A Heavenly Manifesto

A few weeks ago we watched a Delirious? video in Sunday club, and ever since then it has been running through my head, and the more I mull it over, the more it seems to be significant. Those of you familiar with the D: live experience will know all about Martin Smith's talky sections during History Maker, and I suspect you'll be quite fond of them too! During this one (from My Soul Sings DVD), he reads out Isaiah 58:6-7 from the Message;

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on"

Then he begins to talk about child traffiking, finishing by saying "If it is not acceptable in Heaven, it's not acceptable here"

The more I think about this, the more it seems a deeply profound statement, a heavenly manifesto if you like, for those of us who profess to follow Jesus Christ and be part of His kingdom. "If it is not acceptable in Heaven, it's not acceptable here" It goes wider than the context of people traffiking and right to what is at the heart of the kingdom of God. It is Christians living out their lives here and now, but as if we were in heaven, a place of joy, peace and justice where God is centre of all things and righteousness reigns.

Everywhere we look in this world, there is pain, suffering and injustice, but in Jesus and the gospel there is the answer, the kingdom of God, a kingdom where the world's values and standards are turned upside down, where love is the overriding principle and compassion is the modus operandi.

In this kingdom the first shall be last and the last shall be first, actions will speak louder than words and faith will move mountains. It gives the voiceless hope and makes the comfortable uncomfortable. This kingdom is counter-cultural, it is growing faster than any other and will never end.

I'll be the first to admit, the church, Christians in general, and myself in particular have not always lived up to this standard, and sometimes fail spectacularly, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to meet it every day of our lives. Just imagine what the world would look if the people of God stood up and said "If it is not acceptable in Heaven, it's not acceptable here", if we prayed the Lord's prayer "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" and then went and lived that out.

The world would be turned upside down in the name of God's love and what could be better than that? Take up the heavenly manifesto this week and see where it leads...

Romans 8:28-39

This week I have been meditating on Romans 8:28-39. Usually I would write something about how this passage in God's Word has encouraged me, challenged me and changed me, but on this occasion I will just post it, and pray God will speak to you too.....

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

More Than Conquerors

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then can condemn? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Amen!

Calvinism vs Arminianism 101

Found this a really useful, basic explaination of these two viewpoints that can have such a strong influnece on how we understand our faith and how we read the Bible. It's 8 minutes long, but well worth your time... I also liked how Mark Driscoll (usually a fairly confronational kinda a guy) emphasised that this is not an issue that should cause division, but only promote loving debate and discussion.

Which side of the fence do I sit on? Well my middle name is John, so you could say I dont really have choice!

Guilt free Dairy Milk!

Fairtrade fortnight is turning out to be a good one! not only is Starbucks going fair trade, but now Cadbury's has announced that from this Autumn all its Dairy Milk bars will be too! According to the FT "The confectionery group will certify 300m of its Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bars as well as its packaged cocoa, at a cost of £1.5m ($2.1m), by the end of summer."

Unsurprisngly this news has been welcomed by the Fairtrade Foundation, and their chief executive, Harriet Lambsaid Cadbury’s move, which represents £200m in retail sales, would “throw down the gauntlet” to other big chocolate manufacturers. “It’s an iconic British brand ... This does really set the pace for the mainstream industry.”

It seems that the tide is turning, that major multinationals are realising fairtrade (and ethical trading) is becoming an increasingly important part of people's choices, and that they have to keep up with it.

Cadbury 's will now pay an extra $150 a tonne for Fairtrade cocoa to ensure farmers receive a minimum price, which is $1,600 a tonne. It buys nearly two-thirds of its cocoa from Ghana, and this will make huge difference to their lives.

However we should never sit on our laurels, and much, much more still needs to be done. We all still need to make the right consumer choices, lobby companies and governments and serve those less well off than ourselves. Proverbs 16:11 says "The Lord demands fairness in every business deal; he sets the standards" We who are Christians, Christ's ambassadors, must do the same.

Rapture Ready?

For the past few months I have been thinking about the issue of 'end times' and the theology that goes along with it. In some senses it is the first time I've engaged with these issues since I began (and gave up) reading the Left Behind series when I was a teenager. In the past I've shied away from this area because it is so intimidating intellectually, because of the unnecessary division it causes and because by nature I am much more of a 'here and now' kind of a guy rather than someone who spends lots of time thinking about what may or may not happen in the future.

However a combination of our trip to Israel and various conversations in its aftermath, my theology course and a request from Student Cell to study Revelation has piqued my interest and I have tentatively begun dipping my toe in this controversial water. At this point I would like to say I am still learning, I don't want to come across as dogmatic, and I certainly don't have all the answers, but there are some aspects of the way people deal with this subject that I find difficult to say the least.

Most of all I struggle with an obsessive focus on the 'rapture' and people trying to figure out when Jesus will return by reading contemporary events into the apocalypic predictions of Revelation. Let me qualify both those statements by explaining what I mean. One of the most popular strains of Christian thought in the US at the moment (prompted and strengthened by the ubiquitous Left Behind series) is that of the rapture, a moment when Jesus returns in secret and all the believers disappear, leaving behind crashed planes, motorway pileups and a momentarily baffled global population. What is supposed to happen next is 7 years of persecution for the church, known as the tribulation, and the rise of the anti-Christ before Jesus returns visibly and reigns on earth for 1000 years. In other words Jesus will return invisibly for his saints and then visibly with his saints.

For me the problem with this is, I see nothing in Scripture about a silent return of Jesus, and yet so many people believe it because of what they have read in the tomes of LaHaye and Jenkins. If you type the word 'rapture' into bible gateway you will find it does not appear in the TNIV, NIV, NKJV or ASV. I realise this is not a full-proof argument against the idea of a Left Behind style rapture, as the word Trinity isn't mentioned in the Bible either, and yet all Christians hold to the truth of that doctrine. However, it is something I think will surprise a lot of people, and means the evidence for a secret return of Jesus and rapture has to be explicit in other ways. I cannot see that it is.

The passage most frequently used to justify a two-stage rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

"¹⁵According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."

Nowhere in that passage do I see a two-stage return of Jesus. The Lord comes down, the dead rise first, and then all other believers join Him too, and we shall be with Him forever. Job done. In one stage. If this really is the best evidence for a 2 stage rapture then it is pretty weak. The strongest argument against this theory are the words of Jesus himself, in Matthew 24:30-31

^"30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

What I do see written about in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testament, is a triumphant return of Jesus that everyone will see and everyone will understand immediately. The reason all of this matters is because a two-stage rapture leads to much bad theology. Stephen Sizer sums it up well in his book Zion's Christian Soldiers, when he says "It is the reason many Christians don't seem to care about climate change or preserving diminishing supplies of natural resources. They are similarly not worried about the nation debt, nuclear war, or world poverty because they hope to be raptured to heaven and avoid suffering the consequences of a coming global holocaust. Like a sinking ship, the world is doomed. Therefore there is no point in preserving the world or getting involved in humanitarian work."Scary as it sounds I have come across this attitude in Christians in Swansea, and it upsets me. It is so diametrically opposed to the commandment 'love your neighbour' that I fail to see how anyone claiming to be a follower of Jesus can, in all conscience, adopt it as their own attitude.

Sadly the craziness doesn't stop there. Whilst looking into all of this I came across a worryingly popular website called Rapture Ready and when I looked it up my jaw hit the floor. It's main purpose is to calculate how close we are to the rapture using 'the rapture index' which takes over 40 signs from scripture, puts them into 4 overall headings and then gives them a score based on frequency, intensity or significance at any given moment. It then totals them up and tells you how likely the rapture is (FYI anything over 150 means 'fasten your seatbelts'!)

The biggest problem with this kind of theology/crystal ball gazing is that it goes directly against the teaching of Jesus and the apostles in the Bible. In Matthew 24: 36, 42-44

³⁶"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father... ⁴²"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. "

That seems pretty clear- no one knows, so stay alert and keep serving Jesus because he could be back at any time. Also check out 2 Peter 3:4,10 for further confirmation of this.

A lesser problem is that it makes the church (and by association Jesus) look silly when people make wild 'definite' predictions about the end of the world that do not come true. For example in his 1970 book The Late Great Planet Earth (which sold millions of copies) Hal Lindsey claims that Russia was the power destined to bring about Armageddon by attacking Israel. Seems possible in the midst of the Cold War, but by the time he writes The Oracle Commentaries in 2006 the Soviet Union had collapsed and his force for Armageddon conveniently morphs into a Russian-Syrian-Iranian Axis. It is clearly nonsense and we should not engage with this kind of self-serving prediction, that depends entirely on who the US is most aggravated with at any given time. Worst of all this kind of thing diverts our attention away from serving God into endlessly speculating about something the Bible makes clear we can never know.

The lessons I've taken away from this are twofold, firstly when faced with any kind of Christian teaching, however popular, investigate what the Bible has to say about it for yourself, rather than just assuming what you have been told is correct. Secondly live every day 100% for Jesus, every moment as if He were about to return and don't miss out on living for Him here and now because you are so concerned about when he might return.

Romans 12:1-2; A thought for the week

Place Your Life Before God

1-2 "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

We looked at worship this Sunday in youth church, and used this passage from Romans 12. I love the way it's put in the Message paraphrase- its so simple and yet immensely challenging. This week take your "everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering" There is nothing that we can't do for the glory of God, there is no part of our lives that cannot be used to advance his Kingdom in some way. Being a 'Sunday Christian' and compartmentalising your life so God is stuck in a 'church box' is just not how its supposed to be. We need to think through the issues that surround being a Christian in our everyday lives, and lean on God for wisdom and strength, so that we might shine out like stars and point people to Him.

But this is not a one way street, as God gets glory from us living for Him, we find that we are being changed by Him, and that is amazing. Embracing what God wants for us is the best thing we could do, because He knows what He is doing and will change us from the inside out so that we might fulfil our God-given potential. Jesus said "I have come that they might have life in all its fullness", and isn't that what we all want? Going to church once a week will not bring that fullness, only living for Him everyday can bring that kind of purpose and satisfaction!

If involving God in every area of your life seems an overwhelming prospect, then just break it down a little bit, all we have to do is live for God one decision at a time, each day looking to Him to bring out the best in us. It is a marathon, not a sprint, that means there will be ups and downs, changes of pace, times when it's easy, and times when we hit the wall. In all of this we know God's grace is sufficient for all our needs, and there is nothing He cannot do!

Celebrity

This past Sunday at Cafe Church we looked at what the Christian faith has to say to the world of celebrity, and it was really challenging, so I thought I would post (a very abridged) version of my talk to see what you all think!

When we were in New York last September, we were shopping at Macy’s, when we saw a big commotion- it turns out Fergie, a famous pop singer, was in the store meeting and greeting fans- but here was the trick- you had to spend $100 on her new clothing range if you wanted to get past the sea of security and sit down with the lady herself. Now I bet you, at least 60% of the people who met Fergie that day, had no intention of spending $100 on her clothing range, but the opportunity to spend a fleeting minute in the presence of such pop royalty was too good an opportunity to pass up- even if it did cost them a fair bit of their hard earned cash. The simple truth is there is something about celebrities that many of us find irresistible and that we live in a society obsessed by celebrity and fame. We watch it, we read about it, we dream about it and we participate in it. The simple fact is so many people are desperate to become famous, and treat celebrities as role models. In a recent survey by the Association of Lecturers and Teachers more than a third of pupils wanted to be famous for the sake of being famous.

Celebrity, it seems to me, is a celebration of being famous, it is a state where the subject lives two lives, the one played out in the media, and the one they live behind closed doors. It is a virtual reality, a narrative of life created and maintained by the media. The media creates the story, sustains the story and gives it its twists and turns, and we lap it up. The question I want to ask though, is why do we care?

Firstly, I believe celebrity shapes values. More often than not celebrity stories are painted by the press as morality tales, with all their ins and outs, ups and downs. In their images and stories we see possible ways of living, of being attractive, being successful, being male or being female. We care because we see life being reflected back to us through celebrities. They allow us to take positions, form moral opinions and make judgements on others. Lets take Paris Hilton as an illustration of this. To some she is the height of taste and fashion; to others she is a spoilt rich kid with the morality of an alley cat. In short the way Paris is portrayed as a celebrity forces us to make a choice about her- and we like that! We like being able to judge others as it deflects attention from our own shortcomings, and allows us to think ‘actually I’m not all that bad’.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells his followers; “How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” Yes, its hyperbole, but it also makes a powerful point. What right do we have to take pleasure in judging and condemning others? We all know we do things that are wrong, and cause others pain and hurt- and yet we are more than happy to point the finger at others, knowing so little of what really is going on.The bottom line is, it’s easier to criticise a celebrity than face up to our own shortcomings. Thankfully the Bible shows us a way to transform our lives instead of avoiding the truth. It tells us to love God with everything we have, and to love others the same way too- this is the best form morality can take, and the world would change overnight if we genuinely took this teaching to heart

Secondly, in a world where life is can be hard and truth can be painful, an escape into the media led virtual reality of celebrity can be appealing. But this is a mistake! Hiding away from truth never solved anything, and in fact leads us to miss out on so much that life has to offer. Jesus says, in John 10:10 “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Life with Jesus, loving God and others with all you have is the best way to live. It is how you truly find yourself and who you are- it is far superior to the empty promises of celebrity and fame. The reason life with Jesus is so fulfilling is because the Bible says we were hardwired to have a relationship with God, and that all the wrong things we do, block that relationship and mess it up. If we were to use the picture language of the Bible it is almost like we are stumbling round in the darkness looking for what we are missing. Jesus says he has come to restore our light so that we can see properly."I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Following Jesus is the only way to have a truly fulfilled life. That’s not to say we cant find partial fulfilment in our family, or our work, or the things we buy, or many of the other things we enjoy, but without God our lives we are missing the solution to our longings.

So at the end of this brief look at celebrity, what can we conclude? Well basically don’t get too sucked in by the plethora of celebrity stories out there, there is life to be lived beyond OK magazine and Heat. More than that look to the needs of others before yourself, and don’t judge others before taking a long hard look at yourself. Ultimately though, what we see from celebrity is that life cannot be lived through other people, but can instead be found, in all its fullness in Jesus Christ.

2008- the year that was,,,,

It is hard to believe that 2009 is upon us already, and so it seemed worth spending some time to take a glance back at 2008, and some of the highlights from the past 12 months!

Israel/Palestine trip
In July Cat and I had the opportunity to go a trip to Israel/Palestine with Highway projects to spend 2 weeks working alongside the local church at a youth camp. It was just a brilliant experience, and a privilege to be able to serve the church in a new place for both of us.
We had 2 weeks of Bible teaching, crafts, games, and swimming in the beautiful surroundings of Nazareth. There were many highlights for us, but mostly it was just so great to see God working in the lives of the children and young people, and also in our own. It is amazing how He cares for us, how He provides for us and how He never, ever lets us down.
There were 8 of us working at St Margaret’s from the UK, and we all got on so well, brought different gifts, abilities and temperaments to the mix. It meant we had a huge amount of fun, as well as hopefully being a help to the guys running the camp. There isn’t space here to go into more details about some of the amazing Palestinian Christians we met, but they do amazing work, in very difficult circumstances and were an inspiration for all of us.
One final thing strikes me about the trip as I look back; once you cut through all the hype and religiosity, it was inspiring to go to visit the places Jesus lived and taught. It brings the Bible alive in a new way, to have visited Capernaum, stayed in Jericho, been on a boat in Lake Galilee, seen the old town of Bethlehem and walked through the Judean desert; literally to walk where He walked…

Foo Fighters at Wembley Stadium
My next highlight is something entirely different. On Friday 6th June Foo Fighters played their biggest ever gig at Wembley Stadium, and we were there! It was immense, superlatives just run out when I think about how to describe it. They played a great, crowd pleasing set, with all their best songs- Everlong and All My Life being my two favourite on the night. Dave Grohl is just an awesome front man, and the rest of the band are pretty good too! Taylor Hawkins’s extended drum solo during Stacked Actors was the best I’ve ever heard live, and might even give Grohl’s drumming skills a run for their money. They finished with an epic rendition of Best of You, and as the band left, fireworks exploded over Wembley which was a perfect end to the evening. One of the best gigs I have EVER been to!

Slum Survivor
On a cold, wet October weekend, Youth Cell spent a few days the way millions spend a lifetime, by building and living in their own slum outside church, eating rice and lentils and walking miles for our water. For me, it was a real challenge to be reminded in such a real way of God’s love for the poor, and our responsibility to act. The passage that really spoke to me over the weekend was from Amos It was also brilliant to see everyone youth cell rising to all the challenges placed before them, and raising around £500 for Soul Action in the process!


Additional 2008 list
Favourite Album: Viva la Vida- Coldplay
Favourite Song: Crawl- Kings of Leon
Favourite Film: The Dark Knight
Favourite Book: Sex.God by Rob Bell
Worst Film: Be Kind Re-wind
Most Annoying Song: Low- T-Pain and Flo.Rida

Silence

Really thought provoking post on The Resurgence today. If you are busy, and never have enough time, spend 2 minutes checking it out....
silence