The Biblical story in eight words

Creation

Separation 

Incarnation 

Crucifixion 

Resurrection 

Glorification 

Proclamation 

Coronation 

Creation - the word spoken

Separation - the word broken

Incarnation - the word arrived

Crucifixion - the word died

Resurrection - the word breathed

Glorification - the word received

Proclamation - the word renowned 

Coronation - the word crowned

Human being in a 'doing' world

I am a human being, in a doing world

As the work gets harder, and the stress unfurled

There are countless targets, there is always the grind

There are numerous jobs, can life be redefined?

There is loads to do, there is far to go

There are many to please, there's so much to know

There are umpteen problems, there's no end of stuff

There are hordes of issues, will enough be enough?

So, the work is watching how I act and do

Will I follow the multitudes or be one of the few?

Will I set a new direction or follow the trend?

Will the weight of work cause me to stumble and bend?

I long to stop the need to succeed and win

To prevent the stress getting under my skin

To change my focus by step and degree

And stop my doing and to simply be

So, I will sit and rest and wait and see

And find my place in Him not me

To build my life upon the saviour's grace

And cease to run in the human race

Blind faith

Now faith is to be sure of what we hope for and certainty of what we do not see

Hebrews 11:1

Sometimes Christians are accused of having blind faith, to believe in God without there being any evidence or justification 

To have 'blind faith' in anyone or anything is somewhat problematic, I am not sure that it actually exists. Blind faith implies that there is no reason for the faith and that surely cannot be the case. Who would be mad enough to have faith for absolutely no reason?  In fact wouldn't that be a definition of madness; belief and trust in someone or something without any reason? If we were to question the person who said that they just had faith I am certain we would find a rationale for their belief. It may not be clear or coherent, but it would still be there. 

The Christian faith is predicated on the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. On an actual person who was born on a specific day in history, who lived, died and was literally raised from the dead. If these things did not take place, then Christians are wasting their time. As the Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, 'And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile.' 1 Corinthians 15:17

To return to the passage in Hebrews 12, this is not an encouragement to have blind faith but rather an explanation of what faith really is. To be sure of what we hope for is to hold fast to what we have given our lives for, what we confidently expect. To be certain of what we do not see is believing in the evidence even though it cannot be seen. For example, I have faith in God, even though I have not seen him, because I believe in the evidence that he exists. The certainty of God's existence for me is based on an inner witness and fellowship with him over many decades, and a confidence that Jesus was indeed raised from the dead. There are other reasons for my faith, a belief that God is the cause and reason for the fine tuning of the universe and the foundation of objective moral values and duties, but important as they may be, they are not fundamental for me

However, I don't want to commit my life to something that is not true, if I am wrong about God and his purpose then I want to be told, I want to know, I want to be corrected. However, I have lived with the reality of God's existence for over forty years and, although not complacent, I have faith that this will continue in the years to come

God is who he is

Irreversible 

Irrevocable

Irresistible 

Irreplaceable 

Irrefutable 

Irremovable

Irrebuttable 

Irreducible 

God is who he is whether I believe it, understand it, like it or acknowledge it. None of our response or lack of response to God changes him one iota. Atheists don't demean him, agnostics don't limit him, communists don't threaten him. God has always been, is always and will always be, God. We can decide whether to believe in him or not but whatever we think will not change the truth that he exists and that one day everyone will acknowledge it

God is who he is

Pivotal moments

Pivotal moments, unusual time

Same as forever or new paradigm 

How long is a moment, how long is a while?

No one is certain which one is the trial

Moments all different, each one unique

Joy for the future or a havoc to wreak

The decisions we face, the choices we make

Sometimes seems clear, sometimes opaque 

Look on disaster whether famine or feast

Temptation comes when you expect it the least

The smile on her mouth, the look in his eye

The poison released as inside you will die

One moment of weakness, one lifetime of pain

One decision so easy, how do you explain?

Generational heartache, you're playing with fire

The confusion of breakdown, what do you desire?

To seek pleasure is normal, to need purpose is fine

But to be satisfied with so little is not His design

A lifetime of searching and seeking his face

Will satisfy deeply as we know his grace

So pivotal moments will come and will go

How vital the option you might never know

Keep seeking to follow, make defence of your heart

And Christ will draw near, his life to impart

In the past

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son

Hebrews 1:1,2

In the past God spoke to our ancestors; through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obediah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, at many times and in various ways

The above are the prophets who wrote books in the Old Testament. However, there are many others who are either referred to as prophets or acted as prophets, for example, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Miriam and around thirty others

But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son

In the past God revealed himself through letter, word, sentence and paragraph; through diction, noun, adjective and verb; through poetry, history, story and song. But now God speaks by flesh, bone, spirit and mind; by heart, voice, soul and body. The exalted Son revealing the Father of Heaven to the children of earth

Death, where is your sting?

Death, where is your sting? You are a snake that rears it's ugly head to strike but the venom is absent. You are a lover in the climax of embrace who has nothing to give. You are a boxer with the opponent on the ropes who cannot find the killer punch. You are the Wizard of Oz who finally comes out from behind the curtain and shows his true colours 

You scream and shout and threaten and condemn but that is all you have. You promise much but cannot deliver even a little. You are a failure and an embarrassment, there is nothing you can do to hide the real truth 

You totally misunderstood what you thought was your greatest triumph, the creator hanging on a cross. The nails were not only driven into his hands and feet but also driven into any hope that you had for further distructive gain. How could you not have known? How did you not realise? Why did you have such little appreciation of the Son of God?

Did you think that he could possibly fail, that his power was somehow like yours, limited, weak and brittle? Oh, how you overplayed your hand. You looked at him knowing that you had two pairs without realising that he had a royal flush. But you should have known, everything he had done, while you looked on, would point to your ultimate defeat. Was there really any reason to give you hope?

Your partnership with grave was over as the morning dawn began to break. You looked around for the dead Messiah but found nothing but strips of cloth. Oh, how the disappointment must have crashed into you. Oh, how the fear and the fury must have filled you in equal measure. Like a balloon losing air through a hole, your confidence must have dissipated as your strength seeped away

"Death, where is your sting" is not just a line written by a prophet and quoted in a letter written by one of his disciples. It would be a constant melody singing around in your head, with nothing you can do to bring silence. The grave cannot come to your help because it too has become impotent, with no possibility of victory

The words keep raising up in you like bile in the throat. You look around and realise that you will always be able to answer the question, "death, where is your sting?" You know as well as anyone that your sting has lost its venom and the point been blunted. And worst of all, you having been stripped of all power, will soon be dead forever - truely the death of death!

So, God

We could not become God so God became us

We could not overcome sin, so God became sin

We could not save ourselves, so God gave himself away 

We could not live for God, so God died for us

We could not understand truth, so God revealed the Word

We could not find God, so God came near

We could not delight in God, so God delighted in us

We could not walk with God, so God walked with us

We could not forgive ourselves, so God forgave us

We could not live a holy life, so God made us whole

We could not live for ever, so God gave us eternal life