Welcome to the JC Blog! Lifting the Name of Jesus
unashamedly and without prejudice.
Jesuschrist.co.uk is a site dedicated to the Person of Jesus Christ, to the Word of God, and to His diverse community of people throughout the nations.
Paul the apostle, just before his final trip to Rome, where he knew he would be martyred, commended his disciples to God, and to His Word, knowing that these alone had the supernatural ability to bring them into their rich heritage and bring them into their full inheritance.
Acts 20:32
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
John records two commands (only two, not 10!), and they both centre on relationship: relationship with God, and relationship with others.
1John 3:23
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
If we fulfil these, we fulfil all.
Be Blessed!
What you will find on this site…
Hi, my name is David Lee Martin and I am a happy husband and father of three, a passionate minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and a lively and insightful Bible teacher with a burning desire to see God’s people (and all people for that matter) walk in the FREEDOM for which Christ has made us free
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1, NIV
On this site you will find a whole variety of content; information, entertainment (you will even find great movie reviews from a contemporary Christian perspective by my good friend Danica Issell), practical advice and resources teaching how to grow in your walk with God and your comprehension of the infallible Scriptures, how the fabulous truths of the Bible can be dynamically applied to your life, helping you become all you were created to be!
I often think about our relationship and walk with God our Creator, and how we are all in the process of progressively becoming all we already are in Christ Jesus. I would love the privilege of sharing some of that journey with you, walking together as pilgrims looking for a better city whose builder and maker is God!
I am incredibly passionate about pushing the boundaries of life and reaching for God’s very best as I perceive it on the vibrant pages of Scripture, and that’s what I want to help YOU do as well. Live a life full on for Jesus Christ and experience the supernatural and fruitful destiny He has prepared for you.
This blog is designed to empower and inspire you
through quality teaching and upbuilding resources
to become all God designed you to be -
an awesome masterpiece of His amazing grace!
A Story of God’s Amazing Grace….
The name that will be lifted up and pushed forward on this site is not my own so please don’t worry. We want the incomparable name of Jesus to be the name on everyone’s lips. But I thought you might be interested in a little of my own story.
God? Who’s God?
I never really had an interest in God. Actually, let me put that differently. I had no interest in religion, and as a child God and religion seemed to mean pretty much the same thing. My mum wanted me to be confirmed and baptised but even as an eighth year old I refused. I didn’t even believe in God, never mind want to follow Him!
An Earnest Search for truth
My journey began in earnest when I was about 13 years old I guess. I just had such a deep sense that there was more to life than what I saw around me. I began to explore alternative spiritual paths and embraced New Age philosophy. From aura sensing to shamanism, automatic writing to transcendental meditation, over the next years I explored every avenue for spiritual enlightenment I could find.
Adding to this an introduction to mind altering drugs when I was 16, my experiences of the spiritual realm increased in depth and intensity. My best friends mum at the time owned the most popular New Age store in my town at that time, so I had access to almost any amount of alternative spirituality material, and devoured it like a starving man.
I still felt an aching emptiness inside however. I had no idea what was missing but again, in my gut, I knew that there must be more substantial and satisfying realities to discover. But where? Picking and choosing from the smorgasbord of spiritual paths and writings left me hungry. It was like a great table was laid before me but at the end of the day it just didn’t have the nutrition I was craving.
A Spiritual Encounter I will Never Forget!
My first encounter with the Person I now call God came on a night I had decided to take my spiritual journey to another level. By this time I was experimenting with the hallucinogenic drug, LSD, and with the shamanistic practices of astral projection. I had decided that this night I would drop a tab of LSD and go flying outside my body into the spiritual realm (or, “the other side” as I called it in those days).
I dropped the tab and began to melt into a heightened state of awareness. Suddenly the ceiling above me turned to water and a thick tangible darkness swept into the room. I was alone and scared! I remembered a friend of mine had once told me that she had taken a bad trip and had called out to Jesus to help her – and he had. I had nothing to lose, and amongst the other ‘spiritual’ and ‘philosophical’ books I was devouring I actually had been reading the New Testament as well. I didn’t really believe in Jesus necessarily – to me He was no more than another great spiritual guru or teacher. Not knowing what else to do however I opened my mouth and cried out with as much sincerity as I could muster. Through trembling lips I prayed, “God, if you are real, HELP ME NOW!”
In an instant the atmosphere changed in the room. What I can only describe as a ‘breath’ of light filled the room. Then, without any warning, massive power entered my body and came to rest in the area of my belly. It was tangible, physical – so real it took my breath away. Never before had I felt or even imagined such power!
I hurriedly scrambled for the little New Testament I had been reading and opened it to the page I had reached (I had been reading a small portion every day or two). In it John the Baptist was speaking and saying, “I indeed have baptize you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” (Mark 1:8). As I read the words on the page I was again struck by a spiritual thunderbolt and immediately began to speak in other tongues (just as described in Acts chapter 2, even though I had never yet read that far in Scripture). I had never heard of being born-again, baptised in the Holy Spirit, or speaking in tongues, but here I was in my room encountering the God of the Bible in a very real way.
You can read the full testimony of this encounter in my book, “Christianity – The Awesome Reality of the Supernatural Realm”, but needless to say, my life has never been the same again.
Still Seeking, but now I know what (or more accurately whom) I am looking for
My hunger and love for spiritual experience and encounters, and for God’s Word, has never diminished from that time forward.
This encounter at 19 years old has led me on an interesting path. At first it was difficult to find a church that really understood or was willing to deal with someone like myself. I was very wild and certainly not cultured for church life (not for most churches anyways). It was a couple of years later that I chanced upon some meetings being held in a hotel hall in Brighton by a guy called Ashley Schmierer of the Christian Outreach Centre. It could only be described as a move of God’s Spirit. the meetings were filled with God’s supernatural presence and His power was evident as people fell under the influence of the Holy Spirit, people were healed and delivered from demons – it reminded me of the Book of Acts.
As soon as I walked into those meetings I recognised the same power and presence I had encountered in my bedroom the night I got saved in such an unconventional fashion.
As I engaged with other Christians and received teaching and encouragement my spiritual development rocketed forward.
It is now 18 years after that first encounter with Jesus, and I am now married with three kids. My wife and I have planted two churches and taken over and helped a further two. Together we have sought to serve God with zeal and honesty, and creativity. It has not always been an easy walk, and I have as many questions as I have answers, but each day I take steps forward in God’s plan for our lives as a family.
During this time I have also written a fabulous, graphic-rich Bible School curriculum that is well worth checking out (http://www.jesuschrist.co.uk/spiritlife). It is an awesome resource that I encourage you to grab and use for your own edification, and to teach and train others in the life giving liberating truths of Scripture.
Discovering the power of the Internet…
As a graphic designer and web designer I have for a long time had an interest in digital media, but it was not until recently that I was truly struck by the amazing potential of the internet to really reach people beyond our wildest imaginings. Jesus told His disciples to go to the “uttermost parts of the earth” with the message of freedom, and the Internet has given us the opportunity to accomplish this like never before.
It was in 2009, whilst reading and meditating on the subject “seizing God given opportunities”, that I met Reza Sobati, a great Christian guy involved in Internet marketing and web site domains (vitaldomainsforsale.co.uk). Soon after we met he came into possession of the jesuschrist.co.uk domain name. It was a surprise to him as much as anyone else. The very next day he gave me the domain, knowing that it would be used for God’s glory and to help, love and resource others with truth.
I seized the opportunity and began to train myself in all things WordPress and Internet Marketing and Social Networking etc. And so, the journey has led me (an you) here!
So What Next?
My genuine desire is to develop this blog site and the various minisites and resources we offer to be a massive blessing to as many people as is conceivably possible. Jesus said “to give is more blessed than to receive”, and so my primary function is to give, give, give. Great content, interesting and thought provoking posts, fabulous and reasonably priced products and resources…and so much more. Our imagination is the only limit.
Let’s Partner in a Journey of Becoming…
I want to help you become all you were designed to be in Christ, and to share your journey, enjoying your encouragement and input as we walk together. We live in times of great confusion in the world, but together the Body of Christ can offer a real alternative – a community of trust and love and creativity.
Together we can make it happen!
Your friend and brother in Christ,
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