Eternity's Lens

Eternity's lens placed over a camera
brings colour to the photograph
a new context finds its way in shot
and suddenly the light is perfect

The haze and unclear blur departs
and we find ourselves in focus
upon the center of this picture now
so beautifully composed!

A shutter snap! A sudden flash!
A winding murmur deep within
a fraction of infinite life
captured in a glimpse of him

Camera I plead that you,
might try this blessed lens
see everyday through eyes of faith
and see those days will never end.

Prayer of Exaltation

To him who will not let you fall,
and justifies by grace
those whom he did so sweetly call
to look upon his face

Our saviour God who reigns on high
with wisdom, our strong tower
be glory now and forever more
dominion and power

Amen

Jude v 24 - 25

By grace, through faith.

Have you ever felt like you are under the weight of condemnation? Far from God or perhaps even disapproved of by your heavenly father? A friend said to me the recently 'I am a rubbish Christian'; she felt like she was missing the mark of God's standards and was struggling to maintain a 'Christian Lifestyle'.

The problem is that so often we forget that if we are in Christ, we are justified. This is our legal standing with God, it means we are declared righteous. We are in the right with God.

How can this be? God's standards are way beyond my reach, I take one look at the ten commandments and feel shame at that white lie I told at work, my failure to truly honour my parents and the jealous eye over my neighbours possessions. I can't maintain my perception of what it means to live a 'Christian Lifestyle'; perhaps I drank a bit too much last night, again, or maybe my lustful eyes fell upon someone in a way they shouldn't. Am I a rubbish Christian?

Lets clear this up. There is no such thing as a 'rubbish Christian'. Paul states in Romans that 'All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God'. We all fail. This is why Ephesians 2: 8-9 says 'For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God - not because of works, lest any man should boast'.

On the cross, Jesus took the punishment that we deserved. Because of this, we can repent and God will overlook our sins. We will be forgiven, but there is more to come. The following verse is Isaiah 61:10

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

When we repent, our sins are cleansed so it is as if we had never sinned. But then God does something spectacular. He clothes us in his perfect righteousness. In his book 'Systematic Theology' Wayne Grudem describes this as going from Negative (sin) , to Neutral (forgiven) to Positive (Righteous). In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul describes how in Christ, we become the righteousness of Christ when we repent.

For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [Jesus].


So if you ever feel under condemnation, don't let your feelings get ahead of the truth. Ask God to raise your awareness of your right standing in him, and meditate on his word.

Indescribable

On February 24 1981, during the press conference just after the announcement of their engagement, one journalist asked Prince Charles and Princess Dianna if they were in love. Diana said “Of course”. Charles replied that he was too, but added…

“Whatever love means”.

A startling statement to say the least, but it is thought provoking nonetheless. Can you define what love means? Think about it for a moment.

Wikipedia defines love as ‘a constellation of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection or profound oneness.’ To me, this definition is completely logical, yet only partially truthful. It’s also a bit of a mouthful. Unfortunately the author has defined love as merely an emotional, psychological experience. I believe that anyone who has experienced love, knows that it goes deeper, and that there is more to it than that.

The Oxford English Dictionary does not do a whole lot better. It describes love as an ‘intense feeling of deep affection’, ‘a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone’ or ‘a great interest and pleasure in something’.


It seems to me that it is extremely difficult to define in words, what is love?


Perhaps we are better off asking, what is love like?


The bible claims the following…


“Love is patient and kind. Love knows neither envy nor jealousy. Love is not forward and self-assertive, nor boastful and arrogant. Love does not behave rudely, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres”


This inspiring piece of writing accurately portrays the characteristics of love and tells us what love is like, but the Bible also makes a stunning statement about what love is.

The bible claims that…

“God is love”
As a Christian I believe that God not only loves, but is in fact the very definition of love. In himself he defines what love is, and without his existence, we have no point of reference for truly understanding what love is.

Be Childish

There is something wonderful about reading the work of other Christian authors.

What a great opportunity to expand our minds, extend our knowledge and challenge our faith. Unlike Jesus' time, when reading and writing was confined to the governmental and religious circles, and the cost of scripture (which would have been recorded on scrolls by highly skilled and highly paid scribes) would have prevented many people from accessing it. We now have such a wide availability of Christian literature, that the debates which once took place in the temple, now take place on the pages of books on the shelves of Christian bookstores.

A large part of my free time is occupied by reading Christian literature, thus filling my head with a number of ideas, doctrines and concepts all bouncing off each other.

My mind is the chess board over which the doctrine of predestination goes head to head with my idea of free will. It is the battlefield in which creationism valiantly wrestles against a defiant hang up on evolution, and it is the ring in which my understanding of scripture swings a right hook against cultural context.

At the end of it all, why am I left unfufilled?

Jesus said 'Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest'.

There is nothing wrong with studying scripture in depth, but we have to be careful...are we missing the point?

Reading about God must never be a substitute for spending time with him. Many secular academics study the Bible and have a greater knowledge of it than most Christians... so what makes us different?

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 'Though i have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge...but have not love, I am nothing'.

What we are searching for is a lot closer, and a lot more simple than we think.

'Assuredly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it'. These timeless words of Jesus ring true to me today.

Little Children cry when they are hungy, when they want affection and when they need a clean-up. They know what they want, they do not put up a front. They do not shy away from their basic desires.

This is how we must be with God.

Cry out to him with your fears. Whisper your best kept secrets into the all hearing ears. Share with him your greatest desires, your deepest hurts and your wildest dreams.

Then you will see miracles.

''Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"

Jesus. Matthew 11 : 28-30

The greatest threat to Christianity...

What is the greatest threat to Christianity... is it Islam? Postmodernism? Perhaps it's the new Harry Potter book or the Jerry Springer musical? Rock music? Gay marriage? Richard Dawkins?



I actually believe that the greatest threat to Christianity today is....



Christians who fail to recognize that 'He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world' (1 John 4:4)



Christians who fail to love their neighbours, serve the poor and reach the communities.



Christians who put their own ambitions before others.



Unfortunately, this makes me one of many great threats to Christianity.

Momentum 2007 'The Suffering and The Glory'

Yesterday morning I packed down my soggy tent, swapped by mud-coated wellies for trainers and left the Bath and West showground where I had spent the last 5 days praising God, hearing his word and experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit at Momentum 2007.

The theme of the week was 'The Suffering and the Glory' and many of the talks focused on how we can turn around our negative life experiences, our weaknesses and failures and let God use them for his Glory. Below are some very brief gems of wisdom from the talks that stuck in my mind....

• 'We are not always delivered from trials, but we are always delivered through trials' David Porter


• 'God gives Men and Women equality yet distinctiveness' Rodger Ellis


• 'All of us are asking Who Am I? the answer is always Who do I belong to and what do they think of me?' Andrew Croft


• 'Silver is purified in the furnace till a reflection is visible. God purifies us untill his reflection is visible in us' Unknown


• 'If your bible is in pieces your life won't be!' 'The only way to the father is via king's cross!' 'Too many Christians worry about what they don't have - use what you have!' J John


• 'The church should be a blessing to the community, instead of telling them how bad they are!' Unknown


• 'The kingdom, the power and the glory belong to God. Never claim for yourself the work of the Lord!' Joyce Reece


• 'Prayer always makes a difference, if not to our circumstances then to us. God can prevent us from hardening our hearts when times get tough' Unknown

All in all it was an amazing week. It was such a blessing to be able to spend time with my friends and grow deeper in God. Bring on Momentum 08!