Well, was feeling well enough to go back to work today. In a way it’s a shame, as for the days I was semi-ill, I stayed in bed, nice and snug and watched DVDs like To Kill a Mockingbird and the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice.
Not sure I could keep myself occupied for too long with DVDs though – I’d soon run out of good films to watch. It’s rather pleasant being able to do things without too much pain and discomfort as well.
Does God care? It can be so easy to look around us, to see natural disasters and not so natural disasters happening all around us, and conclude that if God is there at all, he doesn’t really care.
We only need to read the accounts of the happenings of first century Roman Palestine to realise the aforementioned conclusion might be wrong.
In a stable, in Bethlehem, a baby was born. This baby was foretold in prophecies reaching back to the beginning of creation itself. This baby would be the descended from Adam and also be the incarnation of God the Son. This would be the God-man. Somehow, the infinite would be contracted to the finite.
This baby would grow up to be a man, that God would walk amongst us. He would suffer as every other man, he would hunger, thirst and grow weary. He would know loneliness and rejection. Yet, he would go through something which no other man could do. He didn’t come to earth just to live a perfect sinless life and tell us how to live, nor did he come just to find out what it would be like.
The first sin of mankind caused all men to be born sinners. That, before a righteous and holy God, they deserved everlasting punishment. Yet God in his grace loved mankind so much, that he sent his Son to become a man, live on earth and then die a substitutionary and sacrificial death. God the Son would take on punishment due to sinners, God the Son would present himself as a perfect sacrifice for sin, that sinners might be made eternally right with God. Jesus Christ did everything necessary for our justification, making it available to all who put their faith in him.
Does God care? He cared enough to allow his eternal Son to die in our place, that we might not suffer eternal punishment, but have everlasting life with him.
Woke up yesterday morning with the notable feeling of fever – raging temperature and very damp bedsheets! Decided it would be best to stay in bed, given I didn’t have much of a choice about it – I don’t think I would’ve got out of bed and down to work even if I wanted to. Today is a lot better though, as I now feel well enough to fill in this blog.
Of course, it could be a lot worse – at least I’m not fighting for my life.
Well, I’m learning scales and arpeggios on the violin at rather a pace, would be nice if my general proficiency was as rapid. Saying that, played some pieces I’d learnt a while ago and even though I hadn’t practised them in ages, I was able to play them a lot better than when I learnt them! Something must be sinking in. 🙂
I once had a whim and I had to obey it
To buy a French Horn in a second hand shop;
I polished it up and I started to play it
In spite of the neighbours who begged me to stop.To sound my horn, I had to develop my embouchure;
I found my horn was a bit of a devil to play.
So artfully wound, to give you a sound
A beautiful sound so rich and round.Oh, the hours I had to spend, before I mastered it in the end.
But that was yesterday and just today I looked in the usual place
There was the case but the horn itself was missing.Oh, where could it have gone? Haven’t you – hasn’t anyone seen my horn?
Oh where could it have gone?
What a blow! Now I know, I’m unable to play my Allegro.Who swiped my horn? I’ll bet you a quid, somebody did,
Knowing I’d found a concerto and wanted to play it,
Afraid of my talent for playing the horn.
Whoever it is I can certainly say it,
He’ll probably wish he had never been born.I’ve lost my horn – I know I was using it yesterday.
I’ve lost my horn, lost my horn, found my horn…gone.
There’s not much chance of getting it back though I’d willingly pay a reward.I know some hearty folk whose party jokes pretending to hunt with the Quorn ,
Gone away! Gone away! Was it one of them took it away?
Will you kindly return my horn? Where is the devil who pinched that horn?
I shall tell the police I want my French Horn back.I miss its music more and more and more.
Without the horn I’m feeling sad and so forlorn.I found a concerto, I wanted to play it
Displaying my talent for playing the horn.
But early today to my utter dismay it has totally vanished away.
I practised my horn and intended to play it but somebody took it away.
I practised the horn and was longing to play it but somebody took it away.My neighbour’s asleep in his bed.
I’ll soon make him wish he were dead.
I’ll take up the tuba instead!
Wah, Wah!Michael Flanders and Donald Swann
Of all the ten commandments, the fourth commandment is the one which God devotes the most time explaining.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Ex 20:8-11
From the beginning of time, God made this ordinance, not just for his people, but for the benefit of all. The first man was given a place to live, a job to do, a command to keep, a wife to love and a day to keep apart from the rest of the week. We are to work for a living, but in doing so, we must set aside one day out of the week for rest and giving it to God.
This command is repeated in the moral law given by God on Mount Sinai, not just as a law to be kept by his people, but as a guideline on how to live a life which is best for us. This is what is best for us, for if we try to work 24×7, we will eventually do ourselves some damage.
Jesus himself says none of the law has been abolished. For he himself fulfils the requirements of the ceremonial law – the law which makes atonement between God and man, and the moral law is left untouched to show us our sinful state, our need of a saviour and the way to lead a godly life. This is not to say we must put this commandment above all others, for we must put God first and seek to save and preserve life, but we should also seek to avoid unnecessary work and work creation.
It becomes apparent in the New Testament, that after the resurrection, the followers of Jesus Christ would meet on the first day of the week. Meeting weekly on the day of his resurrection and subsequent appearances singled out Sunday as a day of worship and of rest.
As we live in a society which is slowly discarding regard for the fourth commandment, it becomes ever more important that we highlight its importance in the vitality of society. To set aside one day out of seven as a day of rest and worship is a commandment given by God, for our benefit, and we and our society will surely suffer without it.
Played football again, on a rather muddy pitch! Fortunately I’d purchased some football boots for the princely sum of £14, so I didn’t slip and slide on the pitch. We divided ourselves up into, what appeared to be, evenly matched teams. As the game progressed, it became apparent this wasn’t the case, as we relentlessly marched to a 8-2 outcome. What was interesting was that random people kept walking up to us playing and wanting to join in, which we duly obliged. A hitherto unfamiliar way to get to know people and maybe share the gospel with them! Hopefully, our conduct on the pitch will be fair and exercise good sportsmanship, and maybe cause those joining us to see the effects of the gospel.
The evening was spent celebrating Myrtle’s 60th birthday, a remarkable lady who tirelessly thinks of God and others above herself. It was nice to be able to put her above others for a change.
We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no-one will be justified.If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a law-breaker. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! Gal 2:15-21
This is what makes Christianity unique. We cannot make justify ourselves with God by doing good things, for we are sinners by nature, but God by his grace can make us righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
Whilst shopping for lunch, I spotted the Bovril and thought some beef extract might be nice to have during the colder months. I dropped it into my basket, finished my shopping and wandered back to the office. By mid-afternoon, I felt like a beverage, so thought I’d break open the Bovril. As I was fiddling with the strange shrink-wrap thing they have on the lid, I noticed a vegetarian sign. Now I may not be the brightest spark in the building, but beef extract suitable for vegetarians seems a little odd! I investigated a little closer, and found, to my horror, the beef extract had been replaced with yeast extract! What I had in my hands was, in effect, Marmite! Now don’t get me wrong, I like Marmite, but if I’d wanted Marmite, I’d have bought Marmite instead of Bovril! How can you still call it Bovril without the bov?! Ah well….
I managed to snap the E string tuning my violin yesterday. No problem I thought to myself, I’ll pop into Egham on Monday and get a new string from the string shop there. Of course, I didn’t check the web site or anything, so rolled up to the shop to find…it doesn’t open on Monday! Oh well, so much for fitting the string today and getting some practice in. Tomorrow’s another day I guess.
Spent the evening playing five-a-side football with work colleagues, followed by snooker with Robin. Whilst my team lost at football by one goal, most likely due to my lack of fitness, I managed to win at snooker with 2-1 frames. Not a bad day.
Even though Jesus was very busy doing his Father’s will, he always prayed to his Father. He made time for prayer, and deliberately went out to find somewhere quiet to pray.
If this is true for God the Son, how much more is it important for us as Christians to pray with our Father? Elsewhere, in Mt 6, Jesus doesn’t provide guidelines for us if we pray but for when we pray – prayer isn’t optional, but the duty of a Christian!
We should also have a desire to pray. For if we have faith is Jesus Christ, we are a new creation by the Holy Spirit and the Spirit is working in us and making us more and more like Christ. This is not to say it’ll be easy, as our old sinful nature still haunts us and causes an internal tussle. The old nature can bring up doubts and fears, reminding us of our guilt, and causing us to conclude that we cannot approach God because of our sin. Our new nature, by the Spirit, reminds us Christ has blotted out our sin and has dealt with it, and it is through Christ that we can approach God.
We need to devote time to prayer, just as Jesus did, to get away from the cares of this world and to bring everything to God in prayer. Jesus purposefully got up very early in the morning to go about communicating with his Father. In so doing, he would not be distracted nor would he be easily spotted and bring attention to himself. After praying, Jesus doesn’t sit back and wait for God to work, but sets about his task, that God might work through him.
Whilst Jesus was holy and able to approach his Father, we are sinners and must remember that we cannot approach God with our own effort. We must always remember what it cost God the Son, his suffering and death, that all who believe in him would be justified and sanctified and so have access to God.
Another Saturday, another football match against Cranford Baptist church. A slightly better result for HWEC this time, resulting in a 7-2 victory, mostly as we had a more cohesive team. I must admit, I’m completely shattered now – not withstanding pain acquired from the various antics during the game. Possibly the most impressive one was where I was defending, chasing down an attacker in to the goal area, suddenly realising the goalkeeper was in front of me, jumping clear of him and landing front first on the grass. I might regret doing that when I wake up tomorrow morning – however I think the goalie would prefer the action I took!
Spent the afternoon teaching Sam the rudiments of cooking and finished the day with a most frustrating round of ten-pin bowling. I must definitely either improve my fitness levels, or not do anything strenuous after playing football.
Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!
It isn’t fit for humans now,
There isn’t grass to graze a cow.
Swarm over, Death!Come, bombs and blow to smithereens
Those air-conditioned, bright canteens,
Tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned milk, tinned beans,
Tinned minds, tinned breath.Mess up the mess they call a town-
A house for ninety-seven down
And once a week a half a crown
For twenty years.And get that man with double chin
Who’ll always cheat and always win,
Who washes his repulsive skin
In women’s tears:And smash his desk of polished oak
And smash his hands so used to stroke
And stop his boring dirty joke
And make him yell.But spare the bald young clerks who add
The profits of the stinking cad;
It’s not their fault that they are mad,
They’ve tasted Hell.It’s not their fault they do not know
The birdsong from the radio,
It’s not their fault they often go
To MaidenheadAnd talk of sport and makes of cars
In various bogus-Tudor bars
And daren’t look up and see the stars
But belch instead.In labour-saving homes, with care
Their wives frizz out peroxide hair
And dry it in synthetic air
And paint their nails.Come, friendly bombs and fall on Slough
To get it ready for the plough.
The cabbages are coming now;
The earth exhales.Sir John Betjeman
I’m not sure what I’m being taught in my violin lessons is actually sinking in anymore. I seem to spend more of my time practicing stuff I should’ve practiced, rather than practicing the stuff I’ve been set to practice from the last lesson! I guess it doesn’t help that I don’t get much time to practice . I need to try and find more time to practice – make better use of spare moments. 🙂
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Is 6:3
The bible tells us God is holy. He is holy in that he is pure and set apart from his creation. He cannot look upon sin. Even the sinless seraphim cover their faces and cry out “Holy, holy, holy”. How much more as sinful beings should God’s holiness be apparent to us?
If we are Christians, we should also be holy.
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Pe 1:15-16
Whilst we may not be perfect in this life, we should strive to be. Not that we could in any way justify ourselves, but because God’s Holy Spirit lives in us and works in us, making us holy.
