I enjoyed this psalm by BJ!
"..Londoners and strangers
Let everything out on this sunny day
Praise him!"
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
holiday books
A holiday book list has been requested...
What book(s) would be good to take to Canada this summer?
The five Millers are going to take a book each and rotate!
Guidelines!
1) Can be fiction or non-fiction
2) Not too 'heavy' or technical
3) Of interest to 15yr old (and 57yr old!)
4) Easy to dip in and out of if necessary (but page-turner also good)
Ideas so far:
new Harry Potter
?Tony Parsons - Man and Boy
(not many, clearly!)
What book(s) would be good to take to Canada this summer?
The five Millers are going to take a book each and rotate!
Guidelines!
1) Can be fiction or non-fiction
2) Not too 'heavy' or technical
3) Of interest to 15yr old (and 57yr old!)
4) Easy to dip in and out of if necessary (but page-turner also good)
Ideas so far:
new Harry Potter
?Tony Parsons - Man and Boy
(not many, clearly!)
Monday, June 27, 2005
website nostalgia
I discovered a link to my old homepage on Gav's website.
http://www.btinternet.com/~teleos.training/mag/photos2002.htm
The bowls- pictures and accompanying poem (has to be read!) are part of an ongoing in-joke from the Brockwell days. Very nostalgic!
It's frustrating to have the website there and not be able to edit it. The ftp server only accepts connections from BT ip addresses. Grr. It's funny, i was last adding stuff to it regularly back in 2000, but I put a few more pictures up in 2002, thinking I might update it more often... that obviously didn't happen!
Back in 2002 I broke all the links to my original website but managed to miss one (a challenge for the curious!). I must remember to sort that out when i'm at home again - so embarrasing to read things I was writing at 17! And for some reason, despite knowing how to write html, I seem to have been lazy and written the pages in Word! ugh. The original web page was last updated in 1997 - that's 8 years ago!! And I must have been online for at least a year by that time? Can't remember when it all started! But amazing to think i've probably been an addict for almost 10 years or so...
http://www.btinternet.com/~teleos.training/mag/photos2002.htm
The bowls- pictures and accompanying poem (has to be read!) are part of an ongoing in-joke from the Brockwell days. Very nostalgic!
It's frustrating to have the website there and not be able to edit it. The ftp server only accepts connections from BT ip addresses. Grr. It's funny, i was last adding stuff to it regularly back in 2000, but I put a few more pictures up in 2002, thinking I might update it more often... that obviously didn't happen!
Back in 2002 I broke all the links to my original website but managed to miss one (a challenge for the curious!). I must remember to sort that out when i'm at home again - so embarrasing to read things I was writing at 17! And for some reason, despite knowing how to write html, I seem to have been lazy and written the pages in Word! ugh. The original web page was last updated in 1997 - that's 8 years ago!! And I must have been online for at least a year by that time? Can't remember when it all started! But amazing to think i've probably been an addict for almost 10 years or so...
Chris' Baptism. The Wear seemed like a cool idea...in theory! The reality is slightly murkier. Luckily it's not about washing the body!
Looking for guidance
At the end of last week I found myself considering once again how we find answers to the question, 'what do I do next?'
Looking for guidance.. not something where there are any simple answers!
But I always want something practical to stick my teeth into so I had a think about some of the things which I rely on when considering that question myself. These are the four things I came up with:
1) Ask - actively pray, journal, talk to people, investigate options..
2) Listen - read the Bible, take some quiet time, listen to what people say, to the Spirit inside you, have some time-out somewhere
3) Do - sometimes, when you're standing still and at a blank, I think it's better just to leap out and do *something* (rather than sitting still, doing nothing).
I always think God's impatience with Moses et al in Exodus 14:15 says something of this:
"Then the LORD said to Moses, Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on."
4) Don't Panic! I included this last one because it seems like sometimes we get near-paralysed with worrying about whether we're doing what God wants us to do. Obviously, it's important to be concerned about doing God's will and taking the path he's made for us, but sometimes God is silent and the way to go isn't clear. In those times I think we can do worse than go with common sense, or follow the passion of our hearts. (Perhaps controversial?!)
In the end, I think our motivation determines whether we end up taking the right road. If we're concerned to honour God and to follow Him, to go wherever he sends us, I believe He will honour that and we don't need to keep worrying.
The following verses all say something of the above ('don't panic'):
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6
"A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."
Proverbs 16:9
"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." Psalm 37:4
"Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" Isaiah 30:20-21
We often ask questions like these: Is this the right path? Am I doing the right thing?? Or even, am I making the best choice? Is this the straightest path?
Good questions to ask, but I think the key is in the first part – motivation and trust. If you are looking to God, trusting him, and saying ‘Lord, I want you to lead me, I want to go where you send me’ then he will make your paths straight. That is, he will make whatever path you choose ‘the right one’.
Looking for guidance.. not something where there are any simple answers!
But I always want something practical to stick my teeth into so I had a think about some of the things which I rely on when considering that question myself. These are the four things I came up with:
1) Ask - actively pray, journal, talk to people, investigate options..
2) Listen - read the Bible, take some quiet time, listen to what people say, to the Spirit inside you, have some time-out somewhere
3) Do - sometimes, when you're standing still and at a blank, I think it's better just to leap out and do *something* (rather than sitting still, doing nothing).
I always think God's impatience with Moses et al in Exodus 14:15 says something of this:
"Then the LORD said to Moses, Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on."
4) Don't Panic! I included this last one because it seems like sometimes we get near-paralysed with worrying about whether we're doing what God wants us to do. Obviously, it's important to be concerned about doing God's will and taking the path he's made for us, but sometimes God is silent and the way to go isn't clear. In those times I think we can do worse than go with common sense, or follow the passion of our hearts. (Perhaps controversial?!)
In the end, I think our motivation determines whether we end up taking the right road. If we're concerned to honour God and to follow Him, to go wherever he sends us, I believe He will honour that and we don't need to keep worrying.
The following verses all say something of the above ('don't panic'):
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6
"A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."
Proverbs 16:9
"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." Psalm 37:4
"Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" Isaiah 30:20-21
We often ask questions like these: Is this the right path? Am I doing the right thing?? Or even, am I making the best choice? Is this the straightest path?
Good questions to ask, but I think the key is in the first part – motivation and trust. If you are looking to God, trusting him, and saying ‘Lord, I want you to lead me, I want to go where you send me’ then he will make your paths straight. That is, he will make whatever path you choose ‘the right one’.
Sunny holidays
Had a great weekend just chilling out and not doing any work at all (a first!).
...Sian's degree show, Friday evening and Saturday morning eating and praying at the Bonnington's, Sat afternoon on Linton lawn at Archie's barbeque, Saturday evening at the beach (South Shields has some great sand n surf-definitely going back!), Lomas getting baptised, Sunday afternoon hanging out in sunny Durham and in our garden, evening service at Nic's, hot ribena on Linton lawn with Johns crew... fantastic, all of it!!
It felt so good to hang out in the sunshine all weekend and see people - I really needed the holiday! I felt so relaxed and refreshed - was great. The weather was fantastic all weekend and apart from some colour on my shoulders I managed to avoid getting burnt somehow!
I've got a nice quiet week as well, which is great. It's amazing how much better you feel after a few days off. I'd recommend it... ;-)
...Sian's degree show, Friday evening and Saturday morning eating and praying at the Bonnington's, Sat afternoon on Linton lawn at Archie's barbeque, Saturday evening at the beach (South Shields has some great sand n surf-definitely going back!), Lomas getting baptised, Sunday afternoon hanging out in sunny Durham and in our garden, evening service at Nic's, hot ribena on Linton lawn with Johns crew... fantastic, all of it!!
It felt so good to hang out in the sunshine all weekend and see people - I really needed the holiday! I felt so relaxed and refreshed - was great. The weather was fantastic all weekend and apart from some colour on my shoulders I managed to avoid getting burnt somehow!
I've got a nice quiet week as well, which is great. It's amazing how much better you feel after a few days off. I'd recommend it... ;-)
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Cryptic Capitals
Can you decipher these capital cities?
Napoleon’s adversary
Type of Cigar
Included in Timber Lintels
Reserve a break
Cleaning Heavyweight
Settee round first person
It rings quick
Increasing by the same again
Final resting place after a vehicle
Stumble and change oil
Give up nothing
I have some more (harder) ones if anyone gets addicted!
Napoleon’s adversary
Type of Cigar
Included in Timber Lintels
Reserve a break
Cleaning Heavyweight
Settee round first person
It rings quick
Increasing by the same again
Final resting place after a vehicle
Stumble and change oil
Give up nothing
I have some more (harder) ones if anyone gets addicted!
Praying in Jesus' Name
3 or 4 years ago I was attending a regular prayer meeting at my church during the summer months at home. During that time, one of the things I heard from the Lord most clearly was this:
‘When you pray for someone, appeal to me on the basis of My nature – not theirs’
I came across this reminder while reading through a sermon on prayer that I wrote 2 or 3 years ago. I really needed to be reminded of that, although of course it sounds so obvious!
When we pray we're told to pray in Jesus' name. The dictionary says… ‘in the name of’ = for the sake of. So, basically it's for Jesus’ sake that we receive what we ask for, not our own! As it's been said, instead of pleading our case on our own merits (or anyone else's) we’re advised to throw ourselves on the mercy of the court.
‘hear me, not for my own sake, or the sake of my prayer and not even because of my distress, for it is a result of my own sinfulness – but hear me for Jesus’ sake,’ prays Hallesbury.
‘When you pray for someone, appeal to me on the basis of My nature – not theirs’
I came across this reminder while reading through a sermon on prayer that I wrote 2 or 3 years ago. I really needed to be reminded of that, although of course it sounds so obvious!
When we pray we're told to pray in Jesus' name. The dictionary says… ‘in the name of’ = for the sake of. So, basically it's for Jesus’ sake that we receive what we ask for, not our own! As it's been said, instead of pleading our case on our own merits (or anyone else's) we’re advised to throw ourselves on the mercy of the court.
‘hear me, not for my own sake, or the sake of my prayer and not even because of my distress, for it is a result of my own sinfulness – but hear me for Jesus’ sake,’ prays Hallesbury.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
Mad weather
The rain yesterday afternoon was pretty amazing, but it looks like we got off lightly!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4111116.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4111116.stm
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Jesus is a friend of mine...?
I've been reflecting on Jesus' repeated comments along the lines of 'If anyone loves me he will obey my teaching' and 'You are my friends if you do what I command.' in John chapters 13-15.
In one sense it's easy to understand the latter statement as 'you can only be my friend if you do what I say', although I would normally take it in the sense of 'how can you claim to be my friend and not love one another?' (the command he makes repeatedly in the passage above is 'Love each other').
However, on reading it again, there almost seems to be two slightly different things he's saying here.
In the first part of the passage, i.e. Chapter 14, this is what he says:
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (v.15)
"They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me." (v.21)
"Those who love me will keep my word" (v.23)
(from NRSV to keep people happy!)
Verse 21 would seem to indicate is that Jesus is talking about our loving others being a sign that we love him (as I've mentioned above). Or simply that a natural fruit of loving him is loving others.
I think I've struggled with these statements in the past, taking them in a legalistic sense as 'how can you really love Jesus when you're so rubbish at loving others'.
However, he's not saying anything about how much he loves us (or what we can do to earn that love) - that's taken as given! Here he's dealing with the issue of how we can love him - in the context of talking to his disciples about leaving them ("Where I am going, you cannot come." 13:34) . In other words: 'I am going, but if you want to follow me and continue to love me, then this is what you must do'. Useful to compare with "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." (Matthew 25:40). We're definitely talking active loving here.
However, the part of I've been considering a little more is Jesus' words in Chapter 15. Here the focus seems to change slightly:
"If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love" (v.10)
"You are my friends if you do what I command you" (v.14)
There is a definite conditional edge ('if') to these statements.
I am sure it is easy to argue that he is simply continuing the theme of the previous statements, but I think the context gives it a slightly different feel.
From verse 9: "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love."
As I read it again, I wonder if what Jesus is doing is continuing the instruction manual on loving God and being in relationship with him ('friends'). I have discovered in my own life that when I am taking seriously the command to love others, I depend on God more, I talk to and listen to him more, I generally feel much closer to him. We are participating in something together. One of the ways in which CS Lewis defines friendship (in his book 'The Four Loves') is the love that comes from sharing a common interest or goal. I wonder whether Jesus is just being practical in his suggestion to 'keep my commandments if you want to remain in my love and be my friends' - when you're pursuing goals and interests in common with the 'Master', then friendship grows.
Jesus then makes some statements about being friends (not servants) because we know the Master's business. And what is his business, but loving?
God's love for us is never in question for Jesus, I think he's trying to give us some clues about how to love him back. And, as the NIV puts it, "remain in [his] love". It's a practical suggestion, not a cause-and-effect statement. God's love is constant, it's us who have to do the changing. And the active process of loving people (and therefore Jesus, as mentioned above) changes us.
Not only is Jesus providing us with a concrete way of displaying our love for an invisible God, but he also suggests that this is the way to grow in our relationship with him, to discover the mutual joy of purposeful and loving friendship with a heavenly God.
In one sense it's easy to understand the latter statement as 'you can only be my friend if you do what I say', although I would normally take it in the sense of 'how can you claim to be my friend and not love one another?' (the command he makes repeatedly in the passage above is 'Love each other').
However, on reading it again, there almost seems to be two slightly different things he's saying here.
In the first part of the passage, i.e. Chapter 14, this is what he says:
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (v.15)
"They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me." (v.21)
"Those who love me will keep my word" (v.23)
(from NRSV to keep people happy!)
Verse 21 would seem to indicate is that Jesus is talking about our loving others being a sign that we love him (as I've mentioned above). Or simply that a natural fruit of loving him is loving others.
I think I've struggled with these statements in the past, taking them in a legalistic sense as 'how can you really love Jesus when you're so rubbish at loving others'.
However, he's not saying anything about how much he loves us (or what we can do to earn that love) - that's taken as given! Here he's dealing with the issue of how we can love him - in the context of talking to his disciples about leaving them ("Where I am going, you cannot come." 13:34) . In other words: 'I am going, but if you want to follow me and continue to love me, then this is what you must do'. Useful to compare with "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." (Matthew 25:40). We're definitely talking active loving here.
However, the part of I've been considering a little more is Jesus' words in Chapter 15. Here the focus seems to change slightly:
"If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love" (v.10)
"You are my friends if you do what I command you" (v.14)
There is a definite conditional edge ('if') to these statements.
I am sure it is easy to argue that he is simply continuing the theme of the previous statements, but I think the context gives it a slightly different feel.
From verse 9: "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love."
As I read it again, I wonder if what Jesus is doing is continuing the instruction manual on loving God and being in relationship with him ('friends'). I have discovered in my own life that when I am taking seriously the command to love others, I depend on God more, I talk to and listen to him more, I generally feel much closer to him. We are participating in something together. One of the ways in which CS Lewis defines friendship (in his book 'The Four Loves') is the love that comes from sharing a common interest or goal. I wonder whether Jesus is just being practical in his suggestion to 'keep my commandments if you want to remain in my love and be my friends' - when you're pursuing goals and interests in common with the 'Master', then friendship grows.
Jesus then makes some statements about being friends (not servants) because we know the Master's business. And what is his business, but loving?
God's love for us is never in question for Jesus, I think he's trying to give us some clues about how to love him back. And, as the NIV puts it, "remain in [his] love". It's a practical suggestion, not a cause-and-effect statement. God's love is constant, it's us who have to do the changing. And the active process of loving people (and therefore Jesus, as mentioned above) changes us.
Not only is Jesus providing us with a concrete way of displaying our love for an invisible God, but he also suggests that this is the way to grow in our relationship with him, to discover the mutual joy of purposeful and loving friendship with a heavenly God.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
word of the day!
I learnt a new word today. I'd heard it before but never had it defined:
"Theodicy is a branch of theology that studies how the existence of a good or benevolent God is reconciled with the existence of evil."
Some of the most interesting books I've read in the last year, including The Problem of Pain, Where Is God When It Hurts? and (one of my current reads) Disappointment With God might be defined as theodicies.
Does Jesus ever give a real theodicy in the Gospels? As far as I can see, he was mostly concerned with our response to, not our explanation of, evil and suffering.
Thoughts anyone?
"Theodicy is a branch of theology that studies how the existence of a good or benevolent God is reconciled with the existence of evil."
Some of the most interesting books I've read in the last year, including The Problem of Pain, Where Is God When It Hurts? and (one of my current reads) Disappointment With God might be defined as theodicies.
Does Jesus ever give a real theodicy in the Gospels? As far as I can see, he was mostly concerned with our response to, not our explanation of, evil and suffering.
Thoughts anyone?
Monday, June 13, 2005
I found some pictures from last year! I've put some up on another 'photo blog' to avoid cluttering up this one too much!
Catchphrases
I love it when people I know have catchphrases, or something distinctive about them that gives their memory a particular colour in my mind. I guess it's something about the way my mind likes patterns (and feels comfortable when things are familiar) - anyone else find that?
Apparently my current catchphrases are
'fabulous' (oh dear, sounds a bit posh!)
and 'fantastic' (Vic says I use it a lot with respect to food!!)
I can think of one or two catchphrases for people i've linked to from this page (see if you can guess!)
- 'how does that make you feel?'
- 'come on!'
Any more anyone?
Apparently my current catchphrases are
'fabulous' (oh dear, sounds a bit posh!)
and 'fantastic' (Vic says I use it a lot with respect to food!!)
I can think of one or two catchphrases for people i've linked to from this page (see if you can guess!)
- 'how does that make you feel?'
- 'come on!'
Any more anyone?
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Debt relief
They've reached an deal on debt relief!
"Under the deal, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Fund will immediately write off 100% of the money owed to them by 18 countries - a total of $40bn (£22bn; 33bn euros)." BBC News
Excellent news!
But still lots to pray about.
"Under the deal, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Fund will immediately write off 100% of the money owed to them by 18 countries - a total of $40bn (£22bn; 33bn euros)." BBC News
Excellent news!
But still lots to pray about.
Disappointment with God - PY - part 1
I've been meaning to finish reading this book for a couple of months. I always like the way Philip Yancey comes at things. He asks good questions and tells some great stories..they always make me think and often stay with me a while. Plus they're never heavy going!
This book stems from some encounters he had with people who were really fed up with God and felt He'd really let them down. He starts with three questions that "no one asks aloud":
Is God unfair?
Is God silent?
Is God hidden?
As a friend of his asks, "If only God answered those questions - if only he answered one of them. If, say, he would just speak aloud one time so that everyone could hear, then I would believe. Probably the whole world would believe. Why doesn't he?"
He starts by looking at the Exodus. To the Israelites rescued from Egypt and wandering in the desert God is neither unfair, silent nor hidden. Yet God's directness didn't produce worship and love but fear and rebellion!!
H asks the questions, what is God like?
The God of the Bible behaves not like an abstract idea but an actual Person, with deep emotions and passion. "I marveled at how much God lets human beings affect him."
PY starts in Genesis, working through the Old Testament, considering the relationship that God has with his people, and with Bible characters. He is especially good on Solomon, quoting Oscar Wilde: "In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."
I have got to the section on the Prophets and I love the clear way in which he explains and humanises these men. The way he looks at things makes so much sense to me and brings some much needed insight - and a sense of the overall picture which I haven't had in the same way before.
The Prophets ask the same questions of God - are you unfair, silent, hidden?
And God replies..
I'll leave it for you to read, but here's my favourite:
'Despite everything, I am ready to forgive at any moment'
"Often, the midst of a stern reproof, God would stop -literally midsentence- and beg Israel to repent."
The question I've got to in the book: are we really the ones betrayed?
(Thoroughly recommended so far... hard to put down and a lot of really interesting things to think about. Hope I haven't given too much away!)
This book stems from some encounters he had with people who were really fed up with God and felt He'd really let them down. He starts with three questions that "no one asks aloud":
Is God unfair?
Is God silent?
Is God hidden?
As a friend of his asks, "If only God answered those questions - if only he answered one of them. If, say, he would just speak aloud one time so that everyone could hear, then I would believe. Probably the whole world would believe. Why doesn't he?"
He starts by looking at the Exodus. To the Israelites rescued from Egypt and wandering in the desert God is neither unfair, silent nor hidden. Yet God's directness didn't produce worship and love but fear and rebellion!!
H asks the questions, what is God like?
The God of the Bible behaves not like an abstract idea but an actual Person, with deep emotions and passion. "I marveled at how much God lets human beings affect him."
PY starts in Genesis, working through the Old Testament, considering the relationship that God has with his people, and with Bible characters. He is especially good on Solomon, quoting Oscar Wilde: "In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."
I have got to the section on the Prophets and I love the clear way in which he explains and humanises these men. The way he looks at things makes so much sense to me and brings some much needed insight - and a sense of the overall picture which I haven't had in the same way before.
The Prophets ask the same questions of God - are you unfair, silent, hidden?
And God replies..
I'll leave it for you to read, but here's my favourite:
'Despite everything, I am ready to forgive at any moment'
"Often, the midst of a stern reproof, God would stop -literally midsentence- and beg Israel to repent."
The question I've got to in the book: are we really the ones betrayed?
(Thoroughly recommended so far... hard to put down and a lot of really interesting things to think about. Hope I haven't given too much away!)
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Reading Isaiah 7
King Ahaz is threatened by an alliance between the northern kingdom of Israel and Aram. They are about to attack but the LORD sends word through Isaiah that the attack will not happen and he should "be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid" (v.4).
He tells him to trust:
"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." (v.9)
The LORD tells Ahaz to ask for a test but he will not:
"'I will not put the LORD to the test'" (v.12)
(appears on one level to be a sensible, 'righteous' thing to say, but not when you're going against what God has told you...)
Isaiah tells him he is testing God's patience and the LORD is going to give them a sign anyway. He prophecies a child born of a virgin and named 'Immanuel' (God with us).
He tells him that the two kingdoms that threatened Judah will be laid waste, but that God would bring his own judgement in the form of the Assyrians.
Isaiah says that Judah will be settled by 'flies' and 'bees' from Egypt and Assyria, that the rich farmland would be trampled and Judah humilated ("the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the River - the king of Assyria - to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to take off your beards also." v.20).
2 Kings tells us that instead of trusting God, Ahaz tried to buy aid from the Assyrians and they invade the northern kingdom, Israel, (2 Kings 16:7-9).
So, because he does not trust God, Ahaz brings about his own downfall (although Judah survives a few more kings before falling to Assyria and Egypt).
He tells him to trust:
"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." (v.9)
The LORD tells Ahaz to ask for a test but he will not:
"'I will not put the LORD to the test'" (v.12)
(appears on one level to be a sensible, 'righteous' thing to say, but not when you're going against what God has told you...)
Isaiah tells him he is testing God's patience and the LORD is going to give them a sign anyway. He prophecies a child born of a virgin and named 'Immanuel' (God with us).
He tells him that the two kingdoms that threatened Judah will be laid waste, but that God would bring his own judgement in the form of the Assyrians.
Isaiah says that Judah will be settled by 'flies' and 'bees' from Egypt and Assyria, that the rich farmland would be trampled and Judah humilated ("the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the River - the king of Assyria - to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to take off your beards also." v.20).
2 Kings tells us that instead of trusting God, Ahaz tried to buy aid from the Assyrians and they invade the northern kingdom, Israel, (2 Kings 16:7-9).
So, because he does not trust God, Ahaz brings about his own downfall (although Judah survives a few more kings before falling to Assyria and Egypt).
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Hearing from God
I came across this article on
hearing from God.
It tells the story of an employee getting instructions from his boss on an open channel..I thought it illustrated nicely the way we learn to recognise God's voice:
1) Compare with 'manual'
2) Get to know his voice (working on assumption that boss will not demand anything too risky until you do)
3) Over time, begin to understand the overall focus
The author of the article also makes some useful points about obedience..
"Often we ask God to speak to us, only to hear back, "if you are so interested in what I think, then why didn't you do the last thing I told you?" Obedience is the response that keeps the dialog going. If we refuse to do what God tells us in the little things, we risk deafening our spiritual ear. If we refuse to do what God speaks in the big things, we risk his active rebuke."
Obedience seems to be a common theme at the moment...
see Soren Kierkegaard on GOD’S WORD, THE LOVE LETTER on Seymour's blog, as well as Dietrich Bonhoeffer on DOING AND OBEYING
hearing from God.
It tells the story of an employee getting instructions from his boss on an open channel..I thought it illustrated nicely the way we learn to recognise God's voice:
1) Compare with 'manual'
2) Get to know his voice (working on assumption that boss will not demand anything too risky until you do)
3) Over time, begin to understand the overall focus
The author of the article also makes some useful points about obedience..
"Often we ask God to speak to us, only to hear back, "if you are so interested in what I think, then why didn't you do the last thing I told you?" Obedience is the response that keeps the dialog going. If we refuse to do what God tells us in the little things, we risk deafening our spiritual ear. If we refuse to do what God speaks in the big things, we risk his active rebuke."
Obedience seems to be a common theme at the moment...
see Soren Kierkegaard on GOD’S WORD, THE LOVE LETTER on Seymour's blog, as well as Dietrich Bonhoeffer on DOING AND OBEYING
Reading Isaiah 6 - part 2
Isaiah says 'Here am I. Send me!'
I'd like to think I would make so enthusiastic a response, but on an everyday level I'm not sure I do so too often!
God sends Isaiah to preach to the people.
Harsh words:
"'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing but never perceiving'" (v.9)
Then, as The Message puts it:
"Make these people blockheads,with fingers in their ears and blindfolds on their eyes...So they won't have a clue about what's going on and, yes, so they won't turn around and be made whole." Isaiah 6:9-10
Seems to be saying 'keep them dumb, so they won't turn and be healed'. Interestingly, its one of the most quoted OT passages in the NT. It is found in all four gospels (Matthew 13:14-15, Mark 4:12,
Luke 8:10 and John 12:37-41), and in Acts (28:26-27). I'm struggling with this one - anyone got any insight?
I'm with The Message in expressing Isaiah's astonishment, 'how long is this going to go on for, Lord?'
And God basically says 'until the whole place is ruined and empty':
"until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken"
On first reading it sounds like God's lost his patience! The destruction sounds complete. But on reading it again I thought it was interesting that the destruction promised in the second half of this section is on the land.. the cities are ruined, the fields ravaged, but the people are only sent away. Is God removing them from his judgement in the same way I might say 'get out of my sight' to avoid saying anything much harsher..? (comments from the more experienced / knowledgeable welcome here!)
And at the end of the passage there remains a small grain of hope..
"But as the terebinth and the oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."
Like a seed buried in a dead stump, God leaves the possibility of new life. I imagine the seed refers to David's line.. leading to Jesus.
Well, there's a prophecy for you... I'm sure Isaiah didn't realise quite what he was letting himself in for when he volunteered to take the message!
I'd like to think I would make so enthusiastic a response, but on an everyday level I'm not sure I do so too often!
God sends Isaiah to preach to the people.
Harsh words:
"'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing but never perceiving'" (v.9)
Then, as The Message puts it:
"Make these people blockheads,with fingers in their ears and blindfolds on their eyes...So they won't have a clue about what's going on and, yes, so they won't turn around and be made whole." Isaiah 6:9-10
Seems to be saying 'keep them dumb, so they won't turn and be healed'. Interestingly, its one of the most quoted OT passages in the NT. It is found in all four gospels (Matthew 13:14-15, Mark 4:12,
Luke 8:10 and John 12:37-41), and in Acts (28:26-27). I'm struggling with this one - anyone got any insight?
I'm with The Message in expressing Isaiah's astonishment, 'how long is this going to go on for, Lord?'
And God basically says 'until the whole place is ruined and empty':
"until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken"
On first reading it sounds like God's lost his patience! The destruction sounds complete. But on reading it again I thought it was interesting that the destruction promised in the second half of this section is on the land.. the cities are ruined, the fields ravaged, but the people are only sent away. Is God removing them from his judgement in the same way I might say 'get out of my sight' to avoid saying anything much harsher..? (comments from the more experienced / knowledgeable welcome here!)
And at the end of the passage there remains a small grain of hope..
"But as the terebinth and the oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."
Like a seed buried in a dead stump, God leaves the possibility of new life. I imagine the seed refers to David's line.. leading to Jesus.
Well, there's a prophecy for you... I'm sure Isaiah didn't realise quite what he was letting himself in for when he volunteered to take the message!
Oxford wildlife
Oxford is full of strange individuals.
This one was outfitted by BJ enterprises...
Congrats to Bren on completing his exams! Don't go too wild.. :-)
This one was outfitted by BJ enterprises...
Congrats to Bren on completing his exams! Don't go too wild.. :-)
ultra fast -yay!
Pipex sent me an email to say they were upgrading our broadband connection to 1Mbps (from 500Kbps) ...but the connection is now running at almost 2Mbps!
How exciting, to get something for nothing (+ then double what you expected!). I won't make the obvious comparison.. ;-)
How exciting, to get something for nothing (+ then double what you expected!). I won't make the obvious comparison.. ;-)
Monday, June 06, 2005
cheese please?
I'm considering putting one of those funny little chat boxes on the site so people can say hello without leaving a full comment. It's appealing in one sense (especially because it gives me more excuse for fiddling with the template) but don't know whether it would spoil the high class tone init :D
and some of you would leave rude messages..i'm sure.
Yes / no? Comments?
and some of you would leave rude messages..i'm sure.
Yes / no? Comments?
Sunday, June 05, 2005
parties are fab
A great set of parties recently - thanks everyone!
Favourite party moments of the last few days:
- Seymour making pipe
- badminton with Ben, Pete and Tim
- Chocolate cake.. yummy!
- Dave, Eve and Andy in plastic bags.. why?!
- white house olympics (including medal ceremony... pictures to follow!)
- 'dizzy stick' game(where you spin around holding a pole and then have to run)
- bonfire!
Favourite party moments of the last few days:
- Seymour making pipe
- badminton with Ben, Pete and Tim
- Chocolate cake.. yummy!
- Dave, Eve and Andy in plastic bags.. why?!
- white house olympics (including medal ceremony... pictures to follow!)
- 'dizzy stick' game(where you spin around holding a pole and then have to run)
- bonfire!
Boro Lingo
A few of us put together a list of common Teeside / Durham words..
'haway' - a well used exclamation or expression of disbelief, 'no way!'
'messing on' - mucking around or messing about
'on my bil' - alone
'a knacking' - telling off (as in 'he deserves a good knacking!')
'get wrong' - be in trouble (as in 'i got wrong off me mam')
'wouldn't dare' - as good as telling you to 'get lost' ('Break detention? Wouldn't dare!') - often mimicked by teachers!
'on a morning/evening/daytime' - instead of 'in the mornings' (used to express a repeated event..as in 'what do you do on an evening?')
'shan' - unfair
'wrecked' - upset / told off
'lend' - borrow. Borrow/lend is usually back-to-front (as in 'miss, can i lend a pen')
Hmmm.. I've adopted a few of these without realising (although i generally only use them in a Middlesbrough environment!).
Feel free to add any others I've missed!
'haway' - a well used exclamation or expression of disbelief, 'no way!'
'messing on' - mucking around or messing about
'on my bil' - alone
'a knacking' - telling off (as in 'he deserves a good knacking!')
'get wrong' - be in trouble (as in 'i got wrong off me mam')
'wouldn't dare' - as good as telling you to 'get lost' ('Break detention? Wouldn't dare!') - often mimicked by teachers!
'on a morning/evening/daytime' - instead of 'in the mornings' (used to express a repeated event..as in 'what do you do on an evening?')
'shan' - unfair
'wrecked' - upset / told off
'lend' - borrow. Borrow/lend is usually back-to-front (as in 'miss, can i lend a pen')
Hmmm.. I've adopted a few of these without realising (although i generally only use them in a Middlesbrough environment!).
Feel free to add any others I've missed!
photos
It has come to my attention that not all of the pictures on my site have explicit permission from the subject/s. Apologies for my lack of thought. In most cases I have told people where the pictures are going but I shall attempt to rectify this for the few exceptions. In the meantime if anyone would like their photo removed, please feel free to email me.
I will make a rule not to include surnames etc..does this seem fair?
While I'm on the subject of photos, I'm happy for individuals in photos to save them for personal use!
Finally if anyone's having problems downloading the page because there's too many photos (!) please let me know because it might be worth putting them on a separate photo blog.. Thoughts?
I will make a rule not to include surnames etc..does this seem fair?
While I'm on the subject of photos, I'm happy for individuals in photos to save them for personal use!
Finally if anyone's having problems downloading the page because there's too many photos (!) please let me know because it might be worth putting them on a separate photo blog.. Thoughts?
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Seymour makes a corn-on-the-cob pipe (like Huckleberry Finn), which we were all very impressed with... but he's actually going to smoke it?! with moss??!
The Power and the Glory - Graham Greene
I'm still trying to decide whether I enjoyed this book. I finished it this morning with a 'I think i missed something' raised eyebrow and a re-reading of the last two pages to see if it was hiding there.
Graham Greene is clearly a talented writer with a gift for interesting characters who don't follow the normal stereotypes - the book is littered with individuals who cannot easily be classified as 'good' or 'bad' and who behave in a very human way. I found the lack of sympathetic characters made it an occasionally depressing read, although you are certainly drawn into the fate of the 'whisky priest'. The main character, I thought him a believable tortured 'sinner' and his struggles with his own character and with the circumstances of his 'mission' rang true, although he is introspective to the nth degree and there were times I felt he needed a good slap!
All in all I'm finding it hard to decide whether the book's elements of 'ungrace' and 'religion' are outweighed by those of humility and a real understanding of grace. There are some real moments of lucidity:
"Man was so limited he hadn't even the inguenity to invent a new vice: the animals knew as much. It was for this world that Christ had died; the more evil you saw and heard about you, the greater glory lay around the death. It was too easy to die for what was good or beautiful, for home or children or a civilization - it needed a God to die for the half-hearted and corrupt." (p.97)
"But at the centre of his own faith there always stood the convincing mystery - that we were made in God's image. God was the parent, but He was also the policeman, the criminal, the priest, the maniac, and the judge. Something resembling God dangled from the gibbet or went into odd attitudes before the bullets in a prison yard" (p.101)
And finally...
"'There. It's as I say. Believing in God makes cowards.' The voice was triumphant, as if it had proved something.
'So then?' the priest said.
'Better not to believe - and be a brave man.'
'I see - yes. And of course, if one belived the Governor did not exist or the jefe, if we could pretend that this prison was not a prison at all but a garden, how brave we could be then.'
'That's just foolishness' (p.126)
I didn't find the book hard to read in the sense of not wanting to continue it. I was certainly caught up in his fate and needed to see what happened, despite the sense of inevitability about the conclusion.
One of the reasons I found the book hard to enjoy was a sense of 'worthiness' about the whole thing, not helped by a previous owner's odd pencil scribblings in the margin! It brought back the feeling of reading Hardy for GCSE coursework and such...struggling under a burden of 'themes' and motifs and feeling like I should be taking some higher 'understanding' and 'appreciation' from the whole affair.
Despite all this, I have a feeling the 'whisky priest' will stick in my mind for a while and he has certainly given me leave to stop and think, so perhaps a good read after all...
Graham Greene is clearly a talented writer with a gift for interesting characters who don't follow the normal stereotypes - the book is littered with individuals who cannot easily be classified as 'good' or 'bad' and who behave in a very human way. I found the lack of sympathetic characters made it an occasionally depressing read, although you are certainly drawn into the fate of the 'whisky priest'. The main character, I thought him a believable tortured 'sinner' and his struggles with his own character and with the circumstances of his 'mission' rang true, although he is introspective to the nth degree and there were times I felt he needed a good slap!
All in all I'm finding it hard to decide whether the book's elements of 'ungrace' and 'religion' are outweighed by those of humility and a real understanding of grace. There are some real moments of lucidity:
"Man was so limited he hadn't even the inguenity to invent a new vice: the animals knew as much. It was for this world that Christ had died; the more evil you saw and heard about you, the greater glory lay around the death. It was too easy to die for what was good or beautiful, for home or children or a civilization - it needed a God to die for the half-hearted and corrupt." (p.97)
"But at the centre of his own faith there always stood the convincing mystery - that we were made in God's image. God was the parent, but He was also the policeman, the criminal, the priest, the maniac, and the judge. Something resembling God dangled from the gibbet or went into odd attitudes before the bullets in a prison yard" (p.101)
And finally...
"'There. It's as I say. Believing in God makes cowards.' The voice was triumphant, as if it had proved something.
'So then?' the priest said.
'Better not to believe - and be a brave man.'
'I see - yes. And of course, if one belived the Governor did not exist or the jefe, if we could pretend that this prison was not a prison at all but a garden, how brave we could be then.'
'That's just foolishness' (p.126)
I didn't find the book hard to read in the sense of not wanting to continue it. I was certainly caught up in his fate and needed to see what happened, despite the sense of inevitability about the conclusion.
One of the reasons I found the book hard to enjoy was a sense of 'worthiness' about the whole thing, not helped by a previous owner's odd pencil scribblings in the margin! It brought back the feeling of reading Hardy for GCSE coursework and such...struggling under a burden of 'themes' and motifs and feeling like I should be taking some higher 'understanding' and 'appreciation' from the whole affair.
Despite all this, I have a feeling the 'whisky priest' will stick in my mind for a while and he has certainly given me leave to stop and think, so perhaps a good read after all...
Friday, June 03, 2005
Wikipedia - yay!
I have just created my first entry on the Wikipedia. There was a link from 'Durham' but no entry for the Bailey so I thought I'd add it!
Hope it's ok! Lots of fun.. and definitely addictive, I can see that!
Hope it's ok! Lots of fun.. and definitely addictive, I can see that!
Reading Isaiah 6 - part 1
This is the famous chapter on Isaiah's commission.
Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord on his throne, with seraphs singing:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory." (v.3)
The seraphs are no pretty delicate angels - they have six wings and at the sound of their voices the temple shakes and is filled with smoke. Wow!
Isaiah is struck by a sense of his uncleanless
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined [or undone] ! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (v.5)
Is his emphasis on his lips the knowledge that he cannot join the angels in their praise of the holy God (because he has sinned and is unclean)?
A seraph touches his lips with a live coal from the altar and pronounces him clean:
"See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for [purged]." (v.7)
The coal is so hot that even the seraph has to use tongs! But with holy fire from the altar (where the sacrifice is made), Isaiah's sin and guilt is burned away.
Isaiah hears the "voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
Who is the 'us'? Is it like the royal 'we'? Or is this some reference to the trinity?
And Isaiah, famously, says: "Here am I. Send me!"
No hesitation there...
Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord on his throne, with seraphs singing:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory." (v.3)
The seraphs are no pretty delicate angels - they have six wings and at the sound of their voices the temple shakes and is filled with smoke. Wow!
Isaiah is struck by a sense of his uncleanless
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined [or undone] ! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (v.5)
Is his emphasis on his lips the knowledge that he cannot join the angels in their praise of the holy God (because he has sinned and is unclean)?
A seraph touches his lips with a live coal from the altar and pronounces him clean:
"See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for [purged]." (v.7)
The coal is so hot that even the seraph has to use tongs! But with holy fire from the altar (where the sacrifice is made), Isaiah's sin and guilt is burned away.
Isaiah hears the "voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
Who is the 'us'? Is it like the royal 'we'? Or is this some reference to the trinity?
And Isaiah, famously, says: "Here am I. Send me!"
No hesitation there...
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Reading Isaiah 5 - part 2
The LORD declares judgement on Israel because of the wicked things they have done.
It's interesting his condemnation at the end of v.12 is:
"..they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD, no respect for the work of his hands", not - as perhaps you might expect - 'you have broken my laws'. He is concerned with their relationship with Him primarily and with things he has made (I would imagine this means other people as well as his creation). He seems to be saying, 'you have forgotten everything I've done for you'.
He declares judgement on the people, telling them they will be humbled,
"But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness."
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."
Is this just a poetic effect? Or is it meant literally as an indication of how messed up the people are? That they can no longer tell the difference? Or that they are determined to disturb the natural order that God has made? Whatever it means, it makes a strange sense to me. The blurring of moral choices is clearly a step on the path to the Dark Side... (c.f. Anakin Skywalker :-)
It is 'woe' to the arrogant, the drunks and the corrupt. In other words, those who put themselves above God, those who care for nothing except their own pleasure, and those who act injustly will all be judged.
"...for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel."
- 'rejected' seems to me a slightly different idea than 'breaking' the law (as you'd expect it to say), but it could just be an expression! Again, it seems to be this idea that it is God himself who is rejected. Or at least that God's law is intimately bound up with his person.
God's judgement was for Israel to lose its special protection and be attacked by the surrounding nations - this prophecy did come true in 722BC when the Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom and scattered the people.
It's interesting his condemnation at the end of v.12 is:
"..they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD, no respect for the work of his hands", not - as perhaps you might expect - 'you have broken my laws'. He is concerned with their relationship with Him primarily and with things he has made (I would imagine this means other people as well as his creation). He seems to be saying, 'you have forgotten everything I've done for you'.
He declares judgement on the people, telling them they will be humbled,
"But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness."
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."
Is this just a poetic effect? Or is it meant literally as an indication of how messed up the people are? That they can no longer tell the difference? Or that they are determined to disturb the natural order that God has made? Whatever it means, it makes a strange sense to me. The blurring of moral choices is clearly a step on the path to the Dark Side... (c.f. Anakin Skywalker :-)
It is 'woe' to the arrogant, the drunks and the corrupt. In other words, those who put themselves above God, those who care for nothing except their own pleasure, and those who act injustly will all be judged.
"...for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel."
- 'rejected' seems to me a slightly different idea than 'breaking' the law (as you'd expect it to say), but it could just be an expression! Again, it seems to be this idea that it is God himself who is rejected. Or at least that God's law is intimately bound up with his person.
God's judgement was for Israel to lose its special protection and be attacked by the surrounding nations - this prophecy did come true in 722BC when the Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom and scattered the people.
Chasing the Dragon
I've just finished reading an old and battered copy of Jackie Pullinger's book that I picked up in a charity shop. I'm trying to decide whether the inspiration I feel from reading it is a 'far-away' inspiration or something I can apply to my life here and now. I don't like to read books like that without coming away with something concrete I can apply to my life right now.
Apart from being amazed at the love and grace in her, the stubborness to continue, I think mostly I was inspired by the simplicity of her faith and attitude to God's grace. Perhaps some of this is in the style of the book, which is matter-of-fact and generally light-hearted in approach. But I was impressed by the confidence in which she prays and puts herself into the middle of the life of the city. I want to pray with that confidence, as Jesus suggested:
"If you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig-tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea,' and it shall be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matt 21:21-22)
And throughout John 14-16, Jesus repeats this idea:
"You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." (John 14:14)
I was also struck by the many times Jackie tells people (paraphrasing) 'Jesus doesn't expect you to be able to carry on following him in your own power, this is why he gives you the Spirit' - and, with this, her total reliance on the Spirit working in the boys' lives, particularly praying in tongues. A useful reminder. How often is our thirst due to closing ourselves off to those streams of living water..?
Apart from being amazed at the love and grace in her, the stubborness to continue, I think mostly I was inspired by the simplicity of her faith and attitude to God's grace. Perhaps some of this is in the style of the book, which is matter-of-fact and generally light-hearted in approach. But I was impressed by the confidence in which she prays and puts herself into the middle of the life of the city. I want to pray with that confidence, as Jesus suggested:
"If you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig-tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea,' and it shall be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matt 21:21-22)
And throughout John 14-16, Jesus repeats this idea:
"You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." (John 14:14)
I was also struck by the many times Jackie tells people (paraphrasing) 'Jesus doesn't expect you to be able to carry on following him in your own power, this is why he gives you the Spirit' - and, with this, her total reliance on the Spirit working in the boys' lives, particularly praying in tongues. A useful reminder. How often is our thirst due to closing ourselves off to those streams of living water..?
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
