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Guest Post Blessed(based on Matt 5 v 3-16)Humble men are truly blessedThe Kingdom of Heaven is theirsThose who mourn are also blessedCause deep comfort will be theirsThe meek and lowly are fortunateThe whole world belongs to themThose who seek justice and rightSatisfaction will be known by themBlessed are the merciful and kindThey shall know great mercyBlessed are those with hearts refinedGod’s face they will surely seeBlessed are those who strive for peaceThey’ll be called God’s childrenAnd those persecuted on their kneesWill inherit the Kingdom of HeavenWhen you’re slandered and malignedBe delighted because I live in youYour heavenly reward is being refinedAncient prophets were persecuted tooYou’re the seasoning of the earthWhich makes it tolerable to “eat”But if you lose your spicy worthYou will be trampled under feetYou are the world’s light on a hillShining in the darkness for all to seeDon’t hide, let it shine strong and stillLet your goodness glow for all to seeO heavenly Father we praise youHalleluyah.. we praise you

Today, while looking out the window I saw our one dog happily rolling around on the grass. He really seemed to be enjoying himself, getting a good scratch while he rolled in some smelly thing to mask his scent (this according to dog experts is instinctual behaviour). There have been other occasions, when he's had a toy rope that he's run around "throwing" the rope around for himself and having a great time.What really stuck with me as I saw my dog rolling around was this sense of joy. He really seemed carefree and loving the moment. This got me thinking about how important joy is, in our lives. As Christians we should be people characterised by joy as we have the most reason to celebrate. This is not to say that being joyful means that you're always smiling and laughing, there are times for being serious, for sorrow. Joy is not a facade of "happy all the time" that we need to put up. Yet, at the same time, joy does mean times of laughter, jollity and light-heartedness. Because of the joy in our hearts we should be quicker to laugh than to scowl, quicker to say a word of encouragement than a word of complaint. Not my actual dog, but you get the idea... The joy of the Lord's people when they are gathered together is something I am really missing about New Harvest. Those jokes in the notices or in the service when something doesn't quite go to plan, and yet no one minds as they have a good chuckle about it. It is really is a strength, as Nehemiah affirms in his words to God's people: "...This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength," (Nehemiah 8:10)It is strength to face the ups and downs of life with joy in our hearts. Joy that comes from our relationship with the Lord, joy that comes from knowing all that we have in Christ, salvation and a hope and a future. We can then understand why Paul urges the believers "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4) and again in another one of his letters, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus," (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)I too would urge you to not allow the negative situation we face during this time to steal your joy. Take comfort and encouragement in the Lord. Face the obstacles with joy and you'll find it easier to laugh than to complain.I look forward to the day when we can all be together and have a good laugh again! God BlessGraham

Good evening New Harvest family. My apologies for the late blog post. For whatever reason I thought I was on ‘blog duty’ tomorrow and so merrily carried on through my busy day, oblivious to the fact that you’re all waiting for my message. Sorry about that.The question I feel prompted to ask this evening is whether or not you truly believe that there is a way back to God after failure? And the answer is ABSOLUTELY! In Psalm 103, King David reminds that:“8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 9 He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. 10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. 11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. 13 The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. 14 For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.” (Psalm 103: 8 – 14NLT)Perhaps no story in the Bible illustrates this blessed truth better than the story of Peter’s fall and the way Jesus recommissioned him to service in what was without a doubt one of the most notable post resurrection appearances.Jesus had been deserted by His followers at the time of His deepest trial. How easily Jesus could have written them all off, but no, that’s not the Lord we serve! As always, He sought to restore them.  After His resurrection we see our risen Lord seeking out these disheartened, discouraged disciples in order to revive them, to reignite their spiritual fire and give them another chance. Peter needed encouragement. After all, he had denied and deserted the Lord, something he swore he would never do, and he was devastated. His mind must have been tormented with pictures of Jesus hanging on the cross. There hung his precious Lord, the One he had pledged to stand by through thick and thin, and yet when push came to shove he’d abandoned Him in His hour of need.It’s so encouraging to know that when Jesus handpicked Peter to be one of His disciples in the first place, He knew exactly what He was doing. He knew this salty fisherman was made of tough stuff. He even knew that Peter would eventually fail. But Jesus loved this man, just like He loves you and me.And perhaps like Peter, you’re in need of a second chance today. Maybe there was a time when you had a vibrant faith, but other things have crowded Jesus out. Maybe through bad choices the things of this world have entangled you, you’re no longer in a living, thriving relationship with Jesus. Well I’m here to tell you that the same God who gave out second chances to His disciples, is still giving them out…

Accountability is something we all need in our lives. I have recently had a fresh experience of it as a result of a discussion I had with some of my closest friends from college. We are all pastoring in local churches and are aware of the danger of spending time learning about God versus actually sitting down and spending time with Him. So we have made a commitment to each other to hold one another accountable in regards to spending daily and meaningful time with God. Accountability, when taken seriously, can have a powerful impact in your life. Take yesterday for example – I was feeling quite lazy and was trying to get out of my much needed time with God. But knowing that two of my brothers in Christ would be on my case for not honoring my commitment then spurred me on to spend time with God (which of course is always beneficial!) While this shouldn’t be my only reason to want to spend time with God on a daily basis we all have these kinds of days when we need a little bit of extra motivation.  Accountability can be helpful in many different ways in the life of a disciple from daily time with God to fighting against habitual sin in one’s life.  These are two of my favorite verses when it comes to the power of accountability:17 As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend – Proverbs 27:17 NLT 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works – Hebrews 10:24 NLT When we are open to the idea, and embrace it, our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ can help sharpen us and motivate us to acts of love and good works. Accountability, when implemented correctly, can only make our lives better. Much love,Luke