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.
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.
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.
God Provides
27/10/11 09:57 Filed in: Psalms
EN95 Mr GodMan
25/09/11 20:48 Filed in: Hebrews
Before this post fills with pungent bitterness I will just get it out of my system and move on: we paid a lot of money to take our child to see the ‘Mr Men Live’ roadshow and were utterly disappointed. It was mainly a very-thinly arranged set of miss-aimed karaoke numbers with little to make up for the promise of seeing those people of Hargreaves’ creation. He would be ashamed of it, I am sure.
Now I have vented - and if you are still reading - I will add that those expensively disappointing seats provided me with the inspiration for how to frame this personal tale of frustrated hopelessness. While I have experienced/shared a number of serious lows, I am confident that in Jesus there is always hope which is well qualified and can draw relief from the gloomiest of depths.
Are you facing anything similar? Is the path you are on unendingly grim? Put yourself in the hands of the most qualified One. Trust me when I say that he can be found through trust and a simple prayer. When life is so very tough, what can you stand to lose in turning to King Jesus?
The wonderful epilogue text can be found at the end of the passage here.
Saving Souls is the Bigger Picture
05/08/11 19:39 Filed in: Luke
Luke 14v3: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”Commissioned by Scripture Union for the Wordlive site.
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LWH10 - Psalm 107
17/01/11 20:21 Filed in: Psalms
From the Long Walk Home blog:
"Are we prepared to put our pride to one side, look up and cry for help? Are we prepared to admit we are wrong, put our stubbornness to one side and accept the wonder of a God who wants to help us?"
When I enter Glory
03/01/11 09:00 Filed in: Revelation | 1 John
So here we go - another experi-mental cartoon using my iPhone apps (for more see this site).
This one is more considered and probably(!) clearer. I wanted to convey the sense of someone who has been redeemed by Jesus and who is now on their way through the door to the other side. It is very simple but in my own mind extremely profound.
Interested in commissioning a similar styled piece? Get in touch.
The Plant: Joy, Really?
02/01/11 13:51 Filed in: Isaiah
From the leader's blog:
"Last weekend, m’colleague Phil Keymer preached on Isaiah 9, which says of God:
You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
(Isaiah 9:3, English Standard Version)
Phil said that Jesus fulfills this text, and the surrounding passage, along these lines: Jesus has changed contempt to glory, and anguish to joy, for his followers.
Well, OK. But was he right?
More to the point, did anyone believe him?"
More here.