World Book Day

Happy 'World Book Day 2011' - what are you reading to celebrate?

We sent two daughters off this morning dressed as Little Red Riding Hood and Alison Wonderland (sic), and the playground at school was full of various Disney Princesses and superheros.

Although an event aimed at children and (new for this year) teenagers - what are you reading to celebrate world book day?

One of the aims of this blog is to encourage interaction with the Bible, which is the world's best selling book of all time - and it is also the most shoplifted book - not sure what happens when someone gets to Exodus 20:15 in a shoplifted Bible!

There are many resources available today to help us interact with our Bibles every day - there are traditional Bible notes (printed on paper using ink), as well as pod casts, and daily downloads to your mobile phone.

Two good websites to start exploring are Scripture Union's 'Wordlive' and the Bible Society's 'You've Got the Time'.

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Stereotypes

If you read yesterday's post you will have watched the TV advert for the AA.

Did you notice that all the people who broke down in the advert were women? Obviously if you break down and are a woman you need the help of the AA man. Presumably if you are a man you are more than capable of sorting out the problem for yourself.

On Sunday we looked at the story of Deborah from Judges 4. Deborah was a woman who was leading the people of Israel.

There are times when we come across stories in the Bible that should challenge our stereotypes and prejudices. They should make us think.

In our E100 Bible readings this week we also read the story of Ruth - a foreign woman, who has lost her husband, who displays the characteristics of a true disciple and who finds herself the great grandmother of king David and a distant, but direct relative of Jesus.

A couple of weeks ago we read about Rahab, a foreign woman, who was a prostitute. But a woman who displayed great courage and faith and who is mentioned in the New Testament in Hebrews 11 - listed amongst those who demonstrated great faith.

Sometimes we have a picture in our heads of the kind of people God uses. Usually these pictures are the result of our life experience. Some people may be a part of a church where only certain kinds of people get all the key roles - maybe, for example, professional men. This can result in a number of thought patterns.

Those who are professional men (in this example) then either consciously or unconsciously overlook others in the church because they don't fit.

But also those who aren't professional men assume that God doesn't want to use them and therefore find themselves on the fringe of the church rather than involved at it's heart.

Hopefully stories like Rahab, Deborah and Ruth should alert us to the fact that God can use anyone and wants to use anyone. The key is not our background but our willingness to be obedient to God. Are there people you have overlooked because of unconscious thinking? Is God asking you to do something but you've always resisted because you see yourself as the wrong kind of person?

Help - I need somebody

How do you think about God? Is it something like this?



For many people, God is a bit like the AA man (Automobile Association) - he's there when your car breaks down on the motorway, but when your car is working fine you don't give him a second thought. When we experience a crisis in our lives we call out to God for help, but when things are going well we hardly give him a thought.

This week in our E100 Bible readings we have been reading from Judges and Ruth. And in Judges the people of Israel go through this cycle of good times - they forget about God and follow false gods - they are oppressed by their enemies - they cry out to God - God rescues them - they experience good times - and the whole cycle repeats itself.

There are a whole range of reasons why we experience crisis in our lives. It is not the case that we can simply say that suffering and hardship are God punishing us for sin. In the New Testament, Jesus, the disciples, and the apostle Paul are just some of the people to experience hardship because of their obedience to God.

But sometimes it may be the case that God sends a crisis in order to get our attention. We are happily following a road that will lead to destruction and God wants us to stop and choose the road that will lead to life. But the only way at times for God to get our attention is when we reach rock bottom - a bit like the prodigal son.

It is good to know that if we have reached rock bottom and there is no where else to turn, no matter how far we've walked from God, no matter how long we have been away - God is loving and forgiving, and has promised that if we turn around he is there to welcome us back and give us a new start.

To be continued...