HAVING A LAUGH

Sometimes there is nothing quite so cheering as someone else's misfortune. If you are in need of a smile, try this or this.

THE BLOOD OF THE SAINTS

I keep ruminating on the Spurgeon quote I posted last week. Here it is again:

Usually, when a religion starts it is very rampant, but it afterwards decays. Look at the religion of Mahommed. For one hundred years or more it threatened to subvert kingdoms, and overturn the whole world, but where are the blades that flashed then? Where are now the willing hands that smote down the foes of Mahommed? Why, his religion has become an old worn-out thing; no one cares about it; and the Turk, sitting on his divan, with his legs crossed, smoking his pipe, is the best image of the Mahommedan religion—old, infirm, effete. But the Christian religion,—ah! it is as fresh as when it started from its cradle at Jerusalem; it is as hale, and hearty, and mighty, as when Paul preached it at Athens, or Peter at Jerusalem. It is not an old religion. Not one particle of it hath waxed old, though hundreds of years have passed away. How many religions have died since Christ's began! How many have risen up, like mushrooms in a night! But is not Christ's as new as it ever was?

There was a sad irony that a couple of days after posting this Gayle Williams was murdered in Kabul for being a Christian. Of course, it was the very freshness of Gayle's faith that enabled her to serve the disadvantaged in Afghanistan. She did not die the death of a jihadi martyr, destroying herself and others in a fruitless pursuit of paradise. No, she died a martyr in Christ, and in Christ she will forever live.

ALL THE ROAD RUNNING

My car went through the 100,000 mile mark this week. A mile is 5,280 feet, and has its origins in 5,000 Roman feet, which was 1,000 paces. Why five feet makes one pace I don't know, but there it is. Anyway, units of measurement often seem quite arbitrary, even if they have their origins in the length of the average Roman's foot, or the circumference of the sun, or the amount of beer a normal man can drink in the time it takes his mates to say, "Down in one!"

So, 100,000 is somewhat arbitrary, but nonetheless significant. And, although it may be my imagination, the old wagon seems to have been making all sorts of strange new creaking and groaning sounds since hitting 100,000 on Monday. It suddenly feels tired.

I am also pretty tired. Prayer & Fasting last week, followed by two days teaching ethics at our regional training base, preaching on Sunday, all the other normal church and family stuff in-between, and the last two days with the Newfrontiers Theology Forum. The Forum is a group of 'teachers' who get together to work through thorny subjects in a way that is then meant to be of benefit to the movement (you can see some of our previous work here). On this occasion we were discussing the relationship between Israel and the Church, and "What is the essential gospel?" It was a very stimulating time.

Time, of course, is not meant to be arbitrary - it is set by the rotation of the earth around its axis and around the sun. But even time needs adjusting. This Saturday night it is being adjusted by an hour. I hate this! Dark evenings. The horror otherwise know as "November" just around the corner.

But thanks be to God - unlike my car, time will renew itself, and November must inevitably give way to a more cheerful month. Roll on Spring!

GETTING IT WRONG IN GETTING IT RIGHT

I was searching for leadership material by Spurgeon the other day and came across a sermon he preached in 1856 which contained this observation:

Usually, when a religion starts it is very rampant, but it afterwards decays. Look at the religion of Mahommed. For one hundred years or more it threatened to subvert kingdoms, and overturn the whole world, but where are the blades that flashed then? Where are now the willing hands that smote down the foes of Mahommed? Why, his religion has become an old worn-out thing; no one cares about it; and the Turk, sitting on his divan, with his legs crossed, smoking his pipe, is the best image of the Mahommedan religion—old, infirm, effete. But the Christian religion,—ah! it is as fresh as when it started from its cradle at Jerusalem; it is as hale, and hearty, and mighty, as when Paul preached it at Athens, or Peter at Jerusalem. It is not an old religion. Not one particle of it hath waxed old, though hundreds of years have passed away. How many religions have died since Christ's began! How many have risen up, like mushrooms in a night! But is not Christ's as new as it ever was?

150 years on it is hard to imagine anyone preaching this! Of course, CHS was right in the ability of Christianity to be ever renewed, but we are now all too aware of the renewal of Islam that has occurred in the past half century.

But rather than seeing this simply as “Spurgeon was wrong,” I am encouraged by the continued vitality of the Christian faith, and also at the thought that Islam may one day become again an old worn-out thing that no one cares about. We have absolutely no reason to consider ourselves on the back foot because of the growing strength of Islam. Christ is infinitely stronger.

READING THE HEADLINES

These are the current 'most read' stories on the BBC website:

Shares worldwide continue falling
Legal case against God dismissed
Beach sex sentence 'sets example'
Film breaks usual Vatican secrecy
Sex-on-beach trial Britons guilty

I think it gives an interesting insight into what we find interesting: one story about money, two about sex (although they're both about the same incident) and two about God. A pretty accurate reflection of the human heart I'd say!

My dog Gyp had a little visit to the vet today and is now less of a dog than he was. I'm pretty sure dogs have no interest in money, only a very 'animal' sense of the divine, and now he won't be much interested in sex either! Life is simple for dogs.

As usual, we had a very encouraging two days at Prayer & Fasting. There wasn't much discussion of sex, but we did think about money - praying for our nation as it goes through its current economic crisis. We were also stirred in our faith by stories of churches that have experienced much grace for giving recently. But most of all we thought about God - praying and worshipping and delighting in our great Saviour and King.

MONEY 13: A LESSON FROM COLOSSIANS

Colossians 3:15-17

1. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts
Money is a source of anxiety – plenty of that around at the moment! So this becomes a very practical test of whether we believe in the supremacy of Christ over all things. Are we going to give ourselves to worry, or let Christ’s peace rule in us? Who is going to rule you? Who is going to be boss?

2. Since as members of one body you were called to peace
Money tends to privatise us. “My” money; “My” bank account; “My” pension; “My” house; etc. But Christians are body people, which calls for a radical rethink of what is “mine.” This is the point of Acts 4:32 – their oneness brought peace.

3. And be thankful.
More money = more happiness = more thankfulness? This is not supported by the evidence. Being thankful is a decision of the will. Most people complain by default – it is habit. Our culture conditions us to be more aware of what we lack than what we have, so we need to be counter-cultural and make a habit of thankfulness.

4. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
“Let” – again, this is something we decide to do; it doesn’t happen by default. A biblically founded life re-orientates our thinking and the word can dwell in us richly even if we are not materially rich. What do we measure as true riches? Cash in the bank, or knowing Christ?

5. As you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom
Paul makes an assumption that we will do this! “Teach” is encouraging others to do the things they should do. “Admonish” is encouraging others not to do the things they shouldn’t! This must apply to money and possessions.

6. And as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Our singing should come from the Word and help the Word to dwell richly in us. Biblically formed people do a lot of singing. Singing truth with gratitude helps establish the supremacy of Christ over all else in our lives – even money.

7. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
What we do with our money will draw us closer to God or push us further from him. Sounds simplistic – but it is!

POOLE RULES!

Another great day in Poole!

We had a cracking morning at Alder Road - the building packed out again and loads of new people (including a couple from Hastings who found the church through this blog - great to meet you guys!). The building work we are doing is really vital - we desperately need to get some more seats in. It is exciting to feel we have some momentum building at the church and I am looking forward to the time when even with extra seats we need to do something else to fit everyone in.

And this weekend we had the August we never had in August. I spent an hour in the sea with the kids this afternoon without feeling cold at all - we're going to see if we can keep going until November..!

This week I am flat out and so probably not blogging at all, although I may try to get another money one in. Tuesday & Wednesday I am away at the Newfrontiers Prayer & Fasting days in Peterborough, and Friday & Saturday I am teaching on the Foundations course in Bournemouth. The one thing I am trying to keep up with is my daily posts on The Worship Poole. It is a good discipline for me to do this, but can feel like hard work! Take a look sometime, if you get a moment.

MONEY 12: HEEDING HEDONISM

This week has seen madness in the financial markets.

When there is a crisis it is an automatic human response to look for someone to blame. In this case it is very easy to blame the bankers whose trading in debt has landed us in all this trouble. But behind the bankers stand governments who encouraged the banks to lend to people who should never have been allowed to borrow, on assets that were not worth the money that was being borrowed. And behind this stand the millions of people across the western world who thought they could live the dream on borrowed money.

This only serves us as further evidence of the truth of the gospel: "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God..."

As one commentator put it:

For millions who have been toiling on the "hedonic treadmill" – a need for ever higher income merely to sustain wellbeing at a constant level – there will be the challenge of coming to terms with a sharp decline in living standards. But how sharp? And for how long? And for how many?

That phrase, 'hedonic treadmill', is a telling one. As an entire culture (not just the bankers) we have been pursuing a false god, and now we are paying the price for our idolatry.

But do not despair!

Applying the principles of biblical stewardship will help. My hope is that this crisis will encourage many more people to be more biblical with their finances.

There are some very simple things we can do, that we should all be doing anyway, and that I tend to assume everyone does, but it is obvious that many don't! Here is an action plan:

1. KEEP GOOD RECORDS: The Principle of Accounting
Proverbs 27:23-24

Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations?

You need to know what you earn, what you own, and what you owe. Do you?

What is the difference between your monthly income and your monthly outgoings? Is there a surplus or a lack? What are you going to do about this? Is there anything you can do to minimise tax, or reduce expenditure? What debts do you have? How much interest are you paying on them? How quickly are you reducing the capital amount?

Face the facts! You’ve got to get the facts!


2. PLAN YOUR SPENDING: The Principle of Budgeting
Proverbs 21:5

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.

Now is a good time to plan your budget for 2009. Set yourself some financial goals and stick to them. Many of us are used to operating according to budgets at work, but find it far more difficult to do this at home – start practicing! Start planning. Start budgeting.


3. SAVE FOR THE FUTURE: The Principle of Saving
Proverbs 6:6-8

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.

It is better to save now and spend later than to borrow now and default later. This seems to be one lesson that the credit crunch is teaching everyone…


4. RETURN TEN PERCENT TO GOD: The Principle of Tithing
Malachi 3:10

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

Why should you tithe?

First, It’s a statement of gratitude. Anything we have comes from God anyway, so tithing is a way of recognising our dependence upon him.

Secondly, It’s a statement of priority. When “the first fruits” go to God it demonstrates who is No. 1 in our lives.

Third, It’s a statement of faith. When we tithe it demonstrates trust in God, especially at times – like now – when everything is screaming at us, “Hold on to your loot!”

Fourth, It’s just the right thing to do! People find all kinds of creative ways to try to get round tithing, but it’s a biblical principle, simple as that.


5. ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE: The Principle of Contentment
Hebrews 13:5

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

The global financial crisis has been built on the back of discontent. We have wanted more than we needed and spent more than we could afford. It was inevitable that one day this train would come crashing off the tracks but greed blinded us into thinking it would all somehow always be ok – that we could just keep borrowing our way out of debt.

Far better to learn to be content. Far better to be a Christian hedonist than a slave to the hedonic treadmill. Far better to know security in a God who will never forsake us.

MONEY 11: WHAT LASTS FOREVER

As I write this the FTSE is down nearly ten per cent, following earlier crashes in the Asian financial markets. Panic has set in good and proper. And all of us are going to be affected, one way or another.

In times like these we need to direct our minds to material that will help us, not panic us.

I have previously recommended Randy Alcorn’s book The Treasure Principle on a couple of occasions. This really is a fantastic little book, that every Christian should read and apply. If I could get every member of my church to read and apply it a lot would change! It’s a great book, but it is a short book, and in times like these there is a need to dig deeper. So today I am recommending Alcorn’s bigger book on the same theme, Money, Possessions & Eternity.

Money, Possessions & Eternity is not a particularly recent book. It was published back in 1989 and I first read it in 1997. So it is not written with the current financial crisis in mind, but it does contain eternally true and useful principles about money. At over 400 pages long it is hefty, but giving the time to read it will do you much more good than constantly checking where the interest rates have gone or what the stock market is doing or how much less your house is worth today than it was a year ago.

The book is divided into four parts: 1. The Challenge of Money & Possessions; 2. Seeing Money & Possessions in Eternity’s Light; 3. Giving & Sharing Our Money & Possessions; 4. Handling Our Money & Possessions. There are also a number of helpful appendixes, and a study guide.

I well remember the impact this book made on me when I first read it. Although I was already committed to biblical principles of stewardship (such as tithing) it gave me a much wider picture of how I should think about money and possessions. Flicking through it again now I am again challenged by it. I find it so easy to start slipping into “the patterns of this world” rather than living a radical lifestyle of faith and generosity. Perhaps our current economic woes will make it easier for more of us to adopt a pilgrim mentality. Alcorn will ruffle your feathers but isn’t interested in simply making you feel guilty and adopting a life of poverty. Indeed, he starts the book with a chapter on “The Weakness of Asceticism.” That’s what is so good about Money, Possessions & Eternity. It doesn’t dodge the tough issues, but it doesn’t wear a hair shirt.

At the moment there are some copies of Money, Possessions & Eternity available on Amazon for 28p. This would be a very wise way in which to spend your money!

MONEY 10: STAYING FOCUSSED

Having sold my house in June I have a pot of cash in the bank. Its a strange feeling... That feeling is made all the more acute by the current volatility of the global financial system. I asked my brother (who is a banker) where I should put my money and he suggested it would be safest under the mattress - not very reassuring!

Of course, there will be people who make a fortune out of what is now happening. I liked John Piper's post about this. Its only short, so I'll copy the whole thing here:

I can smell it. It’s like toast or steak or brownies. It doesn’t just draw our desire, it creates desire. Deep drops in the stock market make many people salivate. They know it will rebound. They are sitting on cash. By year’s end their pile could ride the recovery to riches.

For such people I have a word from God. The word is: Don’t desire to be rich. It will kill you. And in a world like ours many will probably perish with you. Paul’s language is more graphic than mine:

There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.

It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1Timothy 6:6-10)

ALL CREATURES GREAT & SMALL

What a bizarre few days.

Hull third in the Premiership (and the Football League carrying £3 billion debt). The stock market gyrating like a drunken gibbon. And the deepest ever filming of a living fish. The fact that any vertebrate can live at a depth of five miles – imagine the pressure – is simply incredible.

The zoo otherwise known as the Hosier’s house also continues to amaze. To add to the two dogs, daughter No. 2 for her birthday obtained a corn snake (and the freezer now contains baby mice to feed it). Daughter No. 3, not to be outdone, then got hold of some giant African land snails. Daughter No. 1 is holding out for a ferret, but we have said that has to wait until we move into our own house – there is only so much we can ask of our landlord.

WORD PLUS WORSHIP

Yesterday we began WordPlus at Alder Road, and I am very excited about it. We have 94 people booked in, and had to turn others away.

WordPlus is a really well put together course giving an overview of the Bible and Christian theology. For many people it will be the first stepping stone on a path of theological training and leadership development. Others are doing the course not so much to get to a particular place of knowledge or leadership, but simply to deepen their relationship with Jesus.

The subject these first two days has been the Old Testament. Today Steve Chick is teaching on Old Testament theology – Creation, Call and Covenant. There is a buzz in the room, fuelled by bacon butties and lots of coffee. We started the morning with someone sharing about how listening to John Groves teaching on Old Testament literature and history yesterday had driven him to tears – not of despair, but of worship! This is exactly what theology should do – it is not just accumulating facts, but coming face to face with God.



Yesterday evening Guy Miller spoke about leadership from the life of Joseph. Joseph was a man who knew God not merely in abstract theological terms, but as a worshipper. May we too really know Jesus, and worship.

NOT IN AN EPISCOPALIAN WAY

Now this is brilliant!