He giveth & giveth & giveth & giveth...

There have been some rather trying situations for some my friends at church recently. We had an ad-hoc prayer meeting on Sunday where we used the song 'He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater'

This has been particularly special for me since my mum died of cancer back in 2000. She really struggled with her faith until her last few weeks. This song was used at her funeral and memorial servces but what really struck me then and still does now, even though all the words seem powerful, is the sond verse:

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength is failed ere the day is half-done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father's full giving is only begun.

Whenever I read or sing this I wonder when I'm really going to believe it. I know that it's true in the theological / theoretical sense, but belief that puts it in action is often something quite different.

One of the many conclusions that I've come to recently, due in part to my reading material, is that if we want to see miracles such as healing, miraculous provision and even salvation, then we need to have given everything. It occurs to me that it's only when we know we have nothing left to give and that we can do no more than rely on God for a miracle, that He steps in.

It makes sense I guess. Why should God do the miraculous just to make life easier?

Money & sex

I've been doing more of that uncomfortable reading lately. Not the warm fuzzy 'bless me' material. More the 'ouch that's gonna hurt' type that challenges your whole lifestyle. It started recently with “The Irresistible Revolution” by Shane Claibourne & then I finally got round to reading a book by Jim Wallis called “The Call to Conversion” which asks for a more holistic ideal of conversion (only on 3rd chapter so far). They both do a great job in convincing me that our whole way of selfish so-called freedom is so often at the expense of or possibly just ignorant of the starving & suffering elsewhere. We Christians then make matters worse by failing to recognise this, making religion about experiences and abstract moral rules, but only some areas of morality.

I guess we can't just blame the big corporations or governments. We still buy all the goods we believe we are entitled to with barely a thought to where they come from or what cost they've been to the workers or to the planet or even to our own bank balances or indebtedness to more big corporations.

It's nearly Christmas & I'm as bad as the next man, woman or child at coming up with lame reasons (sorry, excuses) why I must, ought or deserve to have some great gadget. Including the laptop I'm writing on now. We no longer tolerate not getting what we feel we deserve and this train of thought led me to an interesting conclusion which, like many of my 'conclusions' needs to still be thought out a little more.

It seems to me that what we often refer to as the moral decline of the 'world' is really quite closely linked to our excessive, selfish consumerism. If we can turn a blind eye the philosophy that says “we want, we deserve it – to hell with the cost” and ignore the greater costs as well as our own indebtedness, then how on earth can we expect anyone without Christ to say no to anything that they want.

We even find people in the church (although I wonder why that's such a surprise) that also see things this way. The old (but certainly not defunct) ideals of commitment to marriage, sexual morality and honesty can easily go out the window. If we can buy what we like regardless of cost, then why can't we have whatever person we want regardless of cost (to us or others)? So it seems to me that social ethics, sexual morality, honesty and commercial/financial ethics are all linked. Ignoring any of them is sin. If the church looks only at some and neglects the rest then maybe, just maybe the whole thing falls apart anyway.

Entertaining Angels... and demons

Hebrews 13:1-6

Let love of the brethren continue.
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.
Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said,

"I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"

so that we confidently say,

"THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?"

Verse 2 says that we may be entertaining angels unaware when we entertain strangers. Then we are told not to love money but to be content with what we have.
I often find it difficult to stomach much of what appears on 'Christian' TV. I guess I always knew that there was a lot of 'prosperity gospel' nonsense out there.
I'd like to think (however accurate that may be) that the angels I'd be entertaining would be the odd-balls & freaks – but I guess that I can understand to a degree how so many people find the greedy man's gospel so appealing. One man who I've observed recently seems to appeal directly to peoples' wallets. You want to be rich – send me money (covenant / faith seed) and you'll be holy-rich!
Some of these people amuse me, others are surprisingly sound. But this man wasn't one of those amusingly giving away holy hankies (sorry , miracle prayer cloths) or tiny bottles of (miracle) spring water which can lead to your financial security or healing. With this man I find myself staring at the screen and with his near-perfect hair, good suit & perfectly groomed beard, I can't help but look for his horns.
It all makes me wonder... If by entertaining strangers we might actually be entertaining angels – if we entertain those that promise riches and flatter our egos – are we entertaining demons?
One day I'll find those horns!!

A most special day

Today has been a great day & a day of celebration for me & my lovely wife Christine!

I am totally convinced that Christine should have some sort of award or something because she has managed to put up with me as her husband for the last 13 years. Boy does time fly.

God is good - and although I'm far from a perfect husband, I really pleased that he let me have my wife.

One of my all time favourite musicians, blues guitarist & man of God, Glenn Kaiser ( www.glennkaiser.com) puts it like this...

I'm telling you something

I'm telling you now

I've got a love like this world won't allow

It came wrapped in woman, made for me & me alone

God sent her to me, sure as he is on the throne

Her & me - following the Lord from the start

He is the King of my life and she is the Queen of my heart

Recent biblical musings

One of the things I thought I might do from time to time here is share whatever random - or not so random - thoughts may be running through my head about Bible verses that have stuck out.

2 Things have been running through my head recently. Psalm 73, along with many of the Psalms, is a bit moany in places, but comes to a beuiful conclusion in verse 25

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you."

I get decidedly fed up with one person on a regular basis that constantly lets me down... Unfortunately it's me. This isn't a sympathy gathering exercise or alse modesty thing - I have an incredible capacity for idiocy usually resulting from laziness or congenital disorganisation.

This reminds me that despite all of my failures and all the nonsense that all too often distracts me I have some things in life that will not or can not change. Even if I lost everything I own & everyone I love I cannot lose God or Him me. He's all I really have in life. I may be distracted by other stuff & nonsense but there isn't anything I desire besides Him.

I've also been considering the Good Samaritan as in Lukes Gospel (chapter 10). But not so much the parable itself, more the interaction between Jesus & the lawyer who provokes the telling of the parable. I have this grand idea that one day I'll write a book studying the interactions Jesus had with people - both followers and those who rejected him.

This guy tries to catch Jesus out with a testing question. When Jesus gives what appears to be a text-book answer "Love the Lord your God... and your neighbour as yourself" (v27) he asks "Who is my neighbour?"

Jesus then tells the now infamous story. At the end he still doesn't answer his original question. He turns the question on its head from who my neighbour is - to how you should be the neighbour that loves.

I wonder how often we don't get our questions answered satisfactorily because we ask the wrong thing?

Starting soon...

Well, I finally decided to try my hand at blogging.

Don't know if this will ever be read or found interesting / useful etc, so let me know you're out there!

Dave