fuel Unveiled!

I am very proud to finally reveal a new reflective journal for young people and young adults. We have called it fuel. fuel utilises a time-tested, ancient Christian tradition known as Lectio Divina (spiritual reading). We have borrowed the contemporary idioms that The Message: Remix attributes to this process of hearing and responding to God. It refers to Lectio Divina as Read, Think, Pray, Live. I developed a series of six questions to help young people work through this process and included an introduction to bring some clarity. There are 31 sessions in fuel, but with no dates, prescribed readings or detailed exhortations on what meaning can be drawn from the Scripture. Young people can choose when and where they want to read and can apply the same questions to each reading. fuel can conceivably last for a month (if used everyday), or for as long as necessary. Therefore, the guilt sometimes associated with 'normal' reading notes/journals is decreased because fuel is not prescriptive in it's guidance and can meet anyone wherever they're at on the journey toward Christ.

In my estimation, fuel is a counter-balance to the plethora of materials currently available which often major on inductive Bible study and determine to understand the original meaning behind a section of the Bible. fuel is more of a guided journey into learning the process of listening to and responding to God as He reveals Himself to each person - particularly through the holy scriptures. Finally, at the end of fuel is a section on 'Finding Your Own Thin Place' which leans on the Celtic Christian notion of those areas where heaven and earth seem closer to one another - where God is seemingly present more strongly than elsewhere. I try to encourage young people to find those places in their life, and in conjunction with fuel, to spend time listening and interacting with the Lover of their souls.

I am so excited about what fuel can mean for each one of us as we uncover, follow and feed our un-ending hunger for God as revealed most clearly in Jesus Christ. My personal hope is that God will allow me to play a part in Ireland reclaiming it's title as "the land of Saints, Scholars and Artists" - which happens as we make space to encounter the Great God who has loved us supremely in Jesus and facilitated our becoming through our co-operation with the Holy Spirit. The best is yet to come (Ephesians 3:20-21)!

Copies can be ordered from me or from the Church of Ireland Youth Department. Updates will be made to our website in the coming weeks.