It Takes Two...

It's been a busy weekend for us here at B.C.C. On Saturday, our prayer meeting kicked off at 7.30am as usual and we had a really powerful time. What really changed the spiritual atmosphere was the short time we spent speaking in tongues; this opened us up to finding God's agenda for the meeting and things took off. As well as that the Music Team got together for a special day's training which was both profitable and enjoyable (thanks to Esther and Samuel for bringing in the tin of Roses!). There'll be more on that in the Blog this week. That was not the end of it though: most of us will have attended yesterday's meeting and it was a very 'full' meeting. The prophetic emphasis seemed to centre in on the need to surrender everything to God and the spiritual life which flows from this place of spiritual death. Tim's message on worship, based on Psalm 29, was also an excellent summary of what we had just done and I was reminded once again that worship is 'alive'; by engaging with it we expose ourselves to the true nature of God Himself. Tim's message is available for download from itunes or from our website.

God is never stingy and He was still speaking to me on Sunday afternoon. As many of you will know, I am running the London Marathon in 2010 to raise money for the work of Aid International in the Zambian Orphanages based in Lusaka. Pastor Neil and Neil Taylor will also be running too and we hope to raise £1000s! The training continues. Yesterday afternoon Neil (Taylor) and I went out for a run together. Following one of my 6 mile routes, but starting at Neil's house instead of mine, we pounded the streets and arrived back soaked (it rained) and aching but in extremely good shape as I broke my own PB coming in at 49 minutes and 30 secs.

Neil is a lot fitter than I am (skinnier and younger too *sob*) and I know my pace was a lot slower than he was used to but he graciously followed my lead. This partnership was what made a difference in the way I ran and helped me achieve something with which I have been struggling for months: to break the 50 minute barrier. We know that it is not good for man (and woman!) to be alone and whilst this is often used as a universal endorsement for marriage I would like to suggest that it applies to everyone whether they are married or not; I have known a few lonely married people in my time. Having Neil run with me spurred me on. It helped me push myself a bit more and focus on someone else and not just my own needs. Two of us were able to achieve more than one.

With this in mind, apply the principle to your walk (run? lol) with God. The Lord has given all of us people with whom we need to run this race. At the point of new birth we are born again into a family of believers (the Church) and they are there to help. Drawing on these relationships provides us with some of the building blocks of fruitful Christianity; they keep us on the right path, they help us keep up when we are struggling and lagging behind, they point out weaknesses and problems which need improving, they model something which inspires us to do the same. I could go on but instead I leave you to ponder this tremendous picture and to ask this important question, "Where are the runners in my life?"

If you want to find out more about Neil's marathon training courtesy of his sparkling new blog then check out the link: http://www.neilsmarathon.com/nm/ You can even sponsor him if you like!