As Jesus concludes his sermon on the mount, he again speaks as one with authority. Throughout his sermon, whilst he quotes from the Scriptures, he repeatedly says, “I tell you…” He is not merely quoting Scripture, nor passing on what God says, but actually claims the words to be his own. From what he says he is either a lunatic who believes himself to be God, a liar with evil intent or he is God. From his behaviour, as well as his words, he is neither a lunatic, nor a liar, leaving us with only one conclusion. Therefore, the sermon recorded in the gospel of Matthew, in chapters 5,6 and 7, are the words of God (Of which there is no higher authority).

If Jesus’ words are the words of God, they should be of utmost importance to us. We should know what he says, that we should understand what it is to follow him. To know and understand that he defines his followers as those who are “poor in spirit”. He speaks of how his followers should think and behave, not just those who are “religious”, but all his followers in day to day life. He points out how Scripture should be understood, that we should be affected by Scripture, rather than Scripture affected by us. Consequently, his followers should have an effect on society, being the “salt”, preserving it, flavouring it, rather than society having an effect on them.

Above all, even if we know his words and understand them, that is not enough A true follower of Christ will do what he says. Someone who understands but doesn’t truly believe will continue to live their life as they always have.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Mt 7:24-27

Phew! What a day! I woke up nice and early this morning for the monthly ramble with bods from HWEC and beyond. This month was slightly different as I was the holder of the map, and so responsible for directions. Despite a slight oversight at the beginning, we managed to navigate the course without a hitch, with some interesting scenery and events along the way. I appear to have a fascination with gorse bushes, taking quite a few photos of them, in various poses (if such a thing is possible!) We also witnessed an interesting phenomenon at lunch time. Whilst we consumed our sandwiches, fruit, soup etc. overlooking Dorking from afar, we spotted a snow storm in the distance, travelling along the valley towards us. Eventually it reached us, surrounding us with snowflakes, and just as quickly as it had taken to engulf us, it was gone, and we saw it continue along the valley. Quite quite cool.
Afterwards, David and I played some snooker, resulting in 2-1 frames to me. Although, as previously, all the games had finished in black ball games.
The rest of the evening was spent in a carvery in Stoke Poges, where we celebrated the birthday of Karen C. The food was ample and consumed without a trace. The conversation was also ample, although traces remain in my mind, with a broad range of subjects from virtual girlfriends to solipsism – although you could argue they are one and the same thing. Above all, the birthday girl appeared to enjoy herself. Amusingly, at the end of the meal, the computer-generated bill arrived and upon inspection, carvery had been spelt without an ‘r’. Garbage in, garbage out.

This just seems to be one of those weeks where you don’t get a chance to stop. Monday evening’s football wasn’t particularly satisfying, mostly because the play was mostly disjointed, with little fluidity. Met up with some friends to discuss plans for this summer. This summer is beginning to look like it’ll be really cool. Wednesday’s snooker was somewhat better than Monday’s football, as I managed to beat Robin by 3-0 frames.
A significant proportion of the week was spent just fixing the computers of friends. Most, if not all, of the problems were due to the fact that most computers are still not usable by non-technical people. They’ll work for a while, but if anything goes wrong, it takes a technical person to sort it out. Although in fairness, one of the computers was a linux box, the problem being that the hardware was failing and causing kernel panics which most people wouldn’t be able to resolve. The other problems were compounded by things such as AOL, Windows (and Winmodems) and people selling on computers without system discs! (Why?!)
Maybe I should advise everyone to buy Apple Macs and be done with it?

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Henry F. Lyte

As Jesus prays in the garden, he prays that his followers might know his joy within them. He asks that they might be set apart from the world. For the world hates them because they will not conform to the standards of the world, but God’s standard as revealed in his word. Through the power of the Spirit working, by his word, those who follow Jesus Christ are set apart to be holy, to be sanctified, to become more like Christ. Yet, they are to remain in the world, that through them, the world might know God and glorify him. For through all of this, they might have joy, a contentment from God which fills their soul regardless of their circumstances.
If we claim to follow Jesus Christ, our lives should reflect the will of God, for the Spirit indwells all those who follow the Son and sanctifies them. We should know him, by his word, the bible. Do we know the word of God and carry out his will? For only by knowing the word of God can we know how we may do his will, how we may be holy and sanctified, and so glorify him and have joy.
If we do not do his will, we should ask if we really are his, or whether our claim is false.

The day started off in a mildly frustrating manner as I drove to Kingston-upon-Thames in order to do some shopping. I needed a new chin rest and shoulder rest for my violin, so I wandered to Hand Music to purchase these items. This first annoyance was that one of the main car parks in Kingston was shut, so traffic backed up to Hampton Wick adding a good twenty minutes to my journey. The second annoyance was that Hands Music only had a chin rest, having sold out of shoulder rests. Ah well, in the grand scheme of things, it could be worse.
The afternoon showed some improvement as I managed to beat David by 5-1 frames in snooker, although I think he’s improving as almost all the frames went down to black-ball games.
Rounded off the day at Sarah’s to watch The Terminal on DVD with some of the usual suspects. Quite an amusing and moving film, which considered many of life’s questions and problems, from love in its various forms and corruptions, to friendship and trust and personality differences and traits, both good and bad. After the film, we discussed various issues and maybe learnt something new about each other. A good day in retrospect. 🙂

You are ‘Latin’. Even among obsolete skills, the tongue of the ancient Romans is a real anachronism. With its profusion of different cases and conjugations, Latin is more than a language; it is a whole different way of thinking about things. You are very classy, meaning that you value the classics. You value old things, good things which have stood the test of time. You value things which have been proven worthy and valuable, even if no one else these days sees them that way. Your life is touched by a certain ‘pietas’, or piety; perhaps you are even a Stoic. Nonetheless, you have a certain fascination with the grotesque and the profane. Also, the modern world rejects you like a bad transplant. Your problem is that Latin has been obsolete for a long time.

What obsolete skill are you?
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Q: How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ?
A: We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit.

Q: How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?
A: The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.

Q: What is effectual calling?
A: Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.

(Questions XXIX, XXX and XXXI from the Westminster Shorter Catechism)

One of the good things about the blogosphere is that you get to read about stories from around the world which don’t make an appearance in mainstream media. In her blog Allthings2all, Catez highlights the plight of Terri Schiavo in Florida, USA, a woman who is awaiting judgement as to whether she lives or dies. However, the judgement is not to determine if she has committed a crime or not, but to determine whether she wants to live or die.

On one side, her family is putting forward the case that Terri wants to live and they will take care of her. On the other side her husband is putting forward that she is in a persistent vegetative state and wants to die. There are doctors on both sides of the argument, as well as lawyers.

Looking at the information on the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation web site, provided by those wishing to keep Terri alive, she seems to be quite significantly brain damaged, but importantly, not in a persistent vegetative state. This can be seen in her reactions to her surroundings, to her family and friends, as well as the fact she is not on life support, but merely on a drip which is only given to her at meal times.

The fact that she is not on life support means that the only way to ‘allow her to die’ is to withhold the drip from her, meaning she would have to suffer from acute dehydration and starvation before she dies. Yet, from the evidence, I think she should be fed and watered, as is the right of any human being. It would seem the only argument to leave her to die is because she is an inconvenience, but this alone is not sufficient grounds.

No human being should be made to think they should be dead just because they are an inconvenience to others, let alone actually left to die.

I appear to have developed a slight limp from playing football yesterday. I’m not sure how it happened, as I received a few kicks to the legs during the game, but I am certainly limping today. I don’t suppose wandering around, on a rather chilly snowy evening, in just my football gear locating a luthier helped. However, my violin (it’s mine now :)) is now having a new bridge and a new set of strings fitted to it.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Mt 7:12

The statement above is probably quite familiar to a lot of people. It is known as the “Golden Rule” to many, yet when understood, is actually impossible for us to keep in our fallen state.

For a start, it is not a prohibitive law of God. Unlike “You shall not steal” and “You shall not murder”, which many people could have some claim to keeping, this law is prescriptive. This is much more difficult to keep, as it requires that we look out for the needs of others, sometimes in cases where someone in need is unable to ask. How do we know we have seen to the needs of all those who we can help?

As we are, our own selfish desires all too often over-ride any concern for others. Sometimes we are blind to the needs of certain people, and sometimes what we think people need is not. When we are told to do to others what we would have them do for us, it requires that we understand other people, to know what they need, rather than assuming their needs are the same as ours.

It is very important that we view this command in context. Jesus prefixes the commandment with “So in everything”, indicating a precondition. We are told to “Ask…Seek…Knock…”, to become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ, that he will give us his Holy Spirit that we might be able to follow his commands in his strength. For without his enabling, this commandment is impossible.

After spending the day recovering from the past week, my brother, his wife and myself headed down to Bristol for the evening. The reason for going west was a ‘Chinese evening’ at Totterdown Baptist Church, organised primarily by my sister.
It was an informal event, attended by those from the church, as well as people on the ‘fringe’ – those who didn’t usually attend the church. Around the hall were various Chinese related objects, including a Chinese language Bible. Sometimes we forget that the Gospel isn’t just for those in the English speaking world, but for everyone, so this was a good reminder of the global nature of God’s purposes. There was a Chinese meal, with plentiful amounts of food – of which some of the overflow is now sitting in my fridge! Afterwards, were various competitions to see who could juggle/spin plates/hula best, although not all at the same time. A fun evening where people could get to know each other and where those outside the church could observe Christians in their natural environment, with maybe a glimpse of heaven.

Usually, on a Friday evening, quite a few of us help to run youth clubs at churches in the area. Since it’s half-term, we were granted some respite and so we piled round my place to chill, chat and watch a DVD. After a brief perusal of my DVD collection, we decided to watch The Pianist. I must say this is a great film. Following the trials and tribulations of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Jewish pianist, during the Second World War in Warsaw, we are confronted with the horror of the holocaust, contrasted with the beauty of the music of Chopin. It opens with a routine day for Polish Radio in 1939, rudely interrupted by war.
The full extent of human depravity is allowed to surface in the events of the war, from the sheer lunacy and evil of the Nazi ideology and practice, to the failings of common people when faced with difficult choices. Yet, even when surrounded by difficult circumstances, there are also those who do what is right – and not necessarily where you think you’d find them. The final minutes of the film are seemingly like the opening minutes, with a routine day for Polish Radio, as if nothing unusual had happened between 1939 and 1945. In all of it, the characters are real, none of them are perfect, none of them do what is right in everything they do, and yet, by the grace of God, they all carry out acts of kindness in varying degrees.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labour of my hands
Can fulfil Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyes shall close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgement throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

Augustus M. Toplady

A few months ago, I was rooting around my parents place and came across my sister’s violin. I can’t remember the last time my sister played it, but it’s been a while. Anyway, after confirming she had no desire to play it, I carried back to London with me with the intention of learning to play it.
Now, I’m not entirely tone deaf, having been the accompanist on the piano for the Harlington Singers, so at least I should have a fighting chance learning how to play the violin…or so you would think.

Today was my first real lesson. After finding and arriving at the location where my new violin teacher teaches, we spent a while finding out what previous musical experience I had and if any of it would be useful. After ascertaining that some of it would be useful, it came to practicalities. On the piano, to play a note, you wander up to it and you just hit a key. On the violin, you need to tense up the bow, apply stuff to it, tune up the violin, adjust the shoulder rest, get the violin into position, hold the bow just so and then you can play a note. Then there’s actually making a sound by applying bow to string with just the right pressure and angle and drawing it across the string in a smooth consistent motion. By the end of the lesson (about an hour) I’d played two distinct notes. This might be trickier than I thought.