Oh Deer

Today we went to visit the Earl of Devon in his castle. We went on a ride through his deer park.

We all enjoyed the tractor ride.

And some of us enjoyed the zip wire.

You're Fired

Those of you who were following our summer holiday blog will know that the girls painted two penguins which were going to be fired, but too late for us to collect before the end of our holiday. Click here to read that blog. Well - now that we're on holiday again Joanna and Penguin have been collected. And here they are.

And today they painted a bee, a snail and a footprint.

As well as going for a walk along the river this morning, and collecting shells on the beach this afternoon.

Now they're all fast asleep.

There's no such thing as a free lunch

There is a saying which goes, 'there is no such thing as a free lunch'. The implication of this is that if you are having a lunch for which there is no need to pay (money) there will be something that someone wants from you as a result. And so, in one form or another, we end up paying.

The word 'grace' flies in the face of this mentality - God's gift of forgiveness and a new life, is just that - a gift. And yet we find this really hard to believe. Instead we think that God only loves those people who are good enough. Or that there are things that we have to do to earn merit points with God. But no, it's all gift.

And then if we follow this line of thinking we soon get into the grace v works debate which is picked up on in James 2 in the NT. Today, in our series in Philippians we got to 2:12-30. Paul begins by encouraging his readers to 'work out your salvation in fear and trembling' (2:12). It is important to note that it is 'work out' and not 'work for your salvation...'. We are not working in order to earn anything, rather it is a similar line of thinking to 1:27 ... live in a manner worthy of your calling as a follower of Jesus. If you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sin, if you've asked for God's forgiveness, if you proclaim 'Jesus is Lord', if you believe that Jesus is coming again - if you really believe these things - then you will live in a certain way.

And although this work is very much God's work (1:6, 2:13) we need to co-operate. God will not force His will on us. We need to listen and obey to the promptings of God. If we want to go our own way, God will let us. One of the ways we listen to God is to prayerfully read the Bible: both regularly as an individual, but also corporately within the church community. Scripture Union is just one organisation who produce daily Bible reading notes to help us understand and apply God's Word. We had some copies of their different publications on display at the church today - visit the Scripture Union website to find out more.

Scripture Union also do an online Bible reading resource called Word Live.



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Citizenship

There are regular scare stories in the newspapers about the numbers of people trying to get into Britain, many of them trying to get in illegally. Many no doubt have paid a lot of money, many have risked their lives as they make this journey, but they all have the hope of a better life. For many the ultimate goal is a British passport and being able to live as a British citizen, with all its benefits - but also its responsibilities.

In Philippians 1:27 Christians are described as citizens of heaven. The British government will often allow a person to hold dual nationality. So when in Britain they use their British passport and live as a British citizen. But on arriving in (let's say) the States they put their British passport to one side, and get out their American passport and live as an American citizen.

But when it comes to God there is no dual citizenship. To become a citizen of heaven means giving up your 'world' passport. I do not have the option of hiding my heavenly passport away and taking out another passport just because it might be more convenient or easier. I cannot live one kind of life at work and another kind of life at church or at home. Once a citizen of heaven we are called to live like that all of the time - no matter what happens. There are incredible benefits to being a citizen of heaven, but there are also some challenging responsibilities. And no one is promising that it will be easy.

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