Blue Monday

Now depending on who you ask either today or next Monday is classed as blue Monday, or the most depressing day of the year. The reasoning behind this is that due to the reduced amount of sunlight, the cold weather, the huge amount of time until the summer and next Christmas and the debt incurred and the weight gained over the past Christmas all compound. With all these negatives compounding it is somewhat understandable that people can feel down and depressed, add into it being the first day of the work week and it is hard to picture a more generally depressive day.

However there are two ways of thinking about it, yes there are a lot of things to be depressed about and there are a lot of things that you would struggle to get excited about. But the way I see it is that there is so much more to be cheerful and excited about. If this is the lowest point in the year then surely things can only get better from here on out. If this is the most generally blue day then every other day in the year in general is likely to be better.

James 1:2-4
     Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

The Bible tells us that although we are going to get tough times we are going to have periods that we feel as though everything is being thrown at us at once. James tells us that it is in these times that our faith shows through and through these struggles that we learn, develop and mature.

Isaiah 48:10
     Do you see what I've done?
          I've refined you, but not without fire.
          I've tested you like silver in the furnace of affliction.

God has not promised us that we will always have an easy ride, He has not told us that He will prevent the world from throwing us around on the rough waves of life. He has however promised that He will use this suffering and the affliction we suffer for our good, He has promised to bring us through it all and that we will be stronger on the other side. We have to trust that God is always by our side through all things, protecting and teaching us as we traverse the stormy seas of life. 

Advent Challenge Day 16

This challenge is now complete, please feel free to browse all of the 

completed tasks via the Advent Challenge tab.

The task for yesterday was to read a section of scripture, it is a section that I have looked at recently in my linked Bible study so I have  already considered it recently. The section is Isaiah 9:1-7 which when  looked at it last time I only focused on verse 2. This time however I want to look at a bit more of it.

Isaiah 9:1-7

    But there'll be no darkness for those who were in trouble. Earlier he did bring the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali into disrepute, but the time is coming when he'll make that whole area glorious—the road along the Sea, the country past the Jordan, international Galilee.

        The people who walked in darkness
            have seen a great light.
        For those who lived in a land of deep shadows—
            light! sunbursts of light! 
        You repopulated the nation,
            you expanded its joy.
        Oh, they're so glad in your presence!
            Festival joy!
        The joy of a great celebration,
            sharing rich gifts and warm greetings. 
        The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants—
            all their whips and cudgels and curses—
        Is gone, done away with, a deliverance
            as surprising and sudden as Gideon's old victory over Midian. 
        The boots of all those invading troops,
            along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood,
        Will be piled in a heap and burned,
            a fire that will burn for days! 
        For a child has been born—for us!
            the gift of a son—for us!
        He'll take over
            the running of the world.
        His names will be: Amazing Counselor,
            Strong God,
        Eternal Father,
            Prince of Wholeness. 
        His ruling authority will grow,
            and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.
        He'll rule from the historic David throne
            over that promised kingdom.
        He'll put that kingdom on a firm footing
            and keep it going
        With fair dealing and right living,
            beginning now and lasting always.
        The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies
            will do all this.

This passage is packed with promises from God, what He intends and how He intends to do it. The light which is prophesied about here has a huge job to live up to just by this short passage. Deliverance from oppressors and invading troops, a leader who will be an amazing counsellor, a prince of peace and an eternal father. His authority will grow, He will fix the nation starting now and lasting forever.

It is easy to see why the Jews built up so much expectation around the coming Messiah, there was so much that was said about Him by the prophets, they expected so much. So how was it that they missed Him when He finally came?

The Jews were expecting someone to come in with amazing power to sweep away the forces of evil and tyranny with military strength and his awesome power. They were wanting a Messiah who would utterly destroy their enemies so that the Jews could rule forever in a land of peace. But they forgot God's awesomeness and His love for all mankind, they forgot about the fact that we are all God's children and He loves each one of us.

The truth is that God sent His son in to the world to do all of these things, and Jesus did do them, but His plans were not like our plans, His ways were not like our ways. Jesus came and taught us the way to live, led us by His example. He showed us how to beat the oppressors and tyrants not by being strong, but by being weak and humble. Yes Jesus did have enough power to have completed these prophesies in anyway He chose, He could have led a great army of Jews and conquered the world, but that would not have shown the world God's love for us, it would not have been in His character.

Yes God does sometimes show an angry and jealous side to His personality, He does want us all to love Him, follow Him and worship Him. But that is because He loves us unconditionally, He knows what the enemy is like, He knows what the enemy can do. We can not understand the heartbreak humanity must cause God through our actions and behaviour, yet still He loves us. Jesus displayed God's character on earth, He was loving and kind but He also showed the anger and jealousness of God in the temple. We sometimes forget when we are looking at Jesus we are looking at God too, the Father and the Son, the same and indivisible, one and the same, there are three persons in the Godhead-the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, undivided in essence and co-equal in power and glory.

This was a slightly different look at the same verses that I considered last time, please let me know what you thin of both of them, do you agree or not? If so why not? I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. The task selected for today has been task number 22. Put a Christmas Bible verse on your Christmas tree. I'm glad that this one has only just come up now otherwise it may have been a difficult one to complete, the reason being that our Christmas tree only went up last night. Check back tomorrow to see which Bible verse I selected and why, but until then, Merry Christmas.

As for God

Psalm 18:30 (NIV)

     As for God, His way is perfect:
     The LORD’s word is flawless;
     He shields all who take refuge in Him.

I would imagine that anyone who said that they had never doubted the Lord or His plans would be lying. As Humans we find it difficult to let go of what we want, of our plans and believing in ourselves. This causes us to ask questions and doubt God's plans because they do not match up with ours or they are not taking us in the direction that we want to go in.

So many times in so many different situations in the Bible we are reminded about God's perfection, the fact that His plans are flawless and in our best interests. In so many stories and parales we see that the Lord only wants the best for us and that in following His will we will recieve so much more than we could gain if we worked on our own.

Jeremiah 29:11  

    I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out-plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. 

There is nothing He has not already thought of, nothing He has not already planned for. He knows what He wants you to do, He knows what you need to do all that He asks of you. All He asks from us is that we love Him and trust in Him to be there to provide for and support us.

Acts 2:21 (KJV)  

    And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

Do you trust in the Lord? When you need Help do you call on His name? I know that often I have tried to do things  without Him, I have struggled on without calling on His help. Time and again I have to learn and relearn the lesson of calling on Him to help. We must remember that God is our father, He wants only the best for us and for us to grow in His image. And like a father He is always there for us when we need Him, whatever the situation.

Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)
     For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

On those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

It is that time of the moth again, yes it is time for the linked Bible study. The linked Bible study is a partnership between my friend Caron and myself where we both post about the same Bible passage. This month the passage has been selected by Caron and the selected passage is Isaiah 9:1-7, click the link to read it online.

Although the passage is verse 1 to verse 7, I actually only really want to look at verse 2.

Isaiah 9:2 (KJV)
     The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: 
     they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 

Isaiah 9:2 (MSG)
        The people who walked in darkness
            have seen a great light.
        For those who lived in a land of deep shadows-
            light! sunbursts of light! 

Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)
     The people walking in darkness
     have seen a great light;
     on those living in the land of deep darkness
     a light has dawned.


All three translations I have looked at for this verse start out the same, the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. It may be no coincidence that I wrote about light bulbs just the other day, but it was not planned by me. I find the analogy of light quite striking when I read it, mostly because I have spent so long studying light and its properties in the past. Light is something that we all know and make use of in our day to day lives, but actually understanding it and how it works is actually quite complex. There are a lot of physical laws that govern it and when it comes down to it we can not even be sure of the form light takes, but wave particle duality is another topic completely. I do find however that the Bible can be like this at times, easy to read the words, but often difficult to discern the full meaning without careful study.

But the description of the Messiah, Jesus, as a great light is for me amazing. Light is what we see the world by, without it we would be blind. We would be blind with little idea about the world without light, we would be unable to see and be reduced to scrabbling around in the dark. However with light we can see everything from tiny bacteria up to Galaxies and everything in between.

Jesus is the light of the world, by Him we are able to see. Not in the sense that our eyes see the world but in the sense that through Jesus we can see what is right, what is Godly and holy. Without Jesus we are just blindly following the laws and stumbling around trying our best. With Him we can see our sinful ways and are then able to do something about it. By Jesus we are no longer those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death. Instead we are born again, able to see and able to be everything that we should be.

Yes we should recognise that Jesus is the promised Messiah, we should remember what was said about Him by the prophets of old:

Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)
    For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

He is all of these things and more, He is our God incarnate and He cam and died so that we may have everlasting life with the Father. In this time of Advent in the run up to Christmas we should celebrate His birth, we should remember the promises God made and fulfilled through Jesus. But we should also remember what we are without Him, we should remember that He is the light that illuminates all and that there is no darkness that He can not shine into, no shadow He can not chase away. Remember this Christmas time that;

Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)
     The people walking in darkness
     have seen a great light;
     on those living in the land of deep darkness
     a light has dawned.


As I mentioned at the beginning this post is linked to a corresponding post on Surrendering, please take the time to visit the site and read the post. Also if you are interested in reading the past linked blog posts either look at the tab above or follow the Linked Bible Studies link. As always feel free to leave any comments and I hope you come back again soon.

This is the day

This is the day, so was yesterday, and tomorrow will be too.

Psalm 118:24 (KJV)
    This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 

Is it not amazing that God made all of this for us? Everything you can see, everything you can't see and so much more than that. While at university I had the good fortune to learn about the realities of the universe in which we live, how it is constructed and how it works. Let me tell you it is an amazing and wonderful creation. Christians should not be afraid of science, we should embrace it as a way of looking at our Lord's fantastic creation.

God designed and made everything from the finally balanced dance of an electron around an atomic nucleus, to the fusion processes that power stars. He set the galaxies spinning and He tuned the atomic forces. Everything from the tiniest quantum process up to galactic super clusters are in his design. Why should science have a monopoly on such wonders.

Can we be so closed minded as to say, "Oh no God couldn't possibly work like that!". God reminds us in Isaiah 55:

Isaiah 55:8-9
        "I don't think the way you think.
            The way you work isn't the way I work."
                God's Decree. 
        "For as the sky soars high above earth,
            so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
            and the way I think is beyond the way you think." 

We may not be able to understand God's reasoning or God's plans. We may not even be able to understand creation in the end. But God made us like Him:

Genesis 1:26-27
        God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them
            reflecting our nature
        So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
            the birds in the air, the cattle,
        And, yes, Earth itself,
            and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." 
        God created human beings;
            he created them godlike,
        Reflecting God's nature.
            He created them male and female. 

We were made in God's image reflecting His nature.God created us Godlike reflecting His nature. Our curiosity is built in to us, we have had since Adam and Eve a thirst for knowledge, a desire to know more about the world God gave us.

Why should we be in conflict with, or afraid of science? As a scientist and a Christian I have yet to find a real conflict between the two. People talk of the age of the earth or evolution as being incompatible with Christianity. Let me point out two things, in the beginning a day would be whatever God defined it to be as a 24 hour day is a product of the spin of the Earth. 7 days in Genesis refers not to 7x24 hours but 7 distinct periods of time. And as for evolution, who are we to tell God how he can do things, who are we to dictate His methods. Look back at Isaiah 55:

        "I don't think the way you think.
            The way you work isn't the way I work."

God gave us the intelligence to see the world and learn about it, He gave us the ability to understand at least a part of it. Why can we not take this knowledge and say "What a mighty God have I" why do we insist on telling God, "No you can't do it that way".

Psalm 118:24 (KJV)

    This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 

This is not just the day the Lord has made, it is the world and the universe that Lord has made. Look on it and be amazed, it was by the same hands that were sacrificed and bled that it was made. If we can learn even a small part about it and realise the power our God has, why fight against it. We need to get out of this point of view that science and religion are incompatible. We are taught in the Bible that God made everything and told the story of why, science is just our way of learning some of the hows. Look to science and be amazed, because we have a God who is greater than that, he designed and built it all and understood it all from the very beginning. Do not be scared or offended by science, remember that our God was the first scientist, and will be the last. For He is the alpha and the omega, the creator of it all and He will be there at the end of it all to welcome us into eternity with Him.

GBC1 Holyvision from God

Yet again it is time for the linked Bible study. Quick bit of news on this, due to time constraints the linked Bible study will be now posted on the first Monday of each month only. Hopefully this will allow more time to spend reflecting on each topic and time to pray for inspiration. I am hoping to use the other spot where the linked bible study would go to try another project out, there are a couple of ideas out there but non as yet fully formed. I will keep you updated as and when things progress.

So now God's Broadcasting Channel proudly brings you Isaiah. Specifically Isaiah 6, check out the link to read online or feel free to use your own translation. Also as usual you can read the corresponding post here.

I am actually really pleased that this was the passage chosen to look at this week as unbeknown to my friend this passage has been in my mind for some time. The main reason being is that I have been going through somewhat of a transition of late. I am at a point in my life where things could go pretty much anywhere, I have so many options and opportunities. What am I going to do with my life? Where do I want to go? What do I want to do? These 3 questions have been constant companions over the past year as I have been moving on from being a student into postgraduate life. The answers to these questions were very simple to begin with, I want to be a scientist, I want to travel and work around the whole world and I want to make as much money as I can while doing these things. Well that was until I began to get serious about my life as a Christian. God has done a lot in my life over the last 12 to 18 months and in that time I have grown closer to Him. And towards the end of my studies when I had some big decisions to make I began to ask God what it was He wanted me to do. At first I wrestled with my problems with prayer, I thought I could not hear Him, I thought I had no way to know His plans. Through an ongoing learning process I have begun to pray on a more regular basis and started to learn to see His signs and messages in my life. Through this growth in my prayer life and an increase in personal Bible study I have begun to realise a number of things. One is another passage from Isaiah;

Isaiah 55:8-9
        "I don't think the way you think.
            The way you work isn't the way I work."
                God's Decree.
        "For as the sky soars high above earth,
            so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
            and the way I think is beyond the way you think.

The way I think, the way I work is not the way that God works. His methods are as far removed from mine as they could be. Just as this is the case it is also true that my "needs" and "wants" are not the same as His. The things I wanted out of life are not the same as what God wants for me. The way I have lived my life is not how God wants me to live it. And this brings me back to Isaiah 6.

Isaiah 6:5
    I said,
        "Doom! It's Doomsday!
            I'm as good as dead!
        Every word I've ever spoken is tainted—
            blasphemous even!
        And the people I live with talk the same way,
            using words that corrupt and desecrate.
        And here I've looked God in the face!
            The King! God-of-the-Angel-Armies!"

How true this is in my life, in the past I have spoken many things that God would never say. Many times I have even spoken out against God, actively attacked Him and His people. If ever anyone's words were tainted then mine have been. In the same way I have had, and still have many friends who are the same, they do not believe in God and are active against Him using words against Him. So who am I to be coming to God, who am I standing freely in His presence.

Isaiah 6:7
    He touched my mouth with the coal and said,
        "Look. This coal has touched your lips.
            Gone your guilt,
            your sins wiped out."

God however has the power to wipe away these sins of my past, He is able to burn them away with a hot coal. Even better than this I have been freely given forgiveness through the death of Jesus, I have been washed in the blood of Christ. Because of this my sinful nature can be accounted for and made right, because my sins have been dealt with I am able to be accepted and used by God.

Isaiah 6:8
        And then I heard the voice of the Master:
            "Whom shall I send?
            Who will go for us?"
        I spoke up,
            "I'll go.
            Send me!"

The end of this chapter again holds significance for me, the reason being is that with my life being in the position it is in right now I have the opportunity to answer His call. He is standing there asking us "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" If we do not answer with a resounding "I'll go, send me!" then can we really say we are His. I spoke Saturday morning about giving your heart to Jesus and I feel this is a restatement of what I said there. Have you given your heart to Jesus? Have you given Him all of your life? Are you holding anything back from him? If so why? I want to give everything I have to Jesus, I want him to use my life, I want my response to be "I'll go, send me!"

Isaiah 55

On Saturday I simply posted a verse which was given to me by a friend to help in the situation I am in. It does give a good overview of my life both currently and in the recent past. There is probably a lot I could say on this verse, however I feel that this page can articulate it better than I can currently. Even if this particular verse doesn't speak to you personally please have a look at the web page as it is a fantastic resource and aid for study. Remember Isaiah invites us all to God, even if we have nothing to offer. Jesus is the reason that we can go to God even if we have nothing because he already paid for us.

Isaiah 55:1-13

       "Hey there! All who are thirsty,
            come to the water!
        Are you penniless?
            Come anyway—buy and eat!
        Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk.
            Buy without money—everything's free!
        Why do you spend your money on junk food,
            your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?
        Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best,
            fill yourself with only the finest.
        Pay attention, come close now,
            listen carefully to my life-giving, life-nourishing words.
        I'm making a lasting covenant commitment with you,
            the same that I made with David: sure, solid, enduring love.
        I set him up as a witness to the nations,
            made him a prince and leader of the nations,
        And now I'm doing it to you:
            You'll summon nations you've never heard of,
        and nations who've never heard of you
            will come running to you
        Because of me, your God,
            because The Holy of Israel has honored you."
        Seek God while he's here to be found,
            pray to him while he's close at hand.
        Let the wicked abandon their way of life
            and the evil their way of thinking.
        Let them come back to God, who is merciful,
            come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.
        "I don't think the way you think.
            The way you work isn't the way I work."
                God's Decree.
        "For as the sky soars high above earth,
            so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
            and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
        Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
            and don't go back until they've watered the earth,
        Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
            producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
        So will the words that come out of my mouth
            not come back empty-handed.
        They'll do the work I sent them to do,
            they'll complete the assignment I gave them.
        "So you'll go out in joy,
            you'll be led into a whole and complete life.
        The mountains and hills will lead the parade,
            bursting with song.
        All the trees of the forest will join the procession,
            exuberant with applause.
        No more thistles, but giant sequoias,
            no more thornbushes, but stately pines—
        Monuments to me, to God,
            living and lasting evidence of God."

A-level Drama

So it has been results day today, and as in probably many households all over the country there has been tears, disappointment, elation and success all in one day. The results in our household were not what was wanted but after a difficult year not unexpected. It was pointed out by a number of family members that there has been many prayers said and requests made about these results. At 10.30 this morning it look as though they had all been ignored. As Christians though we need to have faith through the tough times as well as the good, rely on God's plan for us when all seems lost trusting he will always see us through, it's all right there in Psalm 23. As it turned out we managed to secure a place for my brother at a good university doing what he wanted, just not his first choice. I can see that God's will places us just where He needs us, just when He needs us and that the methods do not always seem clear or that great during the process. And although I can see this in other people's lives why can I not have the courage to do what I need to do. I hear His call and yet I can not yet take up my cross to follow Him. A verse which I was given recently has helped me on this subject. "I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work." God's Decree. "For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Isaiah 55:8-9.