Hatch, Match and Dispatch

In the last fortnight I have experienced a birth, a marriage and a death. The rather ungracious phrase used by clergy is hatch, match and dispatch! Each is a microcosm of life that is an epoch to our experiences of it. It is perhaps the only brush with the established church that families have today, but even this is not what it used to be. Apart from the recent Royal Christening of Prince George, the numbers of new parents that ‘christen’ their new born child continue to fall, with only those families with a tradition of using this event as a social occasion, accustomed to arranging one with the local priest. Wedding’s too, are conducted in a much wider range of properties and locations than the traditional parish church. Funerals too can be a soul-less occasion where those who have dismissed God have their last hurrah at the local crematorium.

We have this very odd mix as adults between the things we want to do and the things that we have to do legally. I can remember a couple who during a rather drunken weekend, proposed to each other… Within five days they were married and the problems then began. They quickly grew apart and divorced. As an observer it seemed they wanted to legitimise their relationship as soon as was acceptable because it was the right thing to do. Traditional values of love, marriage and commitment are long standing social rites of passage into adult lifestyles where we leave the hang-ups of childhood and adolescence, and embrace the new.

We all make choices to move on in our lives, but not always voluntary ones. Sometimes we can be left with few alternatives or have been manipulated into a position where we feel there are no opportunities open to us. I teach children who at 15 years of age have no clue as to their future pathways in life. They are a year away from leaving school and looking at further education, apprenticeships or work based training, and they have no clue what they would like to do for a career.

Sometimes I wonder whether it is too early for these young people to make these kind of decisions; how will they earn a living from the occupations available to them; at what point in life do they need to have an income that allows some sense of independence? This is particularly so when some of the children are happy to take time out of the regular school day to play the new Grand Theft Auto game. I know when I was 16; I was kicked out the front door to go around the guest houses of Morecambe to see if I could get a job cleaning. It was the way that the world was and still is today.

Does this mean it has to be the same for the next generation? The UK is still in recession with 2.5million out of work and youth unemployment rising to 960,000 (aged 16-24). Then you look at the rest of the world at developing nations where children forage on rubbish tips for valuable metals and plastics that can be sold by weight for a small income; children who do not get an education; children who look after siblings; children who act as carers for adults with sickness or disabilities and I start to think, yes; take your place in society.

The weight of expectation on children can be immense today and it can also appear hopeless for some. Those not parented within a socio-economic setting that supports education and learning, tend to find it the hardest because they do not get the support necessary to maintain and enthuse them to be resilient when things are hard. Some students do not seem to have developed the listening and learning skills to enable them to adapt to new settings and new experiences. In this IT age where everything is available at the touch of a button, memorizing knowledge and recalling it to answer a question posed in an exam is considered to be too hard.

Recently within my lessons at school, we have been learning about materials and their sources for a period of 12 hours, prior to the students sitting an open-notes examination. The students had access to the answers within their note taking in order to help them complete the examination. Being an exam, I was not going to give the students any answers as it was open-notes and they were able to search for the relevant information to answer the questions. The student’s response was to question my method and accuse me incredulously of being unsupportive. It’s moments like these that I question my ability as an educator or at the very least, question my validity in the classroom.

You hope that these children are able to access the careers that they would love to pursue and don’t end up in occupations that they didn’t choose but cannot escape. Many of us have regrets with the decisions we have made and can often feel that we have no choice or that there were no alternatives. My Schizophrenic friend has been living a semi-homeless life believing that he has no choices in life and that he has no alternatives. The system is apparently against him and he has no home or career because of a number of factors where he always points to other people or situations, but never at his own actions.

We can all be observers of other people’s lives and be able to identify where thing’s may have gone awry but we know that true friendships come from those that recognise our predicament and draw alongside us. These people become a sounding board for our frustrations and perhaps just from being able to have dialogue with some other adult we are secure with, the ‘getting-it-all-out’ adds a fresh perspective. Having insight or discernment is a precious gift that we could all do with having. Thinking through a problem and offering a suggestion, rather than just complaining about the situation is always a more positive attribute. I often meet people who only tell me of their problems; “so and so said this to me”, or “this thing happened and I was really mad”… and I stand listening thinking, ‘Have you got any positives from today?’

I have just had my performance management review today where I have arrived at an epoch in that I have finally realised the implications of the demotion in my role as a teacher. The consequence of the actions of my managers is that to me, I feel that I have had 20 years of my career erased in one swoop of a pen. I am looking at job vacancies and wondering what is going on here? My employer will blame the government, reminding me that they had previously warned me about my future prospects but I can see other things going on which may suggest I am no longer ‘in-favour’.

I know that God is patiently waiting to see what I will do next… will I trust him? I can be a little scared at times about where my journey is headed but know that he does have my best interest at heart, so I will learn to trust him with my future. God reminds us throughout scriptures that we should not worry about tomorrow, just live for the day. So I hope that I live each day well. That I enjoy the morning and the days bustle, and learn to appreciate the light of dusk as the darkness of the evening envelopes us again to restart the daily cycle.

I could be in danger of trying to force the situation. I went for a Job interview this week and thought that I had taught a good lesson during the observation. I answered the questioned posed to me in the interview as honestly as I could. I did have a nagging feeling that the job wasn’t for me so I wasn’t too disappointed when I got the call of an offer of feedback, rather than an offer of a contract. God is in control and will put the different elements that will lead me along the correct pathway, into motion when he feels I am ready. I need to lighten-up a bit and enjoy each moment in time as he has provided for the here and now.

In the Vineyard movement, the theology used to describe this cycle of waiting on God is the ‘Now-and-not-yet.’ It is an answer to the question of ‘Why does God allow some things to happen to others and not me, or why is there continued suffering in the world?’ The simple truth is that we are living in a ‘between-time’. The death of Jesus has ushered in this new era through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit through his resurrection to new life and the events of Pentecost. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

As we live out our lives, we invite Jesus to show us the way, by first giving-up the way we used to live, and by accepting his direction for our lives. When we walk in faith, he guides our pathways and teaches us how to deal with calamity when it comes… for indeed calamity seems to always be around the corner. We are never truly settled until we are in the presence of God; but as we go about our daily lives, we encounter all kinds of evil which God never intended. He gives us the grace to endure, even when our hearts are broken and our health is robbed… even to dealing with the loss of one we dearly love, whose untimely death has broken our spirit.

This is where we find God. He is in the middle of the whole trauma; even if we want to deny the truth of this, or relegate this as a religious crutch that doesn’t truly exist. God draws us close to him as his children… I hope I will never lose this closeness or his hand on my shoulder. So I will be patient and wait on the Lord the author and perfector of my life. We wait in the ‘now’ for the hope of the ‘future’. We can be certain of the future because Christ’s death on the cross defeated the enemy of this world, although for a time he prowls around like a roaring lion, hoping to catch out anyone who he can distract from finding Gods love and grace in Christ Jesus.

As God's children, we get the privilege to see glimpses of God’s grace as we serve him. Jesus tells us to love our neighbours and our enemies as we would love ourselves, seeking to purge from our souls, any anger, bitterness, or resentment we might feel towards those that miss-treat us or disrespect our motives for caring. It is hard when the investments we make in people and in institutions harvest little fruit from our toil, or our integrity is questioned. This is when it is even more important to remain consistent with our love and to become resilient in our service so that we are not governed by our emotions, but rather the truth of what we know of God. This is our greatest treasure – that when we were still far off, God met us in our despair and offered us his comfort.

In Jesus Christ, all of our needs are met because we can trust in his complete command of this world and the next. His life and his miracles prove that he is in control of all that he created in this world through his union with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is where Jesus gets his authority, and in whom we can depend on in our darkest hour. This is what the Pharisee’s, Chief Priests and teachers of the law were threatened by. How can this son of a carpenter command such knowledge of the scriptures?

Jesus challenged all religious and human authority through the exposition of the scriptures, and as such became a central figure that the temple authorities attempted to quash through their inflated egocentric nature inherited by their assumed authority as the Nation of Israel who were in possession of the law of Yahweh. Jesus’ actions and teaching polarised opinion that elicited a response from those who heard it to either express repentance or show faith in their belief that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, or to reject his claims out of hand as a heretic.

The power or right to give orders, enforce obedience from within the people, or simply to make decisions on the part of God, challenged the position of the Pharisees, teachers of the law, and the chief priests, who believed they were the only authority capable of expounding the traditions of what they believed to be the Law of Moses. What set Jesus apart was his ability to perform signs and wonders as foretold by the prophets, healing the sick and raising people from the dead, but more significant, was Jesus’ claim to forgive sin. If Yahweh was sovereign, how can this man whose father they knew, exercise authority on behalf of God who alone had the power to forgive sin.

Jesus’s actions set up a sequence of events that show that he alone has the authority to replace the entire religious system that had become corrupted by the interpretation of the Pharisees, the Chief Priests and teachers of the law. Jesus announces that the Messianic age had arrived and that God’s kingdom had indeed been ushered in.

Jesus threatens their very reason for existence through what we read in the Gospels and the wider interpretation of what we read within the rest of scripture and its implications for both Jew and gentile alike. A strong oral tradition controlled by the Rabbi’s, Pharisees, teachers of the law and the chief priests, established a hierarchy that was determined by wealth and status. God was seen to honour those who kept the law and as such those that adhered to the teaching of the temple prospered. There is no doubt that inequalities existed within their civilisation to which Jesus was born and raised.

Perhaps one of the common questions asked of Jesus is the missing years of his youth. Surely if Jesus was the son of God, he would have established himself within the rabbinical traditions as a good teacher who drew many disciples to himself as his status within the temple increased. Yet we find Jesus, the son of a carpenter from Nazareth, keeping out of the way until his time was right. It is not until the first miracle at the wedding feast in Cana in Galilee, described in John 2:1-11, that we are given a glimpse of Jesus’ purpose and ministry. We learn that changing the water into wine is a symbol of Jesus’ purity and his shed blood, a symbol of his sacrifice.

When we look at Mark 11:28, the Pharisee’s, Chief Priests and teachers of the law asked Jesus: “By what authority are you doing all of these things? Who gave you the right to do them?” To place the comments in context, we have to first look back to what has gone before in order to garner such a question. In Mark 11:15-18, we find Jesus creating havoc in the temple by knocking over the money changers tables and by preventing everyone from trading. The temple currency was the only one accepted for the purchase of sacrificial animals, presumably at greatly inflated exchange rates, where the temple profited from the system rather than promote the true purpose of the temple; the worship of Yahweh. Jesus quotes directly from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 when he said to them: “The scriptures declare, ‘My temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

Jesus asserts his authority in his command of the scriptures and his skill in interpreting the text through countering the chief priests and the temple authorities with its correct interpretation, rather than through a veil or ‘Midrash’ that was influenced by an historical narrative associated within a specific teaching. The temple authorities are effectively asking: ‘Who are you to disrupt our way of life and challenge our laws, when we know who your father and mother are, and you do not have any training in the scriptures?’ Jesus cleverly challenges their position by getting his accusers to account for the life of John the Baptist.

Unable to discern for themselves how to answer Jesus’ questions (Mark 11:31-33), they admit defeat because they have a limited understanding of the implications of their reasoning because they are focused on the here and now, rather than the interpretation of the scriptures concerning the coming Messiah. Knowing this, Jesus tells the parable of the vineyard owner who provides all of the resources for tenants of the land to make a wealthy living in exchange for a tax (Mark 12:1-12). John the Baptist was one such servant as described in the story, who the Lord sent to make way for the Messiah. John the Baptist was conveniently be-headed after calling the Pharisees who came for baptism, ‘a brood of vipers!’ (Luke 3:1-9) Before John, there was a 600 year gap to the last prophets who warned the people to return to the Lord’s teaching, or face the exile of Israel to foreign lands and the loss of hope in the kingdom to come… and yet despite this gap, the religious leaders were undecided about who John really was.

As in the parable of the vineyard, the chief priests and teachers of the law quashed any who came preaching a different Midrash to that established within temple life. To protect that life, those in authority were willing to break the law in order to preserve what they believed was the true interpretation of the scriptures. It was indeed convenient to believe they were doing God’s will in condemning a heretic to death. This irony was very clear to Jesus; through their lack of conviction concerning John’s status as a prophet, whey were being blown about like the wind (John 3:8-21, James 1:6)

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” 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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

James 1:6 ‘But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.’

Many of the questions asked of Jesus by the Pharisees, Chief Priests and teachers of the law, concerned authority. They questioned him from a position of chastisement; as though they knew best because they had been immersed in the religious traditions of the elders and Jesus had not. However, each confrontation exposed their apparent ignorance of scripture and Jesus’ assurance of the truth. Many of the questions involved the interpretation of the Law of Moses in order to justify their own Midrash. In Mark 10:2-12 the Pharisee’s ask about marriage and divorce, which Jesus answers by referring back to Moses. However, Jesus also reasserts God’s original intention for marriage in that no one should separate what God has joined together (v9).

Jesus set’s out God’s rule and reign beyond the understanding of the Pharisees interpretation of the Law of Moses. The account of the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-31 reveals a far deeper commitment than just the observance of the law. Following obedience to the law with action enables us to carry out the conviction of our hearts, with acts of service. There are so many levels to the rich young man’s condition that it appears obvious. With hind sight and time, we can see that the man’s idol was his love of his wealth and the status he maintained with it; he had used the appearance of being blessed in keeping the law, as an excuse to ignore the need to look after the poor.

We can all make claims about our own righteousness like the rich young man and believe our own rhetoric for a time. Usually our self-confidence is our undoing and the shallowness of our position is often exposed to all but ourselves. Jesus makes eight clear statements about his authority in John’s gospel. These all challenge the understanding that the Pharisee’s, chief priests and teachers of the law had of the Law of Moses because Jesus states that what he can accomplish is even greater than Moses and the Patriarchs. In John 6:35, Jesus’ actions reveal that it wasn’t just Moses who could bring Manna from heaven, but Jesus himself can offer the bread of life as evident in the feeding of 5000 people. I am the light of the world (John 8:12); I am the door (John 10:9); I am the good Shepherd (John 10:11); I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25); I am the way the truth and the life (John 14:6); I am the true vine (John 15:1) and finally, ‘Before Abraham was, I am’ (John 8:58).

Each direct challenge to Jesus’ authority is contained within the ‘miracles’ that he performs to demonstrate his command over all things. The woman with an issue of blood making her unclean is healed, alongside the lepers whose condition prevented them from gaining access to life within the temple community. Jesus proves he has command over all physical deformities such as the paralysed man and the many blind and deaf that he healed. Jesus had authority over death with the story of Lazarus and he had command over the devil in those who were possessed by an evil spirit that he cast out.

Stating that Jesus was present before Abraham, challenged the understanding of the Pharisees in determining who he actually was, in the same way that they couldn’t discern who John the Baptist was. In so doing, they relegate themselves as an also ran as indicated in the story of the fig tree in Mark 11:12-14. The fig tree being a symbol of the Nation of Israel and the lack of fruit that they displayed in their mission to be an example to all nations for the worship of Yahweh.

By stating that Jesus was now that light, he was confirming his assertion that he was indeed the new Temple. With a new temple order, Jesus continues to push the boundaries of the law by reasserting how God would have us live out the law. One example can be found in Matthew 5:38-48.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. Love for Enemies “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’

The challenge therefore is to live holy and blameless lives beyond the letter of the law, in keeping with the message proclaimed by Jesus Christ. That the new temple that is alive in each person who has been born again through the filling of the Holy Spirit, will become the new bride of Christ. We wait in anticipation that he will come again in glory to draw to himself, all those who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And so for a time, we live for today, hoping and praying that the future kingdom to come will break through into the ‘now’. That is our mission – to reach out with the grace of God into our communities, in order to change lives. We pray for revival that ‘your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven’.

Sustainable faith...

I hope when reading my blogs that you don’t feel as though I have some grand delusion that I am some kind of great intellect or as they say in the academic world – well read. I can assure you that it isn't my intention, when I write about the issues I have covered over the year, to give the impression that I think that I know any more than the next person. I recognise that I can be completely ignorant to many of the issues that intellectuals, who devote their whole lives in the study of their chosen field, may know more about. I am however, certain of one thing; I know my own mind and I can discern what I believe to be true from that which is false.

For example, I am happy to float the idea that Noah’s flood could have been global (see what I did there), or equally, I can accommodate the idea that Noah’s flood may have been limited by the world view of the ancient patriarchs who were the writers of the early flood stories. There are a few different versions of a flood narrative that exist within the different centres of civilisation, and it has been suggested that Moses may have read these before writing about the story in Genesis, so that he could show how Yahweh is the one true God.

The Patriarchs world view may have only been as far as they had travelled, or as far as the eye could see. I can appreciate that in order to create what we call today ‘fossil-fuels’, the materials needed to create them that are rich in carbon deposits, had to be ‘sealed-in’ the ground to decompose in a controlled way. If not, the decaying matter would just be as compost with the consistency of say Peat; hence perhaps, one possible argument for the validity of a global flood.

In order for us to use the vast coal, gas and oil deposits trapped within the strata of the rocks, even under the sea, there had to be rapid change in the environment or the whole thing would seem incredulous – created even? I revel in the idea that carbon still offers new revelations today. 

Graphene is a relatively new extrapolation of a very old technology – graphite. Purely by accident, scientists in the UK found that graphite at an atomic level was indeed a pure conductor of electricity. Being microscopically thin, this material can be spread over a surface that is transparent and flexible meaning that the technology to create display screens as seen in the Sci-Fi shows with animations that seem to be projected out of nowhere, are possibly only a few years away.

This world that we live in is amazing. How humanity clings to its upper crust, despite the destruction we compose on the surface through our mining, erosion and pollution, beggars belief. How on earth the various eco systems managed to absorb all that we have abused it with, is anyone’s guess. But there is evidence that we have reached a saturation point with recent reports suggesting that the earth’s ambient temperature has risen 2°C since industrialisation. This makes for changes in our weather, in our water supply, and in the ability for our ice caps to regulate the whole ‘she-bang,’ keeping the whole-thing in check.

It may-be that it is appropriate to become carbon-free, using the wealth generated through trade to improve the carbon heavy generation of electrical energy, but this is a rich-list world view that lives mainly in the west within our post-modern industrial landscape. Stopping the production of aluminium in the UK to reduce our carbon footprint doesn't mean that no-one requires aluminium. Yes we may be cleaner and have fewer carbon emissions, which the environmental lobby would like, but the jobs and trade generated by the industry has a far wider impact on our communities than just the cessation of an activity to reduce our dependency for energy or aluminium.

Similarly, as western culture has passed on the baton of industrialisation to the Asian world economies, we feel that carbon pollution is being tackled in a sort of ‘out-of-sight-out-of-mind’ mentality; these countries have just inherited our problems because they still consume a vast amount of the world’s resources so that we in Europe for example, can have a clear environmental conscience. Incredulously, last Christmas season, the BBC news team tracked the arrival of a super cargo ship from China which they dubbed the ‘Santa Express’. Most of the consumer products we purchase at Christmas in the UK are manufactured in China, so the news editor thought it newsworthy to track the ships progress so that we can be reassured that we could purchase what we hoped for.

You can see that change is on the horizon as the cash/oil rich nations are in a race to generate other income streams in order to sustain the lifestyle they have grown accustomed to. Holiday destinations in Dubai for example, where Muslim laws prohibit drinking and prohibit outward expressions of sexuality within non-married couples, were simply unthinkable just a generation ago, but their rising status as the place to be seen in, is aspirational to some. How many beach front properties can you create with artificial Islands and reefs?

Those on the margins of society are going to find it a much harder world to eke out an existence when the few remaining shards of income that can be generated from the land are gone; good land is taken away through land grab; water supplies are bought up so that the distribution can be controlled by corporations rather than the government… let’s stop believing that man has got the world’s best interests at heart because it hasn't  A small minority control huge quantities of the world resources, with the current balance being unsustainable for future prosperity.

In the UK, investment by foreign countries has allowed society to believe it is still relatively safe in the present economic climate, but many of the large infrastructure projects taking place with renewable energy, for example, are owned and financed by international corporations who benefit from the financial trading that flows from these transactions. Many of our essential supply sectors such as gas, water, and transport are owned wholly or in part by other countries that may not necessarily have the interests of UK plc at heart.

I'm not talking conspiratorially or indeed in nationalistic terms; it is more from a personal view where the world we live in today is vastly different to the world I grew up in – and I'm only 42! What I mean is that my sense of belonging to the United Kingdom as a citizen may not have the same meaning in the future as it does even today; internationally the UK is considered as a minor player to the major that is the United States. As part of the United Nations and a member of G8, even the British can see that we try too hard to punch above our own weight. Identity is important to all of us.

Globalisation and corporate ambition is changing the face of the established world order and that frightens some. As China hopefully emerges from the shackles of an authoritarian regime, it can only increase its influence on western culture simply based on size. It has become a bread basket for the worlds demand for cheaply manufactured products and high resale value to exert maximum profit, but as she modernises and becomes a society of consumers itself, the weight of influence will change again. Would another third world nation that has a readily available workforce, which can be exploited, take China’s place – Africa for example?

Yes the world is changing, and we need to be aware of how to adapt to the new. This occurs at many levels, not least in ethics, philosophy and religion. Some long held assumptions about values and our relationships with each other are going to be challenged. The incredible story of the high profile Chinese politician and business man Bo Xilai whose wife poisoned a British company executive because he had uncovered some inappropriate financial transactions, was high profile simply because it brought out into the open, something thought unprecedented a generation earlier.

However it does bring into question how a communist state based on egalitarian principles at its heart, can justify having a ruling elite that seems to be riddled with corruption and containing what has been described as having ‘illicit enrichment’. This seems more like a plot you would see in a Hollywood movie rather than China, and is a testament to the observation that: “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely. Great men are always bad men.” (Lord Acton letter to the Bishop Mandell Creighton 1887)

In order for me to understand my faith in an ever changing world, I have to develop an understanding of what it is I believe and be able to express that belief in my lifestyle choices and the conversations that I have with others. Some are happy to read the Bible and accept the narrative in a sort-of story-telling or folk context, where a summation of the content is all that is needed for the Bible to make sense. However, there are many outside of the faith, who would question this approach as having blind faith – not being able to see the reality of the text beyond some incomprehensible sentimentality to a superstitious belief or as a source of comfort.

This type of criticism is quite stinging I feel, as on the surface it has an appearance that Christians blindly believe what they read without reasoning the implications of what has gone on in the text. Surely if I read the Bible as the atheist does, I too would be able to see its inconsistencies and contradictions? So I am challenged to go further beyond a simple read-through the text and a short devotional, to a study of the subjects opened up through my reading of the passages. It is important that we have a good tool kit to interpret the text correctly so that I am not going down any blind-alleys in my understanding.

Our understanding of the Bible is challenged at many levels: What about genocide in the Bible? What about suffering – how can an all knowing God let that happen? What about your God who practices infanticide with his only son… what father would do that? Why is God…vengeful, angry? The questions can be overwhelming to faith if we are not grounded in the scriptures to help make sense of them, but also on a philosophical level, it is important to always keep in mind the context of the person asking those questions.

Questions are often asked deliberately as a veil for covering up the wider issue of who we are in God. When we understand who we are, we can begin to understand the God of the Bible. When we reject what the Bible says about us, we also reject God because we are not prepared to face up to person looking back at us. In the mirror in our bathroom, we can always spot the imperfections of our face, our grey hair and the wrinkles around the eyes; our crooked noses or the displacement of our ears… I rarely use a mirror because I know that I cannot change the way I look and I am getting older; but mainly because my appearance is not the focus of who I am.

So OK, I do check my hair for ‘bed-hair’ in the morning and whether I need to wash it again, and for my shave, oh and from time to time, I check my complexion. So see, I am no different to anyone else in reality. It’s just the reason behind doing those things for me is different. I don’t want to have a huge green-headed spot on the end on my nose as much as the next person… but my appearance isn't my vanity. If I wanted to be vain about anything in my life, it would be in how others perceive my heart, my conduct and my generosity. I jealously guard my integrity to ensure that I honour God by the way I live and I am disappointed when people challenge my conduct because I know that God wants me to live by expressing the fruit of the spirit:

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:22-23)

My heart aches inside when someone points out my failings in these matters. Not because of how it makes me feel, and boy does it hurt; but because of him! I know that God does not condemn me for my poor behaviour, but I cannot shake the guilt of dishonouring Jesus by the wrong things I say and do. Inside I am still Roger, with all of my faults, insecurities and indiscretions. I fail every day. Thank God for his grace that lifts me up and sets me back on my feet again – More of you Lord and less of me.

To help me get over myself, I read as widely as time allows and I listen to and watch, as many podcasts that time allows. I have lined up about 8 books that I am desperate to read for this new season but it isn’t always easy to do this. I would like to thank contributors to apologetics such as William Craig Lane @Reasonable Faith, whose integrity and heart in presenting the Gospel clearly for all to digest, has greatly influenced my writing; Ravi Zacharias @RZIM; Amy Orr Ewing @OCCA; The Case for Christ @Lee Strobel; J. Warner Wallace @coldcasechristianity; Justin Brierley @unbelieveable; Soul Survivor @Mike Pilavachi; and the Vineyard @John Wimber to name a few I follow on Facebook and Twitter.

My personal ambition is to better myself through the development of my understanding of the Bible through reading it and teaching it. This isn't because I think that I can do these things because I am intelligent, but rather I need to do this type of thinking because I must. The Holy Spirit compels me to be able to give a reason for the hope that dwells in my heart out of humility for what I have been saved from. I would not want to be regarded as being any more than a regular guy who loves the Lord; I certainly hope that I never come across as being aloof, or as having a pumped up ego, or even that I have ever implied in any kind of way, that there is an important ministry going on here. I do not have all the answers, but what I do know, I am compelled to share.

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. (1 Peter 3:15)

If you have never before considered reading anything beyond the scriptures, then I suggest beginning with CS Lewis’ seminal book: ‘Mere Christianity’. This is a classic apologetic for presenting a case for faith. Get yourself a daily commentary such as Rick Warren’s Daily Hope that can be e-mailed out every day or sign up to an app on your phone such as the You Version, where you can sign-up to daily readings.

More importantly, join a worshipping community. Yes I know, people can be judgemental, they can be annoying and they can sap all the energy out of you. But you know, deep down in your heart, we are meant to be together in community. Each of us has a part to play in growing that fellowship. We are meant to be grafted into the vine of Christ as many parts to the same body.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

One Body with Many Parts

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptised into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it to be. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honourable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honourable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honour and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honoured, all the parts are glad.

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, and those who speak in unknown languages.

Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

(1 Corinthians 12)

What is Paul talking about when he says: ‘But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all?’ I'm sure you may have spotted it straight away in 1 Corinthians 13.  As this text was originally a letter, this passage should be read as one that flows directly into the next and was never originally subdivided into chapters. The passage 1 Corinthians 13 is normally used to strengthen sentimental love into an enduring love through the vows we make in our marriage ceremonies:

 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7)

This is the hope that I live for. I have purpose in community with others; to serve God above all else in revealing the Kingdom to come. I do this both in love and through being filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. My heart quickens and I get a shiver up my spine which then makes the hairs on the back of my head rise as I type these words of grace. God is definitely and completely for us, not against us. This is why I turn to my final consideration this week: A call to worship.

I cannot contain how high, how deep and how wide the love of God is to those who genuinely seek him. Some seek God by trying to test him like Gideon did with the fleece he put out before God. If you truly seek God, you don’t need to test it, you will know it. The Holy Spirit dwells within us, connecting our spirit with the Spirit of our living God who is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be forever. Open your hearts and minds to our heavenly father love, as he alone is worthy and able, to meet our deepest needs.

The world is changing rapidly but the source of life does not change. He has reached out, throughout time, to reveal his love and provision for us. Whether it is in the geology of the rocks or the coding of DNA, God is constant through the trials and the changes of life. For every generation there have been men and women of God who can testify to his great love and I urge you now to join in with the chorus.