My Life is in YOUR hands.

Sunday December 28th - my life was shaken.

I was at home at my parents on Christmas day, and had to work the next day, so I left pretty early as I had to drive for 2 hours. I was about 15 minutes into my journey, and I had hit some ice on the road. At this point I slowed right down to about 30mph as this part of the road has a lot of bends. about a minute later, my back end went out and i skidded on black ice. I went to correct myself, but knew I was no longer in control. My words were . . . "oh my goodness, oh my goodness, I'm gone."
The next thing I know is that I am sat in my car upside down in a ditch that has water in it.

My first reaction (I think due to the amount of 24 I watch) was to turn off the ignition, just in case the fuel tank exploded!!!
I remember saying to my self "your fine, you have to get out!"
I remember taking my seat belt off, and I remember pushing the door open a couple of inches. Im not sure how I got out of such a small gap, and I have no idea how I ended up with my mobile phone in my hand!? All I can say is that God intervened just at the right time. There are so many things with this incident that do not make sense for example . . . why am I still alive? The police officer was surprised that I walked out alive! All I had were a few bruises, a bit of concussion, and some whiplash!

My life has a whole new meaning now!
God could have taken me right there! I could be in heaven sitting at his feet, BUT He didn't! He is not finished with me - he has greater things planned for me!
So my question now is "What is my purpose?" "what is it that God wants for my life?"
My life is completely in Gods hands - not what I want, but what He wants.

Is your life in Gods hands? Have you got dreams and desires, have you planned out your life? In Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future"
What are the plans that you have this year?
Unless the kernel of wheat falls to the ground, it will not produce fruit!
God give us desires and dreams - these are good things, BUT if your life becomes focused on making these happen, then you will be waiting for a long time.
There is a song that says it all

The Time has come

Found love beyond all reason
You gave Your life Your all for me
And called me Yours forever
Caught in the mercy fallout
I found hope found life
Found all I need
You're all I need

The time has come
To stand for all we believe in
So I for one am gonna
Give my praise to You

Today today it's all or nothing
All they way
The praise goes out to You
Yeah all the praise goes out to You
Today today I live for one thing
To give You praise
In everything I do
Yeah all the praise goes out to You

All we are is Yours
And all we're living for
Is all You are

Is all that You are Lord

Who are you living for? yourself?  Take a moment to write down your dreams and desires for this year, and surrender them, give them back to God!
He loves you so much that He wants the BEST for you, even if the best is not how you wanted things to go!

Will the real church PLEASE stay standing!

In my previous blog I challenged us NOT to be a church that is just a self-help to the Christian community, but let us ALWAYS be the church that is reaching out with compassion. Let us be the real church that God has called is to be, and let us begin to stand up!
  If we what to become the real church that God has called us to be and stay standing as the real church, great things will happen. But how do we as individuals stand and continue to stand as the real church? Firstly, we need to be the LIGHT in our city - wherever that is - for me at the moment it is here in Derby. If we are to be the light, it means we are visible Light is defined as "something that makes things visible or affords illumination" So as God commands in Matthew 5:16 "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
 Secondly, we need to be people who speak TRUTH. John 8:32 "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." We need to be people who speak up in the face of lies and corruption, we need to be those people who are constantly speaking Gods word into all situations! 
 Thirdly, we need to be people who LOVE. John 15:12 "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." Love without limits!  God loves us more than anything, and He doesn't just tell us He loves us, He shows us He loves us! Loving people goes beyond words, it involves action as well - don't just say it, show it! 
 God has placed you where you are for a purpose! Be the light in your neighborhood, speak truth to your colleagues, and show some love to all! 

Be the real Church and PLEASE stay standing!

Will the real church PLEASE stand up!

Today I had the joy of joining Derby City Vision  churches at a day of praying and fasting for my city - Derby! and what a privilege it was standing in unity with churches from across the city with one focus. . . seeing the name of Jesus proclaimed! It was great to share vision and to hold each other up in prayer. Reminding me that we, each local church, have to be working TOGETHER.
 
At one particular time, we turned our focus of prayer onto the church. I really felt challenged.
I am sure we all know people who have been hurt by the church, who have been judged, shunned, turned away from church, and I am sure that some of you have felt that way too.

You would think that the church would be the first place "sinners" would look to go for help, for acceptance, but more often we hear that this is not the case. Think back. . . when was the last time someone came walking in to your service smelling of alcohol? When was the last time someone walked into your service that was a prostitute? In fact when was the last person to walk into your church that was a non-believer? 
What has Church become? Is it now a place for the middle class Christian to get there weekly top up of worship, word and fellowship? Is it now a place to get your weekly down-low on the local gossip column?
God help us if this is our experience of church!
We had a time of praying for the local churches represented, but before that we spent some time in deep repentance on behalf of the church. This was a powerful moment - understanding that the church is not perfect, understanding that we have missed the mark as the Bride of Christ. But also realizing the love that God has for the church - the forgiveness and the grace that is on offer to us!
Acts 2:42, 4:32

 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.. . . All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

So let us not be a church that is a self-help to the Christian community, but let us ALWAYS be the church that is reaching out with compassion. Let us be the real church that God has called is to be, and let us begin to stand up! It is time to change the reputation of the church.
My prayer for us - the church - would be simple. That God would break our hearts for what breaks His, that we would see all people as He sees them, through love. That the church would welcome the lost with open arms. No longer would we be a people who judge by what we see because it is different, but that different would now become the norm!

Ask God to give you the lost! And then the REAL church can stand up!

Crows and Seagulls

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few" Matt 9:37

As I was looking out of my window today I saw a lonesome crow. He was stood in the road feasting on what looked like someones unwanted dinner. Mr Crow seemed quite focused and in control. Until a seagull comes along. The seagull was quite reserved and slowly approached Mr Crow, Mr Crow just sat there staring. Until another seagull swooped down, then Mr crow started fighting back. You see he had realized that the two seagulls were after his dinner. So he gave a bit of attitude and made a bit of noise which only seemed to create more attraction from the other birds which happened also to be seagulls! So as the seagulls overpowered Mr Crow, they took his dinner from right in front of him, and flew off laughing.

As I was watching this happen, I was watching how Mr Crow reacted, at first he was ready for the fight, he found that meal fair and square, but as the seagulls gradually started to gain in force and numbers, he became defeated. I could hear him calling, but no one came, he was all on his own.
It got me thinking about the scripture in Matthew 9 when Jesus is taking to his disciples and says that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
When people are ready to be harvested we need to be ready to go! Imagine if there were more crows, what a feast they would of had.

Imagine if we as Christians were really ready to reap the harvest, how willing are we to fight for souls? Do we keep perusing? or do we give up like Mr Crow? do we call for back up (the church body) or do we stand alone?

We need to be ready for the fight, the enemy is not gonna back down easily, he will send in others to reap the harvest, We need to be ready to peruse, to fight for the lost - to never give up!
And if we are working without the Church - working on our own to reap the harvest - it wont happen - you will be defeated! Jesus sent out the disciples in twos, Jesus valued community, do it together!

My First Month

Mel’s News from America.

The Team

I have been blessed with an amazing team here at Eastern Michigan University.

Head Pastor—Sarah Krage. Ever since I have been apart of University Christian Fellowship way back in 2004, she has played a great part in my life. Not just as a great friend, but as a spiritual mentor too. So It is great to be able to serve under her! Then there is Associate Pastor—Eliot Geib, Whom I have also known since back in 2004. He is a great friend too and shares a passion for Faulty Towers! :) He has a great sense of humour and am blessed to be working with him! Then last but not least we have Kate Williams who is in the process of getting her credentials for ministry– she has a great heart for the international students! We share a passion of creating songs and silly movies!

It’s a great team and we all work well together with different strengths to bring to the mix!

My role

Ok so you may be thinking. . . What is my role in all of this. I know it sounds like a lot of fun—which it is, but it is far from a holiday!

I am on the staff team—which means that I am in fulltime ministry here at EMU.

My role is to provide a bible study predominately for American students, and to reach out to them here on campus.

On Wednesday night we have something called UCFConnect. This is a chance for American students to come together to look at the word of God, This semester I really felt God was calling us into a time of new beginnings. I felt it was right for us to go back to the fundamental basics of Christianity. So using Alpha materials, we are working or way through topics like—Who is Jesus? Who is the Holy Spirit? How can I have faith?

There is so much junk in the way of the truth, its time to strip it all back and refocus.

The challenge I have is that there are people with a very firm foundation in true Christianity, and also some people who are not as far on the journey, so trying to get the deepness, but yet not lose people in that. Its fun! - That’s Wednesdays!

Another part of what I do is to build a team who will eventually take the full responsibility of running Wednesdays.

I also am attending bible classes once a month. I have completed and passed my first one on “intro to hermeneutics: How to study the bible” I have 9 more to go!

As I get into a routine and figure out how much time I have, I will be picking things up on the way!

American Students

If not me , then who? If not now, then When?”

Being called to work with American students. . .what does this entail?

To be able to connect with someone, you have to know where they are coming from, you have to be fully aware of their culture, what they like, what's cool and what's not! This is hard for me as the culture is quite different to what I am used to, and it is even more difficult as I am not a student! I have formed some great friendships with people from the ministry here, but what I desire to do is to form friendships with those outside. God has brought one American student to me in particular who is very hungry to know more about God, to find out the truth. And I have been able to connect to her on a level that perhaps the rest of the staff team couldn’t. The culture here for Christians, especially within the Assemblies of God is that you don't drink alcohol. You tend not to go to places that promote drinking. Whereas in England, it is normal for us to go for a drink to be social, to connect. I know that God is using for me to be able to connect easier, or perhaps on another level.

My thought is—How can you reach a generation of students if you don’t go to where they are? Why do we expect them to come to us? Jesus was a prime example of breaking cultural “rules” He spent time with the Woman at the well, He had dinner with the tax collector! He didn’t care about what people thought, he went against the grain to advance the kingdom. So I am here feeling stirred to go to the students, to meet them were they are at, to be a light in their dark places, to be salt in their lives!

Financial Support

Thank you to all of you who are faithfully supporting me! I really appreciate you and wouldn't be able to be doing what I am doing with out you! So Thank you!!

I have a budget of $1000 p/m ( £600)

Of which I have $800 p/m raised (£480)

So I have $200 /£120 left to raise in monthly support! If you would like to support me and your in the UK my bank details are available - email me at muhr_by_mel@hotmail.com

If you are in the US please send checks payable to King Of Love University Church. With “For Mel” on the memo. My address is

516 St Johns Street, #205, Ypsilanti, Michigan.48197.

Look forward to hearing from you soon!