Hat tip to Luke.
My results from O’Reilly’s code quiz, which although is merely shameless advertising, is slightly fun. 🙂
Total points: 215 Bonus points: 30 Number correct: 36 Number incorrect: 14 Number skipped: 0 Fastest answer: 3.27 seconds Slowest answer: 23.11 seconds Average answer: 11.37 seconds
There were some things I just didn’t recognise – What’s Actionscript?
It seems odd that, one of the first scales you ever learn on the piano, C major, is one of the last ones you learn on the violin. After attempting three octaves of it, I can see why though. I must admit to being constantly amazed how close the fingers can be to the bridge and yet still produce a discernable note! Definitely a case where not having frets has its advantages. Strangely, B major is easier on the violin than C! I think sharp keys are easier in general than flat keys.
Sometimes I wonder about the British weather. For the past two weeks, it’s been unusually hot and sunny, and you’d expect it to be fairly constant. However, after two weeks of staring out at the glorious weather from my office window, it finally rains, on a bank holiday. Typical.
However, undeterred, a few of us braved the elements to meet up with some other brave souls from churches around London to meet up and chill and Battersea Park. Given the rather damp weather, the morning was spent wandering around the V&A museum, which was rather cool, especially looking at the modern design exhibits.
Eventually, the weather cleared and we met up in a warm, sunny, albeit rather pollen blanketed, Battersea Park. The sun even dried the ground and made it possible to sit and chill on the grass and play football and volleyball.
The day finished at Nandos in Elephant and Castle. It was good to be able to spend the afternoon catching up with old friends and meeting new friends.
As we go through the Christian life, we very often find it difficult to tell others about Jesus Christ. Christians throughout the ages have had this problem, and it is this problem which caused Paul to write to Timothy.
Paul used his how much more reasoning with Timothy. After all, if God was willing to save us sinners from sin, and not only that but to change us from within, how much more would he enable us to tell others the good news?
This is not to say we won’t undergo suffering for the gospel, but the Spirit within us enables us out of a love for our fellow man to tell others of the salvation from sin available through Jesus Christ.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. Rom 1:16
It is even more striking when you think that, unlike today in the West, where the most we might suffer is a little mockery or a slightly damaged ego, compared within the Roman Empire where Timothy would likely be risking imprisonment, possibly even death. Again, Paul uses the much more than argument – Christ had defeated death, so what are we to be afraid of?
This is not to say we are to be foolish in our sharing of the gospel, but that we take every opportunity when we can.
Almost a usual game of football this afternoon, except that the team David H was on won! Was a good day for it though, with a slightly cloudy sky to start, not too hot and no wind to carry the ball away. I need to concentrate on remembering people’s name though as, in some cases, I forget their names before the game is over!
A quick bath and then I was out again – this time to the Arch One bar, near Waterloo station, for the evening to celebrate a work colleague’s engagement. The venue was very pleasant, and I ordered myself some food (Moroccan style lamb shank…mmm….) due to the rush and lack of time to eat properly. Only quibble was that the bar slowly got darker and darker, and the music got louder and louder through the evening until I could no longer hear myself speak, let alone anyone else!
I lay in bed last night, eyes shut, slowly drifting off after a busy weekend, and became slightly disturbed. There was a scratching noise coming from above me. What’s going on here? Then it dawned on me – I have invaders in my loft!
I heaved myself out of bed, sauntered over to the landing, opened the loft hatch, switched the light on and popped my head through. I glanced around a little, not a thing. I remained still for a few minutes, and then there was rustling coming from a box in the corner. I grabbed a length of wood and started prodding the box. Fortunately, I wasn’t confronted with a load of angry wasps, bats, birds or anything else airborne. It would seem my intruders are landbased, fast and small as I didn’t see or hear them make their escape. Rats, mice or squirrels. Given it’s the loft – I reckon squirrels. I figured there was nothing I could do about it at midnight – so I went back to bed.
A quick chat with various friends, as well as consulting the web has led me to learn a few things about squirrels – grey ones in particular. According to DEFRA, I’m legally allowed to lay down traps, but if I get a non-lethal trap, I then have to kill the squirrel anyway as it’s illegal to release a squirrel into the wild! Additionally, I’m not allowed to drown the squirrel, but the suggested method is that, “They can be run into a sack and killed by a sharp blow to the head.” The other suggested alternative is to shoot it. Apparently, drowning is inhumane. Alas, I don’t have a gun (crossbows and bows are not allowed), and I can see myself making a huge mess with a squirrel, a sack and a spade. Maybe a non-lethal trap isn’t such a good idea after all.
Another search on the net has unearthed an electromagnetic/ultrasonic electronic deterrent. A quick trip to B & Q, and the device is now operating in the loft. I can understand how the ultrasound part of the gadget works – squirrels have much better hearing than me. I’m a little puzzled about the effect of the electromagnetic part. Do rodents have a capability to sense electromagnetic waves in ways that humans cannot? Can squirrels detect more than light and infra-red? How do I know this won’t affect me? Will I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat (or worse) caused by an EM induced nightmare? We’ll see. All that remains to be seen is if this little gadget does the job and deters the squirrels from my loft. Otherwise, I may just buy some lethal spring loaded traps. I can see myself losing a finger to one of those! I’m hoping the gadget works!
I must admit, when the preacher posed the question, “Who is Gomer?” I had to think for a bit before turning to the minor prophets. It can be far too easy to take God’s salvation through his Son too lightly. Looking at the story of Hosea, helps one regain a proper perspective on what God has done. For Hosea was a prophet, a man of God, but was told to marry an adulterous woman, Gomer. Just the thought of a godly man contemplating such a thing, yet alone being asked by God to do it. Even after the marriage, Gomer continues in her adulterous ways, bearing children who Hosea cannot be certain are his.
Despite all this, God asks Hosea to remain faithful to her, to even go and redeem her with his own money when she is in trouble, but not to treat her as his property, but as his wife.
This great display of faithfulness, patience and love is a picture of how God treated his people, the nation of Israel, and today is a picture of how he treats us. If we are his people, through faith in his Son, we are Gomer. Even though we have sinned against him, worshipped other things besides him, yet he offers us reconciliation. He has paid the price, through the sacrifice of his Son on the cross, that we might be redeemed, not to be treated as his slaves, but as his children.
How long will we test his faithfulness, his patience, his love?
I’m not sure if I should eat full English breakfasts before playing football! I did spend most of the afternoon burping and generally holding back on sudden movements! I think this afternoon was the first time I’d played with the young people associated with church and been on the side which got a good battering. Saying that, quite a few people who we’d never met before joined in and we got to know more people from around the community. A great way to spend a warm Saturday afternoon.
After the match, a couple of us made haste to Hayes for Beth’s baptism. In a way, her testimony was not of Damascus Road proportions, but at the same time it demonstrated the magnitude of what God had done for Beth. In the city of Thyatira, almost 2,000 years ago, the books of Acts tells us of a lady by the name of Lydia who believed in the one true God and lived an upright life. Yet, when the apostle Paul visited that city, God caused Lydia to realise she was a sinner and only the salvation available through faith in Jesus Christ would make her right with that one true God. It was encouraging to see that God had enabled Beth to realise this also, and for Beth to identify with her saviour through baptism.
The rest of the evening was spent round Sarah’s chilling, eating and playing games. The only thing I possibly lacked was a shower!
Q: What do we pray for in the first petition?
A: In the first petition (which is, Hallowed be thy name) we pray, That God would enable us and others to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known, and that he would dispose all things to his own glory.
Q: What do we pray for in the second petition?
A: In the second petition (which is, Thy kingdom come) we pray, That Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed; and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened.
(Questions CI and CII of the Westminster Shorter Catechism)
As the Jesus and his disciples travelled to Capernaum, Mark paints us an interesting picture of the disciples bickering as they followed their Master. No doubt, Jesus was in front, and like children, the disciples are jostling for the best position as they vie for the top spot right behind Jesus.
Jesus had spotted this and so asked them what they were bickering about when they reached Capernaum. They didn’t respond, so he sat them down and explained that in his eyes, being first was different from how the world defines being first. The world pays attention to those with money, those with large militaries behind them, those who have influential friends. You can imagine the disciples arguing amongst themselves, Andrew claiming primacy because he was called first, Peter because Jesus had given him the keys to the kingdom, John because he was the closest and maybe even Judas as he held the purse strings.
Jesus turned the world’s ideas of importance on its head. He told his disciples that the greatest must be the least, that the one who serves would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus goes straight to the heart of the human condition. As people, we want to be important, to be powerful, to be selfish, to be God, this is the nature of our rebellion against the one true God. We would have to turn from our sin if we were to live a life of service to God. If Jesus had left it at that, we would be doomed, for in our own strength we cannot overcome our sinful nature.
Jesus not only tells us what we should be, but shows us. Though he is God, he humbles himself to become a man, to serve. His primary mission is not to teach us how we can please God, but to enable us to please God through his sacrifice on the cross. For by his sacrifice, we can be justified through faith in him. When we are justified, he sends his Spirit to dwell in us, to change us from within, enabling us to serve him.
No football today as four people were otherwise engaged. Gave me plenty of opportunity to do chores around the house. I managed to do two loads of washing, clean the bathroom, vacuum and file lots of papers. I even managed to play the violin and piano for a bit. (Well, practise the violin for a bit, playing might be too strong a word!)
The evening was spent in Pizza Express in Uxbridge to celebrate Nigel’s coming of age – he passed his driving test! It was also a good opportunity to catch up with Nigel and Karen after their honeymoon, and try out the Siciliana pizza. Afterwards, we visited the couple’s new abode to play some games and chill. Time for bed I think!
I think my knee is almost back to normal now! This evening I managed to run around the football pitch for the usual time rather than hobbling. We won and I even managed to score a few goals.
The rest of the evening was spent round Sarah’s watching The Truman Show on DVD. Alas, this is one of those films which has been eclipsed by events, both in filmmaking and in reality. The whole idea of determining whether we’re living in a make-believe world has always been a philosophical question. Questioning the very nature of reality. The Truman Show is a modern day take on Shakespeare’s famous scene from As you Like It, and places the main character Truman Burbank in a reality TV show, except he doesn’t realise he’s in the show but accepts the show as reality. In 1998, the idea of presenting such a TV show as reality was a novelty. However a year later, The Matrix would soon show a darker, more intricate take on the ‘fiction presented as reality’ film, and television has almost fulfilled the prophetic message of The Truman Show in such ghastly programmes as Big Brother and the plethora of other reality TV shows. Saying that, The Truman Show is still a good film, and raises a lot of questions. The conversation after the film was interesting, with some differing philosophical views expressed. Will the truth really set you free?
gCKqXIbv gh bMvCebOAs Jesus came down from the mountain and approached the rest of the disciples, he was confronted with unbelief of differing degrees.
Firstly there were the teachers of the Law who didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah, and opposed him and his followers where they could.
Secondly were the disciples who failed to use the powers they had been given to heal the boy.
Finally there was the man who had brought his son to be healed. It would seem he had a hint of faith, as he had brought his son to be healed, but his conversation with Jesus showed what faith he had.
Jesus’ initial response to all three groups was to berate them for their unbelief. He then focuses in on the man and his son. He chides the man for questioning his ability to heal.
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Mk 9:23
At this the man asks Jesus to increase his faith. Jesus, upon assessing the situation then heals the boy demonstrating the ability he had to the man, showing the man that his faith was well-founded.
As we go through life, we can be like one of the three types of believer. We can fail to recognise Jesus as our Saviour, and even seek to oppose him and his followers.
We can be like his disciples who have some faith, but fail to use the abilities he gives us to do his will. If this is the case we need to spend more time in prayer, that our knowledge of him might grow, and so might our faith.
For this is what the man who brought his son had asked. Even though our faith may be small, we can ask that our faith might be increased. Though we may doubt the abilities of Jesus, through his Spirit our faith will grow.
Seeing as there was no youth club to run this week, I thought I’d take advantage of my free Friday evening to go and visit my parents and my sister. It was good to see everyone again, albeit briefly! I helped my nephew construct his new wardrobe, and fed my niece. I was surprised at how large she’s become in such a short time! She’d happily munched through the whole jar of baby food I was feeding her. The afternoon was spent chatting with my parents and then I was back in London by the evening.
The evening was spent at Feltham Evangelical church to listen to a talk on Heaven. As Christians we so easily forget we’re on a journey, that this world is merely a transitory stage as we head toward ultimate reality in eternity. The speaker likened it to a man sitting in a airport departure lounge, who forgets that he’s heading towards a destination and instead starts to wallpaper the lounge, get out his comfy slippers and set up home. How foolish of the man to replace the his original destination with the lounge. Of course, in order to be lined up for heaven, we need to be right with God, for eternal life is to know God. Since we are al sinners by nature, we cannot know God of our own attempts, but Christ offers us forgiveness and his righteousness, that we may know God. This can only be obtained through faith and not through anything we do ourselves. Much like stepping onto an aeroplane, trusting it will take us to our desired destination, we must trust in Jesus Christ to take us to heaven. This faith need only be as small, but it must only be in him, and not in anything else. An interesting and encouraging talk.
The evening finished off with some of us chilling and playing games. A good day. 🙂
xCklQcf PP BLbybz ItT LrWRttI appear to be waving my church history flag again…
There was a (surprisingly) good documentary on Channel Four on Bank Holiday
Monday evening called The Bible Revolution about the origins of the first translations of the Bible into English. Not only does it speak about the Bible translations in a very vivid and accurate way, it shows how these actions shaped English language and thought.
If you didn’t see it, C4 has it on their web site for download.
Go to:
http://www.channel4.com/4od/
Sign up, and then look for the documentary called “The Bible Revolution”.
Be warned, it’s huge – about 750MB, so only really a reasonable
proposition if you have a broadband connection. Worth seeing though.
