London Triathlon

Later on this afternoon the Brownlee brothers, Jonny and Alistair, will be fighting it out with Javier Gomez in Hyde Park, London, for the title of Triathlon World Champion. 

Yesterday we went to see the mass events at the London Triathlon - the Olympic and sprint distance events. We were too late to see the elite women's race, which was won by Non Stamford, the new women's World Champion.

But at the mass events there were hundreds, probably thousands of men and women swimming, cycling and running their way round Hyde Park. The starts were staggered over a couple of hours and the Standard Distance was followed by the Sprint Distance events. Add to that the fact that the bike was a 5 lap course and the run a 4 lap course it meant that at any point you'd be watching a whole spectrum of athletes.

There were those who looked like triathletes and those who didn't. There were those who looked fit and those who...didn't. On the cycling there were some people on carbon fibre bikes, with the solid back wheels and the aerodynamic tear drop shaped helmets that you see during professional time trials - and there were others on mountain bikes that creaked as they went past.

For some this was their first triathlon and the aim was simply to finish, others would have been chasing a PB, very few would have had ambitions to win their age category etc.

But at least they were in the race - which is more than could be said for those of us who were watching. 

Some people live life as spectators rather than competitors. Some Christians live as spectators - taking a comfy seat and watching everyone do all the work - but that's not an option. We all have a part to play and it is important that we know what our part is and that we're fully involved.

So the next time you sit down to watch a triathlon, or the football, or the tennis, or even the Proms ask yourself whether you are a simply a spectator or whether you're playing your part in your Christian life?

Tricky issues...

Are you a Calvinist? Do you have any idea who this man is? Does it matter?

How you answer my first question will probably depend a lot on where you live and what kind of church you go to - or used to go to. I have no statistical evidence to back up what I'm about to say but I guess that there would be some Christians who would say they were definitely Calvinists. Others would say that they were not - and some of these might describe themselves as Arminians. There would be some who might have a vague notion about what I was asking. And then there would be others who would look blankly and ask whether that has anything to do with a small boy with spiky hair and a toy tiger.

This week we began a new Sunday morning teaching series looking at the second half of Romans - chapters 9-16. I admit I was tempted to make this a slightly shorter study and just look at chapters 12-16...

There are a number of questions that are raised in chapters 9-11 that I don't feel particularly qualified to tackle. Ask me whether I am a pre-millennialist, an a-millennialist or a post-millennialist and I will have something to offer - because I spent a whole term at Bible college reading around the subject and then had to write a 5000 word essay on the subject. I'm sure there were subjects and courses that I could have taken that looked at Calvin - but I took something else instead - but maybe that was just meant to be.

One of the questions that Romans 9:1-29 raises for us is the question of God's sovereign choice - God chooses some people - are therefore rejects others. Very simply (overly simply) this is Predestination - as opposed to Free Will. On one side God has already determined how we will respond in any given situation - on the other side we have free will to choose for ourselves.

I am not going to argue one way or the other here. There are Christians on both sides of the argument who believe the Bible teaches one or the other. They are able to quote verses that seem to clearly state one point of view or the other. That's why it remains such a divisive topic - if it was clear cut and obvious then it wouldn't be an issue.

So how should we approach issues or passages in the Bible that we find difficult to accept or understand?

I think one of the keys is that we do it with humility. 

Whatever we think it says - we might be wrong.

And even if we're right - if that's the way we're thinking about things (I'm right and you're wrong) then our attitude is almost certainly wrong anyway.

We need to remember that it is God who is God - there are going to be things that I won't understand - but am I prepared to obey and submit?

We need to pray that God will help us to understand more.

One conclusion I have come to as I've looked at Romans 9 - I should have started this series at chapter 12.

The writing's on the wall

It seems a long time ago I finished our series in Daniel and even longer since I last posted about it...so time to catch up - here's Daniel 5.

For King Belshazzar, the writing is, quite literally, on the wall. Many of the themes that we have met so far in Daniel resurface again. Here is a king who is proud of his achievements and who pays no regard to God. A king who has not learnt from the experiences of those who have gone before him. He is making the same mistakes as Nebuchadnezzar.

How often do we go on making the same mistakes? How often do we make a new start but soon slip back into old habits?

And so the judgement of God is pronounced by this hand that appears and writes on the wall: mene, meme, tekel, parsin. Words that only Daniel can read and interpret for the king. And so Daniel tells the king: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end; you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.

This is a reminder to us that we are in the hands of God - which may be an encouragement to us or fill us with fear.

It is an encouragement to know that the future, that events, that timings are all in God's hands. What happens is all a part of his plans - even if we don't understand what is happening. God has promised to carry us through these things. Nothing can happen outside of the plan of God. This can give us peace even in a turbulent situation.

But it can also be a fearful thing to realise that we are in God's hand - the God who judges.

Thankfully on the cross Jesus dealt with the problem of our sin so that we can know the forgiveness of God - allowing us to know the encouragement of being in God's hands.

Summer Holidays

Thought I'd start the come back with a short update on our family summer holiday. We had a really good time helped by some very good weather. Quite a contrast to last year's camping experience on the top of Bodmin Moor where our concerns swung between drowning and blowing away.

This year we took our tent and our bikes and a few other camping essentials (like kitchen cupboards and a carpet) to Bedgebury Camping, just south of Goudhurst in Kent. Most of the year this campsite is simply farm fields but for a couple of weeks and a few weekends in the summer it becomes a very relaxed camp site. The facilities are on the basic side but are perfectly adequate. There is plenty of space and the girls loved just being able to hop on their bikes and ride up and down. Even visiting the nearest eco-toilet required the use of their bikes! They loved the sort of freedom that they can't get at home.

Our enjoyment of the week was helped by the almost total lack of rain - making this probably our best camping holiday ever. Over the week we visited Bedgebury Forest and Pinetum a couple of times. 

Walking in Bedgebury Forest

The second time we hired a buggy to fit on the back of the bike so that we could all take advantage of the many different cycle trails through the forest. We also got attacked by a legion of wood ants as we tried to find a geocache - the ants won. There is lots to do in the forest - well worth a visit. The girls are still too young to be able to do 'Go Ape' and by the time they're old enough we'll be too old to join them.

Out for a family bike ride

We also went to Hever Castle and Bewl Water, which were both good days out with lots to do. The rest of the time was spent relaxing on the camp site - several evenings spent around the camp fire toasting marshmallows. 

Bedgebury Forest was only 1.8 miles away (by foot) so I was able to get quite a few runs in around the forest - only getting lost a couple of times.

Reading the Faraway Tree while we wait for the fire to die down so we can toast marshmallows

Is this a campsite we'd think about returning to? Definitely.

Then it was on to Devon for the second week of our holiday, spent with my parents. The girls love a week at Nanny and Granddad's and this time all my sisters were there for some or all of the time - which meant that the girls got to spend some time with their aunties and uncle and cousins from my side of the family.

Let's go fly a kite...

Considering we were on holiday it seems like a very busy time - early morning running was required as we were out most days. We visited the beach, Bicton Gardens, Escot, the miniature pony centre, cycled along the sea front, went swimming, went for a couple of walks and visited the cinema to see Despicable Me 2. I'd recommend all those as great things to do/great days out.

The only complaint I have about this year's holiday: two weeks is just not long enough!