How well do you respond in a crisis? What would you do if you were flying an Airbus full of passengers over a populated city when you lost both your engines?
Most of us would simply panic - resulting in disaster. But that is because we have no training and no experience. When an experienced pilot gets into difficulty often their training kicks in and they simply do what comes naturally.
The best sports people in the world often respond instinctively and effortlessly to situations, making brilliant catches, scoring goals or runs, or kicking conversions. But the reality is that thousands of hours of practise lies behind the instinct and intuition. In the heat of the moment they do what comes naturally - but they have worked for years to ensure that what comes naturally is the very thing that will bring success.
Last Sunday, at church, we were thinking about how the Bible plays an important role in forming our Christian character, so that in the heat of the moment, we instinctively know what to do - we naturally do the thing that will bring glory to God. And what goes on in our minds is so important. Our thinking affects our behaving.
Therefore it is essential that we spend time reading and reflecting on God's word - but also get into the habit and discipline of memorising Bible verses - something that has gone out of fashion in recent years.
If you want somewhere to start, Psalm 119:11 says 'I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you'. Write it down - on a small card that will fit in your pocket, and on a post-it note stuck to your fridge, mirror, computer screen...Repeat it often - including the reference. Think about it. Ask the 'so what?' question.
When we get God's word into our minds and hearts, when it affects us, when we allow it to change us, we will find that what comes naturally is pleasing to God.
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Responding to the Riots
Yesterday was the one month anniversary of my last post - so I thought it was about time I wrote something.
Those of you living in the UK, and many of you living across the world, will have seen images from the riots that occurred this week in London, and in several other major English cities. Following the consecutive nights of rioting, which saw groups of people involved in battles with the police, burning properties and cars, large scale looting, and tragically several killings, the focus has now shifted to the clear up and the analysis of what happened and why. There are many different opinions and much has been written in many blogs over the past week.
As different opinions are put forward in television interviews I find myself agreeing with some and getting really annoyed at others. As I have been reflecting on the events over the last few days and wondering whether to blog - and then what to blog - my thoughts have gone round in circles, and off on tangents: clearly there are no easy answers. And one thought seems to lead to another, which leads to another.
Certainly it is true that there were large numbers of people involved who were just out for a fight with the police, out to cause trouble and destruction, out to get their hands on a new mobile, a pair of trainers, or a flatscreen TV. Why did they get involved? Some simply got caught up in the events as they happened - and many probably thought that because of the numbers involved that they could get away with it.
I wonder how much of our behaviour is governed not by an absolute sense of what is right and wrong - but governed by the thought: will I get caught?
A feeling of hopelessness, anger, of being disconnected from society, of not having a voice - these are other reasons that have been put forward as so why things reached the scale they did. With parts of our society so on the margins, some are not at all surprised by the riots, declaring them to have been inevitable sooner or later. And whilst there are undoubtedly those in our society who despair at ever getting a job, who can't pay the bills on benefits, who see no escape, no way out, who have no hope, who have been let down by the education system...(and these are the people who Jesus spent time with)...they don't all turn to violence as the only way to get heard. One does not have to lead to the other.
Of course there are parts of the world where we (or at least our government on our behalf) have encouraged civil uprising and unrest against the authorities. Where we have armed those who have no voice in order to allow them to topple 'unjust' regimes. Is there a link?
There is so much more that has been said, and there is so much more that could be said. But where should the church be in all this? We pray for peace. We pray for those who have lost homes, jobs, family members. We pray for the authorities. And we continue to seek to be God's agents for change, bringing hope and faith and love in the places where God has called us to be, alongside people, who just like us, have been created in the image of a creative rather than destructive God.
Those of you living in the UK, and many of you living across the world, will have seen images from the riots that occurred this week in London, and in several other major English cities. Following the consecutive nights of rioting, which saw groups of people involved in battles with the police, burning properties and cars, large scale looting, and tragically several killings, the focus has now shifted to the clear up and the analysis of what happened and why. There are many different opinions and much has been written in many blogs over the past week.
As different opinions are put forward in television interviews I find myself agreeing with some and getting really annoyed at others. As I have been reflecting on the events over the last few days and wondering whether to blog - and then what to blog - my thoughts have gone round in circles, and off on tangents: clearly there are no easy answers. And one thought seems to lead to another, which leads to another.
Certainly it is true that there were large numbers of people involved who were just out for a fight with the police, out to cause trouble and destruction, out to get their hands on a new mobile, a pair of trainers, or a flatscreen TV. Why did they get involved? Some simply got caught up in the events as they happened - and many probably thought that because of the numbers involved that they could get away with it.
I wonder how much of our behaviour is governed not by an absolute sense of what is right and wrong - but governed by the thought: will I get caught?
A feeling of hopelessness, anger, of being disconnected from society, of not having a voice - these are other reasons that have been put forward as so why things reached the scale they did. With parts of our society so on the margins, some are not at all surprised by the riots, declaring them to have been inevitable sooner or later. And whilst there are undoubtedly those in our society who despair at ever getting a job, who can't pay the bills on benefits, who see no escape, no way out, who have no hope, who have been let down by the education system...(and these are the people who Jesus spent time with)...they don't all turn to violence as the only way to get heard. One does not have to lead to the other.
Of course there are parts of the world where we (or at least our government on our behalf) have encouraged civil uprising and unrest against the authorities. Where we have armed those who have no voice in order to allow them to topple 'unjust' regimes. Is there a link?
There is so much more that has been said, and there is so much more that could be said. But where should the church be in all this? We pray for peace. We pray for those who have lost homes, jobs, family members. We pray for the authorities. And we continue to seek to be God's agents for change, bringing hope and faith and love in the places where God has called us to be, alongside people, who just like us, have been created in the image of a creative rather than destructive God.
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Don't get bogged down in the detail
This coming Sunday we are going to complete our E100 journey through the Bible by taking a quick look at the whole of the book of Revelation. Although to many modern day readers large parts of this book are difficult to understand and confusing to apply it is a great mistake to get bogged down in the images that John creates.
When we get bogged down and try to unravel the mysteries of the beast, the dragon, the tribulation, the rapture, the millennium, the European community and barcodes we surely miss the whole point. Surely one key focus of this book is worship - worship that is rightly focused on God.
All the songs that we will sing on Sunday will be firmly based in the key themes of the book of Revelation, so that even if you have not read Revelation before, and even before we come to explore the book together (briefly) we will have already started to respond to the God that we encounter there.
One song that we will be singing will be new to most of us. It is called 'You alone are worthy' by Al Gordon, Luke Hellebronth and Hanif Williams. You might want to listen to it a few times ahead of Sunday.
We may also sing Chris Tomlin's 'I will rise'. If you need to remind yourself how that one goes click here to go to a previous post.
When we get bogged down and try to unravel the mysteries of the beast, the dragon, the tribulation, the rapture, the millennium, the European community and barcodes we surely miss the whole point. Surely one key focus of this book is worship - worship that is rightly focused on God.
All the songs that we will sing on Sunday will be firmly based in the key themes of the book of Revelation, so that even if you have not read Revelation before, and even before we come to explore the book together (briefly) we will have already started to respond to the God that we encounter there.
One song that we will be singing will be new to most of us. It is called 'You alone are worthy' by Al Gordon, Luke Hellebronth and Hanif Williams. You might want to listen to it a few times ahead of Sunday.
We may also sing Chris Tomlin's 'I will rise'. If you need to remind yourself how that one goes click here to go to a previous post.
Monday, 11 July 2011
Parable of a Runner (2)
Last Friday I took my own advice (from Tuesday) and dragged myself out of the door - on the basis that a few miles were better than none. As is generally the case, my headache soon cleared, and I started to enjoy running so took a couple of left turns (leading away from my start/stop point rather than back towards it) and ended up doing 10 miles.
But that is not what I want to tell you about. After a couple of miles, I was running briefly along a high street and a gentleman, who, judging from his appearance, may not have exercised in quite a while, shouted out, as I approached him, 'Do one for me, mate'.
That started me thinking. Just imagine if you could transfer the benefits of exercise from one person to another. A definite marketing opportunity. No doubt there would be those who would pay for others to do their exercise for them; and for those of us who enjoy exercise but are not the best in the world, suddenly we could become professionals!
We know the benefits of exercise - but it is a discipline - and it takes effort. Imagine if I could stay in and phone for a pizza whilst someone else ran 12 miles - with all the benefits being transferred to my body. Or for those with busy lives who can't take 90 minutes out for the gym - instead leave work, pick up the children, cook their tea, and put them to bed, whilst someone else is pounding out the miles on the treadmill, and working up a sweat on the rowing machine.
And I guess it is no different with our spiritual lives. There are spiritual disciples that we know are good for us - but wouldn't it be great if someone else could put in the hard work, but we get all the benefits.
But whether someone is out running, at the gym, memorising Bible verses, studying the Bible, or praying, shouting 'Do one for me mate' just doesn't work.
But that is not what I want to tell you about. After a couple of miles, I was running briefly along a high street and a gentleman, who, judging from his appearance, may not have exercised in quite a while, shouted out, as I approached him, 'Do one for me, mate'.
That started me thinking. Just imagine if you could transfer the benefits of exercise from one person to another. A definite marketing opportunity. No doubt there would be those who would pay for others to do their exercise for them; and for those of us who enjoy exercise but are not the best in the world, suddenly we could become professionals!
We know the benefits of exercise - but it is a discipline - and it takes effort. Imagine if I could stay in and phone for a pizza whilst someone else ran 12 miles - with all the benefits being transferred to my body. Or for those with busy lives who can't take 90 minutes out for the gym - instead leave work, pick up the children, cook their tea, and put them to bed, whilst someone else is pounding out the miles on the treadmill, and working up a sweat on the rowing machine.
And I guess it is no different with our spiritual lives. There are spiritual disciples that we know are good for us - but wouldn't it be great if someone else could put in the hard work, but we get all the benefits.
But whether someone is out running, at the gym, memorising Bible verses, studying the Bible, or praying, shouting 'Do one for me mate' just doesn't work.
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