On watching House and living life

One thing I realy like about House is that the man himself (and the script-writers) realise we rarely just do something. There's more to us than that, we either want something out of it or we want to achieve things and succeed or we do it out of a desire for purpose - or with an ounce of care and compassion. But only an ounce. Sadly Dr Gregory House is often too right about the human heart. As he says "everybody lies" and he has to work out the truth going on in people.

House has a way of exploding situations until their practically unbearable for his colleagues in order to expose to themselves what the new selfish or dumb thing they are really doing is. He won't let anything go.* It's pretty fascinating.

House says things like this - isn't he a charmer?

I find I get drawn in by this construction of what human life is. And I find that I can be fooled into thinking the pleasingly complex psychology/drama amongst the characters is worth feeling for (I guess this shows it is well-made). It's pleasing as there is depth to the characters and they are going for more than simple cliche motivations at times, which is great - but here's the reason this isn't realistic: (Get ready, it's obvious) At the end of the show you turn it off.

Living real life

As a Christian I've recently been challenged in a number of ways that the life we have been given is the important thing, and it is exciting! It goes on beyond 45-minute-manageable-sessions, and its problems are bigger and more protracted. The life we have matters, the people in it matter and their vastly different situations matter. This life is significant.

Sometimes we can find things mundane, and I know I can even feel like everything is worthless after a really bad day. But this is a lie. God has given us all things to enjoy and responsibility to use our abilities to do good and make an impact on other people's lives and the world. How is this not significant? Even producing things for others to enjoy is significant, as we develop his world and we can invest in that some of the value that we ought to place on good things in his good creation.

Going back to watching TV for a minute - I'm not knocking it, as it is good to enjoy as a gift from God. But as Christians should we not be more hooked on God as the beautiful and glorious and pure and wise one from whom all these good things come? (Phillippians 3:7-11.) Shouldn't he fundamentally change the way we enjoy and engage with everything (see eg Philippians 4:11-13.) Let's wholeheartedly enjoy living and receiving from him with a knowledge of him as the giver and him as the source. When God brings his restoration to humanity and makes the world new, all will see that he is the most significant anything in the universe, he is far above anything and anyone.* All else really is second-rate!

And let's see other people in our town and their lives as significant, as they are not only a creation of God, not only do they bless us and enrich our lives in many ways when you think about it, but also they are made in God's image: They really are here because he dreamed them up and wanted them here, and he made them to shine out a little of God's character or nature, no matter how corrupted that might have become. When we are engaging with real people in the real world, we engage with complex and wonderful beings, and we can make a difference. And that's exciting.
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*Like Sherlock?

**See for instance Revelation 7:9-12 where huge worship is going on all in honour of the "Lamb". This is Jesus who is described in the New Testament to be the ultimate sacrifice, the lamb of God, fulfilling the passover lamb role from the Old Testament. The point I'm making is he's shown to be worthy of all the honour the universe can give. May many begin to honour him first gladly now and be able to enter into that worship of him in heaven.

Thor & debts to one another in a kingdom

Personally I found X-men: First Class a slightly more polished and enjoyable film, and an absolute blast, with good new characters and 1960s spy-film influenced plot, and action beating X2 – but I think Thor was more ambitious, and despite being a tad too silly and “summer blockbuster” in the bits set on Earth, it had more interesting themes. May his return in the Avengers film next year continue the fun!

So here's my take on some of the themes of Thor:

Often in action films you get a kind of brother-in-arms camaraderie, but in Thor comics there is a sense that the gods of Asgard are connected. Each has their role and without one of them fulfilling it they are lacking. Thor has a responsibility to lead his people well – and they have a responsibility to be the noble people they are meant to be in service of their brother-in-arms, the mighty Odin-son Thor.

Which is why a recent Thor story got my attention.* It reminds us of how people can be trapped by their own desires and pulled away from what is really good for them. In it Loki skilfully manipulates Thor, managing to shame him so he is not worthy to be seen and followed as leader. Unlike in the film, Odin is no longer about, and the throne is taken by Balder, who, with Loki at his ear, makes the decision to find a new home for the Asgardians. He believes the restlessness of the fearless Asgardians is due to them being trapped in their re-born realm which is floating in the sky above earth, and that they should move to the wild land of mountains and forests that belongs to Marvel arch-villain, Doctor Doom.

It’s a classic case of trying to solve a correctly identified problem with an answer that isn’t going to fit. This race of people live larger than life and have a real longing for the open air and the pursuit of games and hunting. They want to live life! But living under a wise and good King is the key to their security and hope and anything less is a compromise. Yes, their king Thor should have heeded their restlessness and provided for them – that would have been wise. But to have been corrupted by Loki and end up being led into a land ruled with an iron fist by Doom is the worst kind of deception and is likely to lead to needless difficulties or war. It certainly divides them against their King. And it’s a knee-jerk response to the deeper problem of wanting Asgard and life back in its fuller glory. It’s going after a temporary solution that isn’t really one at all.

I love how the corruption is depicted as working – very subtly. Loki, manages to frame truth in a way that accuses Thor stopping him in his tracks and making others lose confidence in him. (Doesn’t evil tend to do this? Evil takes our worst actions and hits us with it – and then it isolates us if it can.) Loki’s apparent honesty in exposing Thor leads to a loss of discernment as people begin to trust the perverted power-mad Loki. Yes, Thor has failed them, but the worst result of this is them sitting under the wrong king. They have lost their purpose and think it is to be found solely in the exciting new realm Balder offers them. May we not lose sight of how we owe each other to act rightly to build each other up in our purposes in life. It’s how we were created – to live life to the full**, in freedom, and “to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8).

A couple more points on the film before I sign off. I generally liked the way Thor interacted with humanity and the idea of him aspiring to be something more, and inspiring others, was pretty neat - and, in a way, so was the linking of ideas about there being amazing truth out there to be discovered with the "gods". The spin on Loki and his relationship to the wise King Odin was very interesting, and challenges us – what would you do if suddenly lots of power was thrust upon you in your darkest hour? Would you be responsible and shoulder the responsibility well or try to cut others out or try to impress others? How do you react to how people judge you – are you paranoid, getting hurt easily when people fail you, taking the love you can get and hiding away, or do you listen to others and love others generously, from a place of gratefulness at all you have?

*Thor 601 “Defining Moments” written by J. Michael Straczynski
**See, for example, John chapter 7 v37-8, chapter 8 v12, 31-2, and chapter 15 v11.

Check back for more on comics and books later in the month.

Hooray for trusting in the cross

Friends, hear these brilliant words, which my soul also needs to hear.

In the run-up to this passage John Stott has been talking about wrong ways to approach hard times and God, by self-accusing, self-pitying or self-asserting. But then he starts talking about the best way of all – to see Him afresh spiritually, and trust in Him:

If it was reasonable for Job to trust in the God whose wisdom and power have been revealed in creation, how much more reasonable is it for us to trust the God whose love and justice have been revealed in the cross? The reasonableness of trust lies in the known trustworthiness of its object. And no one is more trustworthy than the God of the cross. The cross does not solve the problem of suffering, but it gives us the right perspective from which to view it.

We need to learn to climb the hill called Calvary and from that vantage point to survey all life’s tragedies. Since God has demonstrated his holy love in a historical event (the cross), no other historical event (whether personal or global) can override or disprove it. 

from Through the Bible Through the Year, p.88

Praise God for the truth of these words!

Persecution and breakfast

After a week of taking in lots of information from various staff at my new workplace, I spent part of the morning lying in, finally getting to making a lazy man’s breakfast, mainly involving toast – and picked up the Open Doors magazine I was sent recently. I was quickly struck by the gap between my relaxed Saturday morning existence and the people who are living in danger and difficulty because of their faith in Christ and the political or societal situations around them, so I thought I’d share some details.

For instance, a Pakistani Christian woman is the first woman in the country to be sentenced to death for a charge of “blasphemy” – an observer says this verdict was given under pressure from a “mob outside the courtroom”. Outrageously, the woman, Asia Bibi, held in isolation since June 2009, and her family, who are in hiding, are in danger for their lives from hard-line Islamic groups, who want to take the law into their own hands.

Another article talks about some young boys in Orisso, India, who Open Doors have provided beds for at Ladruma Boys Home. Many of these abandoned children are traumatised from anti-Christian violence in the area in 2008, when the home became a target – during which time the caregivers were taken away because of the danger! So different to the UK where a lack of sufficient care for vulnerable kids will rightly cause an uproar.

What conditions to be trying to live in, to be trying to learn in or grow in or form relationships or work and earn a living. What a poor situation many fellow believers are in!


I need to grasp just how much opposition to Jesus and his people is out there in the world, and recognise that some people are paying a high price to be identified with the Lord Jesus – because they know what a privilege they have to know Him.

If you do, how do you remember to read about and pray for less fortunate people?

Evidence for God

On the right I have added a page with some evidence for God - adapted from a talk I heard back at New Word Alive 2010. Yes, this is long overdue! A snippet I liked is below. This is from a portion where we are talking about how the accounts of the New Testament of the Bible are good historical evidence to show us the amazing events of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, who came from God to show Him to us.

The gospel writers have a proven track record of historical reliability. For instance, take Luke, who wrote both the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts (or “the Acts of the Apostles”) in the New Testament. The opening to the gospel of Luke, where he explains he intends to write an accurate history based on eyewitness accounts, is written in Greek, which was the language used by learned historians of the time. By doing this Luke is straight-away pinning his reputation on the work as a work of history.

But was Luke reliable in getting his facts straight? Looking closely at the book of Acts, which overlaps significantly with the history of the ancient world, classical scholar Colin Hemer has found a wealth of historical detail, from political to local knowledge, that all matches up with what we know eg about trade routes in particular years and areas and the peculiar titles of local officials. Professor Sherwin-White says “For Acts the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming… even in matters of detail”. According to world-famous archaeologist Sir William Ramsey “Luke is a historian of the first-rank … This author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.”

Click on the page on the right entitled "Evidence for God - a few examples" for more. Thanks to Amy Orr-Ewing who didn't have time for me to interview her as she had to go pick up her kids - but she gave me some of her notes :) Check out her book But is it Real?, which I wrote about here.

2011 - a year where I hope God is more and more my joy

Happy New Year! In the next week or so, expect a few posts from me on everything from anime film to reasons for believing in God's existence. But for today, here are some of the things I've been learning about God and his ways in the last few weeks and months.

• There are two paths in life, God's one and the way of fools, the latter of which will be attractive to the eye, but only the former both offering and giving things of lasting value and excellence (see Proverbs, where Wisdom calls out offers us true life, prefiguring Jesus and his role in preaching the kingdom of God).

• The Christian life is about responding to God’s goodness and undeserved love towards us by doing God’s will here on earth as part of his family, identifying ourselves with him while we wait for the fullness of the salvation that has been won for us (Romans 12, Mark 3:34-5).

• The end of all history is God’s end, planned from long ago with a special place for us who know and love him (Ephesians 1:4-6, Romans 15:8-13, or read When I Don’t Desire God).

• The call to love others in the church is God’s heart goal for us, that through this love we would show him to the world. Plus there is a great need to pray earnestly for the lost (from a talk on humility by Francis Chan).

• It's been amazing to understand over Christmas the way Jesus came to live on earth ultimately to die for our benefit, to do a work of God for the glory of God. What gets me is how this precious anointed one of God, loved from eternity by the Father in heaven with the Father and Spirit, this one, the Christ, lived through the daily hard knocks of a life of poverty and frustration and pain and disappointment - and he did it joyfully obeying his Father, he did it to rescue us and be our light and the way to God for all who take up their cross and follow him. He lived this normal life for us, growing up like us, coming under men and women who taught him and berated him. And this life he lived came with all its hurt, unhappiness, dissatisfaction, striving for more, seeing only less; with being treated evil-ly in many ways and by many people; with being shown barely any love in return in comparison to the infinite love and worship he is due. He was committed to us and to God's glory in us with his whole self. He loves us!

• It's no good trying to do something - anything - for God, or for love, without asking God's help. It's an arrogance to try to go it alone. It's a folly not to seek his help with any goal or meeting or event or time with family or with church or time to relax. It's a folly not to seek him for assurance that he cares for us, because he does. It's dumb to not ask to grow in Him. It's silly to not seek his help to become like Christ and to have a good relationship with God.

• God is my exceeding joy. (Psalm 43:4, and taught throughout the book When I Don't Desire God).

I hope you find this helpful. See you I hope during the year, and perhaps we can talk about how God is to shape our lives.

Analysis of hell from Sandman issue 25 (part of graphic novel "Seasons of Mists")

I had the pleasure of borrowing two more volumes of The Sandman recently from the library and I want to talk a bit about Sandman #25 (which is Episode 4 of the storyline “Season of Mists”).

It's an interesting episode in a series that isn't afraid of tackling such subjects as

• what is really real and what is imaginary
• the various prisons we make for ourselves, especially through fear about our appearance
• the perversions that, say, greedy men, serial killers or ancient faeries or forgotten Greek gods enjoy
• where real genius comes from
• and, here, the nature of hell.

Sandman 25 is a story which stands apart from the main storyline about Morpheus, otherwise known as Dream, or the King of Dreams. Instead, it's a parable about letting go of an evil past, which follows a English school-boy who is unwanted by his teachers, left behind at his boarding school by his only surviving parent. This character comes to epitomise the unwanted person who is oppressed and made to fit into boxes for convenience, or bullied for the pleasure of evil-doers.

As he meets the ghosts of past students and teachers he sees them meaninglessly reliving their past unhappy lives, and his eventual “escape” from the school seems to me to be an exploration of leaving behind a history of psychologically damaging abuse.

Wonderfully, in the end, the pattern of others' damaging behaviour does not have to control this boy; he is individual – in a sense, when he leaves the school, he triumphs over the system. Although they have taken a lot from him, the boy is still able to become a man, responsible and engaging in the world more-or-less in a way of his choosing.

The story cleverly shows us the implication of what has recently happened to Dream, who has been duped by Lucifer, the king of hell – because it shows the reversal of nature as the dead haunt the living as damned (or unlucky?) souls are released from hell. As the school-boy and his oppressed (un?)dead companion leave, they talk about whether hell is something we make for ourselves and whether hell is a place or not. They conclude by suggesting that hell is a place (ie. the school) but “you don't have to stay anywhere for ever”.

The positive event of the two companions leaving the evil characters in the school behind faintly recalls the unsettling events of Sandman 23. Here, the Sandman version of Lucifer shows he can leave hell, turfing the demons and evil men and women out into limbo or the world, saying they have suffered enough in hell. This kind of liberation seems wonderful at first, but appears sinister when souls start returning to haunt the world and proud psychopaths, who know they should be punished, are freed.

The role of God in people's lives

The school-boy, Charles Rowland, teaches us about experiencing life and taking action to prevent falling into becoming a victim of depraved patterns of living. But where is God in this story? He acts at points later on to deal with the problems caused by Lucifer. But he isn't shown to take care of the victims, to care for people's souls, to care for the individuals in the story. Here, he is less than invisible: he is absent from the lives of ordinary people!

Instead we have the liberal myth rearing its head saying that expressing oneself and defying authority brings true liberation in life. OK, so I agree that where authority groups are evil they need to be opposed fiercely, and the comic is right that liberation is needed, and broken lives can really be helped by others' love and care and a good environment for healing.

But as a Christian I know that God's role is more. He loves us! And he is good. And we are to mimic and follow him. It's his role to oppose evil, to liberate people from evil through his Son, to work in power to bring justice one day by judging the living and the dead. God holds the key to hell and God says who goes there because of their sin. God goes out of his way to call people into his kingdom of light, to be able to enjoy eternity with him in heaven and ultimately in a new perfect, brilliant creation. God loves the marvellous people he has made and acts in the lives of the broken or oppressed people who make up his church – granting true comfort, peace, joy, relief, material help and a caring community which becomes a family and a help to those who are lost.

People do evil things and that's a problem. But God cares about us and brings help and freedom from sin for those who ask. Amen to that.

So - smile! and forget all about it....

Sometimes I despair about communicating the serious message of the gospel in a world which loves and seeks out the flippant, the tearing down, the joke. Of course, we seek a joke to make a social situation more comfortable – and I understand this: There’s skill in making others feel at ease through humour. But what I’m talking about is the way we hear something serious and twist it into something to laugh at or make light of, totally missing the point that was being made.

I’ve been listening to the preaching of John Piper on Romans lately. Now, he can use absurd or humorous language to make a point. But he is is passionate big-time in speaking about God. One thing I’ve particularly noticed is how he urges his congregation to consider and dwell on the seriousness of God’s teaching. Here’s some examples:

• Piper is urgent about spreading the good news of the gospel to make known the magnificent name of Jesus Christ. He is deathly serious about the situation that many are heading towards hell, settling for the things of this world and never turning back to their Maker. Like Solomon's serious words in Proverbs 1, or Jesus’ words in Jerusalem when he called people to come to the way of rescue in Him, that leads to true, lasting life – let’s be serious about this. So that people do not go down to a death without God, for lack of knowledge or because of the foolishness of how they treat the subject.

• Piper is serious about being thankful and glad towards God and to others, making a point of showing his gratefulness for others’ gifts on a Sunday, for instance, or to his wife or others. I both love this and can learn from it

• He is serious about getting people to understand that God is glorious in holiness and sovereignty over the whole earth, but also that he specially chooses a people for himself - people who do not deserve his love and forgiveness and holy righteousness. (How wonderful it is to see this so clearly!)

What’s more, Piper wants us to look hard at ourselves and our motivations – the things of the heart which only God sees. For instance, why do we do good things? What is the manner in which we do them? Is it with an awareness of the rescue plan God has put into place for us? Is it with an awareness of the rebellion that is in us, still close to our hearts? Do we recognise that He has done all and we are the recipients of wonderful grace?

Piper is earnest about the need to “get our knees” (or humble ourselves) in prayer and in love of God and in dependence on him. Nothing qualifies us for heaven except Jesus’ blood shed in sacrifice, if we accept it – so as Christians we are dependent on God. We are centred on Jesus, the source of our salvation. And we couldn’t do true good at all except for the influence of God on the world – so nothing we bring qualifies us for leadership or to help or teach others, it’s only the strength, gifts, good skills and opportunities which God brings us. Our very service and worship is enabled by God. So let’s attribute it all to him!

There’s much to be serious about. And much to grow in. Let’s determine to grow this week, even today, and take God seriously. Let’s heed his call to “listen” and see his work in our lives as significant. And let’s lead people with our words to greater subjects than the latest internet fad or the latest largely insignificant news story.

Image rights: ({{Information |Description=A smile a day keeps the pain and the doctor away |Source=[http://www.flickr.com/photos/66548401@N00/3440464331/ :: A smile a day keeps the pain and the doctor away. ::] |Date=2009-04-03 15:55 |Author=[http://www.flickr.com/peopl)

The hope of the Christian

Just read this fantastic outline of the message of the book of 1 Peter! Find the book towards the back of the Bible, and read below to get a sense of what it's about.

Facing impending assaults on the gospel, Peter witnesses to the grace of God, the overwhelming reality of what God has done in Jesus Christ. The apostle knows that Jesus rose from the dead; he saw him ascend to heaven. He knows, too, why Jesus died, and what his death accomplished, as he writes: ‘Jesus himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed’ (2:24).

The reality of what Christ has done makes sure the hope of the Christian ‘brotherhood’. Christians can not only endure suffering for Christ’s sake; they can rejoice, for in their agony they are joined to Jesus who suffered for them. Their very sufferings become a sign of hope, for, as Christ suffered and entered into his glory, so will they. The Spirit of glory and of God rests on them (4:14).

Whether their neighbours attack or respect them, they can bear witness to the grace of God by their Christian lifestyle. Quietly and humbly they can live holy lives, not seeking to claim their own rights, but honouring others. Such humble living is in no way servile or demeaning, for Christians know themselves to be the royal people of God’s own possession, the chosen heirs of the new creation. They need not avenge themselves, nor need they claim for themselves what is their due; their trust is in the judgment of God. Christians are ‘resident aliens’ in [their towns and cities], but they are members of God’s own household.

The gift of God’s love, the blood of Jesus Christ, has redeemed Christians from the corrupt and empty lifestyle of their God-less past; that grace now unites them in fervent love for one another. They serve and help one another, using the rich spiritual gifts with which God’s grace equips them, ... [Jesus watching over them].

By the victory of Jesus Christ over all the powers of darkness they are freed from the power of Satan. They can repulse the roaring lion; in the fires of trial their faith will not be destroyed but purified like gold in the furnace. They may cast all their cares on God, knowing that he cares for them.

The grace that already fills Christians with joy will be brought to them fully at the appearing of Jesus Christ. The Lord, whom they love but have not seen, they will see and adore. Knowing well the doom and darkness from which they were delivered, the new people of God sing forth his praises. Their hallelujahs ring from their assemblies, their homes, even from the prison cells where their fear of God has set them free from the fear of man. Their witness is a witness of praise. Nourished by the unfailing Word of God, they taste already the goodness of their Saviour. The true grace of God has called them to his glory: everything, even their sufferings, will serve his purpose who redeemed them at such a price.

Some may scorn the comfort and triumph of Peter’s letter as unpractical theology. His answers are answers of faith. But Peter knows that his witness is true, that Jesus Christ is real. He has tasted that the Lord is good, and that his goodness will not fail. ‘This is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it’ (5:12).

Clowney, Edmund P.: The Message of 1 Peter : The Way of the Cross. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA : Inter-Varsity Press, 1988 (The Bible Speaks Today), S. 23

Praise the Lord! Praise Him for Peter's witness to us and for the certain hope of being saved by Christ, if we ally ourselves with him and his people on earth. Amen.

What materialism is good materialism?

According to Philip Johnson, through school, college or university many in the West have been given “maps of understanding” where God has been “left off” the map. There is no place for the spiritual in academia (and little in the media). This is what Os Guinness found, who said his education “gave no place to the faith that was vital to him”. So today many, like Os Guinness, may be unsatisfied with us, really searching for meaning which is not found in their place of study/work or in their culture.

For Christians the danger is that we too easily fit in to our society and leave God off the map. We are tempted to do things without investing their true, and highest, meaning in them – studying, working, politics, economics, technology, writing, reading, having fun – it all ought to be done in worship, as we know an inner joy in God through Christ, and seek to live in God’s world God’s way, in response to the gift of Jesus Christ.

In short, here’s the challenge: Godless materialism can not have its way. Its goals and its various manifestations must not become our idols. Only God-worshipping materialism is right – a celebration of the true physical blessings God has given us, turning these blessings into worship. Yes, worship: whether this means sharing physical things, putting them to use for God, not simply for man, or finding satisfaction in using or enjoying them, knowing God is the giver of all good things, and will provide even more satisfying and joyful physical things in heaven.

If you sympathise with this point of view (or do not) it would be useful to hear your thoughts, and perhaps how you have rallied your body to worship of God in your work/play/social life/family life/etc.

Quotes from The Right Questions: Truth, Meaning & Public Debate by Phillip E Johnson, which I don't always agree with, but is usefully thought-provoking.

Seeing and believing

On Wednesday night I went to my house group (a Bible study group that meets in someone's house). As we were looking at John 9 it struck me how easy it easy to get everything totally wrong. Let me explain.

The Jewish Pharisees were so sure their rules of religion were right that when God showed up among them, they discounted him - and worse, opposed him. His work amongst people did not fit into their ideas about what kind of activities could be carried out on the Sabbath - and some held this against him, seeing his new way as undermining what they "knew" to be God's way.

Their desperation with the situation and growing hatred of Jesus is apparent, yet He is the one they must wake up and see is God.

The contrast in the chapter is of course with the man whom Jesus has freed from blindness, who answers their questions plainly and as best he can. His words start to point out the Pharisees' spiritual blindness!

There's a whole lot here to learn about how we must relate to God: humbly, coming to Him for salvation. The gospel comes and it offers a message which is bitter to someone who is confident in their own righteousness. It points us to the ways we have all failed God's standards because it's the inward thoughts and intentions of the heart towards God and others which matter most.

The sweet good news of salvation comes though God's free gift. He initiates rescue, and the Pharisee or the self-righteous can't do a thing to save themselves - we all must only accept this gift by accepting the great Saviour Jesus and coming under his rule. He achieves our salvation by the cross - we merely throw ourselves at his feet and receive this work of grace into our lives.

May I never NEVER never forget this Lord of love and his gift of grace. As I see what He has done, my desire increases for Him. And so I try hard to follow Him in my life.

-----

The sequel to thoughts like this is living this out in reality. Sadly in reality, my desire for and love of God is far too weak. At times I will serve God forgetting that I rely on him and, as Tim Keller describes in his excellent book The Prodigal God, I'll try to control God by doing things I think should please him. And I'll get frustrated when things go wrong.

There's much work still to be done on my heart. I need to tell myself that I need Jesus. Above all else. I need Him as He is my only salvation.

Another thing that spins out of this is how we show this message to others. How do we show people that while being good is important, it's the inner life towards God and others that matters the most? How do we model grace (as Ed Moll recently described it in a talk at my church)? How do we show the love of God instead of dishing out approval or disapproval based on outward behaviour, like the Pharisees would have done? How do we show that God accepts us when we have broken all the rules - when I have broken all the rules? Can we be as accepting of others as He is, and yet, of course, never saying that evil behaviour is right in any way.

I think the way I relate to others rarely shows this. I'm sure that people around me still get the impression that the way I relate to them will depend on their behaviour towards me - this will determine whether I give my approval. Surely God's way is far better! I should love and keep loving whether I approve or not, whether I am treated well or not! I should be patient, generous, giving, listening, bearing with others, when it's far too easy to fit in with the expected culture which shows either that it does not care about a person and their lifestyle, or that the lifestyle ought to be of a certain standard in order for me to pay attention to the the person in question.

If anyone has done some further thinking about how to model grace in relationships, let me know!

Book Review: The Ballad of Halo Jones

Why is this acclaimed graphic novel worthy of such high distinction? Perhaps it’s because it is one of the few *true* science fiction epics in that form, which has a beginning, middle and an end? Perhaps it’s the crazy concepts, from the haunting tale of the person whose gender has been erased, to the “forever” time-altered charge into battle in the Crush (on a planet with dangerously high gravity levels). Perhaps it’s the satire about our lives that gets us, and the way writer Alan Moore has thought up a world with a ring of truth about it, down to the details of the way people gossip and use slang. Perhaps it’s due to the strong female protagonist, as it was unusual in 1984 for a comic book to have a female hero – and one whose heroism is highly relatable, as she tries to escape the structures and characters which hem her in and want her to “fit in” and degrade her. You see, this future “Ballad” is, like all ballads, about a journey – and the toil along the way.

The plot of the three books

The story starts in the Hoop – a hi-tech slum floating near Manhattan – where Halo Jones (pictured right) lives with her friend Rodice, and are caught up in poverty and unrest. The people seem enslaved either to the various gangs and factions in the Hoop or to a materialistic code of values, which fools them into accepting the way things are – in fact they have ways of altering themselves to forget and fit in (the “safest” way in the crime- ridden area). When disaster strikes, Halo confronts the world outside the hoop (at the end of book one), and boards a space cruiser. She now is working as a waitress for the rich to pay her way out of poverty and gain control of her life – and a measure of freedom seems in her grasp. But by the end of book two she finds herself battling some more everyday problems that threaten to enslave her: the dullness of unemployment and purposelessness – and alcoholism.

Looking for an adventure, Halo Jones then joins the army – and this final book shines the most for me. It is a scathing attack on the inequality of war, the evil of it and how it can brainwash the soldier, and make them unfit for normal life. In a few pages we can sweep the galaxy, or focus on the significance (or not) of one battleground and one fallen enemy. As we begin to respond to the ideas here, it evokes disturbing and uncomfortable images from today’s wars – what anguish should we feel over the need for our young men and women to go to war and to live that different kind of life – that “necessary evil”? Have we forgotten that these wars (necessary though they may be) have a devastating impact on the lives of the people of the countries where the fighting is going on? Finally (spoiler warning), the folly of war stares at us from the final pages, when it is deemed that the war was carried out in an illegal way. What was all the fighting for after all? It should never have been allowed. What does man fight man for anyway? What purpose does it serve?

Letting the book raise some questions

Told in short black-and-white chapters, this impressive tale starts slowly but ends up with some short episodes that say more than whole novels, in terms of the way they mimic the real world and confront us. How can we escape a mindset of materialism and avoid settling for the entertainment culture that surrounds us? Is that what life is really about? And can we really have control of our lives, in the final analysis, or are there limits we come up against?

Where do we look for real freedom, and the ability to live full lives of purpose and joy?

On that last one: I know to whom I am looking – the one who came to offer just this to us if we accept his verdict on our lives and turn to follow Him. Receiving what Jesus offers does not require being brainwashed, made to "fit in" to an oppressive system, or dragged through hell, or in fact any kind of work on our part. His gift to us of reconciliation with God is free, and simply must be accepted.

But knowing Him and all he's done changes us, and soon we will be unhappy with the way we have been living, we will be stretched mentally, emotionally and physically to live the kind of full life of joy and hard work and pain and love that Jesus lived. To live in community, doing the will of the one who rules this world and who actually does know best for us - and cared enough to come to die for us. Let's not throw our brains away and live passively following the world.  Let's engage with him and what he is really offering us. Let's go to the places Jesus wants us to go to.

Living in relationship with God - more from New Word Alive 2010

I seem to have some impressions still to post about New Word Alive this year. Here's a taster on the teaching from the Psalms, hope you find it useful to think through/pray through. You can order copies of the talks to listen to in various formats from NWA's website.

• From Nigel Stiles in one of the main meetings – we learned from Psalm 42 and 43 (all one poem/song really) that we will need to be pushy with ourselves in difficult times telling our souls, right as they struggle, what we know about God, what we have to base our lives on. So much has been revealed to us about God’s character in the Bible, in history, most of all in Jesus who rose from death. 
• Feelings of pain needn’t be a taboo subject in the church – they mustn’t be if we are to be real with each other and honestly help each other look to our Rock, God. And we know Jesus suffered taunts against His perfect nature, he suffered huge humiliation being stripped and hung up on the cross, total abandonment by men and even by his loving Father on the cross as he bore the curse of sin, and a crushing of his very soul. He knows pain. As he had hope of being with his Father again, so can we – he will bring us with him to a perfect kingdom where love will last and life will be strong, and funerals and mourning will be something "we used to do" in the old days. What a great hope we have! What a spur to our souls in the midst of hurt.

Richard Cunningham and Richard Coekin were excellent on Psalms 90 and 103 (now 2 of my favourites) – showing us the great magnificence of God: let’s stir up ourselves to praise Him with all of our beings, and also let’s ask Him for true wisdom in this mixed-up world.

And here is the fourth and final video interview I took this year:

Our God is an awesome God

Recently I preached on Psalm 21 and was challenged to the heart to consider the power of God, and all the many benefits of knowing Him.

• He brings salvation to those who trust him.
• He deals with our greatest enemies for us - those of death and sin.
• He is our life. Out of his generosity he goes before us to bless us and gives us eternal life.
• Like the king in the psalm, God has won us incredible riches in heaven (see Ephesians 1 for instance). This is the weight of glory to look forward to.
• He works with his hand of power to protect and preserve his people. Even if things are tough and we struggle or are in pain in this life - our souls are secure with Him.
• He is the Most High, and the Lord of the promises of the Bible - and so we will not be overcome by any other power if we are safe in Him. There is no-one higher. It's entirely by his help that we are secure. He is so strong one day all who oppose him will know him acting against them to destroy them. This is a holy God of power and might - power for his people and against his enemies. This is THE God of the world and it's good to know him and his work for us.
• Our struggles are not purposeless, but part of God's plan for his people to see him better and glorify him. God wants the Israelites in this situation to see all that God has done for them - so they trust and have confidence in Him, the only one who is a true, secure Rock for humanity. The pattern is that the king has great joy in God's power and in all he has received from God.
• God intervenes in our lives to position us in places where we will glorify him and know his benefits and his work in our lives. He is our strength to do good and he is behind every success. We must depend on Him!

I also love the joy we see in this song, which the people of Israel would sing, and specifically their joy about their king's relationship with God (see pic above). There's a kind of pride about it: "Our king trusts in God and will never be overthrown!" Their security comes from their King's relationship with the LORD God.

Likewise for us as Christian believers today. We know our security lies in having a king, King Jesus, who has the best relationship of all kings with the Lord his Father in heaven, and who has made us his people, a people of privilege, sharing in his blessings now and in the knowledge of the secure eternity we have to look forward to. Let's go praise our Father and our King!

The talk in full should be added to Solent Evangelical Church's website soon for you to download. It's a little bit technical and could definitely have used more illustrations!

New Word Alive 2010 - solid teaching as God worked on our hearts

At New Word Alive, as well as taking video interviews, worshiping God in meetings with around 4000 other people, and enjoying the amazing scenery, there was significant time for some great teaching from gifted teachers. Over the next couple of days I will post on some of the sessions and what lines of thought particularly affected me.

1) Hugh Palmer stirred us to action by preaching through 1 Thessalonians. Let’s follow the authentic model of being a worker in God's kingdom that we see in Paul and the Thessalonians. Are we a people of repentance who turn from idols to the living God? Is it plain to others that we have done that? DO we love Him and have great joy in Him? God’s kind of ministry means having great patience with others. It means there is a need to tell the truth, and to not be afraid of that. It is a burden of care, as we don’t want people to drift away from God in the church. It can be scary, making us vulnerable, as we share our lives.

Also the fact that Jesus is returning should change how we view death, and also life – we live in light of that future day which will show up how we have used our time, that future day of light, when the future will belong to God and to us who believe in him – we ought to remind each other of this day as believers!

2) Jerry Bridges spoke on holiness and I got to the last 2 sessions: Saw how we need the gospel every day to survive as a Christian, and that being made like Christ in our lives is plainly an amazing thing.

Working at texts like Ephesians 4:17-32 he raised our view of what it means to become godly. There’s no wrong in God at all, and there is fruitfulness, peace, joy, and selflessness and much more – and we are called to be like Him in everything. We saw something of what it means to cut out the evil in our malicious thoughts, our tendency to assume people are doing bad stuff – and we saw how our harsh or misplaced words can grieve God – yes, he cares about the details of what we say as well. May I make this a major area to pray over!

3) Here's my friend Dave Anthony on what he was learning during a seminar track I didn't attend:

NWA 2010 - Caring for people in debt or with burdens

It's been a busy week since New Word Alive finished and we all trekked back from Pwhelli, North Wales, to our homes. But it's essential to learn from what God was teaching us during the week, and I hope to post on some of the things I learned in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, here's a second interview to get you thinking. This time, it's Jonny Joslin, who works for Christians Against Poverty. How can we show others the kind of hard practical love Christ showed by coming to earth as a man to meet with us, and to die to save us? How can we give ourselves to others?

Wayne Grudem @ New Word Alive 2010

This year I wanted to use my new tiny HD camera to record some interviews with people at New Word Alive... and I will be posting the results here, so you get a taste of what was going on, and what was being taught or thought about over the week.

Here's the first: the highly-respected Bible scholar, Wayne Grudem. Sorry for the shaky camera!

"The Question" - and some questions for you about "redemption"

As a fan of classics like V for Vendetta, I’ve been very impressed by the unorthodox and mysterious adventures of the Question in his comic series from the late 1980s. Our hero Vic Sage, who wonders if his greatest power is his curiosity, dresses up in a blank flesh-coloured mask and deals out kung-fu on those who try to stop him investigating crimes as "the Question". It’s all very Zen. The (rather dated) artwork, which is clearly going for “gritty”, portrays his traumatic personal journey well, and creates an immersive setting called “Hub City” – which just reeks of corruption for Sage to morosely contemplate or "kick to the curb".

Sometimes the short, connected stories seem to be trying to tick boxes for all the “then” social issues in America (poverty, drugs, identity, pollution, the rebellious youth, family break-up, the aftermath of Vietnam) and tap into the 80s trend for violent martial arts and riddles of eastern philosophy. But the fact that the writer Dennis O’Neil is embracing the unknown makes this book stand out in our age when we tend to think everything can be explained rationally through science.

Again and again O’Neil hints that there is a life beyond this one, implies that perfection is achieved when the mind and body are rightly controlled or focused, or deals with questions of the spirit and the possibility of redemption. Often he won’t give us clear answers – but the central philosophy seems to be a mix of self-knowledge and improvement and moral responsibility to society, including environmental concerns. Hence the ongoing development of former newscaster Myra’s quest to change society as she watches her husband, the corrupt, alcoholic mayor of Hub City, permit all kinds of wrongdoing, from drug-running, to extortion and murder.

For the Question, however, justice is good but mercy is preferable. He sees a fine balance in himself between serving society and becoming reckless in his pursuit of justice. In one issue (No 8: “Mikado”) he confronts a serial killer who is at times called a “saint”, but who, behind a mask, is murdering those he deems evil. He is trying to redress the balance in Hub City, where evil men consistently get away with their crimes at the expense of their families or the poor.

The Question quickly gets to the point where he knows the identity of the killer, but his curiosity wins out: “I know who he is. Now I’ve got to learn why he is”. Meeting the killer, he points out a flaw in Mikado’s sadistic system, showing that although he, Vic Sage, is far from “innocent” and used to beat a girlfriend and relish his physical power, he has since managed to use his life to save people. Point blank, he asks: “Do I deserve to die?” The story ends ambiguously. How can a person judge the answer to this? How do we balance it and is it up to us? How can the evil be dealt with rightly, with punishment, in a way that allows society to continue on and improve? And for those who commit evil, is change possible? These are not straight-forward questions to answer.

This is going to sound very direct, but these are exactly the problems explored in the New Testament of the Bible. The writers are at great pains to show the depth of the problem of corruption and evil running rampant. There is a problem with humanity, and it stems from the fact that we are not in tune with our creator, God.

Delving deeper into redeeming the corrupt

In the book of Romans in the New Testament, God delivers the verdict on all mankind. For our behaviour towards each other and for the secret sins of our hearts, and for our rejection of Him and His ways of living – we deserve death. We are all “under sin” (see Romans 3:9 onward). Romans 3:19 teaches that the whole world is accused of sin before God and no-one has a defence.

This is also how Jesus, who loves us, talks about humanity as recorded by Mark (in Mark 7:21-23): "For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "

So what can be done? What is the answer to this huge problem? If a thoroughly good God is against us because we are “under sin”, how can we be redeemed in his sight today, and saved from his final judgement when it comes?

It is possible by Jesus’ sacrifice for us - when he gave himself to death on the cross 2000 years ago. This is what his purpose was: that he could truly be our “life” by taking away the curse we face of being “under sin” and facing that curse himself and owning it. He has faced and borne God’s judgement in our place – so we don’t have to! Those who accept this gift and receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour can be considered pure and righteous in God’s sight – we are redeemed.


A great change has come

Restored to God, as we start to follow him and worship him, we can be restored in other relationships as well, areas where we have been corrupt or selfish. This doesn’t mean a prisoner who becomes a Christian will no longer have to face a hard sentence. We still live for now with the consequences of our actions on other people. But in God’s eyes there IS mercy. There is forgiveness and purification.

And it's not just reporters in comic-books with mixed motives who can use their lives now to impact others positively. For Christians, real change is made possible as we live knowing of Jesus’ sacrifice and trusting in Him now, experiencing the new life that he shares with us. This new life will transform us. He will make us different, growing in love and right-ness. As we live with Him, corruption must be tackled, not ignored. And as individuals change, growing more like Jesus, and work together, communities can be changed.

Learning this answer to the question of redemption is the beginning, and will probably lead to a whole new set of questions, so please comment below....

And do pick up The Question volumes 1 and 2 - the first tackles nihilism, control and hypocrisy, the second includes another thought-provoking story called "Poisoned Ground", which is a brilliantly constructed drama, with perhaps something to tell us about commercialism.

Being confronted: Am I messing around with God? - in Matthew 11

Just been looking at Matthew 11 in preparation for a talk. The end verses are well known and show Jesus' wide invitation to all people to hear him and "lean on" him (or trust in him) in their lives:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

But how does Jesus feel about offering his invitation to people? And how does he get to a point where he says these great words, even in the midst of a time when people are finding fault with him and not committing to follow him? (It seems people are wanting Jesus to play along to their tune, rather than responding by obeying him.) Here's my run-down of some of the earlier parts of chapter 11.

verses 7-10. Following a visit from some of John the Baptist's followers, Jesus questions the crowds about the fiery teacher himself, John the Baptist: “You went to see John for a reason, remember? He’s a man of iron, an earnest man (you saw this), and he’s a prophet whose job was to point to the coming of the Lord.”

v11-15 “After the Prophets and the Law came, John has come, and now after him something far greater: the kingdom of God is here for all to enter - if people hear and avail themselves of this opportunity.”

v16-19 “What are you like? You don’t want to listen to John, and now you won’t listen to me (the greater one)! You have seen by our actions that we are from God.” (Actions including: John’s forthright teaching and lifestyle which captured crowds, and now Jesus’ teaching, amazing authority and miracles)

v20-24 Jesus denounces those who did not repent. “You cities who have not repented will not remain! Even when the wicked people from Sodom or Tyre or Sidon would have responded, you have not! You will face punishment for not responding in this unique time to me.”

v25-27 Jesus speaks to his Father: “Father, Lord of all kingdoms, thank you for how you hide and reveal your truth at the right times, so people can know you, all in line with your plan”

v28-29 Trusting God and with love for the people there anyway, Jesus invites people to him, promising them “rest for their souls” when they join with him.

It still amazes me how faithful God is to us in his Son Jesus when we are so faithless to Him.

---UPDATE---
Check out the 07.03.2010 talk I gave on this chapter on my church's website for more, and see what Jesus' response to the crowds was, his frustration with them and the judgement he announces as well as his great love to want to help them and give to them from his great riches: http://www.aechurch.org.uk/aec_sermons.php

Enjoying snow!

Happy new year! I hope you have been faring well in the snow - currently still hard and icy where I am.

As this week has been a battle to get in to work for most of us I thought I'd blog a little about my journey in to work. The roads being too icy for most, I've been setting out for the Gosport ferry on foot. The staff have shovelled out a path for us to the covered jetty. Below you can see what it looked like on Tuesday night, as we waited to board the ferry from the Portsmouth side during the first heavy snowfall. This was about 8pm, and we reckon the snow started before 5pm.

Take a look at HMS Warrior at Portsmouth on Wednesday morning - what a miserable day to be trekking in!

 
Heading on into Portsmouth:

Here is proof that my phone camera isn't really up to taking pictures in the evening light (This is Tuesday night again). The blurry effect on some of the shots is quite fascinating. Maybe I will buy myself a new camera soon....

The area around Guildhall Square stayed slippery the next few days from quite a few travellers passing through, just getting worse as the snow ices over. I heard about a group of volunteers taking shovels to the highstreet nearby though - good on them!

Trekking into work has to be done, but it can teach us too, and I want to be someone who lets the world proclaim to me and remind me of the works of God. I was reminded about this when snow came up in a great Bible passage. Here is the Bible telling us one thing snow should remind us of.

First a bit of context: After inviting people to come to Him, God is talking, through his prophet Isaiah, about his powerful word and how when he says something it achieves his purposes - which he says in later verses are to bring glory to himself and joy to people. And here's the quote:

 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
   and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
 giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
   it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
   and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah, chapter 55)

God is powerful and will not be stopped in using his message of hope about Jesus to change people and the world, even though it can take a while for the seed to sprout! As John Piper says in The Supremacy of God in Preaching we won't know the full impact of God's word until all the fruit on all the branches on all the trees that have sprung up from all the seeds we've ever sown (by preaching, or speaking about God to people) has "fully ripened in the sunshine of eternity".

So there you have it: God's word is like useful, wonderful snow! May God use my humble words to spread his wonderful message and to reach places for his glory.