There are somethings that we find really hard to believe. There a God, it will be sunny this summer, Exeter City may get promotion again this year... But one of the hardest things many people find hard to believe is that God loves me as I am, and there is nothing that I can do that will make Him love me less.
This Sunday, we meet a woman (Luke 7:36-50), who met Jesus and accepted that everything in her past could be dealt with, and that God's love and forgiveness was for her. But where do we fit in this story? Do we identify with the Pharisee and because of our good deeds and self denial think that we're actually ok, and in no need of God's forgiveness? Do we identify with this un-named woman and joyfully accept God's love and forgiveness?
Or do we look on at this woman, and wish that that could be us, but when push comes to shove we do not believe that God can love and forgive us, because what we've done is just too bad. The good news is that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us less. There is nothing that we can ever do that alters the fact that God loved us so much that Jesus died for us so that we can know God's forgiveness. Rather than doubt God's love, let's embrace it and be totally overwhelmed by it - like the woman in this story.
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Saturday, 21 March 2009
Monday, 16 March 2009
The nearest I'll get to a Ferrari
Watching Top Gear is probably the closest I'll get to owning a Ferrari. But when it comes to flashy red modes of transport our new buggy is great.
Here in baby and toddler mode...
And with a few cunning alterations - two toddler mode. Great. It even has tyres with air in!
Here in baby and toddler mode...
And with a few cunning alterations - two toddler mode. Great. It even has tyres with air in!
Garden Update 1
I thought this year I would keep you posted on progress in the garden. Just a few days ago I transplanted some Raspberry canes from my parents' garden in Devon to our garden here in London. So far they are still alive - and I am looking forward to homemade raspberry flavoured frozen yogurt later in the year, made with homegrown raspberries and homemade yogurt.
Other plans for this year include sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, courgette and maybe rhubarb. I'll keep you posted with progress.
Other plans for this year include sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, courgette and maybe rhubarb. I'll keep you posted with progress.
Saturday, 14 March 2009
Doubt
We all know what it is to have doubts. But sometimes as Christians we may feel that it is wrong to have doubts about the things that we believe, or that we shouldn't question the things we once were certain of. After all - if we have faith how can we have doubts?
But doubt and faith are not mutually exclusive. They are different sides of the same coin. Because of the nature of faith, a certain level of doubt at times is inevitable. In Mark 9:24 we read 'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief'. Faith and doubt.
This week we look at a passage in which John the Baptist wasn't sure that Jesus was the Messiah (Luke 7:18-35). Jesus did not fit the expectations of the hoped for Messiah, so although John was confident that Jesus had come from God, he had doubts over the claims that Jesus was the promised Messiah. And Jesus responds by encouraging John to look at the evidence (in the light of what the OT said about the Messiah - Isaiah 61:1-2) and make up his own mind.
We experience doubts for a variety of reasons. But often it is because our experience of life, our understanding of God, and the way we have interpreted the Bible do not match up. For example, we have always believed that if we pray then God will heal the sick - but then in our experience this doesn't happen; or we believe that God will always give us what we need - and then we lose our job. And then various doubts start to creep in. When this happens we need to do what John did. To go back to the evidence (our experience and the Bible) and work through our doubts to a point where our faith is strengthened.
Faith needs to be linked to actions - what we believe will affect the way we behave. Part of what it means to have faith is to act as though I was certain, even in my doubt. So if I am going through a period where I doubt even the existence of God, I still choose to make choices based on the belief in a loving God.
To listen to this message click here.
But doubt and faith are not mutually exclusive. They are different sides of the same coin. Because of the nature of faith, a certain level of doubt at times is inevitable. In Mark 9:24 we read 'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief'. Faith and doubt.
This week we look at a passage in which John the Baptist wasn't sure that Jesus was the Messiah (Luke 7:18-35). Jesus did not fit the expectations of the hoped for Messiah, so although John was confident that Jesus had come from God, he had doubts over the claims that Jesus was the promised Messiah. And Jesus responds by encouraging John to look at the evidence (in the light of what the OT said about the Messiah - Isaiah 61:1-2) and make up his own mind.
We experience doubts for a variety of reasons. But often it is because our experience of life, our understanding of God, and the way we have interpreted the Bible do not match up. For example, we have always believed that if we pray then God will heal the sick - but then in our experience this doesn't happen; or we believe that God will always give us what we need - and then we lose our job. And then various doubts start to creep in. When this happens we need to do what John did. To go back to the evidence (our experience and the Bible) and work through our doubts to a point where our faith is strengthened.
Faith needs to be linked to actions - what we believe will affect the way we behave. Part of what it means to have faith is to act as though I was certain, even in my doubt. So if I am going through a period where I doubt even the existence of God, I still choose to make choices based on the belief in a loving God.
To listen to this message click here.
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