Why is it that every time I read the story about the Feeding of the 5000 I learn something new? I love it! So this is today's reading. Let me explain some thoughts.
I love how God hides gems in His Word. The more I grow and delve into it and go deeper, the more He reveals to me.
So when I was younger, this story was just like an awesome miracle explaining how great God was in being able to make a packed lunch into a feast for 5000 people!
Then being a bit older, I discovered about how if we give what little we may think we have to God, He can take it and use it and multiply it for His glory and bless 1000s of people!
Then even older still, I was really struck by the 'breaking of the bread'. God often has to break us in order to use us. It's natural. It's often hard. But it's often one of the many ways God can use us.
Today I'm struck by the whole idea of feeding. There were 1000s of starving people, and Jesus' priority with the small packed lunch was simply to feed them. It wasn't spiced up with herbs and spices, or marinated or fluffed up with fancy wording on a menu. It was simple food - bread and fish, but food that was fulfilling.
Likewise, we too need to feed people. There are hungry people in our world - be it hungry for love, acceptance, belonging, answers, fulfillment and so on. Rather than fluffing up Christianity, packaging up Jesus in a nice little box with a gift tag, spicing it up with our own twist or whatever, we just need to feed people with the truth about Jesus Christ.
But how? How can we do this? Well no-one force feeds a child, they offer them a fork with food on. Sometimes the child refuses to eat. So we can try again. Sometimes they still refuse to eat, so perhaps we try a different approach. Sometimes children are full and don't want to eat any more. Sometimes they are hungry and can't wait for the next bite. Likewise with baby Christians or even those who don't believe, we need to be gentle in our approach, break things up into bitesize, digestable pieces, allow them to dictate how much they take in, not force things, be patient, clear up mess and so on. Perhaps the most some people can digest is knowing that there is a listening ear, or someone to help out with their shopping. Perhaps other people are starving and are quick to digest whatever we feed them. Some interesting thoughts.
Finally, if we are well fed, by receiving spiritual nourishment from church, reading our Bible, communicating with God, then perhaps we will have left overs which we can use to feed others. If every person who was spiritually 'full up' shared their food with other people, just think how fast we could share the good news about Christ. So totally awesome! Bring it on!
Read Matthew 14v1-21 for more.
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
The Journey of the journeyless?
Hello,
Slight diversion from the readings todayv(did not fully understand today's so do explain if you know - Matt 12v46-50, Luke 18v19-21).
Anyways, just had a really awe inspiring community group where we were discussing the future of our group and where and what we would like to lead on to. This sparked off several good discussions, many of which I have been pondering over. Here are a few thoughts.
At the moment the journey reading plans are taking us through the gospels. Excellent. I have been really surprised and really challenged to think about this time period and the meaning of the gospels in a different light....
So at the time, there were no Christians. The name had not yet come to be. Jesus had not yet died. There was no sudden conversion experiences to speak of, no 'sinners' prayer', no wham bam Christian in the can type instantaneous conversion moments. It got me thinking. Often as Christians we are waiting for our non-christian friends to have that one life-changing conversion moment and then, boom, that's it, Christian forever, another number to the list, another bum on a chair in church, another 'success' story. Perhaps surprisingly so, there are few of these moments in the gospels. Yes we have Saul later on, but really the majority of those people who came to faith in the gospels were also on a journey. They were on a path, they needed some experience of God, they needed to see Him, feel Him, touch Him, walk with Him for a bit, relate to Him, trust Him, build up a relationship with Him and so on.
These things take TIME. It takes all sorts of things to make a 'Christian'. Jesus walked with all sorts of people and journeyed with all kind of people in the gospels. Sometimes He performed miracles and people 'converted' to the faith almost instantaneously. Other times it took time. Other times it didn't happen at all. What can we learn from Jesus' dealings with non-Christians in the Bible or those who had no faith? Did He refuse to hang out with them? Did He only choose to hang out with those faith-full ones? Did He place super high expectations on them? Did He ask for a show of hands to see who had converted? (obviously this is useful in churches to day so we can approach, guide and talk to those who have chosen to make a committment - I'm not knocking this at all - I'm just saying).
So back in the day I was part of the Message Trust - working on their Eden projects, living and volunteering in a rough estate in Manchester and journeying with my neighbours who were often poor, vulnerable, in trouble with the police and so on. This was my day to day activity. However once a month we'd put on a huge event and invite loads of people from the estates, loads of churches and loads of school kids from all over Manchester to hear the gospel. They were fantastic. There were live bands, music, entertainment, a talk and guess what...? Loads of people heard the gospel and put their hands up to make a committment. Some evenings we'd see close to 100 people become 'Christians'. But often these people wouldn't return the next month. Neither would they return the month after. Often they would return home and one of two things would happen. They'd turn up to their local church, only to be turned away or put off because the church just wasn't equipped enough to deal with such people, or they would return to their 'non-Christian' lifestyle of drink, drugs, crime and so on. Sometimes it was both.
Why?!!! Why is this? Are we placing to much emphasis on the 'moment' of conversion, rather than looking at the journey? Are we just bothered about numbers in the Kingdom of God? Are we lacking the knowledge, patience, wisdom and dedication to walking the journey with other people? Are we afraid? Are we too inward focussed on ourselves and our problems?
Look at Jesus. Look at some of the people without faith that He hung out with. He made time for them. He walked with them. He talked to them. He laughed with them. He cried with them. He understood that each person is on their own journey. He loved them. He was REAL with them; not just out with an ulterior motivation and their conversion in mind. He knew that each person had different needs, different issues, different questions. There wasn't and still isn't one formulaic 'one size fits all' conversion package to Christianity. Sometimes I think that the sooner we realise this, the fuller our churches would be. Let's journey with people, allow for their growth, allow for their stumbles, allow for their questions, allow for their turning away and coming back. Let's not be people who eagerly await the 'conversion experience' that may never happen and then vanish from that person's life. Let's walk the journey with our friends. Let's bear with the things they do that we don't agree with, rather than turning our noses up.
Guys let me say - we do a fantastic job. Some of you out there I can only dream of being more like. Some of you are better journey companions than I could ever be. Don't stop. Not ever. However just have a walk through my words and my thoughts from today. What do we think? Am I right? What would you add? And let's not forget, God is the author and perfector of our faith (Heb12v1-2). He is the maker of our salvation. It's not up to us. Pressure off. :)
Oh and if anyone has the book 'Surprised by Joy' by CS Lewis, can I borrow a copy?
Ta!
Slight diversion from the readings todayv(did not fully understand today's so do explain if you know - Matt 12v46-50, Luke 18v19-21).
Anyways, just had a really awe inspiring community group where we were discussing the future of our group and where and what we would like to lead on to. This sparked off several good discussions, many of which I have been pondering over. Here are a few thoughts.
At the moment the journey reading plans are taking us through the gospels. Excellent. I have been really surprised and really challenged to think about this time period and the meaning of the gospels in a different light....
So at the time, there were no Christians. The name had not yet come to be. Jesus had not yet died. There was no sudden conversion experiences to speak of, no 'sinners' prayer', no wham bam Christian in the can type instantaneous conversion moments. It got me thinking. Often as Christians we are waiting for our non-christian friends to have that one life-changing conversion moment and then, boom, that's it, Christian forever, another number to the list, another bum on a chair in church, another 'success' story. Perhaps surprisingly so, there are few of these moments in the gospels. Yes we have Saul later on, but really the majority of those people who came to faith in the gospels were also on a journey. They were on a path, they needed some experience of God, they needed to see Him, feel Him, touch Him, walk with Him for a bit, relate to Him, trust Him, build up a relationship with Him and so on.
These things take TIME. It takes all sorts of things to make a 'Christian'. Jesus walked with all sorts of people and journeyed with all kind of people in the gospels. Sometimes He performed miracles and people 'converted' to the faith almost instantaneously. Other times it took time. Other times it didn't happen at all. What can we learn from Jesus' dealings with non-Christians in the Bible or those who had no faith? Did He refuse to hang out with them? Did He only choose to hang out with those faith-full ones? Did He place super high expectations on them? Did He ask for a show of hands to see who had converted? (obviously this is useful in churches to day so we can approach, guide and talk to those who have chosen to make a committment - I'm not knocking this at all - I'm just saying).
So back in the day I was part of the Message Trust - working on their Eden projects, living and volunteering in a rough estate in Manchester and journeying with my neighbours who were often poor, vulnerable, in trouble with the police and so on. This was my day to day activity. However once a month we'd put on a huge event and invite loads of people from the estates, loads of churches and loads of school kids from all over Manchester to hear the gospel. They were fantastic. There were live bands, music, entertainment, a talk and guess what...? Loads of people heard the gospel and put their hands up to make a committment. Some evenings we'd see close to 100 people become 'Christians'. But often these people wouldn't return the next month. Neither would they return the month after. Often they would return home and one of two things would happen. They'd turn up to their local church, only to be turned away or put off because the church just wasn't equipped enough to deal with such people, or they would return to their 'non-Christian' lifestyle of drink, drugs, crime and so on. Sometimes it was both.
Why?!!! Why is this? Are we placing to much emphasis on the 'moment' of conversion, rather than looking at the journey? Are we just bothered about numbers in the Kingdom of God? Are we lacking the knowledge, patience, wisdom and dedication to walking the journey with other people? Are we afraid? Are we too inward focussed on ourselves and our problems?
Look at Jesus. Look at some of the people without faith that He hung out with. He made time for them. He walked with them. He talked to them. He laughed with them. He cried with them. He understood that each person is on their own journey. He loved them. He was REAL with them; not just out with an ulterior motivation and their conversion in mind. He knew that each person had different needs, different issues, different questions. There wasn't and still isn't one formulaic 'one size fits all' conversion package to Christianity. Sometimes I think that the sooner we realise this, the fuller our churches would be. Let's journey with people, allow for their growth, allow for their stumbles, allow for their questions, allow for their turning away and coming back. Let's not be people who eagerly await the 'conversion experience' that may never happen and then vanish from that person's life. Let's walk the journey with our friends. Let's bear with the things they do that we don't agree with, rather than turning our noses up.
Guys let me say - we do a fantastic job. Some of you out there I can only dream of being more like. Some of you are better journey companions than I could ever be. Don't stop. Not ever. However just have a walk through my words and my thoughts from today. What do we think? Am I right? What would you add? And let's not forget, God is the author and perfector of our faith (Heb12v1-2). He is the maker of our salvation. It's not up to us. Pressure off. :)
Oh and if anyone has the book 'Surprised by Joy' by CS Lewis, can I borrow a copy?
Ta!
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
The Importance of Women and Purpose
I just LOVE Luke 8v1-3 today.
Firstly
The first thing v1 mentions is Jesus' purpose - proclaiming the good news. It's interesting to note that he was defined by his purpose in life - not always by status, job, trade or who he hung around with. His purpose was the most important thing i.e. spreading the Kingdom of God.
How often do we define ourselves by our job (I'm a teacher, I'm a vicar, I'm a nurse...) or by our friends, (I'm Bob's friend, I know person X...). Jesus did none of these things so as not to gain unneccessary attention or status, or to show off. He had his sole purpose of spreading the Kingdom. What is your purpose? What are you here for? Is it to further the Kingdom? Is it to encourage those within the Kingdom? Is it to inspire? To love? To reach-out?... A thought worth thinking.
Secondly
So Luke 8 mentions the 'Twelve' in verse 1, obviously being the 12 male disciples, but then it goes on to talk about Jesus' female followers, complete with their names listed for a whole 2 verses. Here we see Luke - the writer of the gospel of Luke (I think) giving credit and status and awareness to women and their importance. He has followed in Jesus' footsteps. Jesus hung around with women. He loved women. He taught them. They assisted in his purpose. Obviously for the times, they are often not given as much importance as men, but Jesus still acknowledges them, includes them and accepts them. How cool! I thought it was amazing to know that women too were included in Jesus' followers and were allowed a part in his ministry!
Firstly
The first thing v1 mentions is Jesus' purpose - proclaiming the good news. It's interesting to note that he was defined by his purpose in life - not always by status, job, trade or who he hung around with. His purpose was the most important thing i.e. spreading the Kingdom of God.
How often do we define ourselves by our job (I'm a teacher, I'm a vicar, I'm a nurse...) or by our friends, (I'm Bob's friend, I know person X...). Jesus did none of these things so as not to gain unneccessary attention or status, or to show off. He had his sole purpose of spreading the Kingdom. What is your purpose? What are you here for? Is it to further the Kingdom? Is it to encourage those within the Kingdom? Is it to inspire? To love? To reach-out?... A thought worth thinking.
Secondly
So Luke 8 mentions the 'Twelve' in verse 1, obviously being the 12 male disciples, but then it goes on to talk about Jesus' female followers, complete with their names listed for a whole 2 verses. Here we see Luke - the writer of the gospel of Luke (I think) giving credit and status and awareness to women and their importance. He has followed in Jesus' footsteps. Jesus hung around with women. He loved women. He taught them. They assisted in his purpose. Obviously for the times, they are often not given as much importance as men, but Jesus still acknowledges them, includes them and accepts them. How cool! I thought it was amazing to know that women too were included in Jesus' followers and were allowed a part in his ministry!
Sunday, 9 September 2012
How far can I go for the Kindom?
Hi guys.
I've been really challenged recently by this question:
'How far can I go for the Kingdom of God?
Let me unpack this a little bit. So as Christians we are called to go into the world and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28v19). We see Jesus completely turning laws and rules on their heads and hang out with 'sinners', dine with prostitutes, reverse the religious laws of the day, break sabbath laws, do the completely unthinkable, all in the name of the Kingdom. Today we have been reading about Him healing the sick on the Sabbath, something completely forbidden by Jewish law and frowned down upon. Breaking some of these laws in that day and age could have resulted in death. (See Matthew 12v9-14 for example). Jesus goes beyond the law, breaks the rules and risks his own life, all in the name of His Father - God.
I loved Friday's verse - Matthew 9v9 in which Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collected, to follow Him. I love the fact that befriending this 'sinner' enabled Jesus to hang out with even more 'sinners' in Matthew's house (Matthew 9v10) and therefore have more opportunities to share the love of God. Challenging stuff for us to think about. Do we choose our friends because we like the nice, easy, comfortable Christian bubble? Do we choose them to mutually encourage eachother? Or do we choose them because we have an opportunity to share and be Christ to them? I think all are relevant, but need the right balance.
But, still, where does this leave us? Which 'rules' can we choose to follow, and which can we choose to overturn in the name of Jesus? How far can we go in the name of the Gospel? Let me share some personal examples to illustrate this further.
So this year I have explored some new territory and begun dating a lovely man who is not a Christian. It is hard work at times, particularly when our beliefs and values clash. I for one am constantly reminded of the verse in 2 Corinthians 6v14 about not being yoked together with non-believers. I am very aware of this and still unsure as to what I think or whether I am doing the right thing. It is the current journey I am on. Hopefully it will be a long journey, but who knows. Yet this amazing guy, thanks to God using me and working in the situation, has attended church many times and is hopefully exploring things further in an Alpha course. He has a deeper understanding of God, and has really had his eyes opened to God, Jesus, church, Christianity and so on; something which he probably would never have pursued had I not been with him. Now I'm not saying this to get into a debate about whether it's ok to be with a non-believer or not. I just want to illustrate this as an example of the extent to which we could go for the kingdom. Is this too far?
Another example is this. I have lived in a house for 3 years with non-believers and non-church goers. Contrary to some opinions and some Biblical principals, I have chosen to stay here and be a witness in the house, and in this community. Now with this, I realise that on many occasions my standards have slipped. I have become more worldly and have joined in with some of the things that go on in my house, not all of which are good. Perhaps I would be better off living with believers and thus be encouraged in my faith, built up, surrounded by 'holy-living' people and so on. I chose not to, partly for the great opportunity it has been to be a witness. Praise God, because so many good things have come from this decision. One good friend has now moved out but in her new house has Bible verses painted all over her living room. One new housemate is a Christian and wants to come to church with me, and through witnessing to two other housemates, they are planning on attending the next Alpha course.
Is it therefore ok to compromise a little bit if it means furthering the Kingdom? Is it ok to live as a witness 24/7 and see fruit, at the cost of a few slip ups and compromises along the way? I've heard of Christians in America going to porn conventions to preach the gospel. Excellent! However, at the same time are they not compromising their faith and putting stumbling blocks in the way? I heard of one woman preaching at Momentum this year who ran a Salvation Army stall at a Sex conference in the USA, all in the name of Jesus.
How far is too far? How far is acceptable? Jesus was quite extreme, I must say.
Finally Helen Roberts wonderfully preached this morning about being a witness in community but at the same time remaining in God. It was wonderful, and if you missed it you can catch up on the church website www.watfordcommunitychurch.org. One thing she mentioned was about being supernatural and not superficial. We need to be real. Well REALLY there are prostitutes, fraudsters, tax dodgers, liars, sex offenders, adulterers, scammers and so on in our communities and in our world. If we remain locked into our Christian bubbles, how are we ever going to reach these people? Yet if we hang out with them too much, we risk becoming like them, compromising our faith, being led astray. So how far is too far? Jesus hung out with these people and remained without sin. Shouldn't we do likewise?
Perhaps the answer is to remain in God first and foremost as Helen said. Then He can guide us and lead us to places. But surely some of our witness needs to be from us in that we are strong, bold, willing to go out and get dirty, and so on?
So, back to my original question.
How far can I go for the Kingdom?
Answers in the comment box below!
I've been really challenged recently by this question:
'How far can I go for the Kingdom of God?
Let me unpack this a little bit. So as Christians we are called to go into the world and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28v19). We see Jesus completely turning laws and rules on their heads and hang out with 'sinners', dine with prostitutes, reverse the religious laws of the day, break sabbath laws, do the completely unthinkable, all in the name of the Kingdom. Today we have been reading about Him healing the sick on the Sabbath, something completely forbidden by Jewish law and frowned down upon. Breaking some of these laws in that day and age could have resulted in death. (See Matthew 12v9-14 for example). Jesus goes beyond the law, breaks the rules and risks his own life, all in the name of His Father - God.
I loved Friday's verse - Matthew 9v9 in which Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collected, to follow Him. I love the fact that befriending this 'sinner' enabled Jesus to hang out with even more 'sinners' in Matthew's house (Matthew 9v10) and therefore have more opportunities to share the love of God. Challenging stuff for us to think about. Do we choose our friends because we like the nice, easy, comfortable Christian bubble? Do we choose them to mutually encourage eachother? Or do we choose them because we have an opportunity to share and be Christ to them? I think all are relevant, but need the right balance.
But, still, where does this leave us? Which 'rules' can we choose to follow, and which can we choose to overturn in the name of Jesus? How far can we go in the name of the Gospel? Let me share some personal examples to illustrate this further.
So this year I have explored some new territory and begun dating a lovely man who is not a Christian. It is hard work at times, particularly when our beliefs and values clash. I for one am constantly reminded of the verse in 2 Corinthians 6v14 about not being yoked together with non-believers. I am very aware of this and still unsure as to what I think or whether I am doing the right thing. It is the current journey I am on. Hopefully it will be a long journey, but who knows. Yet this amazing guy, thanks to God using me and working in the situation, has attended church many times and is hopefully exploring things further in an Alpha course. He has a deeper understanding of God, and has really had his eyes opened to God, Jesus, church, Christianity and so on; something which he probably would never have pursued had I not been with him. Now I'm not saying this to get into a debate about whether it's ok to be with a non-believer or not. I just want to illustrate this as an example of the extent to which we could go for the kingdom. Is this too far?
Another example is this. I have lived in a house for 3 years with non-believers and non-church goers. Contrary to some opinions and some Biblical principals, I have chosen to stay here and be a witness in the house, and in this community. Now with this, I realise that on many occasions my standards have slipped. I have become more worldly and have joined in with some of the things that go on in my house, not all of which are good. Perhaps I would be better off living with believers and thus be encouraged in my faith, built up, surrounded by 'holy-living' people and so on. I chose not to, partly for the great opportunity it has been to be a witness. Praise God, because so many good things have come from this decision. One good friend has now moved out but in her new house has Bible verses painted all over her living room. One new housemate is a Christian and wants to come to church with me, and through witnessing to two other housemates, they are planning on attending the next Alpha course.
Is it therefore ok to compromise a little bit if it means furthering the Kingdom? Is it ok to live as a witness 24/7 and see fruit, at the cost of a few slip ups and compromises along the way? I've heard of Christians in America going to porn conventions to preach the gospel. Excellent! However, at the same time are they not compromising their faith and putting stumbling blocks in the way? I heard of one woman preaching at Momentum this year who ran a Salvation Army stall at a Sex conference in the USA, all in the name of Jesus.
How far is too far? How far is acceptable? Jesus was quite extreme, I must say.
Finally Helen Roberts wonderfully preached this morning about being a witness in community but at the same time remaining in God. It was wonderful, and if you missed it you can catch up on the church website www.watfordcommunitychurch.org. One thing she mentioned was about being supernatural and not superficial. We need to be real. Well REALLY there are prostitutes, fraudsters, tax dodgers, liars, sex offenders, adulterers, scammers and so on in our communities and in our world. If we remain locked into our Christian bubbles, how are we ever going to reach these people? Yet if we hang out with them too much, we risk becoming like them, compromising our faith, being led astray. So how far is too far? Jesus hung out with these people and remained without sin. Shouldn't we do likewise?
Perhaps the answer is to remain in God first and foremost as Helen said. Then He can guide us and lead us to places. But surely some of our witness needs to be from us in that we are strong, bold, willing to go out and get dirty, and so on?
So, back to my original question.
How far can I go for the Kingdom?
Answers in the comment box below!
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
My life isn't rubbish - stop telling me it is!
Hiyer,
Bit of a diversion from the readings today and more of a focus on the talk at Watford Community Church on Sunday.
So Mark Ritchie - awesome guy, came to speak and shared of how he is currently journeying across the UK - 700 miles in 70 days I think it was, carrying a huge cross on his back. What an awesome man! He is going from South to North, and then West to East in a cross shape across the UK, witnessing along the way and speaking in various churches.
We had the privilege to hear him on Sunday. His message was this, and was also very true.
Our lives are often so full of junk and rubbish. We have bad thoughts, we mess up, we hurt people, we say the wrong thing.... We need punishing for what we have done wrong. There are consquences and a price to pay. We do things against God and fail to respect Him, thus creating a barrier and an obstacle between us. But no matter how full of junk our life gets, how many times we have upset God, how low we are, how much our life may stink, or how hard it may be, if we choose to say sorry, accept Jesus' death on the cross, and receive forgiveness then we are free, saved, lifted out of our mess, not condemned, free to go, let off the hook and so on. See because God loves us so much, He sent His only one, perfect son, Jesus who, just like in the old testament they sacrificed animals as an atonement for sin, died on the cross as our sacrifice and paid the price for our wrong doings. He died in our place, our junk got pinned on the cross with Him, so we don't have to carry it. He took the punishment and the consequences of our actions upon Him so we don't have to face it ourselves. He stood in our place as the accused and the guilty and we got off free. Awesomeness!
We were then encouraged to write down things that burden us, junk we have in our lives, hurts, pains, failures and so on and bring them to the cross. It was brilliant and God did a lot of work, people got saved, healings occurred, and so on. Praise God.
However, upon reflection, I had a few questions.
What about all of those people who do not feel they have junk in their lives? What about those people who have everything they feel they need, and therefore would not consider a saviour? What about those people who have a house, salary, car, spare cash, enjoy their weekends, holiday when and where they like and get on just fine....? Surely their lives aren't filled with 'junk' and wouldn't it offend them to say they were? Yes they probably get things wrong but why would they consider a saviour? For a non-believer who lives the best life they can, is nice to people, helpful, kind, caring and so on, to be told their life is full of junk and they are filled with rubbish is a bit hard to hear. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED what Mark had to say. This is just an after thought which I had upon reflection.
I understand the gospel. I understand the need for a saviour, I understand the need for repentance and forgiveness. But many people don't feel they do. Many people are 'ok thanks' and getting on just fine. Being told their lives are full of junk just doesn't bode well.
What do we think? What are other people's views? How can we meet people who are on this kind of journey?
Bit of a diversion from the readings today and more of a focus on the talk at Watford Community Church on Sunday.
So Mark Ritchie - awesome guy, came to speak and shared of how he is currently journeying across the UK - 700 miles in 70 days I think it was, carrying a huge cross on his back. What an awesome man! He is going from South to North, and then West to East in a cross shape across the UK, witnessing along the way and speaking in various churches.
We had the privilege to hear him on Sunday. His message was this, and was also very true.
Our lives are often so full of junk and rubbish. We have bad thoughts, we mess up, we hurt people, we say the wrong thing.... We need punishing for what we have done wrong. There are consquences and a price to pay. We do things against God and fail to respect Him, thus creating a barrier and an obstacle between us. But no matter how full of junk our life gets, how many times we have upset God, how low we are, how much our life may stink, or how hard it may be, if we choose to say sorry, accept Jesus' death on the cross, and receive forgiveness then we are free, saved, lifted out of our mess, not condemned, free to go, let off the hook and so on. See because God loves us so much, He sent His only one, perfect son, Jesus who, just like in the old testament they sacrificed animals as an atonement for sin, died on the cross as our sacrifice and paid the price for our wrong doings. He died in our place, our junk got pinned on the cross with Him, so we don't have to carry it. He took the punishment and the consequences of our actions upon Him so we don't have to face it ourselves. He stood in our place as the accused and the guilty and we got off free. Awesomeness!
We were then encouraged to write down things that burden us, junk we have in our lives, hurts, pains, failures and so on and bring them to the cross. It was brilliant and God did a lot of work, people got saved, healings occurred, and so on. Praise God.
However, upon reflection, I had a few questions.
What about all of those people who do not feel they have junk in their lives? What about those people who have everything they feel they need, and therefore would not consider a saviour? What about those people who have a house, salary, car, spare cash, enjoy their weekends, holiday when and where they like and get on just fine....? Surely their lives aren't filled with 'junk' and wouldn't it offend them to say they were? Yes they probably get things wrong but why would they consider a saviour? For a non-believer who lives the best life they can, is nice to people, helpful, kind, caring and so on, to be told their life is full of junk and they are filled with rubbish is a bit hard to hear. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED what Mark had to say. This is just an after thought which I had upon reflection.
I understand the gospel. I understand the need for a saviour, I understand the need for repentance and forgiveness. But many people don't feel they do. Many people are 'ok thanks' and getting on just fine. Being told their lives are full of junk just doesn't bode well.
What do we think? What are other people's views? How can we meet people who are on this kind of journey?
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