Filed under Quotes …

Feb 23 2009
Bible, Christianity, Church, Compassion, Compassion UK, Faith, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Jesus, justice, Prayer, Quotes, Religion

Good and ready?

In Titus 3:1, the apostle Paul says to remind people to be ready to do what ever is good.

Are you ready yet?

Be ready every day, throughout all your day to do good. We’re about to start our ’40 Days of Community’ and all the small groups in the church are going to do some really good things – together – in our community. Exciting times!

This was John Wesley’s rule of life, his motto.

“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can!”

Do whatever good you can whenever you can. Just after that in Titus 3 v14 it says that Jesus’ followers must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they do not live unproductive lives.

What have you spent today doing? God is saying “Don’t waste your life! Don’t squander your one and only life by missing the opportunities God gives you to do good!”

I just spent the afternoon with Ian Hamilton, Director of Compassion UK. What a great guy! Tireless, energetic, uncomplaining in his work for the poor. That organisation is doing so much good around the world, that will echo in eternity.

These days if God wants to touch and bring love into somebody’s life, He will do it through your life or mine. Mother Teresa used to say “We are the hands and feet of Jesus”.

What can you do today? Are you ready to do good?

Albert Schweitzer once said “keep your eyes open for the little tasks – because it is the little kind tasks that are important to Jesus Christ.”

That’s what God wants to get done through you.The goal isn’t just that we avoid doing bad, but that we become people who are devoted to doing good, who live lives so full of doing good, so filled up with the kindness of Christ, so filled with the love of the Holy Spirit flowing through us – that we would one day reach the highest levels of kindness. Because our pattern isn’t even Mother Teresa or Albert Schweitzer, our bar’s set higher… it’s to be like Jesus Christ.

It’s God’s dream, desire and destiny for you and for me to be people that do good in the world.  So that people see that and through that see Him.  Ephesians2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Why do good? – because it is your destiny, it is God’s plan.

Where do you do good? – wherever He puts you.

How do you do good? – however the Holy Spirit tells you.

When? – why wait?

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Jun 13 2008
Bible, Books, Church, Community, crime, politics, Quotes, Religion

1984 + 25 = 42 Days

The thought police would get him just the same. He had committed—would have committed, even if he had never set pen to paper—the essential crime that contained all others in itself. Thoughtcrime, they called it. Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you.”

I am appalled that the government’s proposal to increase the pre-charge detention limit to 42 days – six weeks – scraped (thanks to the Ulster Unionists) through parliament by a majority of nine. As someone who used to serve people by law enforcement, this is a fast downward slope toward 1984, 25 years on.

The Bible says, “Remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are mistreated as if you were being mistreated.”

So, put yourself in their shoes (plastic bags actually, and paper suits to wear). For 42 days.

I was once wrongly arrested (while in the police cadets – it’s a long story!), I was ‘in custody’ for about 15 minutes in total. The longest 15 minutes of my life – before the misunderstanding was cleared up and I was allowed to go free.

Today is 13th June.

42 Days from now is 24th of July.

You don’t see your family, friends, nobody. Guilty by association, prove yourself innocent.

Six weeks. On suspicion.

That’s a lot of scratches on the cell wall if you’ve done nothing wrong. An awful lot can happen in 42 days. Especially if you’re arrested on allegations of ‘national security issues.’ Apparently though, there’ll be ‘compensation,’ How do you compensate for suicides in custody I wonder? These proposals will do nothing to calm the fears of young Muslims who already feel targeted, alienated and labelled (Why? Surely there’s nothing to fear – unless you have something to hide).

Divide and rule?

War is Peace

Freedom is Slavery

Ignorance is Strength

Keep the ‘war on terror’ going, at home and on your street and wherever else we want it. No need for proof or actual evidence, when we have ‘sources’ confirm our suspicion, together with ‘credible information,’ ‘forensic tests..,’ ‘CCTV from the time…’

After all, don’t you trust the government?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uud2LeZF-7k&NR=1

Let’s pray the Lords about face this step toward totalitarianism. The right to petition for habeas corpus has been our society’s most efficient safeguard of the liberty of the individual. The government are tearing up fundamental principles of fairness and the protection of human rights. Benjamin Franklin said, “They who would give up an essential Liberty for temporary security, deserve neither Liberty or security.”

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Apr 03 2008
1 Comment
Bible, Books, Faith, Friends, history, Jesus, Marathon, Prayer, Quotes, Uncategorized

The real challenge is not winning the race

I’m sitting here with my leg up. The last few weeks have seen me increasing my mileage on my runs (no special reason, not doing the London Marathon this year, though I’m considering doing something similar later in the year). Half way round a fast – for me – 8k this morning and felt a twinge in my left calf, decided to press on. By the end it was sore!

There’s a great book I’m picking up that’s got me motivated. Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an all-night runner. Wow. It’s a kind of memoir, well written, about this crazy man who has … well, let him tell you the kind of things he does.

Reading his book kind of puts a sore calf in perspective. I have over the years done a few marathons, when I was in my late teens and twenties I even did a couple of mountain marathons and even once did 50 miles over night – ended up in hospital at the end with a busted knee! The thing which struck me about the video is Dean’s line, “The real challenge is not winning the race, it’s crossing the finish line.”

A line from the book grabs me too, though I’m not sure I agree with it right now. It came as he was three quarters of the way through his first 100 mile mountain marathon, given by a Red Indian Chief manning a water station in the wilderness. ‘Pain is weakness leaving the body.’ Hmmm….. in between Ibuprofen, I’ll try to remember that!

My friend J John told a group of us once that in his home country of Cyprus, the ancients used to run a race called the milos, where competitors had to clamber over all kinds of obstacles, carrying a flame. At the end, it was the first one to cross the line with the flame still burning that got to wear the victory wreath. It’s endurance that counts, in the long run!

1 Cor 9:24 in the Message keeps me keeping on: You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.

Great to run with you.

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Feb 25 2008
Bible, Books, Church, Faith, Friends, Jesus, Prayer, Quotes, Religion

Wrong about everything

Sometimes I read a book or hear a talk that makes me think just about everything else I’ve ever read or heard about it is wrong.

If the subject is something trivial like, say, what’s the best car on the market, or how to bake a souffle – who cares.

But when the book is about what you have devoted the greatest part of your adult life to, and which you intend to devote the rest of your life to, that’s either infuriating, exciting, terrifying or shattering. Or all of the above.

Yesterday I read a book that nearly did that, I read it in one sitting:

Gary Bishop’s book Darkest England and the way back in is phenomenal and very challenging, but left me with some, “Yes but hows” personally. I cried a couple of times reading it, was challenged by the terrible injustices of a nation like Britain where the poor are desperate to hear the gospel but hardly anyone goes with it, while we encourage consumerist Christianity that has a form of religion but denies its power. I manfully managed to shake the Holy Spirit off for a while enough to just watch a bit of TV before bed time. I can do that with a lot of books, even excellent ones.

This morning though, I picked up the book that is really doing it. That, “This is Jesus talking and I’ve come to screw you up” thing.

When you never want to just go and watch telly or just try to get on doing what you were doing anymore because now there’s an opportunity to do something greater than anything else and you’re invited to partake. I bought the the book a few weeks back, started it, then started something else. The time wasn’t right then, but now I feel like God’s talking off every page. I’m at 104 and can quite believe that by the time I’m finished, I will have to reassess everything in the light of this teaching.

What’s the book? Organic Church by Neil Cole.

BUY IT!

A mutual friend of his wrote the foreword, I’m going to get in touch with Neil Cole direct if I can and talk to him about this. One constant: Everything’s changing.

One quote is all I have time for, then I’m getting back to reading this!

If any one Christian alive today were to lead just one person to Christ every year and disciple that person so that he or she would, in turn, do the same next year, it would take only about thirty five years to reach the entire world for Christ! Suddenly world transformation seems within our grasp. But it could be even closer than that. If every Christian alive today were to reproduce in the same way, the world would be won to Christ in the next two to four years. What if all of us decided to put everything else aside and focus on truly discipling another for just the next few years in a manner that multiplies? We could finish the Great Commission in just a few years.

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Feb 21 2008
3 Comments
Books, Church, Friends, history, justice, Quotes, Religion

There but for the grace of God goes Anthony Delaney

They say everyone has a double. To have a double and a namesake appear on the same page of a paper is quite disconcerting! A number of friends have been kind enough to point me to various news sites featuring another Anthony Delaney, also 43 years of age – I know I don’t look it :)

My homeless namesake was living at Gatwick Airport for months, until magistrates found him in breach of his ASBO and brought it to an end. If you follow the link you’ll even see that they picture Tom Hanks from his overly cute 2004 film The Terminal . I was told by a nurse years ago that I look a bit like Tom Hanks, those of you who know me may agree or disagree? Let me know.

Do you know what came to mind as I read the other Mr Delaney’s sad story – knowing that if Jesus hadn’t put his hand on me and called me to follow him, I could well have ended up in as sorry a state or worse?

‘There but for the grace of God, go I.”

That well worn phrase was coined by my fellow Mancunian the C16th Protestant reformer John Bradford.

bradford.jpg

Bradford was imprisoned for his faith for many years in the Tower of London (sharing a cell at times with such luminaries as Cranmer, Ridley and Latimer). Whenever he saw a criminal going to be hanged for his crimes, he said, “There but for the grace of God goes John Bradford.”

Bradford himself was eventually burnt at Smithfield. He had been shown in a dream the night before that this would happen. He kissed the wood beforehand, and the stake, before lifting his eyes to heaven and he cried, “O England, England, repent thee of thy sins.”

He told the man dying alongside him, “Be of good comfort, brother, for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night.’

Unlike the other Delaney, I’m not sleeping rough tonight, thank God.

Reading about Bradford reminds me I have so much to grow in, in terms of godliness, prayerfulness and faithfulness.

Both men’s lives remind me, the grace of God really is amazing.

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Feb 14 2008
3 Comments
Bible, Faith, Friends, Heaven, Jesus, Prayer, Quotes, Religion

What’s so special about Jesus?

…except that a few good friends of mine this week committed themselves, on their knees, to follow him?

More than 2000 years on, Jesus is still the Son of God – still changing lives!

But would Jesus agree that he really was all that – and more? Would be be rolling in his grave to think that a religion based on him even existed? Wasn’t he just a teacher? A good man? Could he actually be God?

855739jesus-rocks-posters.jpg

Well what kind of God would you want God to be, to be called God? Theologians talk about various ATTRIBUTES of God, for God to really be called God, he’d have to fit the bill.

God would have to be immutable (unchanging). The Bible says, Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

You would think God – to be worthy of the epithet – would be eternal: he’d have no beginning and no end. Read the beginning of John’s gospel – Jesus fits that bill!

 

Surely you’d want him omniscient - all knowing? Jesus certainly ‘grew in wisdom and stature,’ but he met with people like Zacchaeus and the woman at the well in John 4 knew all about them, the good, the bad and the ugly. He knew the past of people with a past to be ashamed of, but he didn’t let that put him off. He gave wisdom and teaching that cannot be surpassed. He knew what other people were thinking. He knew and predicted that he’d go to Jerusalem and be rejected, condemned, tortured, die on a cross –and rise again on the third day. He knew the future of the Jewish people and described it. Those closest to him said, “You know all things…” I suppose that can be a great comfort or a great problem for you, depending, for instance, on your internet history. Nobody else knows… but Jesus knows.

We’d expect God to be omnipresent. Jesus said, “I am with you always. To the very end of the age.” He said, “Wherever two or three gather in my name, I’m there with them.” Where you are now, Jesus wants you to know he’ll be with you – a prayer away.

We’d want God to be omnipotent: Jesus walked on water, healed every kind of disease, set people free from dark spiritual powers that bound them. He said, “all authority on heaven and earth have been given to me.” Lord Acton said, ‘power corrupts – and absolute power corrupts absolutely,’ but those who knew him best knew Jesus was HUMBLY omnipotent. Jesus can do anything!

Jesus really was a carpenter’s son, who grew up in a dusty village. He experienced the full range of human emotions, sweated, ate and got tired – he led no army, He was fully man, but from the very first he was worshipped as being fully God too! God – in a bod!

Colossians 2;9 For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form

From his birth – he shared and received the glory and honour due to God and never tried to stop anyone who gave that to him. Throughout his life he expected not just to be respected as a rabbi, a prophet, a holy man, but to be worshipped and adored by all people and even the angels as the Lord, the only God. For all eternity He said that all should honour him, the Son, as they honoured the Father! (John 5:23) That would be an OUTRAGEOUS claim for a human being!

He said that he always did what God the Father wanted him to do (Talk about perfection?)! He said our eternal destinies hang on how we respond to him – because he has the power of life and death.

He said, ‘I am the door, I am the bread of life, I am the resurrection…

I wonder – do you know how special He is?

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