Our Covenant

I was clearing out my filofax today, taking the old year's stuff out, putting the new year's stuff in. One of the things I like about a filofax is that because you just take the stuff that is no longer relevant out, you can accumulate some gems over the years. Here's one such gem I found from yesteryear. Anyone remember this?


Today we gather as members of Christ's church, in the presence of Almighty God our Father, and the elect angels, to covenant together to live as God's people, holy and separate from this present evil age.

Confessing our faith in the death, resurrection, ascension, glorification and return of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the church and world today. And in the triumph of the Kingdom of God, the victory of the church of Jesus Christ, and the discipling of all nations.

We covenant to walk in the obedience of faith and in love with one another, watching over and caring for one another; sharing in each others joys, bearing our own and one anothers burdens.

We covenant to meet together regularly for worship, instruction in God's word, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer.

We covenant with one heart and mind to persue the purpose of God in our generation — the establishing of the Kingdom of God and the manifestation of His glory in all the earth.

We covenant this between ourselves as a congregation of Christ's church while at the same time we readily recognise our covenant is with God and all who embrace the faith of Christ and walk in keeping with the purity of the truth.

© Covenant Ministries International

Let it snow

We wish you a Merry Christmas...

My last day of work today before the holidays: Woohoo! Not sure how much I will get to blog between now and the new year, and if my site-traffic is anything to go by, not sure how many of you will be checking anyway! So let me take this opportunity, on behalf of Jacqueline, Michael and myself, to wish you all a wonderful Christmas, and a healthy, prosperous, fruitful and abundantly blessed New Year!

2006 is going to be a good 'un. I can feel it already!

Blog Brothers

Christmas is a time for visiting relatives, so why not on the internet too? I decided to visit my web relatives by going to Google and typing related:chrishamer-hodges.blogspot.com. It was very interesting to see who Google thought my blog was most similar to.

Here are my first 10 relatives at the time of writing:

1. James Aubrey


2. Jo James


3. Jonathan Cooper


4. Erling Thu


5. Pilgrim Heart (Matthew Ling)


6. perfilip


7. 'Rooting deeper into Life' (Chris Negron)


8. Roger Aubrey


9. Planted by Water (Trevor Lloyd)


10. Kari

So of all the blogs in all the world, I'm most like James Aubrey! I guess I must still have some "cool" left in me yet! ;-) It was also interesting to find some blogs I had never heard of, never linked to, and as far as I know have never linked to me: like Kari's. I shall watch her blog with interest now to see what she has to say. I was also curious to see that Google does not list "Living Rock Church" anywhere in my relatives (it does for Matthew), but it does link me (#13) with Community Church Huddersfield. I'm intrigued.

Merry Christmas to all my Blog Brothers (and sister) and to all my faithful readers too. Every blessing.

Kingdom living in a fallen world

"[We] have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come" (Heb 6:5)

I was off work with a cold yesterday. Now, I know to some this confession is tantamount to backsliding, but I have to be honest. I believe in the blessings of the New Covenant, and I walk in divine health, I have seen miraculous healings in my own live and the lives of others, but I do not deny the fact that I do sometimes get sick. We have tasted of the power of the age to come but we have not yet seen it come in its fullness. The kingdom is something that we must advance and lay hold of by force, not something that we passively receive as a one off. If I claim Jesus has made me well when I am sneezing and coughing, I either make myself out to be a liar, or I imply that his healing virtue is like the "Emperors New Clothes." Either way it's hard to see how he gets glory.

The glory of the name of the Lord is the primary concern of a kingdom man. I would rather be wronged than rob God of any glory and honour that is due his name. Yes, God wants me to be healthy and prosperous, but his purpose is embodied in the Kingdom, not in my personal happiness, fortune or health. If we seek the Kingdom first then we have the promise of God that he will look after the rest. However, I don't see anywhere to imply that this will always be instant.

Let me make a bold statement. I do believe God can get glory through sickness. Not because God wants us to be sick, I don't believe that for a moment, but because I believe it is possible to give glory to God in all circumstances — fair, foul, or indifferent. God obviously gets glory through healing, and my earnest prayer is that we see more and more of God's Kingdom power demostrated through miraculous healings. But I myself cannot heal anyone, I can lay hands on the sick in obedience and pray in faith — but my faith is not in my own authority, but in the authority of Christ who defeated every enemy and has a name that is above every name. My faith is in him, not in myself or any of my own abilities. I don't need faith in my faith to heal the sick. Just enough faith in Jesus to take him at his word and do what he commanded.

But if I am sick and I do not get divinely healed, does that mean that my Kingdom walk is on hold? Does it mean I am unable to minister to God or to others or bring God glory until I get well? By no means! I will seek God for my healing, but I will not be deviated from my determination to glorify God in every thought word and deed whether I see that healing come immediately or not. Even when I look to God for healing or provision in any other area, I will still seek his Kingdom first.

God can use even the results of the fall to give him glory. If he brings healing, he is glorified. If he does not instantly bring healing then we develop perseverance and so our character is refined to be more like Jesus, and again he gets glory. In my Bible James 1:2 doesn't read "Count it a personal attack from Satan, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds", but that these things come to refine our faith which is of greater worth to God than gold, and actually prove the Father's love to us.

Whatever you think on these matters, and I know there is a great diversity of opinion on this issue, surely God gets no glory through denial or deception. We must be real with where we are at. If I am sick, God gets no glory if I pretend I am not, nor is this a comfort to anyone who goes through the same trial; the enemy will have an easier job convincing them they are the only one. But nor should I just accept these things as "they way things are" in a fallen world. As a Kingdom man, I will be honest about where I am at, but always seek to press on to lay hold of the power of the age to come.

A few of my favourite things

Favourite Blog

Roger Aubrey's "Stars and Sand" of course.

Favourite Post

From Matthews blog: Matthew is a man who is not afraid to tackle the deep and controversial theological issues of our day. My favourite post is one of those: Heaven's Menu?

Favourite Browser

Firefox! What else?

Favourite Aggregator

RSS Bandit

Favourite Blog Tool

w.bloggar

Favourite Food

Chicken Jalfrezi. Mmmm

Favourite Film

For a Few Dollars More.

Favourite Psalm

Psalm 103

Favourite OT Book

Daniel

Favourite NT Book

Matthew's Gospell

Favourite Bible Version

NIV, but rapidly converting to ESV

Favourite Wine

Australian Shiraz

Favourite Whiskey

The Oban

So enough about me. What are a few of your favourite things? [If you have a blog, why not do the same or similar list on your own blog and add a trackback]

From the River to the ends of the earth

I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle-bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. (Zec 9:10)


Sometimes you come across a single verse of scripture that seems to embody in a single sentence the essence of the whole purpose of God. That's one of the things I love about the word of God, you can get revelation from the broad brushstrokes, but also from the tiniest detail. These two views, the macroscopic and the microscopic, do not contradict (if exegeted correctly) but wonderfully confirm. How could this be possible in a text written by scores of authors over thousands of years, unless the whole thing were carefully crafted by the divine hand. All scripture is God breathed — all of it — no exceptions!

This I believe is one such verse. "From the River to the ends of the Earth" sums up the whole Kingdom plan of God. (Sorry School of the Word students, I know you have already handed your essays in!! ;-)) It encompasses the purpose of Eden, with the river that flowed out from the paradise of God and split into four headwaters to symbolically touch the four corners of the world with the life of God. It encompasses the vision in Ezekiel 47, where the River flows from the temple of God, brings healing to the nations, and life to the "dead" sea. And it encompasses our great commission as those who have been filled with the Spirit, out of whom rivers of living water flow, to touch men from every nation under heaven.

"From the River to the ends of the earth" represents Jesus' unstoppable Kingdom advance through men and women who have been touched by the Spirit, to go into all the world, transforming it with his life and filling it with his glory.

Christmas Crackers

I'm still in the mood for more humour. So with Christmas fast approaching, lets talk about cracker-jokes. Have you ever read one that was funny? (If so please share) Do they deliberately make them so groan-worthy? Let's have some funny, witty or intelligent alternatives for some cracker jokes. It shouldn't be too hard to raise the bar should it?

ahem....

What do you call a Royal Mail worker who thinks one letter-box is as good as any other?

Postmodern Pat!

Festive Cheer

I haven't done one of these for a while. To get in the festive mood, post me a humourous caption to this picture.

What are you seeking?... You will see greater things

Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” (Jn 1:38)

Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” (Jn 1:50)


As I was reading the first chapter of the gospel of John, these two phrases from the words of Jesus jumped out at me. "What are you seeking?" and "You will see greater things."

What am I seeking? What is it that drives me? What do I live for? What is the highest motivation in my life? What do I give my time and energies towards? What am I seeking?

It's always relevant to stop and ask yourself such questions. This question forms the first words of Jesus recorded in John's carefully constructed gospel. It's no accident or insignificant detail. Jesus, as always, goes straight to the heart of the matter: "If you want to be my disciple, I want to know what you really want from me." Very often, when people cried out for Jesus for a miracle, he would still stop and ask them the same question: "What is it you want me to do for you?"

For me the question is timely: for some time my hearts cry and earnest desire has been to see more of the Holy Spirit's working in my life and in the church. It was quickened by the Elders and Leaders weekend, it was accelerated by the tough times my family has walked through with the Lord, it has been confirmed by what David (our senior elder) has returned with on his heart from his 40 days of seeking the Lord, and it is breaking out with all that Roger has come and ministered to us. I am coming to the point where being in the Spirit is not just something I desire, but something I cannot be without!

However, I am also aware that neither I nor the church I am a part of is there yet. We have begun a voyage, we have not completed it. No matter how fantastic the recent ourpourings of the Spirit in our midst have been, these are not the destination, they are the departure lounge! We need to see greater things than these if we are to reach the place I believe God wants us to get to. It's not just for a moment, or for a few, but as Joel prophesied, it is God's desire that his Spirit would powerfully move on all flesh with a powerful anointing that endures. Not just for Sunday mornings. Not just for Thursday evenings, but so that every moment of every day we drip with the fresh oil of the Spirit's anointing on our lives. This is how we were designed to live.

Roger, I'm so glad you are coming back to minister to us again. Your job is not finished amongst us. The Spirit's work upon us has just begun.

We will see greater things in the days ahead. God's Spirit is on the move!

10K

Yesterday, to mark my birthday, my statcounter hits ticked past the 10,000 mark.
Many thanks to all my blog readers, this was my present from all you guys!

DAB hand

Woohoo! Another gadget! This late birthday pressie arrived this morning. Look forward to playing with it tonight. At last... 5 Live without the crackles! :-)

You will receive POWER!

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)


Power — Dunamis — dynamite! We have had a weekend full of the Spirit's dynamite here at Living Rock Church. What a pleasure and honour to have Dr. Roger "Dunamis" Aubrey ministering amongst us over the last few days.

I worked out over the weekend that I have known Roger now for over 11 years. I first met him as a fresh graduate on a young-adults weekend-away he was ministering at when I was based in Manchester. It was great to spend time with him and his wife Dianne. Jacqueline and I were greatly blessed by their fellowship. But what really made this weekend so powerful were the encounters with the Holy Spirit.

On Saturday Roger ministered to those in leadership roles in the church. It was a powerful time of anointing and equipping. I found the time when we moved into bringing messages in tongues and interpretations particularly exciting. I have felt for a while that this is an area we have needed to see more of in our congregations, and when some brought a message in tongues for the first time it came with such clarity and power that it was clear that they had the anointing for it (just been holding it back?) anyway I have an expectation we will be seeing more of this, and all the other gifts in the weeks to come. While the Spirit was ministering to us one man was sovereignly healed. No laying of of hands, not even a prayer, but when he stood up at the end of the meeting, he realised that the intense back pain he had had for the last month had just gone. He was deeply moved by the goodness of God. He is good all the time in so many ways!

This morning we had more powerful encounters with the Spirit. Some spoke in tongues for the first time, and many were knocked off their feet when the Spirit came on them in power — including me! I'm so grateful to God, for the way he is abundantly blessing me with the greatest gift of all — his presence!

Oh, and it's my birthday today (a decade, decades and half a decade!). So who could think of a better way to celebrate than amongst God's people with the Spirit of God moving in power. Thank you Roger for your ministry, and thank you Jesus that you are still working by your Spirit to raise up a people who will give you glory in the whole earth.

Aspects of Christ

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ. (Eph 4:7-13)


I mentioned on a previous post, that we have an inbuilt need for each other. God has placed us in a body for a reason, because no one individual has it all. If they did they would be Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher all rolled into one. Why do I say this? Because the ascension gifts are all just aspects of Christ himself. Thus, all these ministries find their archetype in Christ alone.


He is our Apostle. (Heb 3:1)

He is the Prophet. (Ac 3:22)

He was the original Evangelist (Mk 1:14)

He is the good Pastor [Shepherd] (Jn 10:11)

He is the Teacher like no other (Mk 1:22)


This is why we need all the ascension ministries. Because we do not have a full representation of Christ in the church without them. They are to equip God's people to become Christ-like and to do the works in same area that they are gifted in. An apostle imparts the big picture and gives rule, order and direction in the house; he also equips others, especially elders to do the same. A prophet not only prophesies, but provokes God's people to be prophetic. An evangelist not only wins souls but equips and provokes others to do the same (Just like Jesus who not only preached the good news, but sent out the 12 and the 72 to do the same) The pastor will not only look after God's people but impart a love and care for God's people. And the teacher will not just be a bookworm with a head full of knowledge, but will disseminate the word under the anointing and authority of the Spirit, in a way that will be infectious and enable those who hear to sow the message themselves.

Without any one of these gifts of Christ the picture is incomplete and so is the formation of Christ in the church. We are not told that we should attain a partial measure of Christ but a full measure!

Just imagine the combined anointing of Keri Jones, Tony Ling, Dave Roberts, Graham Deakin and Roger Aubrey, and you have the beginnings of the picture of the manner if not the measure of the anointing that was on Christ. [If you do not relate to these men, insert names of the equivalent ministries you do. If you do not relate to any such ministries, stop and ask yourself "Why not?"] Just the beginning because 1) we are not there yet, and 2) all the ascension gifts are given in plurality. Even in the limited aspects of Christ's anointing, no one man has it all. There is a built in accountability and recognition to protect all from the corruption of pride and the flesh.

Recognition, because, no where do we see any instruction in the word on how to appoint an Apostle or any of the other ascension ministries. They are given by Christ. You cannot become an Apostle, you either are one or you are not. If a man is an Apostle then he will be one whether the body of Christ gives him that label or not. Yet because they are needed it is best for all concerned, that we are not coy with God's giftings and recognise them for what they are.

"Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward" (Mk 10:41)

When we co-operate with these ministries, we are taken onto a wonderful journey to see the full measure of Christ manifest for all the world to see in the Church. When that day comes, then the reality himself will return to the earth in glory. Oh what a day!

On that day, and not a day before, will there be a cessation of gift and ministy. For who needs the reflection of Christ on the glorious day when we will all see him face to face. How can we live for anything less?

Ongoing Acts

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach (Acts 1:1)


Luke's former book, was of course his gospel account that concluded with Jesus' ascension into heaven. Jesus' earthly ministry, even his death and resurrection was, says Luke, just the beginning of his work on the earth! The book of Acts continues the story of what Jesus continued to do through his chosen Apostles after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The book of Acts itself is deliberately open ended. This is because in a sense (hear me right!) it is still being written. The Acts of Jesus through his chosen servants continues to this day (I do believe the canon of scripture is closed!).

Sometimes it can seem like there is a wide chasm between what we read in the pages of Acts and what we see manifest in our own Christian experience. Not so in India! If you haven't discovered Chandrakant's blog, go over and read it now. Just today he has posted on two outstanding miracles that could have come straight from the book of Acts.

Chhagan receives eyesight
God heals people

I have had the privilege to meet this quiet, humble, yet powerfully anointed man of God. There is no exaggeration in what he writes, and I know he considers these things to be just the small beginnings of what God wants to do in his great nation. He is an apostle chosen by God, used by God, with a passion to see no less than one million lives in India impacted with the radical life changing good news of Jesus Christ. I am totally humbled that this man, for some reason, also thinks highly of me!!

It's an inspiration. God has no favourites. He can do the same thing here. The Acts go on...

Google Bomb

This is the best one I have seen for a while...

1. Go to www.google.com


2. Type: french military victories


3. Hit "I'm feeling lucky"

Every Man like David

On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them. (Zec 12:8)

I found this fantastic promise in the word this morning. Part of God's restoration heart is that every one of his people should be like his servant David. Of course the greater purpose of God is that we should all be like Christ, but being like David can illuminate some important things. Here's what it means to me:

• Every man with his heart caught by the purpose of God


• Every man with an abundant and enduring anointing of the Holy Spirit


• Every man a passionate worshiper who seeks to give God the glory due his name with every fibre of his being.


• Every man under authority, submitted to those whom the Lord has placed over him: preferring to be wronged rather than to lay a hand on the Lord's anointed


• Every man a bold warrior who extends the kingdom in one victory after another no matter what the opposition.


• Every man preparing those who will succeed him to continue where he left off.

[I use the word man in the generic sense, so ladies, this includes you too]

How great it would be if even the weakest amongst us was like David! Yet this is God's heart for his church.

I also believe it is a warning. David's failings are presented to us as well as his successes. David shows us that no man, no matter how great, is beyond the reach of moral compromise. Our battle is not without an enemy, and this enemy would seek to destroy us. The way he does this is not by putting colds and coughs on us, as some believers seem to think. His MO is to tempt and to accuse. He would seek to seduce us into moral compromise under the deception that it is secret and no-one will know, and so seek to disqualify us from ministry, or else so accuse us by our past failings that we disqualify ourselves.

I feel stirred that we must be prepared and on our guard against such temptations and accusations. For a man to be powerfully used by God he must lay hold of and remain in the grace of God, and master the sin on his doorstep (Ge 4:7).

Feeding on the Word

And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. He then said to me: "Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them." (Eze 3:1-4)

So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings." (Rev 10:9-11)


The Bible has a lot to say about many things, including itself. However we should not expect to find prophetic imagery of leather bound books with crosses on the front. The book form of the Bible only existed after the printing-press. In biblical times the word of God was recorded on scrolls. So when we see a scroll in prophetic language, especially if that scroll is coming from the Lord, what we are seeing are the Scriptures referring to themselves: we are seeing the recorded word of God.

It is interesting that in these two cases where the prophets are commanded to eat the scroll we are told it tasted like honey. This is of course what the manna tasted like. The manna was another demonstration to God's people that they needed to feed, not just on bread alone, but on every word that comes from God.

The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. (Ex 16:31),

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Dt 8:3)

It is also interesting and highly significant that in both cases the prophets had to feed on the word before they were commanded to prophesy. It is a rather obvious statement, but a valuable truth nevertheless, that you cannot bring the word of God out of you, if it is not in you to begin with. The scriptures are prophet food. If we are to be God's prophetic people we must make sure we are getting a good diet of the word of God. God doesn't speak into empty heads, but into hearts that are full of his word.

Bon Appetit!

Sons of Fresh Oil

And a second time I answered and said to him, "What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?" He said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord." Then he said, "These are the two anointed ones [lit. Sons of New Oil] who stand by the Lord of the whole earth." (Zec 4:12-14)


Tony Ling brought a fantastic word to Living Rock Church on Sunday. It was a key word for us. I'll add a link to the audio as soon as someone [probably me! ;-)] puts it up on the LRC website.

It excited me for several reasons. I'm always stirred when Tony speaks. He is a man who carries the anointing of God, and there is something about his prophetic gift that always sparks something in my spirit. I was also strirred because so much of what he shared resonated with what the Spirit has been communicating to me in my own meditations in the word.

Tony spoke about the Spirit and Power of Elijah, and how this relates to the ministry of the Church who are preparing the way for the Lord by restoring all things. The fact that Elijah is a type and pattern of the church is something I am utterly convinced of from my own studies in the word. I even wrote a short paper on it. Tony shared how on Mount Carmel Elijah brought restoration to a people who had "rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death" (1Ki 19:10) This he linked to the "Way of God" (the Lordship of Jesus), the "Worship of God" and the "Word of God". He then went on to talk about Elijah's cloak, and how it represented his prophetic anointing. In a fantastic parallel he linked how this cloak floated down to the ground after Elijah ascended, and anointed Elisha to continue his ministry, to how the Spirit was outpoured after Jesus ascended, and how we are cloathed with power from on high, to enable us to continue the works of Jesus. I was chuffed because of these four things: the Lordship of Christ, the worship of God, the word of God, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit; I had preached on three of these the previous week. Three out of four ain't bad! ;-) It's great when you hear the word of God when you prepare to preach, but it's even better when you have this confirmed. From the mouths of two or three witnesses a thing is firmly established.

On the subject of the two witnesses. Once you see that Elijah is a type for the prophetic ministry of the church, you can also follow that the two witnesses in Revelation 11 (who perform the miracles of Moses and Elijah) also correspond to the witness of the church in the world. This in turn corresponds with the visions of the prophet Zechariah, which I had just been reading that morning!

As a church, as God's prophetic people, God is clearly speaking to us at the moment. We need to be sons of fresh oil. We need a daily anointing with his Spirit to get his job done, just as surely as we need the daily bread of his word. If we are serious about being a part of God's plan to impact the world, and bring in his kingdom there is just no substitute for the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." (Zec 4:6)

One year on

It's my blogday! One year ago today I wrote my first post and entered the wonderful world of blogging.

It's no coincidence that my blogday comes so soon after Roger's. It was reading Roger's blog and the encouragement that he gave me, that prompted me to start my own blog. Now, one year on, I'm still going strong.

So what has a year of blogging done for me? The main thing I have got out of blogging is the sense of community that exists between fellow-bloggers and regular readers. I have "met" like minded people I would never have come into contact with otherwise, and felt in close contact with dear brothers I would otherwise only have had infrequent dialogue with.

Next it has been an exercise in discipline. Blogging is hard work! Nothing worthwhile is ever easy is it? I nearly gave up on a couple of occasions. You run out of things to say, and after a while you just get out of the habit. My thanks to Cerys Wood, and Roger Aubrey again who provoked me to get going again at those moments.

I have found it helpful in my own meditations in the word. When you write something down and share your thoughts with the world, it forces you to think things through much more thoroughly than when you just keep the thoughts buzzing round in your head. Also when you have "discharged" your thoughts in this way, it gives a release that allows you to move on to thinking about something else.

It has been rewarding too. All sowing produces reaping doesn't it! I love getting comments on my blog, or seeing other bloggers make reference to my posts. It's great to look at my stats too and see the number of visitors. I had 40 unique visitors yesterday — that's more than attended my first Daniel Masterclass! To be honest, it's the visitors who keep me blogging, so thank you. Special thanks to all my regulars who leave comments: Marcos, Cerys, Anna, Kev C, Joe, Roger, Matthew. It was also through my blog and Google that I got back in contact with a dear long-lost friend. That was a great moment.

So to any would be bloggers out there, or those who are just starting, here are my three top tips from 1 years experience:

1. Sowing and reaping! Yes, it works even in the blogoshere. If you want to be linked, start by linking others first. You want more comments, leave comments on other people's blogs.


2. Read like-minded blogs (An Aggregator is an invaluable tool for this). Blogging, like any communication, works best when it is not just monologue. Read what others are writing about. If you are feeling uninspired, a good way back in is to take what someone else has written and expand upon it in one of your own posts.


3. Install a stat-counter as soon as you can. It will be demoralising at first, but there is nothing like seeing your hit-count rise to keep you posting.