Christos Kurdos

Looking for blessings in all the wrong places

2011-06-14T17:28:00.002+01:00

After reading Tim Keller's book "Counterfeit gods" I've been think a lot more about idolatry...
Now, when you say "Idol" or "false god" many people think of ancient, primative people worshiping baals and asherahs, or offering sacrifices to statues made out of wood or stone.

But the truth is idols are everywhere in 2011...
probably more so than thousands of years ago

You see, the bible tells us quite plainly that we are made for worship.
It's how God created us to be.
It's who God created us to be.

To make much of him... to glorify him.

So, if we're all worshipers, then the big question becomes...
Who/What do you worship?

Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart is also."

That means whatever you spend you time, treasure and talents on... THAT'S your idol.

And it's not a bad thing... it's usually a good thing.

Idolatry is taking a good thing and making it a "god" thing.

So, whether it's love, money, work, spouse, children, status, self...whatever.
That's your idol.
We all have them.
We all struggle with them... whether we admit it or not.

Jacob in the bible, is the perfect example of having idols... not only that, but exchanging one idol for another...

Even before Jacob was born he fought with his brother Esau for prime position. Even in the womb he understood the importance of being born first. His idol was status and family positioning.
Then after being born (second) he lived his childhood in his bother's shadow. We're told that Isaac loved Esau more.
What a horrible thing to live in!
And so NOW Jacob's idol became his dad and what his dad thought of him. Everything he did was focused on trying to get his dad to love him more.

Next, Jacob's idol shifted to the birthright (and we all know what he went through for that!)

Then his idol moved onto having a hot wife. If only he could get Rachel... THEN his life would be complete!

Then it was having the right kind of sons.

But the most interesting area of Jacob's life is found in Genesis 32, when Jacob wrestles with God and refuses to let him go until he blesses him. This is so deeply rooted in previous idols, where Jacob feels the need to be accepted and loved and blessed by his dad. God does bless him, but not before popping his hip out!

That blessing - the blessing through the Spirit that is ours through Christ - is what Jacob received, and it is the only remedy against idolatry.
Only THAT blessing makes idols unnecessary. As with Jacob, we usually only discover this after a life of "looking for blessings in all the wrong places."
It often takes an experience of crippling weakness for us to finally discover it. That is why so many of the most God-blessed people limp as they dance for joy.

Why can't we all just get along?

2011-05-29T15:04:00.002+01:00

This February saw Rob Bell's publisher release a short video promo for his new book Love Wins. It was intended to stir conversation about the book and played up controversial questions Bell wrestled with in its pages.

Almost imediately, prominent Christian leaders took to the web, condemning the book and Bell himself.

After John Piper famously tweeted, "Farewell Rob Bell" with a link to the video on February 26th, it set a firestorm in Christian circles.
Needless to say, an influential Christian leader publicly condemning another - implying he was no longer part of the faith - drew obvious and significant battle lines.

Most of the criticism from the public came on the side of Piper in deeming Bell's teaching as heretical and calling his views universalist. And maybe they are. But what really struck me was that all this criticism was lobbed before anyone actually read the book.

This is no more a criticism of Piper, as it is a condoning of Bell... but shouldn't all Christians try to handle disagreements differently than how this public fiasco unfolded.
When non-believers see Christians attacking each other the way they have been around this book, it gives ammunition to the arguement that the actions of Christians actually keep people away from Christ rather than drawing them to Him.

Why would non-believers want to be like us when all they see is our hate and judgement?
Jesus once said that his disciples would be known by their love for one another [John 13:35]
As I've already said, this isn't a defense of Rob Bell either...
I've read the book and been to see him talk about it and a Q&A about it too, and personally, I don't agree with every idea in it. But it did challenge me. It caused me to look at beliefs I've long had in a new light. It made me reexamine scripture about things I honestly hadn't explored deeply enough.

In the end, the book helped strengthen my faith. It reaffirmed things I already believed, and by examining some new perspectives I hadn't considered yet, it brought me to a more robust understanding and belief in Christ - even if I didn't always end with complete agreement with the book.

And I think that was Bell's point.

He seems to like to ruffle feathers, popping religious balloons and looking at things from new perspectives. That was the whole point of the publisher's short video released before the book's release date... to ask questions, to provoke, to start conversations and stir things up. Which it certainly did!
I guess my point is, we don't have to completely agree with everything someone says to learn from them. God has given us all discernment.
God can use a wide variety of people and ideas to draw us closer to him.
And in the future, let's not try to let a hate-filled controversy erupt because of a marketing video.

Keeping it real

2008-06-12T13:13:00.003+01:00

We can find four qualities within Jesus' communication that accomplishes His ability to make Himself accessible to everyone....

1# NARRATIVE_ Everyone loves stories and Jesus' teachings are full of kind Samaritans and forgiving fathers.

2# SIMPLICITY_ Jesus always offered truths in small bite-sized pieces. Even with this simplicity, the pharisees never understood and even His disciples (who lived with Jesus for 3 years listening, watching and learning) missed the point.

3# FAMILIARITY_ Jesus ALWAYS communicated through familiar examples. Many parables and stories were based on fishing, house-building and farming.

4# CONCRETENESS_ Even when dealing with spiritual theological ideas, Jesus always kept grounded. He used physical, visual images . . . pigs trampling pearls, moths and rust, and eye plucking. Physical examples to back up His statements . . . a coin, a small child, a man with a withered hand.

Jesus kept it real.

Opposites attract

2008-06-01T11:58:00.002+01:00

To make a connection we have to draw near to someone.

This was Jesus' way.

"The word became flesh and dwelt among us"

This word "dwelt" literally means "to pitch a tent".

Jesus didn't live in a nice mansion in the 'beverly hills' of Isreal and then commute into the rough areas and then back to his penthouse on an evening. He set up camp right in the middle of the people He was trying to reach.

He spent time with them, ate with them, lived through the highs and lows.
This "drawing near" not only effected His actions, but His words also.

Parables are used by Jesus on nearly every page of the gospels and they formed the foundation of Jesus' communication.
Parable is taken from the words "Para" (near) and "Ballo" (to bring) = "Near-bringers".
Jesus never tried to discuss theology with the everyday people of Galilee. He used these "Paraballos", these "near-bringers" to bring His principles and lofty ideas down into the dust of the market streets and desert roads.

In this day and age we have made the assumption that "clever people use big words".

Jesus' approach was the exact opposite.

He sought to bring His communication closer and more accessible to everyone.

X

On their turf

2008-05-27T11:18:00.003+01:00

Matthew 8_15-13 tells of the remarkable faith of a Roman officer, but an emphasis is all given to Jesus' character... His desire to meet people in their own space. At the drop of a hat He was willing to stop what He was doing, change direction and go to a complete strangers house.

Meeting with and spending time with the Romans was almost as bad as associating with the sick, prostitutes and tax collectors, but this was Jesus' way.

Communication.

Jesus wasn't like Robin Hood, steling from the rich to give to the poor.
Jesus gave to everyone.

He preached in the synagogue.

Touched and healed the sick.

Dined with the religious elite.

Sat and drank with adulterers and prostitutes.

No matter what the audience, Jesus delivered the message in their terms and on their turf.

X

Seeking a connection

2008-05-26T15:19:00.002+01:00

Communication doesn't begin with words, it begins with a connection.

Coming together, sharing of life and self, seeking to know and be known.

Community/Compassion/Communion/Communication are all rooted to "Com" [Latin] = "together". The word "Communication" comes from the Latin word "Communicare" = "to share together"/"to make common".

Many technological and scientific understandings have dumbed down the idea of "communication" as the transfer of information. The physical connection has become lost somewhere along the way.

Jesus was all about sharing together and making the connection

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us..."

From His first breaths in that dark, damp, smelly barn - to His final breaths on that dirty, blood-stained cross, His life (and death) were about reaching people.

X

Silence isn't golden

2008-05-22T08:42:00.003+01:00

This issue of attentiveness isn't just a problem when dealing with other people. God can also feel the brunt of our self-centeredness.

I know personally, I have caught myself singing worship songs on a Sunday night, but my brain has been thinking about what to eat for supper, or whether to have tea or coffee after the meeting, or what I've got to do at work in the morning!

Singing these very serious words like "I surrender all to you" but obviously not meaning it.
Other times I have tried to have a quiet prayer time in bed and actually fell asleep mid-sentence! Could you imagine what it would feel like if someone fell asleep whilst you were talking to them?!

Just being silent isn't enough, we can appear to be quiet on the outside but inside we are making heaps of noise.

Jesus wasn't just silent, He was actively attentive.

Here are some ways we can be more like Jesus . . .

1# ASK QUESTIONS_ Out of all the questions asked of Jesus, He only answered 2 ! The rest He answered with another question of His own. This is a useful way to dig below the surface of what is being talked about.

2# REMOVE DISTRACTIONS_ Turn off TVs, phones, computers, music. Multi-tasking always takes away from the main focus. By 'sacrificing' these distractions, we are showing how important listening is.

3# BODY LANGUAGE_ Just as kneeling in prayer isn't necessary, it helps to focus us and give us a humble heart. So too body language says a lot about our listening. Eye-contact prevents further distraction and suggests openness and honesty.

4# TAKE NOTE OF THE "MARGINS"_ Jesus was all about spending time with the "invisibles", the poor, the alienated and the sick.

5# LEARN TO SEE_ Not visually, but to understand more about a situation or person. If we learn the family, culture or life-story of an individual, we can better understand and help.

Over time these disciplines will become habits and these habits will become character. It is difficult to live like Jesus, to live in the present. To not look back (reminiscing) and to not look forward (anticipating). It is only in the here and now that we can attend to others.

Lipstick

2008-05-20T12:03:00.003+01:00

This attentiveness may look like a passive quality, but in Jesus case it is not.

It was ACTIVE.

Watching and seeking.

Jesus mainly paid attention to those overlooked by others. The homeless, the sick, the unlovely, the rejected. He reached out to people who had been told they were useless and gave them a use, worthless and gave them worth, undignified and gave them dignity, loveless and gave them love.

It's the little details that Jesus cared about.

Jesus took this attentiveness a step further with empathy and attentiveness of the heart.

It is one thing to attune our eyes and ears to what is around us, but far more difficult to open our hearts.

We long to feel understood and valued.

We are ALL insecure.

Rob Bell tells a story of a Red Cross package arriving at a concerntration camp. All it contained was lipsticks. Even though lipstick was probably the last thing on the list of things they needed, it actually worked!
Women lay in bed with no sheets and no nightie, but with scarlet red lips. Wondering around with nothing but a blanket drapped over their shoulders, but with bright red lips.

The holucaust was mainly achievable by taking away these peoples humanity.

Someone had turned them from numbers back into people again. The lipstick started to give them back their humanity.

X

Active Attentiveness

2008-05-19T09:49:00.002+01:00

People crave attention (almost as much as oxygen!), this was the case 2000 years ago and still is today.
With the growth in technology we are in constant connection to the world (mobile phones, palm tops, lap tops, wireless internet, web cams and chat rooms) but without physically meeting eye-to-eye.

After having a conversation with someone not long ago, I was surprised to hear of their feelings of aloneness.

Lost in a crowd.

Mother Teresa said "As far as I am concerned, the greatest suffering is to feel alone, unwanted, unloved..."

We don't need more stuff, we don't need new medicines, bigger bombs, we don't need to know what the next solar system looks like. We need someone to listen to us, not as a 'patient', not just waiting for their turn to talk.

Someone to REALLY listen.

We are all attention seekers.

Too often I catch myself hearing someone speak to me without actually listening.

Picture a dusty side street, 2000 years ago in Jericho.

The hustle and bustle of the market traders, people getting on with their day-to-day lives.

Bartimaeus, blind and begging in his usual spot, people just pass him by.

Next minute, excitement, crowds of people pushing and shoving... "Jesus of Nazareth is here!"

"Jesus!" the blind man calls out, but the crowd tell him to be quiet. Jesus hears Bartimaeus' voice, recognizes a need and approaches him.

"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asks, waiting, listening.

Can this great man really want an answer from me?

Jesus' expectant silence confirms this to Bartimaeus and he is healed.

Jesus listens.

X

VOX blog

2008-05-13T19:17:00.002+01:00

Hey homees!

No blog for a while now, sorry...I know I suck!
Ive been trying to deal with redundancy stuff and sort out how I'm gonna pay the bills and feed an extra mouth that will soon be moving into our house.

Anyhoo... Mr J T asked me to blog on the oakham VOX blog and I have posted my 1st on there. As you would expect the site looks pretty swanky. Please take a look, read, comment and get involved.

Facebook and myspace is SO last year!

Love you X

No tabernacle?...No temple?...Denied!

2008-03-28T12:42:00.002Z

Once in the promised land and when the temple was constructed, the temple-worship was a continuation of the tabernacle-worship.

When Jerusalem was attacked and the temple destroyed, the Isrealites were forced to make changes to the way they worship.

With no sanctuary, no cult, no focus point, the Isrealites had to find some other way...

The torah.

They gave this book the central role, its laws and scriptures THE most important thing.

Synagogues are not mini version of the original temple, these were just meeting places for fellowship, praying and reading the torah.

This continued until Jerusalem was theirs once again and the temple was rebuilt. The temple served its purpose the same as the 1st until it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Worship was forced to change with times and situations, however it's centre and heart did not.

In the western world we have seen many changes in our attitude to worship and some of these changes have been widely recieved as positive and some not so (stupid dancing with ribbons!).

This is the end of my study on WORSHIP. I have no idea what to look at next, if anyone still reads this (welldone!) and has any ideas or something they wanna study & learn with me, then drop a comment and let me know!

Love you X

Tabernacle

2008-03-28T10:37:00.003Z

During the patriarchal time (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph) worship is mainly informal.

There are no set patterns of worship.

There is no fixed location for worship.

Patriachal worship is spontaneous.

Worship truely begins (for the Isrealites) after God's act of deliverance, the Exodus.

The passover is not only a way of remembering, but also an act of worship.

At mount Sinai God revealed the ways in which worship should be expressed.

Sacrifice played an important role in Isrealite life and then also gave them a focus point to offer these sacrifices . . . the tabernacle.

Now this gave the people a very visual impression of God. The tabernacle was a portable temple and shrine that could be packed up and moved from place to place.

The main thing I want to stress to you at this point in the exodus story is that God showed them the way by a cloud and fire. The Isrealites didn't know who long they would be staying in one place or when it would be time to leave.

They may set up camp and stay for a couple of hours, or months.

They were totally dependant on God.

Love you X

Change

2008-01-07T20:10:00.000Z

Worship wasn't invented by Matt Redman or even Graham Kendrick!

Worship isn't a recent invention.

It dates right back into the Old Testament.
To understand what the New Testament teaches us about worship, we have to first understand the Old Testament.

Many people find the OT hard to understand or struggle with how to relate it to living in 2008. Especially when it talks of the temple and sacrificing. But these seemingly unhelpful rules and instructions are at the heart of ancient views of worship.

So even though OT worship seems far from our 2008 christian worship, this is why it's important to start here. Patterns and values that are birthed in OT laws can be seen in our services today.

Again, we need to make sure that we don't treat this OT worship as a single absolute.

There are different forms used to express worship.

Obviously, the OT spans a large period of time and of course during the 39 books, worship wasn't static.

It changed.

It developed.

It grew.

This is mainly down to God's progression of revealing Himself to His people.

_DEVELOPMENTS IN OLD TESTAMENT WORSHIP_

Patriachal period = Sacred places

Exodus/Settlement in Canaan = Tabernacle

Monarchy = Temple

Exile = Synagogues

Restoration = Second temple

Love you X

Lost in translation

2008-01-02T18:01:00.000Z

There is one verse in the Old Testament that uses all 3 Hebrew words that we've looked at.

The 3 windows into worship captured in just one verse.

2 Kings 17:35

It's interesting to see how different translations handle this verse.

"When the LORD made a covenant with the Isrealites, He commanded them: Do not worship [yare] any other gods or bow down [hawah] to them, serve them [abad] or sacrifice to them." NIV

In principle the words could all be translated "worship"_ "Do not worship . . . or worship . . . or worship . . .", even though this would be translated correctly, it is flat and misses the point. Alternatively, the RSV doesn't translate ANY of the words as "worship".

This passage is most deffinately about worship. Yeah sure, it's about what NOT to do. But what we should NOT do for other gods, we SHOULD do for the one true God.

The main thing to remember is that submission, service and reverence aren't alternatives of different forms of worship, but different angles of a single, complete activity.

WORSHIP.

Love you X

Our God is an AWESOME God

2007-12-23T16:12:00.000Z

The NT equivalent to 'yare' is 'sebomai'.

'Sebomai' occurs 10 times in the NT.

It means 'to revere', 'to be devout', 'to worship'.

[Matt 15:9 / Mark 7:7 / Acts 16:14]

This is another tie between OT & NT, creating continuity.

Worship as reverence of God.

Reverence involves awe.

Our God is an AWESOME God!

Love you X

Reverence & Fear

2007-12-14T17:24:00.000Z

Our 3rd biblical view on worship is 'fear' or 'reverence' of God.

The Hebrew word is 'yare' and is found over 300 times in the OT. In most cases this word is translated to 'afraid' or 'fear'.

In 80% the object of fear is God.

This 'fear' isn't terror or dread, but awe and respect.

This 'fear of the LORD' is consistant with a way of life that is connected to an inner attitude of reverence towards God.

This way of life is an expression of worship.

Love you X

EVERYTHING is spiritual

2007-12-14T11:14:00.000Z

Now, in the new testament there are 2 Greek words that convey the same message as 'abad'.

They are 'latreuo' and 'leitourgeo'.

'Latreuo' is found 21 times in the NT and means 'to serve' and 'to worship'. All of the uses of the word 'latreuo' are where service is offered not to other humans, but to God. [Luke 2:37 / Acts 26:7 / Phil. 3:3 / Hebrews 12:28]

The 2nd Greek word 'leitourgeo' is found only 3 times in the NT [Acts 13:2 / Romans 15:27 / Hebrews 10:11] (serving / ministering).

Worship, then, is the expression of service of God not only in religous gatherings, but in every area of life.

This is why if you one of the early christians about how spiritual they were, they wouldn't understand what you were talking about. It's not about what they did on the sabbath, but ALL THE TIME. There is no difference between church-life and life-life.

Everything is spiritual.

In Hebrew, the word for spirit and the word for breath is the same ['ruwah'].

Everything is spiritual.

This meaning of worship can be linked to how we call meetings 'services'.

But we gotta make sure our 'services' really are 'service' of God.

Love you X

Abad

2007-12-09T13:05:00.000Z

So after looking at the first biblical word and the comparisons between 'hawah' and 'proskuneo', we can start to appreciate 1 part of the essence of worship:

WORSHIP involves humble submission to God.

The next biblical word group shows another side of worship.

Worship involves work or service.

The Hebrew term is 'abad', this word is found 289 times in the OT. Its meaning can be translated 'to work', 'to do', 'to perform', 'to serve' and 'to worship'.

It is most frequently translated as 'to serve' (125 times). The phrase 'to serve the LORD[Yahweh]' is used 56 times.

It is through this phrase we gain another aspect of worship (Exodus 3:12 / Deut. 10:12 / Isaiah 19:21).

The term 'abad' is frequently used during God's instructions for His people on sacrificial rituals and apperatus to enable them to serve (worship) in an appropriate manner.

Love you X

Inward & Outward

2007-12-09T12:40:00.000Z

Next we look at a New Testament Greek word _ 'Proskuneo'. It is a verb to describe the action of prostrating, or to fall down in adoration.

As well as this outward physical display, it also has an inward attitude of reverence and humility.

'Proskuneo' is the most common word for worship in the new testament [John 4:20-24 / Revelation 5:14], just like 'hawah' is in the old testament.

This adds to the continuity between the OT and NT.

Both these words are about INWARD attitude reflected in an OUTWARD gesture.

Love you X

Bow down

2007-12-04T09:20:00.000Z

The most commonly used Hebrew word is 'hawah', from the phrase 'hishtahawah' which means 'to bow [down]', 'to do obedience', 'to pay homage' and 'to worship'.

Of the 170 old testament uses of the word 'hawah', about 75 are translated as 'worship'. Around the same number translates 'bow down', 6 times as 'pay honour' and once as 'pay homage'.

BOWING DOWN was a physical response, an action. It was a mark of respect, you bowed to kings.

It was also an act of submission.

So as a word for worship, 'hawah' gives us the idea of honouring God and expressing sumbission to Him.

Love you X

3 words

2007-12-03T17:05:00.000Z

If we wanna seriously understand worship, we need to look at what the bible says about it.

To know where we are going, we have to know where we have been.

The first step is to look at the original meanings behind the word 'worship'.

Originally the bible wasn't written in english (what?! but Jesus was a christian from oxford!), the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek.

In the old testament we see SO MUCH history soaked in worship (in all forms). A lot of this helps us to understand what worship is and how we should offer it.

There are 3 main Hebrew words used in the old testament for worship. Unfortunately the lack of expression in the english language means that they all translate to 'worship'.

In basic terms the 3 words break down to Submission, Service and Reverence.

These 3 words link in very well to the Greek words used in the new testament. This is another way (along with theology and prophecy) that the OT and the NT tie together and are consitant.

Each of these key words highlights a different dimension (or focus) that together make up worship as a whole.

Love you X

#3

2007-12-02T15:46:00.000Z

God ENABLES our worship_

It's through God that we are able to worship.

God accepts this worship because of Jesus' sacrifice, He even delights in it [Romans 12:1 / Philipians 4:18].

Worship, first and foremost, is for God's pleasure and not ours.

The brilliant (and yet ironic) thing is that when we get this right, when we worship God for the right reasons and on His terms, we can truly enjoy Him and the whole worship experience.

Love you X

#2

2007-12-02T15:32:00.000Z

God REQUIRES our worship_

The relationship between God and His people (under old & new covenants) is established by God and on His terms.

In the old testament the law is given at mount Sinai to Moses to worship God in His 10 commandments [Exodus 20:1] and mentioned elsewhere [Exodus 23:25 / Deut. 6:13].

In the new testament there is just as much focus on worship as a requirement [John 4:22-24 / Romans 12:1 / Hebrews 12:28].

So worship is not only required, it's our duty (regardless of how we feel).

It's about Him, for Him.

Love you X

#1

2007-12-02T12:55:00.000Z

God DESERVES our worship_

Worship is the right response to who God is and what He has done.
This reason is expressed in the Psalms (98, 100, 104 & 111).

We worship God in His greatness, superiority and goodness.

We worship God for His acts as a creator and redeemer (Rev. 4 & 5).

Love you X

There's no 'I' in worship . . .oh crap!

2007-11-27T19:31:00.000Z

Biblically, worship is about responding in the right way to God.

In such a self-centred world, where self-fulfilment and self-satisfaction drive our activities and determine our responses. We need to remember that worship is primarily about God.

If we are not careful, worship becomes about us.

"I didn't feel it tonight"

"I didn't get anything out of worship today"

Now of course worship involves me - I'm a participant - but it's not about me or for me.

There are 3 main biblical reasons for worship (and they are ALL God-focused)_

Love you X

Understanding Worship

2007-11-26T13:11:00.000Z

We all do it (in one form or another).

Sometimes we enjoy it. Sometimes we don't.

Sometimes we feel like it. Sometimes we don't.

So why bother?

Worship is a topic that always starts a debate, violent attack or divide of a church. Worship is an individuals time with God. We all have our preferences, our opinion on the right or wrong way to worship.

'Worship wars' start when my idea of worship isn't the same as someone else in the congregation.

Is this what it's all about?

If the focus is on how we worship then maybe we've missed the point. Maybe we need to look at what worship is, or why we do it.

Love you X

Theories of atonement

2007-11-24T19:15:00.000Z

This would probably be better titled 'angles of atonement', as christians thoughts on the cross have come from many different perspectives and we (as humans) will never fully understand what Christ did for us.

Here are 3 angles (that carry some truth) . . .

1# The cosmic angle_ on the cross Jesus defeated satan. An early church metaphor phrases it this way. 'Jesus was the bait and the cross was the hook which reeled in our enemy'.

2# The human angle_ The cross reveals us. It rips us and opens us up. All self-justification ends here. We have executed the son of God. To quote Baldrick [fair enough, he's talking about the scarlet pimpernell, but you get the idea!] "he's here to save us! . . . and you've killed him!"

When I survey the wonderous cross,

on which the prince of glory died,

my richest gain I count but loss,

and pour contempt on all my pride.

This same cross reveals the depths of God's love at the same time.

3# The divine angle_ The cross is God's work for Himself before it is His work for us. In the cross He justifies His justice and His mercy.

Love you X

Story of SALVATION

2007-11-22T11:17:00.000Z

The control of the entire bibles narative can be traced back to the exodus story.

2 things happen in Isreal's deliverance.

First, God's people are set free from slavery to pharoh and the Egyptian gods.

Second, they are set free from the wrath of God.

When the final plague falls upon Egypt, God provides a substitute for the Isrealites. A lamb (clean) is sacrificed and the blood marks their houses, so that the angel of death passes over.

Salvation, then is to be delivered from both bondage AND the wrath of God.

Then in the new testament we see Jesus comes to bring the final exodus. He frees us, not from Egypt or Rome, but from satan and sin. When Jesus lifts the judgement of the law from us, He takes away satan's power to accuse us and hold us in bondage.

Jesus also comes to set us free from the wrath of God.

He is our passover lamb [1 Corinthians 5:7]

His blood protects us.

God now freely forgives sinners through His son.

Love you X

Centre of the New Testament

2007-11-20T22:31:00.000Z

At the heart of the new testament we find not the ethic of Jesus, or the example of Jesus, or the wisdom of Jesus, or even the suffering service of Jesus, but the CROSS.

All 4 gospels move lead us towards the final week of Jesus.

All preaching in the book of Acts focuses on the cross (and the ressurection/reign of Jesus).

In 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul tells the Corinthians that he determined to "know nothing While I was with you except Christ and Him crucified".

Hebrews presents Jesus as our great high preist who hasn't gone into the temple in Jerusalem, but heaven itself. Not bringing sacrificial animals blood, but His own blood to atone for sin.

Peter calls slaves to follow the example of Jesus based on the servant in Isaiah 53. (1 Peter 2:21-25)

In 1 John 4:10, John writes "This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins".

The book of Revelation shows the lamb who was slain as the LORD of the universe. His blood purchased us for God.

Love you X

He chose the cross

2007-11-13T11:19:00.000Z

The crucifiction and the cross is seen as offensive (for several reasons) . . .

The cross is 'culturally' offensive, it was not talked about in polite conversation. The very idea that a god, immortal and eternal, could be crucified is madness.

It is also 'historically' offensive. Christians claim that a jewish peasant, executed under Roman law, is the LORD and saviour of the world. He alone deserves the term 'christ', not ceaser.

Thirdly, it's 'philisophically' offensive. Rather than the cross just being an illustration of divine love, it is the basis for divine love. The cross shows God's universal love and forgiveness.
The cross shows Jesus' total submission.
Through His death we gain life.

Fourthly, it's 'morally' offensive. To put it simply (thank goodness!) you cannot save yourself.
To look upon this broken, bleeding, peirced, mangled messiah is hard, and some turn away or deny Him. But it's through faith in the crucified Jesus that we are saved.

With all these offences, why did the early christians glory in the cross?

Why did they hold up this bloody instrument of torture?

Rob Bell commented upon the weirdness of the idea of the cross in modern day church. He says that essentially we are displaying a horrible torture/execution device on the wall or roof of our churches. Like bowing down at the foot of the guillotine. Like displaying the lethal injection table in our church. Like wearing a golden minature AK47 around our necks!

Seriously though, it is not the cross itself we display, but the meaning behind it. Much like how Jesus lived and taught, it was never about what was said or heard, but the hidden meaning.

Christianity isn't blatant.

It isn't easy to look at.

We have all gotta do some searching.

Love you x

Our hearts response

2007-11-11T12:59:00.000Z

Hi I'm back!

So I'm gonna talk about worship.

When dealing with worship, everything (obviously) looks back to God.
But one of the most obvious points to stop at is Jesus (duh!) and the cross.

Crucifixion was the ultimate penalty in the ancient world. It was not only a form of capital punishment, but also torture and shame. To hang there naked, broken, bleeding is bad enough, but then for your body to give up unable to take the weight on your nailed hands (or wrists) and to suffocate.

No 'citizen' could be crucified, this form of death was reserved only for slaves, imigrants and outlaws. This public display of power by the Roman empire was another way for them to become obsessed with controlling every corner of their 'boundaries'.

In 1 Corinthians 1:23, we see Paul describing the 'word of the cross' is folly to Greeks and scandal to the Jews.

Love you X

You gotta suffer me talking at you

2007-10-10T20:16:00.000+01:00

Hi, y'all.

Gideon's over (cries of joy!), and now I'm thinking of what to do next as my study!
What's up with me at the moment?...

Matt has suggested that I even record myself reading my study of Jonah or turn it into a mini book (what do you reckon?)

I'm speaking on the morning service of Sun 28th October. My message is entitled 'God loves losers'.

I'm also speaking at the worship confrence on Sat 3rd November. That message is entitled 'Why we worship'.

Here is my plea (to both of you that still read this blog!), please come to these meetings and point and laugh at me, or support me.

Love you X

The end

2007-10-06T13:22:00.000+01:00

Gideon has kinda let me down, he once had fire in his belly, he once tore down the baal alters, he once was known as 'baal fighter'.

This man has now turned Isreal's eyes away from the LORD and onto a vest!

This 'turn of attention' is what starts the hebrews back on that slippery down-hill slope to idol worship.

How soon they forget.

After Gideon's death, the story continues, his son Abimelech massacres 69 of his brothers (in one day!) and only leaves Jotham alive. He burnt 1000 men and women to death in a tower at Schechem [Judges. 9:49] and was finally killed himself, whilst attempting to burn another tower. A woman inside the tower dropped a millstone on his head and crushed his skull.

Gideon's story teaches us one main truth (I think);

When we stay close to God - we bear fruit, when we drift away from God - that's when the nettles and weeds come to choke us.

Gideon's life was known as 'mostly good'.

I don't want to have a 'mostly good' life.

I want more.

You don't have to stay hidden in the winepress.

"The LORD is with YOU, mighty warrior"

Love you X

Ephod

2007-10-06T10:57:00.000+01:00

An ephod was either an image of God or an idol, as some have argued. An ephod is the vest worn by a hebrew priest. There would be urim and thummim (ask Andy) set into it. These stones were used by the preist to discover the will of God. When both sides revealed the urim (to curse) the answer was 'no', when both sides revealed thummim (to be perfect) it meant 'yes'. If one of each was showing it meant 'no reply'. Kinda like an ancienst magic 8 ball!

This seems like a rediculous construction for Gideon, as he seems to have no need for a vest to communicate with God. 3 problems present themselves when viewing Gideon's obsession with priestly vests . . .

1] Making this ephod (aswell as taking a collection of Midianite nose rings) was Gideon doing something that God hadn't asked him to do. God called Gideon to be a judge, NOT a priest.

2] Maybe Gideon was attempting to make his situation (his fame, success, power) a permanent status, when God only held Gideon in this position on a temporary basis. Gideon had been called to build alters and communicate with Yahweh and save Isreal during the period of his mission, but now the mission was over. Even if things are started by God and are a success, people have a tendancy to 'take it too far' or 'exhaust the possibilities' or 'flog a dead horse' and before we know it, what was once from God, about God and for God, we find ourselves worshipping a vest!

3] Maybe Gideon purposefully diverted the focus of worship away from the main sancturary at Shiloh, because that site was found inside Ephraim territory. This could have been a political move, like Sweden always giving Finland 12 points in the eurovision song contest! Whatever the reasons for this ephod, it is obviously disasterous to the Isrealites. The description of the consequences of this event is the strongest in the book of Judges...

"... Isreal prostituted themselves by worshipping it there ..."

Love you X

The king has left the building

2007-10-02T14:32:00.000+01:00

The Isrealites no longer wish for Gideon to be their judge. They want him as their ruler and king. Gideon's reply redeems himself in vs 23 . . .

"I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you."

Gideon viewed his monarchy as a replacement to the LORDs reign and rejected it.

God has rule over Isreal (Theocracy)

After making such an amazing statement, he then goes and makes a ridiculously stupid one!

Gideon asks for an offering . . . to himself! He asks for a portion of each man's plunder. The amount came to 700 shekels (50 pounds) of gold, around 5000 gold rings. He also accepted half-moon and teardrop pendants AND fine purple robes (from Midianite royalty).

Gideon refused the offer of kingship, but accepted the king's treasury and wardrobe. He continues his 'royal' lifestyle by having a vast number of wives and a hareem of concubines. He also made the mistake of having a son by one of these concubines and naming him ABIMELECH (means 'my father is the king').

His final downfall came with his bright idea to make an EPHOD (a preistly vest).

Love you X

Thou shalt not covet

2007-10-02T12:10:00.000+01:00

Now came the 'ticker tape parade', the welcome party they'd been expecting.

As they entered Ophrah, the very same voices that had been shouting for Gideons death were now exalting him. (hmmm... sounds like the opposite version of another biblical story!)

But what would become of the princes of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna were personally responsible for the death of 2 of Gideons brothers at mount Tabor.

For Gideon, the answer was simple, they must suffer the most humiliating form of execution . . .

No, not death by girls allowed!

Death at the hands of a boy.

This task was probably given to Jether (Gideon's eledest son) who took the sword in trembling hands and faced these two infamous enemies. Whether through fear or weakness, Jether couldn't carry out his task. So it was left to Gideon to serve the death blow, which he did without hesitation.

Then something glistening caught his eye. The camels were wearing Saharonim (a kind of garment made of gold and silver ornaments and emblems), idols and images of pagan gods.

Gideon took these 'trinkets' for himself ("he covets the precious things" to quote Tubbs from the league of gentlemen). Maybe it was the fact that he was born into a wealthy family made him crave for more? or he had watched these Midianite prisoners with their fancy clothes and jewellery whilst he took the long trek back to Ophrah. Either way, we catch a glimpse of the old 'baal/assherah worshipping' Gideon.

Love you X

Humble pie

2007-09-27T14:46:00.000+01:00

Gideon, with his 300 men and Zebah and Zalmunna (great baby names!), headed back to Succoth. It was time for the judge to deal out the punishment.

Somehow, Gideon had a list of the 77 elders from the town. He called them out one by one.

They knew what to expect, Gideon had already told them what fate was awaiting them.

Whips of desert thorns and briars were made infront of the 77 (a sign of bareness and wasteland [Isaiah 7:23 & Luke 6:44]).

Did the people of Succoth use this time as an opportunity to apologize or humble themselves before Gideon? No.

Next was the turn of Peniel.

As they saw Gideon's 300 approaching in the distance did they prepare to welcome them (as they should have originally) ?

Did they arrange to snd a peace offering to honour the local hebrew heroes? No.

A battle quickly began, in which Gideon's men won (of course) and then (as promised) the tower was demolished.

Interestingly to note is that this was a water tower.

Think about it.

The massive importance of having a water tower in your town in the middle of the desert.

To these people water was power.

That tower represented their pride.

What a way to humble the people of Peniel.

Love you X

Butlins

2007-09-27T12:40:00.000+01:00

We don't know much about the final battle, Gideon would have passed Nobah (schoolboy sniggers) and the Gaddite town of Jogbehah and travelled along 'the road of those who dwelled in tents', a well used Midianite caravan route. Think 'Butlins' but with slightly more pagan sacrifices, rape and murder.

The Midianites were taken completely by suprise, they had no idea just how tanacious (good word!) Gideon was.

Zebah and Zalmunna were taken captive, as Gideon's 300 rose victorious over the Midianites.

Victory was indeed sweet.

Love you X

Don't give up

2007-09-23T13:48:00.000+01:00

The truth is . . . we don't know what Gideon's motives were. All we can do is trust in the grace of God.

"Grace means that the Lord often blesses us even though there are glaring areas of lack in our lives" [J Lucas]

They get the same frosty reception in a place called Peniel (which means 'face of God'), this was where Jacob wrestled the angel [Gen.32:30] Only this time Gideon promised to tear down their tower and not spank them with branches!

After yet another set-back, it was a further 25 miles to Karkor.

Gideon hit a lot of 'brick walls' whilst following the will of God, lots of set-backs, knock-downs, and times when he probably just felt like giving up.

But he didn't.

Are you passing through Succoth, or being turned away by Peniel?

Don't give up!

Love you X

Quotes

2007-09-20T17:53:00.000+01:00

Once again there is conflicting arguements about this issue amongst commentators . . . .

Was Gideon wrong to punish the people of Succoth? . . . .

* "Gideon had such great confidence in God that he began to take things into his own hands. Gideon threatened (Succoth) with vengeful words and punished them with exagerated cruelty. One is left to conclude that Yahweh's spirit had left Gideon at this point." [E J Hamlin]

* "It is a personal vendetta which Gideon has been prosecuting so ruthlessly in the Trans-Jordan . . . (earlier) his motivation was obedience to God, but here it is personal revenge . . . how he has changed . . ." [M Wilcock]

Or was Gideon right to punish the people of Succoth? . . . .

* "It is probably correct to see the beating of the elders of Succoth . . . as a judicial sentance carried out as a judge, rather than indicating a personal vendetta or fit of revenge." [D Jackman]

* "The punishment inflicted by Gideon . . . was well deserved in all respects, and was rightously executed . . . having been called by God to be the deliverer and judge of Isreal, it was Gideon's duty to punish the faithless cities." [Kell & Delitzsch]

What d'ya think ?

Love you X

Succoth

2007-09-20T11:06:00.000+01:00

Succoth was a small settlement, east of the Jordan, on the dividing line between Gadite and Manassite territories. The sight of Succoth brought with it water, food and shelter. 'Succoth' means shelters or tabernacles, because Jacob built dwelling places there after he had seperated from Esau [Gen. 33:17]

The people of Succoth had too felt the wrath of the Midianites and would have heard the news of Gideon's 300 defeating the enemy.

What kind of a welcome party could they expect when entering this place?

None.

Gideon was probably expecting some kinds of 'ticker tape parade' like at the end of the Ghostbusters movie. However, Succoth refused to help them.

Why?

It's thaught that Succoth were worried about their own skin and anxious not to upset their Midianite neighbours. What if Gideon's 300 failed to finish off the enemy and word got out that the people of Succoth had helped out Gideon?
What would become of them?

Gideon was furious, understandably, he had put up with being taunted and bullied for 7 years by the Midianites, he had allowed his army to walked away and to be worked down to 300, he had suffered humiliation at the hands of Ephraim, and NOW he must put up with these cowards?

So was his promise of "thrashing them with twigs" a direct judgement from God, or just the ramblings of a bad temper?

Love you X

Succoth and see

2007-09-16T15:28:00.000+01:00

Pursuing the fleeing Midianites to Karkor was no mean feet. 150 miles right through the middle of the desert. I would imagine after the last 24 hours that Gideon and his 300 had had, this would be more than a little daunting. Just as the band of Hebrews were beginning to loose hope, they see something on the horizon that stirs their souls.

Succoth.

Love you X

Scissors never beats scissors

2007-09-15T18:30:00.000+01:00

As these 2 tribes square up to each other on the brink of civil war, Gideon does what any good leader / judge / politician would do. He difuses the hostile situation by grinning like the cheshire cat exlaiming the greatness that is Ephraim.

"What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't the gleamings of Ephraims grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?"

Gideon was humbling himself and playing down his own victory.

How far Gideon has come.

Back in the winepress Gideon would never have stepped down from that sort of arguement or insult. In Proverbs 15:1 it says . . . 'A gentle answer burns away wrath'.

Gideon shows us how a leader should be, he resists the temptation to bite back with arrogance or be on the defensive. Gideon quickly and calmly difused a situation that had the makings of an epic, but tragic, civil war.

Gideon refused to answer anger with anger, because (lets be honset) scissors NEVER beats scissors.

Love you X

2007-09-15T10:59:00.000+01:00

At this point, I would imagine that Gideon is still psyched up about the miracoulous victory. Still high on adrenaline and excitement. So why now does some criticism rear its ugly head to rob him of his success?

How often have you known some element of your life going SO well and then someone says something or does something or something just happens just to ruin it?

We need to remember that sometimes criticism is for our own good. A prime example of this is Paul's 'thorn in the flesh' to keep him humble.

What we want isn't always the same as what we need.

Love you X

Ephraim's annoyed

2007-09-12T19:51:00.000+01:00

In order to capture the retreating Midianites, Gideon would need to enlist some helpers.

Ephraim (another Hebrew tribe) would be perfect. The Midianites were headed in that direction, so they could be trapped from both sides. It was also going to take more than 300 men to sort out this mess of a battlefield, so Gideon called upon the original 32'000 men from Naphtali, Asher and Mannaseh.

The Ephramites were annoyed.

They had been waiting for the opportunity 'to get their own back' on the Midianites (always with the revenge!). When the herald came to announce the news that Gideon's 300 had done the impossible, the people of Ephraim would have been ambivalent (feeling overjoyed as well as furious).

Why didn't this Gideon from Ophrah call the mighty men of Ephraim to help him?

Ephraim was renouned for their impressive track record . . .

Joshua had been from the tribe and ALSO their city of Shiloh had been the home of the tabernacle (God's 9-man super tent!). Mannaseh had been ignored by Joseph, in favour of Ephraim, surely THEY had a right to be involved?!

2 of the most notorious Midianite generals are captured by Ephraimites. Oreb (raven) and Zeeb (wolf) are be-headed and the severed heads are taken to Gideon.

Why?

Was this a good will gesture to honour Gideon and attempt to make peace between the 2 tribes?

Or was this a message to Mannaseh from Ephraim . . . "look at what the mighty men of Ephraim have accomplished"?

From the criticism that follows, it seems that the latter is true.

Love you X

Smashing Jars

2007-09-11T15:50:00.000+01:00

So Gideon roused his army of 300 and issued them with their 'weapons'.

Swords? . . . No.

Spears? . . . No.

Bow & Arrows? . . . No.

Halbred? . . . No.

Pike? . . . No.

Sharpened Vedgetables? . . . No!

They were armed with a jar, torch, and a trumpet.

Gideon's strategical battle plan wouldn't have won him a a game of RISK [the game of world domination!] _ On his command they had to blow their trumpet, shout a war cry, smash their jar, wave their torches, and give another shout.

That was it.

End of plan.

Picture the Isrealites removing the jars from their torches, this would surely reveal their exact whereabouts to the enemy. Not to mention shouting

"a sword for the Lord and for Gideon!".

AND thinks about how thinly spread out 300 Isrealites would have to be to surround the Midianite camp. Each man would have been tens, or even hundreds, of yards away from his nearest companion.

Within seconds the Midianites would have been awakened to the sound of 300 trumpets, smashing jars, and shouts.

Jeff Lucas comments . . .

"They shouted for theur lost children. They shouted for the famine years. They yelled and screamed for the loss of their dignity and hope that had been so ruthlessly crushed by Midian."

The Midianites would have been confused and disorientated.

'Surely there were hundreds of thousands of men behind these torches?'

In the blind panic that followed they ended up slashing and stabbing at one another. A few were focused enough to grab little possessions and retreat eastwards down the valley.

The ironic thing was that there had been no huge horde behind those torches and trumpets, no back-up troops, no one at all.

Except God.

Love you X

Can I get a witness?

2007-09-09T17:20:00.000+01:00

Now, not only had Gideon recieved reassurance and confirmation that God was indeed with him, he also had the news of the fearful Midianites to report back to the Isrealite troops.

An interesting observation can be made about why God insisted on Purah going with Gideon. Firstly, he could offer protection and assistance if they were discovered, but secondly (and more beneficially) I think God wanted a witness with Gideon to confirm what had gone on.

Up until that point, Gideon had recieved word from God when he was alone, but this time there would be no denying what had happend.

Purah was there too, he saw, he heard, he would remember.

Love you X

Rolling Loaves

2007-09-09T08:41:00.000+01:00

So Gideon and Purah (a trusted servant) went down into the valley to 'drop some eaves' on the Midianites. What they heard was even more bizarre than the 'sip' test. . . .

A Midianite sentiry had had a dream in which the cheiftain's tent had been flattened by a huge, rolling loaf of barley bread!

Now, dreams held a lot of weight in these times [Gen. 41] and straight away an interpretation came from a fellow Midianite soldier.

A LOAF OF BREAD_ was a common symbol for the Isrealite nation. Also, barley bread was only eaten by poorer classes, which after many years of invasion and oppression, Isreal was.

Now this loaf was rolling towards a Midianite tent. To a Midianite (nomadic), the tent represented life, EVERYTHING.

To these Midianite soldiers, the dream was all too easy to interpret. Their identity, the fibre of their very being, was about o be crushed by the uprising of the poor, humble Hebrews!_little did they know that these 'humble Hebrews' were only 300 strong.

By now God had planted fear, doubt and terror within the Midianite camp.

Love you X

Whisperings

2007-09-08T18:29:00.000+01:00

Father Genardy has a saying _

"do not be afraid . . . . be VERY afraid!"

This would be the sort of mindset that Gideon would have been feeling in this section of the story. Inspite of Gideon's fear (or maybe because of it?), God chose now to speak once again to him.

Yahweh reveals that He is going to give the enemy into Gideon's hands. If Gideon still needed extra reassurance, God invited him to go down to the Midianite out-posts and listen to the whisperings from the sentries.

It's interesting to note that this wasn't a COMMAND from God, it was an oportunity to be used (or not) by Gideon.

What could the Midianites have to say that could possibly encourage Gideon ?

He HAD to find out.

Love you X

Ready and Willing

2007-09-07T18:47:00.000+01:00

2/3 of the army were sent home because of their attitude, then 97% of the remainder were sent home because they failed the 'sip' test.

So, now we understand the 1st reduction, but the 2nd still seems a bit weak. Was this just an excuse to reduce the army further or is their something else behind this 'sip' test ?

Some argue that due to the possibility of leeches in the water, the 'scoopers' were seen to be more prudent.

Others say that Gideon only wanted a small commando SWAT - style team and the 'sip' test was just a way of reducing the numbers without offending anyone.

The main focus point is this . . .

God made the announcement that there were still too many.

God became a coach picking his own team.

It's possible that the test was designed to test the character of the soldiers. Those who knelt to drink would leave themselves vulnerable to attack, but those who 'scooped' could keep a watchful eye on their surroundings.

If the test meant anything, it seems God was looking for who would be alert and available, as opposed to those preoccupied with comfort.

Love you X

Its all about attitude

2007-08-17T15:30:00.000+01:00

God reducing the army by the first 22'000 was to stop pride and arrogance, but there was also another more tactical reason.

The law spelt it out :

'Then the officers shall add,
"is any man afraid or faint-hearted? let him go home"' [Deut. 20:8]

Everyone knows that good morale is vital in this sort of war scene. Fear and negativity are contagious.

The promised land was hidden from the trekking Isrealites because they chose to believe the negative report from the 10 spies (10 were bad, 2 were good!) [Num. 13:32]

They were beaten without even realizing that they were in a battle.

To some, issues matter more than people.

These people would have been a liability on the battlefield and were better off at home.

Love you X

Weakness in strength

2007-08-12T20:01:00.000+01:00

In Judges 7:2 we see one of God's reasons for severely reducing Gideon's numbers. It was to take away Isreal's ability to boast about their great victory over the Midianites.

With so few men, they MUST now recognize that any positive outcome in this battle would be down to God.

This was God attempting to save the Isrealites from their own pride.

However, they soon forgot all about the God who saved them, when in Judges 8:22 they would declare that Gideon had saved them in battle.

Pride has a short memory.

To the Midianites looking on at the 300 men left, they would have laughed and joked about how they'd be back in Midian in time for tea after demolishing this poor excuse for a nation.

But this 'poor excuse' for a nation had a secret weapon on their side . . . the God of the universe!

Love you X

Impossible odds

2007-08-05T16:10:00.000+01:00

Then the voice spoke again . . .

"There is STILL too many men!"

So God wasn't happy with the quality of the 10'000 men left with Gideon. The Hebrew translation for this statement is to 'sort them out' the same way that farmers would seperate the wheat from the chaff or goldsmiths seperate pure metal from dross.

This screening process centered around what method Gideon's soldiers drank water from a stream.

If they knelt down and drank they would be sent home, if they scooped water with their hands they could stay.

What sort of mad panic would be rushing through Gideon's mind as he witnessed 9'700 kneel and lap the water?

Gideon's army was now out-numbered 400 - 1.

These were impossible odds [300 against 135'000]

NOW God had some room to work!

Love you X

Too many men?

2007-07-22T20:02:00.000+01:00

So, here's Gideon attempting to assess the situation.

Gideon and the 'Isrealite army' were camped on the slopes of mount Gilboa in an area called Harod ['the fountain of trembling']. Across the plain to the north-west on the hill of Moreh was the massive Midianite army.

As he viewed this 'nightmare', with obvious death or capture and torture as the outcome, he hears a voice speak to him. Probably calm at first, so calm that maybe Gideon doesn't hear (or chooses not to listen) and then louder . . . .

"You have too many men"

WHAT? The Midianites outnumbered the Isrealites 4 to 1. How could Gideon possibly have too many men?

God tells Gideon that if any of his troops are scared, they can leave the battlefield and go home.

This sounds crazy!

However, this was a practice commanded from the law of Moses [Deut. 20:8]. But hardly a strategy that Gideon had in mind.

Gideon was feeling down hearted and afraid when he had 32'000 troops. Imagine what he was feeling now 22'000 of those troops had "legged it" back home!

NOW they were out numbered 13 to 1.

Love you x

Shalom seeker

2007-07-20T21:36:00.000+01:00

Another interesting point about the 'fleece' incident is this . . . .

The first time Gideon asks that the ground be dry and the fleece still wet. This could have been seen as a normal occurrence, the ground would have probably dried before the fleece.

With the second request we see a truly amazing sight, the ground is wet but the fleece is dry.

Now that IS a sign from God.

In the old testament, dew was considered a sign of provision given [Gen. 27:28] or with held [Gen. 27:39]. Dew was a sign of security, prosperity and salvation. In short, SHALOM.

This was exactly what Gideon was looking for.

Love you x

My wife ROCKS!

2007-07-19T21:01:00.000+01:00

It would appear Gideon has become a little addicted to signs from God.

Some people would argue that this sign was very cheeky of Gideon. Not only was he 'testing' God but he also required a double-sign (on his terms!).

When originally reading this portion of the story, I found myself having this out-look on Gideon. However, my wife [Janine], opened my eyes to another possibility.

Another angle to look at this event . . . Gideon was showing belief and faith in God AND in the fact that he could do ANYTHING!

God obliged, probably due to Gideon's faith.

To me, it seemed Gideon was being presumptuous AND lacking in faith of the previous wine press sign. But to Janine, she saw a powerful understanding of who God is and what He is capable of.

Go Janine!

Love you x

Magic [wine press] Moments

2007-07-17T20:29:00.000+01:00

Gideon was still worried.

His newly formed army was very large [32'000], but they would still be out-numbered 4 - 1. Their weapons were few and battle knowledge / skill equally low.

Morale was low in the camps of army troops and so too for Gideon.

The miraculous message from the wine press had probably been long forgotten in the harsh light of reality.

Fighting and dying.

Nice!

Gideon needed reassurance.

Gideon needed another wine press moment.

Love you x

Follow the leader

2007-07-15T20:30:00.000+01:00

God nurses Gideon forward into usefulness.

The call of Gideon is a process as well as an event, a journey as well as a crisis.

Important steps of development can be seen through Gideon's call to judge / deliverer of Isreal . . .

Gideon's ministry and influence was a gradual thing. He didn't just over night become Super Gideon! The development of faith (Gideon's and ours) is slowley progressive. Gideon didn't go from wine-press coward to nation-saver in one giant leap.

And the same goes for us.

We don't say the 'sinners prayer' on a sunday night and then start our Billy Graham-esq preaching tour on the monday!

This 'call to arms', this battle trumpet is first played to his own family.

Would they respond to the "baal-fighter"?

They did.

So encouraged by his families willingness and support, he took his trumpet "tooting" to the rest of the Manasseh tribe.

They too answered the call. This got Gideon totally buzzing. He went and took his call to the 3 neighbouring tribes [Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali].

These 4 tribes are the ones most hurt by the invading Midianites and would most likely answer Gideon's call.

As blatantly obvious as it sounds, Gideon was a leader because people were willing to follow him and recognized his gift.

He led _ They followed. [in this case into a battle situation where they were heavily out-numbered!]

If someone insists that their calling is in leadership but no one is following them, then they are just walking alone.

Gideon's status as "baal fighter" increased as word - of - mouth (gossip) spread. His popularity grew like a snowball once his family were on board - it made the rest of the Manasseh tribe believe Gideon was from God - once the Manasseh tribe got involved, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali tribes believed also.

The more people believed and followed Gideon, the more people believed and followed Gideon.

Love you X

A call to arms

2007-06-29T08:25:00.000+01:00

Judges 6:34

The rumours had already started, for the 8th year in a row the Midianites were on their way to take the Isrealite harvest (and anything else they liked the look of!). Where once panic and fear would have spread through out the land of Ophrah, now there was something else.

The "baal fighter" was on their side!

Sure, they had no real army or supply of weapons, but this guy was special, even baal couldn't touch him! Maybe the older Isrealites would be comparing him to Deborah.

This was exciting!

'Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon'

The RSV translation can be quite misleading, it says . . .

'The spirit...took possession', suggesting some kind of violent encounter, like with Samson [Judg. 14:6] or with Saul [1 Sam. 11:6].

However, the Hebrew seems to suggest that it's more like 'God's spirit put on Gideon's personality like a garment'.

This is NOT Gideon being clothed with God, but God clothing Himself with Gideon.

Only 2 other biblical characters recieved this unusual description . . .

AMASAI [1 Chron. 12:18]_one of David's generals.

ZECHARIAH [2 Chron. 24:20]_who was THE most unfortunate prophet. After just one message of judgement, he was stoned to death!

Now, as I have already told you, Ophrah didn't have an official army, so Gideon would have to issue a call to arms.

But where to start?

Who would he call?

Love you X

Jerubbaal

2007-06-28T09:01:00.000+01:00

GIDEON'S MISSION: TO BUILD UP AS WELL AS BREAK DOWN_

Gideon's first call was a demolishion job, but we must remember that he also had to BUILD and alter to Yahweh.

Destruction then Construction

Here we see Joash viewing the alter with elements of guilt or shame. The realization that he had turned away from God. With his repentance speech we see Joash taking a step back in the right direction. Stepping closer to the Lord.

Gideon's mission didn't just tear down the lies of paganism, it restored the truth of God.

Joash declared . . . "No longer will my son be named Gideon... He is now Jerubbaal. He has wrestled with baal, now lets see if baal will come after him."

So Gideon as gone from a coward hiding in a wine press, to the famous "baal fighter"
Love you X

Market Place

2007-06-27T18:55:00.000+01:00

GIDEON'S MISSION_TO LIVE UP TO HIS NAME:

As an Isrealite, it was Gideon's calling to show others to God. To act as a window through which other nations could look through and see God.
As Gideon was cutting down the asshera pole he was living up to his name.

GIDEON means 'one who cuts down'.

Gideon was never meant to hide in the dark.

GIDEON'S MISSION_TO TAKE THE MESSAGE OUT:

Gideon was called to affirm that Yahweh was the Lord God of Isreal in the openess and hustle n bustle of the marketplace. [Judges 6:26]

Secret alters and quiet prayer times are not enough for God. He wants provocative prayer and testamonies.

He wants people who will stand up and be counted.

People who are not afraid to go against the flow or to march to a different beat.

In church today, 1 in every 100 converts come as a result of a special crusade. The same amount come from visitation, the same number again have a crisis and call on the church for help. 3 in every 100 walk into church, hear the message and respond. 5% come through sunday school ministry. 6% come as a result of activities by church leaders.

So where do the rest come from?

Around 80% come as a result of friendship.

The sad thing is that many christians run around, too busy doing stuff in church, that they neglect to live out their faith in the market place.

I've caught myself pre-occupied, serving God in the winepress.

It's time to go to market!

Love you X

Mission impossible

2007-06-26T18:47:00.000+01:00

THE WILL OF GOD IN OUR LIVES : LIVING IN THE WHOLE REVELATION OF GOD_

After Gideon's encounter with Melek Yahweh was over he screamed and sobbed and fell to the ground.

Why ?

Some people think that Gideon's theology would suggest that now he had seen God face to face, he must die [Exodus 33:20], although Abraham, Joshua and many others witnessed the Lord and lived to tell the tale.

Others suggest that Gideon, much like Isaiah and Job, was now suddenly aware of his own sinfulness.

Judges 6 : 25&26

This was a BIG task. A 20 man swat team would struggle to demolish the alter of baal in one night.

[A baal alter was found at Megiddo which measured some 26 feet across and 4 1/2 feet high. Made of many stones, cemented together by mud, such an alter would constitute an immense task to destroy and carry away - LEON WOOD]

So Gideon selected some helpers, family servants, hired-help.

This suggests 2 things . . .

*His paid servants were obviously trust worthy.

*He had no friends he could call on for help.

Thats a bit sad.

Love you X

Never forget

2007-06-25T20:15:00.000+01:00

THE WILL OF GOD IS FOUND IN MEMORABLE MOMENTS_

Previous to Gideon's culinary escapade, he had asked this man, this Melek Yahweh, this angel of the Lord for some sign to prove his identity.

Gideon had probably forgotten all about his request (pre-occupied with broth!), but the angel had not forgotten.

"Pour out the broth on the ground, put the meat and the bread on that rock".

Throw away the soup? Waste the meat and bread by dirtying it on the floor?

WHY?!

After this miraculous sign was over and the smoke had cleared, Gideon saw that the angel was gone (along with the goat meat and bread!)

So why burn the meal?

Why not eat it? [Gen. 18:8]

Didn't the angel understand the cost of that meal? _ Goats are few and far between (especially in a famine) AND not to mention the precious grain used to make the bread! Grain probably harvested in that winepress with that stupid threshing stick!

It was for this exact reason that the angel of the Lord did this.

Gideon would remember this encounter with God not just for the prophetic words he recieved, but for the things it cost him.

Everytime Gideon saw a goat or looked upon the measely stock of grain HE WOULD REMEMBER.

Love you X

The will of God

2007-06-24T21:17:00.000+01:00

THE WILL OF GOD IS DISCOVERED IN THE DIGNITY OF PARTNERSHIP_

From the winepress we can see that God's will is done in a variety of ways . . .

Sometimes we get a straight forward COMMAND from God, like the instruction given to Gideon to become a saviour for Isreal.

Throughout the bible we see countless examples of God's command approach . . .

The Holy Spirit orders Paul to go to Macedonia, Moses obeys the voice from the burning bush.

However, it's wrong to think that this is the ONLY way God communicates his will to us. God is known to take suggestions from US!

Like Gideon's sacrificial meal or Moses suggesting that killing the Isrealites for worshipping idols (again!) would perhaps not be the most productive answer.

Isn't it an exciting ideology? Along side God commanding us to do some stuff, He is also willing to listen to our ideas and in some cases CHANGE His plans!

In no other religion will you find this idea. Nowhere does a god dictate but also care about the opinions of the little insignificants.

NEGOTIATION_ is another aspect to God's will. In the winepress we see that God wants Gideon to demolosh the alters of baal. Now Gideon is willing, but would prefer to carry out this task at night (under the cover of darkness).

"Would that be alright God?"

"Yes" God replies.

Love you X

Friendship and Function

2007-06-23T18:02:00.000+01:00

The angel of the Lord offers Gideon (and us) several helpful ideas . . .

THE WILL OF GOD IS FOUND IN GOD_
"The Lord is with you . . ." God doesn't offer instructions or a map with directions. He offers us HIM.

God follows a pattern when calling people to Him.

FRIENDSHIP and FUNCTION

Jesus invites the disciples to follow Him [frienship] and then promises to make them fishers of men [function].

God reveals Himself to Joshua [frienship] and then calls Joshua to get up and cross the river Jordan [function].

God welcomes Gideon "The Lord is with you, Mighty Warrior" [friendship] and then equips him "go in the strength you have" [function].

It is possible to live these 2 elements equally together, but it is also possible to be heavy on one side . . .

FRIENDSHIP_ Loves to have fellowship, sing worship songs and read the bible, but has no interest in dirtying their hands with evangelism or meeting the needs of the community.

FUNCTION_ Hurtling themselves around and physically working for God and finally collapse and burn out because that lifestyle has no sustanance that comes from an inner relationship with God.

THE WILL OF GOD IS IN HIS WORDS_

Gideons initial reply to the angel is "why is all this crap happening to us?"

But God had already answered that question before it had been asked. In the law given to Moses, God revealed a 'cause and effect' treaty.

Obey me and I'll bless you.

Forsake me and I will lift my hand of protection from you.

Now before we all jump on Gideon and call him idiot, doesn't his question sound familiar?

Love you X

He's waiting...

2007-06-23T13:39:00.000+01:00

So Gideon is kinda convinced that this IS an angel of the Lord.

He wants to make an offering, but doesn't want the angel to 'leg it' whilst he's gone.

Melek Yahweh confirms that he WILL wait while Gideon does what all of us would do at a time like this . . . . he finds and kills a baby goat, cuts it up into sections of meat, makes a 'bovril' style soup from some of it and bakes some bread!

Several hours later he returns to find the angel still there waiting.

The Lord is waiting for Gideon.

The Lord is waiting for US.

Love you X

I am with you

2007-06-22T19:05:00.000+01:00

After God reveals His plan for him, Gideon's insecurity kicks in.

"Who me?"

"Our clan is the least in Manasseh"

"I am the least of my family"

God reassures him with a firm . . . "I am with you"

Gods instruction to Gideon to "go in the strength you have" could be misunderstood to mean that God wanted Gideon to save Isreal on his own (through his own strength).
However, this statement "go in the strength you have" is directly connected to "I am with you".
So what God is more likely to be saying to Gideon is . . . .

"Walk in the strength that you have as a result of the revelation that God is with you".

For Gideon, the winepress represented survival and existance, grain for another sad day.

We can fall into this boring cycle too, going to work to earn money to by food to get strength to go to work . . .

But Gideon (and you & I) was born for SO much more.

Love you X

What?...Me?

2007-06-22T11:28:00.001+01:00

"You will save Isreal" . . . "Am I not sending You?" _ declares the Lord.

Gideon has a choice to make.

Stay hiding in the winepress or step out in faith.

Gideon had 2 things holding him back . . . . Cynicism [an inability to trust and believe in God or God's people] and Insecurity [an inability to believe in the value of himself].

The Lord is with YOU, Gideon.

Gideon, YOU will save Isreal.

I am sending YOU.

Go in the strength YOU have.

Yes, Gideon . . . YOU.

As christians today, we can look back through the bible and see many instances where God uses 'ordinaries'. Our insecurities make it very difficult for us to have faith that God could use 'little old me'.

We read and hear about great revivals through out history, but can't seem to comprehend that it could happen where we live. It isn't that we don't believe God is love, it's just we struggle with the fact that God loves US.

This was Gideons problem.

Love you X

Nervous fugitive

2007-06-22T09:49:00.000+01:00

After Gideon heard the angel speak "the LORD is with you..." he was probably thinking "WHAT?!...Here in this winepress secretely reaping this harvest so that His people won't starve and hiding in fear of the Midianites?"

'Mighty Warrior' (Gibbor hayil) was a term used to describe a group of noblemen famed for their abilities in battle. Hardly a greeting for a guy hiding in a winepress in fear for his life!

Mighty warriors / Mighty men _ was the term used for the heroic companions of David [a little after Gideon, but you'll get the idea!]. There was Jashobeam a Hacmonite who killed 300 men (with a spear!) in one fight; Eleazar son of Dodai who was with David in the stand of Pas Dammin (sounds impressive!); Abishai the brother of Joab who also killed 300 men in one go; Benaiah son of Jehoiada who went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion!

Gideon wasn't known for his achievements on the battlefield or his abilities in politics.

He was a nervous fugitive.

The rabbis didn't teach that Gideon was a brave man.

Love you x

Melek Yahweh 2 [electric boogaloo]

2007-06-20T21:03:00.000+01:00

So who was this Melek Yahweh, this angel of the Lord ?

There are many different ideas of who (or what) he is.

Some say its Theophany [a pre-existant Christ]

Others say he's a cheif or an angelic representation of God on earth.

This Melek Yahweh shows up all the time througout scripture....

comforting Hagar [Gen. 16:7-13] / burning bush with Moses [Ex. 3:2] / appearing before Balaam and REALLY upsetting his donkey! [Num. 22:22] / addressing the nation of Isreal at Bokim [Jud. 2:1] / meeting Joshua to change his clothes [Zech. 3:1] A touch from Melek Yahweh sees Herod eaten by maggots! [Acts. 12:23] / A few years after Gideon's story we see the same angel appear to another threshing floor, but this time it's to David [2Sam. 24:16]

But when he appeared to Gideon, he had no sword of vengance, just a simple message of good news.

Love you x

Melek Yahweh

2007-06-19T19:14:00.000+01:00

So in hindsight (or from the vantage point of the observer) we know this guy is an angel, but what does Gideon see?

Radient white, shimmering celestial entity with pure white wings and a glowing halo?

No.
Gideon sees a stranger relaxing whilst he is doing all the work!

What does Gideon hear?

A cherub choir of angelic voices proclaiming "Hosanna!" from heavenly heights?

Or even a thunderous roar of the Zion Lion, proclaiming God's awesomeness and power?

No.

He comes to Gideon (and to us) in our boring normal days.

We must be careful how we treat strangers. (Hebrews 13:2)

An ordinary looking God reveals Himself to an ordinary looking man but has some extra-ordinary information.

*Remember_ God comes to the ordinary.

Love you x

Threshing stick

2007-06-18T20:51:00.000+01:00

Judges 6:11

Joash (his name roots back to Joseph) means 'Yahweh has given'. This guy is an Isrealite, a man of the tribe of Manasseh, of God's chosen race. But now he worships baal. Although he ain't royalty, he is quiet well off. He has some power, land, livestock and servants. One of his sons is called . . . .

Gideon. His job (at the begining of this story) is to help bring in the 'secret harvest' of grain. Using an old winepress by Terebrinth (sacred tree). If the Midianites found out they would take it for themselves. He was the youngest son (so had nothing going for him!)

Inside the winepress there was no room for oxen or sledges to aid the threshing. They were forced to use a threshing stick to beat the grain and took it in turns. This was a slow, back-breaking process. Gideon would have been humiliated by 1 of 2 things (or maybe both!);

1) The pagan neighbouring tribes couldn't even be bothered to conquer the Isrealites and claim their land. They just sat back, waited for harvest time and swooped in and took the fruits of their labour and left. (A bit like the grasshoppers in the film Antz)

2) The fact of having to use a threshing stick. This was a farm tool used by the poor (Ruth 2:17)

The winepress should have been a place of joy, rejoicing, celebration at the prospect of new wine ("woo hoo! Party!"). But now it was the scene of humiliation, anger, bitterness and fear (?) [Lamentations 1:15 / Joel 3:13]

Now Gideon notices someone watching them working . . . "How dare he! every man should be helping with the harvest!"

More next time

Love you X

For all the cows

2007-06-16T22:04:00.000+01:00

From the outset we see that AGAIN the Isrealites did wrong in the eyes of the Lord.

They were stuck in a cycle . . .

Rebellion. Retribution. Repentance. Rescue.

This wasn't just forgetting to say grace before meals or not saying bless you when someone sneezed.

This was heavy stuff.

Despite that the Lord brought them out of slavery from Egypt and constantly tended for them, they turned away AGAIN and began worshipping false gods and idols. They adopted the gods of their neighbours.

Alters dedicated for Baal and Asherah poles were everywhere in the promise land.

The Isrealites had been falling down like this for hundreds of years. Whilst Moses was up talking with God and getting the 10 Comandments, the people were worshipping a golden calf.

Its all about cows.

Baal (Canaanite) is depicted as a bull. Amon-Re (Egyptian) is a bull. Asshur (Assyrian) is a bull.

There was times when the Lord was with the Isrealites (through the Shofets [Judges]) and the neighbouring nations lived in fear of them. And then there are times when they turned away from the Lord and had to live in fear of the pagans.

In history, this is where we find ourselves in the story. The Isrealites are running scared and hiding in caves. Waiting for the inevitable capture, torture, rape, murder.

Ending on a high!

Love you X

Funky Gideon

2007-06-14T16:31:00.000+01:00

OK.

The time has come to begin another bible study (using the wonderful media tool known as 'blogging').

Im currently running through various studies in my quiet time (as well as the studies we do at Oakham), these include . . . .

*Exodus _ Egypt to the promise land

*David _ Shepherd to King

*Nehemiah

*Paul's letters

*Genesis (with thursday youth)

*Ephesians (Sunday mornings)

*Esther (Sunday nights)

Plus, my word for today.

But this isn't enough! We need more bible!

So, via this blog, I'm gonna start a study on Gideon.

I don't know much about Gideon (hence the study!) other than he is one of the judges in the book of Judges and he was a bit of a wuss AND he leaves little bibles in hotels!

So, we set the scene with the Isrealites (God's chosen race) to-ing and fro-ing between worshiping the LORD and various other false gods. Everytime they turn from God something bad happens, everytime something bad happens the turn back to God and cry out to Him for help. (this happens a lot in the whole of the old testament!)

God hears their cries and sends a saviour (of Judge) to help the out. Already in this book we have seen the Isrealites screw up at least 4 times, and God has sent 'judges' to help out (Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar and Deborah).

To help keep the story of Gideon moving AND to keep it relevant to life today I shall be adopting a method called Midrashim.

Midrashim is a teaching (storytelling) method that Rabbis have used since forever. It simply means "to inquire" or "to go in search of", a Rabbi would basically look at how a story could be brought up to date or made more accessable to people here and now.

My next blog will see the start of our study into Gideon. So please familiarize yourself with history [his story] Judges 6,7 & 8.

Also please use this blog to voice your points of view or for any questions through the comments, any feed back will be much appreciated.

Love you X

Questions . . .

2007-06-07T17:43:00.000+01:00

I lent a book from Pete's imense library.

It's a book about the questions Jesus asked and why He asked them.

It's a really good book with many interesting ideas for discussion.

I love the different sides to Jesus.

He had so many opposite emotions (or attributes).

I love the way He almost always answered their questions with more questions.

It has opened my eyes to the life of Jesus and how He was so much more than a healer or good teacher.

This will make a very good future sermon or bible study.

Love you x

Growth

2007-05-29T10:53:00.000+01:00

In my prayer time yesterday, God revealed a very simple but very real truth.

As a person (physically) the act of growing is to gain your own indepedance and to move away from parents.

This is not the case with God.

When we grow (spirtually) it's the act of losing our independance and growing towards God not away from Him.

Thats it.

Short and sweet.

Love you x

I'm a loser

2007-05-24T08:57:00.000+01:00

I like Paul.

He's a great character with a fantastic background.

Just to read where he came from and the journey he took is SO cool.

He started off as a Jew (but no ordinary Jew). His job was to find, hunt down, and persecute christians.

The Pharisees and 'religous' leaders of that time would have thought that when they got rid of Jesus all their problems would be over. However, after Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples and they all started performing miracles and seeing the early christian church grow, these 'religous' leaders would have been a bit worried again.

They needed to nip this 'cult' in the bud, before it got too out of control.

Saul (aka Paul) was a very effective persecutor, and his name was feared throughout the early christians. But God chose Saul, and after revealing Himself in 'illuminating' ways, Saul finally 'saw the light'.

Paul (no longer Saul) now made it his mission to spread the word of Jesus throughout many lands.

It amuses me that in Galatians, Paul is defending the right of the gentiles (non jews) to know the Lord and not to have to become a Jew. Previously, this same dude was killing christians because they didn't follow the law of Moses!

Ironic.

I guess I like Paul's story because God took the most unlikely character, someone who was going out of his way to prevent the spread of the gospel, to be one of the fore-runners for missionary.

We see this all the way throught the bible.... Abraham (too old), Moses (had a stutter), Noah (a drunk), David (danced in his pants), Jonah (racist and coward).

The list goes on and on.

God uses normal people.

God uses losers.

He's got nothing else to work with!

Love you x

Cry out to Jesus

2007-05-19T11:34:00.000+01:00

To everyone whose lost someone they love

Long before it was there time

You feel like the days you had were not enough

When you said goodbye

And to all of the people with burdens and pains

Keeping you back from your life

You believe that there's nothing and there is no one

Who can make it right

There is hope for the helpless

Rest for the weary

Love for the broken heart

There is grace and forgiveness

Mercy and healing

He'll meet you wherever you are

Cry out to Jesus

For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on

They've lost all their faith in love

They've done all they can to make it right again

Still it's not enough

For the ones who can't break the addictions and chains

You try to give up but you come bakc again

Just remember that you're not alone in your shame

And your suffering

When you're lonely

And it feels like the whole world is falling on you

You just reach out

You just cry out to Jesus

Cry out to Jesus

To the widow who suffers from being alone

Wiping the tears from her eyes

For the childrens around the world without a home

Saya prayer tonight

How good are Third Day ?

Theif in the night

2007-05-15T14:22:00.000+01:00

Its my day off today (which is nice 'cause I had to work all weekend!).

Anyhoo, a guy from Barrats came to take photos of our house to put in their ad to sell our house.

I knew he was coming at 13:00 and so I could get the house looking 'up to scratch'.

Because I knew when to expect him I could get all the hoovering, dusting, polishing, washing up done aswell as putting away anything that didn't need to be out. And to improve the overall appearance of the house.

It got me thinking about the second coming (and Phil's song from sunday night!), but if we knew Jesus was coming back at 13:00 then we'd get all our stuff sorted.

All the mess that had accumulated over time would be dealt with, not straight away, but just in time to see His return. We would leave everything until the last minute.

I thank God that we don't know when Jesus is coming back, because the world would be more of a mess than it is now. Sure, we'd see mass conversions hours before He was due to return, but that isn't the point.

It's about living every day as if it's our last here on earth.

It's about looking at how and why we live our lives and asking ourselves "is this what Jesus wanted from me ?"

Jesus is coming back . . . so don't look busy, get busy!

Love you X

Mountain of God

2007-05-07T13:50:00.000+01:00

Im currently working my way through Exodus.

Ive got to the bit where Moses is the go-between for God and the Isrealites.

It makes me chuckle to think of Moses running up the mountain (at the age of 80 ish!) and God saying "tell the people the LORD says..." and then Moses running back down to the Isrealites and telling them what God has said. Then the people say "Moses, tell the LORD...." and Moses runs back up the moutain.

This goes on for chapters!

I struggle with the fact that I'm human (and destined to screw up!), I think if only I'd have been around back then when God revealed Himself in fire and thunder and wind and through Moses.... THEN my faith would be unshakable! But we see that the Isrealite (inspite of this very visual God) still make the same mistakes we make.

Moses comes down the mountain (after getting the 10 commandments) and finds that the Isrealites have made a golden calf and are worshipping it!

Third Day have done a song caled Mountain of God (chorus)

Even though the journey's long

And I know the road is hard

Well, the One whose gone before me

He will help me carry on

After all that I've been through

Now I realize the truth

That I must go through the valley

To stand upon the mountain of God

Love you x

John 2

2007-05-03T11:48:00.000+01:00

Everyone knows the story.

Jesus is at a party (a wedding reception), the social event of the Jewish year!

He's there with his mom (family was very important). And in this story we see Jesus first miracle (or sign).

Running out of wine wasn't just a pain in the ass, it was seen as shame or disgarce upon the family name.

John suggests that miracles (signs) were always pointing to something else.

Even though Jesus said this, what He really meant was that...

Jewish comparrisons:

When Jews would hear (or read) these stories it would conjure up other images in their head.

Regardez . . .

Wedding - This story is set in a wedding. Weddings were always large occasions in the bible, and almost always represented the relationship between God and people. The church is Christ's Bride (for example)

"The master was pleased" - God is our master. (pretty simple!)

Third day - (not the band!) The wedding party takes place on the 3rd day.... hmmm what else in the bible could of happend on the 3rd day? The Resurrection.

Wine - Heaven.

This 1st miracle was the anticipation of heaven and earth coming together.

We all know this story as Jesus turning water into wine, BUT nowhere does it mention this fact.

Its through Jesus power and authority, but its more about the servants doing what Jesus tells them to do.

Jesus DOES turn the water to wine, BUT he does it through others.

Real miracles happen when we do what Jesus tells us.

This is what it looks like when heaven and earth meet.

Love you x

EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL

2007-04-27T12:03:00.000+01:00

Worn out, wasted

Like a bird with broken wings

Sometimes, grace reminds me

I don't get to be the king

But love it washes over

Love it pulls me closer

Love it changes everything

So everything is beautiful

Even when the tears are falling

I don't need a miracle to believe

Even in the crashing down

I can hear redemption calling

And everything is beautiful to me

Sweetly, You release me

From the weight of what I've done

The trigger trips the hammer

But the bullets never come

And love like a landslide

Like the wind

Spins around me pulls me in

At it's unveiling, I begin

This song just nails it.
This band knows what it feels like to live as Jesus' hands and feet in the world today.

Scared?

2007-04-19T15:01:00.000+01:00

Since I last blogged 2 things have happend . . .

1) The first of our two evaluations on the house have been done

2) I have been "moved" to the Bilston store

BOTH of the events scare the hell out of me!

It is said that humans are creatures of habbit.

This is most deffinately true of me.

I like to know where I'm at and what I'm doing.

The idea that mine and Janine's future is in the hands of some random guy (from Skitts!) is terrifying!

The very thaught of not doing "auto-pilot" at work is worrying.

Ive read that worry is a sign of lack of faith (and/or trust) in God.

I don't want to have a lack of faith!

I want to be full of faith . . . . Faithful!!!

Anyhoo, I have spoken to Stef (assistant manager at Bilston) and she has put my mind at ease (a little!), but I don't want anymore nights of broken sleep over this.

Its just a job.

Its not me.

Its not what I am.

Is it?

Please pray for me, I could do with the backup!

Many thanks and blessings.

Love you X

iPod goodness!

2007-04-14T20:31:00.000+01:00

Well, its finally done!
My iTunes is copied and my iPod is synched!
I have music (with album artwork), music videos, short films, podcasts and Noomas!
Oh yes! Rob Bell is on my iPod (no Jon, its not like looking in the mirror!)

Its SO pretty!

Now I just need our evaluation on our house to be what we want, and then we can move into our 3 bedroom 3 floor town house!

God is good!

What ?!!!

2007-03-23T11:38:00.000Z

1% of the worlds population uses 40% of the worlds rescources.

To completely solve the worlds health and nutrition problems it would cost $20 billion.

Thats how much a year Americans spend on icecream.

Switchfootage 2 (Electric Boogaloo)

2007-03-22T09:11:00.000Z

Today is my birthday.

One of my presents from Janine was Switchfootage 2 (Switchfoot DVD), and for the last 2 years those 5 guys have (Monday - Friday) woke up late(in San Diego!), surfed until dinnertime, then practiced songs and recoerded tracks for their last 2 albums in their own practice room/recording studio. (Saturday - Sunday) Woke up late, travelled in a VW Van, rocked out for Jesus infront of thousands of people.

Not a bad way to spend 2 years!

Oh! Gravity! is awesome too!

Love you x

Think YOU have problems?

2007-03-21T11:57:00.000Z

Everything in this world screams for the self.

Jesus tells us of another way.

Adverts and other culture medias tell us that if we just concerntrate on what we need.... then our lives will be complete.

Jesus say love God and love others.

Where is the "I" in thast last sentance ?

The world says if only you live in this house, drive this car, drink this beer, use this shaver, get this aftershave, eat in this resturaunt, go on this holiday, have this job, wear these clothes, earn this much a year, get this kinda girl (or boy!) on your arm . . . THEN you know you've made it.

Jesus says sell your stuff, give the money to the poor, and follow me.

Our problems are usually to do with us. Money, bills, our wants (not needs). There are loads of self-help books out there now, but the truth is they can't help. Just as soon as you deal with one problem another one pops up in its place.

Offer them to God along with everything else. Say. . .

"I'm not gonna carry this junk around with me for one more second".

Take a look around you, find someone who seems really happy in themselves, someone who really seems to milk life for all its worth, someone who seems to have no worries in the world.

Got them in mind ?

Chances are that they have taken the focus of themself and are using there time and abilities to serve others.

Try serving instead of being served today.

Love you X

My Everything

2007-03-07T11:40:00.000Z

I give You everything

even my failure and my mistakes.

I give You all of me

'cause I have nothing elese to give to You (my everything).

Maybe someday You will show me exactly my true purpose

what I'm capable of.

'Cause now I feel so helpless, so undeserving

of Your love.

I understand this questions why, we come to You in prayer

with our heads bowed down.

And now I'm the lost son, and You've welcomed me back

with open arms.

And when I think about Your Son, all the pain He went through

He died for me.

The sacrifice has been made, my debt has been re-paid

and now I'm free.

All the things I once thaught precious, that held some value

count for none.

God waits for our return home, His heavenly throne

for everyone.

Love you x

Hallel

2007-03-03T19:53:00.000Z

Are you familiar with hallel ?

Probably not (unless you're Amy Knight!)

Hallel translates as "Praise [God]" and is a collection of 6 Psalms (113 - 118) that is read / chanted / sang on Jewish holy days and 'joyous occasions'.

Hallel is usually chanted as part of Shacharit (morning prayer service) following the Shacharit's Shemoneh Esreh ("The Eighteen", main prayer).

It is recited during the first night of Passover as well as Shavuot, Sukkot, Hanukka and Rosh Chodesh (begining of a new month).

Interestingly enough, (or perhaps not!) it is from these recitals we get many of our modern worship songs. His Love Endures Forever is a prime example.

So at the last supper, it is very probable that Jesus and His disciples would have endulged in this Hallel. And if we believe that the scriptures are inspired by God or "God-breathed" (well...Do we?). Then is it at all likely that God had inspired David to pen these Psalms that He knew would be used and part of this ceremonial singing/chanting (worship), so that He could use it as a form of expression when He is on the Earth in human-form?

This is HUGE!

Esentially God wrote that song for Himself !

It brings a whole new level to the way in which we veiw Jesus. We know He was fully God and fully man. But here we see a much more vulnerable Jesus.

A Jesus who prays and asks that this purpose and direction He's headed be taken away from Him.

A Jesus who sweat blood with worry and concern.

A Jesus who, in the most sensative time with His disciples, needed a song.

Just like we need a song.

Go ahead! Hallel yourself!

Love you x

Everything for Jesus

2007-03-01T11:43:00.000Z

Whatever you're doing today . . . Do it for Jesus.

Send me comments and let me know what stuff you've done for jesus today!

Misconception of Misery

2007-02-22T10:31:00.000Z

Ive noticed recently that a christian school-of-thought is that God works through our uncomfortableness (which can be a valid point), that breaking out of our comfort zones or forcing ourselves to do something that scares us can be very liberating.

However, this ideaology can be taken to extremes (as can all, just look at Neitche and Hitler!) and some people think that if I enjoy doing something or find something fun that it must be from the devil.

God can only work through pain and suffering and uncomfortableness (with sack cloth clothes and gnashing teeth!).

This is absurd.

Surely Joy, Passion, Talents, and enjoyment are from God.

If you are good at something or enjoy doing it, then its very likely sent from God. I say not only do it, but do it with all your heart and do it for God.

Just look at christian authors, preachers and muscians. They don't do it because its been burdened upon them and the feel forced (one arm behind their back!). They do it because they are passionate about this talent and more importantly passionate about God.

So today may you do what you are good at and may you do what you enjoy, but most of all may you do it all for God.

Love you x

The entrapment of entitlement

2007-02-13T11:57:00.000Z

After hearing a downloaded sermon from Rob Bell, I was really challenged in some of the ways we as christians may veiw our lives (sometimes).
In his sermon he metion the dangers of feeling somehow entitled to things and that God could owe us.

One theory was that people would be looked down upon because of the situations they find themselves in. We see this throughout the bible. Usually by pharisees (empowered people who should know better), putting down on people who are less fortunate than them. Lepers and beggers are percieved that they have somehow sinned (or someone in their family) and are now being punished accordingly.

This, of course, is rediculous. These people find themselves in these crappy situations because thats just the way life is. Crappy. More importantly, its about what you do and how you deal with these situations.

Another theory, which is a very dangerous path to go down, is that because we have been dealt this crappy hand in life that God now owes us something good to balance things out. Its like, ive been tried or tested by this illness or death in the family or lost my job or house (whatever) and now Im waiting for my pay out. Like God is some kind of insurance company.

God is assurance, not insurance.

We could almost fall into this idea of making a list of all the good things we do and then sit around waiting for or reward from God.

If we make a list, does it mean God's allowed to make one too?

How would that scene go?

Here we are infront of the almighty Father and he goes first . . . .
(God's list)
*sun (heat and light)/ moon and stars / oxygen/ pasta / water / worship /music/art/ family/freinds/sunsets/ holding the hand of someone you love / a childs first steps / pizza / trees / smell of fresh cut grass / a smile on someones face / health / mexican food / fruit / technology/ laughter / a childs first word / medicene / lemon meringue pie . . . .
Now God turns to you and says "Oh Im sorry I got a bit carried away, your turn..."
And you look at this stuff you been trying to hold God to ransom over and your like ...
" I erm, I put and extra £10 in the collection at my church"

It suddenly doesnt seem to work, does it?

God doesnt owe us anything. But He gives us everything. Thats the point.

Love you x

Dont worry . . . . Be HAPPY!

2007-02-11T07:51:00.000Z

Over the last week or so I've been kinda struggling with some situations in my life, and my apparant inability to control (or change) these situations.
Things have been running through my mind and effecting my sleep and overall ability to function as a member of the human race.
Janine will probably recognise Ive had a few mood swings recently.

Anyway, through our daily bible study (Jeff Lucas) and in my own prayer time (sometimes at work instead of working!) God has made me realise that there is very few things in this world that I have any control over.

I am helpless.

I am vulnerable.

I am nothing without God.

This is what we need to realise in order to truely know what it means to give everything to God.
It isn't easy living the life of a Jesus follower.
The world is a bad place and says "Do whatever it takes to suceed". Whenever we stand against that and say "No! Theres another way" we open ourselves up for trouble.

We need to remember that we are in this world but not of it.

Third Day wrote a song called 'Wire' and its about walking the fine line (high wire) between this place we live in and the place we call home.

So if you are worrying about something as you are reading this, or (like me) just struggling with the lack of control in your life, just remember that its God whose in control of you and theres no way He's going to give you anything you can't deal with.

You're totally safe.

Don't worry . . . . be happy!

Love you x

Superbowl & Blessings

2007-02-05T12:42:00.000Z

Im sat at home taking it easy and recovering from the event that is the SUPERBOWL!... Even though the colts won (boo!) it was still a good game and it was fun to hang out with some guys and just eat snacks and watch NFL. Also the half time game of Oakham touch football was pretty cool too!
Anyhoo, after Si went to work this morning, I got up and went into the middle room and just prayed and sat in the quiet whilst the others were still asleep, and just listend to God.
Try and spend some time with God and just be still, be quiet.
Too oftern our lives are full of background noise, TV / music / other people, how can we expect God to speak to us with all that going on aswell.
Sometimes God whispers.
Try listening today.

Love you x

Superbowl XLI

2007-01-22T08:00:00.000Z

Damn it!
Patriots lost to the Colts 38 - 34.

That means we got a Bears v Colts superbowl in a couple of weeks!

Im definitely supporting the Chicargo Bears. Woop! Woop!

How 'bout dem Bears?!

Worship

2007-01-18T13:49:00.000Z

I'm leading the worship again on sunday, and I never really thought about how much of an important job that is.
Before all it meant to me was that I had the task of picking the songs and have to ramble on in between them.
But after listening to a sermon about worship by Rob Bell, I discovered that leading the worship IS quite a big deal!
It should be guided by God. I should pray and meditate on His word, before asking Him to help me pick the songs, I should be open to let the worship time move freely in the direction that God wants.

I should be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

The words should be meant and not just sang.

I should put great words on His peoples lips.

I want to be SO much more for Jesus than I am now.

I want to stop letting God down over and over again.

I want to be an inspiration to the people I love, like the way I'm inspired by them.

I want to thank you, my christian brothers and sisters, for challenging me to do better.
To live my life the way I should.
Help me to put great words on your lips this sunday.

Love you x

Wii

2007-01-12T15:12:00.000Z

Can I get a "woop woop!"?
My nintendo Wii came this morning and its my day off, so guess whose been playing Wii sports and Wario all day?!

Its all white and minimal and pretty looking.

Love You X

2007-01-05T14:07:00.000Z

Micah 6:16

After this post we will go back to verse 9 of chapter 6 and work through into chapter 7. This is because the next topic crosses over the chapter divide. The next topic is Judgement (but that'll be the next post!). Cofused? 'cause I am!

In this verse it mentions a guy called Omri.

Omri was a king who reigned over Isreal and led the people to idol worship (1Kings 16:21-26). His son was Ahab, was Isreal's most wicked and evil ruler (1Kings 16:29-33). If the people were being influenced by these types of people alone, they were in for some big trouble.

This was the mother of all insults to God. And remember this is still the old testament God.

The God who smites!

You do not want to mess with Him! And they were basically spitting in His face!

"Remember all those times our God has gotten us out of trouble?...Screw that! Im gonna bow down to some statue of the god of cheese!"

Idiots!

2007-01-04T11:54:00.000Z

Micah 6:5-8

At this point Micah has already delivered 2 of his 3 messages: a message of warning (verses1&2) and a message of promise (verses 3-5). His third message is a challenge to the people to trust in the Lord and obey Him. For its only through this trust and obidience that they can be forgiven and saved from the punishment that they are owed.

Throughout the history of the old testament it is important to remember just how essential it was to the Jewish nation to trust in the Lord. (Gen 12: 1-3, John 4:22)

The story of Balak and Balaam is found in Numbers:22-24 (if people are interested) basically, this story is mentioned by Micah to remind the people of a covenant that was made between them and God.

It was this forgetfullness of the people that would condem them. When people refuse to see how fortunate they are then they begin to take God (and His blessings) for granted and become self-centred. This is what was going on here.

People have tried many ways over the years to please God, but God makes it very clear what He wishes us to do. He wants us to be fair, just, and merciful, and to walk humbly with Him.

As Ive mentioned before, this message from Micah was very much like a courtroom set-up. Micah uses 3 key points to underline the importance of repentance. . . . guilt, punishment and mercy. The first of these are found in these verses we are looking at today.

Because of great guilt, trust the Lord;

Along with Micah reminding the people of Balak and Balaam, he also mentions Isreal's crossing of the Jordan river and entering the promised land (Josh 3-4). The very same God who opened and closed the Red sea did the same with the Jordan so His people may claim their inheritance. He did for them what they couldn't do themselves. But all that is forgotten.

It is important for God's people to remember what He has done for them. The word "remember" is found 14 times in the book of Deuteronomy. As it is important not to live in or dwell on the past, it is essential that we learn from it. Otherwise we will continue to make the same mistakes.

Interestingly enough, in this passage we see the people answering Micah back and attempting to bargin with God or even buy Him off with a few calves. Nothing we have to offer the Lord will ever come close to repaying Him for all He has done for us.

The people simply didnt get what Micah was saying to them. The very fact of how guilty they were should have motivated them to turn away from their sin.

The only people who God can save are lost .

The only people who God can forgive are guilty.

Its the weirdest thing . . . .

2007-01-04T11:29:00.000Z

This morning in my prayer time with God I got onto the subject of sin. Now I know this is one of those things we dont like talking about but . . . I was kinda beating myself up over the fact that even though I know Im forgiven of my sins (past, present and future) I didnt want to continually keep letting God down.

Each morning I make a habbit of saying sorry to God for the stuff ive done wrong the day before, but today I realised I was gonna do just as much wrong tomorrow aswell. This was kind of bugging me, and I know the idea is to strive to improve each day and to try to be more Christ-like, but I want to see better results! Everytime I seem to be improving and growing spiritually I fall back down.

I suppose its the getting back up again that counts.

Then I put on Nooma 0010 Lump (its the one with the little white ball) and it really spoke to me about this wrestling match that I'd been having with myself. Rob Bell says to his son who has done wrong "there is nothing you can do to make me love you any less". He goes on to say that this is how God feels about us. About me!
He knows Im a loser and rejoices in that fact.

There is nothing I can do to make Him love me any less!

Then in my bible time I turned to the book of Romans (which is written by Paul to the non-jews) and chapter 8 towards the end of the chapter (v38/39) it speaks of Gods love for us.

Nothing will ever be able to seperate us from the love of God