GodBlog

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.

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".