Ramblings along the narrow way

Is it possible to know the big picture? Can we know the plans of God?

The bible, through the philosopher in Ecclesiastes, tells us that God has the whole picture. God himself is the artist, and has set out everything in place, from births and deaths to when to laugh and when to cry. Contrary to the post-modern thinking of this age, which says there is no meta-narrative, or story upon which our lives are interweaved.

As human beings we don’t know what God has set out. We become frustrated in not knowing the big picture, because of our separation from God. This same frustration bears out that their is a story upon which our lives are a part. With hindsight, we can see how God has worked in the past, performing his purposes.

Yet, we are not called to understand the big picture, but to trust God who has the big picture to show us our place in the big picture. As human beings we can become very much preoccupied with trying to know why things happen, whereas very often we should spend our time determining what our reaction should be and to do it.

The philosopher points out that we find satisfaction in doing God’s will, by doing good. Yet, as fallen human beings, in our our strength we cannot do that, and need to trust in Christ for our salvation from sin, that his Spirit will enable us to do good. We may even get a glimpse of the bigger picture.

Hmmm, another exhausting Saturday! Started off quite early this morning down at the church building as a small team of us set about painting walls, fixing carpet, repairing hymnbooks, digging up weeds, sweeping up leaves and a whole host of other practical tasks which were required to keep the building in a good and useful state.
Wandered down to the snooker hall with David in the afternoon to play a few frames of snooker, eventually finishing 5-4 frames in my favour. I think my opponent is improving, either that or I’m getting worse, or even both!

In the evening most of the usual suspects went down to the Uxbridge Road Tabernacle in Shepherd’s Bush to listen to a talk entitled “Are we what we watch?” We ended up in a KFC afterwards, to discuss what we had heard amongst other things.

The whole of the talk was grounded on these verses from the bible:

“Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

The talk focussed mainly on television – hence the title – as in today’s western culture, it it the most pervasive source of ideas and entertainment. Also, by its very nature, as well as its dominance, it is also a very powerful medium.

Throughout the bible, we are told to “test everything”, to think about everything we do, everything we see, hear, touch, smell and taste. Of these, what we see and hear are the primary sources of ideas and information, which is part of what makes television so powerful. Many forms of communication require our brains to be thinking, from talking and listening to other people, reading books, and conversely their ‘modern equivalents’ of instant messaging and blogging. With these forms, we can stop and think about things as we communicate. The very word of God is presented to us as a person in Jesus Christ, and in written form in the bible. Yet, with television, it is possible to receive information without thinking, as the medium itself is one way, and doesn’t stop to allow you to think before moving on. It also very powerfully uses images as well as sound, and as we know, an image doesn’t always tell the whole story, yet can appear to be the whole story and be very convincing. It is interesting of note that God didn’t give us an image, but words.

This is not to say that television is therefore evil. For in all forms of communication, we should think about what we will expose ourselves to, as well as think about what we have exposed ourselves to. There are good things which appear on television, things which can teach us good things. Yet, by its very nature it can be easily abused, extolling an anti-Christian worldview, where image is everything, where self is all important and where God and true reality are ignored and even opposed. These anti-Christian viewpoints can very quickly affect our thinking, as they have entered through our eyes and ears without allowing us to think them through.

We should also be careful that books, newspapers, music, the internet, as well as television, do not become an addiction by which we cannot live. Are we switching on the television mindlessly to fill our lives with meaning, whilst at the same time neglecting to do something useful?

Therefore, if we are Christians, we should think about everything we do and consider whether it is permissible, beneficial and ultimately glorifying to God.

It’s always interesting talking with the youngsters who attend the youth club at HWEC on a Friday night. It’s an insight into what the world is teaching our young people, some of which can be subtle yet insidious.

On one end of the spectrum, there are those who find it hard to believe we are saved from our sin by the grace of God, through faith in Christ alone. To them, being right with God is being good, praying and going to church. Whilst there is nothing wrong with those activities, in fact they are very good activities to carry out, they cannot put us right with God. Every Friday, it seems that we’re repeating the same discussion – albeit with different young people. Just when you think a young person finally understands what the bible says about salvation, a new one comes along and you have to start from the beginning again.

At the other end of the spectrum are those who believe Jesus is all loving, without judging. Of course, the bible says that whilst God loves all people, he is also holy and cannot bear the presence of sin. They find it hard to believe that Jesus Christ, who was sent to be the saviour of all who trust in him, will eventually return one day to judge everyone and send sinners to hell if they are unwilling to let go of their sin.

Yet, it’s not that hard to believe these young people have trouble grasping the truth of the bible, as I had these misconceptions once. By the grace of God, the Spirit opened my eyes to the truth, and the truth has set me free. I just pray these young people will see the truth, and know the truth.

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Matthew 5:18-22

Well, yesterday evening ended a bit later than anticipated! I had my second violin lesson after a three week hiatus. Not sure I’d remembered much since my last lesson. Saying that, last lesson demonstrated the violin hadn’t been used in years, so the large inter-lesson gap gave me enough time to have it rebridged, restrung (with Dominant strings), get a new chin rest and a new shoulder rest. After all that, the violin is now playable and I spent an hour playing all four strings, with both up bow and down bow in various permutations. Slowly getting the hang of it, although by the end of the lesson, my left shoulder and arm were aching somewhat! However, I have some exercises to practice over the week now.
After that, I got home, cooked up a couple of quarterpounders and bacon with a couple of buns and put Breakfast at Tiffany’s on the DVD player. A classic film which is well worth watching. Audrey Hepburn’s presence on screen would be reason enough to see it, but the story and characterisation are superb. Not a film for children, but deals with issues adults come across, in an interesting and realistic way – it takes some of the characters a few attempts to learn from their mistakes, if they learnt at all.
I finished the evening tinkering around with Cascading Style Sheets on the HWEC web site. I’ve finally got round to implementing a colourful menu bar without resorting to producing graphics.
Maybe this evening will be a little more relaxing…

Earlier today, I was peering through The Daily Telegraph online, when I came across an encouraging article. In the past, I have expressed dismay at the actions of the UN in its attempts to bring order and safety to various parts of the world. Many times, to persuade unjust, corrupt governments and leaders of a country to listen to it, the UN has imposed sanctions.

This usually had the effect of depriving the general population of a country of basic commodities, rather than convincing those in authority. Whilst these sanctions were in force, there was a lot of debate about the next step, whilst at the same time the population were still suffering, either from the action/inaction of their leaders, or from the sanctions imposed upon them. When troops were finally sent in, they were placed under so many restrictions that, in many cases, they could only watch as atrocities happened around them. Far too often, unjust authorities could continue with their actions with UN troops on their soil.

Now I understand that all possible peaceful attempts must be exhausted before military force is used, but it seems that in the past all possible peaceful attempts had been exhausted and then nothing happened. A look back at the UN’s role in Rwanda and Somalia are not not glowing report cards. I also understand it is very difficult to make decisions of this magnitude, and should not be done lightly, so it’s possible that in their shoes, I might well procrastinate as well. Let us also understand that the troops under the UN’s command are human beings, but that they are also professional soldiers. They have chosen to become soldiers, with the consequences that entails.

With all this in mind, I must applaud those in control of the UN forces in Congo. For too long, the UN forces have sat there while people around them are terrorised, raped and murdered, amongst other atrocities. The current conflict in Congo has claimed an estimated 3 million lives, and has affected many many more in a brutal civil war, which has received very little coverage in the mainstream media. Last Tuesday though, the UN took preemptive action and carried out an offensive against those who were carrying out atrocities. Documents were seized and people were arrested, with the necessary force required to achieve the objective.

With this, maybe those who have defied the UN for so long will sit up and take notice? Only time will tell if this is the beginning of a new, stronger, UN, or whether this will backfire. What we can ascertain is that the course of action taken is now different from what happened in Rwanda and Somalia. Hopefully the outcome will be as well.

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?
brought to you by Quizilla

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.