Faith Crashing

My old job had a simple 7 mile commute by car. Not a very exciting commute, but a stretch of one road winding through a rural landscape of green fields and rolling hillside. I never moved out of fourth gear, hardly ever had to overtake another vehicle and apart from the day a telegraph pole had landed across the road - never saw anything interesting.

One day however, everyone else got to see something spectacular when that road was closed. By two cars. One of which was mine.

All I saw was:

1) a car on the wrong side of the road, travelling sideways
2) my airbag
3) two ambulances
4) one paramedic vehicle
5) two off duty nurses running towards me
6) three police cars
7) some nice policemen and paramedics
8) a recovery vehicle
9) rubberneckers galore

As two old farmers stood staring at my car while the emergency services did their thing, I walked over and broke into their conversation - they could not believe that I was the driver. They looked at my car, looked at me (bruised, scratched, clothes ripped, massively shocked but still standing) and could not believe what they saw. One even said that "someone up there must be looking after me" or some such comment.

This looks like it will be the kind of blog post that says how amazing God is, as I survived what was a hideous accident. And YES, God is amazing, I could have died. The recovery truck driver regaled me with some gruesome tales, none of which were the most tactful of conversations for someone who has just had a car accident.

But this blog post is about the detail.

What followed was part 2 of the nightmare - finding out to my total shock and dismay, that my car was not registered with all the right paperwork. I had given someone else the responsibility to do it, when it was actually mine.

One day we are all going to die. The buck stops there. With you.

I had milliseconds of knowing I was about to be in that accident before I was in it. I didn't say to myself "oh dear I hope all the paperwork for the car is in order". Thinking about the afterlife options weren't a default setting either. I didn't think about anything really. Just sort of processed disbelief.

You need to get your paperwork in order ahead of  time. Think things through beforehand. There are beliefs, faiths, options. You need to know what they are. Your time will come, just like everyone else.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Jesus geeks should know these verses off by heart but are from John 10:10 & 3:16

image(c)ohmylovequotes

A bit of nard can go a long way

If you took a bottle of perfume, worth in the region of £20,000 that you had been keeping for a very, very, very special occasion... and then just went ahead and smashed it, everyone would wonder why you would do such a random and wasteful thing - and then maybe pass comment that the whole house now reaks of something that was meant to be used gradually, rarely, infrequently.

If you smashed the bottle then poured the contents onto someone’s feet, then dried those feet with your hair – not only would you get the attention of everyone in the room, but they would think you were being crazy.

Someone was so convinced of the authority and destiny of Jesus that she did that very thing.

 

However, never one to add much feelgood factor, Judas Iscariot thought this was a total waste - surely something so valuable should be sold and the money used to help people. It was worth a years wages after all. Weirdly, the bible then says Judas Iscariot didn't do this out of kindness, but because he was a 'keeper of the moneybag'. So Judas 'laugh a minute' Iscariot was probably gritting his teeth and totally disgusted at this outrageous display of adoration and affection.

People might have that attitude if you make a choice that shows a financial or spiritual loyalty to a church. Having a faith, and living it out can cause us to make some dramatic decisions. Ones that invite criticism or frustration.

Jesus gave a direct response to Judas Iscariot. An blunt response and a fair one.

Prioritise.

 

Jesus was born and died. Fact. He told people he was the son of God. Fact. He was treated in a way that made him feel scared and alone. Fact. He was condemned by the authorities to die for what he said and did. Fact. He was beaten, abused and sentenced with a criminal’s execution to die - hanging on a piece of wood and held there with nails. Fact.

The last fact is up to you: do you believe that he was who he said he was? That he died so that we might have eternal life?

If you do - then you need to be ready to smash some bottles and smell out some houses.

Read John 12: 1-11 Jesus geeks.

(c) Arlene Oakley

Hello Sailor!

 

 

I travel well on the sea, for someone who spends 99.9% of their time on dry land. Although it does rain a lot where I live...

 

Twice I have been on really quite choppy waters, both times on the Bay of Biscay / North Atlantic sort of area. While I remember being unsteady on my feet and wondering how long it could possibly carry on for, I saw other people suffering a lot worse. There were people literally going a strange green colour, there was a lot of moaning and a distinct smell of sick in the toilets. And that was just the passengers! I imagine the crew weren't having the easiest day either - although possibly with less sickness involved.

 

Life isn't easy. Fact. We have words in our language for 'pain', 'grief', 'fear', 'tears', 'distress' - and these are everyday words. Everyday feelings. Hopefully not for each of us personally, every day - but for someone, somewhere, everyday.

 

I have navigated through some tough seas in my life. The likes of which I hope never to see again. I have been to places in my heart, and in real life, that I wished didn't exist for myself or for others. I have felt that at times, I was clinging to the very wreckage as the storms carried on. When I felt that it should stop. Now. Really. Actually, please God make it stop. But there was no respite and I wasn't learning to be much of a sailor while I had nothing to sail with.

 

Eventually however, those seas calmed. And for a really bad season, were replaced by new storms which threw up more bad times. I felt no better equiped to go through those storms, than ones I had previously.

 

After some years, life and my 'seas' calmed down. Finally. But I was battered. Destroyed. Not fit for purpose any more. Life carried on regardless. I repaired what I could. Life took me on more journeys.

 

That saying is true. Now in stormy seas now I am a better sailor. I prepare for those storms rather than face them vulnerable and exposed. I watch the forecast. I make sure I have a good crew around me. That there are supplies on board. Lifeboats ready to go.

 

Did God cause those storms? Did I not hear him in those times? I know that I searched to know something of God during those storms. Something, anything. Sometimes the answers were very loud. Visionary. Other times I heard only silence.

 

Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters;
They have seen the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.
For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind,
Which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;
Their soul melted away in their misery.
They reeled and staggered like a drunken man,
And were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
He caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,

 

O Lord God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.

There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Prisoners in misery and chains,
Because they had rebelled against the words of God
And spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Therefore He humbled their heart with labor;
They stumbled and there was none to help.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them out of their distresses.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death
And broke their bands apart.Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!

 

A Psalm mash up for the Jesus geeks (Psalm 89 & 107)

 

Image (c) daytobeyou.com

What lies beneath?

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."

 

Ironically on the internet this quote is attributed to a varety of sources; Mark Twain, Winston Churchill and Charles Spurgeon to name but a few. Someone is already telling porky pies. Although, is it a lie if they don't know that they have a misquote when the first quote that comes up in Google might not be a true quote? Is it a lie if the liar doesn't know it is a lie and has wanted to believe what they are told without searching for the truth themselves?

 

In a beautiful sermon I heard some time ago now, the speaker told a story of a woman in a church congregation who had been misinformed about a situation, and who then took it upon herself to broadcast this information, believing it to be true but knowing it was gossip.

 

The story was defamatory. It took the reputation of a pastor of a church and slandered it, dragging it down and making the 'news' public. Of course, in time, the woman found the story to be untrue and humbly went to the pastor she had destroyed the reputation of, to ask what she could do to repair the situation.

 

He responded "on the next windy day, take a pillowcase of feathers to the highest point of the hill behind the town. Empty that pillowcase and watch the feathers fly. Then go and catch every single feather."

 

Lies cannot be undone. They are too insubstantial to pin down, they hold no truth, and are not grounded in anything apart from fantasy. They multiply without warning and masquerade as truth. They do not even hold their own form but are shape shifters, changing as they move along.

 

In a world of modern technology, one comment, one claim, one lie - can go around the world in seconds and become impossible to retrieve, just as feathers on a windy day.

 

Jesus is quoted as saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". I am guessing that this point was being made as he knew it would be contested. What do you believe? Are these words a lie? Are they truth? Was Jesus who he said he was? Was he the son of God? Did Jesus even exist? (Actually, do a bit of research on that one - even athiests have to acknowledge that some guy called Jesus did hit the radar of a few historians at the time). These questions need to be thought about and responded to.

 

Jesus geeks will find the verse in John 14:6.

 

Image (c) soadhead.com

 

 



Bible Bashers & God Botherers vs The World

Faith is a choice. No one can make you believe anything. You can be informed, educated, preached to or lectured at but it up to you what you do with that information. The trouble is, no one likes to be told what to do. We like to make up our own minds, find out for ourselves. How many times do you see a child about to make a mistake, try and warn them or explain to them the potential consequences, only to have to look on as it all goes horribly (and often painfully) wrong.

People who believe in Jesus, truly and passionately find it really hard to take the 'softly, softly' approach and are often accused of 'ramming it down people's necks'. Christianity isn't a marketing campaign, neither is it enforced without negotiation. It is choice, and a fairly simple choice. Are you in or are you out?

(Opting out is the easy option by the way.)

People who do believe, with a real and living faith, feel passion and joy. If these people are insisting on taking some time out of their day to pass this passion on, feel honoured. They care enough about you to try and make your life better.
 
Jesus told his followers "The gospel must first be preached to all the nations." This verse often gets given as the motivation for missionaries to venture into the deepest, darkest continents but this isn't the whole of it - the Oxford English Dictionary defines 'nation' as "a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular state or territory."

So if you are part of a family, history, or culture or inhabit somewhere, then Jesus was talking about you. He knew this without waiting around for the Oxford English Dictionary to be created almost some 2,000 years later.

So if everyone who believes in Jesus has a duty to tell everybody else, then this could feel like information overload, but the perception of 'bible bashing' or 'God bothering' is massively over exaggerated. If every day you heard about Jesus going to the cross for you, you might have a point. Chances are, in reality, you have to make a decision about what you believe very infrequently. But it is an important decision, and as Eleanor Roosevelt points out, who we are today is built on the decisions we made yesterday.

Jesus geeks will find the verse in Mark 13:10.

Image credit Tumblr.

For Display Purposes Only

 

 

Having a faith is not very dreamy. Not very glamorous. Often challenging. Frequently criticised. Open to physical, social and spiritual opposition.

 

Jesus was quite clear on his instruction:

 

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation".

Some people are born to preach, or become speakers. Travelling the world to feature in conferences with amazing budgets and often televised. Some people are called to minister to a local church with a congregation of fewer than 100 and a tithing issue that means they constantly fight to find money. Some people are called to go into the furthest geographical reaches and work in communities struck by poverty, oppression and even violence.

None of us however are called to sit at home and polish our faith only to keep it behing closed doors in case it gets ruined, challenged or damaged.

If you ask anyone living out a minsitry if they have bad days, down days, hard days or sleepless nights then they will most likely say yes.

The Apostle Paul took some amazing journeys, and lived a life that I imagine he would never have believed he was destined for. Paul lived a life of incredible experiences, driven by his faith. Paul also had a more than a smidgen of hardship and persecution. His accounts of how his faith holds him firm really are incredible.

We might not be a speaker, a minister or a tv evangalist but we have a faith that must go out into the real world and stand the test of being lived out. However our faith is not made of the finest crystal or thin air, it can withstand great pressure and constant wear and tear. Make sure you use your faith, not just mark it 'for display purposes only'.

Jesus quote from Mark 16:15.



Are you Piglet or Pooh?

Piglet wanted to know the details of love; the mechanics of it, what makes it up, the logistics and the science. Break it down, see how it is made up.

Pooh was more emotional, maybe a bit romantic - you just feel it. It isn't about knowing in your head, it is about knowing in your heart.

Loving God needs a bit of Piglet and a bit of Pooh. A strong relationship is based on emotional needs being met, often with passionate emotions. A more powerful relationship is based on understanding and wisdom.

Jesus knew that a powerful relationship with God needed not just your heart and mind, but also your soul - but A A Milne didn't give us a character for the soul interpretation of love.

These words are from the mouth of Jesus -‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind'.

Once you have thought about if you love God with a passion and searching to learn more about Him, ask yourself if you love him with your very being. Your very soul. Right down in the core of who you are.

Jesus was probably drawing on these words from Deuteronomy - "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength".

So once you know your love for God is true, in your head, heart and soul - add to that all your strength. And did you even know how strong you are?

"Our bones are actually stronger than concrete. A piece of matchbox-sized human bone can support a nine tonne weight. That’s four times more than concrete can support. You’re a superhero and you didn’t even know it."(taken from www.virginmedia.com).

That is some serious strength. A love made of superhero strength, wisdom, soul and passion. That is some love. That is the love God has for you, but do you have it for God?

Bible verses are from Matthew 27:37 & Deuteronomy 6:5 Jesus geeks.