Pressing On

Have just finished watching the review of the news on the Andrew Marr show, a political discussion show on BBC UK TV ... nothing out of the ordinary today except a comment that got me thinking. One contributor to the show was the Editor of 'The Huffington Post' http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ which currently has some 18k likes on their facebook page. At one point Andrew Marr was bemoaning the lack of real journalism and journalists in the press - to which she replied that at the HP there were only ~26 journalists but some 3000 bloggers whose opinions were included. The comment seemed to be expressing a desire for more facts and research rather than opinion. I also watched the film 'Contagion' last night which included a character, played by Jude Law, who had some 12m followers on his blog post and who swayed public opinion in what transpired to be a very unhelpful way (Hope that is not a spoiler ... watch the film - quite good!) Obviously Social Media has me...

I read this a few weeks ago ...  RT “ Thought you might be interested in this story- Minister To Atheist:  http://fry.am/JmDOEc  ” What an amazing story!  It got a small response at the time, but as Stephen Fry wrote it the millions who read his Tweet might have pursued it. (If the link above does not work try this  http://www.npr.org/2012/04/30/151681248/from-minister-to-atheist-a-story-of-losing-faith?sc=tw&cc=share ) There is a lot in this story that saddens me - not least the compassion I feel for anyone grappling with issues of faith. It would be great if there was just one button that can be switched on which removes all doubts and issues - but there isn't. What we have is the Holy Spirit that leads us into all truth, the Word that provides guidance and the 'body' that should encourage faith. That is 'the Church' but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much space for anyone, especially those in leadership, to acknowledge that they have doubts a...

Am currently attending a 10 day conference in Malaysia ... at the introductory session we were asked to reflect on this poem. Oh God I have tasted your Goodness, It has both satisfied me ad made me thirsty for more. I am fully conscious of my need of further grace, I am ashamed of my lack of desire. Oh God, Triune God, I want to want You. I long to be filled with longing. I thirst to be filled with longing. Show me Your glory, that I may know You, Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul ... rise up my love, my fair one and come away. Then give me grace to rise and follow You up from the misty lowland whare I have wandered for so long. A W Tozer Ponder, enjoy and be satisfied! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I was recently challenged by reading through the book of Haggai. To set the scene the Old Testament prophet was speaking to the people of Jerusalem following their return from exile in Babylon - ie. post-deliverance from their bondage. So how does this speak to us today you might ask? For the purposes of my thoughts I was comparing their situation to mine, and to that of any Christian, we live post-deliverance ... Having been delivered through faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, from darkness into light, from bondage into liberty to live an abundant life in Christ. The question Haggai poses, and one we should all ask, is "What do we do with that freedom?" The phrase "Give careful thought to your ways ..." occurs a number of times. This comes as a challenge both to reflect on 'how your life actually is', and 'how your life should be'. This is what we must be doing as we seek to grow as disciples and mature in our faith. Questions such ...

I have nothing to add ... Suffice to say I trust the integrity of the source. I only publish these to give you the opportunity to "see" what God is doing around the world to draw people to Himself ... you may disagree with them, or you may have another plausible explanation - that is fine. What matters is what God is doing in someone's life due to the external circumstances as much as the external circumstances themselves .... He is at work to bring forth eternal life! I am often troubled by a verse in the book of Jonah in the Old Testament which says “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs." As it demonstrates how strongly we can cling to things, practices etc which we hope will bring us peace, grace, mercy and love etc. and insodoing refuse to receive what is being offered so freely, Salvation in Christ, the receiving of which gives us the very things we are trying so hard to achieve ourselves. This in from a friend in Cambodia, a...

By which I mean 'spiritual discipline' - those practices and habits in life that the Spirit uses to refresh our communion with God! Now doubt people have many reasons for blogging ... communication, promotion, nothing else to do, self-aggrandisement - the list could go on. Probably, in some way, all of these are relevant some of the time. One of the benefits of blogging for me is that it causes me to 'reflect' ... for instance, you may have realised that I have not written anything on my blog since the 13th of March ... so, has my life been vacuous since then, with nothing to report back? No, and Yes - some things I do are not to be publicly declared on a blog site - they are to be hidden away before God in the quiet place! And this is the discipline that the blog page can encourage - sit, think, ponder what has happened, reflect on it before the Lord. What have I learnt? What glaring lesson has passed me by, which reflection brings to mind afresh? What was good? What w...

I have been very exercised recently for a number of reasons; 1/ Extended conversations with my teenage children about Sex trafficking (Initiated by the recent LZ7 track!) 2/ The dialogue online concerning the relative merits of Kony2012 campaign. 3/ Spending a morning praying for Street Children in Senegal (Talibes) and Prostitutes in Cambodia. 4/ Recently listening to a Dr M Loyd-Jones podcast - in which he refers to the state of 'apostasy' that the Church had got itself into at the end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th Century, as it cared so much for social, justice and poverty issues that it ceased to preach the gospel. (His words of course!) Now, where do my kids find their place in the midst of all of this? Our discussion centred around how meaningful is it to download a track and feel justified that you are doing something about sex trafficking? Is that simply consumer activism ... would we be so concerned to spend our 69p if we weren't getting a download out ...