Jesus Course

I was at an event the other day where I met a man with an interesting story. He told me how Jesus had saved his life. I won’t mention any names here or even where I met the man because I wouldn’t want to embarrass him if he reads this.

But here was a young man who was living the kind of life that many young men live. However, things went wrong and he allowed alcohol to take over and run things. His life was a mess and getting worse.

It was then that he decided to go to church and there he encountered Jesus. He has now put his life on track. He has a part time job and has an active role in the church he goes to. He openly acknowledges that it has been Jesus working through the lives of Christians that has literally ‘saved his life’.

Jesus christians, church, Jesus, saved

Sin isn’t a popular idea these days, but then I wonder if it ever was? I’ve heard it described as an outdated idea based on the assumption that the gods only helped us if we were good to them. I see what such an argument is based on but it always seems to me to be the kind of argument you might make to cover up the fact that you are doing something you know is wrong. I have tried living with the idea that there is no such thing as sin – that it is just a matter of choice but then some choices I made caused problems and I could see that they were wrong – sometimes they hurt others and this made it worse. I think we are kidding ourselves if we think that there is no such thing as sin.

Perhaps it would be wise to try and define what sin is here. I think sin is when we do something that is wrong – intentional or unintentional. In particular sin is when we do something that is wrong in God’s eyes. I’m not going to enter the discussion about the existence of God or what law is here – my blog entries would get even longer if I tried to take every argument through it’s full range of discussion. I’m assuming God exists.

Now I could complain that God is wrong to think certain things are sin but ultimately it is up to God to decide what is right or wrong. If God is the ultimate being then I must concede that he knows better than I do.

So there are clever tricks of the mind that might let me off the hook (philosophically speaking) but somehow that doesn’t stop the fact that I know deep down that some things are just plain wrong and I shouldn’t do them. To deny this is just to deny the obvious and kid yourself that something is not wrong for the sake of trying to get a good nights sleep.

But Jesus wanted to talk more about forgiveness than sin. The message that Jesus brought was one of the loving forgiveness (Christians like to use the word grace here) of God.

The way to deal with sin is not to ignore it in the hopes somehow it will go away, or to deny it’s existence in an attempt to reason it away, or to make jokes about it in the hopes that laughing will somehow mean it doesn’t matter, but it’s to accept God’s solution in Jesus Christ.

“Your sins are forgiven” – Jesus

Thoughts forgivness, sin

Every 10 years in a Bavarian town in Germany a Passion Play is acted out. The tradition began when in 1635 the inhabitants of Oberammergau (then a village) made a vow to God that they would stage the play every decade after the town was spared from the plague.  Almost 2000 people are involved in the production (around half the population of the village) and it has gained worldwide recognition.

This year the play has been shaken by the Roman Catholics abuse scandal. Despite this the play will continue because it is not about the church but it is about Jesus Christ.

The church has, once again, shown itself to be a fallible human institution and despite not being Roman Catholic myself I still feel some of the shame of on organisation that is supposed to stand up for children and yet allowed such terrible things to go on. There is much that the church can be proud of in its service to those that others neglect but no amount of good works can nullify the pain that has been caused. I pray that God will forgive us all for this and we must ensure that this cannot happen again.

Anyway, the play goes on and the message of Jesus remains. The followers of Jesus make no pretense that they make a good job of following Christ (at least the honest ones don’t) but that won’t stop us trying.

News jesus christ, oberammergau

In a letter on the KansasCity.com web site Billy Graham, the international, and well respected, evangelist explains why he believes Jesus is unique.

You can read what he said here …

This is always something that is hard to get across to people without sounding like we are being arrogant and closed minded, but Christians are left little room to think anything but that Jesus is unique.

Claiming that Jesus is unique should never be a reason to put down other people’s ideas. This isn’t a rallying call it is a simple statement of something that we Christians believe. I think this uniqueness of Christ is a challenge to us all.  If Christians are right in saying that Jesus is unique then we have to take what Jesus says very seriously indeed. Jesus isn’t just another good teacher who you can take on board alongside everyone else but instead is someone with a unique message about himself that challenges us to think differently.

Jesus jesus christ

There was yet another story in the UK press yesterday about a Christian bashing exercise that took place in a government department. There was a memo circulating with some comments (I guess they were put intended as a joke) where it was suggested the Pope on his visit to the UK should do various un-Catholic things. This didn’t come from the Government but from Civil Servants.

Now – I like a good joke as much as the next person and we all know how these things sometimes get out of hand at work but I think this does highlight a couple of problems.

1) Does this mean that the church is just seen as a bit of a joke by those who run the country?

2) Does this show that there is a general bias against the church among the UK’s civil servants?

I think the answer is probably yes to both, but that is just a feeling I get.

But then I wonder if the in fact the church has played it’s part in all this as much as anyone?

Christians haven’t always been good at practicing what they preach or at defending themselves when it was needed. The Catholic church has had a major issue with child abuse and it is hard to ask for moral respect in such circumstances. I’ve also recently heard of death threats made against a comedian who made jokes about Jesus Christ. I find such jokes very offensive but as far as I understand the teachings of Christ we should respond to this kind of thing by turning the other cheek.

Christians also are often very bad at explaining what they believe and end up resorting to churchy language that just sounds like Christians are creatures who have had their head in the sand for the last 200 years. There are very good defenses for the Christian faith that can be presented in a caring way and I am thankful for those who take the time to offer them. Sadly, when people are responded to with archaic Christian language they tend to see it as another reason for laughing at Christians rather than acknowledging a good response.

I also often hear Christians moaning about how people of other faiths get treated better – for instance if someone said the kinds of things about a Muslim leader that they did about the Pope there would be a public outcry – and I think that they are probably right in making this observation.

However, I wonder if Christians aren’t supposed to be treated differently. When we are insulted for what we believe we should be thankful for suffering like Jesus did, shouldn’t we? When we are struck on the cheek aren’t we supposed to offer the other one? When people make angry attacks at us aren’t we supposed to respond with love and forgiveness.

This isn’t the soft, easy option. This is the hard option. This doesn’t mean that we should just go around being happy that everyone is against us but that we don’t respond to things in the same way that everyone else does.

We are supposed to be different – aren’t we?

Thoughts christians, church, Jesus

Sorry but I’ve been a way for a while and am just getting back to the work.

Easter is a great time for a break from the normal things of life and a chance to get your head right. It seems that finding time to think about life and what it is all about is getting harder and harder in the modern fast paced world. But I think there are some things that are worth spending time over.

If the events of holy week and Easter are true  – and I am convinced they are – then life can never be the same again. Ignoring God and Jesus isn’t really an option when you have grasped the enormous impact of Jesus dieing for you and then raising to life again. This isn’t something that happens every day (or even ever, save this one time). How can life be so focussed on trivial things when something so amazing has happened.

Jesus died and rose again – surely this should change your life forever.

Jesus Easter, Holy Week

Just when I was wandering if Jesus would ever show up in a strange place ever again, he shows up in two places. Now it’s in a frying pan – although this ones looks a little too good to be true.

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/817047-jesus-christ-appears-in-students-frying-pan

Jesus in funny places

Jesus has just appeared in the bark of a Pecan Tree. Full story below.

Just in case you get the impression that I get very excited about the places Jesus is appearing in I don’t – I just think they make interesting stories. Personally, I’m not convinced that God uses this method of getting his message through to people.

http://www.wapt.com/news/22814321/detail.html

Jesus in funny places Jesus

Here is a response from Billy Graham to someone who has recently lost her husband to cancer. It’s good advice and from someone who still feels the loss of his own wife.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/03/08/1798495/billy-graham-grief-is-very-real.html

All religions say something about death and its consequences but Jesus is unique in that he has experienced the pain of loss for himself. One of the most moving moments of the Bible is to read the words “Jesus wept” when he hears that his friend Lazarus has died.

That is not the end, though, because Jesus then raises his friend from the dead, a reminder to us that God has control over life and death and that Jesus is going to do something amazing that will release us from the power of death. We still have to face the moment when our body dies but this is not the end of life.

Christian living cancer, death, life, loss, pain, resurrection

Once again a large earthquake has killed many people. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who have lost their lives.

Words always seem inadequate during these times but sometimes words are all we can use to express what we feel.

I know that it can feel odd to talk about a loving God when such terrible things happen. This is not the time to try to rationalise anything and get all philosophical. Such times don’t call for philosophy but for symbols of love.

For me, it is the vision of a suffering and dying Jesus that offers the most comfort when things seem too dark to understand. The willingness of God to suffer in such a terrible way somehow helps me to understand that although there is suffering God still loves me.

Of course, the cross is then followed by resurrection. It is a mistake to think that the suffering of Christ is the failure and the resurrection of Christ the overturning of that terrible mistake, because God achieves his victory both through the suffering and the resurrection. However, the resurrection helps us to see that the suffering has purpose and that in the end there is hope.

My prayers are with the people of Chile.

Jesus suffering, the cross