Restoration man...

I'm sat watching a TV show of a family of four whose parents are describing having their first sexual encounter at 13 and their first child at 15… there is a man who has been stabbed in the head with a bread knife and is screaming and shouting with a high degree    of tension… it seems that some gang violence had spilled out of a local nightclub onto the street, leading to the brandishing of the knife… an older lady   of 79 sits describing how she had had three children before she was 25 and remembered the judgemental attitudes of her contemporaries, regarding her life choices when she wasn't even married.

The older lady went on to describe a set of horrible circumstances that led to her having to give up her then four children for adoption so that they could be safe, before having the courage to leave her violent husband behind in search of a better life. The man who was stabbed, was actually trying to be the hero, but had not anticipated that the villain would be ‘tooled-up’ looking for such an incident as the one he walked into that night. The young father spoke of how becoming a dad at 13 made him focus on his responsibility to his child, as a means of ensuring that he stayed out of trouble. The older lady, now reunited with one of her children, has enjoyed the restoration of the bond that is formed between a mother and her child that no amount of conflict can suffocate.

It made me start to think about the bond that God has with humanity. In Genesis 1:26, we read about the story of how God created mankind as the pinnacle of his creation…
“Let us make human beings in our image to be like us… So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
(New Living Translation).


The first aspect to notice, is the nature of the audience that God is addressing. The author of the Genesis story is believed to be Moses and he is particular in using the phrase ‘Let us…’ suggesting a plural context; who is God talking to when he suggested to the others of his desire to create a world teeming with life? We know that at the point of creation, the Holy Spirit who is mentioned in verse 2, was ‘hovering over the surface of the waters’ and was therefore present at creation along with Jesus.

We know that Jesus was present at creation because of what John wrote in his Gospel… ‘In the beginning the word already existed, the word was with God, and the word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought life to everyone. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it.’ (John 1:1-5, NLT)

In this paragraph about the origin of creation, John is expressing the relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As confusing as this scripture might seem, it is beautifully written and I never tire of it. The key for me is verse 4: The word, Jesus, gave ‘life’ to everything. The reference to the phrase, ‘the word’ in the text, is actually a reference to Jesus who, in relationship with the father, and through the work of the Holy Spirit, breathed life into human beings… Men and Women are created equally at the point of creation to live in relationship, echoing that of the relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The second important point for me is: ‘the word bringing light to everyone’ (v4)… having the light of God alive in us, reveals where the darkness is. We know that the reference to darkness is the evil in the world; but the darkness can never extinguish the light (v5). This is the Gospel right here. Jesus has the authority to give life; those that follow him will be filled with light. Therefore the darkness of our hearts can be extinguished because Jesus, in his purity, can forgive us of the sin within us as he is the only one worthy enough to do so. His light could not be extinguished and he has buried our sins in the grave where he laid, before rising victoriously from death. Death was the punishment for our sin; sin expresses itself in our rebellion against God’s will for our lives, for which we are deserving of death.

However, death could not hold Jesus. Our sin, which was buried with him in the grave on that Good Friday before Passover, is also put to death in us when we accept his grace offered freely. Jesus became the one true lamb who is able to take away the sin of the world due to his shed blood and his glorious resurrection to new life. God’s wrath would ‘pass - over’ all people who choose to follow him because of the sacrifice that Jesus has made.

We can be reborn into a new life, full of his light… this is what is so beautiful about the Gospel story. God’s gift of life has nothing to do with what we do or how we act but everything to do with Jesus. He was part of the creation story and knew of his fate when he created men and women equally, declaring that what he had created was ‘very good’ (Genesis 1:31). God knew that humanity would become corrupted by sin and a sacrifice would have to be made, even at the point of creation. Yet in full knowledge of what was needed and what was necessary for redemption, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were minded to create us in fellowship, knowing that one of them would have to lose their life in order to save the very people that they had created – AMAZING.

So I can only conclude that the man who was stabbed trying to be a hero, the woman who sacrificed her children to save them and ultimately, save herself, and the young dad whose focus was his single minded devotion to his children, all reveal the character of God. Humanity reveals in all manner of ways, how the creator instills in each one of us, the light of the world. Unfortunately, the light that was breathed into humanity at the moment of creation became corrupted by sin as soon as it had been birthed. In the Genesis account of creation, we find woven within it, a darker story line of malevolence, hostility, enmity and deception.

The evil one, the devil or Satan, is the angel who thought he was equal to God whom by nature, rebelled against his sovereignty. We read in Revelation 12:7-12 that a great battle took place, where the authority of God was challenged by Satan. Cast out of heaven, the devil referred to in the text as a serpent, becomes the principle character for rebellion in God’s creation. So we find in Genesis 3:1-19 that humanity is corrupted by the impact of the devil and the resulting sin that mankind displayed in God’s creation. This leads to the first record of an animal sacrifice found in the bible because of the corruption that sin had already caused through Adam and Eve’s actions.

We are all familiar with Adam and Eve covering their nakedness with a leaf but in reality they are described as hiding among the trees. How often though, when you read this story of the fall of man into a sinful life, have you noticed that God uses the skin of an animal to create clothing to cover their modesty? As much as that this is the first animal sacrificed for atonement of man’s sin, it is also the first synonym we find for the death of Jesus. He becomes the sacrificial lamb as an atonement for the sins of all of humanity; the lamb who takes away the sin of the whole world (John 1:29). Revealed here within three chapters of the first book in the Bible, is God’s vision for humanity; that he will draw all peoples on earth back to himself through the sacrifice of his son.

We can read through the Bible then, that God sacrifices part of his creation in order to redeem us. Nothing that happens to us is a mistake, although we might walk the wrong pathway for a time in our lives.  As with all of the mistakes we might make in our lives due to the choices we take, the cause can always be traced back to the deception of the serpent in the Garden of Eden who accuses God of not being clear with his instructions, thereby implying that God is not sovereign. He manipulated Adam and Eve’s innocence to cause them to commit sin, just as he does with us today… sin corrupts absolutely. Creation has become cursed and as a consequence, men and women were to be at enmity with each other or set against each other. Genesis 3 is where we learn of the fate of the serpent for his rebellion against God’s will but we can also find within God’s curse, another glimpse into his solution for the problem of sin:

Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

(Genesis 3:14-16, NIV)

The woman’s offspring would indeed crush the head of the devil… Jesus who was fully man and fully God, whose purity and innocence was the only way that the curse of sin could be broken, offered himself freely to rescue humanity from the poisonous deceit that has corrupted it for millennia. The devil may have felt that he had won when Jesus was crucified but God was still working through his plan for humanity. And so we find that the head of the enemy was crushed by Jesus’ resurrection to new life, even if for a time, we still have to endure attacks from the enemy just as Jesus did: ‘… you will strike his heel’ (v16). Jesus endured the punishment that our own sins deserved and his death on the cross must have appeared to the devil as being the end of God’s plan of salvation.

And yet Jesus rose from the dead in victory, much to the devil’s anger. Satan knows that the battle has been lost and that he can only bruise the heel of those whom Jesus has rescued. The church, who is the symbolic representation of Christ’s body, will have to endure attacks from the enemy until Jesus returns at the end of time, but his defeat is certain. We must all be on our guard against the sin in our lives that we have not surrendered to Jesus at the cross... If we don’t, we remain vulnerable to the same deception that robbed Adam and Eve of their paradise. Only when we are truly free from the shame of sin, through the sanctification of Jesus’ death and resurrection, will we be free to do the will of God. Only then will we be able to endure the enemy biting at our heel because we through Jesus, we can be assured that the devil has nothing on us; the enemy has been defeated, death has been overcome.    

We see glimmers of hope for the kingdom of God breaking into this world, in every act of kindness, every act of charity and every offer of love extended to those lost and hurting here on earth. Jesus taught us to pray ‘your kingdom come, your will be done.’ Christians are encouraged to pray daily; that we are not led into temptation but that we are delivered from evil. This world in which we live, is the battle ground between good and evil. The two cannot be reconciled without love. Jesus showed us that ‘there is no greater love than to lays one’s life down for one’s friend.’ (John 15:13, NLT)

So how should we act? What can we do to bring this conflict to an end? We can minister to the poor, we can offer them our coat, we can provide food and shelter, and we can make disciples. There is no higher calling than to reveal the Gospel story to people who have not heard it. This isn't a story of fire and brimstone, damnation and hell fire, but one of love and adoration. How often has the church found itself to be at the opposite of what Paul preached about balancing our love against our actions? Without love, we have nothing:

      If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal… (1 Corinthians 13:1)

Does the church still speak the language of the world it was meant to serve? How can we subtly draw alongside our families, friends and colleagues so that they might sense the fragrance of Jesus in our lives? What better way is there to preach the Gospel than in the way that we live? My friend Nev was buried this week and I had the honour of attending the funeral and spending time with his family. One clear tribute to his life was the consistency of the testimony given of it by others. Tribute after tribute spoke of Nev’s ability to share your joy as though it was his own and the way in which a visit to his home to sample Hilda’s hospitality, seemed to exude a ray of sunlight into any conversation. But more obvious than the man himself was what was revealed in the lives of his children and grandchildren. As I observed the day and watched his two children mingle with the guests, the warmth of their generosity reflected Nev.

Nev’s wife Hilda came and sat with my wife and I for a moment. As we watched what went on around us I commented to her, ‘Look Hilda, Nev lives on in your children… just watch them’. As we sat there watching I said, ‘Look at how John and Suzanne are interacting with everyone… you can see Nev in their mannerisms and in their gentleness; that is what you and Nev have passed on to them. He lives on in their lives and that of the grandchildren.’ We looked at each other and hugged, pressing our foreheads against each other in some kind of thankful acknowledgement of a life lived well. How much more then, will our Father in heaven, honour our lives through our faith in his son?

God promises us more than we can ever hope for or imagine… but do you believe that for yourself? I can tell you, it is hard; life is hard. I watch my wife every day, battle with her own mind. The anxiety that consumes her every waking moment and even her dreams as she sleeps, is far greater than she can bear. My heart breaks for her struggle… trying to keep it all together. We pray for deliverance from the hand of the evil one; we pray against the chemical imbalance in her mind caused after the onset of post-natal depression 13 years ago; we read scripture, pulling out every reference we can find of hope; plans to prosper us and not forsake us, yet we have not found the key to unlock the strait-jacket of desperation that envelopes us and the ensuing depression that looms over our home.

At times I feel like I am losing the woman I love to this invisible enemy that is robbing us of everything that is good and wholesome from our marriage. There seems to be a chasm between us at times that only God through his mercy towards us can bridge. And yet I know deep down that there will be an end to this, even if it may appear hidden for a time. Never has the book of Job in the Old Testament been as relevant to us both as it is today. Job lost absolutely everything; children; wife; wealth; material possessions; health… We read that God allowed the devil access to Job because he was proud of Job’s faith towards him and he was boasting about Job to the devil. We read in the discourse between God and the devil, that the devil wanted to test Job’s resolve while God wanted to show the devil, that his desire to offer protection to humanity, is worthy of his governance. God knew in advance that Job acting out his faith, would endure any kind of test as proof.

This is a really fascinating insight into God’s grace towards us and his confidence in our understanding of what it means to trust him through faith. In the end, the devil is defeated because his efforts were frustrated by Job’s faithfulness. This is the same scene we see all over again in the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion in Jerusalem. The devil must have been particularly pleased to influence one of Jesus’ own disciples to betray him, as he did to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. How frustrated must he have been when God’s plan of salvation was revealed; a plan that the Apostle Paul described as being a mystery even to those in heaven who saw all things…

The cross is the place where our faith is birthed. We position our sin at the foot of the cross because only Jesus can truly release us from it. Jesus is the ultimate ‘self-help’ programme, for he has the authority to forgive sin and remove the condemnation we might feel because of it, thorough the power of the Holy Spirit alive in us. God recognises us as heirs in the kingdom because we are clothed in the righteousness that Jesus’ death commands. But the story does not end there… in the resurrection of Jesus bodily to new life, we are also assured access to this same ‘new-life’ that Jesus won for us on the cross through the forgiveness of sin that he grants us. We were destined for death; now our inheritance is eternal.

God is faithful to us, so in return, we must be faithfully obedient to his will for our lives. This means that we need to stop doing the things that cause us to sin and replace it with actions that lead to us to a better place. How is it possible for us to turn away from the things that repeatedly harm us, when we consider that we have lived a life that has ingrained these behaviours deep within our psychology? Breaking a habit is a painful experience akin to mourning for a loss in our lives. In the immediacy of the bereavement, we can see no hope that what we have lost, can ever be restored. All that is left for us to do, is to return to Jesus. Read his words and know with certainty in our heart, that we are promised an eternal life, where one day there will be no more despair, no more hopelessness, only pure joy.

If we can capture the pure joy of knowing God through what he has done, we will have strength enough to endure. We will find comfort in our worship and in our celebration of the transformation that has gone on in our hearts and our minds, by the renewal of the Holy Spirit. He knows what we need before we ask and understands our weakness and comforts us in our struggle. He is a gracious God who caters for all of our needs because he is Sovereign. When we allow the king to enter our hearts, we are offered the protection of heavenly grace by the most majestic, benevolent Father, who defends those who are his own.

‘Such love has no fear, because perfect love cast’s out all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.’

(1 John 4:18-19, NLT)

For now, I can only hold my wife in my arms and let her know that I love her, understanding that our Father in heaven also holds us both close to himself, loves us dearly, and weeps with us. We know this to be true because this is what Jesus did. He wept for his friend Lazarus who was dead before raising him from the dead; he had compassion on those who had faith enough to believe that salvation was not achieved through anything that they could do, but through the mercy of God. Believe me when I say, God is merciful. Sodom and Gomorrah was so corrupted by sin that it was deserving of destruction, yet we know through the conversation between Abraham and Yahweh that if one righteous person lived in that evil town, then the whole town would have been saved because of that righteous person.

We can be assured that whatever we have gone through and whatever lies before us, that nothing can separate us from the love of God. So we reflect on the words of the Apostle Paul, to help up put into perspective, the trouble that we are going through in the light of the truth…

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honour at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:31-39, NLT)

So our charge is to stop worrying about tomorrow, as it will sort itself out as a natural progression of what we have done today. Everything is in God’s hands no matter what obstacles are put in our way. Like the example of Job, as long as we have faith enough to believe, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us… so go on, put your faith, your hopes and your dreams into his hands, so that all will go well with you as you trust in the living God who is alive in your heart. Step out in faith… go and do the Lord’s work wherever you are and whatever you do; he will always honour what you share in love… be brave because faith is spelt RISK (John Wimber)... and remember that Jesus is the restoration man

“…for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or with little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13, NLT)

New Year, New Resolve...

The UK coastline along the West coast of England, Wales and Scotland is currently battling winter storms driven across the Atlantic Ocean by thermal currents that seem to cut across the normal weather patterns. This is causing more extreme weather for family at home in Morecambe, but it is odd that here on the East coast, we have some glorious morning sunshine that enables me to avoid putting the heating back on. This is a good thing for me as the cost of Gas and Electricity supply for an average older home is peaking at £140 pounds per month and I can generate some solar energy from the panels on the roof but it is terrible for those whose homes are flooded from swollen rivers and high tides.

The contrast of the weather on this small island is truly astonishing. Long forgotten waterways which have been erased from the land by mans ability to landscape, suddenly re-surface when the ground is so waterlogged. Properties that appear landlocked can suddenly emerge as islands in their own right. Our reaction to the storms of life can also be like this. Our fragile personalities, patched together with a number of emotional plasters that keep our public disposition together, can be overwhelmed when the adhesive gets worn out and a new plaster needs to be applied.

This post-Christmas period has been an odd mix of anticipation for the New Year, alongside the continuing worries for what has happened in our lives over the last one. We check out our battlements for any damage against the siege works that have been attacking our inner peace and try to make repairs. We can also see these types of actions taking place in all walks of life. Only this morning (January 2014), right wing newspapers are linking the ability of Romanian and Bulgarian workers to come to the UK and work, as a worrying sign for the future, proving that UK plc. should leave the European Union in order for it to protect its own. Other commentators speak of the amazing work-ethic of Eastern European migrant workers, compared to that of native born British workers, who grumble about doing a full day’s work for their pay.
 
I suppose it is a similar position to that which the Jews faced when Jesus challenged their birth right as children of Abraham; he questioned their automatic right to the inheritance God offered them for their obedience to the Law. Jesus pointed out that the promise was no longer exclusive to the Jews but open to anyone who believes in him; even those who were previously excluded. It is also reflected in the bible story that Jesus tells of labourers being picked for employment by a vineyard owner who wanted to pay all of his casual employee’s equally:
 

“God’s kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. Later, about nine o’clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o’clock. At five o’clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?’ They said, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He told them to go to work in his vineyard.

 

When the day’s work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, ‘Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.’ Those hired at five o’clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, ‘These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.’ He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?’ (Matthew 20:1-16, The Message)

So here in Matthew’s gospel we read of a similar story to that of our own today. A situation which Jesus had observed in the life of Israel at the time of his ministry. Whenever there is governance, there is taxation.  Tax collection was demanded from King Herod who was the nation’s monarchist head of state and also from Caesar, the Roman emperor whose occupying army had captured Jerusalem with Pontius Pilate as Praetor. Taxes were also requested from the Temple authorities so that they could carry out their priestly duties. With this many speculators vying for a slice of their income, it's no wonder that they all wanted to be paid for a fair day’s work and so the story still resonates today.

The story is about the division of wealth and the fairness in distributing the wages as a representation of the number of hours of work provided. In the parable we find that it does not matter to the land owner, when the person began the work, rather that they actually began to work when asked. All were promised payment for working and all received it equally. What is questioned here is the fairness of the landowner’s judgement to offer a full day’s pay regardless of the hours spent working. This really confuses our capitalist society used to hourly rates: the more hours you work, the higher the reward… but this story represents God’s generosity as a fair and honest provider to all people, regardless of how they started the journey.

It is a reminder to Christians that faith isn’t simply about works, rather our work is an expression of faith. The early morning employee’s in the story, faithfully agreed to a payment that the land owner offered and worked according to that agreement. This is the same duty that all Christians have; to be faithfully obedient to use whatever resources available for the building of God’s kingdom within our churches and the communities that we live. In doing so, we reveal more of God’s glory in the lives that we live, than can be gained solely through the amount of persuasive argument we can bring to others about the truth of the Gospel.

Migrant workers want to come to the UK because of the Christian social values that inaugurated the great institutions that make up our civil life. The NHS, education, social security, pension… the list of protections that have been won for people, often at great cost to those involved, is testimony to the humanity of the UK towards the people whom the political leaders are stewards over. This is what is attractive to others about the UK: people have value and will be rewarded for contributing to the society that they are part of.

Many argue that these workers should not have access to all of the benefits available, just as those in the Bible story. They haven’t met the criteria that I had to fulfil, so why then should they be allowed access to full benefits? All I can say is that here in Southend, the whole high street shopping area was restored and repaved due to European money; the seafront itself has had millions of pounds of European money spent to regenerate the area where no government money was available. So yes, UK Plc benefits from EU money and in return, we look after those citizens who chose to come and offer their services to us.

We must always be aware that another’s plight may not be due to their circumstance but rather a necessity. The UK for example, who were keen to go into Syria with a military presence were handicapped by a public vote not intervene in a situation what has now become a civil war. I am in no position to know all of the facts regarding the theology of Muslim doctrine, but it seems similar to that of which the UK suffered between Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians. The religious debate was woven within a political debate for sovereignty over land occupied by rival groups.

The UK government seems to have divorced itself from the conflict by refusing to offer asylum to those Syrians under threat from the civil war. Like in many divorces, some try to win others over with money rather than direct action. However, we can all see from our TV screens, that the level poverty and the desolation of the refugee camps, is something that the people caught up in the conflict should not have to contemplate. I have fussy eating habits and a level of hygiene that when compared to those living in the refugee camps, I have no grounds for complaint. I am relatively pampered considering that I have clean hot and cold water, heating, shelter from the elements, food, I am relatively healthy, and I am not imprisoned for something I have not done. We haven’t got a clue what it means to be persecuted, yet in the UK at least, we moan about all sorts of hardship that is relatively inconsequential when compared to what these refugees endure.

What is terrifying is the level of violence that the warring factions seem to warrant as being justified, often in the name of God. My experience of God does not command me to take up arms. Jesus was the epitome of this when he was arrested and falsely accused by those in the temple, of having a different hermeneutic to that of their own. The consequences being that Jesus was put to death on a cross, fulfilling over 400 prophesies concerning the birth of a Messiah, his death and his resurrection. What was so revelatory about Jesus is that, just as in the parable of the vineyard workers, all who accept his offer, are welcome to receive it and all who make themselves available to be used by him, are worthy.

There is no order or rank for those who choose faith. However, those that do not choose faith are inevitably outside of the grace that God offers. Jesus talks about those being in him as being like sheep following a shepherd and those who choose to remain outside of God's grace as being like goats. Each is treated differently due to their nature. Christians are encouraged to be transformed by the renewal of our minds through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; to become Christ-like in our attitudes towards all that life throws at us. This has consequences because there are times when we do well at this commission but more frequently, we are found wanting… I know I am often conflicted by my human nature battling with God’s will for me.

We can all blow hot and cold about our faith but do I always choose to do the right thing by God, despite my conflicted emotions? I can tweet one thing but say something completely contrary. I can encourage people in my Facebook messages and my blogs but I can fall at the very first hurdle. A good example of this is the test I experienced this week: On checking my blog post audience within the blogger website, I can see where the people who visited my site have come from. I can also check how the people who have read my blogs, found my little corner of the internet. You can click on these IP addresses to find out which websites my ‘blog-post’ was searched from.

Unfortunately, the link took me from my blog page to a pornography site! I was shocked at the images displayed because I did not expect to find a link using my blog address to access a porn site, or vice versa. Perhaps the link hid the pornographic site from the authorities?  I was left with the concern that my post’s had been high-jacked and the security of my blogs were compromised.

What do I do about it? Is it just an innocent link or is it more sinister? What if someone reads my blog and inadvertently goes to the pornography site? What if someone thinks I have ‘hosted this page? I had to make an instant decision to avoid checking my blog page in this way again so that I am not exposed to this type of association. Stealing my ‘url’ or my computer identity to harvest this type of activity is not something I have any experience of.

More importantly for my own spiritual well-being, I need to avoid being lured into this type of activity that acts as a cancer on many men, as well as devaluing the identity of women and putting the innocent exposed to human trafficking in danger. Some might say: ‘you are over-reacting and it is harmless...’ but I don’t agree. There are many men who view women according to their assessment of their body shape and the condition of their libido! Lust is a dangerous desire to feed, regardless of what the focus of your attention is. It corrupts relationships and marriages and destroys that which is wholesome and good.

So I am presented with a choice – an action. I am telling this story so that I put into action, a layer of accountability… the first layer being honesty. It is important to expose that which is hidden to the light of Jesus. We can then sort the bad from the good and turn to God for guidance and direction and avoid having to apply another emotional bandage. As my brothers and sisters in Jesus, it is important that we all learn from each other about how these types of temptations can draw us into unforeseen actions that we later regret and how we can practically deal with it. So together in our church communities, we all have a part to play within the ethical choices that we can make; a kind of conscience… a moral barometer for what is healthy and what is not.

 

God has revealed through his son Jesus, the way in which we should seek to live out our lives, resting in his good grace. As the parable suggests, we are like sheep following the good shepherd. His way provides the best conditions for our survival in a world full of predators, preying on our vulnerabilities would want to trip us up at every turn. The shepherd defended the sheep from every type of attack, providing new pastures and fresh water, moving to different locations dependent on the season… The shepherd is our best and only hope for survival in this world so it is in Jesus that I also place my trust for my journey in the next. The true shepherd is Jesus who gave up his life as a ransom for the sheep.

 

There is an implication then in the analogy of sheep and goats, that there will be a time when Jesus will select the sheep from the goats… that there is a difference between the two. The difference between the sheep and the goats is reflected in the decisions that we make in choosing to follow him or to reject his invitation. If I was to choose to dwell in the pornographic imagery that the web-link brought to my attention through my blog posts, then I would have made a choice to reject that which is wholesome and good for my character, in favour of something that would ultimately corrupt it... I become a goat!

If I ‘knowingly’ choose to linger on the site I had uncovered, clicking through the images and lusting after a sexual encounter with those on the screen, then I have led myself into sin and I instantly shame my God, my wife and myself in that gratuitous lustful action. The fact that I know it is wrong is testament to God’s truth dwelling within me, leaving me with a choice to make. Do I follow the shepherd or follow the herd? Following the herd who might argue '...It's only natural'  or suggest 'everyone else does it...', implies that there is nothing wrong with looking at pornography. However, I would argue that the connections we make within our conscious thinking by allowing ourselves to become a voyeur of pornography, has consequences when we deal with people in our ‘real’ encounters within the everyday and the now.

 

There will be a multitude of situations presented to us in our every day lives, where we have to choose to be obedient to God. Our ability to honour Jesus who hung on a cross for our sakes, should always be my number one choice. Anything else will be second best. Every time I choose second best, I create a fresh wound that needs bandaging, causing further division between myself and God. At some point, with his help, I will need to dismantle these bandages through his grace. We can be so blinded by our pursuit of what we feel is right, that we are unaware of the damage we are causing to ourselves and often, to others.

 

At some point we will need to deal with this damage because life on earth is short and we all need to bring to account the meaning of what our lives have represented. I’m sure that in old age there are many regrets for what could or might have been. Jesus would love to protect us from experiencing these regrets but at times we can be strong willed and believe we are making the best choices, thus rejecting his help and leaving us exposed to harm.

 

We are called to look after the weak and poor, those orphaned and widowed, those who have experienced great suffering… to these we should show the kind of generosity and kindness that Jesus spoke of in the parable of the Samaritan man, who came to the aid of a man he did not know. In the parable, Jesus describes the type of people who could have helped this man who had been robbed and beaten and left for dead, but chose not to. Each person described could have been anyone of us and yet help comes from the most unlikely of places. In the story about the one who would have been considered an outcast by the Jews who were listening, we find the message of the Gospel.

 

“There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.

 

“A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you the difference on my way back.’

(Luke 10:30-37, The Message)

Jesus tells this story because he was asked to identify who his ‘neighbour’ was. Jesus had used Leviticus 19:18 to explain what the greatest commandments were. The first being to love God with all of your heart. The second being to love your neighbour as yourself. The Pharisees, Chief Priests and teachers of the law were always challenging Jesus and his interpretation of the law, as they felt that they had the only true meaning for the scripture. So they tried to trip him up with traps regarding the interpretation of the Law of Moses, given to the Jews by God on Mount Sinai. If Jesus disregarded the law that Moses wrote down, then he would truly be a heretic or as some suggested, of the devil.

 

Jesus, knowing their motive, not only honoured the Law but came to bring a fresh revelation of its meaning regarding what was written in the law and how it should be lived out. This question is still true today. Who are our neighbours… the refugee from Syria, the economic migrant from Bulgaria? Are not all men bound together in peace through our mutual humanity? This is what Jesus seems to be suggesting here in this story. There will always be those who use deceit to get what they do not deserve – this is our human nature – to take what we want. Each culture has a veil of civility that masks our true nature: when the western allies invaded Iraq to remove a brutal dictator whom the west seemed to have neglected to remember, had helped to procure power, where they not in reality, securing the supply of oil?

 

We honour God through our actions as we live out our faith. Our faith compels us to action rather than just observe what goes on with a passive shrug of our shoulders. We can all be instigators of peace in whatever circumstance we face today. In Matthew 25:34-46 Jesus gives us a glimpse of what is to come in the future when this world is at an end and all of history is brought to account for what has gone before it.

 

Jesus identifies six conditions of humanity where we as Christians are compelled to act. These are: Hunger, thirst, homelessness, shelter, sickness, and those in prison. Confused by the meaning of these categories, Jesus identifies that this list did not refer to himself, as the observers who were listening were inclined to think but indeed, anyone who calls on the name of Jesus, who finds themselves in any one of these conditions.

 

As in the parable of the Samaritan, who was considered to be an alien in a foreign land yet had the heart to help a relative stranger, we too should be on the lookout for all those who are in need. We will then not simply be following the law of God, but be actually living it. State schools teachers are always encouraged to think of education as being more than a job… a vocation: An act of service that transcends mere work for financial reward; where employees feel compelled to offer all of themselves in order to meet the needs of those being educated.

 

This is the same for all Christians. Our faith is a vocation. We are compelled to see the purposes of God’s kingdom worked out here on this earth through the power of the Holy Spirit. There are many circumstances that in reality, we are ill-equipped to deal with, yet through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit alive in us, we can bodly go into those situations to work together for good. It is not in our strength that we can endure the many distractions of this world, but through his will for our lives: when we are weak, then he can be strong in us for the building up of the church.

'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. (Zachariah 4:6, NLT)

By God’s divine grace, the church can accomplish all things for the good of all who seek Jesus. God can accomplish this without us… yet he chooses to use us so that we can be part of the revelation of God here on earth until his return. I am constantly amazed at how God does this today. I have spoken before of the Storehouse which is part of Southend Vineyard. The manager of the Storehouse John, has had it on his heart for some time, to restore furniture to raise money for the charity and to equip those who use the centre with a set of skills. He had researched a paint technique that could be used to modernise old, second hand furniture and had trained up some of those out-of-work, to restore the furniture. John applied for a grant for this activity but it was declined. Believing that the project was worthwhile, he put up one piece of restored furniture for sale on eBay.

 

Meanwhile, a local estate agent had a client approach them with a redundant shop situated in the heart of a ‘trendy’ shopping area in the town. They wanted to offer it for use by the Storehouse so that it could be used to raise money. So ‘Restore’ set-up-shop and quickly sold ALL of its stock in one week! John’s faith in the benefit of the Restore project led to him doing what Joshua in the Old Testament did – he put his feet in the water as a demonstration of intent and God did the rest.

 

At the same time, a friend was made-redundant from his employment. His ‘trade’ was in retail… you might be ahead of me here. After enduring a number of months of uncertainty, worry and hardship, God worked through that family to bring all things together. Restore now has a member of staff who can use his retail skills in the setting up of the shop and bring further success to a project that began with uncertainty. God does work through all things for good.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them

(Romans 8:28, NLT)

Each morning when I wake up I am met with a new day and a new set of circumstances in overcoming my wife’s level of anxiety. I have prayed all of my best joined-up prayers and have exhausted my confidence in what I know to be true, yet I still believe that God will honour the work he has begun in my family at this time. I am assured that God has our best interests at heart and that our faith in Jesus is what guarantees our salvation by the renewing of our minds, even if for a little while we have to endure hardship.

 

He will not give us more than we can bear, nor will he give up on us if we go astray – he is the good shepherd. As we present ourselves willing to do his work on the earth, we are also prepared for the refiner’s fire who will restore us to a full and satisfying relationship with the father. Without this work deep down in our hearts, we will not be brave enough to expose our locked away and hidden hurt to the light of Christ.... it's time to stop dressing the bandages. In doing so, we gladly surrender to his will and look forward to the restoration of our soul… ‘I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.’ (John 3:3, NLT).  

 

Only when we truly understand the truth that God is the author and perfector of our faith, will we be in a position to trust him in all things that occur in the world and with our whole self. So let us make use of the scripture below to start this new year with a new resolve:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2, NLT)