Jay Mitchell

If you are a Christian reading this than I am assuming (and only assuming) that at some point you realised that you were a person that didn’t quite meet the perfect performance that God expected of you, but at the same time, after hearing about Jesus (fully man and fully God) and what He did on the cross (as declaration of how deep and how wide His love truly is for you), and knowing that in that moment you ponder all of this you actually feel His presence and closeness, that He is right there with you because He is alive now, right now. Do you remember that? It was a great day, I am sure you remember. Greatest day of my life.

There is nothing more important to God then getting people into His Kingdom. Let me repeat that; There is NOTHING more important to God than getting people into His Kingdom. God knows that once He has gained sons and daughters and they enter into His kingdom (both on Earth and in Heaven), that everything that they need will follow if they continue to seek after the very thing, that sought them out. 33  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6. Unfortunately Jesus knew that it doesn’t matter how great the invitation, how good the party is (even if bacon and pork with awesome crackling is being served) people may not come along to be part of His Kingdom. That all kinds of ‘worldly’ excuses would be made. (Luke 14:15-25).

This is going to be an exciting year. It's already started off with a bang and with me starting up in full time ministry, God has already surprised me with new friendships and encouragement about the vision He has given to me for my life.  As you may see from some of my previous blogs my heart and vision is for the lost to be found and to encourage those who know God to go out and make disciples. And now I am ready to pursue it full time, all the time.  My Pastor Bernhard Wewege has delivered a great prophetic word of expectation for our Church and as individuals for this year. "Surprised by God". After all God has done and all I am stepping into this year, because of what God has told me, I am grabbing onto this with both hands! There is nothing more exciting and no other way I want to live than to embrace, via faith, the things that God has for me. The choice to do what God has asked my wife and I to do has not been easy or simple. Ministry is not a 'c...

It's Christmas time. When Santa decides if you get something good depending on whether you have been naughty or nice...... I read an article recently, titled " 10 men Christian women should never marry " on a friends Facebook page and was relieved that my wife did not read this before she married me. If there is one thing I know for sure it's that I did not deserve a woman like my wife. She is a believer and loves Jesus. She has been picky and protective over herself about which men to date and not to date. She is everything and more that I asked God for in a woman. She looks after me and loves me to the max, always doing things for me and thinking of how to bless me in our marriage.

God tore himself apart for us. Literally. If you are a parent, you can only imagine what it would be like to lose one of your children prematurely. If you have lost a child, you know the pain (spiritual, mental and physical) of losing a child. To have your child literally torn away from this world, where you exist. Someone who you comforted, fed, directed, helped, encouraged, cuddled with, hugged, shared 'I love you' with and really became connected to. It's a closeness that is hard to explain and express.  As a Christian, I believe in a Triune God. Three in one. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All God. All One. Now this is vital if we believe that God showed His love for us through giving his only Son for us. You have to try and imagine the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. It's impossible to truly understand it fully  but we can to a degree. They have been so close for all eternity. There is no beginning to the relationship and there is no end...

"But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" (James 2:20 NKJV) I have often been baffled by this scripture.  I would ask "but now that I am found in Jesus, by his grace, I am free from 'works' correct?"  I have worked out that there is a difference between working for your own right standing with God and acting out works  because  of your right standing (faith) in and with God. A while back, God said to me 'what you believe directs every one of your decisions.'   Here it is; what you believe makes your decisions and decisions lead to actions. Believer or not.  I recently had some trouble and friction with my bosses at work. Which happened because I believed they were treating people poorly. It made me unsettled and my friend noticed. As he was asking me what was wrong, I heard God say 'I AM for you'. My whole attitude changed. As I walked out of the office, I said to my friend...

6  that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you [ b ] in Christ Jesus. ( Philemon 1:6 NKJV) In my life group, we have been discussing what faith is and exploring how important it is for us to know who we are in Christ. It has continued me on an amazing journey of revelation and knowledge in Jesus. A journey that will never end.   Let me keep this short. How important is it? Extremely important. What you believe directs every one of your decisions, believer in Jesus or not. So who you believe you are in Christ and in turn Christ in you is not only important but critical to the direction that you take in your life. But I want to focus just quickly on how it translates into the effectiveness of you sharing Jesus with others. 6  that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you [ b ] in Christ Jesus. Paul clearly points out in th...