Tag: Christian Radio

Christianity

God has already provided the answers

Posted on by David L'Herroux

In a previous blog, ‘How to turn a crisis into a testimony’, I wrote about the people of Israel and how they quickly turned from rejoicing to murmuring when they hit difficult times. 

As I have been continuing to look at Exodus 15, I have been reminded that in the middle of a crisis, our response to what is happening is very important. As Moses faced the people, who were angry and irritable because of the lack of water, I love his response. He could have sought to justify himself, but instead he did not reply. In verse 25, it says that his first response was to go to the Lord to intercede on behalf of the people. And guess what: it says ‘The Lord showed him a tree’. And as Moses threw a branch into the water ‘the waters were made sweet.’

As I studied these verses, several things came to mind.

A tree does not grow overnight

Any gardener knows just how long trees take to grow – many, many years. God used a tree to bring help to the people of Israel, which means that God created an answer long before there was even a problem. And I believe He has done that for us too. Whatever bitter waters we find ourselves in today, God has already gone ahead of us, making sure that the answer is there and ready just when we face our most bitter crisis. 

The answer was right there

In this particular situation, the answer was right there in front of their eyes, but they could not see it! In my experience, I have learned that often God’s answers are so close, and yet we can fail to see them. This is just like the widow with the small jug of oil in 2 Kings 6: the answer to her problem was there in her own house already, but she needed the prophet Elisha to reveal it to her. Can I encourage you that if you know the Lord as your personal saviour, then the answer to your situation is hidden within you, just as the same spirit that rose Christ from the dead also lives in you.

A miracle tree

In this story, God used a tree to make bitter waters sweet, but that tree also reminds me of the tree that Jesus died on over 2000 years ago. God threw his beloved son on to a tree to take the bitter sin of humanity so that anyone who believes in him would be able to discover the sweetness of life. You see, through Jesus we can not only have life, but we can experience abundant life. 

Whatever situation you find yourself in today, whether it is the stress caused by the global situation or you are facing your own private ‘bitter waters’, I would like to encourage you that the answer to your problems lies in Jesus Christ, who also lives in you. You might say ‘David, I don’t know what to do or where to turn.’ Well, my advice is to at least call on his name. He promises us this in Psalm 50: ‘Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.’  

He who never changes is able to bring peace to your bitter storm. Try it and see what happens.

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Christian Media, Christian Radio, Christianity, Faith

Why is Christian Media important?

Posted on by David L'Herroux

At the beginning of a new year, we are finalising our plans for the next 12 months and looking ahead to all we believe and trust God will do. It is always good to keep ourselves accountable and even ask difficult questions. I have been asking myself: why is Christian media so important? Can it really impact people’s lives?

What do you believe?

Whether we are aware of it or not, we are surrounded and saturated by messages from the media. Whether that be TV, radio, adverts, newspapers, Facebook, or other online messages, on a daily basis, we are always absorbing many different kinds of information. Some of those messages may be good, but we need to be wise to the fact that the enemy also uses media to pollute our minds. It is not just the ‘obvious’ things like pornography or images which do not glorify God, but it can be subtle messages which make us believe things which are contrary to God’s will.

The alarming part is that often we do not even realise we are being influenced! We are even influenced by different brands. I see many people walking around with big logos on their clothes and possessions. Although there is nothing wrong with that, it can be a way people find their identity. How much better if we knew our identity was only found in Jesus.

Jesus Christ (JC) is the biggest brand in the world, and that is what I want to be ‘branded’ with.

This is why I believe good, accountable Christian media is very important. And in a world where we are surrounded by constant information, it is so important that God’s Word and positive, encouraging, and faith-building messages are also ‘out there’ for people to find and listen to. If the enemy is using media for his own good, how much more should Christians rise up and say ‘No, we want to reclaim media, reclaim the airwaves for something positive, something transforming that can change people’s lives.’ Let’s use Christian media to show people that their lives CAN be changed for good, forever, by the power of God’s Word.

Get in the boat

A much loved charity in the UK is the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institute). They do not receive Government funding and are staffed by volunteers to help save the lives of people stranded at sea. They offer a 24/7 life-saving service, working selflessly to help save physical lives each day.

This to me is a great picture of what Christian media can do. Christian media is also a 24/7 service. No, I do not believe we are ‘the church’, but we are here to support the church and to help provide an important service, going into places and homes which the church cannot initially reach. I see what we do very much as a ‘rescue service’.

As I look to the year ahead and I see a lot of darkness online and in our media, I know that we need to continue to offer a ‘rescue service’. I believe there is truly a crisis at sea, but thank God that He never slumbers or sleeps.

God has given us media platforms available 24/7 to reach every person, everywhere, every moment of the day and night, who need help more than ever before.

Let’s work together to throw a lifeline to people who need it more than ever.

dlh-blog-jan-17

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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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Christian Media, Christian Radio, Christianity, Uncategorized

God’s plans are so much bigger than ours

Posted on by David L'Herroux

Hello

I often meet with the UCB staff team and in our meetings, will share what is on my heart that week. The team has been encouraging me for a while to write down some of these thoughts, so here is my first blog post. I want to use the blog to update you on things at UCB and also share some of the things that have impacted me during the week. We may even persuade some of our visitors to write ‘guest blogs’ from time to time as well.

This week, I have been thinking about a wonderful lady who we hosted at UCB some weeks ago: Margaret McGuckin. Margaret was put into an institution as a child due to severe family problems, and while there, she endured terrible abuse and trauma. When she left the institution (as an older teenager), she didn’t understand what it meant to be loved and believed she was damaged forever. But God had a different plan for Margaret’s life, and after several years of being in trouble with the authorities, God met Margaret in a remarkable way and touched her life incredibly. She discovered that having a personal relationship with Jesus was the key to being truly loved – her life began to change from that point.

Margaret (and her friend Kathleen) came to visit us a few weeks ago so that we could share her story on UCB TV and radio. I had lunch with Margaret and Kathleen, and although I was saddened to hear of the trauma she had suffered in the past, I was excited to see how she was using what had happened in order to powerfully help others. Part of Margaret’s healing was reading the Bible every day, along with the Word for Today.  She said that the Word for Today is very much like an appetiser for God’s Word, and she now tells everyone to read it as a way of encouraging them to get into the Scriptures. It was exciting to hear of her passion for God’s Word and the big impact that she is having on so many other people through her testimony and campaigning.

Margaret’s story is a Holy-Spirit reminder to pick up and read our Bibles. We are so blessed as a nation to have access to God’s Word in a way that many others don’t. But even so, many of us have lost the discipline. I call the Bible ‘The Divine Manual’ – if you want direction or instructions, you always go to the manual. And yet when we need instruction in our lives, we often first go to friends or to the Internet. Our good friend R.T Kendall recently wrote a wonderful blog post about the importance of going first to God’s Word: How much do you read your Bible?

Can I encourage you this week – if you are facing difficult times or need God’s direction (or re-direction) in your life, go first to God’s Word. He has given us the Scriptures as a divine source of wisdom and instruction for every situation we face.  Margaret McGuckin found healing and new purpose in God’s Word, and I know personally through my own life that wisdom for many of life’s problems can be found in His Word.

As you seek Him this week, I pray that you will be blessed!

David

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