Where are you looking?

Where can you go to find God? 

If you'd asked someone within Israel that question in the days of the Old Testament they may well have pointed you in the direction of the Tabernacle or the Temple (depending on which century you did your asking).

The Tabernacle

God gave Moses the plans for the Tabernacle in Exodus, and right at its heart was the 'Most Holy Place' which contained the Ark of the Covenant - a golden box above which God had promised to meet with the people (Exodus 25:22).

The Tabernacle was also the place where you came to bring your lamb/goat/pigeon etc to present to a priest who would then sacrifice the animal for you and for the forgiveness of sin.

So the Tabernacle was the place where God had chosen to dwell amongst the people and it was the place you came to in order to receive forgiveness.

Solomon's Temple

In the 10th century BC the Tabernacle was replaced by a stone Temple built in Jerusalem by King Solomon. At its heart was still the Most Holy Place and the Ark. It was still the place where God met with his people and the place where sacrifice for sin was made.

By the time we arrive at Jesus, this temple had been destroyed and rebuilt and then was undergoing a major upgrade - it was now known as Herod's Temple. And in John 2:13-25 Jesus walks into the temple and essentially declares through his words and his actions that the temple and everything associated with it is obsolete - and it has been replaced by him. No wonder the temple authorities were wanting to get rid of Jesus - they were in danger of losing their position, their authority and their power.

Herod's Temple

John has already been using language that may have alerted us to what is coming. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us...we have seen his glory...

God no longer chooses to dwell among his people above the Ark in the Most Holy Place at the centre of the Temple - he now meets with his people in a person - Jesus. The whole sacrificial system was a signpost pointing through the Old Testament to Jesus - the perfect sacrifice. It's now through Jesus' death that we can know forgiveness for sin. 

So whether it's finding God, or experiencing forgiveness, the place to look is not a place, but a person - Jesus.

What are you doing for Lent?

Today is Shrove Tuesday - pancake day, which means that tomorrow is Ash Wednesday: the first day of Lent - the time in the church calendar that runs from Ash Wednesday through to Easter. Traditionally Lent is the period of preparation in the run up to the events of Easter - the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. A time of reflection and repentance - which in certain church traditions is often accompanied by fasting.

Lent lasts for 40 days but if you've looked at a calendar you will have noticed that there are actually 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. That's because the six Sundays during this time do not count as days of fasting - Sundays are always a day of celebration as we remember the resurrection.

Your church background and the kind of church you attend will affect your view of Lent. Within some churches Lent is an important part of the year. In other churches it barely receives a mention. 

So are you 'doing Lent'? Some people give up something for Lent - like chocolate or Facebook. Some people take something up. Some people give something up in order to create time to take something up. Some people won't have thought about it yet.

So if you haven't thought about it yet, but you want to do something, here are a few ideas.

Christian Aid is just one organisation that use a series of reflections throughout Lent to raise awareness of their various campaigns and encourage prayer and financial support for their work. You can visit their website by clicking here and downloading their Lent materials.

40 Acts - is a commitment to do Lent generously - so rather than giving something up it is a decision to 40 acts of generosity and kindness. To find out more and register click here.

On Sunday at CBC we were encouraged to either continue with or start the Scripture Union daily Bible readings for 2014. If you're not in the habit of reading your Bible regularly then maybe this Lent is your time to start. You can find all the daily readings, along with some helpful notes and thought provoking questions by clicking here. 

Come and see

For those of you who use social media (such as Facebook) what sort of things do you post? What are the exciting things that we want to share with our friends? My Facebook feed this morning contains a mixture of links to other websites and interesting articles, as well as the usual comments about house work, hobbies, running, holidays and a smattering of inspirational photos and quotes.

My Twitter feed is a little different - but that's because of the way that I use Twitter and Facebook.

But if you'd been following a couple of fishermen on Twitter a couple of thousand years ago they may have tweeted something along the lines of "found the Messiah - come and see" along with a photo and a location.

"Come and see". This is an invitation that we hear on the lips of the first disciples as they go and find their friends and tell them about Jesus (John 1:35-51). They hadn't been on an evangelism course but they knew that they'd found the person they'd been waiting for. Within a few hours of meeting Jesus they'd seen and heard enough to convince them that Jesus was the Messiah. They were convinced that Jesus was good news. They were sure that he was the answer to their questions and therefore they knew that he was the answers to their friends' questions too. And when you have good news you want to tell someone.

I think that sometimes we over-complicate evangelism. Yes, there is a part of evangelism that involves things like street performance, or speaking to strangers on a train journey, or engaging in debate - but there is also a part of evangelism that is simply inviting our friends to 'come and see'. 

Is Jesus good news? Why is Jesus good news? What difference does Jesus make to us? If he has made a difference - if we've experienced peace in the middle of a massive crisis for example - then why not share that with someone who is searching for peace today?

Stick with Foncho

Yesterday was the start of Fairtrade Fortnight. It's now 20 years since the first Fairtrade products appeared on the shelves of British supermarkets - and now there are hundreds of different items that carry the Fairtrade Mark.

It's not just about tea, coffee and chocolate anymore. If you're buying footballs, wine, clothing or flowers there will be a Fairtrade option.

I expect that if most people had to list items that came Fairtrade, bananas would be fairly high up the list. But still 2/3 of bananas in the UK are not Fairtrade and bitter price wars in the UK between the supermarkets is putting banana farmers at risk.

That's why bananas are the focus of this year's Fairtrade Fortnight campaign.



To find out more visit the Stick with Foncho website by clicking here.