Christmas Party 16th Dec

At our place with these guys. And Dan Aykroyd.

On being in the office before the heating is on

Having never seen the office clock before 8am before, I now know why. The heating doesn't com on 'til half eight.

Things are much quieter when no-one else is around. Which leaves room for thoughts.

How will tonight go? Will God heal people? Will He heal Kirsty before she goes into surgery? Will my neck and headaches rear their nasty little head?

I have no doubt in my mind that He can. I'm just not certain it will happen.

Which brings me to last night, reading and learning about Romans 8 together, the 'pinnacle' of the New Testament. I thought to myself lots last night that the promise of God is not that we'll never see trouble, hardship, famine, death, or experience demonic influence, but that these things cannot separate us from the love of God that is in Christ.

M

Let's do more of this

Orderly Worship
26What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

I think when church is smaller it should look a bit more like this, rather than using the white boys with guitars model all the time.

I think in the fuse as we use the main hall we feel we should be using all the toys and gadgets, when really we are just 40 or so people who come together in a much less formal setting.

When we have com together to pray for those in our family who are sick, we have been much more open to listening to God, and seeing where He wants to go. I guess partially it's an expectation thing - sit on seats in rows looking at a band on a stage and something happens subconsciously that says 'you aren't part of what they're doing'. But when we all just gather round the cross, things seem very different, less strict, less organised, more scary and more fun!

FAR to close to the bone . . .

The Bible begins to get token reference, exposition recedes, biblical sounding slogans (like peace, justice, kingdom, mutuality, grace, acceptance, wholeness) begin to replace specific sentences, contextual considerations diminish, moral generalities begin to replace attention to grammatical detail, and soon the Bible in its pointed specificity is not the authority, but rather the ideas of man.

Seriously; this is scary.

and also . . .

I think this backs up one of my arguments - to apprecite the depth of your rescue you must appreciate the depth of your fall. You cannot have mercy without an understanding divine vengeance and wrath.

There is nothing more fearful in reality or in imagination than the prospect of everlasting, never-ending, omnipotent, unimpeachably just and righteous divine wrath and fury. And that is the consequence of our sin.

Unless we get this clear in our heads and powerful in our emotions, the love of God will be reduced to sentimentalism or to a mere assistance for our self-help improvement and recovery plans. It will not be to us the infinitely precious, tremblingly embraced treasure that it really is.

What to do when we have two truths about God that we 'can't' reconcile

You know you're being led and taught by God on something when your bible readings and learnings shed light on the debates of the community - this is from John Piper at DesiringGod.org, read this morning as I work through Romans(again).

When God's Word Seems to Contradict Itself

There is condemnation of Jews and Gentiles, and there is justice. And these two things do not contradict. This is where we began. Who are they whose condemnation is just? Those who play games with the Word of God. More specifically in this case: those who see two true things in the Word of God that they can't reconcile and deny that this can be. For them it was, on the one hand, God is faithful and God is righteous and God is true to his glory, and, on the other hand, God judges his very own chosen people and condemns them along with the Gentile world. Two truths, for them irreconcilable. What advantage then would the Jew have? So they try to reject one of these truths. And the result is sophistry - tricky reasoning, word games. Today we might call it spinning. And to this Paul says, "Their condemnation is just."

So my closing exhortation is: Don't play games with the Bible. Be as careful as you can in handling the Word of God. And when you can't reconcile one true thing with another. Wait and pray and study and seek the Lord. In due time, they will be reconciled.

BTW I highly reccomend the DesiringGod Podcast, and the resources on that website. Through the instruction I have found there I have rediscovered what it means to cherish Christ as precious.

God of wrath - reflections on a Dixon's musings

This is a thoughful meandering and thinking around some issues John raised over at woodiesworship.blogspot . its not fully formed and unedited, hopefully there should be a discussion coming out of it.

Matt

Reading John’s arguments again, I have a few comments to make which are not really directed at the arguments themselves, but more wider questions of exegesis and interpretation. I’m just going to let my mind run away with me on my lunch hour, so this is more ‘Matt’s thoughts’ than ‘Matt wants to sing this song!’ although where I end up might look that way! Firstly, a quick search for the word vengeance in the NIV shows a number of references (29 in fact), particularly Isaiah 34:8 and 35:4 So I think the question we should be asking ourselves is ‘What aspect of the character of God is trying to be put forward by the inclusion of these words in the Bible’. I appreciate that the word itself is a troubling one, one that causes tensions in the chest as we try and square it with the God of the love songs we so often bring to Him. However, it is there, frequently, in the Bible. Describing God is impossible, as we sing (!) . So we must be cautious with how we conceive of God as we try and make attempts to describe some part of him. I am a creature, and I have a character. As such I am made up of different characteristics and tendencies. God is not a creature, but Creator. Therefore we need to be careful not to apply ‘creature’ words to the creator. I might have been a kind man at some point but there is no guarantee I will as kind in 20 years time. God is not beset by such change – he remains the same, immutable, immortal, invisible. So it is more correct to describe God as having attributes rather than characteristics. Secondly when thinking about God we must remember that he never limits himself or any part of himself in acting in a particular way. So when we think of God as Loving and contrast that with his anger and wrath as a very clear opposite, we have already reduced Him down to creature terms. To be loving he doesn’t limit his anger. To act justly doesn’t diminish His love. Rather, as he is divine and we are not, when He acts He is ALWAYS acting fully in accordance with His divine nature. He is constant. He is always God, always will be God, not capricious and flighty but solid and dependable. So to judge is an expression of His mercy and love as much as his act of rescue in His only Son. Specifically, what He judges (in creature terms ‘takes vengeance upon’) in fact CONFIRMS his justice, mercy and love. God takes and will take righteous and perfect action against those who defile and deface the creation and creatures who bear His image. Because He loves them, and is summed up by love. 8 For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion's cause I think reading Isaiah 35 is helpful – 4 say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." I would like to use Romans 1 as a sidelight here. We see that when people know God yet do not honour or worship Him, they are deceived in their minds and dimmed in their thinking. The rest of the chapter shows how sin corrupts the entire human race absolutely. And that ‘the wages of sin is death’. What we know, and should treasure, is that God, while demonstrating His kindness in apparently delaying this final day of ‘vengeance’ so that as many as possible may find the defence of the gracious gift of the Messiah’s blood, will act finally to rid the world of sin, to purify it and judge its evil. The day of vengeance is one that confirms to us that God IS just, that he doesn’t stand idle, that he isn’t disinterested in rape, child abuse, murder, holocausts etc. He cares, and cares deeply about any act which damages and crushes any of those created in His image. These are the things he burns against. I think it is a tension we must hold – let’s just remind ourselves exactly what God will take vengeance on. It isn’t malevolent, sinister self seeking war mongering for power and fame, but the full expression of his love for his people and that fact that those who ignore Him and are in fact openly hostile to him will receive due penalty; when the end comes all that remains will be that which is in the Kingdom of God. That which isn’t will come to an end. He hasn’t hidden his law; he hasn’t hidden His words from us. We know what God requires (in the bigger picture here – not addressing specific individuals at this point). We need to remember these things to appreciate the depth of our fall, and the greatness of the rescue. We have been saved from something – the due penalty for sin is death; the GIFT of God is eternal life. If there isn’t judgement and vengeance and judgement, then there is nothing to show us what God wants and what God hates. We have been saved TO something as well – to eternal life, joy and peace with the creator we now can stand before through His son. It’s hard, but need to somehow hold both aspects of the cross in tension in our minds. I’m going to let Nahum have the last word – spot the tensions! The Lord 's Anger Against Nineveh 2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies. 3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. 4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. 5 The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. 6 Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him. 7 The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, 8 but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh ; he will pursue his foes into darkness.

La la Hmmm

Seeing as it has been a while since I wrote anything meaningful I don’t see why this occasion should be any different. I thought I would take this opportunity to inform you of a few pertinent changes in my life since last year.

Guitar strings: Have changed from d’addario to elixir. Both displease me. The d’adds last longer but the elxirs have a nicer tone for a 5 day period.

Hair: Have abandoned all hope of haircut with a number one job. This, I have discovered, was mainly driven by a desire to let people know that I know I am losing my hair. Grief, is there anything more tragic than someone in the early stages of alopecia carrying on as if nothing as changed? When the mullet becomes a skullet? PS for sale: three tubs of dax hair wax.

Trousers: I now own at least three pairs of non work trousers that are not jeans.

Car: Mavis has been retired, long live the golf gti with more poke than an oversized poking device. On growth hormone.