God is good!

25Jun09

So, I’ve finished all my exams, second year is nearly over…which means I may get a chance to write all those posts I’ve been meaning to for months and months! Maybe.

God has been so amazing this year. I look back to this time last year and I can see how I’ve grown with Him and how much He’s taught me and am left in awe and wonder at his goodness. This is crazy love.

When I was doing my exams, I was very stressed and tired and had no time to do anything except sleep,revise, do exams, repeat, for a whole week. I honestly wouldn’t have got through without breaking down without God. And though it was horrible being under so much pressure, I realised in the midst of it that I was learning more of God.  It is only really in our struggles that we’re  really forced to fight and depend on God more than anything else and that is the time when God can really display himself.  God kept guiding me to Psalm 31, which I took to reading every morning before my exams.

¹ In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.

² Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.

³ Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

⁴ Free me from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.

⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

⁶ I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
I trust in the LORD.

⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.

⁸ You have not handed me over to the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.

⁹ Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and my body with grief.

¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,
and my bones grow weak.

¹¹ Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
I am a dread to my friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.

¹² I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.

¹³ For I hear the slander of many;
there is terror on every side;
they conspire against me
and plot to take my life.

¹⁴ But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”

¹⁵ My times are in your hands;
deliver me from my enemies
and from those who pursue me.

¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.

¹⁷ Let me not be put to shame, O LORD,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and lie silent in the grave.

¹⁸ Let their lying lips be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

¹⁹ How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you,
which you bestow in the sight of men
on those who take refuge in you.

²⁰ In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from the intrigues of men;
in your dwelling you keep them safe
from accusing tongues.

²¹ Praise be to the LORD,
for he showed his wonderful love to me
when I was in a besieged city.

²² In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.

²³ Love the LORD, all his saints!
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but the proud he pays back in full.

²⁴ Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the LORD.

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Tags: blessings, exams, God, goodness, love, Psalm 31, stress

Treasuring CHRIST!

14Jun09

Yes!! Let’s live with Christ as our treasure, and truly live as we were created to live. With GOD at the centre of everything. Lord, help us let go of our wordly idols.

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Tags: christ, Jesus, John Piper, Life, paul, treasure

Do you treasure Jesus?

22May09

Have we truly recieved Jesus if we do not treasure Him?

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Tags: Christianity, church, Jesus, John Piper, nominalism, receiving Christ, treasuring Christ

Put your money where your mouth is

04May09

Half the world lives on $2 or less a day.

At least 80% of the world lives on less than $10 a day.

The remaining 20% (that’s us) earn a VAST amount more – we earn more in a week than most people in the world will earn in a year.

The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income.

So, what does this mean? This means we can do A LOT to help bridge the poverty gap, as we have the resources available to do so.

God’s heart is for the poor. This is apparant in the Bible from beginning to end.

God commands us to help the poor:

Exodus 23:6 Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.

Deut. 24:12-13 If the man is poor, do not go to sleep with his pledge in your possession. Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it. Then he will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the LORD your God.

 Deut. 24:14-15 Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

 Deut. 26:12 When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.

Deut. 15:7. If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, in any of the towns of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand to your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.

Luke 3:11. And [John the Baptist] would answer and say to them, “Let the man with two tunics share with him who has none, and let him who has food do likewise.”

Luke 14:12-14. ”When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

We say we care about the poor, we say we care about injustice but when it comes down to it we care more about our bank balance and what we ‘need’ to buy for ourselves to practice what we preach. We buy excess food that we then waste. We buys clothes that we don’t need, we just want. We buy gadgets that are unnecessary just because they’re ‘cool’. Doing your bit doesn’t mean setting aside some of your income for the church or charity. It means going without some of the things we simply don’t need. 

God commends simple living:

Mark 10:21. Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Luke 12:33. “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys.”

God condemns those who care more about themselves than the poor:

James 5:1-6. Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. …Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and with you have withheld, cries out against you; and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

Luke 6:24. ”But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.”

Prov. 29:7. The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor; the wicked does not understand such concern.

1 John 3:17. But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

God sees no value in riches and material goods, and when he entered this world he did not pursue a life of luxury – in fact the very opposite. So if we call ourselves Christians and claim to follow Jesus’ example, why do we love money so much and why are we caught up in a culture of consumerism and materialism? 

God has blessed us greatly. It is by his grace alone that we have been born into a prosperous nation and that we have opportunities for education and skill development. Whatever is in the bank is God’s and it is a gift he has entrusted to us temporarily. Is God more concerned with you getting the lastest ipod or with the poor? His heart grieves for the poor, and so should ours. We say we care, but we reluctantly give out of our abundance.

Do we need a luxury car? Do we need a 42 inch flat screen TV?
Is investing our money to get even more money  wise, or simply greedy?

Forget comfort and luxury that our society craves and worships, as Christians we should be concerned with what God is concerned with, our hearts should be reflecting God’s. God doesn’t want you to have a nice house and car and live a life of luxury. God wants you to use the gifts he has graciously given you to honour him.

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Tags: comfort, consumerism, culture, excess, God, God's heart for the poor, injustice, Jesus, luxury, materialism, money, poor, poverty, society, waste, wealth

The Narnia Code

17Apr09

A very interesting programme shown on the bbc last night, especially if you’re a fan of C.S Lewis’ Narnia series.
This programme explores the symbolism hidden in the Narnia books and discusses the relationship between faith and science.

Definitely worth a watch if you have some time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00jz2qp/The_Narnia_Code/

Filed under: World & Culture   |  1 Comment
Tags: bbc, C.S. Lewis, Christianity, cosmology, faith, fantasy, literature, michael ward, narnia, planet narnia, planets, science, symbolism, the narnia code, theism, Theology, tv

If only I could go back and make things right…

24Mar09

I went to the cinema yesterday. After 15 minutes of adverts enforcing the ‘importance’ of exterior beauty came the film trailers. Two of these trailers involved the characters being magically transported back in time to re-live part of their lives. I was struck by how similar the two films were, in terms of their overall message. See for yourself (they don’t embed so just double-click on the videos):

Why are todays audiences ready to lap up films like this? Because it appeals to a wide-spread longing that people have – they want more out of life; they are full of regrets and dissatisfied with their lives. One life is not enough…we mess up, we hurt people, we hurt ourselves and at the end of it all we are left feeling empty and wondering what the meaning of life is. If only we could go back and do it all over again. It would be different then, we’d make the right choices and then we’d be satisfied. Sadly, that is a lie. If we had the chance to go back and live our life over we’d make the same mistakes, or make new ones, and without God still end up at the end of our lives feeling lost and empty and thoroughly unsatisfied.

We don’t need to live our lives over again – we need to start a new life, to be born again and experience life as we were meant to, in relationship with God. This is the only thing that will satisfy and fill that emptiness.

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full – Jesus (John 10:10)

These films also emphasize the importance of relationships. The characters don’t go back in time and buy more stuff, they seek to make better decisions concerning relationships. Our consumerist culture is realising that no matter how much money we have, no matter how many nice things we buy – it is relationships that are the source of our long-term satisfaction. That is exactly what the Bible teaches. We were created to have relationship with God, and also with eachother. When we trust in Jesus, God starts work in our lives to transform us into people who can have genuine and satisfying relationships with others. We simply can’t get things right on our own (no matter how many second chances), as the multitude of broken relationships around us and portrayed in these films testify.

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Tags: 17 again, adverts, cinema, culture, films, ghosts of girlfriends past, Jesus, Life, meaning of life, movies, past, re-live, relationship, satisfaction, trailers

Obama: Pro-choice when it comes to abortion, Anti-choice when it comes to conscience

11Mar09

President Obama wants to force Pro-life doctors to perform abortions. You have a chance to sign the Petition to Protect Pro-Life Doctors (If you’re an American citizen, that is)
http://www.BEHEARDPROJECT.com

The Conscience Clause was implemented by former President George W. Bush to give physicians and nurses the choice to act according to their conscience — to not participate in abortion procedures if it conflicts with their personal convictions. If President Obama makes this damaging move, if he reverses the Conscience Clause, pro-life doctors and nurses will be forced into performing abortion procedures, despite their individual beliefs.

This is not even a pro-life/choice matter. Essentially, this puts into official law that a doctor has no choice. It is so inconsistent for someone is ‘pro-choice’, to give ‘choice’ to some and deny choice to others. But then, that is what abortion is. ‘Choice’  allows women to abort their child, but gives the child no choice in the matter. 

http://www.BEHEARDPROJECT.com

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Tags: abort73, abortion, america, be heard project, conscience clause, doctors, human rights, justice, law, Obama, petition, president, pro choice, pro life

A sheltered Christian life

11Mar09

This may be of interest to some of you. There is a documentary on bbc iplayer at the moment about a Christian 13 year old girl brought up in a Christian family who has been home-schooled and led a sheltered life compared to most her age.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00j6l77/Deborah_13_Servant_of_God/

BBC blurb:
“Documentary about 13-year-old Deborah Drapper, who, unlike other British teens has never heard of Britney Spears or Victoria Beckham. She has been brought up in a deeply Christian family and her parents have tried to make sure she and her ten brothers and sisters have grown up protected from the sins of the outside world.

Deborah is a bright, confident girl who has big ambitions for her life and the film spends a summer with her as she ventures out in the world to see what life outside her family could be and starts putting her beliefs forward to a wider audience.”

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Tags: bbc, christian family, deborah drapper, home schooling, lifestyle, sheltered life, World & Culture

The macbook is dead

27Feb09

I don’t have a laptop. Hence no posts for a while :(

I am saddened by the fact my MAC gave up on me. It’s a mac, it’s not meant to do this!!

And instead of taking it to Apple I took it to some random guy in Leam who doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing…ahh!

That’s right, I’ll just be over here praying for my computer.

On the other hand, not having a computer for a while has shown me that I spend way too much time doing pointless things on it. And it’s meant I’m a lot more likely turn to God when I’m feeling down instead of distracting myself with something, which is always a good thing.

I’ve been reading through the Bible chronologically since Christmas. I’m in Joshua at the moment. It’s been really good to read the Old Testament properly rather than just dipping into it. All the laws and stuff reveal so much about God’s nature and how he works, and puts the New Testament in better context. And makes you realise once again just how amazing the cross is :D

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Tags: Bible, God, Old Testament, the cross

New Priest, New Covenant, New Life

10Feb09

Hebrews 8:

The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”  But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.

 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: 
   ”The time is coming, declares the Lord, 
      when I will make a new covenant 
   with the house of Israel 
      and with the house of Judah. 
 It will not be like the covenant 
      I made with their forefathers 
   when I took them by the hand 
      to lead them out of Egypt, 
   because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, 
      and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 
 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel 
      after that time, declares the Lord. 
   I will put my laws in their minds 
      and write them on their hearts. 
   I will be their God, 
      and they will be my people. 
 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, 
      or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ 
   because they will all know me, 
      from the least of them to the greatest. 
 For I will forgive their wickedness 
      and will remember their sins no more.”

By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

 

What was it like to live under the Old Covenant? Well, due to the sacrificial system and the numerous laws and rules laid out for them, every Jew knew how seriously God took sin. Every Jew knew that they had fallen so short of God’s standards. The thought that they could die unrepentant and God would forgive them because ‘that’s his job’, or that they would get to heaven because ‘I’m a good person’ would not have crossed their minds! 

Our culture is so far removed from that. And it is amazing that we are no longer under the bondage of that Old covenant, but I think as 21st century Christians we can often take it for granted because we never had to live through a time when we had to sacrifice an animal every 5 minutes. As a result we do not appreciate the seriousness of sin or how it cuts us off from God, or how urgently it needs to be paid for. Whilst the Jews were acutely aware of their sin, we are brought up in a culture where we do not have to be accountable to anyone and sin is trivialised. The ‘God of the Old Testament’ is seen as harsh because he takes sin seriously. Unfortunately, much of this complacent culture has slipped into Christianity. Christians ignore bits of the Old Testament they don’t like, or when challenged by an atheist about a verse which seems to entail a particularly harsh punishment for something seemingly trivial they brush it off – ‘That was because of the culture and times that they lived in…it was normal back then…excuses, excuses’.  When actually God was demonstrating that he can NOT let sin go unpunished and therefore sin is never trivial. The ‘God of the New Testament’ seems much more friendly and loving, and acceptable, and politically correct. But God didn’t change. He just poured out all of his wrath and punishment that we deserved onto Jesus.

What a humbling thought. 

Imagine you are a Jew in the time of Jesus. You’ve been repeating over and over again the never-ending circle of ceremony and ritual and sacrifice since you were born. And then Jesus. And that’s it. You don’t have to sacrifice any more. And, even better than that, you can ‘approach the throne of grace with confidence’. You can go straight to God through Jesus. At any time. Anywhere. This message would have been truly mind-blowing. Good news.

I was thinking about this, and thinking about how life changing that would have been. Even though it was liberating, it may have been hard to give up that life of religious ritualism and sacrifices which would have been all you had ever known.  And I think that we also have a tendency to be legalistic and religious, clinging onto what culture tells us and throwing our freedom back in God’s face. 

All our ‘good deeds’ should be motivated by love of Jesus and the desire to glorify and serve him. But we respond to many other kind of motivation:

I will share the gospel because it is my duty to

I want my friend to become a Christian so that they are on ‘my side’ 

I will go to Church/prayer meeting to avoid judgement from others

I will put a lot of time and effort into running an evangelist event so I look good

I will frequently speak up about Christianity in public so I appear really godly

If I sin, I’ll do something ‘good’ to make up for it

I feel too guilty/ashamed to go to God – I need to clean myself up first.

All of these are examples of how we can act in legalistic and religious ways. Let’s celebrate the freedom we have through the cross and serve out of love, not duty.

Filed under: Bible, Cultural Strongholds, Living for Jesus, Theology, World & Culture   |  1 Comment
Tags: Bible, Christianity, covenant, cross, God, good news, good works, gospel, hebrews, high priest, Jesus, Jews, judgement, legalism, love, New Testament, Old Testament, religious, ritualism, sacrifice, sin