Love Wins

Christmas Eve

London Riots
12th August 2011

Three nights now of rioting and looting across our capital city and spreading to other cities as well. Supposedly as a protest against a young murder victim. , Zeinobia [Egyptian blogger and activist who took part in the protests that forced ex-Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak from power] however made this observation: "I am sorry but you do not loot to object the murder of a young man, you are using his murder." Some, including former London mayor Ken Livingstone, suggested that the Tottenham riot was an unleashing of pent-up resentment over the weak economy, high unemployment rates and historically deep budget cuts that are decreasing government funding for poor communities and grass-roots charities. He blamed a sense that young Britons are facing "the bleakest future."

All this devastation and looting along with the extra policing etc will certainly help the economy – NOT! The world’s press are commenting on the awful scenes of mindless rioting, violence, looting and mass destruction.
Pravda In Russia says that London is a boiling cauldron.
China comments on police credibility. The wembley football match with the Netherlands Wednesday evening has been called off as have other London football games.

I am at a loss to understand this rioting. It is not for freedom as was the case in Egypt. It is causing great loss and pain to many people as their homes, cars, businesses are smashed and burned in a mindless frenzy of inexplicable violence and hatred.
I was listening to good old Radio Essex this morning and listeners were invited to phone in their response to the question. What would you do to stop it? And how would you treat the rioters?
The suggestions were interesting from water cannon to smoke bombs, - bring in the army, round them all up – use rubber bullets –tear gas and so on.
Certainly the rioting needs to be quelled. But how? No doubt the emergency meeting of the National Security Council taking place as I write will decide a certain course of action.

However the questions that the community in Tottenham have been asking do need answering. Justice certainly is needed and that appears to be the big cry from Tottenham’s residents who now fear it is going to be almost impossible to rebuild their community.

The brother of Mark Duggan the shot victim said: "I know people are frustrated…but I would say please try and hold it down…please don't make this about my brother's life - he was a good man."

Despite everything supportive community spirit somehow does continue. People are rallying round. A local church was visiting those made homeless by the riots in Tottenham Green Centre to find out what their needs were and to raise funds to help them. 

 "We want to support the families and victims of the riots; to be with them and to pray with them whenever there is loss of life. There are many families who have become homeless overnight. The rebuilding process will be long.”

Anglican church St Mary the Virgin is distributing meals and providing hot water and phone charging facilities to those who were left without electricity. But so much is needed in what at times must seem to be like a war zone. As the Daily Mirror reported on resident’s despair at the rioting with one saying: "This community was already dying, now it's dead. I can't see how it will come back from this."
Let us pray for peace, plead for sanity, hope for a strong sense of community that will pull together in such times of real struggling and trial and urge all those who love and serve Jesus Christ to believe that it is not new laws, better policing, more funding for social services that will in the end for ever resolve such behaviour, but rather the local church without walls open and transparent to a needy world with the message of God’s unending love and amazing grace. Believe this and act on it.



Being A Man
26th June 2011

John Eldridge in his book “Wild at heart” writes:
“When all is said & done, I think most men in the church believe God put them on the earth to be a good boy. The problem with men, we are told, is that they don’t know how to keep their promises, be spiritual leaders, talk to their wives or raise their children. But if they will try real hard, they can reach the lofty summit of becoming…. A nice guy. That is what we hold up as models of Christian maturity; Really nice men.
Now in all your boyhood dreams growing up did you ever dream of becoming just a nice guy? Ladies, was the Prince of your dreams dashing or merely nice? I don’t think so.
This dedication to niceness is the reason there are so many tired, lonely women, so many fatherless children, and so few men around.
We have taken away the dreams of a man’s heart and told him to play the man.”
As C.S.Lewis says: “We castrate the gelding and tell him to be fruitful.”
Deep in his heart every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live and a beauty to rescue. That is how he bears the image of God: that is what God made him to be.”

In Ezekiel 22:30     God says: “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”  
I believe God is looking for men today.  He's looking for wall building, gap standing men that he can count on.  And God knows who is his man, and who is not.  He knows the difference and he wants men to know the difference as well.  Because that difference may well be the very thing that decides if our home, our church or our community will know great blessing or judgement.

God is looking for men who will be men. Fathers who are not drinking with their mates every other evening or at the gym keeping fit, or working every hour of the day whilst their children are dying for his attention. How many people today would have had a much less traumatic childhood, much less baggage to have to carry around today, if there was a father there who loved them enough to even be there for them.
God is looking for men who will rise to the challenge of taking on the spiritual battle against the forces of evil and wickedness. Who will not be just a good man that does nothing, for then evil will triumph.
God does not want just nice men, he wants real men, men of God who will stand in the gap and plead for their families, their community, their church. Men who like Moses will stand before God and say. “But now O Lord please forgive their sin – but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” Like Joshua who declared; “You choose today who you are going to serve, but as for me and my house, we are going to serve the Lord.”

Men who will be men and take up their responsibilities of leadership and allow women to be what God made them for as well, rather than in many instances having to be both mum and dad.

David Cameron said; as recorded in the Sunday telegraph 19th June 2011. Where men were unwilling to face up to their family obligations, he said that it was up to the rest of society to make clear that such behaviour was unacceptable. It’s high time runaway dads were stigmatized and the full force of shame was heaped upon them. They should be looked at like drink drivers, people who are beyond the pale.”

Come on men rise up – let’s build up we have allowed to be torn down in our homes and communities. Let us stand in the gap and be the go between for God and people.

Have you ever had a kick in the teeth? Not the sort that means a trip to the dentist, but the sort that actually gives you an ache in the belly and leaves you feeling frustrated and cheated.

Like having a burden and concern for something even a real passion so that you work really hard at it for a number of years. As a result good things start to happen and people are blessed and feel wanted. Then at the point of something really amazing about to happen, someone else who has no concern or passion for what you have been doing nips in and steals the lime-light and grabs the prize.

To say I’m frustrated is to understate the case. I feel angry, let down and start to wonder if all the effort and time was really worth it.

But then I think to myself, all that has been done cannot be undone. It has happened and been a blessing and actually will continue to be.

God is sovereign and is working out his purposes. I guess I’m feeling put out because it wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

Then I ask myself. What would Jesus do? And now I have another problem! I don’t know for sure what he would do. I mean there was that time when he was angry and cleared out the temple. Then when he was brought before his

accusers he didn’t say a word. So…… I don’t know. But I have a feeling I will and somehow I have to believe that God will just work it all out and I need to learn to be still and be obedient and just get on with what he has trusted me to do.

But it isn’t always easy.

A Lighthouse
16th Dec 2010

A Coastal countryfile TV program recently showed a brief clip of a man holding a light bulb. This was not your average bayonet or screw in household light bulb, this was huge.

This particular bulb was an old example of a lighthouse bulb..
Lighthouses project light though a special lens that increases the intensity of the light from their lamps. It’s called a Fresnel lens; invented in 1822 by Augustin Fresnel, a French physicist. Each face of a Fresnel lenses is surrounded by a ring of triangular prism, which refract and focuses the light. Some Fresnel lenses measure as much as 8 feet(2.4 meters) in height and 6 feet (1.8 meters) in diameter. Enabling a powerful beam of light to be seen 20 miles away in clear weather. Each lighthouse gives off a particular light pattern of which there are 5 basic types.
Whilst the amount of light produced is enormous, the bulbs used may today be just a  250 watts halogen bulb replacing a 1,000 watt tungsten bulb. Amazing.
The point of course is that lighthouses exist for 2 reasons.
The first is to warn of dangerous rocks and coastlines. To warn shipping to stay clear of danger. The second is that often the lighthouse when aligned with some other lit landmark, steers a ship safely through the dangerous rocks into the harbour.
I believe the local church is to be like a lighthouse in the community. It’s function to warn of the dangers and consequences of living life without Jesus and to show how that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. That he alone is the way to the Father. We do it through the lives and experiences of every church member. For each of us the gospel is life changing. It excites us and we can show to those around us the amazing difference Jesus can make to our lives.
Of course there are some big assumptions here. For example; How many Christians are living their life in the real power and presence of Jesus?  How many are continually excited by Jesus? How many of us continually uphold a more positive world view with the perspective of heaven rather than getting sucked into the negative, doom and gloom view that is so often prevalent in our society today? How many of us are passionate to see  others know Jesus and in so doing receive for themselves a new purpose, direction and meaning to their life? But it’s how it should be.
With the development of advanced electronic navigation aids the number of lighthouses in use has declined to only about 1400 in use worldwide. And I’m just wondering about the decline of Christian influence in our communities because we are not the shining example we should be.
The Good News of the gospel is truly life changing. So consider if you will that if the unending love of God to us through Jesus hasn’t changed our perspective of life and given us a passion for others we have not fully understood or possibly even properly embraced the gospel of the New Testament, unlike the early Christians living in Thessalonica. (See 1 Thessalonians chapter 1)

Student Protests
11th Dec 2010

I have been watching the students preparing to march outside Parliament in protest of the massive rise in student tuition fees .. Though the abstainers and voters against are growing, they will probably not be enough to prevent the vote going through. We shall see. How passionate and eloquent some of these students are. Their arguments well thought out and clearly explained. One wonders if they should not be employed by the government at a good salary (then the debts caused by student fees won't be a problem), to put across in such a way that everyone can understand,  why fees need to go up so much and how they will work. It would also be good to know why the rise in fees is so drastically disproportionate to the other cuts that the government are making. And while I'm in inquisitive mood. What about subsidizing student fees.? The Scots and the Welsh  are able to. Looking at the whole picture, I think I'm with the students on this one.

But what really got to me was the passion and commitment of students over the past few days to make sure their message is heard and understood. And here we are coming up to Christmas, remembering the greatest story ever told, and I'm thinking where's my passion and enthusiasm? Where is my commitment to really make sure people around  know about the central theme of Christmas. The birth of a Saviour for them. Probably the best thing to do is to stop writing this and take to the streets. In a non violent way of course.
After all the message still is:

Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.

God is good!
20th Oct 2010

I was thinking this week, I do sometimes, about some of the good things that have happened in our church in the last 2 or 3 weeks. It's so easy to get used to the same things every week. As long as we keep coming, put our money in the box and pray regularly, we can believe that all is well and feel reasonably content with our lot or at least with our Christian life. But actually that is not enough, and sometimes it can be through some specially blessed times, when God is working, that we wake up to the fact that there is more. But I digress.

God is good. I want to praise him for who He is. He alone is truly good. He is the sovereign King of Kings, all powerful and without limit, entirely and impartially merciful the one who supplies strength to the weak. He guards, guides and provides, His grace is amazing and his love never changes and I can call him my Father which is just brilliant. But God is good not just because of who He is but because of his amazing deeds. We had a really good church council meeting where we shared and prayed for the church and for one another. God has been saving people in the church. He has been touching people's lives and challenging them about their walk with God. In particular the baggage they are dragging around with them and the need to cut it away. We are seeing new people come and that is great. Our current teaching series Sunday morning on the life of David, seems to be really relevant and God is challenging us through David's life. A man like us with many faults and failures and many questions and doubts - lots of them the same questions and doubts we have too, and yet a man after God's own heart. Yes God is good.

But let's build on what he is doing. Let's go with God. as Rick Warren says; "Ride the wave". Let's move forward and as we praise God for his goodness pray that we might see more of his love and glory among us.

Our God is more willing to give than we are to receive or ask . He is more willing to forgive than we are to say sorry. He is a good God who has plans for his people and his church. The more we know those plans and are obedient to him we shall see and experience yet more of the goodness of God. Just remember: If you're walking through the valley And there are shadows all around.
Do not fear, He will guide you, He will keep you safe and sound;
Cause He has promised to never leave you, Nor forsake you, and His word is true.

God is good all the time!



What do you value?
2nd Oct 2010

A burglary earlier in the year got to me more than I could ever have imagined. I suppose all of the clearing up and repairs, when I wanted to be doing something else, had a lot to do with it. How could people create such mindless havoc? Why would you just want to wreck somebody else’s stuff. The insurance will pay for most of what was stolen. But some things like gifts from the family and tools from my dad cannot be replaced. I was not very happy and a touch angry too! After the clearing up was done and the repairs finished I got to thinking about how I had re-acted.

The question that figured most in my thinking was . What importance do you place on things?. It struck me, pretty obvious really, that the less you have the less you miss if you get burgled. It’s not such a big deal. Then I reasoned that material possessions are temporary and what is important in life is what lasts. The things we have do not not effect eternity unless we allow them to rob us of living for eternity. And of course that is I guess how it is for lots of people. Spending tons on possessions and much less on living to really please God our Maker. So what is important to me? I certainly would want to look after the stuff I have. That is being a good steward of what we possess.. My family is important to me and I value them more and more the older I get. You see the older I get the more they get to really know me and are good at pointing out some of my failures and weaknesses – which is a good thing, mostly! I value my friends and the people who just pop in for a coffee. I love the church and the people there with all their differences and peculiarities. But most of all I love God.

Now if you love someone it is good to show them you love them right! I know there are times when I don’t really show God how much I love him. Times when I am selfish and want my way rather than his. Times when I forget he knows me better than I know me - and I think I know best. But what really gets to me, and this is why I love God – When I blow it God’s love for me does not change. God still loves me so much. Even when I let him down. When I say sorry for things I’ve done and then repeat the same offence again. Still God forgives me – picks me up, dusts me down and sets me off again to try and live for him. Hopefully with a lesson well learned and a determination to do better this time. Thank you for the truth of this song.

Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.
My chains are gone I’ve been set free.
My God, my Saviour has ransomed me.
And like a flood his mercy reigns. Unending love – Amazing grace.

Yes I love you Lord. Help me to love you more and to show you my love.



What Church?
9th Aug 2010

If only we could be like the early church – the church of the book of Acts! Have you ever said or thought that? I’ve had over the years quite a few people say that to me. It sounds pretty good. I have just read through the book of Acts and Paul’s letters to the churches and there was amazing growth, exciting fellowship, healings and miracles. An empowering and leading of the Holy Spirit that is often not obvious in church life today. Yes if only we could be like the church of the Acts. But my question is which one? Because there was another side to early church life which is still true in church life today. There was disobedience, quarrelling, gossip, slander, immorality, weak doctrine, selfishness and pride, laziness, serious compromise. Things that I guess we don’t actually want to be true of our church.
So then what New Testament church exactly would you really want to be like?

If I had to choose I think I would settle for Thessalonica. Paul had some great things to say about other churches, in particular the church at Philippi but Thessalonica had a lot going for it. Not perfect – no church is, but consider: Paul was able to always thank God for the people of this church. Their faith caused them to be hard working – and what they did they did because of love. Love for God and love for their community. Times were tough as they always have been for God’s people but this church kept going for their hope was in God. They suffered but still were concerned to live a holy life. So that Paul can say of this church: “And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia The Lord’s message rang out from you… your faith in God has become known everywhere.”

In his second letter to them Paul thanks God for them because they were not content with what was but were pressing on. Their faith was growing more and more. I reckon fuelled by attempting more and more for God and seeing Him work powerfully among them. Their love for one another, already strong, was increasing. They were still persevering and were strong in their faith through ongoing persecution. So what church would you want to be like? Thessalonica or another? I think Thessalonica takes some beating!

For sure Thessalonica and the other New Testament churches are inspiring and helpful to us. Giving us examples of what to strive for and at times what to avoid. That’s why Paul’s letters to them are in the bible.
But actually we are to be the church God wants us to be. Not copying Thessalonica, or Hillsongs or Abundant Life but following Christ our Head, Being relevant to the community around us – showing that God’s love is powerful and that he makes all the difference in the world to our lives. Realising God has equipped and gifted his church to serve him well in our generation.

Let the local church be what God intended – the only hope for a lost world and one we are proud to belong to.



Trusted
22nd July 2010

I was reading in 1 Corinthians this morning and chapter 4 verse 2 says this:- “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” Wow! that’s a challenge. Have you been given a trust? To me is entrusted the responsibility of a local church. That is scary. What does that mean? What am I supposed to do with it? As I was reflecting and praying about it, the Lord challenged me about who was I seeking to please. The bottom line is that it has to be about pleasing just one and not the many. There is only one head of the church. We have only one Saviour and Lord. It is him we serve and him we must please. Jesus Christ.We have to prove ourselves faithful to every trust he gives to us.

The good part is that he will also equip us and therefore help us to be up to the task he has given us. Back to my responsibility – the local church. The important thing is to discover what the Lord wants for His church. He has told us in the bible and he has commissioned the church with the task he wants us to fulfil. There is a lot about relationships and about how to live with one another and how to live in this world. There is not much about worship and how the church is to worship, though of course it is right that the church meeting together should give thanks to God and praise him, for he is so good. The one charge given to the church is to go and make disciples. We are to grow. The church is not a club for members only. The church is to be the hope of the world. Sadly many are not proving to be that. In order to be the hope of the world the church has to focus on how it can stop being boring to those outside of it and consider how it can be completely relevant and inspiring to the community of which it is a part.

That will mean that in some cases, many of its members will need to consider how much they are prepared to sacrifice. Letting go of traditions and personal preferences in order to be relevant to the community it should be seeking to win for Jesus. A tough ask for sure. But an important one. So that when visitors come they leave with the “Wow” factor. What the Lord has shown me is that if I am to prove faithful to what he has trusted to me, I have to do what he requires and not be a people pleaser. The same is true for whatever God has trusted any of us with. That is not always easy. We don’t like confrontation. We like to be well thought of. We want approval. But most of all that should be God’s approval.As I approach probably the last phase of my pastoral ministry this has to be the priority. Pleasing my Lord, especially in seeking to bring the church to the place he wants it to be. Growing, relevant, a place of reality and a place to be real.

I just had this thought. I wonder how many people in the local church today never ever really show up. They are there but the real them is never seen. Scared to be open and honest. Scared to open up even to their brothers and sisters – because to do so is to take a big risk – and we are not prepared to risk being hurt. The weird thing is that is what we expect people who do not belong to the church to do. Umm!Jesus said: I will build my church and even the powers of hell will not stand against it. I sometimes think it is not the powers of hell but the church itself who resists what God would do. Food for thought! A revisit of “No Perfect people Allowed” will remind us of where we should be going.