Beyond Naughty!

Micah 1:8-9

Samaria had well and truely blown it in the eyes of God.Their sins were beyond healing OR forgivness. They'd had their three strikes and now they were out!

God's judgement upon Samaria had already begun.

The sins comitted didnt just scratch the surface of 'naughtiness', they had inflicted a stab wound into several vital organs!

They were beyond naughty.

Sin had caused an injury that would soon prove fatal (Samaria was, in fact, destroyed early in Micah's mission). Sadly, Samaria's sin had already spread to Jerusalem, and judgement would soon be upon them also. This probably referes to Sennacherib's siege in 701 BC (2 kings 18, 19)

Oppression;

Micah predicted judgement upon the nations and all leaders who oppressed others. The upper classes and people of influence exploited the poor. No one spoke up for these poor people or did anything to stop this. God will not put up with this injustice.

We shouldnt expect God to help us out in situations while we ignore those who are oppressed or needy.

Love you x

Reign in Vain

Micah 1:7

Within this passage Micah identifies two sins commited by Jerusalem and Samaria, the first of which can be found in this early part of the chapter (1:3-7).

Perversion of worship;

Here we see God's chosen people breaking commandment number one!

"You may worship no other gods but Me" (Exodus 20:3)

This was underlined thousands of years later by JC

"Worship only the Lord God. Obey only Him" (Matt 4:10)

Throughout the old testament we see the Isrealites falling at this first hurdle time and time again.

This idolatry was rampant throughout both capital cities, spreading like a disease. A lot of it was down to the geezers in charge; the cheif preists and so called "prophets" (of the false variety!).

The king was the worst of all (as already mentioned in a previous post), he set up pagan idols inside God's temple and then finally nailed the temple door shut to stop 'true worshipers'.

This judgement on Judah probably would have happend earlier, were it not fot king Hezekiah. Hezekiah heeded to much of what Micah had to say and was begining to turn the nation back to God. However, when king Ahaz took over, Hezekiah's rein was in vain.

Things went from bad to worse.

A lot of what was going on in Judah and Isreal back then can be seen in the world today. You only have to turn on the T.V or pick up a newspaper. This makes me think about what hell must be like. The things that we will read that happend to Judah was from God, judgement but through love . Like a father disciplining a child. However, hell is a place where even God wants nothing to do with the people. The guy dishing out the punishment down there deffinately don't love them!

Chosing to live a life apart from God is commiting to sin.

Sin only leads to judgement, pain and death.

It's through God alone that we can gain eternal peace.

His discipline keeps us on the right path.

Love you x

Micah 1:1-6

Micah and Isaiah lived at around the same time (approx 750-680 BC) and probably knew each other. As I have already said, this book was aimed mainly at Judah, but also Isreal. At this time Judah was a very wealthy nation.

Of the 3 kings mentioned (1:1), Jotham (750-735) and Hezekiah (715-686) tried to follow God (2 Kings 15:32-38; 18-20), but Ahaz was one of the most evil kings ever to reign in Judah (2 Kings 16)

"Yo! Judah! . . . . Isreal! . . . . You guys had better watch out! God's on His way, and He aint a happy chappy! He's seen how you have turned away from Him and He is about to go medievil on yo asses!" (1:3-6)

In this begining passage, Micah descibes (quite visually) what is gonna happen to these two cities. The destruction of Samaria was actually fulfilled during Micah's lifetime, in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:1-18), just as he had predicted.

After my last study (on Jonah), I am able to compare these two prophets. It is interesting to see how they dealt with God's commands differently.

Jonah heard God's wishes and then did the exact opposite and ran and hid (granted, he eventually did what he was supposed to!)

Micah heard God's wishes and went straight to it, at full throttle.

Which of the two are you more like?

Love you x

Pick 'n' Mix Christianity

Micah 1

Chapter one; An overview

Micah pointed out the need for justice and peace.

He was kinda like God's lawyer, sent to proclaim God's disappointment with Isreal and Judah, their leaders, and their people.

In chapter one we see and introduction into the life and times of Micah and he begins to reveal what God has in store for Jerusalem and Samaria (Judah and Isreals capital cities).

Micah makes it clear that God hates unkindliness, idolatry, injustice, and empty ritual - and still does today. But God is very willing to forgive the sins of any who repent.

There are a few major themes within this book, one of them is in this first chapter.

Perverting Faith;

Explanation

God IS going to judge the greedy preists, leaders and false prophets. While they may seem (from the outside) to be carrying out religious ceremonies and behaving in a 'prim and proper' way, the fact is they were making their own gains through very 'unreligious' activities. Through their selfish wants of money and influencial power they not only neglected God, but they were perverting their faith.

Importance

Don't try and blend your faith (and relationship with God) with your own needs. Selfishness is hated by God. Judgement and punishment will be on there way. A 'pick and mix' approach to your faith is a prime example of perverting faith.

Love you x

"I HATE YOU"

Micah

The book of Micah was written surprisingly by Micah! He was a native of Moresheth (which is near Gath [Goliath's home town]), which is approx 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem.

It was written around 742 - 687 BC, during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah.

It was written to the people of Isreal (northern kingdom) and Judah (southern kingdom)

The purpose of this book was to warn God's people (Jews) that judgement is coming and to offer pardon to all who repent.

How often is the word "hate" tossed around in todays conversations?

"I hate that song" "I hate that jumper" "I hate shatake mushrooms"

The same can be said about the word's opposite . . . . Love.

"I love McFly" "I love converse" "I love your nan's breadandbutter pudding"

The casual use of words such as "love" and "hate" has removed all their meaning. We can no longer grasp the concepts of statements in the bible about God.

He is a loving God God IS love God HATES sin

Our misconceptions have clouded our ability to understand the true meanings of those texts.

"God HATES sin" doesn't mean He dislikes it in the same way we "hate" shatake mushrooms!

So as we begin this journey through Micah (and eventually other minor prophets), try to remember the true meaning of such words.

Along with His love, God's hatred is also very powerful AND very real.

He HATES sin. And we will see our loving God take on a new role as a righteous judge, ready to deal out punishment (and yes! . . . . smiting!)

Much of this book is devoted to describing God's judgement on Isereal, Judah and on all the Earth. Although this may be a different image of God, it it still a true representation of Him.

Evevn though this book was written over 2'700 years ago its subject matter is still just as relevant today.

It touches on the types of sin being commited by Gods chosen people. Sin such as . . . .

Fraud (2:2), Theft (2:8), Greed (2:9), Debauchery (2:11), Oppression (3:3), Hypocrisy (3:4), Heresy (3:5), Injustice (3:9), Extortio and Lying (6:12), and Murder (7:2).

Within all this 'doom and gloom', Micah gives hope and consolation by also desribing God's love.

The truth is judgement from God only comes after numerous opportunities to repent.

I'm gonna do this study in the same way I did my Jonah one.

I will give a breif overview of a chapter and then follow it with a more detailed (verse by verse) sudy.

Let me know thru my comments on what you think of this study and if there are any ways I can do it better.

Ta!

Coffee and Cuddles

Last night was the coffee bar at church and also the last time we will see some of our OM freinds again.

In the short amount of time we have spent together I have really enjoyed our fellowship.

So, now we wont see Chris and the other Germans, the two nice quiet Finish girls, and the guy from Singapore. (and maybe some other, I aint sure!)

I have been both encouraged and blessed by them.

The way that they are always singing Gods praises has really challenged me and made me think about how I conduct myself from day-to-day.

It was alittle bit sad to say goodbye to that many people, but like Chris said

"we will meet again in Heaven"

Love you x

Knowledge is power

The standings for NFL season 06 has been released today!

Patriots preseason games . . . .

August 11 - @ ATLANTA

August 19 - ARIZONA

August 25 - WASHINGTON

September 1 - @ NY GIANTS

Check out all the latest news and standings for your NFL team online.

It's time to get exicited......ALREADY!!!

good little boy

Hey guys.

I'm leading this sunday!

So can you please pray that I do well and the songs i've picked will reflect the feeling and the mood of church on sunday night.
Plus i've only picked 6 songs, so I'm counting on lots of sharing.

I'm counting on you!

Anyway, I best finish my rice crispie multi-grain (the ones with trees and people!) and go to work like a good little boy.

love you x

"It's important that a show-dog has his testicles"

Hi.
Sorry (once again!) for the lack of postage on this hunk of junk I call a blog!

Its my day off, so I thought I'd better write something.

Anyhoo, J9 had her scan yesterday and got the 'all clear', which I'm told is good.
I does mean she doesnt have to have an operation, and also she should start feeling better now.
Thanks to you for all your kind words and prayers.

Ive kind of been dealing with it in a very inwardly 'zen master' style, which has been working well. But (thers always a "but"!), last week I felt i needed to get some stuff off my chest, so I wrote a song. I'm not sure if you'll ever hear it performed (cuz I physically cant get thru all of it without chocking up!), but I felt I should post it on here for you guys to read, then it wouldnt be a total waste.

Here goes . . . .

Someday

I saw your picture for the first time,

And the last time, well what am I to do?

Everytime I see that look in her eye,

or her smile, it reminds me of you.

We made plans for moving house,

a dream nursery, that you will never see.

She was gonna make a wonderful mom,

but now somethings gone, I feel so incomplete.

I pray to God and ask Him "why us?",

"why me?", "why'd He take you away from me?".

The shadow proves the sunshine,

thats what He said, what He said to me.

Its in these times that I need Christ,

His sacrifice, I fall down at His feet.

And now there's one more angel in heaven,

and I can't wait, 'till we finally meet.

Even though I never got to hear you speak

And even though I never got to hold your hand

Somehow I know, somehow I understand

That I will, someday.

Love you x

Distant much?!

Hey sorry I aint blogged for a while.

AND sorry I aint really bin around at church recentley. Ive been kinda distant.

Youve all probably heard our bad news.

Ive found myself doing a "Job" on it. I guess its a human reaction to ask "why me?".

Anyway, Im sure God has a way to bless Janine and I thru this situation.
Plus someone said on sunday morning that the hardships we endure on earth are converted into rewards in heaven.

Although I think just seeing our unborn child one day in heaven will be reward enough.

God IS good.

Love you x

Crazy Cradley

Hey Hey Hey !!!

I was gonna share this last night, but there was no oppurtunity.
Anyhoo, just wanna say how much of a blessing last friday night was. It was really cool to see their youth "letting go" and getting up and dancing, singing and clapping.
This was deffinately aided by the persuassion of our youth. THANX GUYS! YOU ROCK!!!
It was encouraging to see that kids (not our own) were enjoying what we do. AND praising God!
I also wanna say a big THANK YOU to all the guys that stayed at Oakham and continued the work there. This IS just as important.
Plus there is new photos and a video to have a butchers at it.

Love you x

calling the you't....

Hey. Dunno if you've heard but the naz are doing a gig at Cradley Baptist. Theyve only got a small youth group but are interested to see how to make music for God and how to freshen it up to be more attractive (dunno why they asked us!).
Anyhoo, weve spoken to James and he said he was happy for us to poach you 'friday night podders' for this gig (if you wanna come?)... I think hes just happy to get out of doing a meeting!
Anyways well have more info for thursday night at the pod. If you is under 16 theres a form we gotsta get you to fill in. (crappy paperwork!)
I think it would be really encouraging for them to see you guys rockin out!
love you x

Please pray

Hi.
Please pray for AND attend the pod bible study on the thursday night.
Reason, Im doing it again.
Ive tried to make it like a part 2 for the one I did the other week on the Apostles.
Please remember me in your prayer times, as this sort of thing dont come easy/naturally to me.
(Im a bit fick!)
Anyway, see yous later!
Love you x

Anyone excited?

It's JC's 1st birthday party tonight! woop woop!
And I'm really looking forward to it.
It'll be good to let my hair down (what little ive got left!) and have a boogie and kick ass on stage with the rest of nazmatazz. Also I will be celebrating some other news. Me and Janine are gonna have a baby! How cool is that?!
Well, I should see you all there later (if not, then I want to know why!)
Love you x

POD

Flip me!

I just got back from the usual thursday pod bible study. Except it werent no ordinary pod bible study..... I did it!

I'm not sure how it went. A couple of people seemed quite happy with my avenue of thought, but I dunno.

I felt as if that was what God wanted me to talk on.

Guy send some encouraging comments about my podding!

love you x

Liberators

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine as children do.
It is not just in some of us, but in everyone and as we let our own light shine we unconciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Love you x

God is everywhere . . . even Rock Bottom!

Hey guys!

This week I've been really concerntrating on being church-ste even at work.

"Why live two lives?"

Anyhoo, I shared this on sunday morning (so sorry if you've already heard this!), but I was thinking in the week about how cool it would be to work within a christian based job. How much easier it would be to just be who I am (with no come backs).
As I work in a 'secular' job, I sometimes feel a bit alone (cuz of my faith), but after reading my bible I realized how stupid I must sound!

God goes everywhere with me.

So how can my job be secular if God is in it? . . . It can't!

love you x

Ugh!

I feel crappy!

I got some kind of stomache bug/infection thing.

It sux!

I aint blogged for a bit (not my fault!) the computers been all outta whack!

I'm lookin at samuel at the moment in my bible study.

The main aspect of christian life I need to work on is listening to God.

I have no trouble in talking to God, but patiently waiting for and recognizing when He answers is my stumbling block.

How do I know when it's God talking and not just my over-exaggerated imagination?

I think I need to spend some more time in silence with God and give Him the opportunity to speak.

Love you x

Distractions

How come you always start the day with good intentions and then it all goes very very wrong.

Things happen throughout the day and for some reason or another I let God (and/or myself) down.

Even whilst I'm typing this I'm . . .

Thinking about what to have for my tea, wondering if the Pats are gonna beat the Broncos, watching the tv AND talking to Emily on msn!

I'm gonna try and be more focused.

Its like Rob (in tha pod) said the other week, "its time to get serious with God"

love you x

God Glasses

Jonah 4:10-11

In the last post we looked at the importance of staying humble and remembering that we are not gods.

It's ok that we don't always understand why things happen.

It's ok that things don't always look clear to us.

It's ok that we are sometimes unsure of ourselves (and others)

Through Jonah's eyes all that could be seen were the hideous war crimes being commited by those pagan warriors (the Ninevites), but God saw 120, 000 weak human beings in need of help.

From Gods perfect vantage point, things look very different.

Thats it! The end of Jonah.

We don't find out if he finally humbles himself to God.

I hope its helped you half as much as its helped me.

Pete has given us a book on interpreting the bible, so there maybe more studies in the future.

Feel free to let me know what you thought of this whole blog/bible study thing.

Love you X

Leave being God to God

Jonah 4:9

We need to remember our place in the grand scheme of things.

God is God.

God is our Father, not our mate and deffinately not our servant.

God does what God does.

Let Him (He's good at it!)

God confronts Jonah with the question . . . .

"Do you have a right to be angry about the plant?"

God quizzes him with a type of question that all of us could do with hearing from time to time.

"What right do we have to suggest how God works?"

"Who do you think you are?"

When we have question for God, He may be gracious enough to answer - but when we hear no reply, we should still honour God in the same way as if we had heard the answer we were hoping for.

We laid down our rights at the cross.

Don't pick them up again.

Love you X

That's grace for you!

Jonah 4:5-8

Picture the scene;

Sunday morning, 9:45, church.

You sit in a low blue chair with arms, in walks auntie May "thats MY chair, shift!"

You move.

An old brown leather chair at the back of the church, in walks Trevor "You're in MY seat!"

If you did this enough you'd come across some very unhappy people.

In the last post we saw that anger can sometimes be reasonable. But sometimes we get moved or made to feel uncomfortable and this triggers unreasonable rage.

We are all selfish.

It's in human nature (sin)

At first glance it may seem that God is "messing" with Jonah. He gives him the lovely shade of the plant only to take it away again in the form of a worm.

Jonahs joy disappears with the plant.

God's not "messing" with Jonah, He's teaching him a valuable lesson.

There is adouble meaning within this text;

Shade:- relieves Jonahs 'trouble' - which is the same as He did for the city of Nineveh.

However, while Jonah was delighted that his God would do that for him, he was furious that something similar should happen for others, especialy these pagans!

We would all like God to be the instant judge of everyone elses sins but to be gracious and patient with us.

Maybe scorching wind and blazing sun is a reminder to Jonah.

Perhaps this was a taste of the nastiness he had in mind for the Ninevites.

This was so horrific that he (once again) wished for death.

Next time we speak of judgement, lets remember that none of us got what we deserved - that's grace for you!

Love you X

Instant answers (just add water!)

Jonah 4:4&5

Very oftern we (and I include myself in this!) are SO eager to hear God's answer to our prayer requests, that if we don't have an instant reply we assume God's not listening.

This is crazy.

Just because something isn't fitting in with our grand scheme doesn't mean its wrong.

Jonah thought along these lines (as he would cuz its a human reaction) and when he didn't get his own way and couldn't run away from this situation, he decided that God should just smite him and be done with it!

Sometimes when God moves, not everyone is pleased.

When Jesus first started his ministry gig he was performing miracles in his area (which was Galilee). This, as you could imagine, caused quite an interset and it wasn't long before crowds were gathering in little Galilee.

The locals weren't happy with the increase in tourists and so they asked Jesus to leave!

Can you imagine being so self-absorbed that you would rather not be in the presence of the son of God?

Love you x

One step forwards, Three steps back!

Jonah 4:3

Dude! Jonah was angry with God, NOW he's feeling suicidal!

Just when it looked as if he was gonna learn from this experience, he slips right back into to stoopid mode again.

Jonah couldn't face serving someone who could do the kinds of things that God was doing.

He would sooner die.

This is Jonahs stuborness - TO THE MAX!!!

It also shows that Jonah had learnt very little. He still wants to run away - but this time, he looks to run not to another country but to the grave.

Don't live your lives with unresolved anger inside of you. It will catch up with you eventually. (and the longer its left to fester, the worse it becomes)

Maybe you watch enviously as other people go further in God than you.

Or perhaps you resent new-christians for their bright, fresh approach to faith.

Don't run and hide from God.

Take these problems and bad feelings to God a talk to Him about it.

Learn from your past.

Walk towards God.

Love you x

Scandalously good

Jonah 4:2

For all his weaknesses, Jonah did tell God what was really in his heart, even if it was ugly. He brought his frustrations to God's attention.

If you are struggling, depressed or disappointed, tell God.

He knows anyway, but He considers our expression of pain a moment of intimacy.

Use God as your shrink.

Its kinda ironic that the most amazing descirptions of God found in the bible came out of the mouth of such a bitter/enraged man like Jonah.

The minor prophet finally 'fesses up' to why he did a runner from God in the first place - he was frightened that God WOULD be true to His promise to forgive the Ninevites.

So why would anyone complain about such beauty and grace?

The answer is simple.

We want God to be gracious and forgiving to US - but not people who WE consider not worthy of it. (as if we have any grounds to be judgemental!)

Love you x

Mr. Angry

Jonah 4:1

Jonah was a little miffed.

He had gone to this place (that he really didn't wanna) and preached a 'half-assed' message (begrudgingly) and not only did these people listen to what he said, they also took it to heart as a whole nation.

Jonah has preached the shortest and most successful sermon in history and rocked the city with words of revival.

You'd think he would be happy.

The exact opposite. The writer is keen for us to understand just how angry Jonah was with God. First off there is a use of a literary device called a figura etymologia ( a double emphasis )

We see uses of this many times throughout the book of Jonah to show just how intense something was. (e.g. the sailors feared a great fear, Jonah was called to proclaim the proclamation, and now he was angry with a great anger!)

Take it from me. He's upset.

When we are frustrated we need to run to God not away from Him.

Love you x

The Mans gotsta do what the Mans gotsta do

Jonah 3:9

I was flicking through the channels the other day and I stumbled across the God channel (I would normally flick right past) but something made me hesitate. The broadcast was of some American minister preaching from the book of Isiah.

He was (in a round aboput way) telling the congregation to 'tell God what to do.'

His whole message was based on Isiah 45:11 ('concerning the work of my hands command ye me'). Do a double take on this passage; it's very clear that God is actually saying the opposite; that He is God, and will do what He will do. God invites and encourages our prayers and even suggestions but in the end, 'He is God'(Isa. 45:18)

Mission is about inviting everyone to have a relationship with God, to place their hopes, dreams and ambitions at His feet and allow Him to take charge of their destiny.

Here, in Jonah, the 'pagans' did better than the prophet

Similar to the 'pagan saliors' the king's decree expresses hope in God, rather than a demand (Jonah 3:9)

Pray with hope and don't pout when the answer doesn't come, or isn't what you wanted.

Love you x

Be careful what you pray for

Jonah 3:7&8

A lot of people would say that their main prayer request would probably be for growth within their church. However, this has a dangerous underside. Growth is not only messy and disruptive, but also hard work.

One of the most impressive examples of transition was made by the infant church, in allowing the gentiles to also hear the good news. (Acts 15:1-35)

This was a major shift in thinking.

So, say we pray for a more effective youth group/outreach program and suddenly masses of young people (maybe with drug/alcohol abuse history) start showing an interest in the church.

Christian parents (probably the very same people who prayed for the growth in youth!) begin to feel concerned for their 'sheltered' children.

What effect will these new kids have upon the old ones?

Who will influence who?

When God moves, the people most surprised by what He does are usually the guardians of His last move.

Have we seen this before?

Maybe in the new testament pharisees and religous teachers' reactions to the ways and teachings of Jesus Christ.

The scene in the book of Jonah must have looked kinda crazy.

People forcing their livestock to fast and also wear sackcloth!

Jonah had no idea on the impact of his reluctant message to the people of Nineveh.

Be careful what you pray for. The answer may bring some surprises.

Love you x

Expect the unexpected

Jonah 3:5

We humans are strange creatures.

Non are stranger than the 'Christian'.

Here we see a collection of people that all believe in one set of facts and rules, and they still manage to royaly cock things up. Arguing about petty and insignificant things and loosing sight of the real reason we are all here (no . . . not to decide the colour of the carpark fence!)

Jesus (the perfect example of what we christians strive to be) taught us to love one another as we are loved by the Lord, and yet there is still bickering in the church.

I heard today that Hanover Hall was closing soon, due to lack of attendance and the age of those that do attend.

This is sad.

The message that Jonah voiced (no matter how depressingand pessimistic the delivery!) seemed to strike a chord with the Ninevites.

The word used to describe their new-found faith -'believed' - is the same term in Hebrew that describes Abraham's relationship with God.

This radical repentance came to a bit of a shock to Jonah.

The Assyrians were already a religous people; they shaped their national life in accordance with Ishtar (godess of war). But they would welcome other gods (if it suited their needs at the time!)

So was this 'turning' for real?

As we look further we see that the wear sackcloth and fasting (a sign of mourning) and throw themselves at the mercy of God.

This is indeed a miracle.

It IS difficult to pray for some people (maybe people we don't get on with). The conversion of some people may seem impossible.(check out www.headtochrist.com for the story of 'Head' from the band Korn's coversion to the christian faith) But to the God who can even raise the dead, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

Love you x

Surrender

Jonah 3:3&4

Mission calls us to live the message aswell as speak it.

It was an obedient Jonah who went to Nineveh.

He was calling to the Ninevites to surrender to the one true God, as he himself (for the time being!) was in the place of surrender.

I have heard people say "Don't look at the church, look at Jesus."

They are wrong.

God wants people to be able to look at us AND see Jesus.

I saw a guy the other day in Birmingham.

Preaching (if thats what you can call it!) the good news (if thats what you can call it!). He was yelling bible texts at passers-by. Screaming "REPENT!"

This guy is deffinately brave, but is he wise?

The gospel is GOOD NEWS: does this sound like good news?

This is kinda like Jonah's message to the Ninevites. His short outburst does not speak of any chance to repent, and there is absolutely no good news.

Jonah just echoes Nahum's dark announcement (Nahum 3:1-19), 'Here comes the judge - you're all doomed!'

Are our lives and words good news to others?

Love you x

Messy Mission

Jonah 3:2

In yesterdays past we touched on the fact that Jonah's second chance to go to Nineveh may not have been his ideal situation.

Since then I have researched into the Ninevites and why Jonah would be so reluctant to go.

Inscriptions found on Assyrian monuments show how vile and cruel a race they could be, particually following a victory in battle. Captured soldiers were horribly tortured before execution, often having their tongues wrenched out by hand.

Another method of the Ninevites involved pegging a man to the ground; the executioner then made an incision with a sharp knife, raising the skin inch by inch until the victim was skinned alive. These skins were then stretched out and displayed on the city walls.

This may seem a bit extreme, but relevent; mission is a call to love the unlovely.

We need to ask God to help us to love those we would naturally turn away from.

Like Lisa said on sunday night, go and talk to someone you wouldnt normaly approach.

Love you x

I hate fishing

Jonah 3: 1&2

God has given Jonah a second chance. He has taken him full circle in these crazy 2 chapters and is now saying "NOW will you go to Nineveh?!"

God uses second-rate idiots (He aint got nothing else to use!)

Time after time we see examples in the bible of how God used unskilled and occasionally obnoxious. Quite often we see how these 'lesser leaders' shrink back from their callings.

Stuttering Moses (Exod. 4:10-16), and Jeremiah feeling like a child doing a man's work (Jer. 1:6)

"The church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones."

(Henry Ward Beecher)

Hate is such a strong word but COME ON it's fishing!

To CHOOSE to sit in the freezing cold for days on end, going without basic sanitation and warmth so that you can hook a little fish, admire it (maybe take a photo of yourself with it) and then chuck it back in the water seems less than appealing!

But after speaking to a few people at work (who enjoy it), I have realised the main truth - you have to go and get them. No fisherman stands on the bank with a net hoping that the fish will obediantly hop in.

This is the same with our christian life (especially in evangelism).

When praying that people will show up at church on sundays we sometimes adopt the 'come and hear' approach, rather than the biblical 'go and tell'.

Of course living this missionary life-style can be costly. This way of living can cause you to be interrupted and driven out of your comfort zones.

There is no reason to believe that Jonah was any happier about the second call than he was the first.

Some people cry out to God "Send them in Lord!"

Perhaps God's reply is "Go to where they are, people!"

Love you x

Jonah 2: 9-10

I love this bit in the story.

When I was at younger at sunday school we where always told this story in such a 'nice' way. We heard of Jonah sat quite comfortably inside a smiling whale, and after he said "sorry" God told the whale . . .

" errm, excuse me Mr. Whale, could you be so kind as to gently spit out my friend?"

The fact is that Jonahs whinging and flawed repentance was SO annoying that it made the whale physically sick.

Can you imagine what a whale being sick is like ?!

That WOULD be gross !

Just a short one today kids . . . I gots some take away pizza waiting for me!

Love you! x

Vow breakers

Jonah 2:9

Like Jonah we can fall into the trap of thinking that grace is a licence to continue sinning, this is the exact opposite to what the new testament teaches. His 'confession' made him feel more noble about his unfaithful choices.

In todays society we have a 'confession crazy culture' where people are almost adicted to shouting out their sins - but do not feel any remorse or a need to change their ways. It doesnt seem to matter what you do as long as you admit it.

This aint how God's forgiveness works!

When you say sorry to someone that means you will NEVER do that thing again.

Public airing of dirty laundry is no substitute for real repentance, if anything it just gives the impression to outsiders that sin is OK.

True repentance leads to a deffinate (and genuine) change.

So, inside the whale , Jonah made promises to obey God and go to Nineveh.

What will happen in Nineveh ?

What will happen tomorrow to the vows we have made today ?

We need to pray not just to admit that I'm wrong but to turn from wrongdoing.

Love you x

Pride comes b4 a fall

Jonah 2: 8&9

We have recently seen that spirituality can be dangerous.

Here we see that not 2 minutes after Jonah has come back to God, he trips up again! He bursts into shouts of condemnation 'idol worshippers!'.

How quickley Jonah forgets what he has been through to get to this point in the story. It is said that the newly-forgiven forget where they came from and become self-appointed experts, harshly critical of others.

Jonah claims that he will now become a greatful worshipper once again. But the truth is that the 'pagan' sailors had already gone running to the real God while Jonah sat sulking in the hull of a boat!

Pride can so quickly spoil our relationship with God.

And sometimes we who have been freely (and undeservedly) pardoned withhold pardon from those who require it from us.

Like the unmerciful servant in Jesus' story (Matt. 18: 21-35), we suffer from spiritual amnesia and forget that we have been shown great grace

We who have been quickly forgiven must learn to forgive quickly.

'Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.' (Col. 3:13)

Love you x

Busy for God ?

Jonah 2:7

I've found that we can all drift in and out of 'fake faith', where we follow the basic rules of christianity but have little day-to-day interaction with God.

Ironically, 'busy' christians fall into this trap, we become so busy for Christ that we have little or no time to be with God. We can get lost in the blur of doing things and forget the real reason we are here.

When Jonah reset his compass for Nineveh, he also turned back to face God. Repentance (yep, that word again!) means running headlong into the arms of the Lord.

The prodical son ran home, not just to jewellery, a bbq and new clothes - but, first and foremost, to his father's hug.

I think we could all do with having a hug from God!

Love you x

Major on minors (or a mountin out of a molehill)

Jonah 2:4 (again)

In the last post we saw how sin can deceive us; ironically, we can sometimes do wrong in the name of religion aswell. (just look at the crusades of the holy lands!)

Religious people are oftern sticklers and always banging on about being righteous. Sadly, sometimes we prioritise issues that are unimportant in God's eyes and ignore what He is passionate about.

The pharisees fussed and argued over minute theological details and washed their hands before touching the Torah scrolls, BUT were quite happy to bruise and abuse their fellow human beings all in the name of righteousness.

Their spirituality was selective and blinded them towards their own faults.

Jesus dealt with this issue (Matt. 23:24) and it was this stubborness that lead to Jesus' betrayal and execution.

With this outcry by Jonah, you could be lead to believe that he had finally seen the error of his ways. However, Jonah was a Jew (of course) and very proud of his Jerusalem (this outcry could be seen as homesickness).

His problems all began because his calling was not within the comforts of his homeland, but to a foreign land (Nineveh).

When I tell people I go to church and believe in God, they reply . . .

"oh, you're religous?"

I'm not about religion and rules and regulations.

I'm about realtionships

Relationships with family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, but MOST importantly with God.

Guys, lets not be religous!

love you x

p.s. sorry no post for a while, i've had some stuff to deal with.

The fugitive

Jonah 2: 3&4

On the way to (and back from) Belarus the crossing countries and changing times was kinda crazy. I could fall asleep in France and wake up in Holland (how messed up was that?!)

It was a kind of delayed jet lag, I'd wake up and think 'now where am I?'

Continuous sin and disobeying God can be a bit like this feeling. Deception and rebellion go hand-in-hand.

We find Jonah in this situation, he has run from God and straight into a thick fog (deceptively hard to shift!)

The truth is that Jonah was a fugitive, not an exile. He also ironically complained of being ignored by God, when it was Jonah that ran from Him.

Turning away from God always ends in tears!

This is kinda like a thing I heard (I'm not sure where it's from!), when we feel as if God has left us, the fact is we have moved away from Him.

God NEVER moves.

He is forever

Love You

x

Jonah 2: 3&4

On the way to (and back from) Belarus the crossing countries and changing times was kinda crazy. I could fall asleep in France and wake up in Holland (how messed up was that?!)

It was a kind of delayed jet lag, I'd wake up and think 'now where am I?'

Continuous sin and disobeying God can be a bit like this feeling. Deception and rebellion go hand-in-hand.

We find Jonah in this situation, he has run from God and straight into a thick fog (deceptively hard to shift!)

The truth is that Jonah was a fugitive, not an exile. He also ironically complained of being ignored by God, when it was Jonah that ran from Him.

Turning away from God always ends in tears!

This is kinda like a thing I heard (I'm not sure where it's from!), when we feel as if God has left us, the fact is we have moved away from Him.

God NEVER moves.

He is forever

Love You

x

When the going gets tough . . .

Jonah 2:2

Jonah shows us how stubborn he really is (and how we can be!), not only does he disobey[and run from] God, set sail in the opposite direction of his 'would-be' destination, is thrown over board in to a terrifying storm AND swallowed by a huge fish.

If this is not enough, he then stays inside the belly of the fish (in total darkness and probably close to death!) for 72 hours BEFORE he decided to apologies to God!

The same can be said for us. Sometimes we have to walk some pretty hard pathways before we learn our lesson.

Jonah was tired with his life without God.

He decided to return to the Father (with his tail between his legs) like the prodical son (Luke 15:11-24). It is deffinately a difficult prayer to pray, but we must admit that we have done wrong and that we cannot improve the situation on our own and we need HELP!

When we reach this desperate low and yell for help, this is when we are at our most honest and God instantly hears.

He immediately responds to the cry of those who decide they want/need Him.

How tough do things have to get before you look to God?

Love you x

p.s. I havent got a clue what music to dance to at "strickly come dancing". Any suggestions are welcomed muchley!

Repent?

Jonah 2:1

Repentance isn't a negative thing.

Repent literally means to "turn away" or "do a u-turn" from the things we have previously been doing (our old self).

Repentance is at the heart of New Testament Christianity.

John the Baptist (the guy who matt looks like) was the major prophet to prepare the world for Jesus (his cousin). The heart of his message was to repent and a change of life-style (Matt.3:8)

When JC began his ministry his main message was to repent (Matt.4:17)

Repentance is not negative, on the contrary, it's part of the Good News.

As we see Jonah inside his "fishy chapel", it is unclear as to whether his prayers of repentance are sincere or not.

God wants us to repent, not because He's a killjoy, but because He cares.

No matter how low we've gone, and however deep we find our selves in crap, there's always a way back.

"There's nothing you can do to make me love you any less"

Love you x

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

Jonah 2:1-10

Dont be alarmed, it is a large chunk of reading today.

I want you to read thru this chapter and then in the next few days we'll go over it in more detail.

This second chapter of Jonah shows us that repentance is a turning point in our lives and also it is at the heart of the Christian message.

This section of the book has been read for centuries by the Jews on the day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) - the most solemn fast day in the Jewish year.

The question that needs to be asked is ...

"Was Jonah really repentant - or was his stuborness enough to turn a fish's stomach ?"

Repentance is the theme we will be studying in the next few posts.

Love you x

Amazing Grace

Jonah 1:17

Put yourself in Jonah's shoes. (although he only took a size 7 sandal!)

He's ran from God, got himself stuck on a boat with pagans in a wild storm in the middle of nowhere, the "luck" of drawing straws has gone against him and NOW he has been thrown into the oceans depths.

Wowzas! . . . I bet he'd wished he just went to Nineveh now!!!

So, this was it, his life had come to an end.

Then he gets swallowed by a huge fish! (some people argue that it may have been a great big shark). The very thought that this aquatic predator would be his rescuer is quite unbelievable.

But thats the way God is.

You can ask him to help you out and you may think you know what you need to come to your aid, but God will turn you around (or upside down) and in the end you WILL be blessed.

Grace really is amazing.

Can't figure it out ? (you never will) Just accept it, like a lifebelt - or a passing fish - to a drowning man.

Love you!

x

Jonah 1: 13-15

Back on the subject of those pagan sailors (I'm not obsessed!). Even after discovering that Jonah was a Hebrew [sworn enemies of the gentiles], they still did all they could to avoid throwing him overboard, they 'did their best to row back to shore' (v13).

THEN they prayed to the real God - that they would not be held accountable for the death of an 'innocent man' (v14). They were terrified at the fact of executing this man without a fair trial, especially if word got to Jonahs relatives - who would may have felt bound by honour to seek revenge on the sailors. (2 Sam. 14:7)

On top of all this there was the worry of God's judgement upon them for the murder of Jonah. The shedding of 'innocent blood' was a terribly serious crime.

In contrast, Jonah seemed untroubled by his own sin, and had risked the lives of everyone on board that ship for the sake of his own stubborness.

How Jonah expected to have his life spared by these sailors, when he had turned his back on the people of Nineveh AND God, is beyond me.

He simply could not see past his own problems.

Once again, it sounds kinda familar.

Love you !

x

Stand up / Stand out

Jonah 1:9-12

During the panic caused by the storm, everyone (except Jonah!) was crying out to their gods, and there was plenty on offer!

Most people who lived in Palestine at this time believed in three kinds of gods; personal gods, who you would worship to watch over your life (protection) and help in day-to-day problems. There were family gods, worshipped by all family members. And finally, there were national gods, worshipped a guardians of the nation as a whole.

With all this going on, Jonah finally reveals his true identity as a Hebrew - and as a follower of the One true God. But notice that this didn't happen imediately, he sat there and waited until the last possible opportunity (after the men had umm'd and ahh'd about the situation AND drawn straws!) to own up.

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where we prefere to keep quite obout our faith (I know I have). When you are just too tired or you can't face the questions, sniggers or even the abuse.

I am sad to say that Jonah and myself are more alike than I would like to admit!

I just hope I can learn from his mistakes.

Love you!

x

Jonah 1: 7&8

Last time we saw how the 'pagan' captain seemed to have more faith in prayer than the sleeping Jonah.

Sometimes signs of great love and compassion can be seen within the world. It saddeneds me that we do not see more of this in the church (and in my own heart!)

Often those who don't know God embarass those of us who say we do, and faith sometimes appears in the most unusual places - such as a Roman centurion. (Matt 8:10)

Sometimes we christians give the impression that the world is a lost cause and is hopeless. However, we are ALL sinners and occasionally those who don't know the Lord shine, and some of us saints can learn from them!

Love you!

x

Downward spiral

Jonah 1: 5&6

The tale of Jonah is riddled with 'ups and downs'.

Jonah goes down to Joppa (geographically)

Jonah goes down 'into the depths' of the boat-and after that plummets into a 'deep sleep' (the phrase in hebrew literally translates ad 'dead sleep' which associated to severe exhaustion or depression).

In every way his life was headed south.

When we resist God, we can sometimes think that it'll iron out and all be ok in the end. However, the more we resist(or ignore) God, our hearts harden.

Rebellion is not a plateau, its a downward spiral.

When Jonah lost the ability to hear God's whisper (due to a hardened heart) he tried a more obvious approach (hence the storm).

Jonah was sleeping when he should have been praying....Sound familiar?

Love you!

x

Wrong direction

Jonah 1:3&4

After receiving God's plans, Jonah legged it.

He fleed to Joppa-1,500 miles in the opposite direction of Nineveh. Commanded to go northeast, he went southwest.

You can almost see him shking his fists at God.

What seems like a quick solution to a problem is usually pro-longing the chaos and making it worse.

So . . . Jonah boards a ship. (yeah, that'll work, cuz everyone knows that God can't get you from the sea!)

God sent a great storm-which in the original hebrew text paints a picture of God 'hurling' the storm at the ship in the same way that a spear is thrown.

So why did God bother pursuing Jonah? If he wasn't interested in accepting the Nineveh mission, then surely their where others God could choose?

But Jonah was a chosen instrument for the job. God deeply cares for human beings, EVEN the people of Nineveh!

His calling is not for us to complete mere projects, but to participate with Him in reaching and caring for the lost.

God invites us, not merely to chase after our small dreams, but to play our unique part in His kingdom plan.

If we turn and run from God or just say "no" to God it doesnt just create a raised eyebrow in heaven, but a wounded heart.

Love you!

x

Patriot

Jonah 1:1&2

No No No . . . This post aint about the best NFL team in the league.

Jonah was very patiotic about his background and where he is from. He is proud to be a Jew and going into a Gantile-based area is really not on his mind.

Then God turns around and says "Go...to Ninevah".

The word "GO" in Hebrew roughly translates to "Get up and go". Both Elijah and Jeremiah heard exactly the same command (1Kings 17:9; Jer. 13:6)

Jonah twists and turns and tries to wriggle out of what God has asked of him. He uses excuses we hear (and make ourselves) today.

"Why me?"

"I'm not good enough"

"I don't know how"

"I'm not good at this, I always do that instead"

The last excuse is used a lot when we are being asked to do something that we may not be comfortable in doing, or that takes us out of our comfort zone.

What we've done in the past becomes a secure bunker to prevent us from doing anything costly in the present.

God takes away from what we feel 'safe' doing and puts us in situations we feel we can't deal with, or are scared of.

But we have nothing to fear, if you are doing as God asks, hten surely you are safe in his big old hands.

Love you!

Read Jonah

Don't be scared.

Reading the bible is a good thing to do!

It might sound obvious, but so many christians neglect the best reference to God they have (along with prayer, which is also neglected!)

So read Jonah....Go on!.....It's only 4 chapters!

One of the main problems Jonah has is the initial request from God. He wants Jonah(a Jew) to go and tell ALL the people of Ninevah (Gentiles) that they are not living as they should be and must repent to God!

This is the ONLY instance of this[Jew preaching to Gentile] in the old testament.

We will start this study properly tomorrow, but I encourage you guys to read through the book of Jonah a couple of times (just to get familiar with the ins and outs)

All that really counts are the lessons we can learn from this little book.

God is God.

Whether a man could physically survive inside a fish for 3 days is slightly irrelevant. It would take a miracle for that to happen, and God does those!

Love you!

Jonah Man Jazz

Hi guys!
So, last night I had an idea (yep, I get them sometimes!) and I am gonna try to do a bible study thru my blog. The idea is so that as I learn stuff, I can share it with you guys and you can leave comments/questions.

So (if you have'nt already guessed I'm reading from the book of Jonah!)

If I asked anyone what the book of Jonah was all about, you'd probably say it's about a whale or big fish, or maybe it's about Jonah himself, or it's a story of warning.

Jonah is one of the best known books in the old testament, and the least understood.

The reality is it's about God.

It's basically a love story.

It describes the overwhelming consumimg love that God has for ALL human beings.

"People have looked SO hard at the great fish that they have failed to see the great God"

(G. Campbell Morgan)

#any comments on whether you think this is a good idea or not are welcomed muchley!#

I feel kinda "geeky"

I have just given my blog a facelift AND added some links (there will be more when my head stops hurting!). This is a little worrying as I aint really pc-intelligent.
I'm gonna get some pictures on here soon. So watch this space!

Anyway. I'm now watching wife swap (with mouth wide open!).
Its in the US, and its a gay couple swapping with a really strict "bible-belt" christian family.
Its really weird.

I love you guys.

x

THANKYOU!

Last night was JCS, and I was realy blessed by the sheer amount of people who helped out (visually and behind the scenes). I think it was a brill evening and everyone looked really smart.
Maybe a new years jcs party?!
x

Lazy or what?!

It occured to me today that I've gotten kinda lazy.

Jon is like a lyric writing machine.

And I don't write too oftern now.

So I wrote this . . .

I wanna be who I'm supposed to be

I don't wanna be what I've become

I want me to be the real me

Because You sent Your Son

Low down

On the ground

Is where I am

It's where I deserve to be

Face down

Hide from the frown

On Your face

It's what I deserve to see

Walk tall

Never fall

It's what I am

And I don't deserve to be

Held tight

Treated right

In Your hands

Where I don't deserve to be

Skin torn

Crown of thorns

Taken my place

Where I deserve to be

Whipped and beat

Pierced hands and feet

On Calvary

Where I deserve to be

I've been really thanking God for the abundance of youth at our church at the moment. It really is a blessing to see young people CHOOSING to spend thier time in church.

The evangelical church by our house (the one that nearly burnt down) has an average attendance of about 15, and none of them are under the age of 40 !!!

It blows me away to see these little guys continuing their relationship with God (something that I struggled with!) and not only that, but taking on responsabilities within the church, like leading meetings.

R and R

This week is half term (I hear all the little guys cheering!), also I booked the week off (so I can cheer aswell!). Loads of cool stuff is going on at the moment. There is a new mentoring scheme we is trying to start up (watch this space), and JC's is just round the corner (and everyone seems to be up for it!) and finally, it's the Patriots bye week (so I don't have to worry about them loosing again this week!).

Anyway, last night I lead at church and Beck shared something about being late for the bus and running at big dogs (it was kind of metaphorical!), and it really challenged me.

I think if we stopped worrying about all the things that stand in our way and stop us doing what we should and remembered that we got this big guy on our side and nothing else can get in the way.

Stars

Maybe I've been part of the problem

Maybe I'm the one to blame

But even when I turn it off and blame myself the outcome feels the same

I've been thinking maybe I've been partly cloudy

Maybe I'm the chance of rain

And maybe I'm overcast and maybe all my luck's washed down the drain

I've been thinking about everyone

Everyone you look so lonely

But when I look at the stars I see someone else

When I look at the stars I feel like myself

Stars looking at a planet

watching entropy and pain

And maybe start to wonder how the chaos in our lives could pass as sane

I've been thinking of the meaning of resistance

of a hope beyond my own

And suddenly the infinate and penitent begin to look like home

I've been thinking about everyone

Everyone you look so empty

Everyone, everyone we feel so lonely

Everyone, everyone we feel so empty

When I look at the stars I feel like myself

When I look at the stars I see somone

This is my favourite song off of the new switchfoot album. It rocks! You guys should deffinately check it out.

At first I thought I was'nt going to like it (it didnt have the initial impact that their previous album[beautiful letdown] had), but after a few times through it grows on you.

However, it has been captured by J's car stereo, never to be seen or heard of again!

controlZ

However geeky you consider blogging to be, I would not consider myself a geek. As a non-geek, I feel very blessed that those geeky people who invented computers decided it would be a good idea to invent a undo function.

This little comand has saved my skin on many occasions.

Would'nt life be great if we had an undo button?

Everytime we screwed up or put our foot in it, we could just press controlZ.

I suppose (in a weird way) God DID give us an undo button.

When He sent His son to die on a cross and cover our sin with his blood.

So everyone join with me and thank God for controlZ !

x

Whoop-ass!

I've been playing on NFL street2 on the PSP today (my day off!) in preperation for kicking Matt's ass this weekend (and maybe Jon!).
I also watched constantine. I thought it was cool. I like the idea behind the film and the special effects are "king".

Pros and Cons

Life is always about a balance. The most important thing is how you look at it.

Optimism or Pessimism

The bad thing that has happend in the last few days is that the Patriots lost on Sunday to the Chargers.

However, today I got the new Switchfoot album and a signed CD inlay and a poster!

Ive only listend to the first few tracks, but it sounds like a good 'en !