Month: July 2005

a.m.: John 19:28-30 Matthew 22:1-14

After Jesus had completed his work on the cross, we are reminded of his humanity. The living water who quenches the thirst of all who put their faith in him was thirsty. He had waited until he had finished before exclaiming his thirst, he did not allow himself to be sidetracked in any way, staying focussed on his mission.
Yet, his love for us was exclaimed in its fullest as God the Son endured until he had completed his great task.


Wet wet wet…

Well, another week has been spent wandering around Tywyn, Wales. It’s hard to believe a whole year has passed since I was last helping out at a camp run by Christian Camps in Wales. It was good to meet up with old friends and also to make new ones.

Camp this year was definitely wetter! I seemed to spend a lot of time standing still and allowing the, rather fresh, wind to pass through me and my clothes and dry me out! The wet weather also meant the activities for the children were limited to more indoor locations, although the activities were organised in such a way as to keep the children interested and occupied and so they had a good time regardless.

Of course there was the odd good patch of weather allowing activities such as orienteering and canoing, however, I still seemed to get wet! Note to self: Canoing is damp!

Above all, this was a very encouraging week as we looked at the life of the apostle Peter, in both his foolish and wiser moments. I spoke with many young people, both Christians and not, who had many questions, reminding me I don’t know everything.

All I need now is a long bath and a good night’s sleep!

Nos da.


Seventy-seven

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times…” Mt 18:21


I’m dead set on living.

As films go, War of the Worlds wasn’t a bad film. It was fairly faithful to the original story, with very impressive special effects. The only major axe to grind was that it was possibly too long, running for almost two hours, when I’m sure the film could’ve been a more comfortable hour and a half. There was also the odd minor glitch in the adaption to a more modern setting but entertaining nonetheless.


Morris Dancing?

Possibly learnt something unusual this evening in my violin lesson. It would appear the great English tradition of Morris Dancing is somehow derived from the African Moors (Moorish Dancing originally I guess)! Anyway, to make my violin playing slightly more varied, my teacher has given me a broad selection of pieces to learn to play, ranging in styles from a Moorish Dance, to Big Band Jazz. Oh, and I have been given a few more scales to learn, although I’ve lost track of what I have learnt so far!

Spent the rest of the evening round Sarah’s for a barbeque, games and general fun. 🙂


a.m.: John 19:16-23 p.m.: Ephesians 6:23-24

Every verse of John’s account of Jesus’ crucifixion tells us something of the magnitude of what is happening.

In verse 16 of chapter 19, the authorities have charge of God the Son. If the individuals had realised who they had in their charge, they would’ve submitted to Jesus, yet they did not. Are we like that? Do we not realise who Christ really is and try to control him?

In verse 17, Jesus can be seen doing the will of the Father, willingly bearing the punishment for others, as he makes his way to that which he does not deserve.

The two individuals on either side of Jesus are both in the same predicament, they are both sinners. One of them had realised who Jesus was, asked him for forgiveness and received it. The other one just mocked.

Above Jesus was a description of his crime, yet Pilate hadn’t described his crime by what he had done, but by who he was. Written in Hebrew – the language of religion, Latin – the language of the Empire and necessary for day to day living and Greek – the language of philosophy and learning. Jesus affected all of these and is Lord of all.

Yet again, there were those who wouldn’t accept his kingship and wanted it changed.

Finally, the soldiers casting lots for Jesus’ garments had missed the point. They were only interested in what they thought was the most useful thing about Jesus. They used it as an opportunity to gain material possessions. Despite this, even through their own selfish actions, they were fulfilling prophecy. God can carry out his purposes even through men and women who are oblivious to him.


Routine

Rather sooner than I expected, life is back to the usual routine. After spending Thursday washing the Kenyan dust out of all my clothes – with the trusty washing machine, I was back at work on Friday.

Saturday was also back to routine as I beat David at snooker by 4-2 frames, and then went round Dave’s place with some of the usual suspects (and not so usual) for a barbeque. The day was spent talking about our exploits in Kenya, eating plentiful food and playing games in the garden by candlelight. All in all, a very good day.

At least my experience in Kenya has reminded me that though my life may be routine, the routine it is in is a very blessed routine, with my material and spiritual needs met in abundance, for which I thank God.


Around the world in….however long it takes…

create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide

I need to see more of the world I think. 🙂


Jambo!

Well, I’ve been away from the blog for a while, just over a fortnight I think. This seems to be happening a lot recently! Anyway, for the curious, I’ve been in Kenya with some friends. If you’re interested in finding out what I got up to, have a look at the travelblog.

In brief, we went primarily to help out at a secondary school in Nyahururu, run by The Kisima Pastoralists’ Centre. This gave us a chance to see first hand what life is like for a schoolchild in Kenya, as well as to see their homes and families in Northern Kenya. The reports of recent bandit attacks in the north was made slightly more real as a the primary school involved is a feeder school.

We also got to do the usual tourist activities in Kenya, including a short safari in the Maasai Mara game reserve, taking lots of pictures of magnificent creatures in their natural habitat.

It was also slightly unreal to watch the attacks in London reported as foreign news. I’m not sure it has entirely sunk in yet, as I’m still getting up to speed on what’s been happening. However, all those involved are in my prayers.

I think the past fortnight has taught me a lot of things, not least how blessed we are in Europe to materially have so much. To sit in a mud hut in northern Kenya and to see how few possessions these people have, even food and water, is something, whilst still being happy. Yet, there is also the reminder of how similar we are as human beings, how precarious our lives are and that we are all under God.