1 Corinthians 13
Love

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

.... "Love is a choice. We must never wait for a mood or feeling to overwhelm us. That may never come. Love is voluntary, an act of the will - what we deliberately and consciously choose to do."... (R.T. Kendall)

Gods word

While the bible is exciting, full of life and inspirational, we must be careful not to place it as the centre piece in our lives. If we spend our lives trying to get everything we need out of Gods book, we will miss his purposes. God didn't give us the bible so we wouldn't need him. God gave us the bible so we would know how to seek him, how to serve him. The bible helps us know how to live with God, it's not given as a substitute of his presence. If we just want to get our theology right or our thinking right we won't be able to do it through the bible. The bible will point us to the Lord. Yet this does not mean we aught to neglect our bibles. God says we need to read his word.

Looking for happiness?

Did you ever hear anyone say that they were looking for happiness in life?

Perhaps that's what you consider a successful life? To find fulfillment and happiness. Now I don't intend to start sounding like some down in the dumps, killjoy, who is not impressed with this notion of seeking joyful fulfillment, however this is not what our chief goal in life should be.

The writer of Hebrews says that the righteous shall live by faith (ch10v38). God has called us to be a faithful people. In chapter 11 of Hebrews, we can see a number of examples of the heroes of faith. However not all these wonderful figures received a fulfillment of the promises on their lives. Not even Abraham!! Yet they all chose to be faithful over being fulfilled. Can our generation boast the same? Have we made our careers, our friends, our possessions, and our hobbies the source of our happiness? Or are we motivated by being faithful to the one who has been faithful to us?

My teacher's statement this week in class put it beautifully and I'll finish on this note...

If we sacrifice Fulfillment for Faithfulness, God will take care of the fulfillment.
If we sacrifice Faithfulness for Fulfillment, we will then have Neither!

Soccer heroes

I was struck with a thought yesterday, well more of a question really, during a tense game of indoor soccer. I wondered who I considered my all time, footballing Role model? Who I would love to be compared to on the soccer pitch?

A number of wonderfully, skillful players through the decades flooded my thoughts. The likes of Ronaldo (the fat one!) just for clarification, Giggs, Zidane, Rooney, Iniesta, Zola, Bestie, Charlton, Larsson.... I got a bit carried away!!

I had to quickly snap out of this beautiful daydream as I received a pass from a team mate and found myself boxed into a corner with the football and two opposition players bearing down on top of me. I managed to shelter the ball until Dad (on my team) made space and I was able to find him with a pass. Myself and Dad link up fairly well together in indoor soccer :)

That is when it struck me...

My role model in football is none of the names on the list above!! In fact this player doesn't play in the premiership or in La Liga!!

Believe it or not, my Dad is my footballing role model. Is this sad??

He plays the game with a class that in my opinion supersedes all those other stars. He plays the game with integrity and dignity.

He is wonderfully skillful and goes by players with ease. Often his style of play reminds me of Ryan Giggs style. He has a great awareness on the pitch, where he needs to be and where to place a pass. I really enjoy being on a team with him.

His attitude is what makes him world class though. I have never seen him argue on a soccer pitch. Not even once!! He is a competitive player, yet he will not let this effect his character when playing. He will always humble himself even when other players cheat and argue decisions. He carries himself with real dignity and consequently is the most respected player at Wednesday night soccer. He always seems to enjoy himself at footie, even when it is not the greatest game.

Its a humble and gracious attitude that shines through on the pitch. That's what I look for more so, than the step overs and flicks. He is a real pro. and a true role model for any footballer.

The Missing day - Fact or Fiction?

Mr. Harold Hill, President of the Curtis Engine Company in Baltimore, Maryland, and a consultant in the space program, relates the following development.

I think one of the most amazing things that God has done for us today happened recently to our space scientists at GreenBelt, Maryland. They were checking out where the positions of the sun, moon, and planets would be 100 years and 1,000 years from now. We have to know this so we won't send up a satellite and have it bump into something later on in its orbits. We have to lay out the orbits in terms of the life of the satellite and where the planets will be so the whole thing will not bog down.

They ran the computer measurement back and forth over the centuries, and it came to a halt. The computer stopped and put up a red signal, which meant that there was something wrong with either the information fed into it or with the results as compared to the standards. They called in the service department to check it out, and they said, 'What's wrong?"

Well, they found there is a day missing in space in lapsed time. They scratched their heads and tore their hair. There was no answer.

Finally a Christian man on the team said, 'You know, one time I was in Sunday School, and they talked about the sun standing still.' While they didn't believe him, they didn't have an answer either, so they said, 'Show us.'

He got a Bible and went to the book of Joshua where they found a pretty ridiculous statement for any one with 'common sense.' There they found the Lord saying to Joshua, 'Fear them not, I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.'

Joshua was concerned because he was surrounded by the enemy, and if darkness fell, they would overpower them. So Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still! That's right... 'The sun stood still and the moon stayed and lasted not to go down about a whole day!' (Joshua 10:12-13)

The astronauts and scientists said, 'There is the missing day!'

They checked the computers going back into the time it was written and found it was close but not close enough.

The elapsed time that was missing back in Joshua's day was 23 hours and 20 minutes ... not a whole day. They read the Bible, and there it was 'about (approximately) a day.' These little words in the Bible are important, but they were still in trouble because if you cannot account for 40 minutes, you'll still be in trouble 1,000 years from now. Forty minutes had to be found because it can be multiplied many times over in orbits.

As the Christian employee thought about it, he remembered somewhere in the Bible where it said the sun went BACKWARDS.
The scientists told him he was out of his mind, but they got out the "Book" and read these words in 2 Kings that told of the following story: Hezekiah, on his death bed, was visited by the prophet Isaiah who told him that he was not going to die. Hezekiah asked for a sign as proof. Isaiah said 'Do you want the sun to go ahead 10 degrees?' Hezekiah said, 'It is nothing for the sun to go ahead 10 degrees, but let the shadow return backward 10 degrees.' Isaiah spoke to the Lord, and the Lord brought the shadow ten degrees BACKWARD!

Ten degrees is exactly 40 minutes!

Twenty-three hours and 20 minutes in Joshua, plus 40 minutes in Second Kings make the missing day in the universe!"
Isn't it amazing?

References: Joshua 10:8 and 12,13 and 2 Kings 20:9-11.

WARNING!

(Hebrews 6 v 4-6)......For it is impossible for those who were once -enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, -if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

YIKES!!

The Victory

I heard an excellent illustration last weekend and said to myself...'I don't want to forget that example'. I thought the best way to remember the illustration was to post it here. I do occasionally read my own writing. You might think this to be very egotistical, but my thoughts are, ......'well at least someone reads my blog'!!

The example given is not used the same way the speaker used it. I have changed it around slightly to convey my point.

In 1982, Offaly won the Sam Maguire trophy and were crowned All Ireland Champions. This was a special time for the people of Offaly and sadly for them, they have not retained this trophy since then. If you ask any 15 year old from Offaly when their county last won the All Ireland final?, they will tell you that THEY beat Kerry in 1982 and became champions.

Now hold on!! How could they say this and identify with the event since they were not born yet and in fact would not be born for another 13 years? The fact that they were not present is not important. It was a proud day in their counties history and their county was victorious which is something that they can boast about.

In Romans 6, Paul is speaking about an event which happened over 2000 years ago. Just like the 15 year old from Offaly can identify with the great success and victory of his/her team in 1982, we today can identify with Christs great victory. Offaly defeated Kerry, but Christ defeated death.

The Offaly fans have not been able to do too much boasting in recent years as their victory was short lived. Christ was victorious 2000 years ago, and will have the victory forever and ever. He is always going to win, and that's where our confidence lies as we continue to put our faith and trust in Him.

Trouble ahead

Past experience of success, is no guarantee for the future!!

Do I believe this? Do you believe this? I say 'you' to make it sound like people actually read my blog!! This statement was made during my Hebrews class by my teacher, Dr. Arden Autry. Of course he wasn't thinking football when he said these words.... but I admittedly was. You see while the second part of my two part class on Hebrews and general epistles was about to start, Manchester United and Manchester City were also about to begin a two part series, which judging by their last meeting could indeed prove to be a titanic battle. For me, to miss this encounter definitely took some Devine intervention. Anyway my rewards are in Heaven and there are times when we will suffer for Christs name etc etc..... I guess the outcome of the match just enforces the point of this blog.

United are a big club, in fact in the last decade they have been the biggest club worldwide. Now I hear you sceptics and 'A.B.U.'S' say... "What about Madrid? Barca? etc.." and I say to you "Ah go 'way with that rubbish!!," United is a club with a long History, and in recent times particularly, a very successful History. This History makes the club Mighty and an unstoppable force!

Dr. Autry was discussing a different situation of course. He was referring to a passage in Psalm 95. This psalm is a reminder to Israel, that their fore Fathers had put God to the test and had gone astray in their hearts and therefore, they did not enter Gods rest. This was the same generation that had crossed the Red sea on dry land, had experienced Gods great provision by receiving water and Manna from Heaven and witnessed many other marvels and wonders. Regardless of all the success they had experienced in the past, they still did not enter the promised land. They had a perfect promise, but not a perfect fulfillment!

So, although I would argue the point, that Uniteds History of success would make them a strong outfit in the future. Sadly the reality is different and I would have to concede that they are not an unstoppable force and the future success of the club is most uncertain. (Of course it is certain to go into liquidation under the ownership of Glazier. For the good of the club, Get Him Out!!) There is nothing that this world can offer us, that is everlasting. Christ is faithful over Gods house as a Son and we are his house, if we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. This we can be certain of. Amen

Avatar - harmless or dangerous?

Its the highlight of the movie callander for '09 and people cant seem to get enough of it. So in light of what I heard today, I decided to make a couple of comments about the new 3D experience, Avatar.

In todays news, the Vatican have publicly critisiced the film Avatar, stating that it promotes the worship of nature.

This stance that the Catholic Church have taken is hilariously ludicrous and those guys in the Vatican, should 'get with the times'. Avatar is a harmless, well executed, extremely advanced film experience.

This was the view shared by most, if not all of my colleagues, and it disturbed me greatly.

It is true that the film offers a whole new experience in what is to become an advanced improvement in 3D technology, and these are indeed, positive steps forward in changing cinema for the future, however it is NOT harmless!!

As I pondered over the words of my work colleagues, and the statement from the Vatican, I thought about how liberal our society has become. If that same statement from the Catholic church in relation to a film promoting earthly worship was made 15 years ago, it would have been greeted with the utmost sincerity and concern. People would have listened and would not have scoffed. I was reminded of the constant struggles that the Israelites experienced with their worship of false Gods. Along with dedicating worship to Yaweh, they also worshiped fertility Gods such as Baal. Throughout the Old Testament the Israelites had to be reminded that they served a jealous God, and by Him, all things were made. Deuteronomy 6:4 says "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." This is the Jewish confession of faith and it is a statement of exclusitivity. The Lord our God is the only God and he is worthy of ALL our praises.

In the film Avatar, Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington gets introduced to this mystical world and gets drawn in by its attractions. What James Camron successfully achieves is a picture of a beautiful fantasy world, which is far greater than the real world, where creatures can come in unity to the 'Tree of Souls', offer prayers to 'Mo'at' (the earthly God) and she would answer them or keep them protected. In one particular scene, the tribe are under attack from the humans and our heroin Jake offers a prayer of help to the Tree God, and she answers his prayer by coming to their rescue, through the form of other wild creatures.

It is certainly very emotionally moving and gripping for an audience and this leads me to the conclusion that it is dangerous viewing. Our society today has come to except new age viewpoints and not just accept them, but rather embrace them. We as a church of believers in the One, true God and his son Jesus Christ need to stand with the Vatican and say that we do not find it acceptable to promote the disguised worship of false Gods, through the medium of Film and that as Christians, we will not be excited by the hype of James Camrons, Avatar.

Song for today

As a way of easing my way back into the world of blogging, I have taken the lazy option and posted a piece of music. You should unfortunately recognise the song, as its a well known Dance song by DJ Sammy, and a dodgy power ballad by Bryan Adams!! I much prefer this version.



Enjoy!!!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3f58vjRGC8