Lest we forget.

A different Remembrance day

11/11/11.  93 years since the beacons were first lit, the nation stopped and silence fell to mark the anniversary of the end of the First World War.  No doubt all across the country people are writing about today, I was going to.  I was going to write about sacrifice and courage, about the nobility of these men and other great heroes.  However there is no doubt in my mind that many people will and that they will do it far greater justice than I ever could.  Also it occurred to me that maybe tales of great valour are not what everyone needs to hear.  On a day when people consider great men, and remember their heroism, let us consider them, and remember their humanity.  Turn with me now to Hebrews 11, the heroes of our faith and let us learn what manner of men (and women) these were.

God Bless Anders Breivik

 

Searching Tragedies

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock somewhere you will have heard by now of the tragedy in Norway of Anders Breivik killing over 90 innocent people as part of his ‘Christian’ crusade against what he saw as the Muslim takeover of Europe.  In a time like this there will be much mud-slinging, blame shifting and many condemnations of Breivik from various leaders and public figures, particularly from those in positions of leadership within the church.

I may not be a great Christian leader, but I hope to offer here what I think is the biblical response to this great tragedy.

Only Once.

A difficult question

There is a really old question that keeps on coming up: “Why do bad things happen to good people?”  It would be completely impossible to address this question fully in just one short post.  There are whole libraries of material written about the topic of suffering and pain which are written by far more experienced and more qualified people on this topic.  We will only attempt to unpack a few small things here which will hopefully be somewhat helpful.

Sunday

Easter

Thursday brought betrayal, grief and abandonment.  Friday brought the agony and darkness of the cross.  Saturday brought the cold silence of the tomb.  But Sunday brought hope.  Sunday brought life.  Sunday brought resurrection.

Sunday brought Easter.

Friday

“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”

1 Corinthians 15:14 ESV

Friday, not so good

It’s Friday.  The creator of the world, the God who upholds the planets in their orbits cannot even lift His own cross.  Blood runs down the back of the man who promised us a lighter yoke and an easier burden.

Friday.  The King of kings is mocked and beaten.  ‘King of the Jews’ they jeer.  The one who supports every king, every throne, the one by whose word governments stand and fall is himself crowned with a crown of thorns.  Soldiers mock, those who pass Him sneer and spit.

Friday.  The man who said to love your enemies like you do your friends is abandoned by His friends in His time of need.  His enemies are all around, His friends nowhere to be seen.  He said to treat others as you would be treated.  Seems like no one is listening to that this Friday.

He also said He was God, come to give hope and new life.

The Beatitudes, not what you think.

Some happy people?

The beatitudes – possibly one of the most well known passages in the Bible.  They’re a beautiful collection of different sayings about various people (the poor in spirit, the mournful, the persecuted etc) who seem to be losers on earth but will eventually win out when they die and go to heaven.  Isn’t it an encouraging thought when you fit into one of these nice little categories?  Shall we read them?

Salvation and Grace.

An inspiring truth

Grace.  No matter what I write about, it always comes back to this single, central, splendid truth.  Maybe because I digress too much, or maybe just because in the end everything is about grace.  I think the latter, J.I. Packer says that:

“This one word ‘grace’ contains within itself the whole of New Testament theology.”

And if you disagree with J.I. Packer, then you’re probably a heretic…

But what does grace MEAN, it can’t be covered in a mere blog post, the subject is too vast and too glorious – a lifetime’s study would not exhaust the doctrine of grace.  However, the impossibility of fully grasping something is a terrible excuse for not starting, so let us briefly scratch the surface of what grace is, and then in more depth consider what grace means for salvation.

Rebellion, repentance and the religious reaction.

Tell Me the Old, Old Story

“Tell me the old, old story, tell me the old, old story,
Tell me the old, old story, of Jesus and His love.

Tell me the story slowly, that I may take it in,
That wonderful redemption, God’s remedy for sin.”

When I was a child, that hymn was one of my favourites.  It still stands as a great instruction to all of us, we need to be told that story again and again don’t we.

“Tell me the story often, for I forget so soon;
The early dew of morning has passed away at noon.”

And so I’m going to tell it again, by using an old, old story that Jesus himself told.  A story of rebellion, of repentance and of the religious reaction to them both. A story of a prodigal son and a prodigal God, a story of the gospel, a story of love and rejection.

Jesus and Karma

Christ on Karma

I’m sure everyone knows someone who, whenever some tragedy happens, instantly reacts with something along the lines of ‘they must have been really bad for THAT to happen to them’.  The idea that many have is that good things happen go good people, and bad things happen to bad people.  It’s only fair.

Isn’t it?

A New Year Thought.

A brief note

It’s a new year, a new day.  2010 gave way to 2011.  Here’s a thought to think on, as the year begins.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

⁵And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." ”

Revelation 21:1-5