so, things to look forward to...
Friday 5th March - back on them drum contraptions
Sunday 21st March - Reading half marathon (mann, i need to train for that!)
Sunday 4th April - British Touring Car Championship race in Thruxton!!
April - Susanna likely coming back to England
Early June - end of exams, end of maths (educationally)
End of June - new era of house (more than likely, a bigger room!)
TBC - Jesus coming again!
man, i cant wait.
Sunday 28 February 2010
Tuesday 23 February 2010
what have you been doing lately?
well, theres lots of cool new stuff happening in reading family church. a new meeting really ups the ante for everyone involved. i almost fell asleep in the evening meeting though. even in the midst of drumming for the worship, i sensed i wasnt aware of what i was doing! looking back a year ago, im glad i made a decision to get stuck in to this church. its definitely taught me a lot. its worth the exchange of not being independent - a maverick kind of christianity never did let me be a part of something that will last forever, and it also means ill be less prone to making stupid mistakes with no point of reference.
ive been running a lot lately too. and with the reading half marathon coming up all too soon, theres lots of runners about! ive been doing the 5km parkrun quite a bit, but sadly my time is getting worse. in fact, last week was the worst time, a full 2 minutes away from my personal best! i hope that is because im gearing myself for slower miles whens theres 13 of 'em. And i am heartily enjoying the extra amount of food that it takes to fuel all these runs =)
and maths? well, im glad to have done the course, but theres a lot of ignorance to plead on my part. i just hope that these years will count towards something. ive often said that id be happy to do any old job thatll let me stay in reading. but i would love to be able to use some of the cool maths ive heard about - i just know those jobs are often so lucrative and 2.1 centric that they are beyond my reach. there are a few that don't demand this as much, but they are competitive to get. im well aware how much i dont like job hunting, as college days will testify, and i think through Gods help theres some old fears i know ill be facing.
ive been running a lot lately too. and with the reading half marathon coming up all too soon, theres lots of runners about! ive been doing the 5km parkrun quite a bit, but sadly my time is getting worse. in fact, last week was the worst time, a full 2 minutes away from my personal best! i hope that is because im gearing myself for slower miles whens theres 13 of 'em. And i am heartily enjoying the extra amount of food that it takes to fuel all these runs =)
and maths? well, im glad to have done the course, but theres a lot of ignorance to plead on my part. i just hope that these years will count towards something. ive often said that id be happy to do any old job thatll let me stay in reading. but i would love to be able to use some of the cool maths ive heard about - i just know those jobs are often so lucrative and 2.1 centric that they are beyond my reach. there are a few that don't demand this as much, but they are competitive to get. im well aware how much i dont like job hunting, as college days will testify, and i think through Gods help theres some old fears i know ill be facing.
Thursday 18 February 2010
expect change, expect sanctification
salvation isnt just for heaven. being changed from a sinner to being christ-like isnt reserved to only taking place in eternity.
those who have been set free by the gospel of jesus can expect to bear the hallmarks of a changed life, now.
so, i can't just expect things to stay the way they are. nor should i wish it.
cool hand luke once put it like this;
"i want to be transformed and stay the same, i want to be dry in the rain"
we cant have this the best of both worlds, because there is only one that is truly best.
Looking back, its easy to think of the things I left behind, things that I died to, maybe even just the other day, and pick up where I left off. To waste hours and hours on computer games, and play the stand-offish character in lectures and public life, shy away from christian hate debates, give up studying as soon as it gets too hard, look at things on the internet that speak of an instant pleasure, or to wish for oblivion in drink.
its easy because its the life Ive been used to living for so long, and every time I die to it, giving it to jesus, it comes back dressed up as an old friend. Jesus does not cooperate in sinful living - he has no part to play in this. So even from a mercenary point of view, im a fool if I do not make the most of what God is offering me. He is waiting for the opportunity for me to come to him and follow. So, how much do I want God's involvement in my life, or, better phrased, how much of my life do I want to be involved in God's?
If Jesus has granted me with new life, then I should look at his ways and his word with reverence, for they tell of what a life looks like when it follows Jesus. I find the bible says nothing of staying the same, but plenty about being transformed, "by the renewing of your mind through scriptures", by "taking every thought captive and surrendering it to Jesus", by "making no provision for sin", by knowing "a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly", by petitioning to "a high priest who has been tempted in every way, yet was without sin" when things look like they could go a step back, by seeking his "plans to give you a hope and a future" that have more depth and fruit than my own.
Through Jesus, I have a motivation for change And the means And a living example of a life totally given to God.
I can have sanctification working in me, if I want it. The holy spirit is given to us now as a deposit of things to come, so we can now express a deposit of the glorification that Jesus will acheive in us in the last days.
those who have been set free by the gospel of jesus can expect to bear the hallmarks of a changed life, now.
so, i can't just expect things to stay the way they are. nor should i wish it.
cool hand luke once put it like this;
"i want to be transformed and stay the same, i want to be dry in the rain"
we cant have this the best of both worlds, because there is only one that is truly best.
Looking back, its easy to think of the things I left behind, things that I died to, maybe even just the other day, and pick up where I left off. To waste hours and hours on computer games, and play the stand-offish character in lectures and public life, shy away from christian hate debates, give up studying as soon as it gets too hard, look at things on the internet that speak of an instant pleasure, or to wish for oblivion in drink.
its easy because its the life Ive been used to living for so long, and every time I die to it, giving it to jesus, it comes back dressed up as an old friend. Jesus does not cooperate in sinful living - he has no part to play in this. So even from a mercenary point of view, im a fool if I do not make the most of what God is offering me. He is waiting for the opportunity for me to come to him and follow. So, how much do I want God's involvement in my life, or, better phrased, how much of my life do I want to be involved in God's?
If Jesus has granted me with new life, then I should look at his ways and his word with reverence, for they tell of what a life looks like when it follows Jesus. I find the bible says nothing of staying the same, but plenty about being transformed, "by the renewing of your mind through scriptures", by "taking every thought captive and surrendering it to Jesus", by "making no provision for sin", by knowing "a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly", by petitioning to "a high priest who has been tempted in every way, yet was without sin" when things look like they could go a step back, by seeking his "plans to give you a hope and a future" that have more depth and fruit than my own.
Through Jesus, I have a motivation for change And the means And a living example of a life totally given to God.
I can have sanctification working in me, if I want it. The holy spirit is given to us now as a deposit of things to come, so we can now express a deposit of the glorification that Jesus will acheive in us in the last days.
Monday 8 February 2010
just like the loaves and the fish
that get passed around to starving citizens waiting for you,
with many baskets of leftovers at the end,
so also does your gospel act like food for starving souls,
and it does not return empty.
with many baskets of leftovers at the end,
so also does your gospel act like food for starving souls,
and it does not return empty.
the tree of knowledge
blogs are like buses indeed.
I had a thought about the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' last night. In Genesis, God told Adam that he can eat from any of the other trees, but not of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, 'for you will surely die'. blimey.
So, knowledge isn't intrinsically bad. Actually it's very helpful. A woman from my church who has been in the Sudan region of Africa witnessed a man there who was suddenly struck dumb, unable to speak and articulate. Unfortunately, his family decided to bring in the local witch doctors to rid him of evil spirits, this was the default setting for dealing with a crisis of this nature. It wasn't until weeks later that the Christians in the area were able to convince them to take him to a hospital in Nairobi, to get an understanding of what was wrong, where they eventually found out that he had a brain haemorrage(sp?) which could be treated.
So knowledge is really good, there's no doubt about it. And for those that are wanting to find a scientific explanation for the way the world is, the way it came to be, from year dot to the present - I encourage you, do it! To quote Dawkins; "Science is interesting". Indeed!
There is a proviso, and this is why the command not to eat from the tree was there.
"Does the axe raise above him who swings it, or the saw boast against him who uses it?
As if a rod were to wield him who lifts it up, or a club brandish him who is not wood!"
Once you have found the reason behind the way things are, this does not mean to say that you have gained anything more than what God already knows. This isn't a discouragement to go looking, actually I think God means it for the praise of his glory, so that the intricacies behind science can enhance the magic so to speak, that we can be even more in awe of it all fitting together the way it does.
What we know (or dont know) could never put us on equal or better standing than God.
here is the lie the serpent weaved;
"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God"
see how closely knit it is with 'your eyes will be opened' - in itself, that isn't the lie. They do take the fruit and a couple of verses later on it explains that 'the eyes of both of them were opened'. But, to make the lie enticing, it needed that phrase to explain how, to Adam and Eve, they can become 'like God'. Funnily enough, there is no mention of Adam and Eve becoming like God after they took the fruit to eat.
Even more funnily enough, being like God isn't totally out of the question. We are made in the image of God, broken images now, but we are and will be restored into a Christ-like existence.
Adam and Eve wanted this on their own terms, rejecting God's command, and in the business of instating themselves as Gods in their own right (i remember Nietzche's texts encouraging this). This is probably why the first commandment takes after the first sin, 'God is a jealous God, therefore you shall have no other Gods before me'.
In choosing to put our faith in Jesus as Lord, we can become like Christ, to reflect not our beauty and our knowledge, but show that it is his beauty and his knowledge!
If I were to make myself a God, every aspect of me would be turned over for people to worship - which is fatal because there are clearly things about me which are terrible and flawed - not worship material! But in God, we can look at every facet and remain satisfied that there is nothing rotten in him, that he stands up to scrutiny.
I had a thought about the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' last night. In Genesis, God told Adam that he can eat from any of the other trees, but not of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, 'for you will surely die'. blimey.
So, knowledge isn't intrinsically bad. Actually it's very helpful. A woman from my church who has been in the Sudan region of Africa witnessed a man there who was suddenly struck dumb, unable to speak and articulate. Unfortunately, his family decided to bring in the local witch doctors to rid him of evil spirits, this was the default setting for dealing with a crisis of this nature. It wasn't until weeks later that the Christians in the area were able to convince them to take him to a hospital in Nairobi, to get an understanding of what was wrong, where they eventually found out that he had a brain haemorrage(sp?) which could be treated.
So knowledge is really good, there's no doubt about it. And for those that are wanting to find a scientific explanation for the way the world is, the way it came to be, from year dot to the present - I encourage you, do it! To quote Dawkins; "Science is interesting". Indeed!
There is a proviso, and this is why the command not to eat from the tree was there.
"Does the axe raise above him who swings it, or the saw boast against him who uses it?
As if a rod were to wield him who lifts it up, or a club brandish him who is not wood!"
Once you have found the reason behind the way things are, this does not mean to say that you have gained anything more than what God already knows. This isn't a discouragement to go looking, actually I think God means it for the praise of his glory, so that the intricacies behind science can enhance the magic so to speak, that we can be even more in awe of it all fitting together the way it does.
What we know (or dont know) could never put us on equal or better standing than God.
here is the lie the serpent weaved;
"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God"
see how closely knit it is with 'your eyes will be opened' - in itself, that isn't the lie. They do take the fruit and a couple of verses later on it explains that 'the eyes of both of them were opened'. But, to make the lie enticing, it needed that phrase to explain how, to Adam and Eve, they can become 'like God'. Funnily enough, there is no mention of Adam and Eve becoming like God after they took the fruit to eat.
Even more funnily enough, being like God isn't totally out of the question. We are made in the image of God, broken images now, but we are and will be restored into a Christ-like existence.
Adam and Eve wanted this on their own terms, rejecting God's command, and in the business of instating themselves as Gods in their own right (i remember Nietzche's texts encouraging this). This is probably why the first commandment takes after the first sin, 'God is a jealous God, therefore you shall have no other Gods before me'.
In choosing to put our faith in Jesus as Lord, we can become like Christ, to reflect not our beauty and our knowledge, but show that it is his beauty and his knowledge!
If I were to make myself a God, every aspect of me would be turned over for people to worship - which is fatal because there are clearly things about me which are terrible and flawed - not worship material! But in God, we can look at every facet and remain satisfied that there is nothing rotten in him, that he stands up to scrutiny.
statistics and web addiction
take a look at this...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8493149.stm
"Although excessive internet use can't be said to cause mental health problems, if a web addict is substituting meaningful friendships and socialising with virtual contact on the internet, this might have an adverse affect on their mental wellbeing." - this i cant help but agree with.
However the article admits half way through that they dont know which is the response variable (symptom) and which one is the explanatory (cause) - (on a side note, i cant believe my stats module is actually appearing in stuff that i find interesting!)
With this in mind, Ive begun to see that the title of the article is very misleading. They could have just as easily written "Depression linked to internet addiction", but by having the article start off with the words 'internet addiction' first, it allows readers to associate it being the cause and not a symptom. not that i know which is which, but seeing as the article goes on to explain that theyre not sure, theyve added unremovable bias in the title itself...!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8493149.stm
"Although excessive internet use can't be said to cause mental health problems, if a web addict is substituting meaningful friendships and socialising with virtual contact on the internet, this might have an adverse affect on their mental wellbeing." - this i cant help but agree with.
However the article admits half way through that they dont know which is the response variable (symptom) and which one is the explanatory (cause) - (on a side note, i cant believe my stats module is actually appearing in stuff that i find interesting!)
With this in mind, Ive begun to see that the title of the article is very misleading. They could have just as easily written "Depression linked to internet addiction", but by having the article start off with the words 'internet addiction' first, it allows readers to associate it being the cause and not a symptom. not that i know which is which, but seeing as the article goes on to explain that theyre not sure, theyve added unremovable bias in the title itself...!
i will always
have the choice - to let God make a fool of me, or let sin make a fool of me.
And God, God is always in the business of convincing me of the former with grace, love and blessing. Of the latter, He endeavours to underline and highlight the repugnant as repugnant.
The enemy will continue to sell the lie;
'Fair is foul; Foul is fair',
but the Holy Spirit imparts strength and truth into weak cavities, enabling me to say of this lie;
'I don't buy it'.
And God, God is always in the business of convincing me of the former with grace, love and blessing. Of the latter, He endeavours to underline and highlight the repugnant as repugnant.
The enemy will continue to sell the lie;
'Fair is foul; Foul is fair',
but the Holy Spirit imparts strength and truth into weak cavities, enabling me to say of this lie;
'I don't buy it'.
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