Collecting Thoughts...

An age has passed with really no comments on this blog. Well, no more! I have resurrected it! Ok, I know Mr Workman has posted sporadically over the last , um six(?) months, lol, but I claim the credit here as he has failed to :)

I was reading over some of our posts from this time last year - from when we started the blog and those first few months of writing and I came to this realisation - more than a year on I can say that, whilst a lot of changes have occurred in my life and I know in the lives of all of us, regarding faith and life in general, I don't know if I can say I have 'moved on' from a lot of these questions and discussions that we had a year previous. Is this a good thing or a negative thing? I have read a lot more on what being a follower of Jesus looks like in our emerging/postmodern society and experienced a lot through actively being a follower of Jesus, by living my day to day life and also through the course I have been doing with Vineyard (VIA), which has been an experience and a half...!, but have my thoughts moved along with all of this? In some cases I would have to say yes, in others, perhaps not...

The question is - how much does this actually matter? No, we will never answer all our questions or indeed find satisfaction most of the time with what we DO come across, but will we only make ourselves weary going over the same ground, or is there a need to keep coming back to the things which we feel need discussing, if only to verify where we are in 'the journey'?

I really thought that I would post A LOT this year, what with undertaking the discipleship year with the church, but I have found that busyness of life has somehow got in the way of this...The relationships I have developed with the rest of the VIA team however and living with two of the main commenters of this blog may have contributed to this!

Anyway, what is my point...?

This time last year, one of the issues being discussed was about trying to figure out what God wants you to do with your life, how to know if the choices you make are the 'right ones' or not and whether it really matters as such, as God can guide you into making the best out of whatever situation you may find yourself in (and indeed, guide you out of it if needs be). This is something I definitely spend a lot (ok, too much!) time thinking about. I always seem to find myself having to make difficult choices and sometimes both seem pretty good to me, which makes the decision-making process all the more difficult! So...what is the solution? I do find that usually, in some way or the other, God places people in my path to speak to me or my situation eventually changes (but only at the last minute..!) I know that I have to make my own choices in life - God doesn't force us to do anything, but sometimes, wouldn't it be easier if He did?! He gives us grace for when we make mistakes, supports us through friendships and people who have more life experience and wisdom than ourselves and is just simply always there for us when we need Him - if we only have the sense to ask for His help and guidance.

Ok, I think I may be going off on a tangent here (old habits die hard :) ), but this is an outlet for throwing out ideas and discussing things which are important/interesting which we have all forgotten about and it's time we started using it again! On a calmer note, lets get back to grappling with 'the more' - I know we're all still thinking these things, but are we communicating them?

In the words of Rob Bell - the painting is not yet finished...

PS Question: Define love. Godly love, human love, whatever. What do people think this is? How do they recognise it?

This question came from a program I was watching the other night. The character made a reference to it (I can't actually remember what that was, but it lead to a few of us discussing it).

Getting on with it

Long time, no posts. Life is busy, what can I say.

I've been thinking recently about this whole thing of the simplicity of the gospel. It's amazing how much I and others haev made it out to be. Here are some ideas which have been buzzing about my head.

"Love God, Love others" as the basis of the kingdom of God.

In a book I'm reading (The History of Christianity), there is much discussion about the early/ancient church leaders and teachers and the debates they had over biblical canon, statements of faith, combating heresies etc. But in amongst it all, there is one chapter on the ordinary folks. They weren't so concerned with all the big ideas, but rather just trusting in God, and being happy in the hope of an increasing freedom (the coming kingdom of God versus the opression of the Roman Empire).

The house group I go to is brilliant. I don't have a lot in common with the folks that go there, but it's just so real. No-one there is pretending to have it all sorted, or even claim that they can. But they're all just relying on God. It, life, doesn't make sense a lot of the time, and there are hurts and whatnot, but God is there and there's hope for change trusting in Him.

Taking part in the great stage-play that is God's creation. I've recently read (here and here) this idea that the bible is like the first four acts of a five act play and we're the fifth act. It brings in the authority of the Bible (God's word), while allowing freedom of expression. Love it, love it, love it.

And finally, a posting from a new blog from an old friend (from Primary School, nonetheless!!). Worship = change. Simple. Read the article.

So, there you go. My problem in all this is that I'm still not spending time "in God's presence", or "resting in Him". I know the simplicity of it, but I'm not doing it. Messing about with the words and the thoughts is much too easy, rather than confront the reality.

Thoughts on building

I've been reading through Luke again recently. I love Luke. I love the way he asks you to check your heart as you're reading it. I read it a couple of years ago and I would have said then that the big questions he asked was "Where is your heart?". I think he's trying to get us to hear that question from Jesus, from his teaching and from the things he did in life.
If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you'll also know that I've been asking a lot of questions to try and get to the core of what being a Christian is all about. So far I've been circling around "Love God, love others" - Velvet Elvis (Rob Bell) and a re-reading of 1 and 2 Corinthians spurred that on. So, when I'm reading Luke this morning, at a similar message of love comes up again, you can imagine the little neurons in my brain firing off again. It's something to sit up straight for and re-read.
So, Luke tells the story of Jesus choosing the 12 apostles (Peter to Judas), and then sitting down with all the disciples (a bigger group of all the people following him at this time, including the twelve), and teaching them. He starts by encouraging those who have nothing (the poor, the sick etc.) and berating those who have it all (the rich, the popular etc.). Then he goes on to tell them to love their enemies, not just those people who love them back; to give to those who can't pay them back; in short to love people for free, like giving presents just because. Only not just presents, actually doing things to help people. So, I suppose this relates to the rich and poor people, in that the rich people should be using their stuff to love others in this way. Isn't it a warning to them to get their shit together and start doing it?
Luke goes on. He tells how Jesus continued to teach them about their hearts, how what their hearts are like is how they will act. So, when he's talking about love, isn't he saying that love comes from the heart?
And then comes the surprise. Well, it's not so much a surprise as something I hadn't seen before. Jesus tells them the story of the two builders. One man builds on rock and his house stays standing. The other builds his house on sand and it falls down. It's a no-brainer really. When you walk on the beach your feet sink into the sand and leave footprints. A house has no hope. Jesus says the same thing happens with his teaching - it's like a rock to build your life on. Previously, I got this confused. When he said "teaching", I thought he meant a big list of rules and regulations and all that. It stressed me and felt heavy. I didn't feel light or free or even able to do it at all. When I read it again this morning, that rock screamed out love. "It's about love!! It's about loving others!!! When you're following Jesus you'll be loving others!! If you're loving others, you're following Jesus!!"
Let me clarify one thing, though. I still don't think I can do this on my own, but it's just so much simpler, and moves the focus from me to others. It's not about me making myself perfect by following the dos and don'ts. It's just about loving others and making a difference. In many ways it's a damn-sight harder, and probably even more impossible, but there's just something more free about being told you can and should make a difference. I don't have to be perfect and have myself sorted before I can do that. I can start now. If Jesus says that living life this way is like building a house on rock, then surely that's a good thing, and something that will last. Like dying with no regrets; living a life based on loving God and loving others could mean dying with no regrets. Otherwise, I have some sand and a house that's going to fall down.
Love God, love others. I joke with my friends here that my new mantra is "I don't give a toss" - the mantra of a new kind of Christian. It's a joke, have no fear, but I'm being a bit honest when I mean I'm kind of fed up with having to have it all so perfect and please other people. Stress, heaviness, depression. Being serious, a more suitable motto could be "love God, love others". Simplicity. A good solid rock to build on.

I met him

yep that was it I met Rob Bell yesterday in person and had a nice conversation. I was so excited and couldnt wait to hear him speak. He was in Belfast for like 2 hours and then flew to england but im tellin you it was worth it.
I think the thing that excites me is that i see it working. He is a normal guy devoted to God devoted to his calling and it works. He wants to make a dfference and he does. What he is doing energizes me and encourages me to take it further to go for it.

But how do I make it happen? (by "it" I mean how do I live this life to the full)
Most of the time I am just not true to what I know is right and compromise or I am surrounded by people who just dont get it and that frustrates me.
LIVING WHAT I DISCOVER TO BE TRUE is hard. Its change, its pain, its confusion, its leaving people behind, its being real.
Will I ever ge there?
my friend has this song: "No more waisting time, the days are nearly over, the groom is quickly coming. He greets us with a kiss and says you have been choosen for such a time as this. I choose to follow you, forsaking all I know and taking up my cross. And if I die I die to find my life in you, Lord this is my cry!"
I will fall. I will make mistakes. But I will not give up!

Interdependence or family?

I've been reading a book about marriage recently; the first couple of chapters have been examining research which supports marriage as opposed to singleness, co-habitation, single parents, divorce etc. The book suggests that since there are so many benefits for the individual which in turn benefit society, that it should be encouraged at governmental level as a preventative measure against society's darker aspects. I started thinking this morning how that ties into the whole idea of the individual in community thing that I was talking about. It made me think about the importance of focusing on supporting families in churches, but at the same time, it makes me wonder how we can include singles, divorcees etc. into churches and make them feel not just welcome but that they belong, that people like them. Because too often I feel like the focus is on getting you married off, rather than casting the vision of what families are about or living out so-called 'family values' in the community setting. Or perhaps it's a case of me liking my independence too much and not appreciating being paired off (at the same time, I totally succumb to it, and struggle against feeling of less worth because I'm single, and trying to find worth by seeking a partner). I don't know - what are your thoughts on it?

Elemental

As we continue on in this, which I hope we will, I'm thinking this is something to bear in mind. That as we strip back all that surrounds our understanding of God, we don't form a new structure to take His place, but instead earnestly seek Him and revelation of Him (not just about Him), in our everyday lives. We need the real thing, the source, the core, the elemental, the essence."

Quote from a comment of mine on the last post.

So, tell me, dear reader, how do you find the real thing? What does the elemental God look like in your life? Pictures, experiences, books, music, people, knowledge, emotions - bring it all and let's see.

What is the need?

Discuss.