Category: Christianity

Christian Media, Christian Radio, Christianity, Devotional, Evangelism, Faith, Healing, Hope, Miracles

Look to the future – what do you see?

Posted on by David L'Herroux

Over the last few weeks, I have been spending some time with God, seeking the way forward for UCB as a ministry. I have been rejoicing about the past and those who have gone before us, but also rejoicing about the many lives which have been changed and transformed by the power of God’s Word.

I recently met with a group of UCB supporters and shared what I see for the future. I want to share the same message with you and give you a glimpse of what I am seeing today. It is a glimpse that came from the challenge Jesus gave to his disciples when He said to them: ‘Lift up your eyes, and look at the fields and see how white and ready they are for the harvest’ (John 4:35).

Instead of looking at the gloom and despondency and brokenness that is in our world today, God wants us to see what He sees.

Here is what I see.

I see God turning the hearts of a godless society back to Himself.

I see a church living and operating in the power of the Gospel.

I see our government, our laws, our society being reshaped by the truth of God’s Word.

I see family units coming together into the knowledge and the transformation of God’s power, from the toughest parts of the cities to the most rural parts of our country.

I see every generation, should it be young or old, knowing their worth and experiencing value and a purpose for their lives.

I see people standing for what it is true and becoming intolerant for all the right reasons – intolerant of wrongdoing, intolerant of injustice.

I see people getting ready to answer God’s call like they have never done before. I see people standing together totally united for their cities and not afraid to say ‘We are the Church’.

I see the Church mobilised to take the Gospel to the towns, villages and the cities, making disciples and being totally committed to what God has called them to do.

I see changing statistics: relationships being restored, addictions broken. I see miracles to be the order of the day in the life of our society because the Church is acting like true light and salt like never before.

I see an army of young people having visions, and I see older people, instead of being put ‘on the shelf,’ having dreams like they have never had before, supporting and standing with the younger generation.

I truly believe and see a day coming when God will pour His Spirit upon all flesh. I see the young and the old, the children and the grandparents lifting the banner of victory, looking at their society and truly believing that God has a message of hope, and using every means possible to lift up that message of truth.

You might say ‘Dave, you’re living in cuckoo land, you’re dreaming!’

But I am seeing only what Jesus spoke of to his disciples, and I am saying that it is time that we lift up your eyes from the negative, from the oppressive, from the depressive, and recognise that the fields are white for harvest.

And therefore it is time. I believe that we as a ministry, and you as partners and supporters, must actually start to switch on and see what God wants us to see.

And let’s believe that the enemy will not have the upper hand.  He may think that he has the best strategy – to steal, to kill, to destroy – but the verse does not stop there because Jesus says even to us today through His Word that He came that we might have life – and not just life, but life to the full (John 10:10).

I strongly believe we are moving into an unprecedented hour and that we as a ministry need to be ready like never before. We need to be ready for people to be resourced and helped in their faith. And we need to be ready to resource the church, for I believe they will not be able to cope with the amount of people who will be coming in.   They need to have reliable content.

There is a saying in media that ‘content is king’. This means that all our strategies are of no use if our content – if what we write or share on air – is not good. I believe today, though, that God is turning that around and saying: ‘The KING is the content.’

David-Blog21

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#EUReferendum, Christian Media, Christian Radio, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Hope

Trusting God in the middle of turbulence

Posted on by David L'Herroux

This week’s blog is a guest post, written by a good friend, Alan Scotland, Chairman of UCB’s Board and Global Horizons. Among many other responsibilities, Alan is also a well-respected Pastor to Pastors. 

I remember being on a plane to the US some years ago when the pilot announced that we were about to enter a ‘corridor of turbulence’. I will never forget his words: ‘It is just a corridor of turbulence, it will pass. Don’t panic.’

The shaking of the plane lasted for about 25 minutes, although it felt much longer. At one point, I thought I should try to contact my wife to leave a message and say my goodbyes. But eventually, the turbulence passed, and the plane landed safely.

Turbulence in any area of our lives is deeply uncomfortable. We think it will never end; we may even think that we won’t make it. But for the believer, our confidence is not in systems or technology or even politics: our confidence must be in the Lord and in His faithfulness. It’s not trite to say this – it’s the truth.

However, when we are facing uncertainty in the world, how can we respond?

Be certain of your certainties.

The world is shaking at the moment. From North to South, nearly every area of the world is affected by turmoil of one kind or another. For believers, this is a pressure test, and we need to ask ourselves this: what is our faith placed in? Is it our finances? Our health? The Prime Minister? All of those things, as we are seeing, can be taken away, but God promises us that He will be faithful to every generation. This is a time for believers to be certain of what we believe in and to stand firm on those certainties.

Don’t join the symphony of soundbites

I am saddened by the turmoil around us, but I also feel grief at the many negative attitudes and soundbites which are getting coverage. As Christians, we need to bring stability with our words, and we have to be careful that we don’t join the symphony of negativity around us.

We need to declare truth and hope in the middle of despair and model what it is to be human (but humans who have divine guidance). We might not like what is happening, but there is no doubt in my mind that God is moving and challenging us as people and as the church. In a time of despair, believers need to be saying boldly ‘Yes the ship is at sea, but we have an anchor that is firm and secure.’

Learn to let go

My wife once took me on a big dipper. My response was to cling tightly to the bar and wait for it to be over. My wife said to me ‘Let go Alan, stop gripping so tightly.’ In times of difficulty, it is very easy to ‘cling to the bar’, to cling to what we see and know. Proverbs 3:5-6 says ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t lean on your own understanding.’ One of our absolute certainties needs to be our unshakeable trust in God. He will not fail us or let us down.

Have a vision for the future

We need a vision for the future. We need to be able to see what God is doing, and what God is wanting to do next. Why don’t you take a moment and ask yourself this: ‘What do I see?’ What is your dream for the future of this nation?

When I look to the future, I see a massive, unprecedented move of God. Not a move of God which is restricted to a continent or a nation, but a universal move of the Spirit, a move of God that is so big that no one will be able to put their name on it. It will be God at work, increasing His Kingdom in a way that we could not even imagine.

My theology in days like these is shaped by hope. Even in the middle of turbulence, I see God shaping and preparing us for a universal, multi-national move of His presence. With that knowledge, we have nothing to fear. We have hope, and those who trust and put their hope in the Lord will never be put to shame.

Trusting God In The Middle Of Turbulence

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#EUReferendum, Christianity

Looking ahead to God’s future…

Posted on by David L'Herroux

I woke up this morning, like many others, to surprising news about the #EUReferendum. What a night!

The political campaigns have dominated our headlines for many months, and today, both inside and outside of the church, some will be rejoicing and some will be very disappointed.

As a nation, we need time to evaluate the choice that has been made, and when we have processed the decision, we need to look forward to the future.

When we are reading the newspapers or looking at bad reports on Social Media, it can be easy to be fearful and feel concerned about the future. However, even in the middle of turmoil, we can experience God’s rest and have His peace guard our hearts and minds.

In uncertain times like these, we need to remain focused on who we are in God. As believers, we are in this world but we are really citizens of the Kingdom of God. God’s Word says that we are ambassadors to this world, and it is our job as believers and as the Church to be salt and light to the world around us.

I believe that in the days to come, the Church is being presented with a wonderful opportunity. If we stand together united and work hard to preserve the bond of unity, we could see an unprecedented change in our country.

I believe there is a much bigger picture, and God often does not reveal the whole plan to us immediately. He shows us step by step, and as the saying goes, ‘the opportunity of a lifetime has to be taken in the lifetime of the opportunity.’

What if we were to dream and begin to see a field of opportunity? What if we could see a Church which rises up in unity to bring truth and salt and light to our world? God could be positioning and appointing His people for a far greater plan than anything we could have ever imagined.

Despite how we each might be feeling today, whether we are disappointed or rejoicing, let us still keep our focus on God and what He is doing. With the prospect of a new Government being formed, let us also pray ‘in the gap’ for Godly leaders to be raised up. Let’s pray that God’s man or woman will be appointed for the job ahead.

If you are unsure of how to pray, then why don’t we join together and pray as Jesus said we should: Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

David-Blog20

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Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Fatherhood

You are loved more than you will ever know.

Posted on by David L'Herroux

It was Fathers’ Day recently, and I was reflecting on the story of the Prodigal Son.

In Luke 15, it says the son, although living in a wealthy home, decided to break free from the family he had been raised with. He wanted his inheritance early so he could explore the world for himself.

He went to his father and asked for what was owed to him, not realising that by exploring the world on his own, he was removing himself from his foundation, from the source of everything that was good in his life.

Over time, the son ran out of money and found himself eating pig food to survive. However, despite making a terrible mess of his life, he was still the son of a very wealthy man. He had walked away and made very bad choices, but his father still loved him.

The son decided to go home and ask if he could be a servant in his father’s home to repay his debt. However, God’s Word tells us that when the father saw his son, he ran to him and embraced him. You see, no matter what the son had done, he was still a son. No matter what he did, he would always be the son of a very influential man.

We can take many thoughts from this story, but I started to think about the nature of fatherhood and how we can rely on our Heavenly Father, no matter what we go through in life.

I am a father and a grandfather, and as a dad, I am part of the foundation of my family. It is my job to bear the burdens and responsibilities of my family as well as enjoy the many blessings. Some years ago, I wrote an acrostic of the word ‘Father’, which has helped to remind me of what a Father looks like and what our Heavenly Father longs to do for us.

Father

Our Father is…

Faithful: ‘It is because of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lamentations 3:23)

Although grown up with families of their own, my kids expect me to be faithful. I am committed to being faithful to them and our family, and in the same way, we can trust God to be faithful to us. Just like the story of the prodigal son, He is faithful to us, even when we are not faithful to Him.

Able: ‘Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us’. (Ephesians 3:20)

When my children were younger, I was aware that they hung on to every word I said. It is the same with our Heavenly Father; we can hang on to every word He says because He is able to do more than we can ever imagine or think.

Trustworthy: ‘No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said.’ (Psalms 89:34)

In the same way that my children expected me to be faithful, they knew also that I was trustworthy. Although I did not always get things right, they could always trust me. It is the same with God – we CAN trust Him.

Hope in Hopelessness: ‘Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.’  (Isaiah 40:31)

Even after the death of our son, Jamie, we discovered that God gave us hope in the middle of a hopeless situation. We don’t always get the good outcome that we hope for, but even in a very broken world, there is still hope. This is the hope our Father gives us – He came to die for us to give us the gift of hope.

Everlasting: ‘…I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee.’ (Jeremiah 31:3)

God is also everlasting, and His presence is with us wherever we go and whatever we do. As an earthly father, I love my kids with every cell of my being, and over the years, I have worked hard to provide for them. As I have grown older, I have realised that the most precious gift I could give them was my presence – not any fancy gadget. God’s love for us is everlasting, and He wants us to be and live in His presence.

Reliable/Relevant: ‘…for He has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.’ (Heb 13:5); ‘The LORD watches over you — the LORD is your shade at your right hand.’ (Psalms 121:5)

As a dad, when my children were younger, I would often get up in the night to check on them. If they were uncovered, I would pull the blankets up and make sure they were sleeping peacefully. The Word says that God watches over us, but (unlike a human father), He never slumbers or sleeps. He is reliable and relevant in every situation.

That is what a picture of our Heavenly Father looks like, and it is a great picture to cling to.

But what if you did not have a good father? I am blessed because my father was a wonderful dad and a Godly man, but for those who did not have that experience, this is where you can learn to love your heavenly Father.

He is the Father to the fatherless! Humans and earthly dads can let us down, but the Creator of the universe calls himself ‘Abba’ meaning ‘Daddy’. We can go to Him at any time; He is our sustainer and He can lift our heads high with hope. He knows when we feel alone or unloved, and even in death, He remains the resurrection and the life.

Even if your experience of fatherhood has been flawed, there is a great, heavenly Father who will always care for us, no matter what we go through.

He is the perfect example of Fatherhood, and He is available to us all.

David-Blog18

0
Christian Media, Christian Radio, Christianity, Evangelism, Faith

How should you vote on Thursday?

Posted on by David L'Herroux

We have received some letters and questions from UCB supporters recently, asking for advice on how vote in Thursday’s EU Referendum.

As I am a French citizen, I am not able to vote, so I do not have to personally make a decision. However, I wanted to briefly explain some thoughts on our responsibilities as believers.

We are surrounded by many voices and opinions, and it can be very confusing. There are strong opinions on both sides of the EU Referendum from Christians, and it is true that we really need God’s wisdom. Some may even be thinking that it is ‘just one vote’ and it won’t count, but I believe every vote counts, and it is important that Christians use their voice in political decisions.

But how should you vote? Well, simply, some choices cannot be delegated. We can seek counsel from friends, but I believe it is our individual responsibility to research the facts with an open mind, to pray, and to allow the Spirit of God to guide our decision-making.

As Christians, we should look to have a Kingdom perspective. We should look to the outcome and ask which outcome will give us the most opportunity to reach people with the Gospel.

I don’t think one person can tell another person how to vote, but if we keep a Kingdom perspective in mind and ask God to give us His wisdom, He will guide us to a good choice. God’s Word reminds us in James 1:5: ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.’

Decisions are sometimes quick and easy and other times very hard. As you head to the polling stations on Thursday, my prayer is that you will be well-informed and ready to vote with prayerful discernment.

Whatever the result, the UK will be different, and let’s believe for a great outcome that will facilitate the extension of God’s Kingdom in many lives.

Let’s continue to pray for our nation and for God’s Will to be done.

David-Blog17

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Christianity

Getting a Heavenly perspective.

Posted on by David L'Herroux

We are so blessed to have our wonderful friends, Bob and Debby Gass, visiting us at UCB this week from their home in the US. As you might know, Bob and his team write UCB’s Word for Today and have been friends of UCB from the earliest days.

Bob has been in ministry for more than 50 years, and he and I enjoy our times and conversations together. We are both preachers at heart! Bob has been sharing some wonderful thoughts this week with the UCB team, and I wanted to share some of this with you too.

Bob, what is on your heart this week? 

It’s been a few years since I visited UCB, and it’s always good to reconnect and strengthen our friendship. I always say that you can visit many families, but you can only be a part of one. We feel that we are a part of the UCB family, and we love being here. Friendships and family are so important – it’s important to find where your heart is and get connected.

We heard this weekend about the terrible attack in Orlando, Florida.  The increase in attacks like these can make many people feel afraid. What are your thoughts? 

I always say, as believers, we should live in Psalm 91: He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. As Christians, we have to trust God and be sure that we know where we are headed. As we were boarding the plane to come here, the attacks in Paris were on my mind. There is no doubt that we live in an age of terror, but it also has to be an age of trust. These attacks force us to live closer to Him and push us to lean on Him more and more.

When we’re surrounded by bad news reports, is there a way we should pray?

I always try to pray: ‘Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done’. The happenings around us don’t alter the agenda of prayer. We should always pray that God will position us to fulfil our kingdom destiny, even more so in these dark times.

We all have a kingdom destiny. We are each called by God to be priests, and as a believer, you have the same anointing as any priest. The same Holy Spirit– the same presence of God – rests on each of us, and we need to get the message of the Gospel to this culture. We live in a world where people are searching for happiness and looking for it in drugs, multiple relationships, and money. People think that if they get just one more thing or make some more money, they will be happy. But that is not the answer. We have the answer, and His name is Jesus Christ. I was raised in a church which said we must not engage with the world – that we must stay away from it or we would get dirty. Thank goodness that the message of grace has come back to the church, and we have to get that message of grace to our culture.

Last week, we told the story of Marcus Mosey, who lost his sister in the Lockerbie disaster in 1988. How can we support people who are grieving?

I always say that when you lose what you love, there is only one place to go, and that is to the Word of God. Jesus said, ‘I AM the resurrection and the life’, and in Revelation 1:18, ‘I am He who is living and was dead’. Jesus has been there, and now, He’s got the keys.

I also think there’s not enough preaching about Heaven. If you want to know what Heaven is like, look at the story of Jesus and the transfiguration. The Scriptures say: ‘His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. Psalm 17 says: ‘As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness’.

We are given 70, maybe 80 or more years here, and Heaven may seem remote now, but it won’t when we wake up one day in His presence and behold His likeness. Heaven is a place of beauty. It’s a place of innocence: no devil, no sickness, no crying. I always say that a place made by Jesus has to be the perfect home.

When we get a glimpse of Heaven, our 70 or 80 years will seem as nothing to the thousands ahead of us. You get a Heavenly perspective when you get older. Not that any of us want to go to Heaven just yet, but having a Heavenly perspective regulates your conduct, your priorities, and your goals. It also gives us hope for the present.

It’s been wonderful to connect with Bob this week. If you’d like to receive UCB’s Word for Today (it’s free), you can sign up on the UCB website. 

1
Christian Media, Christian Radio, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Forgiveness, Hope

Forgiveness in the face of evil

Posted on by David L'Herroux

Last week I wrote about learning to forgive myself (by God’s grace) after our son passed away in 1988. Forgiveness can be a very powerful tool in restoring relationships (and our lives). This week, I am very pleased to hand the blog over to our family friend, Marcus Mosey, who, through a family tragedy, has also learned about the incredible power of forgiveness.

Marcus writes:

On 21st December 1988, something happened that would change our family and my life forever.

I was 16. My 19 year-old sister, Helga, had been home for just a week before Christmas and was heading back that afternoon from our home in Birmingham to the USA. We had fought like cat and dog (her being the aggressive cat!). For the first time in years, that week I had experienced a loving, caring sister. On the departure day, I didn’t want her to go back to her gap-year au pairing job in New Jersey. But I needed to do some Christmas shopping, so I headed into the city, and promised I would be home in time to say goodbye.

Later that afternoon, I returned home, having totally forgotten that my sister was due to leave for the airport at 2pm. She had gone.

Afternoon turned into evening, and I sat upstairs watching something on the old TV set. Suddenly the programme that I was watching was interrupted with a news flash. A plane had come down over a town in the Scottish Borders. I experienced a fleeting, sympathetic grief that anyone with half a heart would have in such circumstances – a deep sadness for the unknown families of those affected. I remember thinking: ‘Some people are going to have a miserable Christmas and New Year…’

Over the next hour, we found out that it was my sister’s plane, Pan Am 103, which had come down over the sleepy market town of Lockerbie. Our lives would never be the same.

In the coming days and weeks, many facts were established. Bodies strewn over the beautiful Scottish countryside were recovered, along with parts of the plane and people’s luggage. Memorial services were attended by politicians and dignitaries, private funerals and wakes took place in the US, UK, and other countries. For weeks, months, years, this event occupied front covers, columns of newspapers, and the media. Even to this day. But for me, I had to deal with the grief of losing my sister and also the fact that I didn’t keep my promise to get back from shopping before she left. I never said goodbye. I wished I had told her that I loved her and that I forgave her for the years of pain she put me through. But I didn’t. Somehow, I had to forgive myself, and also the perpetrators of this deed. So I prayed. I asked God to help me forgive.

God came.

He came. And all sense of hatred, revenge, and unforgiveness towards the perpetrators (whoever they were) just dissipated within this amazing force shield. He had us. He had me.

But I still struggled to forgive myself for not keeping my promise. Strangely, it was easier to receive God’s help to forgive others than it was to forgive myself! It was like I had this self-disappointment attached to me on a leash. It would just be there, wherever I went, even though I didn’t want it. Then, one morning a few months later, I woke up, and it was gone. I was no longer feeling that sense of shame and regret. It was just gone! I was free.

As a family, we have seen amazing things happen around the world as a result of the Lockerbie air disaster; so many great things that God has brought out of such a dark event. Many children’s lives in Asia have been transformed because of my sister’s death.

But for me, the greatest act of God is that I have not been overcome with unforgiveness and anger. Instead, I have been able to walk on from that evening before Christmas in 1988, free from bitterness, able to forgive. Most importantly, to forgive myself – because God already had.

Marcus Mosey, June 2016

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Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Forgiveness, Healing, Hope, Miracles

Learning to forgive yourself 

Posted on by David L'Herroux

I shared last week about the loss of our son Jamie and the way our lives as a family were changed forever. In the weeks and months after Jamie died, our pastor John Mosey was a wonderful friend. He helped us with the many practical arrangements, and he led Jamie’s funeral service, providing a great deal of comfort and support in a terrible time.

On Dec 21, 1988, in the same year that Jamie died, a Pan Am plane exploded over Lockerbie, killing everyone on board. John’s 19-year-old daughter Helga was one of the victims. I remember the day we received the news and I drove to John’s house. John and his family knew Helga had been on the plane, but John was on the phone in the hallway, trying to confirm some more details. ‘I am so glad you are here,’ he said. ‘You know what it feels like to lose a child.’

The circumstances were very different. Jamie had died from an unknown illness and Helga had been killed in a suspected terrorist attack. But now, in the same year, both families were facing the indescribable grief of losing a child.

News of the Lockerbie disaster was in every newspaper, and John became known at the time for saying he would forgive the people who had taken his daughter from them. Our family did not have anyone to forgive in the same way, but as the years went by and I continued to carry a great weight of grief, I wondered if I did need to forgive someone.

In April 2016, RT Kendall came to visit UCB. I spoke about his visit in another blog post, but I did not share at the time how much this visit impacted me. RT was filming a TV programme for UCB TV, but we asked if he would share something for UCB’s team leaders also.

RT spoke for a little while about forgiveness and encouraged our team to forgive those who had hurt them. He then said he wanted to pray for those who needed to forgive themselves. This was a very important moment for me personally, for although many years had passed since we had lost Jamie, I had carried a silent burden of guilt, wondering if I could have done more? Could I have spent more time with him? Could I have done things differently?

RT’s time with us and his powerful prayer was a moment of breakthrough in my life. Over the next few days, I began to realise that I felt totally free. By the power of God’s grace, I was finally released from a burden which I was never meant to carry. God had shown me that I needed to forgive myself.

I believe that God wants all of us to be totally free – to not carry guilt and shame from the past into our present lives. I thank God for sending Godly people into the ministry of UCB who can show us more about God’s wonderful healing power.

Jesus came to set the prisoners free. If we choose to accept it, we too can live in total freedom.

5
Christian Media, Christian Radio, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Hope

Living in the Green Zone

Posted on by David L'Herroux

This might sound like an unusual title for a blog post, but I will explain what the ‘Green Zone’ is in my life and why I believe it is important for every Christian to have one.

In my previous retail career, I used to travel frequently, often covering more than 70,000 miles in the car each year. Those were busy days, and I learned how to spend quality time with God ‘on the move’ while I was driving. We talk at UCB about having a daily ‘Coffee with God‘, but I learned how to do ‘Driving with God’! I would often listen to the Bible on those long journeys, or I would play worship music, but my focus was on spending time in God’s presence, which was very important in helping me get ready for the day.

These days I do not drive as many miles each year, but my diary is often full. However, in my calendar is what I call the Green Zone. These are blocks each day (usually mornings) which are blanked out in the colour green, and it is time that I purposefully make sure is not booked for anything else. The time is used differently every day: it is sometimes spent reading God’s Word or praying with the team, but the aim is always to welcome the real Boss into the working day! We are nothing without Him.

Many of us have busy lives with demands from work, family, and church, and it can be easy to let the small discipline of spending daily time with God slip. In my younger years, I would sometimes look at time spent with God as part of my Christian ‘duty’.  But although I now have the ‘green zone’, it is not a duty or a ritual in any way, it is just spending time with my Father and getting His wisdom for the day ahead. After all, if I didn’t see or speak to my wife for a few days, I would miss hearing her voice or having her presence in my life. I feel it is the same with our Heavenly Father; we need to hear His voice and experience His presence in our lives every single day. It has to become a lifestyle choice.

In Genesis, we see the first separation between man and God. Man was created to walk in unity with God, but when sin entered the world, their relationship was damaged. I believe the enemy knows that when we are in God’s presence, we flourish. It is where we get wisdom and strength and where we truly grow. If the enemy can stop or distract us from that time, he knows we will never truly grow. That is why this time each day is an essential, non-negotiable part of my day.

Can I encourage you to find your own ‘Green Zone’ each day? I believe that time spent with God will change your life. It will give you strength and faith for the day ahead and help you to understand God’s purpose for your life.

DL'H - Green Zone

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Christian Media, Christian Radio, Christianity, Evangelism, Faith, Forgiveness, Hope, Miracles

God is the God of the impossible

Posted on by David L'Herroux

Early one Friday morning over five years ago, our Company Secretary came to see me. ‘David, we have a problem,’ he said.  ‘Our cashflow is bad. We need half a million pounds.’

When you are responsible for a large organisation, this is never good news to hear. Coming from a commercial background, I knew it was quite common to operate a business out of an overdraft, but I did not feel this was the answer for UCB. I did not know what the solution was, but firstly,  I knew that we needed to pray.

When facing unexpected news, it is easy to get caught up in meetings and discussions, but at that moment, I wanted to be alone so that I could ask God for His answer. I took out my Bible and felt God prompt me to read Jeremiah 17. My eyes fell initially to Jeremiah 17:7-8.

‘But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.’

As I read this, I felt encouraged especially that we were to ‘have no worries in a year of drought’, but in my heart, I still didn’t feel fully peaceful. I felt God prompt me to read Jeremiah 17 again, but this time I needed to read the whole chapter. I have to admit that verses  4 to 6 shocked me – they were curses about goods being plundered and lives being destroyed!

I remember praying: ‘God, ‘I do not understand. First you gave us a promise and a blessing and now I am reading about a curse? What are you saying to us?’

However, as I read it again, Jeremiah 17, verse 6 suddenly came alive to me;

This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.’

I felt this was our answer! I knew I had a decision to make. Where should we take our strength from? Should we rely on an overdraft which came from ‘mere flesh’, or could we find the courage to trust God, believe His promise, and see what He would do?

I gathered all the UCB staff together for a time of prayer. I remember we stood in a circle in our Hanchurch building, all holding hands, and we prayed and asked God for a miracle. I told the team that I believed God wanted us to trust Him. I later wrote to our Board of Trustees and asked if they would support us in this decision, and they all agreed. Those were difficult months, but we believed God had given us a clear promise from His Word – His divine instruction manual.

That was at Easter time, and we had to wait until nearly October before we began to see the financial breakthrough in our circumstances. However, we did not ever need to use that overdraft, and we give God all the glory for seeing UCB through a very difficult time.

There have been many other challenging times since then, but prayer remains an essential everyday part of what we do. I do not believe we can function properly as a ministry unless we purposefully choose to spend time in God’s presence. It’s in His presence that (combined with His Word) we can find answers to the problems that we all face.   In God’s presence, we are able to talk openly and honestly with our Father. We can tell Him our problems, our fears and frustrations. It’s in that place that we can truly find our peace.

We continue to believe that God is the God of the impossible and He will never let us down.

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