GodBlog

Simple stuff

John spoke about walking with God on sunday.

It was a great message, with a great many words in it, but I was left with only a few in my memory. It's about the bedrock of a walk with God.

1. Read the bible
2. Pray
3. Meet with other believers for fellowship

Makes it sound easy doesn't it?

Maybe we do overcomplicate it with rhetoric about spiritual warfare and various doctrinal struggles. Well, that's my bit of inspiration this week - read the bible and pray.

I'll let you know.

New Church

I really should mention that I have deftly switched churches since I started writing this occasional blog.

The reason is simple, I needed to find a church at which I could worship with my wife (TL), and the one I was attending wasn't working out for us as a couple, although I liked a lot about it myself.

I am happy now, on both counts. The new church is a wonderful place for me and for us as a couple. It's called County Church, Wansbeck - and is, of course, in the delightful rurality of Northumberland. We were pointed there by my esteemed friend, Tim Sokell - and I am so glad he did.

I've left this post for long enough to be sure that the honeymoon effect is not too strong, and so when I say that I am bowled over by the strength and sincerity of the love shown in the church, I really mean it. Here, I feel, are people living the life and not just going through the motions of christianity. It's like a breath of fresh air.

The worship is relaxed and open. The teaching is great and I have a lot of respect for the leaders. I have never been in a church before that so closely matches my own vision of how church can and should be. It is profoundly humbling and at the same time massively challenging. I find myself wanting to take a full part in the church and I was delighted to be welcomed, along with TL, into membership this Sunday.

This is also the first time in a long time that I have been part of a local church. For one reason or another I have often driven 25 niles or more to church. It's rather nice to have a church that is just a short drive away, and this adds to our ability to be involved on all levels.

I am under no illusions, there will certainly be hard times, but I feel with so many hearts most definitely in the right place, the chance for success in adversity is so much greater.

I'd better stop now, before this looks too much like an "I'm alright, jack" sort of posting. I'll get back to soul-searching pretty soon. You'll see.

Easter Sunday

Here we are at Easter, and though this is the day when Jesus is remembered as risen from the dead, my thoughts are returned to the cross by the film "The Passion of The Christ".

It's hard to imagine a more graphic portrayal of the pain and suffering of Jesus. It gets to me and moves me like no other story - probably because I am more of a Christian than I sometimes think myself. Maybe also because this story resonates through history like no other.

The supreme deity, cast as a human, being born on the earth as man and living a brief life that changed the world forever. If you ever doubt the significance of Jesus' trial, flogging and crucifixion, please watch this film.

Through it all, just one thought runs through my head: "I'm not worth it."

But somehow, God thinks we are.

Mother's Day

So, here we are at Mothering Sunday once again.

It's quite strange, now being married to someone who is a mother. It both reminds me of the gulf between me and my own mother and also cheers me to see a close relationship between a mother and her children.

It was interesting to note, that the church leader (John) mentioned those who had problems in their relationships with their mothers - and recognised that this could be a difficult day for some. I thought that was a very aware thing to say, and I appreciated it.

It also can be a tricky time for single women who have not yet married - perhaps especially for those older ones who wonder if they are going to ever be married. Perhaps harder to mention those.

Nevertheless, it was good to be in a service that wasn't just the usual sickly-sweet remembrance.

Explore Faith Dot Org

I happened across this site, pretty much by random.

Unusually for an American site, the views are balanced and open in their perspective. I actually felt like the people writing them were living in the real world. In so many ways (apart from the design) this is the kind of site I would like to be a part of.

I'd be interested to know whether you react in the same way I do to it.

Gifts of the spirit

At our church, we have been considering the gifts of the spirit for the last few weeks. If you want to know what the gifts of the spirit are - try HERE.

In the Bible, noteably in 1 Corinthians 12, it states clearly that these gifts are there to build people up, and yet they so often end up dividing the church - particularly the gifts of prophesy, knowledge and discernment.

Why? I think it is because a certain type of person discovers that to express themselves in spiritual terms, as if inspired by God, lends a weight and validity to their feelings. So, if they are concerned about someone, they "receive a word of knowledge" about them. After all, it's pretty hard to ignore something direct from God.

Bolstered by this success, it's time for a bit of prophesy - often of the "doom and gloom" variety. The rhetoric tends to flow along the lines of God weeping at our lack of obedience and longing for us to turn once more to Him and follow more closely, lest we slip away etc. etc. It may even target, quite openly, certain people in the church or group.

Christians - the new unchurched?

So, why bother to go to church? It certainly is not the no-brainer that many christians consider it to be. I encounter more and more lovely sincere people who have a very real faith, yet who struggle to find a church that they feel they can commit to. For some, there very idea of church is now too difficult to even approach.

I suspect this, and related matters, will provide meat for many of the entries here. I don't want to attempt to be clever or go too deep with this right now, but I thought I would write down why it is that /I/ go to church.

I was in a conversation with TL, and I found myself describing the things that prompted me to go to church. It was fascinating, because I had never really put words to it in quite that way. For much of my early life, attendance at church was a forgone conclusion. Now, it is very much a personal choice. I have spent considerable periods of my life completely away from the church, more than twelve years at one point, so I reckon I have seen both sides of this equation.

The grass is greener right HERE

I have decided to give myself a little wake-up call.

I'm living in a rented house right now, my work is sporadic and I have limited facilities. Our house back in Huddersfield is not yet sold and Liz has not got a full-time job up here in Northumberland.

I often find myself thinking:

"When all those things have fallen into place, then I can really start living and life will be great."

I'm not sure I could be more wrong.

The truth is here and now - nothing in the future is guaranteed. Life has never worked out the way I thought it would - why would it be any different now?

So here's the wake-up call:

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself."
Matt. 6:34

So...I really should worry about today, and do what I need to do today with a sense of purpose. I am all too keen to wish today away and hope for things to be better in the future. That really has to stop.

It's time to accept where I am now, and to start enjoying it. Time to take my life "off hold".

Here we go...

I don't really want to fill my personal blog full of God-Talk, for a few very good reasons:

1) I really do not want anyone to think I am stuffing religion in their face.

2) I'd rather write here for people that are genuinely interested.

3) I see this as too big a subject to be contained within a general blog.

4) I'd be delighted if this generated discussion, and I don't want it to take-over my personal blog.

So GODBLOG exists in its own right. I will post here only when I have something which I think is worth saying, so please don't expect any sort of regularity.

I do not intend to preach here, but I will be sharing ideas and concepts that are flying around in my head. Often their will be more questions than answers, but maybe that's as it should be.

Please join in, it helps a lot.