Over the next couple of months, something really exciting will be happening on university campuses all over the UK: Christian Union Mission Weeks. Last year, 35 000 students went to mission week events. Some of those people were my friends at the University of Manchester; and it was a great privilege to be involved in organising our week.
CUs are engaged in a whole range of outreach activities all year round, which come with their own set of baffling Christian jargon: ‘bottle drops’ (handing out water to students coming home from nights out); ‘tea and toast’ (handing out tea and toast to the aforementioned inebriated students); ‘text-a-toastie’ (CU members deliver the toasties and answer questions about God); 'carol services' (which are… carol services).... continue reading
My parents were always very strict on the matter. Whenever a friend gave me a gift I had to utter two little words or risk a withering maternal glare. Whether it was a longed-for toy or an oh so useful pencil, "thank you" was the expected response. And rightly so, it's a privilege to receive any gift - giving is an act of love and provision which should always result in gratitude.
As an adult, the habit remains. It's almost a reflex response ... Someone passes me a cup of tea (preferably peppermint) and "thanks, that's great" immediately springs from my lips.
At least it remains when it comes to other humans. When it comes to God, my response is often far slower. Which is why I was fascinated when a friend of mine shared an evening routine she has recently developed:
Every night before she goes to bed, she thanks God for 10 things.... continue reading
Some recent research projects have made for sobering reading. Nearly half of the population of England say they feel lonely - up to a third say they have no-one to turn to in a crisis and would be reluctant to approach a voluntary body. Most severely affected are the elderly and infirm. The quote that broke my heart the most was the comment that for some, the TV is their best friend.
So, with that in mind I interviewed the frailest, most housebound old saint I know ... For the purposes of this post, we'll call her Edith, she's always liked that name.
What does an average day look like for you?
I wake about 5am when my night-time pain killers start to wear off. It takes me a while to get going in the morning and I like to have my breakfast well before my carers arrive. My washing and dressing ladies come about 9am. It's nice when I get the same carers for a few months in a row, I can get to know them then but often people's shifts get moved about and I have to get to know someone new every few weeks. Once I'm dressed I go into the living room and put on the TV. I stay there until my night time carers come about 5pm. The meals on wheels team let themselves in each lunchtime. On Tuesdays my cleaner comes round.... continue reading
This is an extract from Timothy Keller’s latest title, Romans 1–7 For You. Launching on 4th February, you can pre-order it now.
Harvest Time in Rome
Paul didn’t just write a letter to the Roman church. He planned a trip to the Romans church, too: “… in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles” (Romans 1:13).
This “harvest” likely has two aspects. Paul is hoping for a harvest within the Roman church; what Jesus pictured when he talked of people who had heard and accepted the word producing “a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown” (Mark 4:20). But the next verses show that Paul also desires to reap a crop outside the church; what Jesus was talking of when he said to his followers: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:37-38). Paul is coming to Rome both to encourage and to evangelize.... continue reading
First posted on 14th January 2013.
You may have heard people talk about the “big but’s” of the Bible; for example: “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. BUT now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” Colossians 1 v 21-22. But I’ve been thinking about the “yet’s” of the Bible.
I know many people who have had a hard time during the autumn, including illness, bereavement, church issues… Others are facing a difficult start to 2013. And some of us are experiencing both. Which is what got me thinking about biblical “yet’s”. Here are a couple to mull over:
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will YET praise him,
my Saviour and my God.
Psalm 42 v 5... continue reading
What would you guess this is a photo of? A cloud of butterflies against an exotic sunset? A man taking home the fruits of a hard, but satisfying, day’s labour?
What this photo really shows is a swarm of migratory locusts, which last year destroyed a massive 25% of Madagascar’s food crops and put the food security of 13 million people at risk. So what looks beautiful at first glance is actually life threatening.
And the sack that the man is carrying is full of dead locusts which he has spent the day catching; so the photo also reflects a futile toil. How discouraging to be under the weight of that heavy sack, while seeing all around you that the threat to your livelihood continues unabated, despite your best efforts.
Maybe, just over a week into the new year, you’re already feeling a bit like this man. Perhaps it’s a struggle with sin that’s weighing us down—with each temptation we successfully resist, opportunities to sin keep gathering like a swarm. So much so that sometimes, when you look at it in the right light, sin starts to look less deadly and actually kind of attractive…
But take heart:
“This is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” - 1 John 5 v 3-4
It was not going well.
She was a professional, and liked to tie everything down. Her team knew what was expected of them, and had worked enough big events not to get in a panic when something went wrong.
She'd handled drunks and accidents, and the time when the chicken turned out to be decidedly "off". She'd even stepped in and rescued the situation when a fight broke out between the two families.
Who'd be a wedding planner?... continue reading
Stuck on the sofa over the past week with a horrible bug, I've been able to indulge in a few TV favourites. One blast from the past that never fails to please is an episode or two of Frasier: a sitcom about about radio psychiatrist whose life is gloriously ridiculous. His catchphrase is well-known to fans across the globe: "I'm listening" starts every one of his radio shows, uttered in the silky smooth tones that only talented actors can muster. It's a phrase that is, at times, spoken insincerely but he tries... when on air, he wants to be there for his listeners.
The way we listen to someone shows a lot about our relationship with them:
You can always spot a young couple in the first flush of love. They hang on each other's words with eyes wide open. Even the most mundane of communications is met with delight because the mere sound of the other person's voice brings warmth to the heart.... continue reading
This time last year, I mentioned six ways to look godly while not growing in your faith — and then spent 2013 battling them, falling for them, and finding several other ways, too. So here, for 2014, are six more ways to look great while doing little…
1. Multitask your Quiet Time
Every day, head off to a quiet place in your house with a Bible for half an hour. It will really encourage anyone you live with, and set a great example. And half an hour is a very long time. A brief read of the Bible, a quick Lord’s Prayer, and you’ve got about 28 minutes left for thinking through some work issues, or writing a mental shopping list, or considering where to go on your next vacation, or even doing some serious meditation with your eyes closed.... continue reading
If you’re anything like me, the new year brings a time of reflection. Whether you’re in to new year resolutions or not, it’s good to look back and see what has gone well in the past year and look forward, thinking about what could do with changing in the coming twelve months.
One area of my life that constantly disappoints is my prayer life. I’m acutely conscious that my prayers all too often tend to be vague, human-centred, irregular and offered on the assumption that I know what’s best for me and everyone around me. And I know I’m not the only one who struggles in areas like these!
So, in 2014 I’m not so much going to plan to pray as itch to pray. It’s a mnemonic – one you might like to use too. It goes like this. Let’s pray:... continue reading
