Too much of my self

So yesterday morning I complained and winged about traffic and having a horrible commute to work. I talked about how by praying I was able to find a sense of calm and not cranky and agitated. For me this is a small victory in the fact that I made the choice to pray about it because not long ago I would have tried to deal with it alone.

On the other hand, I did not stop to consider or pray about the situation as it affected other people. And when I found out the extent of the incident I really wish I had. Don't get me wrong, I am pleased that I have managed to grow to the point where I am beginning to consider God as a part of all of my life and not just at certain times. But saying that I want God to be in my life more, I want to be able to say that everything is shared with God.

The incident that caused all of this was the discovery of a dead body in the city centre less than half a mile from where I work. When I found this out I felt very self absorbed and selfish. I know there was no way for me to know that this is what happened but it did alert me to the fact that I had not prayed for the incident only that I would get to work ok and remain calm. Before anyone says don't be too hard on yourself or anything along those lines I am not looking for sympathy or anything here. It is just an observation that I have had that there is still along way for me to go in getting to where I want to be in my prayer life. And even once I get to where I want to be, there is a longer journey ahead for me to continue on.

We all know that we are on a continuing path with God. That there is no such thing as a final destination in this life, we must always struggle on. The key is to remember we are walking with Him and He will always be there to help us if we ask. My minister once said to me, "I don't worry about those who know they have a long way to go, it is the one's who think they have arrived that we need to worry about". Where are you in your life? Do you think you are all you should be? Do you think you have arrived? If you do stop and ask God, what is it I should be doing now?

My new comitment

Last week I mentioned that I was going to embark upon a personal mission to read the whole Bible cover to cover. Well last night I began that mission and commenced reading Genesis.

My aim is to set aside a small amount of time each day that will be dedicated to reading the Bible. It will not be a mammoth session of deep thought or meditation, it will simply be time to read the Bible. My intention is to read all the way through it, Genesis to Revelation. This is not going to be a study and I am not intending to look at every verse in depth. I am simply going to read the Bible. Saying that though when I come across interesting verses or something speaks to me I will follow it up, but the time I am setting aside is not for that.

What I want is to increase my familiarity with the Bible and use that familiarity to grow with God. I know that just reading the Bible is not enough however this is going to be only a starting point. Once this mission is completed I will hopefully have a much broader knowledge of what the Bible contains between the covers and can then progress on to a more in depth reading of the Bible.

It will please at least one person who reads this blog that I will not be using my normal go to Bible for my mission and there are two reasons for this. The first is that I use the Message translation a lot, it goes everywhere with me in my bag, I use it for this blog and is the main Bible translation I use on my PC too. Because of this I want something fresh to me. This is a purely personal choice and I feel after some thought and meditation on the matter that using another translation is the right move. The second reason is that I know there are going to be things that I want to check out straight away or want a little explanation for as I am reading. So for these reasons I will be using my Life Application Study Bible(NLT).

I don't intend to keep a running commentary on how this mission is going as a regular blog post. But I have no doubt that I will post regularly on things that crop up in my reading and through that you will be kept up to date on how it is going. I do ask that anyone willing will pray that this endeavour succeeds and that I do not give up on it. I am hoping that I will be able to work it into my life and that it will become part of my daily routine as this blog has become. My plan is that as I continue to grow spiritually I will be able to keep adding into my life and routine the things I should be doing as a Christian gradually so that they become integral to my life. I know from experience if I try to do everything at once I will drop some thing and then everything will fall down at once. Hopefully if I introduce things slowly I will continue to take steps in the right direction but without overloading myself and laying the path to disaster. 

So the long journey begins in Genesis. I have the first 7 days down, now just the rest of the Bible to go. Don't wish me luck, but do please pray for me.

Mid all the traffic

’Mid all the traffic of the ways,
Turmoils without, within,
Make in my heart a quiet place,
And come and dwell therein.

A little shrine of quietness,
All sacred to Thyself,
Where Thou shalt all my soul possess,
And I may find myself.

A little shelter from life’s stress,
Where I may lay me prone,
And bare my soul in loneliness,
And know as I am known.

A little place of mystic grace,
Of self and sin swept bare,
Where I may look upon Thy face,
And talk with Thee in prayer.

           (William Dunkerley)

Ok, I had prepared another post for this morning but that has been moved back to this evening now. The reason is that this morning I have a horrible commute ahead of me. My mum woke me this morning with the happy news that the City centre where I work is closed down. I have no idea why and there is no information on the news except it is a major police incident. What makes matters worse is I checked out the traffic news to work out how long my commute will be and I found out that the motorway is also backed up, Joy!

So why this post? Well I was sat there feeling quite annoyed and getting myself quite wound up that my day was ruined before I began when I thought, stop and pray. I know I have issues that cause me to get wound up quite easily and that it is something I need to keep a handle on. But why should I be doing this on my own, ask God for some help.

And that is what I did, I spent a quick few minutes in quiet prayer with God and almost instantly felt calmer. In this time a tune I often play in the band I play with came to mind. The lyrics are above and they are quite moving. If you have or have had a rough journey today remember these lyrics and ask God to calm your soul too.

Warnings from little brother

It's that time again! Yes it's time for the latest linked Bible post brought to you by Sam and Caron. Please follow the link and check out Caron's blog and read her thoughts on today's topic too. Also please check out the previous linked blog posts from both me and Caron here.

This linked post was chosen by me, so if it turns out terrible, you don't like it or disagree you now know who to blame. So for this post I decided that I would quite like to have a closer look at Jude, use it as an exercise to really get to grips with this short yet powerful book. Check here to read it online.

I love the beginning of this book, it is such a wonderful way to start a letter to anyone;

Jude 1:2   

    Relax, everything's going to be all right; rest, everything's coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way! 

Now as an opening to a letter this has to rank amongst the best. Jude is pretty much saying, "hey guys, chill, it's all going great, it's all going to be great. Oh, and Jesus is on His way!" I don't know exactly who it was written to but it appears to be an open letter to all believers of the Church. Whoever it was sent to though this is an awesome opening.

But hold on a second, lets skip back to the first verse. Here we read that this letter is from Jude who is a servant of Christ and brother to James. The use of servant here is used in other parts of the New Tetament and suggests that the author was an Apostle of Christ. Not only that but it is very possible that this man was one of Jesus brothers. Jude and Judas are both different Anglicised versions of the same Jewish name, and if we look at Matthew 15:55;

Matthew 13:55  

    But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "We've known him since he was a kid; he's the carpenter's son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. 

If this is the case then we are dealing with someone who knew Christ exceptionally well, someone who would have heard His teachings often and spent a lot of time with our Saviour. Jude, James and the family of Jesus would have know Him and His teachings and would, in my opinion, be worth listening too.

So we know who is writing this letter, that he has a deep faith and the peace that comes with it, that he wants to share this faith and peace with all followers. But what is it he actually wants to say to us, what is the point of this letter?

This letter is a stark and clear warning, it pulls no punches. After a short and warm introduction it dives straight into the point of the letter. 

Jude 1:3  

    Dear friends, I've dropped everything to write you about this life of salvation that we have in common. I have to write insisting-begging!-that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish. 

We see here that the author feels so strongly about the point of this letter that he has dropped everything. Not only that but he has been driven to insist, nay beg the readers to not just fight, but fight with all they have for their shared faith. I don't know about anyone else but as I read this passage, Jude, I get a sense of great love, love like that of an elder sibling who is desperately trying to help his younger siblings see the truth. The relationship I have with my older brother is not always great but there is one thing I know. I can always rely on, the fact he will always look out for me and my well being, that he will always give me straight, honest and good advice. That is the sense I get from this letter, it is someone older and more mature in the faith pleading with his younger faith siblings to see the truth and follow the right path.

The warning in this letter is about people. Not just any people but those who want to use the Church and the faith for their own gain. Jude is desperately trying to warn us against them. People who will look all holy and pious on the outside but are actually just using the Church for their own advancement and earthly betterment. Most of this letter is a series of references to similar cases in the past as recorded in the Bible. This is as much for the warnings and reminders of what happened in these stories as much as it is to illustrate the problem. Know your past else you will be doomed to repeat it.

Jude 1:14-19   

    Enoch, the seventh after Adam, prophesied of them: "Look! The Master comes with thousands of holy angels to bring judgment against them all, convicting each person of every defiling act of shameless sacrilege, of every dirty word they have spewed of their pious filth." These are the "grumpers," the bellyachers, grabbing for the biggest piece of the pie, talking big, saying anything they think will get them ahead. 

    But remember, dear friends, that the apostles of our Master, Jesus Christ, told us this would happen: "In the last days there will be people who don't take these things seriously anymore. They'll treat them like a joke, and make a religion of their own whims and lusts." These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. There's nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit!

This problem was foreseen and forewarned by a number of people, people including Christ! It is a tactic well used by the enemy, to infiltrate and subvert. The enemy is not above using any technique to serve his purpose and complete his self ordained mission against God. He will use anyone and everything he can to try and defeat us and to turn us against our Lord and Saviour. And because of that these warnings from Jude, echoed in 2nd Peter and also in I, II and III John, need to be heeded. If this threat was not so great why would there be so many warnings for us.

However this letter is not just a warning, it does provide us with advice on how to avoid falling into this trap, about how to prevent this from happening in our Church.

Jude 1:20-21 

    But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God's love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life! 

If we have accepted Christ and have the Holy Spirit within us we will be protected, if we pray always and keep ourselves within God's love then we will be kept safe. But not only that if we fail there is the knowledge that if we go to Christ we can receive mercy and be given the true life in Christ, unending life. There will be many battles, we may lose a few. But if we are firm in Christ we can sure win the war.

The next two verses are possibly my current favourite verses in the whole Bible, it is something that through experience I know to be true and something I am trying hard to work into my life. 

Jude 1:22-23   

    Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven. 

The job I do brings me into close contact with many people who have sinned, some of them in the most horrendous ways. It is a daily struggle for me to act in a Christian way towards these people when I know the extent and form of these sins. But right here it gives us directions to follow, be tough on sin because the sin stinks in the most offensive way. God hates sin, he hates everything about it, but he loves us and wants us to be free of that sin. He asks that we as followers help those who have not yet found His love through Christ. We should be tender with the sinner themselves, we should try and nurture whatever good is in them and show them through our actions the life they can have through Christ if they but accept His love and follow Him. We have to remember Jesus Himself did not spend His time with those who were right with God. He went right to the people who were the worst, the least, the people society wanted nothing to do with. As followers of Christ we should be following this example and going to these outcasts and bringing them into Jesus' fold. We should be working with those the world wants nothing to do with, go love the unlovable as Christ would.

And at last that brings us to the end of the letter, Jude's doxology, his hymn of praise to our Father. It is a fantastic end that is befitting a letter with such a wonderful beginning. In my opinion it is up there amongst some of the greatest words written and I can think of no better way to finish this post. If it was good enough for Jude's letter then it is more than good enough for Sam's blog. I hope you enjoyed reading this post please leave any comments below and also check out the corresponding blog written by my friend here.

Jude 1:24-25 (KJV)  

    Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. 

Halloween

So last night was Halloween, I wonder how many of you guys were part of the "celebrations". Did you go to a themed party? Take the kids out trick or treating? Did you go out and take part in the festivities that have grown up around this night which is intimately tied in with paganism and the devil. I wonder how many little children donned horns tails and pitchforks last night?

Some people might say, what does it matter, one day in the year when children are allowed to dress up, have fun and eat for too many sweets. With the exception of increased dental cavities surely none. But are we in danger of trivialising the enemy and his works. Are we creating a caricature of the devil and kidding ourselves that he has no power. If we are then we should be worried because it is then when he will have his greatest power, when we assume he has none.

I'll admit it though, this year I did attend a Halloween party, I carved a pumpkin and took part in a slightly "spooky" evening. But This is not an issue if we are aware of the enemy, as long as we do not trivialise him. The best thing to do is to use a situation like this to your advantage. For example Saturday night I had a wonderful chance to evangelise to a group of young adults who have no faith. In a setting of a student house which had been decorated to be "spooky", surrounded by people dressed as devils and other pagan costumes and where copious amounts of alcohol were being consumed I was able to freely talk about my faith and my Saviour.

Being in a setting where these people felt comfortable, where they did not feel threatened by my words we were able to have a constructive and in depth conversation about the Church and Jesus. Because no one felt uncomfortable there was no feelings of being under attack or forced upon and this led to some interesting discussions. I wont claim that anyone "saw the light" or was saved by my input on Saturday, but I have no doubt that they saw a side of Christianity that was new to them. No miraculous conversions were made but all parties involved in the conversation expressed that they had a much better view and understanding of the Church as a result.

Like I said earlier on Halloween itself is not an issue, lack of knowledge and understanding is. Ignorance is something we should confront head on and try to do something about always. But remember God's power too, the enemy may be strong, but he is nothing compared to our God! The power of our Father can be used to turn things back on the enemy if we are aware of Him. As long as we remember that we are God's people and in all things we honour Him then we can not go wrong. Just do not forget that the enemy will strike when we ignore his power or let our guards down.

I just want to leave you with a daily verse from a website I read regularly, the verse posted for Halloween. Please check it out here, daily verses with a short though.

James 2:19
     You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.