Thursday, December 22, 2005
New Blog
I've decided to do what Ormo has done and use Wordpress instead of Blogger.
My new blog is located at http://www.sbingram.f2s.com/wordpress/. Please update bookmarks, favourites and the press accordingly. :)
My new blog is located at http://www.sbingram.f2s.com/wordpress/. Please update bookmarks, favourites and the press accordingly. :)
Monday, December 19, 2005
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Today saw the first civil partnership ceremonies in the UK being conducted in Belfast [BBC]. Only an eegit wouldn't have foreseen that it would be a controversial affair. While the first couple (two women) were enjoying their hard-won civil partnership ceremony inside Belfast's City Hall, hardline conservative "Free" Presbyterians were chanting, shouting, hurling abuse and generally doing everything but show the Christian love that they tout so much. (This denomination is anything but free... but that discussion is for a different entry.)
"But, Mark, the Bible says that homosexuality is wrong," they say. I agree. It's in black and white, and no one can argue. But it also says that we shouldn't judge (or something with that sentiment). Yes, we can rebuke those of our brothers and sisters who share the same faith and accept the same moral obligations we do, but God alone is judge.
Do I approve of homosexuality? No, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't love homosexuals. They are created in the "image of God", just as I am; they are flawed, just as I am. Do I approve of homosexual weddings? I don't believe the question is valid. A wedding is, by its proper definition, the union of one man to one woman under God that is consummated in the act of sexual intercourse when the two individuals become "one flesh". Paul calls this a "mystery". Homosexual couples can never have their union blessed by God, nor can they consummate anything because they cannot have sexual intercourse. Hence, the notion of a homosexual wedding is invalid.
Now then, what about a civil partnership? I see no problem with it (at the moment). It is simply a business contract between two consenting adults that is recognised by UK legislation. It is nothing more (and nothing less). The UK government has an obligation to, within reason, treat all UK citizens as equals. This helps them achieve that.
When talking with a couple of people about this issue they have said that we live in a Christian country and people should respect that it is Wrong (in a moral sense). Well, let's say I went to holiday in Qatar or Iran (both Moslem countries). Should I face Mecca daily and pray to Allah? No. I believe it is unethical and, yes, unchristian (if that's a word) to force someone to adhere to someone else's set of beliefs. This is what the hardline, conservative "Free" Presbyterians miss...
Thank God that the mainstream Presbyterian Church in Ireland are taking the ethical route. Provided that the civil partnerships are simply business contracts under UK law, I have no problem. Although I do believe that they should not be permitted to occur inside sacred buildings (i.e. church buildings, mosques, synagogues, etc.). The government would be dangerously overstepping an invisible line if that were to occur. It would get even more dangerous for the government if they should threaten men and women with prison should they refuse to conduct such a civil partnership.
Yes, we are in desperate times and it seems that the world is getting darker by the day. But I have faith that God is in control; that He is just; and that He will protect His flock.
"But, Mark, the Bible says that homosexuality is wrong," they say. I agree. It's in black and white, and no one can argue. But it also says that we shouldn't judge (or something with that sentiment). Yes, we can rebuke those of our brothers and sisters who share the same faith and accept the same moral obligations we do, but God alone is judge.
Do I approve of homosexuality? No, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't love homosexuals. They are created in the "image of God", just as I am; they are flawed, just as I am. Do I approve of homosexual weddings? I don't believe the question is valid. A wedding is, by its proper definition, the union of one man to one woman under God that is consummated in the act of sexual intercourse when the two individuals become "one flesh". Paul calls this a "mystery". Homosexual couples can never have their union blessed by God, nor can they consummate anything because they cannot have sexual intercourse. Hence, the notion of a homosexual wedding is invalid.
Now then, what about a civil partnership? I see no problem with it (at the moment). It is simply a business contract between two consenting adults that is recognised by UK legislation. It is nothing more (and nothing less). The UK government has an obligation to, within reason, treat all UK citizens as equals. This helps them achieve that.
When talking with a couple of people about this issue they have said that we live in a Christian country and people should respect that it is Wrong (in a moral sense). Well, let's say I went to holiday in Qatar or Iran (both Moslem countries). Should I face Mecca daily and pray to Allah? No. I believe it is unethical and, yes, unchristian (if that's a word) to force someone to adhere to someone else's set of beliefs. This is what the hardline, conservative "Free" Presbyterians miss...
Thank God that the mainstream Presbyterian Church in Ireland are taking the ethical route. Provided that the civil partnerships are simply business contracts under UK law, I have no problem. Although I do believe that they should not be permitted to occur inside sacred buildings (i.e. church buildings, mosques, synagogues, etc.). The government would be dangerously overstepping an invisible line if that were to occur. It would get even more dangerous for the government if they should threaten men and women with prison should they refuse to conduct such a civil partnership.
Yes, we are in desperate times and it seems that the world is getting darker by the day. But I have faith that God is in control; that He is just; and that He will protect His flock.
Friday, December 16, 2005
The Tempters Are In Trouble!
One day Jesus said to his disciples, "There will always be temptations to sin, but how terrible it will be for the person who does the tempting. It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around the neck than to face the punishment in store for harming one of these little ones. I am warning you!"Luke 17:1-3a (NLT)
That is a sobering and stark warning to all of us who bare Christ's name. Although the Greek in this passage implies that the sin (skandalon) is such that it invokes apostasy on the part of the tempted, still... it makes you think. Little things that we don't challenge in our everyday life... if people (especially young people) aren't challenged, they will be tempted to repeat the sin again and again. Does that make us a tempter?
I'm going to prepare more thoroughly for Sunday night's cell group...
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Colossians 1:27
I am sitting in my living room with the TV on and switched onto a show that is basically a live feed from some church in England. The church service, if that is what it is, is something I'd really enjoy. The music is modern, the average age of those attending wouldn't be that far above my own age, the musicians and singers are very talented. It has reminded me about something that Alastair (the student preacher at my church) had said and that I had set to the side of my mind to come back to later.
This sort of service is very much about the experience of the moment. Now, I know for a fact that the church I am watching hears a Gospel message from a very blessed preacher because I have listened to him. But the praise time is very much grounded in experience and dependent upon music to subtly touch people.
Don't get me wrong: experiential (and experimental) worship is good... more power to it! But whenever we treat this sort of worship as the worship - whenever we begin that sort of time of praise with the words "let's worship" - then we stand on very unsafe ground. It communicates the dangerous fallacy that worship is singing and, even worse, worship is singing that one enjoys. Songs like To Be In Your Presence, while having a good sentiment, implicitly communicate that God's presence isn't always with us and that we have to work (sing loudly and/or lift our hands high) in order to be found worthy enough to have His presence manifest itself within us. This is not true: God is always with us. Further, God is within us.
I love singing modern songs. I love playing sax in bands that play modern praise songs. I love church services that are experiential and experiment with things (under the guidance of the Holy Spirit). But we must always be aware that worship should be 24/7, worship is a lifestyle, love is a lifestyle, God is always with us (and in us) and that God is much more interested in the attitude of our hearts rather than in the altitude of our hands.
Colossians 1:27 NIV: To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
This sort of service is very much about the experience of the moment. Now, I know for a fact that the church I am watching hears a Gospel message from a very blessed preacher because I have listened to him. But the praise time is very much grounded in experience and dependent upon music to subtly touch people.
Don't get me wrong: experiential (and experimental) worship is good... more power to it! But whenever we treat this sort of worship as the worship - whenever we begin that sort of time of praise with the words "let's worship" - then we stand on very unsafe ground. It communicates the dangerous fallacy that worship is singing and, even worse, worship is singing that one enjoys. Songs like To Be In Your Presence, while having a good sentiment, implicitly communicate that God's presence isn't always with us and that we have to work (sing loudly and/or lift our hands high) in order to be found worthy enough to have His presence manifest itself within us. This is not true: God is always with us. Further, God is within us.
I love singing modern songs. I love playing sax in bands that play modern praise songs. I love church services that are experiential and experiment with things (under the guidance of the Holy Spirit). But we must always be aware that worship should be 24/7, worship is a lifestyle, love is a lifestyle, God is always with us (and in us) and that God is much more interested in the attitude of our hearts rather than in the altitude of our hands.
Colossians 1:27 NIV: To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Powerfully Backward
Today Stanley "Tookie" Williams was executed by lethal injection at a San Francisan jail (read the story here) and the US is again in the spotlight over its use of the death penalty. And rightly so...
It scares me to know that the country that most consider to be the most powerful in the world still condones such a backward, parochial, narrow-minded and irreversible practice. (Can you tell what side of the debate I stand on?) I don't give a rat's ass what he did - the big lad could have been a modern day Hitler - but in no way is the US justified in executing him... or anyone for that matter.
Justice means fairness for all citizens. Tell me how executing someone is fair?! Have not the US, in fact, denied Tookie justice today by executing him? Have not the US thumbed their nose at justice? Yes, victims and their families have rights, but so does the perpetrator. Both victim and perpetrator are human beings. "'Vengence is mine,' says the Lord." No one elses!
It really does astound me that the US is, apparently, so powerful. Given that it sees nothing wrong with execution, it is one of the world's biggest polluters, and it is able to invade and capture countries (breaking international law) for the sake of its own national security, it seems to me that something is amiss. It makes me so angry that this country plays such a big role in the running of the world.
If the rest of the world doesn't wise up and hold the US to account... God help us all.
Obviously, when I say "US" I am being very general. I know there are those citizens in the US who campaign to abolish the death penalty, who campaign for the environment and who were opposed to the unlawful invasion of Iraq. I support those citizens in their efforts and pray that God, if it is His will, would bless those groups with success. My comments are directed to all others. (Isn't it sad that I am writing a disclaimer?)
It scares me to know that the country that most consider to be the most powerful in the world still condones such a backward, parochial, narrow-minded and irreversible practice. (Can you tell what side of the debate I stand on?) I don't give a rat's ass what he did - the big lad could have been a modern day Hitler - but in no way is the US justified in executing him... or anyone for that matter.
Justice means fairness for all citizens. Tell me how executing someone is fair?! Have not the US, in fact, denied Tookie justice today by executing him? Have not the US thumbed their nose at justice? Yes, victims and their families have rights, but so does the perpetrator. Both victim and perpetrator are human beings. "'Vengence is mine,' says the Lord." No one elses!
It really does astound me that the US is, apparently, so powerful. Given that it sees nothing wrong with execution, it is one of the world's biggest polluters, and it is able to invade and capture countries (breaking international law) for the sake of its own national security, it seems to me that something is amiss. It makes me so angry that this country plays such a big role in the running of the world.
If the rest of the world doesn't wise up and hold the US to account... God help us all.
Obviously, when I say "US" I am being very general. I know there are those citizens in the US who campaign to abolish the death penalty, who campaign for the environment and who were opposed to the unlawful invasion of Iraq. I support those citizens in their efforts and pray that God, if it is His will, would bless those groups with success. My comments are directed to all others. (Isn't it sad that I am writing a disclaimer?)
Monday, December 12, 2005
Joyful Logic
What good am I? What good do I do here on earth? Why is it so easy for me to do what I don't want to do but so hard for me to do what I do want to do? Why do my emotions swing from really happy to totally despondent? Why do things seem to "go my way" one day and "go against me" the next? Ying and yang; hot and cold; good and bad. That is what the world is like for me right now, and I am the weight on the end of the pendulum being swung back and forth from one extreme to the other, perpetually.
The reason I am thinking like this seems to be obvious to me as I sit here and piously examine my life in recent days: I am not looking after my spiritual side. I know God is not only with me but also in me, but I don't live like it. I pay no heed to Him. Sometimes I even avoid going near His "domain" because I know what will happen when I do. I have become rebellious, distrustful, hateful, despondent, weary, restless, distracted and bleak. In fact, I can be concise and summarise everything I am feeling in four small words: I have lost joy.
I am a man of routine. For some, routine is boring and a cause of unhappiness. For me, however, routine is pseudo-perfection, from the perspective of my schedule. (Have you ever read any of Tom Clancy's novels? I feel the same about routine as Jack Ryan's wife as described in Patriot Games.) Whenever I establish a routine I know that everything has been sorted out: I know what I have done, what I am doing and what I have left to do. Without routine, chaos reigns and I am lost. I lose track of things and can get run down very quickly. As a result my health gets worse.
The reason I have lost joy is that I have lost my routine.
It sounds almost paradoxical but I find space in my routine. This space becomes part of my routine and it is in this very space where I replenish my joy. It is in this space where I can seek God without wondering about the rest of my schedule. To some this may read as though I merely fit God into my life rather than make my life fit round God, but I assure you that this works for me. (It misses the point anyway.)
If I restore my routine, it follows that I will restore my joy.
"Heresy," say some. "Joy comes from God alone." I agree. But if I restore my routine, I will find space. If I find space, I can seek God. If I seek God, I believe He will restore joy in my life.
I've looked at this logically but are these sorts of things are never logical. Pants.
The reason I am thinking like this seems to be obvious to me as I sit here and piously examine my life in recent days: I am not looking after my spiritual side. I know God is not only with me but also in me, but I don't live like it. I pay no heed to Him. Sometimes I even avoid going near His "domain" because I know what will happen when I do. I have become rebellious, distrustful, hateful, despondent, weary, restless, distracted and bleak. In fact, I can be concise and summarise everything I am feeling in four small words: I have lost joy.
I am a man of routine. For some, routine is boring and a cause of unhappiness. For me, however, routine is pseudo-perfection, from the perspective of my schedule. (Have you ever read any of Tom Clancy's novels? I feel the same about routine as Jack Ryan's wife as described in Patriot Games.) Whenever I establish a routine I know that everything has been sorted out: I know what I have done, what I am doing and what I have left to do. Without routine, chaos reigns and I am lost. I lose track of things and can get run down very quickly. As a result my health gets worse.
The reason I have lost joy is that I have lost my routine.
It sounds almost paradoxical but I find space in my routine. This space becomes part of my routine and it is in this very space where I replenish my joy. It is in this space where I can seek God without wondering about the rest of my schedule. To some this may read as though I merely fit God into my life rather than make my life fit round God, but I assure you that this works for me. (It misses the point anyway.)
If I restore my routine, it follows that I will restore my joy.
"Heresy," say some. "Joy comes from God alone." I agree. But if I restore my routine, I will find space. If I find space, I can seek God. If I seek God, I believe He will restore joy in my life.
I've looked at this logically but are these sorts of things are never logical. Pants.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
A Kurios Revelation
I didn't go to church tonight as I have been feeling pretty dizzy all day. I don't think blowing through a sax would have helped me in any way feel better. (I could have gone and not played but I would have felt bad.) What made it worse was that I was meant to be leading Elevation (our church youth group). Fortunately, Natz was able to take the reigns from me and I'm sure has done a first class job.
So, I basically spent the evening in front of the TV. That is fairly strange for me because what's on TV these days rarely holds my attention. (I sound like I'm 70!) I was watching a preacher, Dr Myles Monroe, speak on the Inspiration Channel on Sky. He was preaching about Kingdom principles and what precisely it means to be a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven and to be favoured by the King. God was speaking through this man to me because the message blew me away! I'd never thought about what it meant to be a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven before. I didn't know that the King had chosen to make me a citizen and that He is responsible for my well-being. So much more of the Bible made sense now; it was all so easy!
Most of the later part of the message relied on the Greek word that is translated to "lord" in English texts: the transliteration is "kurios". The meaning is much richer than a simple term of respect (e.g. "sir") or even an acknowledgment of control (e.g. "master"); it implies complete ownership.
Psalm 24:1-2, NIV
God owns everything because He made it all; no one has any right to come along and take it away from Him. Everything I have is His; I am but a steward and He may ask me to divert His stuff elsewhere at any time. It is His.
And if I claim to be saved, He owns me, too!
Romans 10:9, NIV
When I call Jesus my lord I am calling Him my owner; He has complete ownership of me. He can tell me what to do and what not to do. He decides what happens to me. He owns me! He owns my body, my intellect, my soul, my problems, my computer, my books, the air I breathe, the talents I have... everything is His to do with as He chooses.
While that in itself might be cause for concern, it isn't... because I am a Kingdom citizen. The King looks after his citizens. The King provides for his citizens. The King helps his citizens with their problems. There is nothing to worry about and the King has told us to quit worrying [Matthew 6:25-34].
Like a Father, God loves us, cares for us, teaches us and is patient with us. Like a King, God provides for us, protects us, bestows blessings on us and works things under His control for our favour.
Thank you, God!
So, I basically spent the evening in front of the TV. That is fairly strange for me because what's on TV these days rarely holds my attention. (I sound like I'm 70!) I was watching a preacher, Dr Myles Monroe, speak on the Inspiration Channel on Sky. He was preaching about Kingdom principles and what precisely it means to be a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven and to be favoured by the King. God was speaking through this man to me because the message blew me away! I'd never thought about what it meant to be a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven before. I didn't know that the King had chosen to make me a citizen and that He is responsible for my well-being. So much more of the Bible made sense now; it was all so easy!
Most of the later part of the message relied on the Greek word that is translated to "lord" in English texts: the transliteration is "kurios". The meaning is much richer than a simple term of respect (e.g. "sir") or even an acknowledgment of control (e.g. "master"); it implies complete ownership.
[H]e to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding.
The New Testament Greek Lexicon
Why is God the owner? Because He made it.
1 The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live init; 2 for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
Psalm 24:1-2, NIV
God owns everything because He made it all; no one has any right to come along and take it away from Him. Everything I have is His; I am but a steward and He may ask me to divert His stuff elsewhere at any time. It is His.
And if I claim to be saved, He owns me, too!
9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9, NIV
When I call Jesus my lord I am calling Him my owner; He has complete ownership of me. He can tell me what to do and what not to do. He decides what happens to me. He owns me! He owns my body, my intellect, my soul, my problems, my computer, my books, the air I breathe, the talents I have... everything is His to do with as He chooses.
While that in itself might be cause for concern, it isn't... because I am a Kingdom citizen. The King looks after his citizens. The King provides for his citizens. The King helps his citizens with their problems. There is nothing to worry about and the King has told us to quit worrying [Matthew 6:25-34].
Like a Father, God loves us, cares for us, teaches us and is patient with us. Like a King, God provides for us, protects us, bestows blessings on us and works things under His control for our favour.
Thank you, God!
