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.
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
LWH17 Psalm 113
27/10/11 08:57 Filed in: Psalms
From the Long Walk Home blog:
“This is one of those Psalms that takes us from our tiny little where we are today life, grabs us by the hand and keeps on pulling us out and out and out to see the big picture. “The Plant: TWADRIP
11/07/11 21:16 Filed in: Matthew
From the leaders’ blog:
This summer seems the right time to enter the next phase of that original vision and say goodbye to a few of those ‘things we’ve always done’.Tweet
EN93 Personal Truth Shopper
This one came off the back of some work I have been doing in Proverbs. Truth is wrongly characterised as being private, personal, malleable. If something is true it is True regardless of whether you accept it. Christians are no different from anyone else in this - we are all prone towards ignoring things that don't suit us.
The epilogue text is the famous Mars Hill message by Paul where he speaks directly into a situation of self-delusion with the Truth of the Resurrection.
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One Greater Than Jonah Is Here
30/05/11 08:36 Filed in: Luke
Luke 11v32: "The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here."
Commissioned by Scripture Union for the Wordlive site.
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Elihu: bursting!
22/04/11 14:16 Filed in: Job
This is from Job 32 where Elihu finally vents his frustration at the ineptitude of the three 'wise' friends. I love this one because it trades off of my extensive knowledge of that terrible Hulk tv show from when I was kid.
Commissioned by Scripture Union for the Wordlive site. Thanks Eddie.
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Commissioned by Scripture Union for the Wordlive site. Thanks Eddie.
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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?"
LWH3 - Psalm 101
10/10/10 16:39 Filed in: Psalms
Here are a couple of images for the LWH blog piece on Psalm 101.
Kath: "This type of Psalm has a habit of making me squirm."
Kath: "This type of Psalm has a habit of making me squirm."
EN84 Gimmickry
06/10/10 21:19 Filed in: 2 Corinthians
My personal view concerning 3D in movies is a cynical one. Much of the feeling stems from the sense that it is something being used to squeeze cash rather than push creativity*. This cartoon is really asking questions about whether the thing you are trying to say is worth actually saying in the first place.
With the epilogue text, Paul is making the strong point that when it comes to the message of Jesus Christ, you should avoid 'dressing it up' because it doesn't need it. In fact, he goes further in talking about treasure in jars of clay - meaning that the very format often tends to be less appealling purely because it brings God greater honour! The jars in the passage refer to the unimpressive, broken lives of the Christian believers including Paul.
Technology employed to clearly communicate the core message is one thing - using it as a way of disguising the content is quite another.
Which brings me to an ironic twist. I spent ages making a flashy colour cartoon (see below). In the end I realised that I was making too many points - trying combine some thoughts on the recent 'aggressive secularism' debate that the Pope stoked up as well as the 3D-dress-up ideas. In the end it stank of confusion so much that I had to go back and do something much more basic due to time pressures. The end version (above) is literally a pen-and-ink jar of clay. (UPDATE: I couldn't resist improving it during a free stretch of time...)
So there you go: you can't dress stuff up if it is a pigs ear in the first place. I include the rejected version by way of humble confession...
(*I also don't like having a restricted head-movement and sweaty eyeballs, but that is probably something to do with my strange biological set-up.)
EN83 In The Bin
24/09/10 20:04 Filed in: Titus
So anyway, a woman put a cat in a bin and was caught on CCTV doing it. It became a big thing with deaththreats, fakebook pages and the like being taken down as the bile brimmed away.
Whatever else this event signifies, it is surely interesting to reflect on what a person is like when they aren't being watched. Is this an unguarded peek into the heart of every person? Granted, we aren't all nasty to little animals, but there are inevitably some shameful things going on the unprompted depths aren't there?
My end solution makes a pretty obvious point, so I won't elaborate on it. As ever, you can click to see a bigger version.
Titus 3 says that in spite of how messy our track record - be in public or private - there is a well of unstoppable grace that filled up for us when Jesus gave Himself on the cross:
3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
Fabulous good news for those who feel ashamed of their bin habits.
More goodies...
I thought I would do one of those exhaustively tiresome posts that documents everything I did to get to the final stage, but frankly I am already tired just thinking about it... To compensate here are a handful of the roughs that led up to this one. Make of them what you will, but hopefully they will give you an idea of the drafting process.
I hope it isn't too tiresome...
Whatever else this event signifies, it is surely interesting to reflect on what a person is like when they aren't being watched. Is this an unguarded peek into the heart of every person? Granted, we aren't all nasty to little animals, but there are inevitably some shameful things going on the unprompted depths aren't there?
My end solution makes a pretty obvious point, so I won't elaborate on it. As ever, you can click to see a bigger version.
Titus 3 says that in spite of how messy our track record - be in public or private - there is a well of unstoppable grace that filled up for us when Jesus gave Himself on the cross:
3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
Fabulous good news for those who feel ashamed of their bin habits.
More goodies...
I thought I would do one of those exhaustively tiresome posts that documents everything I did to get to the final stage, but frankly I am already tired just thinking about it... To compensate here are a handful of the roughs that led up to this one. Make of them what you will, but hopefully they will give you an idea of the drafting process.
I hope it isn't too tiresome...
EN82 Attachment Disorder
30/07/10 11:00 Filed in: Matthew
The Bible text is found here.
I was thinking about how Social Networking devices like Laptops and Phones can get in the way of important relationships - especially God.
EN81 Grazing/Mining
Psalm 36:8,9, Romans 11:33 and 1Peter 2:2.
There is a ton of stuff you can digest online - much of it is pretty interesting. You can explore what experts in a variety of fields are thinking and doing minute by minute. The trouble for this Christian was that he ended up listening more to what editors,writers and other artists were saying and less to what his Saviour has said.
In the end, enough is enough. You have to acknowledge that while grazing the surface has some value, the treasures that God has freely given us should be mined regularly - there are abundant riches that will surprise, astonish and ultimately nurture/nourish.
Thanks for the textual assistance: JT, DF, RL, TW.
EN74 Reduced
01/12/09 18:08 Filed in: Acts | Philippians
The top half of this cartoon is far too common to be comfortable. The second half is something we all need to experience more.
EN71 Light Pollution
14/09/09 07:47 Filed in: Philippians | Revelation
The background to this idea was something Peter Woodcock said during the Contagious 09 conference. I was standing with him and Jon Drane on a field looking at stars and he made a comment about the link between suburban light pollution and our inability to comprehend the glory of the vastness of space.
You can take this cartoon in a number of ways but my personal intention was to say that everyday life has immediate distractions that appear to be good while keeping us from comprehending the big thing of Jesus stepping into history and redeeming our broken dark planet.
Waking up to reality
This is an illustration I did ages ago for CCB for a series called ‘The World We All Want’.
Listening to Talks
20/02/09 10:03 Filed in: Matthew
From Christopher Ash’s book on listening to talks.
