Think Christ: A Plea To Charismatics - A cessasioninst argument

I said I was going to be looking more deeply at the cessasionist/charismatic discussion. Here's an interesting post from a cessationist Think Christ: A Plea To Charismatics

Not sure I agree with it though...see what you think.

Christmas Prayer

The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: a Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."

At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:

"Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him" Luke 2:10-14 (The Message)

Lord,
At this time when we remember the birth of Your Son our saviour,
Disturb me in my comfort
Give me Your heart for all humanity
Help me Love others as You love me, even when it's scary, inconvenient or embarassing.
Keep me from being hypocritical, pompous or proud,
Help me be constantly aware of Your grace
Keep me humble, Lord
And make me more like Jesus Christ
In His name
Amen

God's Grace

Had a great meeting on Sunday - got me thinking about how I've been feeling recently. I decided that guilt can get in the way of God. We can get so caught up with self flagellation for the things that we do wrong, that that feeling stops us spending time with God - it becomes an idol. As the speaker (Dan Dowman - great young preacher) on Sunday night said, if we feel that we can't get close to God because of our sin, we're actually saying that God's Grace isn't enough for our sin - which of course isn't the case (I'm sure I've read similar arguements in a book before, but can't remember which - answers on a postcard...). The incredibly freeing reality is:

Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God. Romans 6:14 - The Message

"The strongest motives against sin, and to enforce holiness, are here stated. Being made free from the reign of sin, alive unto God, and having the prospect of eternal life, it becomes believers to be greatly concerned to advance thereto. But, as unholy lusts are not quite rooted out in this life, it must be the care of the Christian to resist their motions, earnestly striving, that, through Divine grace, they may not prevail in this mortal state. Let the thought that this state will soon be at an end, encourage the true Christian, as to the motions of lusts, which so often perplex and distress him. Let us present all our powers to God, as weapons or tools ready for the warfare, and work of righteousness, in his service. There is strength in the covenant of grace for us. Sin shall not have dominion. God's promises to us are more powerful and effectual for mortifying sin, than our promises to God. Sin may struggle in a real believer, and create him a great deal of trouble, but it shall not have dominion; it may vex him, but it shall not rule over him. Shall any take occasion from this encouraging doctrine to allow themselves in the practice of any sin? Far be such abominable thoughts, so contrary to the perfections of God, and the design of his gospel, so opposed to being under grace. What can be a stronger motive against sin than the love of Christ? Shall we sin against so much goodness, and such love?"
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

Explosion in Hemel Hemsted

Heard the news of the explosion at the fuel depot in Hemel this AM at church. My parents used to live quite near there so I am vaguely familiar with the area. The images of the smoke from the air are something to behold - it spreads so far across the country. According the The BBC, no-one has been killed although there are two people seriously injured in hospital. Our prayers must go to anyone affected, particularly those two and their families. In a strange sense I also pray it was just an accident and not a terrorist attack - is that an appropriate thing to pray? I'm not sure really.

On a different note, I sat my exam on Wednesday and Thursday, and true to expectations it was awful. Just got to wait 6 weeks for the results now, which , seeing as its computer-marked seems ludicrous! Patience...

For those who are interested, I've just started reading a book of prophecy called 'The Gift of Prophecy' by Wayne Grudem. I'm hoping that might inform me more on the cessationist/charismatic argument and the Biblical evidence for such views, which should be interesting, if a little challenging. Got to keep the grey stuff working.

Humility

We had a great discussion on Humility last night at our cell group. Adam, the leader had learnt an important lesson that day, and it was great to hear his thoughts, and God's (through The Bible) on the subject. Humility is so difficult to define however. I've just found a very moving poem called "Paradoxes" on a blog called Challies.com which has an almost Psalmic quality about it. This helped direct me a little closer to understanding what "Humility" is and I hope will be useful to others too. It's challenging and convicting, yet ultimately assuring of God's Love and Grace to us.

Humility
a prominent Christian grace (Rom. 12:3; 15:17, 18; 1 Cor. 3:5-7; 2 Cor. 3:5; Phil. 4:11-13). It is a state of mind well pleasing to God (1 Pet. 3:4); it preserves the soul in tranquillity (Ps. 69:32, 33), and makes us patient under trials (Job 1:22).

Christ has set us an example of humility (Phil. 2:6-8). We should be led thereto by a remembrance of our sins (Lam. 3:39), and by the thought that it is the way to honour (Prov. 16:18), and that the greatest promises are made to the humble (Ps. 147:6; Isa. 57:15; 66:2; 1 Pet. 5:5). It is a "great paradox in Christianity that it makes humility the avenue to glory."

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary, Courtesy of BibleGateway.com

Rich (on the left in the photo) visited today. We always have great chats about life, the universe, etc and today was no exception. He's starting to get involved in MCing/rapping in clubs and recordings too, so I'm looking forward to hearing some of that. I'm also trying to persuade him to get a blog - he looked vaguely tempted, but feels its a bit self indulgent. I couldn't possibly comment...

Anthony Walker - racist murder

The murder of Anthony, a young black man in Liverpool stunned the UK. Not just for its ferocity - his head was stove-in by an ice axe - but for its motives. Two young men, Michael Barton and Paul Taylor, murdered him simply because he was black. They were completely unprovoked in their attack, and had clearly planned the deed enough to invest in a weapon prior to hunting him down as he walked home one night with his girlfriend and cousin. I can't find words to describe how this makes me feel.

And yet the horror of this act was blown away by the grace showed by Anthony's mother. Lorna and I were moved to stunned silence as we watched her publicly forgive the two men citing Jesus forgiving his murderers on the cross as her example.

"Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots." Luke 23:34

God's Holy Spirit moving in His people can lead to incredible, radical behaviour. I pray this touched people into thinking anew about God, and I thank God that He's there comforting that family.

Good site

On my ever increasing list of "good sites" is Adrian's Blog which at the moment has an interesting take on "Reformed Charismatics", which he explains in the following way:

"It is really possible they say to pursue a solid biblical knowledge and sound doctrine whilst experiencing the presence of power of God in a real way today. The Word and the Spirit are not in conflict but rather work together to cause us to know God.The charismatics believe in a God who is alive and acts today. We believe in a God who wants a personal relationship with his followers. Who hears prayers. Who reveals himself. Who pours out his love into our hearts. Who never changes and is the same God of the bible today. We believe that receiving the Holy Spirit is a conscious real experience. We believe that this experience of the Spirit is one of the major ways that God gives us assurance that we are saved."

In my naievity, I wouldn't have thought there could be any other way of doing Christianity, but apparently there are. I must learn more - there is no excuse for ignorance! I'll be keeping an eye on this blog.

Persecution

Our service was about the persecuted church this morning. It's been a long and quite horrible week for me (hence the lack of posts) and I guess it brought me down to earth that despite my worries and woes, I have it easy. People in some other countries aren't allowed to worship freely - they can't go to church openly. In some places if they do they get bombed by terrorists, in some places its illegal, in some they are disciminated against in the kind of jobs they are allowed (eg, only low paid). These are our brothers and sisters as much as people in our local church, and yet I don't support them through prayer very much, or financially.

I feel pretty hypocritical really.

And then we sing songs about worshipping God and praising His name, when we aren't stepping out in faith and helping these people (James 2:14). What good is that?

I can do two things now - I can wallow in self pity, and still do nothing (then the devil wins) or I can ask God to help me change the way I think and act. People are tired of hypocrites and liars - Lord, give me Love, and help me be genuine.

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;" (2 Corinthians 4:8).

The Barnabus Fund - Hope and aid for the persecuted church...

Encouragement, Love and The Church

Today began well. Our church is entering a period of significant change - we have been comfortable for too long and feel God wants us to move forward. I really want to be involved in this, and had put together some plans for changes to the church leadership, which I'd emailed to a couple of friends. What surprised me most was that they had independently had very similar ideas! Moreover, this morning before the service, our vicar Mary found me and commented on how excellent she thought the ideas were! I felt really encouraged because I have been bursting with ideas about how to take God out into our local community more, and how to develop our church community, and it was nice to have those affirmed by other Christians who I respect.

I feel encouragement is a really vital part of biblical love. If anywhere in the world shows love, it has to be the church. So many people have been damaged by thoughtless words and deeds, both from non-Christians, and from Christians. As The Bible says:

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
(2Cor 5:20 - My italics)

That means that through our lives of love, we need to show non-Christians that Jesus is reaching out to them and that He wants to meet with them.

With that in mind, lots of churches in the UK are evaluating what "church" means, both to her members, and also to the public. There's an interesting website called Emerging Church where Christians can share their experiences of doing church differently, and encourage one another. I've also been reading a great book called '21st Century Church' by Rob Warner which is pretty inspiring. And of course, who could forget 'The Purpose Drive Life' by Rick Warren which is an amzing step for individuals and groups to refocus or completely turn around their lives.

We have two options really - we can make sure people know how relevent Jesus is to them, or we can sit on our hands, and fail Him (Matt 28:18-19).

Blimey, now I've written all that, I'd better go and do some of it! G'night all...

Blogs of note...

I'm just getting into this blogging lark. Here are a few I've found that are interesting...
Living Radical - The Jesus Army Life: July 2005
- bankrupt christian -
Blogs4God
Uncovering the gray

Must mow the lawn

Ok, I know it's getting silly now but I hate mowing the lawn! Good job its too wet to mow today!

My Tunes - Christian Acoustic Rock

I've put a few of my songs on the net for anyone that's interested. Do excuse the slightly dodgy MP3 quality!

My MP3s

Town in a stew over a vegetable

Inspiring stuff...

TOKYO (Reuters) - A giant white radish that won the hearts of a Japanese town by valiantly growing through the urban asphalt was in intensive care at a town hall in western Japan on Thursday after being slashed by an unknown assailant. The "daikon" radish, shaped like a giant carrot, first made the news months ago when it was noticed poking up through asphalt along a roadside in the town of Aioi, population 33,289.

This week local residents, who had nicknamed the vegetable "Gutsy Radish", were shocked -- and in some cases moved to tears -- when they found it had been decapitated.

TV talk shows seized on the attempted murder of the popular vegetable and a day later, the top half of the radish was found near the site where it had been growing.

A town official said on Thursday the top of the severed radish had been placed in water to try to keep it alive and possibly get it to flower. Asked why the radish -- more often found on Japanese dinner tables as a garnish, pickle or in "oden" stew -- had so many fans, town spokesman Jiro Matsuo said: "People discouraged by tough times were cheered by its tenacity and strong will to live."

Reuters

Lets just hope the radish can pull through...

My Treo, and the value of rest.

Thanks for the support Dusty - I don't know whether I'm doing a great job on keeping my eyes on God - I think I probably oversold myself - I get the impression God does most of the work!

I made the mistake of leaving my Treo at home today. For those uninitiated into the world of gadgets, a Treo is no ordinary mobile phone. It is also a diary, e-mail machine, calendar, internet machine, and PC in the palm of your hand! It tells me where I should be, when I should be there, how to get there. I have medical text books, two Bible versions, games, MP3s on it. It even runs my bath (OK that's not strictly true). It is truly a wonder.

Perhaps it did me good to survive without it!

I wonder what I would do if I lost everything in a national disaster? The terrible events of Pakistan and East Asian tsunami certainly concentrate the mind. Would the more simple life enable me to become at one with nature, enjoying time to ponder, pontificate and philosophize, or would I go mad without "stuff" to entertain me? I suspect surviving may become my primary goal in that circumstance.

I read an article a while back (I think in the Times Magazine) which asked whether our children are too entertained. From 5 years (soon to be less if Tony Blair has his way) they prepare for exams at school. They then come home and are whisked off to their ballet/football/music/drama/French lessons, fed dinner, bathed and put to bed! There is no time for kids to get bored. You may think that's a good thing, but if we constantly spoon feed activities to children, when do they learn to rest? When do they learn how to make a castle/underground lair out of a sheet and 2 chairs? When do their imaginations and creativity develop? Will we develop a generation who are unable to concieve new thoughts or think laterally. Perhaps that generation is here already - 24 hour TV, internet, groceries, cinemas, clubs and pubs are all available should we want them.

I suspect that if God can create the whole world in 6 days and then have a day off (Gen 2:2), we can rest assured it will not fall apart if we follow His example and rest too. Maybe I'll try that this Sunday - I wonder how long my rest will last...

Tube train perils and a blessed relationship

Somewhat regretting my late night last night this morning, but made up for it with a snooze on the train - something I can't do whilst driving to work normally! However, despite my power-nap, I later felt very relieved that I don't live in London and commute every day. For some reason I became very anxious on the tube train home this evening. One particular chap in the carriage was acting a bit strangely, and in my post 'London bombings' stupidity I became concerned that he was up to no good. No matter how hard I reasoned with myself, I couldn't get the image of more terror attacks from my mind, or quell the feeling of rising panic. How judgmental and reactive we can become when we're scared. As rational as I was trying to be, I was glad to get off the train. The poor guy, God bless him, was just going home like me.

Lorna's on night shifts at the moment, so I'm feeling rather hard-done-by! However in less than a year, she'll be a GP registrar (a family doctor under supervision in a practice), and she'll never have to work a night again (unless she wants to!). Subsequently, our marriage will only be subject to my rota!

Being a doctor does put a strain on a relationship. I've lost count of the number of people I've heard of having affairs, splitting up from their partners, and generally being lonely in the health service. This must be in part due to the time spent apart when working a shift system. People who know Lorna and me comment on how "lucky" we are, how they can't believe we're still together and as close as we are. I don't believe it's luck, I believe God blesses our relationship, and helps us stay committed to keeping together. He inspires me to cherish and love Lorna by the Holy Spirit and the example of Jesus' love of The Church.

What binds us so strongly is that we try to base our faith on firm foundations, not on shaky ground (Matthew chapter 7, verses 24-29), and our marriage involves not just Lorna and me, but God as well - "A cord of three strands is not easily broken" (Ecclesiastes 4 vs 12). I'm not boasting, saying that we are any more special, clever or good at being married than any other couple (I can assure you we're not!), I'm trying to emphasise that we need Jesus in our whole life including our marriage - not just for an hour on a Sunday morning - He is not an added extra or a hobby. Hence the title of this blog - Jesus be the centre - of our churches, but also of our communities, our relationships, our souls. Only then do we give God the worship he deserves, and only then do we fulfil our true purpose in life.

Wedding day 2

Just a couple of pics of the wedding day (Oct 2004). Great day - very blessed. This blogging is addictive - must go to bed! Nighty night.

Wedding day!

Hello

Well, I've joined the herd and started a blog. Hopefully I'll be able to put something of use on it! Essentially, this space is going to be somewhere for my thoughts, an update on the things happening in my life, and hopefully a journal of my faith and what God is doing in my life and church.

Just to introduce myself, I'm Pete, a junior doctor in the UK. I'm married (a year and a bit now) to Lorna (another doctor!), and live in a small village called Bicknacre in Essex (East of London if you really want to know). We go to church locally to St Andrew's, which is a C of E church, and I'm involved in leading worship - it's a happy clappy upbeat place so we have guitars and the like! Apart from God and Lorna, music is my passion. I write, record and attempt to produce music, however, I'm usually better at starting than finishing! I also enjoy gadgets and all round geekery, and am frequently berating myself for buying too much junk, but hey, I'm a bloke. Lorna has clothes, I have expensive electrical items.

I'd better sign off now as I'm off to a study course tomorrow - sadly, even after qualifying as a doctor, there are still exams to pass - I have MRCP part 2 in December. I'll update you on that when I've done it!

Thanks for reading, and here's hoping I'll have some interesting stuff to tell you soon...