Ramblings along the narrow way

Usually, when I visit my parents, I invariably spend some time looking for food. When I was younger, this wouldn’t usually be much of a task, as I’d be living there and my parents would keep the pantry well stocked. These days though, the pantry isn’t refilled quite so often. In fact, without my brother, sister or myself there anymore, there’s some stuff there which has been there quite a while. Before reading this article, I would’ve pushed it aside in search of something which hadn’t passed its ‘best before’ date. However, the article reckons some foods are fine many years past their manufacturers expiration date! Allegedly, even though the taste of the food might be affected, simple foods like sugar, salt, wheat kernels and even rolled oats are edible for decades! Next time I’m at my parents and I find a some decades old porridge, I might just eat it. I might pass on the mayonaise though.

This evening’s violin lesson was slightly unusual. It started off as usual, with scales and past pieces. What was unusual was that I had brought along some music which is set for the piano. This wasn’t entirely my idea, as my teacher suggested I obtain more music. I mentioned I had loads of piano music and she thought it might be an idea to try that. Evidently, the violin being (mostly) monophonic, required I sort out what notes to discard. Usually this wasn’t too tricky, as I’d just have to pick out the top note from the treble which was the main melody. The mix was eclectic, with the Sound of Music, the Beatles and Christmas Carols all participating. The Carols even allowed a little harmony to occur, with one violin on soprano and the other on alto. Been left to practise the scale of C major, two octaves – second position!

Being Remembrance Sunday, we remember all those who died defending this country in two world wars and other conflicts. We are thankful to them, for the measure of peace which they fought for.

We should also consider God, and his grace towards us. This country might’ve been very different today if the seas were not calm during the evacuation of Dunkerque, if Hitler hadn’t turned towards the Soviet Union, amongst many other pivotal events. For God owes us nothing, for we have turned away from him and yet he grants us a measure of peace.

Even for this measure of peace, we should thank God. It is even more amazing that God not only grants us a measure of peace, but offers total peace, reconciliation with him, through the sacrifice of his Son.

With all this in mind, we should use the peace we have been given for the glory of God. To share his great Gospel with others, that others might have not only a measure of peace, but total peace.

A nice relaxing Saturday doing very little. 🙂 After spending most of the morning resting, the rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around, practising the violin, playing some chess, taking photos and generally winding down.

The evening was spent dining in Ruislip with the former members of the Harlington Singers. Given I hadn’t seen many of them in ages, it was good to spend time catching up and seeing what they were getting up to.

A good day, with food and friends of all ages.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae (1872-1918)

Another evening round Dave’s for a game of Risk. It appeared to be a rematch, with the same opponents as before. With this in mind, I attempted to knock Ally out of the game fairly early, thereby ensuring the outcome would be different. Somehow, she survived my multiple merciless onslaughts, rising as if out of nowhere and completed her mission. They always say you should be careful of the quiet ones…

There’s a new cafe in the high street called Benjy’s which I noticed a week or so ago. It sells hot food which is perfect for Autumn, and I ended up having a Full English Breakfast – egg, bacon, sausages, baked beans and toast – for lunch. It was a good warming lunch, although I think I suffered later on the football pitch. I couldn’t run all that much, and had a slightly bloated feeling! Slightly odd as you’d have thought all those calories would’ve been useful for burning off later. Still scored a goal or two though.
Finished the day round Sarah’s watching old episodes of Fawlty Towers. 🙂

When the disciples met on the first Sunday after the crucifixion, Thomas wasn’t with them. Rather than going up to him saying “Why weren’t you with us on Sunday?” or “Where were you?”, they instead told him “We have seen the Lord!” Thomas had missed out on God’s blessing because of his absence.

The following Sunday, the disciples met up again and this time Thomas was with them. Again, Jesus appeared to the disciples, and Thomas finally saw his Lord. He was able to see and worship his Lord.

Similarly for us. If we are followers of Christ, we receive much blessing through meeting up with fellow believers to meet with our Lord. We may not see the Lord physically, but Jesus has promised to be with his people in a special way when two or three are gathered in his name.

As Christians, we should need no prompting to attend church services, to listen to our Lord that we might benefit, for when we miss them it is our loss. We may miss them because of many reasons, but it would be folly to miss them because of lame excuse.

It’s been a while since I last used my walking boots for walking! (Rather than just as suitably rugged footwear in Wales and Kenya!) So today’s jaunt around Windsor Great Park was an invigorating return to walking. Despite the rather wet weather forecast, not a drop of rain fell during the ramble, and the sun even made an appearance, giving ample opportunity to take photos. It was good just to get away from the usual hustle and bustle of city life and get some fresh air.

In the evening, the usual suspets gathered in Victoria for some food, and then we wandered down to Battersea Park to watch a huge fireworks display. After spending most of the day walking, I was a little worse for wear and was content to just watch the impressive sequence of bangs and flashes.

A good, if rather exhausting day!

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Isaac Watts

Yesterday evening saw a Risk rematch, with Ally, Dave, Dave, Sam and myself vying for victory. There were allusions to the previous time the lads lost – to a girl, so this match was buzzing. This was also the first match in which we used the “Golden Cavalry”, which modified how reinforcements were determined, and with four-part mission cards. The game took a decidedly silly turn when the two Davids weakened themselves so much that Ally overcame both of them and seized their Risk cards. A little tussling ensued and I relieved Sam of his Risk cards, thinking my mission was one step away and victory would be mine. Before we knew it, the game was over as Ally completed her mission, occupying three continents as her final step. I’m beginning to think that her previous victory wasn’t a fluke at all, but that might actually be a formidable foe…

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Mt 5:10

A few days ago I received several texts from well-meaning Christians regarding Ferdie Flores, a missionary in East Timor. The body of all the texts alleged he was about to be executed, by beating, in the next day or so and asked for prayer. These were evidently ultimately forwarded from a single point, as the message was consistent, and had my friends and relatives concerned for this man.

Being the sceptic I am, I wasn’t so willing to believe the content of the text. I rummaged around the web, and found the web site of Baptist International Missions, Inc., a missionary organisation which is supporting Ferdie Flores – no mention of his pending execution at all though. Surely, if this man was to be executed, something would’ve appeared on their site? Rather than make my thoughts public though, I quietly passed on my sceptical views to those who had forwarded these texts to me. After all, it would’ve been awful if these texts were true and I’d publicly rubbished them without concrete proof.

As it turns out, it was a hoax. Ferdie Flores is alive and well. Reliable accounts are now being indexed in the search engines, such as this one, and BIMI has also issued a statement.

This is not to say that Christians are not persecuted, nor am I trying to say we shouldn’t pray for those who are persecuted. Ferdie Flores should be prayed for, as he does suffer persecution, while he continues to do a very difficult work for God.

However, as Christians we should be careful to test everything which is said to see if it is true.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 Jn 4:1

We have very little excuse when we have ready access to information and organisations like Christian Solidarity Worldwide do all the hard work for us.

I am rather irrited that a hoax can occupy so much time, energy and resources of Christians, especially when it means that real persecution is overlooked and goes unnoticed.

A few days ago, Andy brought Nation States to my attention. Iniitially I thought this would be a pointless waste of time, but created a nation anyway, due to persistent pestering. After a couple of days of making decisions and seeing how my nation – The Kingdom of Plebbus – is developing, it’s becoming quite addictive. Whilst it is based on current political theory, which may or may not be accurate, the way decisions affect the general populace are sometimes a little unexpected! A good way to make politics interesting.

Those who trust in God will occassionally be tested by him. In the case of Abraham, the test was very tough! To be asked to sacrifice his only son would’ve been a big test of Abraham’s faith. For Abraham knew God would not contradict himself, yet this appeared to be a contradiction – the sacrifice of his son.

Regardless, Abraham prepared for the sacrifice, collecting wood, saddling up the donkey and looking to the point where it would happen.

Despite the apparent contradiction, Abraham still trusted God to provide an alternative. This can be seen in the account, with Abraham telling his servants both he and his son would return, and also telling Isaac that God would provide a lamb.

Right up until the final moment, Abraham carried out all the actions necessary, and then God provided the substitute. Not only did this result in Abraham being blessed, but through this all nations would be blessed.

It would be through the line of Abraham, that the ultimate sacrificial substitute would come. For Jesus Christ would one day be born to be sacrificed on a cross to take on the sins of those who believed in him.

Just as Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, we should be prepared to sacrifice whatever is most important to us. If God the Son gave up his life that I might live, how much should I be willing to give up?

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. Ga 2:20

I had a fairly relaxed start to a rather busy Saturday morning. After a bit of a lie-in, I was off on one of my little jaunts as voluntary IT support for a fellow church member. His internet connection was no longer working. A quick rummage around /var/log/messages indicated the problem was “NO DIALTONE” reported by the modem. However, I then plugged in a phone to the same socket, picked up the receiver and found there was a dialtone. Slightly odd – will have to try another modem I think. Mission incomplete. 🙁

Played some pool in the afternoon, due to the fact the snooker room was being refurbished. After playing on the green baize for so long, the blue baize was distinctly smaller! So much so that we managed to play 11 games in an hour.

The evening was spent round Nigel’s with just the ‘lads’. A fun evening spent playing Risk and watching DVDs without the distraction of any girls. At the risk of sounding slightly odd, I think we should do these things more often.