Battlestar Scratchlactica

So, what do you do?

You're walking around Wycombe, and you see a girl selling the Big Issue, who's been there for as long as you can remember, and doesn't look a lot older than you do. I never mind buying the Big Issue off people, the fact that they are selling it kind of makes me feel more confident about what they are going to spend the money on, if y'know what i mean. Anyway, i gave this girl a fiver for it and told her to 'look after yourself ok', and walked away, and a few metres down the road i was almost weeping.

Like, a fiver? 'Look after yourself'? What was that? Like, why didn't i do more? Why didn't i buy her some food, give her more money, find out if she had a place to stay, asked her if she fancied coming to church...told her about Jesus? I don't really know what i could've done in a practical sense. She didn't look like she was sleeping rough, but you know, she obviously wasn't doing that well for herself. So when i got back to my car i prayed for her, and tried to stop feeling like quite so much of a failure. It's just difficult though, because i know what can set her free, what can change her life, and somehow all i can manage is 'look after yourself'. But on the other hand, i'm sure she'll be there when i'm next in town on monday...so maybe i'll have a pop then.

In other news, i'm meeting Becci tonight. How weird/cool it'll be to meet someone who i 'know' but don't actually know at all.
Also check out Mandy on 'Being and Making Disciples'
And it would be wrong to say i am counting the days to Forum 2006 (well, it wouldn't be, but lets pretend it would be) and here are the talks from last years...

Liberation transmission.

Stop serving God!

'the difference between Jesus Christ and uncle sam is that uncle sam won't unlist you unless you are fit, and Jesus Christ won't enlist you unless you are ill'

(Not just) semantics

Rob Wilkerson comments on Mark Driscoll's article on propitiation, and remarks on the use of the word 'avert'.

Now, this may seem like tired semantics, and i know i am perhaps guilty of banging on about propitiation...actually, forget that. I think propitiation is great, the Father's anger at my sin has been propitiated by Jesus on the cross, surely thats worth talking and getting excited about!

Anyway, i digress. Why is the use of the word averted worth getting so excited about? Because i don't believe our sin was averted by Jesus on the cross, i believe it was dealt with, removed...propitiated. Avert suggests that the Cross put God's wrath somewhere else, that it was displaced rather than removed, that in some sense, maybe it is still there. Avert suggests that the cross was like a shield rather than a sponge.

On the cross Jesus took all the wrath God has towards our sins. He removed it by soaking it up, not by having it bounce off Him, not by shovelling it off somewhere, but by dying under its weight. By being on the receiving end of every last ounce of it, so that we may enter into a relationship with the Father.

And i think thats pretty important to remember.

The tenth year

'Jesus is wholly concerned with God, and wholly concerned with people. That is, according to Jesus, the human cause is God's cause. Jesus' lifestyle arose out of the simple truth of loving God, our neighbours and ourselves.'
Out of the saltshaker-Rebecca Pippert, P52

Two things matter in life, people and God. INcreasingly, for me personally the things that i used to do with my time when i had nothing better to do, watch tv, play championship manager, nothing are losing interest (which is an anwer the prayer) and the Lord is pulling me towards Him and His face and beauty and purposes. This is good. Nothing matters in life aside from people and God, thats why the two greatest commandments are 'love the Lord your God' and 'love your neighbour'. All that concerned Jesus when He lived on earth were those two. How to relate, empathise and ulitmately save people, and how to glorify God.

So...evangelism shouldn't be something we do, project here a monologue there, it should be a way of life for us. I know this is fairly common sense but i'm pretty much seeing the mechanics of it for the first time, so bear with me. For people who have had no contact with Biblical Christianity we are their Bible. We are all they know about what it means to follow Christ, what it means to have Him as our God rather than ourselves. Our lives and lifestyles and relationships are all they know of Christianity, which is a pretty huge priveledge/challenge really, and something i need to remember.

What's been great about doing CEx is that it's taught me to build relationships with people first. Not to try and cram two ways to live into every casual conversation we might have. That my relationships with people need to reflect my relationships with the Lord. That my service must come from an overflow of love for Him, or it is wasted. Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength, loving people wholly and recklessly with people who don't know the Lord is evangelism, because it shows them who He is, at least in part.

I need to pray for more grace in my relationships with my unbelieving friends and family. That i would love them as the Lord does and honour them accordingly. Thinking about this its a pretty huge challenge...and this is a fairly meditative post, but its been good to think things through!

Together on a Misson

Adrian Warnock is live blogging from the Newfrontiers conference in Brighton...why did i not get myself down there!? It'll be cool to see the eleven guys who have gone from Fam on sunday...

The prelude
Session one
Session two

Anthems of the free

One day, maybe one day (but don't count on it) i might work out that God's grace depends on Him not on me.
Oh that the Lord might keep stirring me after Him, that He might keep me in His grace forever, that i may worship His throne rather than try to take it off Him...

Always winter etc

Hello Mandy!

More importantly, what about the issue of honesty when it comes to blogging. Much like in the real world, i think its easy to try and portray some kind of image of ourselves when we blog. That things are always good with us, that our relationship with the Lord is always as good as it could be. I'm not saying this is deliberate, neither am i advocating some kind of 'blog accountability', but its something i know i need to watch myself with.

One of the most discouraging things as a Christian is thinking you are the only one who struggles with a particular sin, or even sin in general. I remember in my first year as a young cell leader being encouraged by hearing guys i respected and looked up to talking about their battles with sin. John in his first letter says that if we claim not to sin, then the truth is not in us, so we may as well all face up to the fact that sometimes, quite often in fact in my case at least, we will be struggling with the sin in our life. One of the reasons i feel so happy in my relationship with the Lord at the moment is the time i've spent recently with people (insert your name in bold here) who want to serve the Lord and are real in their relationships with Him. Blogs are great because they can encourage their readers, help people to think and remember, but like in our actual relationships with people, lets be as honest as we can when we blog. Its far more honouring to our friends, and more importantly to the Lord.

Out of the saltshaker

I've just started reading this...it's so engaging and interesting. I like it, and i was going to quote some of it. But i can't find the quote...so have a look at this instead.

why do you blog?

Words eh?

Given it was through speech that Jesus chose to reveal Himself to us, i guess its no surprise that words are pretty powerful.

I love you Jesus.

Try saying it to Him. Maybe in a whisper, but do it audible so you can hear as well as Him. And then tell Him all the reasons why. Man, nothing has had me weeping quite so deeply, and yet then giggling quite so immaturly within a few moments of eachother. Weeping because of how good Jesus is, because of His power and might, and all He is. And giggling because of how much i enjoy His company in my warm dusk-filled garden, quiet but for the evening birdsong, and because, as Rebecca Manly Pippert puts it, after the resurrection Jesus didn't hire out the local concert hall and organise a performance of the Halleuja chorus...He made His disciples a little breakfast.

What a guy.

The sky, sleep and the gazebo of imputed righteousness

The Sky.

Psalm 19:1 tells us that the heavens declare the glory of the LORD, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. Obviously on days like these that has been easy to see. The powder blue sky and wispy clouds giving way at dusk to clear starry nights. There's God's glory manifested for all to see. And how blessed are we as Christians that when we fear or worry about the nature of our Lord, we need only to look to the sky to see His grace and glory displayed for all to see. Remember for a second how permeated and broken by sin the world is, and not just on a personal level but on a creation level. Creation groans and longs for the coming of the Lord and it's restoration. And yet despite God still gives us days and night like these. Days of brightness and heat to enjoy and thank and worship Him for, and nights covered in stars, all of which are mindblowing distances away from us, and all of which He created. How amazing the sky is, and how awesome God is. Imagine what sort of days we will have in Heaven!

Sleep.

So maybe i occasionally give sleep a bad press. On thursday night/friday morning i was up untill well after dawn (insert your own names in bold here) and loved it, and i do enjoy ebing around in the wee small hours when the world seems empty. But man, sleep is great. Sleep exists to show us and remind us that we are not God, and He is the only one who doesn't need sleep. He will sustain us through to morning, filling our lungs with breath. Sleep keeps us humble. Reading Mahaney's chapter on sleep in Humility really changed my mind about tiredness and sleep. I used to hate being tired, it used to frustrate me that i couldn't always function at 100%, or even what i take to be 100%. But being tired is ok. You have to protect yourself of course, because the enemy loves to attack us when we're weak and lie to us, and tell us what is not true about our Lord and Savior. I love falling asleep knowing that i am totally safe in the hands of my Father. Nothing beats it.

The gazebo of imputed righteousness.

Man. How to write about Fam this morning without making the family in salisbury, wales, the greater brighton area, bristol, southampton and frosty hollow jealous. I love my church. I love the fact that when Sean asked us to erect a gazebo inside for an illustration for today's message no one really batted an eyelid. At the 'road end' of the hall was another tent, which Liz, who was very fired up from yesterdays womens breakfast, helpfully pointed out halfway through the message was a 'toilet tent'. So yeh, Sean was preaching on the second half of Romans 5. One of my favourite bits of the Bible, but also containing some of the most difficult verses. And man, i love the doctrine of imputation, so to hear someone as passionate and wise preaching on it was great. The whole federal head aspect of it really struck me this morning. Thinking that before we were under Adam's headship, the one who bought sin and death into the world, and now we are under Christ, the holy, sinless and unique Son of God is amazing. There's no way we can leave that Gazebo once we're in. There was something so good, so soul refreshing to have these verses presented in such a visual way...such a way thats makes so much sense. When its on the internet (which may not be for a while because of mobilise) you got to listen. It was brilliant. I can't really put it into words!

Trust.

I was getting worried yesterday about a couple of things like what i'd do after Relay (i really don't like the way that two weeks after being certain i now am not...grr) and about some other stuff, feeling the enemy dancing on my insecurities in myself and in my relationship with the Lord...and He told me...'just trust Me'. So, it would be great to have all the answers now, it'd be great to know the answers to all my fears. But what is great is to know the Trustworthy one. The One who has seen me through this far and will not let me down, who's plan is perfect, righteous and holy. So perhaps like Elijah in 1 Kings 19 i was looking for too much, and God comes and reinforces what we already know of Him, essentially that He is God. Trust Me, He says. So trust is what i will try and do, by the grace of God.