NHCF Blog

by John DoylePsalm 127:3 "Behold children are a Heritage from the Lord, The Fruit of the womb is a reward"Can you think of any better reward from the Lord than to have children in your home? Its a priceless reward and all made possible because of the Heritage that He passes on to us through the gift of children. Now we are told in Gods Word that this Godly Heritage (Children) are to be trained up in the way he should go "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it" Proverbs 22:6One day we will all say our goodbyes to our children and our greatest reward would be to see them go forward in Building a Godly Heritage into the lives of their children, which comes from the foundations laid down by their Parents. Its not an easy journey but when we apply the principles of Gods Word and apply them to our lives, our children will see it day by day and it will impact their lives after we have left this earth.Its a TRAIN journey as we read above in God's Word. Its not a fast train its a steady, consistent, secure train that comes from applying the rules found in the Manual which of course is God's Word.The TRAIN journey starts with Parents who choose to Live and Apply these key Biblical Foundations into the lives of their children. It begins with:TRUTHWe are to make sure that our children know "the Way, the Truth and the Life" found in the Lord Jesus and that this Truth when placed into their hearts by faith in Christ will give them the foundation to continue the TRAIN journey for their own lives and the lives of their future children.RIGHTEOUSNESSIts a train journey of Righteousness. Reading through Matthew Chapter 5, probably one of the most famous of teachings of the Lord Jesus He talks to His Disciples about what Life looks like for His followers so He pours into their lives the Beatitudes and one of the key beatitudes is "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled". Its not natural to live a righteous life its supernatural and when we choose to follow His ways and not ours we will experience the joys of living the righteous life.AUTHORITYAs parents we have been given authority to TRAIN our children. We have found in our ministry over the years that children often wish their parents would 1. Admit when they are wrong. 2. Control their tempers. 3. Keep their promises. When parents fail in these areas children can be deeply wounded and consequently express their hurt through becoming angry and rebellious. Authority will flow gracefully in the lives of our children when we apply Biblical truths and walk in humility and Love with the Heritage God has blessed us with, our children.INSPIRATIONIts so important for us as Parents to be an inspiration to our…

by Luke KincaidFrom time to time I like to share a song with you that I have been listening to a lot lately. Today's song is called, "In The Hands of Christ My King" by Austin Stone Worship. I can't remember exactly how I came across this song but the moment I heard it I knew that it was special:https://youtu.be/0tfXaXlHXy8Verse 1Come Holy Spirit, move in powerIgnite my heart with Your Holy fire.Show me The Father, show me The SonRevive my soul again, oh Spirit come ChorusAll my hope is found, in the hands of Christ my KingSo may my life be found, in the hands of Christ my King Verse 2Come Holy Spirit, fill me upTill I am carried, by Your rising floodShow me The Father, show me The SonRevive my soul again, oh Spirit comeChorusAll my hope is found, in the hands of Christ my KingSo may my life be found, in the hands of Christ my King BridgeIf You're not here I don't wanna beI won't be moved unless You moveI want You more than the air I breatheI need You, I need You ChorusAll my hope is found, in the hands of Christ my KingSo may my life be found, in the hands of Christ my King BridgeIf You're not here I don't wanna beI won't be moved unless You moveI want You more than the air I breatheI need You, I need You ChorusAll my hope is found, in the hands of Christ my KingSo may my life be found, in the hands of Christ my King True hope is found in Jesus and I long to live in a way that sees him always being fully present and honored by all my decisions and actions in my everyday life! Much love,Luke

The following blog post is an extract taken from our Food for the Journey booklet which covers seven disciplines for Christian living. If you would like to download a digital copy of the booklet and work through the daily devotions please click here: FOOD FOR THE JOURNEYDISCIPLINE 1THE DISCIPLINE OF QUIET TIMES: INTIMACY WITH JESUS – ENJOYING THE LORD AND LETTING HIM ENJOY YOU! Not only are we given salvation by the Lord through faith in Jesus Christ, but we are also given the wonderful gift of Himself, His presence. The Lord declares over and over again in scripture that He will be with us and because of this we can trust that He truly desires to spend time with us, to bless us with Himself and to be blessed by us. Companionship and friendship are clearly offered to us by God. Like any developing relationship, this requires time,  communication, listening and commitment. Prayer is simply talking to the Lord and allowing Him to talk to you. Many have shared that to simply sit still and hear the Lord is difficult, many find they are easily distracted and unsure of themselves in prayer, yet we all sense how important it is to spend time with God. In the frantic pace we seem to live in, time seems to be the key difficulty, but when we discipline ourselves to give God time, we handle our day so much better and, therefore, the most practical, sensible start to any day is time with Him. A number of people find it easier to set time aside at night, or even midday,  whichever works for you is fine, as long as there is some specific time set aside daily. We have a marvellous asset to our time with the Lord, and that is the Bible. The Bible teaches us of the Lord, how He thinks, how He sees things, how He relates to people. When we read the Bible in our quiet times, we are reading it devotionally, in other words, we are reading for the purpose of having our attention focused on Him. To sum up: The Lord clearly desires to spend time with us; we need this time so that we can stay focused and faithful; the Holy Spirit and the scriptures help us in our time with God; through spending time with Him, we receive direction, guidance and wisdom. Listening, obeying and applying what we hear Him say to us keeps us faithful as disciples. Nothing teaches better than practice. Therefore, it is important to try to not missout on the quiet times and be ready to share with your fellowship group on whatinsights you may have gained, what struggles, if any, you had, what excited you, what challenged you, and most important – WHAT YOU LEARNED of the Lord. "If You are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favour with You..."( Exodus 33:13 )