Well, after the last two posts, I think it's fair to say that I haven't actually done that much so far this week, so I will write something else instead. So here is a post about some things Jesus said. Some of the more observant (and pedantic) among you may protest that they are not, strictly speaking, parables; but they are sort of wise sayings-and I just couldn't resist the title.
So, here are a couple of well known passages, the first from Matthew 5:-
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[h] 39 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. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
This is often understood to mean that Jesus is saying that we should be weak, as it were, and there may be something in that. But when you look into it a bit more deeply, it begins to look (or sound) a bit different. Mainly because we don't understand the context-the people he's referring to here are all in situations where they are not equal to the other; they are definitely inferior. In such circumstances, they would have been forced to go along with it; or, they could have turned to violence, which would have definitely ended badly for them. Now Jesus is definitely going along the lines of violence not being the solution, but He isn't actually saying that they should give up. Actually something quite different.
Well, clearly, He seems to be against violence here, but He is not saying to give up. Remembering that the people He was speaking to were in a downtrodden position, we can look at what He is advising them to do. First, if someone was hitting someone (an inferior) on the cheek, it would be a backhanded blow, to emphasise not only that they are inferior, but so unimportant that they don't even want to look at them. If they then 'offer the other cheek'; this means that they are forced to not only acknowledge them, but acknowledge them as equal-at least in value, if not in status. Now you may think, but that still means you're letting them hit you again; but if so, you're missing the point. In this situation, the 'hitter', the 'superior' has nothing to stop them hitting you anyway, and they would. What you are, in effect, saying is that, although you can't stop them, you are not going to accept their decision as to your value as a person. You are valuable just because you are a person; and you will hold onto that. And it gets better. The second point, about offering someone your coat was something that wasn't allowed in the Law; or, if you did take someone's coat, you had to give it back every night so they would be warm. So, publicly, at least, they would have to refuse.
But He has left the best for last. It doesn't say here who the 'someone' is, but it refers to Roman soldiers. There was a law in place that stated that any Roman soldier could demand of any conquered citizen to carry his pack up to one mile. Hypothetically, that would mean any soldier could demand it of any citizen; of whatever status. But it was no more than a mile, the punishments were harsh for any soldier caught abusing their power; therefore, if you offered to take it another mile, he would not only have to refuse, but would likely not go anywhere near the mile limit in the first place. I now have this cartoon image in my head of a soldier and a citizen fighting over who gets to carry the pack. My guess is that if the practice became widespread, the soldiers would probably stop demanding in the first place, as that would be easier-or, at least, less likely to get them into trouble. Just imagine what would happen if this sort of behaviour became widespread. Where the oppressors keep having to back down due to potential consequences. From this, I get two main ideas about God-one, that He respects and values everyone: and two, that He has a sense of humour. A very dry sense of humour here, I think.
And here is the second passage:-
20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they began to argue among themselves.
This passage has often been used to support the idea that religion and politics should be kept separate; especially in America. But in context, it doesn't really mean that at all. The key to this is the answer to the question of what is on the denarius. Now obviously, it had a picture of Caesar-as it makes clear, it was his coin-but it's what the inscription is that makes the difference. The inscription decided on by Augustus declared him to be the 'Son of God', which basically meant he was claiming to be divine himself; which apparently even some Romans found difficult to take. So, for a loyal Jew, you can imagine what impression that left. Given that on showing Jesus the coin, they are looking at the inscription, they can't pretend they don't know what it is saying; and nor can they ignore the quite clear implication of what Jesus is telling them-if the LORD is God, then Caesar isn't. In which case, which claim are they going to support?
And, in our case, also a direct challenge-if we believe and proclaim that God is Lord of All, then that means He's Lord of, well, all. So, if we try to keep Him out of politics, who are we therefore saying is Lord of us:-our lives, our choices, our ideas? If not Him, then who? It's easy to think that Jesus is saying that religion and politics should be kept separate; we like that, as that means we get to make our own choices about a lot of things. But if He's actually saying the opposite, that God doesn't want to be left out of anything, and that He has the right to be in charge; then what? If actually, there is no difference between religion and politics, or rather that religion is one aspect of politics; in that politics includes every decision we make, and the reasons for them; then the question of 'who is God' becomes a whole lot more real. As the old hymn says, He 'demands my soul, my life my all'.
Monday, 22 April 2013
Thursday, 11 April 2013
Resurrection To New Life
So this week I had a week off, and was so busy I needed to go back to work for a rest-certainly a rest from spending money.
Sunday was obviously Easter, or as some of my friends prefer, Resurrection Day. That was quite busy as I started off serving at church, then went home to probably relax. I phoned a friend to see if he was around, and he said maybe, so I started to relax, when the doorbell rang to reveal my sister and niece-with chocolate. I wasn't expecting that, surprising as that might seem, but I just happened to have some thorntons chocs that I gave them, and then we played Scrabble at my niece's insistence. She's not too bad at spelling, so that went alright. And then my friend came round, so that was cosy. Not long after that I went off to church to have fun in the evening. And that was loud, a real celebration. And fun was had in the pub afterwards as well.
The next day, Monday, I went off up to the top of Cleeve Hill with a few friends. I figured that most people might be free on the bank holiday, as I was (it's nice being in a job where that's always the case), so I asked if anyone would be up for it. We had a good walk, and then went and had lunch at The Rising Sun. A great pub with great food and great company! So that was nice. And I may well try to arrange another for the next bank holiday in May-if anyone else is up for it. Let me know.
And then Tuesday, a friend of mine came down. Which I really wasn't expecting when I first booked this week off. We spent the day in town, and then tried to figure out what we would do for the rest of the week. And in the evening, my landlord came round to pick up his last rent cheque from me, along with my written notice-now I just have to actually sort myself well enough to actually do everything that needs doing before I move. And after that, another friend came round and we all prayed together. Which turned out to be mostly praying for Neil-standing in the gap for him, as it were.
Wednesday, he went off to see his folks, as it was his dad's birthday, and my mum came round to help me clean-another task that needs to be done. Thankfully, she has been helping with this from January, so there's not actually that much left to do. But it was quite an exhausting day, at least for me.
Thursday was quite interesting, as I did all sorts of things. I had an 'interview' with a friend as I'm kind of mentoring him. First time I've ever done anything like that. Then I went to Pittville Park to meet up with some other friends, who wanted to let their children run around for, well, as long as possible, really. It was nice to see them, but upon them deciding it was too cold, we went back to theirs-with chips. Which was nice. And then 3 of us went to see the Passion cycle of the mystery plays at Gloucester, which several of my friends were in. It was interesting, as they had been adapted from original scripts from the 14th century, I think. Anyway, we all enjoyed it-although they had some problems with taking the final scene seriously. Honestly. I thought it was mostly pretty good, though I was having problems with some of it, until I got it in my head it was originally written for a 14th century audience. Once I remembered that, I enjoyed it a lot.
And then Friday was also pretty busy, as we went to Stroud to see some friends we don't see very often. Being in Brimscombe, I don't see them much more often than Neil does, and he lives in Leeds. It was great to see them (and meet their lodger), and we had a nice long chat and listened to music. Sarah recommended City Harmonic to us, and I mentioned Building 429 and Collective Soul-all definitely worth listening to. And we heard their daughter's song that she had made and recorded with friends. She is going to Bethel school of worship, so all I'll say at the moment is that Bekah Jones is a name you may hear in the next few years. You heard it here first. Oh, and we had a very fine plum cake as well. And in the evening we went to AlliandDarren's again to relax without the boys, although they did come downstairs to say hello to us. Anyway, more chatting happened, and eating, and a lot of laughter.
Saturday, Neil went back to his parents for the day, so apart from popping over to Newent to buy a baptism card, I just relaxed all day. Which was nice. And then I relaxed in the evening. Which was also nice. About all I did was to write the card for the baptism the next day, as I wouldn't really be awake enough to do it in the morning. I also wrote a poem to go with it.
So, on Sunday, I had the choice of arriving 30 mins early or late, so I went for early-which meant I had to catch a 9 a.m. bus to get there in time. So then I get there, only to discover that my friend isn't getting baptised that day. I didn't get it wrong; up until the evening before she was, but because her mum was ill and couldn't make it, she'd decided to put it off. Which made me think that God has a sense of humour-last year, He told me to start visiting other churches, while not leaving mine, and this was one that I'd always intended to go to; but before that point, I just hadn't put the effort in. So I do so for a celebration which didn't happen-sort of. By which I mean there was a baptism going on, just of someone I didn't know. And then a couple of my friends turned up, who like me, had never been to that church before. Like I said, God has a sense of humour. Well, it was a great service and we all really enjoyed it-and will all definitely be back at some point. After the service was a shared lunch, so that was also good, and then they gave me a lift back. Which meant I got a bit of time to relax before going to church in the evening.
So that was a very good end to the day, as always. Enjoyable, encouraging, and helpful. And afterward, I had some with friends. Both in Trinity House and in the pub. And an encouraging chat before going to bed with Neil pledging to put some money towards me going to Afghanistan-if that happens.
And after all that, I was looking forward to getting back to work for a bit of a rest!
Sunday was obviously Easter, or as some of my friends prefer, Resurrection Day. That was quite busy as I started off serving at church, then went home to probably relax. I phoned a friend to see if he was around, and he said maybe, so I started to relax, when the doorbell rang to reveal my sister and niece-with chocolate. I wasn't expecting that, surprising as that might seem, but I just happened to have some thorntons chocs that I gave them, and then we played Scrabble at my niece's insistence. She's not too bad at spelling, so that went alright. And then my friend came round, so that was cosy. Not long after that I went off to church to have fun in the evening. And that was loud, a real celebration. And fun was had in the pub afterwards as well.
The next day, Monday, I went off up to the top of Cleeve Hill with a few friends. I figured that most people might be free on the bank holiday, as I was (it's nice being in a job where that's always the case), so I asked if anyone would be up for it. We had a good walk, and then went and had lunch at The Rising Sun. A great pub with great food and great company! So that was nice. And I may well try to arrange another for the next bank holiday in May-if anyone else is up for it. Let me know.
And then Tuesday, a friend of mine came down. Which I really wasn't expecting when I first booked this week off. We spent the day in town, and then tried to figure out what we would do for the rest of the week. And in the evening, my landlord came round to pick up his last rent cheque from me, along with my written notice-now I just have to actually sort myself well enough to actually do everything that needs doing before I move. And after that, another friend came round and we all prayed together. Which turned out to be mostly praying for Neil-standing in the gap for him, as it were.
Wednesday, he went off to see his folks, as it was his dad's birthday, and my mum came round to help me clean-another task that needs to be done. Thankfully, she has been helping with this from January, so there's not actually that much left to do. But it was quite an exhausting day, at least for me.
Thursday was quite interesting, as I did all sorts of things. I had an 'interview' with a friend as I'm kind of mentoring him. First time I've ever done anything like that. Then I went to Pittville Park to meet up with some other friends, who wanted to let their children run around for, well, as long as possible, really. It was nice to see them, but upon them deciding it was too cold, we went back to theirs-with chips. Which was nice. And then 3 of us went to see the Passion cycle of the mystery plays at Gloucester, which several of my friends were in. It was interesting, as they had been adapted from original scripts from the 14th century, I think. Anyway, we all enjoyed it-although they had some problems with taking the final scene seriously. Honestly. I thought it was mostly pretty good, though I was having problems with some of it, until I got it in my head it was originally written for a 14th century audience. Once I remembered that, I enjoyed it a lot.
And then Friday was also pretty busy, as we went to Stroud to see some friends we don't see very often. Being in Brimscombe, I don't see them much more often than Neil does, and he lives in Leeds. It was great to see them (and meet their lodger), and we had a nice long chat and listened to music. Sarah recommended City Harmonic to us, and I mentioned Building 429 and Collective Soul-all definitely worth listening to. And we heard their daughter's song that she had made and recorded with friends. She is going to Bethel school of worship, so all I'll say at the moment is that Bekah Jones is a name you may hear in the next few years. You heard it here first. Oh, and we had a very fine plum cake as well. And in the evening we went to AlliandDarren's again to relax without the boys, although they did come downstairs to say hello to us. Anyway, more chatting happened, and eating, and a lot of laughter.
Saturday, Neil went back to his parents for the day, so apart from popping over to Newent to buy a baptism card, I just relaxed all day. Which was nice. And then I relaxed in the evening. Which was also nice. About all I did was to write the card for the baptism the next day, as I wouldn't really be awake enough to do it in the morning. I also wrote a poem to go with it.
So, on Sunday, I had the choice of arriving 30 mins early or late, so I went for early-which meant I had to catch a 9 a.m. bus to get there in time. So then I get there, only to discover that my friend isn't getting baptised that day. I didn't get it wrong; up until the evening before she was, but because her mum was ill and couldn't make it, she'd decided to put it off. Which made me think that God has a sense of humour-last year, He told me to start visiting other churches, while not leaving mine, and this was one that I'd always intended to go to; but before that point, I just hadn't put the effort in. So I do so for a celebration which didn't happen-sort of. By which I mean there was a baptism going on, just of someone I didn't know. And then a couple of my friends turned up, who like me, had never been to that church before. Like I said, God has a sense of humour. Well, it was a great service and we all really enjoyed it-and will all definitely be back at some point. After the service was a shared lunch, so that was also good, and then they gave me a lift back. Which meant I got a bit of time to relax before going to church in the evening.
So that was a very good end to the day, as always. Enjoyable, encouraging, and helpful. And afterward, I had some with friends. Both in Trinity House and in the pub. And an encouraging chat before going to bed with Neil pledging to put some money towards me going to Afghanistan-if that happens.
And after all that, I was looking forward to getting back to work for a bit of a rest!
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Travelling Through Holy Week
So, this week just gone was characterised by several things; creativity, prayer, emotions, and tears. If that makes it sound quite depressing, I should say at once that it wasn't-the range of emotions was all over the place. On Monday, I went to a meeting to do with Trinity Arts, which is pretty self explanatory-my church is called Holy Trinity and we are hoping/aiming to develop art and creativity in the church. We have been going a while, and have put on several events and workshops, and we have a meeting every so often. Usually, I find these meetings fun, but am left feeling slightly disappointed; but this time, something just seemed to click for me, and I felt that we were getting somewhere for the first time (that is, I felt it for the first time, not the first time it's happened). We spoke and prayed about several things, including the event by Springs Dance Company on Thursday. Anyway, there was a good time and spirit about the whole meeting, and I look forward to see what will come of it.
Tuesday was the last ALPHA evening, which was a bit sad. The Taskforce arranged to have a get together next week, which was good. And then we realised we couldn't go down the pub afterwards as usual, as they were having new floors put in. So Luke bought a couple of bottles of wine and entertained us all with his impressions of Little Britain. And a good time again was had by all. And I suggested getting together to go for a walk Easter Monday.
I don't think anything out of the ordinary happened Wednesday, except I was in work all day on my own. So I relaxed in the evening.
Thursday was the evening of the Springs event 'Bread of Life'; which I really can't describe. This may be because I'm not that good at description (you decide), or just that dance is more on an emotional level than intellectual. I can tell you that everyone I spoke to enjoyed it, and I had tears in my eyes at a couple of points.
And then Friday. Good Friday. Where we had a meditative type service, with paintings along the walls. I was stewarding this, which also meant I helped with the Communion-something I've never done before. I've always wondered about doing that; and when it finally happened, it felt like just serving in any other capacity. Which was interesting in itself. On the one hand, it kind of feels that it should be 'different' in some way, and on the other hand, I was just there because they needed help and I was going to the service anyway. The main centrepoint of the service was a cross in the centre, and people were invited to put a hand in paint and put it on the cross as a visual reminder that sin went from us onto Him at the cross-and, I guess that sin is messy. And after the service I went to look around the place I am now going to move into at the end of this month-and then told my landlord I am moving. All I have to do now is give him the written notice, which he should have picked up yesterday. Something to pray about, maybe?
So, that was my week-and following that came EASTER!. More on that to come...
Tuesday was the last ALPHA evening, which was a bit sad. The Taskforce arranged to have a get together next week, which was good. And then we realised we couldn't go down the pub afterwards as usual, as they were having new floors put in. So Luke bought a couple of bottles of wine and entertained us all with his impressions of Little Britain. And a good time again was had by all. And I suggested getting together to go for a walk Easter Monday.
I don't think anything out of the ordinary happened Wednesday, except I was in work all day on my own. So I relaxed in the evening.
Thursday was the evening of the Springs event 'Bread of Life'; which I really can't describe. This may be because I'm not that good at description (you decide), or just that dance is more on an emotional level than intellectual. I can tell you that everyone I spoke to enjoyed it, and I had tears in my eyes at a couple of points.
And then Friday. Good Friday. Where we had a meditative type service, with paintings along the walls. I was stewarding this, which also meant I helped with the Communion-something I've never done before. I've always wondered about doing that; and when it finally happened, it felt like just serving in any other capacity. Which was interesting in itself. On the one hand, it kind of feels that it should be 'different' in some way, and on the other hand, I was just there because they needed help and I was going to the service anyway. The main centrepoint of the service was a cross in the centre, and people were invited to put a hand in paint and put it on the cross as a visual reminder that sin went from us onto Him at the cross-and, I guess that sin is messy. And after the service I went to look around the place I am now going to move into at the end of this month-and then told my landlord I am moving. All I have to do now is give him the written notice, which he should have picked up yesterday. Something to pray about, maybe?
So, that was my week-and following that came EASTER!. More on that to come...
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Leading Into Holy Week
With an unusual start to the weekend, I discovered I am probably old. Well, not the start exactly, because that was work as normal, but Saturday evening I went to a Taize service. And I was almost the youngest one there. So, therefore, I must be old. Probably.
Anyway, for those of you who have never been to a service inspired by Taize, which is a community in France visited by people of all denominations (and ages), what you need to know really is that it is quiet. They build silence into their liturgies, which are quite simple to start with-the idea being that anyone can join in if they wish. Because anyone can worship. The service was lovely, quite relaxing for me. Though that may have been partly because I was quite tired anyway. I kind of dozed a bit, but I didn't sleep, as I joined in with most of the responses. I was aware of Taize services before, and discovered I actually knew several bits of the liturgy they were using. The whole thing was very peaceful, and I will definitely go again. If anyone is interested, it's at st Mary's church every couple of months-the next one should be around May 18th-it will be a saturday, anyway.
And then, afterwards, chatting with a few folk, I discovered that Folk On were playing a bit later at St Matthews-pretty much just across the road. So I had to decide whether or not I would go-and I went for 'yes'. I went into town and grabbed something to eat, then headed straight over. I met up with a couple of friends, and got a seat near the front. Which was good, as the place was pretty packed. Now, if you haven't seen Folk On before, they're a folk trio who either attend the Salvation Army church locally, or come from the small cotswold village of Little Dribblepatch (so small you won't find it on any map. Or google earth-apparently the day the satellite came over they hid the village in the bushes). Needless to say, they're not entirely serious. Or not at all. Which is all to the good. Needless to say, if you like music or comedy, then you'll probably like them-and if you like both, then you absolutely will. I enjoyed myself muchly, and even caught up with a couple of friends who I wasn't expecting to see, one from Bristol. Where they're playing soon, if you fancy it.
So that was Saturday evening. Sunday was much more relaxed, starting with getting up later for a start. I read a bit, and then I wrote a poem inspired by the evening. And then I went to church. God told me to got to St Matthews that evening, which was interesting, as I wasn't expecting my Saturday to be mostly there as well. But it was also interesting because they did a completely different service to what I think went on at my church. The start was probably similar, and then it was quite different-they had what was basically a small passion play, going through the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. And then there was a cross, in which we were invited to hammer nails in, before taking a palm cross. I was reminded once again what the point of the crucifixion is all about, and the fact that Jesus did that for me. Definitely something that will stay with me for some time to come.
Anyway, for those of you who have never been to a service inspired by Taize, which is a community in France visited by people of all denominations (and ages), what you need to know really is that it is quiet. They build silence into their liturgies, which are quite simple to start with-the idea being that anyone can join in if they wish. Because anyone can worship. The service was lovely, quite relaxing for me. Though that may have been partly because I was quite tired anyway. I kind of dozed a bit, but I didn't sleep, as I joined in with most of the responses. I was aware of Taize services before, and discovered I actually knew several bits of the liturgy they were using. The whole thing was very peaceful, and I will definitely go again. If anyone is interested, it's at st Mary's church every couple of months-the next one should be around May 18th-it will be a saturday, anyway.
And then, afterwards, chatting with a few folk, I discovered that Folk On were playing a bit later at St Matthews-pretty much just across the road. So I had to decide whether or not I would go-and I went for 'yes'. I went into town and grabbed something to eat, then headed straight over. I met up with a couple of friends, and got a seat near the front. Which was good, as the place was pretty packed. Now, if you haven't seen Folk On before, they're a folk trio who either attend the Salvation Army church locally, or come from the small cotswold village of Little Dribblepatch (so small you won't find it on any map. Or google earth-apparently the day the satellite came over they hid the village in the bushes). Needless to say, they're not entirely serious. Or not at all. Which is all to the good. Needless to say, if you like music or comedy, then you'll probably like them-and if you like both, then you absolutely will. I enjoyed myself muchly, and even caught up with a couple of friends who I wasn't expecting to see, one from Bristol. Where they're playing soon, if you fancy it.
So that was Saturday evening. Sunday was much more relaxed, starting with getting up later for a start. I read a bit, and then I wrote a poem inspired by the evening. And then I went to church. God told me to got to St Matthews that evening, which was interesting, as I wasn't expecting my Saturday to be mostly there as well. But it was also interesting because they did a completely different service to what I think went on at my church. The start was probably similar, and then it was quite different-they had what was basically a small passion play, going through the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. And then there was a cross, in which we were invited to hammer nails in, before taking a palm cross. I was reminded once again what the point of the crucifixion is all about, and the fact that Jesus did that for me. Definitely something that will stay with me for some time to come.
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Painting and Praying
Well I got home on Monday to find things moved around in the flat, and painters rags covering other things up. I wasn't totally nonplussed, because I did know my landlords were planning to have the place painted, but I didn't know when. So I checked the phone to discover a couple of messages from them, one asking if I could get in touch with them to say when would be convenient, and one saying that as I hadn't got back in touch with them, they'd booked the painters in anyway. As it happened, this week was actually pretty convenient, as I'm still working full time hours, so I'm out most of the day anyway. Apart from Tuesday, which was my day off; so I had to think about what I was going to do then.
And on Tuesday, I had decided that sleep was important, so I didn't set my alarm, and just got up whenever and spoke to the painters. They were working at one end of the flat, so I quite happily stayed at the other end and read for a bit. After a while, they came and had lunch and we chatted; and, after, I carried on reading and went online for a bit. Until they finished for the day at about 4, when they cleaned up and left shortly before 5. And then I left to go to ALPHA, where I was helping with the catering. You'll no doubt be pleased to know that doesn't involve me cooking in any way-that's pretty much finished before I get there. I just help with the clearing up, and, this week (because we were short), I helped serve food. And then sat around chatting (and prayed a bit), until it was all over. When I went down the pub. Not on my own, I would like to be absolutely clear, but with a few others. Thankfully, most of the racegoers had gone elsewhere by then, so we were pretty much on our own-all 12 of us. So a bit more chatting ensued, and I discovered another friend of mine was a painter of a different sort-though she insists she's not very good. We shall see at some point, I hope.
And on Wednesday, I was back at work, so that meant I didn't have to concern myself with the painting. Except that I'd arranged to meet up with a friend to pray, and had to rearrange it to be at his house. With wet paint around, I figured it would be better if I went out, rather than inviting someone else over. But that was simple enough, and it meant he cooked for me. Sweet potato, mmm. So we chatted about all sorts, from 'The Young Ones' to the effect thoughts have on life. Not positive thinking, but the idea that tohughts can actually have a direct effect on others people without being vocalised. I hadn't really heard of this before, but, as we discussed it, we realised that there was a lot of power in thoughts that we hadn't considered before, and that isn't really considered much among Christians. But it probably should be. No, make that definitely.
One of the things I prayed about was whether I should go out on the streets to pray. As it was Race Week, some people in church thought it would be a good idea to go out on the streets each evening, and chat and offer prayer to anyone passing. And just see what God did. Anyway, I felt He wanted me to go out on Thursday. But before that, I went to a friend's house in the evening. She had arranged to have a Skype conversation with another friend who is currently in Canada, and invited a few people round. I was the first to arrive (which is probably the first time that's ever happened), because I had to come straight from work. So I got to watch 'In the night garden', as her daughter was teething and needed to be cheered up. And then other people arrived and we had our Skype conversation, and then prayed for Lydia, and then went our separate ways. I got home and grabbed something to eat, before going out to the meeting place for those about to pray. And no-one was there. So I went into church, where we have a weekly prayer meeting, to discover some people just about to set off. So I joined them. In my group was someone from Bristol, who was in Cheltenham working, and knew about our church-she goes to a church there called Woodies, which works with us. Anyway, we went out, and after one short conversation with a guy with a leg in plaster who was quite happy to chat, but definitely did not want to be prayed for-I've never seen anyone move so fast-we got onto the High Street. Where we almost immediately stopped by someone who knows me-who I hadn't seen for literally years. Which was really nice. She invited me to her baptism in three weeks time, which I'm looking forward to, and asked us to pray for a friend of hers. And the friend she was with, who doesn't believe in God, was quite happy to allow us to ask God to bless him. She did get a photo taken of us all, but I haven't got a copy. Yet.
Well, that was clearly the highlight of the week, but I did go out Friday as well. A friend texted and asked if anyone was up for going into town. Apparently no-one else did, but we had a good time. Yes, the pub was fairly full, but not crowded; and it was good just to relax and chat. Nice. Saturday I stayed in-probably a good thing I didn't even try to get to the A.S.E.T. dinner, as I was so tired.
And on Tuesday, I had decided that sleep was important, so I didn't set my alarm, and just got up whenever and spoke to the painters. They were working at one end of the flat, so I quite happily stayed at the other end and read for a bit. After a while, they came and had lunch and we chatted; and, after, I carried on reading and went online for a bit. Until they finished for the day at about 4, when they cleaned up and left shortly before 5. And then I left to go to ALPHA, where I was helping with the catering. You'll no doubt be pleased to know that doesn't involve me cooking in any way-that's pretty much finished before I get there. I just help with the clearing up, and, this week (because we were short), I helped serve food. And then sat around chatting (and prayed a bit), until it was all over. When I went down the pub. Not on my own, I would like to be absolutely clear, but with a few others. Thankfully, most of the racegoers had gone elsewhere by then, so we were pretty much on our own-all 12 of us. So a bit more chatting ensued, and I discovered another friend of mine was a painter of a different sort-though she insists she's not very good. We shall see at some point, I hope.
And on Wednesday, I was back at work, so that meant I didn't have to concern myself with the painting. Except that I'd arranged to meet up with a friend to pray, and had to rearrange it to be at his house. With wet paint around, I figured it would be better if I went out, rather than inviting someone else over. But that was simple enough, and it meant he cooked for me. Sweet potato, mmm. So we chatted about all sorts, from 'The Young Ones' to the effect thoughts have on life. Not positive thinking, but the idea that tohughts can actually have a direct effect on others people without being vocalised. I hadn't really heard of this before, but, as we discussed it, we realised that there was a lot of power in thoughts that we hadn't considered before, and that isn't really considered much among Christians. But it probably should be. No, make that definitely.
One of the things I prayed about was whether I should go out on the streets to pray. As it was Race Week, some people in church thought it would be a good idea to go out on the streets each evening, and chat and offer prayer to anyone passing. And just see what God did. Anyway, I felt He wanted me to go out on Thursday. But before that, I went to a friend's house in the evening. She had arranged to have a Skype conversation with another friend who is currently in Canada, and invited a few people round. I was the first to arrive (which is probably the first time that's ever happened), because I had to come straight from work. So I got to watch 'In the night garden', as her daughter was teething and needed to be cheered up. And then other people arrived and we had our Skype conversation, and then prayed for Lydia, and then went our separate ways. I got home and grabbed something to eat, before going out to the meeting place for those about to pray. And no-one was there. So I went into church, where we have a weekly prayer meeting, to discover some people just about to set off. So I joined them. In my group was someone from Bristol, who was in Cheltenham working, and knew about our church-she goes to a church there called Woodies, which works with us. Anyway, we went out, and after one short conversation with a guy with a leg in plaster who was quite happy to chat, but definitely did not want to be prayed for-I've never seen anyone move so fast-we got onto the High Street. Where we almost immediately stopped by someone who knows me-who I hadn't seen for literally years. Which was really nice. She invited me to her baptism in three weeks time, which I'm looking forward to, and asked us to pray for a friend of hers. And the friend she was with, who doesn't believe in God, was quite happy to allow us to ask God to bless him. She did get a photo taken of us all, but I haven't got a copy. Yet.
Well, that was clearly the highlight of the week, but I did go out Friday as well. A friend texted and asked if anyone was up for going into town. Apparently no-one else did, but we had a good time. Yes, the pub was fairly full, but not crowded; and it was good just to relax and chat. Nice. Saturday I stayed in-probably a good thing I didn't even try to get to the A.S.E.T. dinner, as I was so tired.
Monday, 11 March 2013
Mothers, and Father
I have had a busy week in a way, this week. I've been working full time this week, as my manager is on holiday, and I've been too tired to really think about doing much outside of work. Which has meant that there hasn't really been anything to talk about on here. However, yesterday was Mothering Sunday (not Mother's Day), and was also the end of a conference at church.
Mothering Sunday is not Mother's Day (which apparently is in May)-the origin of it was to celebrate at your 'mother' church, to enable families to spend time together. Read about it here if you want to know more. But it's still a good excuse to spend time with my mum, which I did. I didn't go to her church, though, as I had to be at mine in the morning to sell tickets for a performance by Springs Dance Company called 'Bread of Life'. It's on Maundy Thursday (March 28th) if you're interested.
Anyway, as I had to be there at the end of the service, it only made sense to be there for the actual service. Where the speaker was one of speakers we'd had at the conference during the week. He started by getting people to pray for people who had problems with back pain, all of whom got better. One is a good friend of mine, and I spoke to her after the service, and I can say definitely that she frankly said the pain was gone. Which is cool. And a good way to start a talk. I can only really remember a few things about his talk; the main thing being a story about a guy in a gang who first came to his church because he wanted to shoot him. He didn't do anything, and left in a hurry at the end of the service. Shortly after that, he got arrested; and Robbie (Dawkins, the speaker) went to visit him in prison. He was aggressive at first, and was in his face, and demanded that Robbie tell him what he did to him. Robbie didn't know what he meant and said so; he told him that when he went to the church he found himself unable to move until the end, so he got out of there. Robbie told him that was God, and He wanted to give him the chance to have a different life. The guy refused at first, but on being told that most of the N.T. was written by a murderer decided he wanted to. Robbie prayed for him in the interview cell, and his face changed. He said that he had been carrying round rage, hate and shame all his life, and it had gone. I had tears in my eyes at that point, though that wasn't the end of the story. If you want to hear it all, you can listen here- the talk is 'The Presence in the Boat'.
So then, I went to see my mum. My sister wasn't there, possibly as her daughter had decided she was going to come home early from her dad's house as she "should be with you on Mother's Day", and she was going to make her lunch. I don't know how that went; originally she was going to do breakfast, which she was quite confident she knew how to do. And so I spent a nice few hours with my mum, talking about all sorts of things, but I remember Lent and church came up in the conversation a lot. Which was nice, but all good things must come to an end (and, thankfully, bad ones); and so, I went back home-or at least to the evening service.
Where the talk was on grace. I can remember him talking about waves and tides cleaning up beaches; about how after a holiday weekend, the beach is in a real state, but with time and tides, it gets restored. This may seem a small, simple thing, but it's far from that. To realise, to remember that whatever has happened God not only can but will restore is a vital truth to hang on to. It may be all you do have to hang on to sometimes, until He does it. If you need it, that talk is available too, on the same page.
And then, I had some good times with friends, some I've only started to get to know recently. And I spoke to Dan Browne, who tried to get me to go to the A.S.E.T. ball this coming week. When I said I couldn't afford it, he prayed for me to be given money. Just in general, not money to go. So it will be interesting to see what God does.
Mothering Sunday is not Mother's Day (which apparently is in May)-the origin of it was to celebrate at your 'mother' church, to enable families to spend time together. Read about it here if you want to know more. But it's still a good excuse to spend time with my mum, which I did. I didn't go to her church, though, as I had to be at mine in the morning to sell tickets for a performance by Springs Dance Company called 'Bread of Life'. It's on Maundy Thursday (March 28th) if you're interested.
Anyway, as I had to be there at the end of the service, it only made sense to be there for the actual service. Where the speaker was one of speakers we'd had at the conference during the week. He started by getting people to pray for people who had problems with back pain, all of whom got better. One is a good friend of mine, and I spoke to her after the service, and I can say definitely that she frankly said the pain was gone. Which is cool. And a good way to start a talk. I can only really remember a few things about his talk; the main thing being a story about a guy in a gang who first came to his church because he wanted to shoot him. He didn't do anything, and left in a hurry at the end of the service. Shortly after that, he got arrested; and Robbie (Dawkins, the speaker) went to visit him in prison. He was aggressive at first, and was in his face, and demanded that Robbie tell him what he did to him. Robbie didn't know what he meant and said so; he told him that when he went to the church he found himself unable to move until the end, so he got out of there. Robbie told him that was God, and He wanted to give him the chance to have a different life. The guy refused at first, but on being told that most of the N.T. was written by a murderer decided he wanted to. Robbie prayed for him in the interview cell, and his face changed. He said that he had been carrying round rage, hate and shame all his life, and it had gone. I had tears in my eyes at that point, though that wasn't the end of the story. If you want to hear it all, you can listen here- the talk is 'The Presence in the Boat'.
So then, I went to see my mum. My sister wasn't there, possibly as her daughter had decided she was going to come home early from her dad's house as she "should be with you on Mother's Day", and she was going to make her lunch. I don't know how that went; originally she was going to do breakfast, which she was quite confident she knew how to do. And so I spent a nice few hours with my mum, talking about all sorts of things, but I remember Lent and church came up in the conversation a lot. Which was nice, but all good things must come to an end (and, thankfully, bad ones); and so, I went back home-or at least to the evening service.
Where the talk was on grace. I can remember him talking about waves and tides cleaning up beaches; about how after a holiday weekend, the beach is in a real state, but with time and tides, it gets restored. This may seem a small, simple thing, but it's far from that. To realise, to remember that whatever has happened God not only can but will restore is a vital truth to hang on to. It may be all you do have to hang on to sometimes, until He does it. If you need it, that talk is available too, on the same page.
And then, I had some good times with friends, some I've only started to get to know recently. And I spoke to Dan Browne, who tried to get me to go to the A.S.E.T. ball this coming week. When I said I couldn't afford it, he prayed for me to be given money. Just in general, not money to go. So it will be interesting to see what God does.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Afghan Life
A few days ago I went to a TrinityMens event-which is exactly what it sounds like. An event put on by Trinity for men. It was a curry evening (yum), which sounds sort of typical of a men's event, but there was a bit more to it than that. There were actually 2 points, 3 if you count the simply getting-together-and-being-men aspect. It was to raise awareness and funds for A. S. E. T.- a charity which was set up by Dan Browne, who used to work for our church.
He gave a presentation about the work of A.S.E.T.-what they are doing, how they got to do it, and what they are looking to do in the future. He started as he always does apparently, with an open invitation to join him there, for however long; so, I'm repeating that offer. If you want to join him there, for however long, you're welcome-just contact the organisation. and then he explained how he got there. Just after 9/11, he was leading a prayer meeting, and he started calling out for God to send people to help in Afghanistan; and the upshot of that was that God sent him. He said he learned from that that it's always good to be aware that God may make you the answer to your prayers. So if you don't want to risk praying for them, you could always just send money-though actually I'm sure he'd prefer prayers, so he's hoping you want to take that risk.
Anyway, less than a year after that point, he was out there working for an N.G.O. in Kabul, which lasted for a year or so, before he felt he should go to the north of the country. And to do that, he needed to start his own organisation, so A.S.E.T. was born. He moved to Mazar-al-Sharif (a town who's name is 'grave of the holy man'-now there's ominous) and started whatever he could start. Which has grown from very little to actually quite a lot now. There's a lot to do, and the longer he's stayed, the more opportunities he's had to do more. The main thing they're hoping to work on now is well building, because Afghanistan is full of small villages who get their water from dirty sources, which is the main cause of all sorts of illnesses. Which is what we were intending to raise money for. Now as a well drilling rig costs approx £10000, you won't be at all surprised to learn that we didn't raise that much that evening, and nor were we intending to.
And that leads me on to the final point of the evening. Our fundraising idea is to canoe down the river Wye, or at least some of it. The amount they have in mind is 88 miles, which the idea is to do in two days. So, FAQ. Do you have to be able to canoe? Well, as long as you're confident you can keep going, you're unlikely to capsize, as they'll all be two man canoes. And there will be training days available. Do you have to be available for the training days? No, not if you can't make them. It will be a good time to build up relationships between all the people doing it, but it's not essential. Do you have to be a member of Trinity? Again no, as long as you're up for the challenge, and support what we're raising funds for. And, finally, do you have to be a man? Well, unsurprisingly, yes is the answer to this one. Or at least a male over the age of 14-if younger than 18, then an adult guardian must be taking part. And that's all, I think.
Oh, and if you want to go to Afghanistan for a couple of weeks with Dan, the next time with free spaces is in October, so plenty of time to plan...
He gave a presentation about the work of A.S.E.T.-what they are doing, how they got to do it, and what they are looking to do in the future. He started as he always does apparently, with an open invitation to join him there, for however long; so, I'm repeating that offer. If you want to join him there, for however long, you're welcome-just contact the organisation. and then he explained how he got there. Just after 9/11, he was leading a prayer meeting, and he started calling out for God to send people to help in Afghanistan; and the upshot of that was that God sent him. He said he learned from that that it's always good to be aware that God may make you the answer to your prayers. So if you don't want to risk praying for them, you could always just send money-though actually I'm sure he'd prefer prayers, so he's hoping you want to take that risk.
Anyway, less than a year after that point, he was out there working for an N.G.O. in Kabul, which lasted for a year or so, before he felt he should go to the north of the country. And to do that, he needed to start his own organisation, so A.S.E.T. was born. He moved to Mazar-al-Sharif (a town who's name is 'grave of the holy man'-now there's ominous) and started whatever he could start. Which has grown from very little to actually quite a lot now. There's a lot to do, and the longer he's stayed, the more opportunities he's had to do more. The main thing they're hoping to work on now is well building, because Afghanistan is full of small villages who get their water from dirty sources, which is the main cause of all sorts of illnesses. Which is what we were intending to raise money for. Now as a well drilling rig costs approx £10000, you won't be at all surprised to learn that we didn't raise that much that evening, and nor were we intending to.
And that leads me on to the final point of the evening. Our fundraising idea is to canoe down the river Wye, or at least some of it. The amount they have in mind is 88 miles, which the idea is to do in two days. So, FAQ. Do you have to be able to canoe? Well, as long as you're confident you can keep going, you're unlikely to capsize, as they'll all be two man canoes. And there will be training days available. Do you have to be available for the training days? No, not if you can't make them. It will be a good time to build up relationships between all the people doing it, but it's not essential. Do you have to be a member of Trinity? Again no, as long as you're up for the challenge, and support what we're raising funds for. And, finally, do you have to be a man? Well, unsurprisingly, yes is the answer to this one. Or at least a male over the age of 14-if younger than 18, then an adult guardian must be taking part. And that's all, I think.
Oh, and if you want to go to Afghanistan for a couple of weeks with Dan, the next time with free spaces is in October, so plenty of time to plan...
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