I love hearing Christmas songs on the radio in December—Mariah Carey, Jona Lewis, and yes, even Cliff Richard. But there’s one guilty pleasure that’s making me feel increasingly uneasy: Band Aid’s Do they know it’s Christmas? Although it’s still a favourite sing-along in bars and clubs around this time of year, I can’t help but think that describing Africa as “a world of dread and fear”, a continent reverberating with “the clanging chimes of doom”, is a bit patronising.
Thankfully, it’s becoming further and further from the truth, too. In 2000, the UN set eight Millennium Development Goals, with the aim of achieving them by 2015. A report by the Africa Development Bank Group this year, reviewing progress towards the goals, praised “steady economic growth and improvements in poverty reduction”. As development organisations plan targets and strategies for their work after 2015, Band Aid’s annual cater-walling is starting to seem outdated.... continue reading
It was 12-foot wide, bright orange and impossible to miss, despite the holiday crowds at Euston station. There was nowhere else to look - it was the bald patch on the guy in front, or the billboard. So I read the ad:
"Less HATING more EDUCATING"
Discover the scientific truths in the Qur'an.
Order your free book.
From then on, my thoughts went roughly like this:
I hope that, whatever difficulties you’re facing today, you take a moment to let this photo put a smile on your face. This image of a child rescued from the rubble of the 2010 Haiti earthquake is one that has stuck with me. The picture is grainy, taken from a video filmed of the US rescue team’s operation. As he is pulled from the wreckage, the boy raises his arms and grins.
It’s interesting to compare the slightly different ways in which the story was reported at the time. In one newspaper, he was beaming with sheer triumph that he had survived his ordeal. According to another, the boy, initially overwhelmed by the sea of unfamiliar faces crowded around him, smiled upon catching sight of the familiar figure of his mother (or aunt, or neighbour…) Either way, the pure joy on the child’s face as he is lifted to liberty is is heartwarming—his grin is infectious.... continue reading
There are a lot of people grumbling about Christmas at the moment. There are the family politics to deal with and the manic drive to buy the "right" presents. There are financial pressures and battles with exhaustion, not to mention the emotional assault that the end of December brings - if it's not relationship tensions in the present, this time of year throws into sharp relief those relationships we have lost. Bereaved people often hurt most at Christmas. And all this when we are "supposed" to having the time of our lives. Wandering around my local shopping centre recently, eavesdropping on conversations as I went, I came to the conclusion that many of us are quite frankly making the Grinch look chirpy!
Even if you are someone who adores Christmas, there are inevitable sacrifices to be made. With the diary over-packed with family events (or disturbingly lacking anything that remotely resembles a normal routine) there are bound to be moments when life is not as you would choose it to be. And human beings tend to struggle with that at least a bit ...... continue reading
I was reading Luke's account of Zacchaeus recently and spotted something I hadn't noticed before. I'm used to the story of the little man who climbed a tree because he wanted to see Jesus. But that's not what Luke says. Instead, he tells us that Zacchaeus "wanted to see who Jesus was" (Luke 19 v 3). And that's very different, isn't it?
If Zacchaeus just wanted to see Jesus, he had the perfect perch - and could boast afterwards that he'd seen this famous guy for himself. But if he wanted to see who Jesus really was, Zacchaeus needed more than that. And Jesus offered it. An invitation to meet one to one. What a privilege!
And did Zacchaeus find his answer? Oh yes. He met the Son of Man (that's the great King who is given all authority by God and whose kingdom will never end - Daniel 7 v 13-14) and found that He had come "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19 v 10).
And it struck me that this is our job, if we're in any kind of Bible-teaching ministry, be that with eight-year-olds or eighty-year-olds. It's not just to give people a glimpse of Jesus. It's to show them who He is, and what He offers, and how they can know Him for themselves. And we don't even need to plonk them at the top of a tree to do it – though that might be fun, too…
Although wobbly headstones are the health and safety nightmare of many unfortunate vicars, I’ll admit that I rather like the eerie romanticism of Victorian graveyards. So I was interested by this photo of the graves of a Catholic woman and her Protestant husband from Roermond, Holland in 1888. Unable to be buried in the same graveyard due to sectarian segregation, the two monuments reach across the wall separating them.
This photo not only speaks of the confessional chasm between Protestants and Catholics in nineteenth century Holland, but also reflects the sad reality that death is a chasm we are all staring into. It’s a dividing line that brings separation. And like the brick wall in the photo looming up in front of us, we are hopeless faced against it.
How wonderful then that Jesus reaches out to us with the offer of eternal life:
“[Grace] has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 2 Timothy 1 v 10
Most of us fear something – something physical, something more abstract. If we’re honest I suspect most of us would run from a fight rather than stand and face it. We do it at home, at work and elsewhere – it’s human nature, isn’t it?
The Courageous Men’s Conference in Cwmbran, South Wales last weekend looked at what courage in the face of fear might just look and feel like. Focused around wonderfully powerful talks by Dai Hankey, Mez McConnell and Gavin Peacock, the conference looked at Courageous Faith through the eyes of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. Courageous Vision came through Caleb the spy in Joshua 14 and Courageous Mission through Isaiah 6.... continue reading
It hasn't escaped my notice that a lot of people are struggling at the moment. I don't think it's just my friends, I think it's just what life is like in this fallen world.
There are those who are struggling in the wake of illness or grief; those whose relationships are crumbling around their ears; those who are finding it hard to make ends meet or muster the energy to care for those around them; there are those who see no hope for the future. A brief look around our world - our local church - leaves us in no doubt that there is a lot of crying going on.
God is not taken aback by our tears, he knows they are going to flow. After all, he encourages us to weep with those who weep in our congregation (Romans 12:15). But he does have an opinion about how we cry...... continue reading
It’s Halloween today (it’s also Reformation Day, but our local shops don’t seem to be stocking too many Martin Luther outfits). Whether you think the festival is horrendous, harmless, or somewhere in between, why not make sure you’re praying about it… here are five pointers from Colossians:
1. Thank God for a kingdom that is not dark. Satan is real, and he’s not a six-year-old wearing a red hairband with horns on and carrying a pointy fork. He’s the opposite of God; he’s dark, and there is no light, no good, no joy in him. And it’s his power from which God has liberated us: “he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Colossians 1 v 13). Thank God that you have a King who loves you, having been rescued from one who hates you.... continue reading
On the surface of it, it's not something that seems to ooze with great gospel potential. It's a room - four walls, with a carpet (or possibly a spot of laminate with a nice rug), a few things to sit on and probably a TV, a plant or two and varying degrees of clutter. But your living room has more than a little potential to be used for the glory of God and the encouragement of a close walk with the Lord. This week, why not take a moment to ask yourselves these 3 questions and get your family room set up for gospel-work:... continue reading
