Brighton and Bombs.

So we leave Christmas alone for another 363 days (I was told this over text today...certainly not something I have worked out myself).

Today I was deep in thought as I wandered around Brighton city centre attempting the strictly female pass time, shopping. I say this as an indictment of men...we are awful at shopping. I guess there are those who enjoy busy streets, rude people, rushed sales assistants (the ones I encountered today were nice, helpful and slightly witty - I was taken aback), cold weather and general mania that surrounds January sale-time. But most of us cannot stand it. Women on the other hand, seem to thrive in these situations.

I'm exaggerating and stereotyping, I know.

I was struck by the foolishness of rushing around like bees buying things that we don't need and will likely replace within 6 months. I was glad of this thought, I saved me from spending on silly things.

I needed new shoes. You don't know how much joy it has given me writing that sentence in the tense that I did. Usually what happens when I shop for something I need is that I flitter away my money on things I don't need, then never end up "finding" or "buying" the one thing I really needed...the singular reason why I even went shopping in the first place. So I got some new shoes. If I have my way, I'm never going shoe shopping again.

I don't know how realistic this is.

So I was on the train towards Brighton. And there was a group of 16/17 year olds discussing things that 16/17 year olds talk about. It struck me that they thought that they were the first people to talk about such things (the topic of conversation was tatoos). Then it struck me that when I was that age, my group of friends thought we were the first people to be discovering these types of things.

Oh, the innocence and foolishness of youth.

The other thing that amused me whilst on the train was a man making awful jokes behind me. They went like this:

"People are dying to get into there." (As we pass a cementary).
(Shortly after), "I knew my girlfriend was a serial killer when she said she could murder a bowl of cornflakes."

They were met with slight sniggers by the lady next to him, who quickly changed the subject. I think if I didn't think it'd be rude, I'd have laughed heartily most of the way to Brighton.

In more serious news, Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated. BBC has coverage here. Pray for Pakistan, they need Jesus Christ.

The reports are that Islamic extremists are responsible for this suicide attack, which also killed 15 or so others. It is another reminder that evil still grips this world. But it will not prevail. And as Christians we have a battle to fight, but not with bombs and guns. I hope we remember that when the time comes. Let's stand on Christ, our solid rock in times of trouble.

Volf on giving.

"It will not help much if we simply remind ourselves: God gives to the ungrateful, and so should we. But it will help if we remember that it's God who gives when we give. For then we need to deflect graditude that comes to us anyway. We are not its proper addressees. God is. And if we are convinced that gratitude doesn't properly belong to us, then ingratitude doesn't touch us. We are not disrespected by ingratitude; our pride is not injured. The ingratitude of recipients wrongs not us but the gift-giving God - the God whose goodness 'gladly loses its good deed on the unthankful'(Luther). And so we continue to give, even to the ungrateful."

--From 'Free of Charge' by Miroslav Volf.

A lesson I'm learning. Profound.

Ten

I like lists...

I attempted to make a list of my favourite albums from this year. But I don't like most modern music, so I didn't actually have ten albums that were released this year. Instead, here is a list of my favouite ten albums that I have bought this year. They are in no order.

Tom McRae - Tom McRae
Mutemath - Mutemath
Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Mae - The Everglow
Hot Chip - The Warning
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Ryan Adams - Love Is Hell
The Reindeer Section - Son Of Evil Reindeer
Editors - An End Has A Start

Manhood is not marriage.

If you are male and reading this, go here and read this article. I think we all need a reminder, especially if you are part of the same institution I am.

Take 6 minutes out & click the link.

Between Two Worlds: Driscoll on the Pursuit of Humility#links

Like the stone that hit Goliath, this hit me. And only by the grace of God am I not left with my head seperated from my body.

Pursuit of Holiness

Yesterday at college (London School of Theology, for those who don't know), we had a time of prayer and worship. Resulting from that, a friend shared something that both inspired me, excited me, and reaffirmed to me that God works in all situations, despite what the outer appearance may be.

My friend said that they were recently really excited by the pursuit of holiness, that it is something that can easily be forgotten - but is something that we are called to do as disciples of Jesus Christ. We need to just go for it!

Personally I feel a challenging excitement. My aim is to be living my life for the glory of God, in everything I do. I have no idea how to do this, and it is only by the grace of God that I stand any real chance of making it to the end.

So I want to echo my friends call...let's just do it! Let's just pursue holiness in everything we do, let's strive with the grace of God to live totally for Him.

Josh Harris has this to say:

"Today I came across a quote I'd written in my journal. In his book Holiness, J.C. Ryle quotes puritan William Gurnall:

"Say not that thou hast royal blood in thy veins and art born of God unless thou canst prove thy pedigree by daring to be holy."

The grace that justifies us also sanctifies us. If we are in Christ, if we are sons and daughters of the King, then we will dare to be holy. Our obedience cannot make us righteous before God; but those declared righteous by grace alone through faith alone will dedicate themselves to the pursuit of holiness."

I agree wholeheartedly. If you want some excellent books on Holiness, go here:

Holiness, J.C. Ryle

Or here, Pursuit of Holiness, Jerry Bridges

Those who know me know I'm not the most excitable person...
But this morning, I'm excited.

Shocking Legality of Facebook

I've always had a love-hate relationship with such 'social networks' as Facebook and MySpace and the multitudes of others of the same ilk. It does appear to fuel the gossip-like desires that plague humans, and also diminishes from actual face-to-face, bodily communication between people. I am weighing up the idea of deleting my Facebook account. Josh Harris has something to add in this regard, here.

Recently I was made aware of this by a lecturer.

http://albumoftheday.com/facebook/

Check it out. Does Facebook go too far?

Think.

Some thoughts for you to muse upon. Maybe they will stimulate you to think. Maybe you will just reject them.

Everybody's theology is wrong somewhere.

We are all conditioned by our situation and our context.

Unless we meet the true God in Jesus Christ, then we're still waiting for an agent from God to do just that...reveal him.

Rob Bell has some potentially dangerous ideas. Those who preach prosperity are not preaching the gospel, and perhaps it is time to return to the tradition of fuelling fires with their books rather than fire wood. Rob Bell is not necessarily prosperity, but he certainly has interesting theological ideas.

I've mastered making cheese sauce, and cooking for lots of people is satisfying.

The new Athlete album is worth a listen.

Reading the Bible is a good idea. In fact, it's lifechanging.

Faith seeking understanding.

Read the Bible.

Thoughts on technology..

from Mark Driscoll...click here.

It's the end of the world as we know it...

I am hugely indebted to REM for the title. They make good music, I enjoy it.

So when I find some time I'm going to write down my thoughts on the End Times. But for now I'm afraid it is only going to be disjointed ideas mixed with an apology.

I've not posted in a good while, sorry about that. It's not that I don't have much to say, it may be that I have too much to say.

Check this out for a review of the new book by Joel Osteen...Life coach extraordinaire. He doesn't attribute that title to himself...but I disagree with the title he does attribute to himself, so I've come up with this one. I'm impressed that the reviewer has restained his obviously scathing opinions...click here.

I also think that more people should be willing to die.

I say this after looking a little at Martin Luther. Who at one point was intensly aware that he was probably travelling to his death, yet felt so profoundly about what he believed in regards to justification by faith and the foolishness of indulgences, that he was prepared to face death, rather than recant.

That challenged me.

Finally, having new people around and getting to know them has been a true joy.

Home (Sweet?) Home

A fluid concept. Home.

I have found that a home is hard to come by this past year and a half. At the same time I have found home in the strangest of places.

It is an obvious truth that home is much more than simply the place that you live. But it is a truth that I have not really understood until recently.

I have been living in my new flat for about a week and a half now. And I do love it, for many reasons. It is beginning to feel like home. By which I mean that I am beginning to feel less like I am visiting an as yet unknown friend, and more like I can legitimately play host to friends who come visit me.

On a side note, I am slightly disappointed that I used the word 'love' in the second sentence of the last paragraph. In the English language it is a word that is abused, and it's meaning confused. What I'm mmost disappointed with, thought, is the fact that I had trouble finding an alternative word, and instead felt that writing a whole paragraph about it would be an adequate second to changing the word.

I've been on my own for a majority of the time. I don't think it has been very good for me. I begin to focus on myself too much. I can easily become a recluse, not a good thing. Community is good for me...even though I may not always be good for community!

Anyway. I have no internet, so I have not written much in a while, and may well not for a while again.

Read Blue Like Jazz. I didn't really like it. But then it got better, and I recommend it.

Diana; an English cult?

Today is the 10th anniversary of Diana, Princess of Wales' death. It has moved a nation to remember her in many different ways.

Personally I remember the day she died. I was 10 years old, and with my siblings I woke my parents up that Sunday morning, complaining that there were no cartoons on because some important person had died. My next complaint was that my mother didn't believe me!

Little did I realise that a nation mourning would turn their mourning into something resembling a cult, with Diana as the goddess. In Althorp, where she is burried, there is even a temple, where people can lay flowers etc. as they walk around the lake where Diana is burried on an island in the middle.

A nation who have turned their back on the one true God, are filling it with a media-spun version of a woman who has created more of a stir dead, than she did when she was alive. It is interesting to observe an elaborate rememberance of death, being armed with the knowledge that death is not the end.

I wonder whether the 10th anniversary of the death of Churchill, or Queen Victoria, were remembered in quite the same way.

If you're interested, BBC have extensive coverage.