our brothers and sisters, maybe that will cause us to think twice before giving in.
 0 Comments 
All4God.co.uk Autumn update417 days ago
 
Thought I'd bring you all up to date with what has been happening behind the scenes lately with All4God.
There's been a lack of updates on the site these past couple of weeks, for several reasons - firstly school work, and secondly I was away in France for a few days doing a bit of all4God promo (well, dropping flyers in the hotel room....)
There's been quite a bit of talk with various people about writing articles for the site to try and make sure there is more frequent fresh content. (One of whom, Dashby, already has one article up)
Then there was yesterday afternoon. Possibly one of the biggest days for the All4God podcast, if not the biggest. On Thursday evening I found out my request for an interview with casting crowns (yeah, the casting crowns who have sold 3.5 million CDs, and are just about the biggest Christian band - in the world!). So yesterday afternoon I headed down to the Odyssey Arena, got in the VIP entrance, had my name on the list of people allowed backstage before their concert, and so for probably the only time in my life I was backstage at Northern Ireland's biggest concert venue. Got to watch the end of Casting Crowns soundcheck - saw them play Praise you with the dance and new Christmas song I heard the bells - in an empty auditorium, with reduced lighting and smoke in the air (must have been testing a smoke machine out) that song was something special.
Then the band had a prayer meeting, and as Mark led it with a microphone I got to hear their pre-concert prayer.
After that it was time to interview them. These past few months I've been fortunate enough to interview some of the big names in Christian music (Leeland, 33Miles). But those interviews had been done by email. And those interviews were done with guitarists, not the front man. This time, it was in person - I got to meet the band, and it was with front man Mark Hall, and also Juan(guitar) and Megan (pianist). there was myself and some guys from Shine FM, and between us we had 30 minutes. mark i particular is a great talker, so we didn't get a lot of questions, but we got a lot of depth and insight, and it'll all be up on the November All4god podcast (as well as music from Bluetree).
At the end of the interview they recorded a wee promo video for the podcast which will be up soon, an is worth looking out for (it's rather humorous), plus I gave Juan a folder containing promo flyers, an info sheet about all4God and print outs of all the articles that have been inspired by Casting Crowns songs, so hopefully the guys will have a wee read of those. So look out on All4God for the Casting Crowns interview
And i have a few new devotional article drafted up in my notebook, plus a few more in my head that I should hopefully get typed up soon, as wel as a few more CD reviews. And then we'll be in to Christmas themed articles..... Lots to look forward to! I also need to get around to some massive promo work for the site
And it would be good to get a book published at some stage, but I'd say that will have to wait til 2009....
That's all for now, but if you have any questions, just post them up and I'll try to answer them,
Peter
www.all4God.co.uk
 0 Comments 
Where would Jesus Be?426 days ago
 
A few years ago it used to be fashionable to wear those ‘What would Jesus do?’ bracelets. But maybe the question we need to ask ourselves more these days is not what He would do, but where He would be doing it.

Because as Christians we have a tendency to form our little ‘holy-huddles’, seeking to avoid contact with all that is ‘unholy’. But as you read through the gospels Jesus seems to do the exact opposite. He went to parties. He hung out with the despised tax collectors. He talked with women in public (customs of the time frowned upon that). He touched the untouchable lepers. He ate with prostitutes.
So if he was here on earth today where would Jesus be?

Out on the street corners offering hope to the beggars and shoppers rather than ‘turn or burn’ condemnation?

In pubs showing love to the drunks, helping them get home safely, caring for them in their need?

Bringing healing to the sick and restoration to the broken. Offering hope to the lost and weary. Feeding the hungry (physically and spiritually). Caring for the outcasts of society.

So if we can hazard a good guess at where Jesus would be, I guess the question is, if we call ourselves His followers, why isn’t the church following His lead and going there?

Why do we wait for the lost to come to us? The apostles didn’t stay in the upper Room after receiving the Holy Spirit. They got out onto the streets of Jerusalem and beyond, living it out.

We have the key to freedom. Freedom from poverty, freedom from HIV, freedom from drugs, freedom from depression, freedom from human trafficking, freedom from conforming to society, freedom from celebrity obsession. We have the key to freedom, Jesus, and a world in chains, waiting for us to share the key with them. Where would Jesus be? Probably not in the mega church singing the latest hit worship song but in the streets living it out, being a ‘living sacrifice’ (re Romans 12:1), showing religion that is ‘pure and blameless’ (re James 1:27) to the world. Is that where we are?


[for more get on to www.all4god.co.uk]
 0 Comments 
If My people456 days ago
 
“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear them from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.“ Chronicles 7:14

This one verse from 2 Chronicles is so packed with application for our lives (It almost comes as a surprise to remember it is from the Old Testament - not all the Old Testament is lists of names and laws!) In the Casting crowns song ‘What if his people prayed’ it is used to encourage people to pray, and while that is one of the aspects of this verse, as I looked at it, there is actually so much more to it than it simply being about the need to pray - this verse makes it clear that prayer on its own is not enough.

I’m going to start at the end of this verse, which is a message from God to His people, where God makes a promise “I will hear them from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” I think it is clear that our land needs healing - there is rising teen suicides, more and more people are going out every weekend getting drunk and sleeping around, many people have huge levels of debt, there is all sorts of political corruption around the world, Islamic extremists are preaching their messages of hate unopposed while great restrictions are placed on the Church’s freedom to speak out. Our land needs healed! God has promised to heal it - when He says “I will” you can be sure that He will - but it is a conditional promise, It is not freestanding - it is dependant on us doing our part.

The promise will be fulfilled when “[His] people who are called by [His] name will humble themselves and pray and seek [His] face and their wicked ways.”

All who are Christians have been chosen by God to be his people (re Ephesians 1:5), therefore if we want God to heal our land it is up to us to fulfil the four requests God makes in the first half of the verse - to humble ourselves, to pray, to seek God’s face and to turn from our wicked ways.

“…humble themselves” When we come before God, we need to come with the right attitude. We are not worthy. We can not come before Him because of our own righteousness, but because of Jesus’ blood, shed on our behalf. ‘We are who we are by the grace of God’ (re 1 Corinthians 15:10). It is not about what we have done, but what God has done through us. On our own, we can do little, but with God “all things are possible” (Philippians 4:13). We need to strip away all pride, all thoughts of self-righteousness, all our desires to get glory for ourselves, and come humbly before God. We need to acknowledge that whatever we achieve it is because He has enabled and empowered us. In our relationship with God (and with others) the focus should be on Him, not us. Jesus says if you want to be the greatest you should become the least. He had every right to think of himself as worthy, but he still got down and washed his disciples’ feet.

Joab gives us another example of humility. In 2 Samuel 12:26-31 he led the Israelite army against the city of Rabbah, and achieved a great victory. Yet just before the end of the battle he called King David, and let him come and get the glory for winning. He was prepared to do the hard work and risk his life and then let someone else take the glory. That’s the kind of humility we need!

“and pray” - this part should be pretty straightforward. If we want our land to be healed, we need to spend time praying that is will happen. John Wesley once said that ‘God will do nothing but in answer to prayer’. Without getting drawn into a theological debate about that, we should strive to keep that in mind while we pray. For our land to be healed it will require God’s people getting on their knees in intercessory prayer. Does it concern you that many of the people around you will be spending eternity in Hell? If it does, that should compel you to pray for change, for eyes to open to Christ. And if it doesn’t, you need to pray that God would give you a passion for the lost. Prayer has great power - let’s utilize it on behalf of our land!

“and seek my face” . The healing of our land will be an advancing of the Kingdom of God. We as believers have been called to advance the kingdom, yet we cannot advance it without knowing God, and having a passion to want to advance his kingdom. As we grow in our relationship with God we will have a better knowledge of who He is, and should have a greater passion that others would see Him for who He is - the creator and sustainer of all things, our strong tower, and the only hope for salvation. And we will only grow in our relationship with God by spending time seeking his face - in prayer, in Bible study, in devotion, in praise. Psalm 24 describes the generation who seek God’s face:

“He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.” (NIV)

Are we ready to be that generation? Can we honestly say our hands are clean and our hearts are pure? Because to be the generation that fully seeks God’s face that’s what we need to do!

“And turn from their wicked ways” - it is not enough to repent of our sin - we need to flee from it! We will never be totally free from sin here on earth, but we cannot use that as an excuse to slip up. We should always be striving to be more like Christ, who was perfect in every way. He died to make us a new creation - there is no place for the old sinful life in our new life as followers of Him. This means casting aside everything that holds us back, whatever that might be for you. The race of life will be tough enough without making it harder by trying to bring extra baggage with us.

We need to nail all sin to the cross, and leave it there (”Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.” Galatians 5:24)

We cannot use the same mouth to praise God and then belittle His creation! We can’t have devotional time and then go off to watch all sorts of inappropriate nonsense on TV. It is hypocrisy, and Jesus wasn’t too fond of hypocrites…. Leave the passions of your sinful nature on the cross. The only thing you can gain from sin is regret.

When the Body of Christ gets those four things right, we will see great breakthroughs. We will see great transformation. God has promised it. Are we willing to be the generation that humbles themselves, prays without ceasing, seeks God’s face like never before and totally turns from its wicked ways?
 0 Comments 
In His Hand484 days ago
 
Life can be a struggle sometimes. It can be hard to see where you are meant to go, what path you should be taking. Worry, doubt and fear can kick in. You may fail to see the point of where you are in life. You might be wondering how what you are going through will ever change.
But God has a plan for each of us – “plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29v11). It may not appear obvious to you, but God has a plan. And He will provide. “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” Romans 8v28.
He will give us everything we need. Not necessarily everything we want, but everything we need for our ultimate purpose of making disciples of all nations. As well as promising to provide us with a future, and equipping us with the gifts we need for that (re 1st Corinthians 12), God also provides protection for us through times of trouble (both physical and spiritual).
Psalm 23 says: “Even when I walk
through the dark valley of death,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.” (v4)
And in Isaiah 41v10 God promises “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
God doesn’t say he will remove all trouble from our lives (in fact, Jesus says we will have to suffer for His sake.) However He promises to be with us in our times of trouble, comforting us, reassuring us, helping us ride out the storms of this life.
If we trust in God through our troubles, be they illness, doubt, loss, addiction, attack, abuse, parental divorce, financial problems, whatever it may be, we can have hope that there will come a day when every tear is wiped away. And until that day God won’t abandon us – he is holding us with his victorious right hand.

Sometimes it can be hard to see that God is providing for us, but it could well be that rather than providing what we want, He is providing what we need, and the difference between what we want and what we actually need is such that we are so focused on what He isn’t providing (and usually there is a good reason for Him not to – it could harm us, our motives for wanting ‘it’ could be wrong etc) that we miss what He is providing. Here’s a simple test.
Did you eat today? Who created the animals and plants?
Are you wearing clothes? Who created the raw materials for the fabrics?
Are you breathing? Who created the air and provided the oxygen you need?
Is God providing?

In Matthew 6v33 Jesus reminds us “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” God will provide what we need. Not what we want, but what we need. Today, strive to cast aside the desires of your sinful nature, and appreciate all that God has provided already. And if you are going through trouble, take reassurance that God is with you, and He has us in his hands.
 0 Comments 
All4God Vision Week492 days ago
 
All this week on All4God.co.uk there is a series running on the All4God core vison - what All4God is about, how it came to be, what living all4God means for your life and how you can resolve to live all4God. It is well worth checking out - each evening there will be a new part posted up (at some stage between 6pm and 7pm). There are seven parts over the next seven days - part one is up tonight (Monday) at about 6pm, and then there will be another part up on Tuesday and so on. So make sure you check it out. www.all4God.co.uk
Here is the vision the series will be exploring:
Young People uniting
Standing as One
Working to advance the Kingdom
To reach lives and touch souls
Making the most of now
Being a generation that seeks God’s face
Making every second and every action count
Showing that what is important is “faith expressing itself through love” Gal 5v6

Also on the site: We have just had a series on unity by forum member Foxhound, one of our articles, How great is Our God, got over 700 hit sin one day,
there is our podcast which features an interview with 24/7-Prayer founder Pete Greig - get it by searching on the iTunes store for LiveAll4God or going to www.all4god.podomatic.com
And we hope to bring you some more band interviews in the near future (watch this space!!!!!)

Did you know All4God runs a forum for discussion between Christian and non-Christian teens? And that it has a weekly debate, questions board for open questions, taboo topic board for those questions you are embarrassed to ask at YF, music discussion boards, plus places for you to share inspiring thoughts and bible verses. Sign up today at http://www.phpbbserver.com/all4god/ !
 1 Comment 
Stained Glass Masquerade 501 days ago
 
Casting Crowns wrote a song ‘Stained Glass Masquerade’ about how, in general, Christians are very good at disguising how they are. We don’t like to admit our weakness, out of fear that others will look down on us. We live thinking we are the only one going through whatever we are going through, that no-one else could be struggling with the same things we are struggling with. So we hide it away. We pretend everything is great. If we say it enough we even begin to believe it ourselves. But that doesn’t get the problem solved. It just leaves it there to grow and get worse and worse until it breaks us.

Particularly in today’s ‘perfect body/size zero’ obsessed media culture it is very hard to admit to your weakness. It’s not just an issue for Christians. All over the world there are broken, hurting people longing to cry out for help, but afraid they will be shunned. So they keep it to themselves. They paint a mask that all is okay. But inside it’s not. So they turn to drink or drugs to make it feel better. In some cases it gets so bad they feel they’d be better taking their own life rather than just talk about it. Because they feel they can’t talk about.

But the truth is we all have weaknesses. We all stumble over certain things. And if we’re honest, we probably all try to hide it. Why? Because we know we will be condemned by the world, by other Christians even, if we do. What does Jesus have to say about the culture of condemning those brave enough to admit their weaknesses? “First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friends eye.” (Matthew7v5)

The next time you are about to criticise someone stop and think about the log in your own eye first. Maybe if we as Christians were more welcoming to those with problems people would feel more comfortable about opening up, people with problems would feel more welcome in church, we would see an increase in church attendance and a decrease in suicide rates.

The truth is, God wants us to open up. He wants us to be able to admit our weaknesses, as it is through our admitting that He is able to forgive. Check out this passage from 1 John1v9-10: “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.”

And how should we react when our Christian brothers and sisters share their trouble with them. Certainly not with condemnation (Remember Matt7). Rather with love. We should be there for them in their struggle, helping them through it, and even learning from it so that we don’t fall into the same trap ourselves. Galatians 6v1-2 says this “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”


So yes, in church situations most of us are very good at putting on a mask of righteousness and living the lie that we are okay. But what about outside of church? Do we wear masks then? I would say most of us do. I would say most Christians, when surrounded by non-Christian friends, are more than capable of disguising it. Not necessarily by taking part in activities that compromise your Christian beliefs, but through how you converse with people. By what you say, or by what you don’t say when compared to what you would say in Church/ with Christian friends. How many of your friends actually know you are a Christian? How visible is it to the world around you? How much time would someone have to spend with you before it became apparent that you are living for God? Are you hiding your Christianity behind a mask today? The simple fact is that we can’t afford to. We are the body of Christ. We have to let his light shine in the world. If not us, who else? We cannot be ashamed of Jesus. Mark 8 v38 warns us “If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Don’t be ashamed. Strip away the masks today.

www.all4God.co.uk
 0 Comments 
Page 1 of 3  1  2  3  Next >>>