Which Bible?

At the start of each Sunday morning service, the congregation stands, hold their Bible in their hands, and say together “This is God’s Word to me. I am who it says I am, and I will do what it tells me to do”. I have a couple of thoughts about this. First of all, when I look around, I see many people of all ages holding their Bibles, and secondly there is a clear identification with the need for it’s truth in our lives.

We live in a modern age, where most of our children, youth and senior adults, own and use a smartphone or tablet of some kind. Many, if not all, of these same folks when at this church, use a paper Bible, and not any kind of electronic device they will most certainly own. So why bring a Bible in traditional book form to church? I know most will use their tablet to read and study Scripture during the week, so there is no aversion to the use of modern media itself. More thoughts.

It is a witness when you carry your Bible to Church, and speaks volumes that an iPad will not, and cannot show. Your iPad is not a witness that you are headed for church, just that you have an iPad.

A Bible can be leafed through, underlined, margined etc much faster than any tablet. Oh I know it can be done, but my own opinion is that a well used, dog eared, personally marked Bible is a testimony to the person who owns it. On that same theme, without being morbid, I have my Dad’s Bible, and count it a privilege and treasure of his Christian life. It was handed down. You can’t do that with an electronic device of any kind (if it lasts that long, that is!).

It is personal. It is solely used for the purpose of reading God’s Word, unlike the tablet etc, where the Bible is nestled between games and facebook. And anyway, when you are in church, you know 100% when someone is reading the real Bible, but it is too easy to ‘zone out’ for a while and check your status on Facebook on your phone. Don’t tell me the temptation is not there.

So, the electronic media generation is great, but for me, first place must come to my real, personal, unique Bible in church. I don’t know what the future holds, but right now, give me paper over electronics. Having said all that, let me finish with this thought. If you have to make a choice, and you will only (it is an act of will, not finance) use a tablet or iPad, then please don’t feel bad. It is not wrong. In the final analysis, it is better to read the Bible in any form, than not at all. All that is different is the act of open witness and testimony. But then if you don’t carry a Bible in any form, you don’t have that question to answer. It becomes another simple question, ‘why not’?

Valuable Community

I am a slow learner sometimes, so I have no right to second guess other people’s thoughts, preferences, or experiences. But I do like a sense of community, which some would call fellowship. My upbringing put church ‘fellowship’ into the Sunday Services, and maybe the occasional special service where tea and biscuits were provided, and a light evening of music was arranged. I liked it, and admit to this being part of my past. A personal observation: Sometimes we bring our past experiences into the present day, and think that’s how it should remain. No, no, a thousand times, NO!!

Now, when I think of fellowship, I think of minds which are alike, who enjoy the same things, and agree in matters of faith and God’s Spirit. More than that, these feelings of unity (because that is what fellowship is) mean we don’t even have to be in the same room. When we give something of ourselves in say, prayer, we are in fellowship with one another. When we give to others in need, we are in fellowship with that person in need. I have stopped thinking that my fellowship with God’s people ends when I am outside the church doors.

I am going to state the obvious. The ‘world’ starts outside the church doors too, and the ‘world’ has even provided the means for us to stay in fellowship with each other, and share our needs and burdens, to allow us to pray. The greatest form of fellowship we have with the Father is prayer, and I would suggest, the greatest thing we can do in fellowship for each other is pray. We also have the means at our disposal to aid fellowship. There are phones, cards, visits, and hey, there’s always Facebook!

I started off by saying I am a slow learner. There are times when we are absent from our own fellowship, for business, illness, or holiday reasons, and it is not possible to send a card, phone, or visit, but we can stay in touch. Sorry, but I am back to Facebook again. As I write this, I am away from my own church family, but I don’t feel the distance so much, because I am able to stay in touch with some family and church folks. I get to know about prayer requests, fun things, heartfelt encouragements, and all through the wonder of Social Media. Let me make a statement, and you can feel free to take it as you wish. Through the social media of Facebook, I hear from, and can participate in other Christian’s needs and lives, but unfortunately not so much from my own church family. I know there are reasons for this, but I would suggest we are missing out on something which is a continuation of the old style of fellowship I once knew in my church, but has been made alive again in a new and different form, and keeping the spirit of togetherness breathing in many churches.

Learning can be slow and even painful, but what about setting aside some of those prejudices we have about Facebook, and using it to God’s glory, and the fellowship of the saints? Just another thought!

I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Cor 9:22 NIV

Right! Right?

Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10

We love this verse, because it always applies to someone else who needs the reminder. It isn’t needed for me, is it? Wrong, because Paul was clear in his teaching when he says we should honour one another ABOVE YOURSELVES. Sometimes we think we are right, but in truth, most of the time we KNOW we are right, without any wiggle room, and that is dangerous territory.

We need to be very careful to allow others to be able to express their views, graciously hear them through, and allow for them to be properly understood, because they very well might be right, and oh diddums, we just could be the one in the wrong after all. I would suggest that the Godly thing to do is let the other person be right, especially when it is not going to change the course of the earth’s orbit! Is that so hard?

Relationships are key to our faith. That includes our Heavenly Father, but also our family and friends. Rule of thumb is: God is always right, but we should show enough grace to allow our friends to be right too, even at our own expense. Would that hurt so much? Or is it too important that we are never seen to be wrong? I can see a direct link in this verse between ‘devotion’ and ‘honour’. If we are really devoted to each other in Christian love, then honouring each other above ourselves, should not be too difficult.

Let me put it another way. When the living and active Church of God is working as it should, and we ALL allow for each other’s thoughts, feelings, and opinions, and then some of our difficulties will just not arise! Simply because we are all showing humility before God, and respect to our fellow Christians. If we can’t do that, I think we may have to check our own spiritual health to see if our faith-heart is beating. Just a thought.

Curve Ball

Let me take you back to those good days of playing out in the field with your friends, or at the Sunday School Trip, and the game of ‘rounders’ is in full swing. For our American cousins, ‘rounders’ is the same (almost) as softball, but with makeshift bat and ball, sweaters to mark the bases, for a lot of family fun, and played to the same rules (almost) as softball.

You have your sturdy homemade bat and are standing ready to get the first throw from the pitcher. You miss wildly (not an unusual occurrence when folks young and old play for fun and maybe one time in the year). Why should the batter miss a slowly lobbed ball, when he or she has a big bat at their disposal? There could be a couple of reasons.

Perhaps the pitcher is good, and throws a curve ball, against which you have no chance, and your team goes out one by one while this experienced pitcher is in control. Or maybe you are standing in the wrong place? Could it be that the pitcher is throwing an easy, true ball, towards the home base, but you are standing off to the side, and the catcher is clear to pick up easy points from all those misses?

The application to our Christian experience is clear. Let’s make sure we are in the right place to see and receive God’s true will and direction. If we miss out, it’s because we are out of line. After all, God is not in the business of throwing curve balls…. Ever!

The Grieved Spirit

A good friend has a saying: ‘I’d rather have a sore face than a red face’ and I know exactly how he feels and what he means. We hate being embarrassed, and try to avoid it at all costs but we don’t always succeed. In fact, we can also be the reason for some others’ embarrassment, and there are time we do it intentionally.

On a legal theme, we are told that it is more important to recognise and honour the spirit of the law, rather than just the letter of the law. Now take it a step further into our faith lives and ask yourself if you ever embarrass the Lord, either intentionally or not? I think we all have done that, and immediately regretted our actions, feeling that we have grieved God, and our own spirit reacts to the Holy Spirit in contrition. Taking the Holy Spirit for granted, and calculating our sin in advance of ‘assumed future forgiveness’ is a very dangerous thing. I suggest that is more of a conniving heart, than a contrite heart. The bible tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that the ‘heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure’.

We are all very familiar with the forgiving nature of God, and we are right to be very thankful for it. We serve a God of the second chance! So what do we do with these verses: And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man. Genesis 6:3 or Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Matthew 12:32

Since Scripture is inspired and cannot contradict itself, we cannot afford to ignore these verses. You can rationalise the first one, and say it applies to the Genesis flood only, but you cannot do that with the words of Jesus, so we must take care when we already know the way and choose to take His Word for granted and abuse it. In that respect, could it be that the saved have a much greater responsibility to keep His commandments, than the unsaved to find salvation. According to these verses, the eternal result would be the same. Now that’s a staggering and sobering thought.

Sliding Doors

I can't wait to see you, we'll be reunited soon now! Love you, and I'm waiting on the other side of the sliding doors!

It was a simple situation, and shared by many people. The words of a simple text message from my granddaughter who was waiting on one side of airport sliding doors, while I was on the other side, getting through the various necessary troubles and trials before being allowed into another country.

This is a reminder of heaven, and the simplicity is striking. We are merely a veil away, or a sliding door if you like, from our Saviour and loved ones in heaven. I think we are closer than we like to believe at times, and now and again we get a reminder that stops us in our tracks, to make us notice how thin that light curtain is between heaven’s eternity, and our own mortality.

This is also a part of the Christmas story, believe it or not, so look beyond the baby in the manger, and ask yourself why He came to earth? The reason culminated some 33 years later after a crucifixion and subsequent resurrection of that same man who was, and is, God incarnate. Jesus is the reason, the only reason, we are confident that when those sliding doors open, we will step into that other ‘country’, we call heaven.

These Things

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Hallowe’en goes under another couple of names. The harmless ‘trick or treat’ being the most used by kids, and then there is the ‘saint or sinner’ theme which is by far the most prevalent in the party scene. These two phrases are very telling, and show us both sides of the festival.

The bright and light side is the sight of happy and innocent kids, running from door to door to tell a joke or sing a song, or if they are young and cute, just to hold out a plastic carrier bag asking on their behalf to add some sweets to the already laden booty. The kids are pleased and happily go away to ‘trick’ their next neighbour into giving them a ‘treat’. Yes, I believe harmless and innocent at their tender age.

However, the ‘saint or sinner’ party theme gets a lot more sinister or suspicious in my mind. Take a look at the party goers. See many saints? Nope. Saints don’t fit with the image of the night of sin. Oh, that’s a bit harsh I can hear you whisper under your breath? Really? Hallowe’en is marked by creatures like, werewolves, ghosts, witches, vampires, zombies, the undead, and the list could go on. We are done with the pirate costume, because it isn’t scary enough. Isn’t that what it’s about, being scary? I don’t think so. I believe it is to give many the excuse to be as sinful as they want, under the ‘guise’ of makeup and a costume.

We have come to celebrate, yes celebrate, the darker, satanic side of the unseen world, and we think it is not only acceptable, but to be relished. How slow we are to see the truth, even when it stares us in the face. For those older kids, who have put the innocence of a good time collecting sweets behind them, we have adults who know better. Yes, I do believe they know better. They know that under the make up and ghoulish costume is an excuse for sin waiting to be exercised. Or maybe that should read ‘exorcised’. So take a second glance at the verse at the top of this piece. How many of those attributes do you see in the adult celebration of the devil’s night? So, for me, roll on the 1st of November which is aptly named ‘All Saints Day’. We don’t do much celebrating of that day, do we? I wonder why? Just asking.

Why Church?

Why do we have churches in our towns and communities? Do you think they are antiquated and no longer needed? After all what purpose do they have? Great questions, and I would not be surprised to know that you have asked these questions yourselves. I know I have.

Have you wondered why we have so many non government backed charities, or good works set up in our communities? Who are the most likely to visit the sick without being asked, or paid? Think about your friends, and ask yourself who would be most likely to care about you? Who are the most likely (but not the only!) people to work on a voluntary basis in a food bank, or charity shop, or in a hospital? Whoever they are, our very fabric of society depends on their willingness to help, and one thing is certain. They are good people. Let me make another suggestion. Many will be Christians, and attend one of these ‘no longer needed’ churches.

It will not surprise you to know, that these good people don’t do good works to make them suitable for church. It’s the other way round. Most will go to church, and in their own hearts will want to reach out as a result of their commitment to Jesus Christ, not their church. Surprised? The fact is, none of us are good enough in our own right, for heaven, but with our confession of sin (now there's an old word!) and God’s forgiveness, we want to reach out for no other reason than we care. It’s really quite simple, and often overlooked.

So, next time you walk past a church, and wonder what goes on inside, and what kind of crazy people go there, step inside and be amazed. With an open heart and mind, who knows what will happen inside your own heart, and spill over into other lives!

Winners and Losers

It was called “having a flutter”, but things have moved on, and is called progress, but I am not so sure. Have you noticed the number of TV ads and businesses, whose sole purpose in life is to take our money. Actually, that’s not quite accurate, because we are handing these businesses our money very willingly it seems.

The UK is full of newspaper, magazine and TV adverts for those ‘harmless’ gambling establishments. You can bet online, so you don’t have to go into any of those dingy betting shops, so you can lose your cash in the comfort of your living room. There are Bingo games everywhere as well, and have you noticed that everyone is a winner? All those happy ladies (yes they are shown as women) win every time. No losers. Great!! But the biggest doozies of them all are the nicely named ‘payday loan companies’ who will give you cash in a minute, online, and at a mere APR of 300% to 3,000%. Easy peasy, right? Then the scam of the country has to be the Lotto with winning odds of 14 million to 1 for the big prize.  

You would think we are a pretty smart nation. After all, we know that gambling is not harmless, and we also know that there are many more losers than winners. As for paying 3,000% APR? Surely we are not that daft are we? Sorry, but on every level, we are that daft and even dafter, because we believe the lies, and we keep going back to donate our hard earned cash to line the pockets of these aggressive fleecing industries. The sad thing is, they don’t even have to try very hard to convince us to part with our money.

Whatever happened to the ethic that we worked to earn our money, and we were good stewards when we got it? You must remember the time when work was hard, and every penny was important? My old Mum had a saying, “A fool and his money are easy parted”! Not good english, but wise and true. It seems nowadays that everyone wants an easy ride to the millionaire lifestyle, and no one wants to work for it. After all, there are so many winners shown on TV. In fact everyone is a winner. How come then that there are families and children who suffer because their dad, and yes even their mum get hooked on the lie that money is going to appear right out of their laptop screen, or they will have a deck chair on that luxury yacht? So they celebrate on the strength of their certain winnings?

High horse? Did somebody say I was on my high horse? Too true, because I have seen the tragedy of an unfettered gambling addiction on young children who played no part in their parent’s decision to put their last pound on a horse, or the bingo card, or the lottery, and when the money was done, there was no food. Never mind, now they can go to the payday loan company, who take no prisoners, and have no scruples! Seems there is a winner right there. Sad, isn’t it?

Looking Back

There are times in your life when you just have to take a look back over your life so far. How did I get here? Were there any problems or casualties that I might have avoided? Did I offend someone without knowing at the time, but wish I could change things now?

Be honest now, it's not just old(er) people who look back. I reckon you had a glance over your shoulder when you became a teenager, got engaged, married, had each child, when a loved one passed away, or when you became an official OAP (Big Hint!). It's normal, natural, and it's human. In truth, the older you get, the more there is to look back on with thanks, or maybe regret.

At times of reflection it is important to remember some promises at our disposal as God’s children, because we are not the first or only people to find ourselves in this place, and we will not be the last. That’s for sure. Our past, at any age, is littered with a combination of happy and sad memories, but we have a powerful advocate in the person of Jesus Christ who stands between us and God. Look at it this way. We can (and should) learn from our bad decisions, while also being thankful to God for all those many good memories which far outweigh anything else we have experienced. Take heart from these verses, and remember hindsight is 20/20:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV

No test has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tested, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV