EN100 A Reasonable Jump
17/01/12 19:48 Filed in: John
Faith is not quite the leap into the dark that many people assume.
It is usually about making a reasonable jump based on trustworthy information. Buying a car or house, meeting up with some new friends from work, following a direction using satnav - all of these are expressions of faith where the ‘believer’ has listened to something and then acted on it.
A student recently asked me about proof and I answered with a diagram which eventually became this cartoon. You can only finally have proof when you have taken the step of faith. You can only be sure of your purchase once you have it in your hands, you know that you believed your friends correctly when they arrived at the place that they had promised.
Similarly, when Jesus promises new life, forgiveness, joy, hope… that he will take up residence in your life with a fresh vibrancy - all of this remains uncertain unless you 1. take in the information (which means mainly absorbing the content of the Bible) and then 2. make faith steps based on it.
My personal experience is that when we listen and then respond to the call that Jesus makes on our lives - THEN he brings proof in His own time in His own way. While I am very happy (and willing) to discuss the trustworthiness of the Bible documents I cannot prove the reality of a living God. That is an experience that is open for you to find out for yourself.
This challenge is both scary and exciting.
Thanks to Mike Tindall for suggesting the text.
EN99 Today on Radio 4
01/01/12 13:37 Filed in: 2 Timothy
This one came out of an experience of heartburn I had while I listened to John Humphrys tearing strips off of some politician. There appears to be less interest in giving people a chance to talk and explain themselves than a rather ugly marking of one’s territory.
By contrast to that, the advice that Paul provides in 2Timothy - concerning how to engage with non-Christian perspectives - is refreshing and altogether positive.
No more dividing walls
01/01/12 13:33 Filed in: Ephesians
Abram rescues Lot.
01/01/12 13:23 Filed in: Genesis
LWH20 Psalm115
15/11/11 18:55 Filed in: Psalms
From the Long Walk Home blog:
I’m continuing to realise again and again that the one thing I really crave is recognition in this life. … I get anxious when this doesn’t happen, I think my life has stopped being meaningful or helpful because no-one has told me that I’ve made a difference, said something useful or specifically pointed out how much they like having me around… I crave the adoration of those around me way too much. I can tell this because when I don’t get it my insecurities threaten to engulf me in a tide of dark thoughts about how useless I am and how no-one will like me.
LWH19 More than the job
05/11/11 08:43 Filed in: Romans
From the Long Walk Home blog: 
3 years in an admin job feels like failure…I believe the big fat lie that there is no dignity in this work, that there is no reality in this kind of work.
EN97 The Carpenter's Dilemma
02/11/11 18:34 Filed in: Jeremiah
I had written this lengthy post but in the end I guess the picture should speak for itself.
Jeremiah 31:33-34:
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”LWH18 Psalm 114
02/11/11 18:10 Filed in: Psalms
From the Long Walk Home blog:
Life has been pretty hard around these parts recently, hope has been something to be fought for, clung to and I’ve had to remind myself not to despair or give in. That’s not an easy thing to do when you are just clenching your teeth grimly wish hoping that things will be ok. Thankfully that’s not the kind of hope I’ve been clinging to. Psalm 114 points us in a very simple way to the bigness of the God who defines Hope and whose character we Hope in.
EN98 Tabloid Culture
01/11/11 13:11 Filed in: Matthew
(Ha! I made a mistake - the text is actually Matthew 7v6}.
This is another take on the phone hacking issue. In recent weeks I have been utterly engrossed by the Leveson enquiry. Hearing so many people recount stories of personal abuse at the hands of the sales/ratings-hungry media has been a bit of a shock. So shameful.
The passage in the sermon on the mount is a good warning against this kind of thing.
Sorrow.
30/10/11 20:57 Filed in: Lamentations
Lamentations 3v19-24:
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”Rahab's Scarlet Cord
27/10/11 18:10 Filed in: Joshua
You and God, God and You?
I recently did a series of teaching/preaching slots for an 11-14year-olds weekend away with my Church. Here are the slides that summarised a lot of what I was doing. Seasoned Youthworkers will spot that it is a fairly simple Gospel outline. I include them here because they might be of use to someone out there. Get in touch if you want to use them. Click to enlarge.
1: You and god. The lower case g is deliberate. I was asking a few questions about what our genuine thoughts are - separate from parent views etc. How do we picture the idea of a divine being?
2. God and you! I then turned the tables and posed the thought that if God is in fact real, our ideas are less important than His. What does He make of us? That is the real crucial question - a bit like John Blanchard posing ‘Does God believe in Atheists?’.
3. We then did a massive group session involving reflecting on what makes us who we are, what our current gifts and blessings are, plus how we view the future. What do we hope for?
4. I then rehearsed the amazing Gospel big storyline: firstly that God has given us everything but we have shut him out. We are a bit like insurgent rebels.
But also we are victims in some measure. We live with the ‘virus’ effects of sin and often suffer in a dark and broken world.
What does God really think of us? He knew that we wouldn’t stand a chance at the judgement and sent Jesus to gently rescue us from hostage hostilities while also dealing with our rebellious track record.
The cross of Christ is the decisive master stroke, the special move, the ultimate in rescue activity.
5. We can now begin to reconsider our vision of a life in the future with God living in us and us in Him. Through Jesus there is the most wonderful opportunity for a life of fulness and hope.
1: You and god. The lower case g is deliberate. I was asking a few questions about what our genuine thoughts are - separate from parent views etc. How do we picture the idea of a divine being?
2. God and you! I then turned the tables and posed the thought that if God is in fact real, our ideas are less important than His. What does He make of us? That is the real crucial question - a bit like John Blanchard posing ‘Does God believe in Atheists?’.
3. We then did a massive group session involving reflecting on what makes us who we are, what our current gifts and blessings are, plus how we view the future. What do we hope for?
4. I then rehearsed the amazing Gospel big storyline: firstly that God has given us everything but we have shut him out. We are a bit like insurgent rebels.
But also we are victims in some measure. We live with the ‘virus’ effects of sin and often suffer in a dark and broken world.
What does God really think of us? He knew that we wouldn’t stand a chance at the judgement and sent Jesus to gently rescue us from hostage hostilities while also dealing with our rebellious track record.
The cross of Christ is the decisive master stroke, the special move, the ultimate in rescue activity.
5. We can now begin to reconsider our vision of a life in the future with God living in us and us in Him. Through Jesus there is the most wonderful opportunity for a life of fulness and hope.
One Way Conversation
27/10/11 10:22 Filed in: Isaiah
Reserved Seats
27/10/11 10:19 Filed in: Mark
Falling Into Their Own Nets
27/10/11 10:15 Filed in: Psalms
Psalm 141: “ But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death. Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers, from the snares they have laid for me. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.”Commissioned by Scripture Union for the Wordlive site.
Escape Planks
27/10/11 10:11 Filed in: Acts
Dumb Idols
27/10/11 10:03 Filed in: Isaiah
Isaiah 41:“Tell us, you idols, what is going to happen.”Commissioned by Scripture Union for the Wordlive site.
Dangerous Steps
27/10/11 10:00 Filed in: Isaiah
God Provides
27/10/11 09:57 Filed in: Psalms
Making blind idols
27/10/11 09:51 Filed in: Isaiah
Acts 44v1-23: “All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit nothing?”Commissioned by Scripture Union for the Wordlive site.
Clay Questioning
27/10/11 09:47 Filed in: Isaiah
Isaiah 45v9-25: “Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’”Commissioned by Scripture Union for the Wordlive site.Paul's Vow
27/10/11 09:41 Filed in: Acts
Less of a burden is a good thing.
27/10/11 09:36 Filed in: Acts
War & Peace
27/10/11 09:29 Filed in: Psalms
Psalm 120v6-7: “Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.”Commissioned by Scripture Union for the Wordlive site.