Forgiven Forget: February 2009

Why does God allow suffering?

28 February 2009

There's no easy one-size-fits-all answer to the question. And people will ask it for many different reasons - some from merely an academic point of view, others out of their own personal experiences of deep grief or pain.

One reason God has allowed situations of suffering is so that he could demonstrate his power to change them. And as we look at Jesus' life and see the many ways in which he healed people on a physical level, we see a clear anchor upon which to base our faith for how he is working at a heart level.

He that could raise the dead with a word can just as easily raise man from the death of sin. He that could give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and speech to the dumb can also make sinners to see the kingdom of God, hear the joyful sound of the gospel, and speak forth the praise of redeeming love. He that could heal leprosy with a touch can heal any disease of heart.

J C Ryle, Holiness
We can trust that the Jesus who healed bodies, can also heal hearts, minds and lives, and graciously use them in service of his kingdom. Jesus' power over visible suffering points us to his power over the greater invisible enemy of our sin.

27 February 2009

Theological study, the study of God, is a wonderful thing. But it's a signpost pointing to Jesus, and not following that signpost to its final, wonderful destination is the fatal mistake that Pharisees made.

Our Lord is and must be the leading theme of our ministry. We must continue to exalt him rather than Calvinism or any other system of theology... Much as we love the masters throne, we still love the master better. And dearly as we love battling for the walls of his vineyard, yet the clusters of his Eshcol [valley with delicious grapes - see Numbers 13:23,24] are sweeter to our taste. We love Christ better than creed, and we think we would rather magnify our master than any set of truths, however important they may be... Let us preach the doctrines with Christ as their sum and substance - a full Christ for empty sinners.

C H Spurgeon

26 February 2009

I just posted a response to this article on the BBC news website. The article suggests that we should set aside ideas of God and religion, in order to be able think properly. I've tried to argue that logic and God are not at odds, but rather God is the reason for order, reason and logic.

Here's what I wrote:

There is no room for logic in 'basic humanist principles'. If humans only exist as the product of millions of years of blind evolution, we have no logical reason to expect there to be an order, structure or logic to our lives. Reason, logic and common sense are guides, but they can only take us so far - they point to a greater authority responsible for the order we see around us. When you take God out of the picture, you remove the foundation upon which all logical thought relies.

Update: Ah well, my comment didn't get chosen. Only a couple of the ones that were published made good points. This one caught my eye:

Nice little ad for humanism. It all sounds very nice, but please define "common sense" for us. And yes, list a few "basic humanist principles", I'll start with a few, self-preservation, dog-eat-dog and survival of the fittest.

Phil J Walton, Panchkula, India

25 February 2009

Don't lose your focus. Being a Christian begins with Christ. If all you did for the rest of your life was deepened your love for Jesus, you would have lived a wonderful life.

Think about him. Chew over what he has done for you on the way to work. Consider what it would have been like to listen as he taught crowds while you sit at the bus stop. Name all the blessings that are now yours through his blood, shed in his death on the cross.

Jesus had the fullness of God in him - he was called the 'Son of God', a title that made him equal with God. People tried to kill him because he claimed to be, and proved that he was God.

Yet, unlike us, he didn't want to seize that position as equal with God. Though by nature, we as humans want to push God off his throne and take his place, Jesus was completely different.

He made himself nothing. He swapped the shining glory of a glittering palace in heaven... for a dirty, cold, disease-ridden stable - and a life living on the poverty line. The prince of the universe chose to be reduced to a manual labourer - a servant. He swapped power and immortality for fragile flesh - a humanity which could bruise and break, which grew tired, and often felt weak.

And the height of his shame, the end point of his deliberate descent from glory to agony, was his death by execution. Spat on, made fun of, punched in the face, laughed at like an animal paraded before a cruel crowd.

Through swollen, half-closed eyes he looked out at the sneering faces of those people he himself had made. Those soldiers who whipped him, again and again without mercy - he had planned their conception, had watched them grow in the womb, been there for their first steps, seen them grow through childhood to become strong men in the Roman army.

And even as he finally hung, exhausted, bleeding, nailed to the cross, struggling to take his final breath, he whispered a prayer - "Father forgive them. They don't know what they are doing."

So God did not leave his Son in the grave. His greatest shame was his greatest glory. Through his death, those people he had created could once again come freely to love and serve their creator God. God brought Jesus back to life, with a renewed body, and lifted him up to place him in the highest throne in the universe - with the greatest name and all power to command and control.

At the name of King Jesus, all people, of every race, country and religion should bow. He is greater than Buddha, greater than Muhammad, greater than Richard Dawkins, or the Queen, or the Pope, or Obama. One day, all those people will fall on their faces in fear before him, along with the rest of humanity.

And all will confess, whether joyfully, or fearfully, that Jesus Christ is Lord, and God the Father will get great glory at the praise of his Son.

That's the glimpse of Jesus Paul shows us in Philippians 2:6-11, so that we might love, and follow in his footsteps with humble obedience.

Jesus is out of this world. I love Jesus.

24 February 2009

Whatever your Christian life looks like, whatever setting God's got you in - sometimes you just feel the need of a boost of energy to keep going.

Since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart

2 Corinthians 4:1

When the writer of this verse, Paul, talks about 'ministry' he's talking about the job every Christian on the planet has. The job, by the Spirit, of showing off the glory of Jesus to the world. As God transforms us more and more into the likeness of Jesus - in our actions, our attitudes and our mindset - we more and more reflect his glory.

That's the heart of ministry. There's no distinction here between those working full-time for churches, or those working full-time in normal jobs, or those retired, or those at school, or studying. All of life comes under the scope of our God-given ministry, because at all times, like walking light bulbs, we are shining out the glory of Christ in our lives.

This is an energy boost to keep going. Paul says 'we do not lose heart'. Why not? There's plenty of reasons to give up, to feel we make no impact among our unbelieving friends.

'Since through ...'. 'Since through comprehensive training'? 'Since through our abilities and talent'? 'Since through several years experience of being a Christian'? 'Since through having improved in being holy'? 'Since through my personality'?

'Since through God's mercy'. None of us stand as 'expert' ministers, 'professional' Christians. Because the expert team leader is God. It's his mercy that is the Lucozade for our daily Christian life.

When leading youth group feels like a burden, when standing up to preach seems weak, when you feel awkward in talking to your colleagues about Jesus, when you feel afraid of speaking to your close family about the Jesus they don't know... remember God's mercy.

His mercy in choosing you, his grace in saving you, and his love in giving you the task, as his team mate, of showing Jesus to others, so that the baton of mercy may be passed on. Don't lose heart.

21 February 2009

What are the ingredients of a humble life?

I wish could write this from my own experience - "Humility: and how I achieved it" - but that's perhaps not the best way to be humble! Fact is, I'm still putting my boots on in the changing room at the training ground - and there's many Christians who I look up to as already playing in the World Cup Humble Final.

So these following takedowns on pride are things I want to practice in my life, and are taken largely from thinking about Jonathan Edwards' resolutions. I'm putting them on my blog in the hope that they'll practically help me and others to see Jesus more clearly, the one who has saved us, as, by the strength of the Spirit, the cataracts of pride are cut away from our eyes, so that we might glory in Him and give praise to God our Father.

Pride stems from loving myself too much
Pride is a narrowing of my view on life, so that, at it's extreme, only one thing matters - me.

Solution?
Jesus commands right through the Bible that we love others, demonstrating what that looks like himself, and perhaps illustrating it best in the parable of the Good Samaritan. I need to get serious about considering others' needs before my own, and about not treasuring 'me time', because it selfishly corrodes my ability to love others.

Self-consciousness is just another form of pride
If I'm worried about what others think about me, then I'm proud. Not putting myself forward because I'm worried that others will think I'm overly confident in my own abilities stems just as much from pride as actually putting myself forward in confidence of my own abilities.

Solution?
Stop thinking about myself and think about God. Set out to please him, and put myself forward in weakness, knowing that it's only by God's strength that I'll achieve anything anyway.

Pride warps my view of where I really stand before God
Pride will tell me I'm saved by faith in Jesus, but sustained by my own fantastic abilities. I pray everyday, I read the Bible, I'm involved at church even though I also have a full time job. God must be really chuffed to have me on the team!

Solution?
Get my heart attitude sorted. I stand only because of Jesus, so keep looking at him, learning to love him more, asking for his help to know him better. Daily bring before him my sins, which are many, not leaving anything unexposed before him, and asking him to help me root them out, not just from my visible, observable, public actions, but from my mind and my heart. Put time aside to thank God for all the little things I would normally take forgranted - good health, a job, safety, friendship, shelter and warmth, a loving family, a great church. Stop flexing the muscles of pride in dissatisfaction, and get humility pumping the iron of thankfulness instead.

Pride turns me into a fat cat
If I listened to my pride, I'd never seek to change, never hold ambitions for future Christian work, never pray that God would use me greatly. After all, if I already think I've arrived, I don't need to travel any further.

Solution?
Paul says to the Corinthians 'Aim for perfection'. I won't get humbled looking at the celebrities in the tabloids, watching the heroes at the cinema, observing my colleagues at work, or even considering people at church. Nope. Perfection is seen in Jesus Christ alone, revealed in the pages of the Bible, but particularly the gospels. Yes, that's right, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were not just written to help run Christianity Explored courses. They were written to give me a view of my Saviour, the one who died for me, and the one who calls me to die for him. My daily life must be saturated with constant consideration of Jesus' glory and humility, his greatness and his sacrifice, his position as my King, yet also as servant. I'll only learn to be humble if I learn to love Jesus and copy his way of life.

14 February 2009

What are the situations that force us to pray?

Perhaps someone you know is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, or you feel the strain on a valued friendship. Maybe you're facing an important decision. These are things which have made me consciously pray more over the last year. I guess at the moment, lots of people have begun praying with panicked enthusiasm about their jobs or money situation.

We pray most when we feel a need for God's help most. When we feel least able to cope with a situation in our own strength. When events are beyond our control.

Which is madness really. Because at no point in our lives are we in control anyway. We bustle around, with this plan or that programme in mind, eagerly filling our lives with busyness.

We're particularly like this when it comes to our Christian lives. Work for Jesus only counts if it produces good attendance at an event, a good number of conversations with people, or generates a measurable amount of interest.

It is arrogance that blinds us. Our pride says "I can do this. I can make this work, so long as I put the effort in." In a 24/7 culture which never sleeps, where to be busy and active is to have meaning and purpose, I shy away from the seemingly tame and ineffective work of prayer.

It's much easier to invite a friend to a jazz night at church than it is to commit to praying daily for them. It's much easier to move chairs, or help organise, cook or steward than it is to get down on my knees and pray with my whole heart for God to work in my church in mighty ways. It's much easier to spend a prayer meeting talking about prayer than it is to actually do it.

I need God so much. Every moment of my day is watched by him, and is utterly under his care. Every day I cycle 20 minutes to work, and the reason I don't get hit by a bus is because God in his grace is keeping me safe. The reason I have food to eat each day is God. The reason I have a job is God. The reason my heart has been faithfully pumping blood around my body for 25 years is that God in his grace is allowing me to live another year. So that I can rely on him, and enjoy his grace, giving thanks to him. So that he might get the glory from my little life.

God is the one who holds the world in the palm of his hand, not me. I need constant humility to see that. And when I do see that, I'll realise that prayer is not weak and ineffective. It's powerful and wonderful.

In prayer, I can ask God, and keep asking, knowing that he is good, and loves to answer. Praying for my friends will do far more than just trying to convince them they need Jesus on my own. Only God can change their hearts - why don't I ask him, plead with him to do so more?

We can learn loads from the Chinese church, and the Korean church. They don't have the wealth of Christian books, programmes and resources that we have. They have something far more powerful.

Back in the 1960s, when the Communists shut the doors to gospel workers in China, and turned up the heat of government persecution, the church turned in it's weakness, to prayer. Now, a few decades later, as God's answer to those prayers, the Chinese church is thriving, with millions of Christians worshipping Jesus across China.

A few years ago, a group of Korean pastors came to visit a friend's church in the UK, to learn from their wisdom. Each morning, they would get up at 5am to pray together before their day. It was the habit of their church back in Korea. When the Korean pastors returned home, it was the UK church who had learnt more about true gospel strategy!

Prayer is an expression of our need for God. That need is real, constant and permanent - we will never reach a point in our Christian lives where we don't need God, even for one second. To live a Christian life without an attitude of constant, ongoing prayer, is to have allowed pride to blind us to our true need. Ministry programmes, evangelistic events, strategies, and busyness are like puny penknives when held up next to the glinting sword of reliant prayer.

10 February 2009

How much do I really care about the lost world around me? Each day my unbelieving friends and family are one day closer to that terrifying day where they will stand before God and have to give an account for why they have lived their lives ignoring him. Do I care enough to pray, care enough to spend time with them, care enough to speak to them?

Paul says:

I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel.

Romans 9:3-4 (NIV)

Paul would be willing to trade himself in at the gates of Hell - his life in return for the lives of his people, the Jews. Just like Jesus handed himself over to be killed, so that those who trust in him might go free.

How about me?

To remain silent while those around me tread the path to Hell would be similar to sitting happily in a hovering rescue helicopter, playing hoopla with the lifering, while in the sea below, people are one by one pulled under by the current.

09 February 2009

One of the idols in society today is the idol of comfort. It's the ambition of many to acquire enough money so they don't have to work, and can live out their lives in peace and quiet, probably on a desert island somewhere.

It doesn't sound too bad does it? Say they've earned their money honestly, and they've done some good for society. Surely a peaceful retirement is what they deserve?

Except that nothing in this attitude leaves any space for God. It's the parable of the rich fool all again, the story Jesus told about a man who built up his fortune to a point where he could say:

"You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."

Luke 12:19 (NIV)

And how does God respond?

"You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?"

Luke 12:20 (NIV)

The man's big issue is his lack of gratitude towards God - he has become God in his mind, able to map out the future, blind to his total dependence on his creator for everything.

Trouble is, the attraction of comfort at the expense of God is something we 21st century Christians have fallen for big time as well.

We treat advice like this...

We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure time, is to be either reading or praying

Charles Spurgeon

... as legalistic and prescriptive. The Bible says God's given us freedom as Christians to enjoy leisure time, to take long holidays abroad, to watch gripping DVD box sets, to play computer games - we need to relax after all!

No those things aren't wrong, and they can be wonderful gifts from God for us to enjoy. But is comfort and relaxation really the best way to spend the years of our life in a needy and dying world?

It seems to me people in the Bible experience the most blessing, the most growth in worthwhile characteristics, and the greatest gain in treasures that will last, when they are forced to throw themselves on God to provide everything.

These are verse to prayerfully consider:

Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I obey your word.
It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I might learn your decrees.

Psalm 119:67, 71

05 February 2009

In Deuteronomy, the leader of God's people, Moses, reminds them where they've come from. Of what God, in his goodness, has done for them, and how they've answered his generosity with grumbling and dissatisfaction.

The following quote is from a sermon preached on Deuteronomy which gets to the heart of the issue of sin, the need for judgement, and the offer of God's love.

In all of this you begin to understand what a personal matter sin is - to the one sinning and to the God against whom we sin. It is... a short simple sharp message to God, "I don't like you, I would rather have these things than you, they provide me with what I want." Friend, every time you sin, that's what you are saying to God.

If you can hear my voice I pray that you come to understand that you have not yet experienced the most important meeting that you most certainly will experience. You will not miss it... you will be there and you will be there on time.

The day is coming when you will stand before the God in whose image you have been so fearfully and wonderfully made, and you will give account to the one who is more holy and more loving, more righteous and more pure than you or I can even imagine. And at that meeting you will find no help. None. From your connections in this life or from your money. You'll find no help from your good deeds or your family.

No, that ever lengthening line of actions and attitudes... your past... will come following closely behind you and they will finally fully assemble with you, known fully as yours in the presence of Almighty God. And there my friend, there you will be asked to justify them before Almighty God. That is the meeting that you will have. There will be a day and there will be that meeting.

You have committed sin. Do you doubt that?

If sin is so personal, if it is so intimately and unavoidably attached to us, so truly expressive of us, and so clearly directed at God and our dissatisfaction with him - and it is - it's also true on the other side that the choice to follow God is presented in Deuteronomy as being equally personal.

One of the most striking things about this book... is all the language about love... We don't tend to associate that with law and rectitude and rightness, but it's all there.

This book in many ways is the marriage covenant between God and his people. The choice that God's people are called to make is a choice to love. Love the Lord your God will all your heart and all your mind and all your strength.

Do you pray about the choice that faces you when you're tempted to sin? When you do, how do you pray? Do you pray simply that God will protect you from that sin? I want to encourage you to keep praying that. But there's more you can pray.

Consider also praying that God give you a heart to love him more. So don't just build your life as one great fortress against sin, one great negation... but friends, positively pray that God would give you a great love for him.

Mark Dever, Capitol Hill Baptist Church

04 February 2009

Just wanted to post a few things about my Dad, and the way he brought me up, which I'm really grateful to God for. I hope it'll stay on the non-cringy side of sentimentality(!), and that if any of you reading this are parents, or hoping to be in the future, you'll find encouragement in it.

I look at my own life now and see more and more how much I've been shaped by my Dad's example, particularly when it comes to being a Christian.

1. He demonstrated complete commitment to the Bible as his 'instructions manual' for daily life. As we grew up, he would ensure that every day, as a whole family, we'd get together around the breakfast table to read something from the Bible and pray.

I guess lots of Christian parents are faithful at taking their kids to church each week, but Dad's example flowed through into the week. His solid belief in what he read out to us each morning, and his perseverance in bringing us together as a family each day (even when we, the kids, were unruly or stubborn) communicated better than words could, just how valuable the Bible is for life.

2. He taught me to think. There's this crazy idea being batted around by Richard Dawkins, and the like, that to be brought up in a Christian home is to be brainwashed in lies. I don't know many other people who were as committed to rigorous study as my Dad. He has a study full of Christian books and tapes, and is still amazing at pointing me in the direction of helpful books/articles/resources when I'm considering issues for myself.

Far from using God as an excuse to counter questions with 'That's just the way God's made it so be quiet and eat your tea!' he would encourage me to probe for answers, always with God as the centre and foundation.

Placing God in that position didn't mean any reasoning or rational thinking was flawed - it rather gave purpose and inspiration to the pursuit of knowledge.

3. He loves my Mum and isn't afraid to show it. Even though they disagree, and had arguments, he has been unflinching in his faithfulness and affection through their 26 or so years of marriage. It's a really positive thing to have that Jesus-centred, loving marriage lived out before you as you grow up. It really is a foundation for my own marriage in so many ways. He's set the bar high, but showed a real marriage where Jesus is honoured is possible.

4. He knew how to say sorry. We as kids weren't the only ones to get it wrong, but when he realised he'd upset one of us, or made a bad decision, he would admit it and say sorry to us. Looking back, it's amazing to think of a Dad who was both an authority in our lives, and also a protecting, loving and caring Dad. He clearly had his eyes set on God as his example of fatherhood, yet also with the awareness of being himself a sinner.

You'd think with all that he had a cushy job, with lots of free time to study and spend with us. But actually he's a GP, regularly having to be on call at weekends when we were little, and working until late in the evenings. Work got him tired and often stressed, but it was against that backdrop that he exhibited all these amazing characteristics that I want to copy in my life.

If you are a Dad reading this, don't underestimate the impact for good or bad that you'll have on your kids. Set your heart and mind on Jesus, and keep trying and persevering and praying. I bet fatherhood brings a whole heap of worry, pain and stress, but place yourself in the hands of your loving father God, and with godly sweat, go for it and be the best Dad you can!

01 February 2009

Have been a fan for while of Iona, an Irish Christian progressive rock/folk band, since hearing their awesome 12 minute epic, Encircling.

You can listen to the whole album, legally and completely for free with the We7 widget below. Let me know what you think!

Free music - Journey Into The Morn

Forgiven Forget

Why does God allow suffering?

28 February 2009

Loving Jesus more than Theology

27 February 2009

Logic vs God?

26 February 2009

Loving Jesus

25 February 2009

Lucozade for Christians

24 February 2009

Humble pie

21 February 2009

The connection between prayer and being humble

14 February 2009

A heart for the lost

10 February 2009

Going without going without

09 February 2009

Thoughts on God's Judgement

05 February 2009

The debt I owe to my Dad

04 February 2009

'Christian' and 'Progressive Rock' in the same sentence?

01 February 2009

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