Be Humble!

...no...messenger [is] greater than the one who sent him. John 13:16

One of the reasons God chose John the Baptist as Jesus' forerunner is because he was humble. He's introduced simply as a '...voice...crying in the wilderness' (Mark 1:3 NKJV), no pretentious preambles or highfalutin titles. Many notable saints came before John, but Jesus said, '...Among those born...no one has arisen greater than John...' (Matthew11:11 RSV). John had no hidden agenda or overblown ego; his message was: 'He must increase, but I must decrease' (John 3:30 NKJV). John Barnett says: 'Pride is the sin of competing with God...it makes you self-reliant, self-absorbed, self-deceived, self-confident, self-conscious, self-sufficient, self-satisfied, self-focused, self-centred and self-driven. It makes you unreliable, because nobody can tell you what to do...unloving, because you won't sacrifice for others...unteachable, because nobody can correct you...competitive, because you'll always try to outdo others.

Humility means not always having to be asked, reminded and recognised ...you go round looking for ways to serve.' Somebody asked Hudson Taylor, 'Are you conscious of the way God has prospered you in the China Inland Mission? I doubt any man has had greater honour.' Taylor replied, 'I don't see it like that. I think God must have been looking for someone small enough and weak enough to use so that all the glory might be His...and He found me.' Bottom line: 'God gives special blessings to those who are humble, but sets himself against those who are proud' (1 Peter 5:5 TLB). So, be humble!

Vision!

Your vision - you must 'feel' it!

..."Write the vision and make it plain"... Habakkuk 2:2

Habakkuk describes his vision as, 'The burden which the prophet...saw' (Habakkuk 1:1 NKJV). He 'saw' it wherever he went. It drove him to his knees. He prayed, 'O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear?...Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble?...the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds' (Habakkuk 1:2-4 NKJV). Before God blesses you with a plan of action He will burden you with the problem you've been called to help solve. Lewis Braille wanted to read and write. But at three years of age he was blinded in a tragic accident while playing in his father's harness shop. Refusing to settle for a world of darkness he said, 'I will make a system so that the blind can read and write.' As a result, millions of sight-impaired people have been blessed by the Braille system. The Psalmist cried: 'The zeal for [my Father's] house has consumed me...' (Psalm 69:9 NAS). What's your all-consuming desire? What are you passionate about? What has God called and gifted you to do? Paul's burning desire was to reach the world for Christ. And he succeeded. When his enemies imprisoned him, instead of giving in to defeat he turned his cell into a writer's retreat and penned thirteen epistles that would change more lives after he left the world than he could ever hope to touch while he was in it. What are you willing to give your life to, and for? If your vision is truly of God, you will 'feel' it.

The ARK had a MERRY MERRY CHRISTmas!!

It was a Merry Christmas!!!


The children of the Ark enjoyed a massive christmas with gifts, cake, sweets and a fun day of activities!! In this photo the exuberence of the children is cleary seen, they are bursting with all the excitement. This photo was taken just before the Christmas Special Ark Give Away!!! For most of these children it is the only gift they will get. So we wanted to make it SO special!

The Ark is the hands and feet of Jesus!! What an awesome privelage!!