The Incongruent Believer

As we mature as Christians I think we can become almost numb to the Bible, or perhaps its not numbness but over-familiarity. We read the words that Jesus said and the account of his interactions with the lawmakers and Pharisees and they lose their impact on us and don't come across as the edgy, dangerous, revolutionary words that they are. Having not ventured into the Bible for almost eight years returning to it is having a profound impact on me, almost as much as it had some 20+ years ago when I first read them in Ernest. Today I was somewhat taken aback by the discourse between Jesus and the Pharisees in John Chapter 8, the mood I see in it is like an argument, or something one might hear in a courtroom between the prosecution and the accused. Who is the prosecution and the accused? Well it's fluid through the back and forth between Jesus and the Pharisees; the Pharisees might begin thinking that they have all the answers, all the facts, and because of this they have the mora...

It never ceases to amaze me how history is allowed to repeat itself. In spite of what we read in the history books, learn in school, and hear from our parents and grandparents we still allow things to happen generation after generation.  Christians and Christianity is not immune to it either and the more I read the Bible, especially the New Testament, the more I think “that’s happening again”. In John 5:30-47 Jesus talks of the importance of recognising that it is God who sent him and that as God’s son he brings Gods message and salvation. In verse 44 he warns about receiving “glory from one another” and my experience of organised religion both as a follower and a minister is the prevalence of this in the church both today and throughout it’s history. Cronyism is rife with people put on a pedestal and worshipped and their offspring given special treatment within the ‘halls of power’ not on their merits, but on whose child they are or what family they come from. During my time train...

I love the song Mary Did You Know? especially the Celo Green version. If you are not familiar with the song throughout the lyrics the singer asks lots of questions to Mary about her son Jesus, the song starts: "Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?" and ends  "Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations? Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?" It raises the question did Mary know that Jesus was the son of God and in doing so it is a mute point. I reminded of this when I read of the wedding at Cana in John 2, where Jesus turns water into wine when prompted by his mother to do something. She was aware of who he was and the power he had and in spite of him protesting "My hour has not yet come" he performs the well known miracle. In light of this perhaps the song should be written in the affirmative as "Mary you did know!"

People who doubt the authenticity of the Holy Bible, include some who ought to know better. I was reading Luke 21 today and verse 14-15 reminded me of something that happened to me when on a Bible College mission trip to India. The verse says: " Settle it therefore in your minds b not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and d wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand." As a group of trainee ministers we were visiting a mission run by local Christians, before the meeting began our team leader, a lecturer from our college, spoke to her two star pupils and said that it was likely our hosts will expect us to share a word from the Bible with them, an impromptu sermon, she asked them to be prepared. That moment came and their was silence, neither of the 'chosen ones' had anything to say. After a short while something came to me out of the blue, I found the verse in my Bible, went to the front of the room (I was sitting at...

I seem to be reading my bible with fresh eyes and it's a real revelation (no pun intended). For example Luke 12:48 "The one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating." Once again demonstrates the mercy of God. We often hear of other versions of a god who deals with people as if we are not valued, but not the true God, the God of the Bible, he values everyone, gives everyone an opportunity to accept the truth, even sending his Son whom he loved to pay the price for our sin with his blood. 

It is sometimes easy to be perplexed or confused when reading God's word and something has really been giving me a headache, not something complex or vague but just a very short phrase that seems out of place. It comes at the end of Luke 9 verse 33 "The Transfiguration" where Peter suggests he puts up tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. In the ESV it says "- not knowing what he said" and I have been wrestling with what this meant for two weeks now. I have dozens of books that I could have referred to but am currently trying to read and meditate, rather than go down the academic route. My perseverance on this bothersome phrase paid of when I read the chapter again today and my brain translated it into the vernacular of South East London where I was brought up, rendering the phrase as "he doesn't know what he's talking about" which has not only put my mind at ease but also made me chuckle imagining the uncouth Peter and Luke, the narrator of the s...

At the end of chapter 5 of the gospel of Luke are written these words, "the old is good." This follows Jesus talking about wine and wines kins in relation to his and John's disciples. For all of my time as a believer I never heard anyone - preacher, lay preacher, mature Christian, teacher - speak about the old wine. It was if the comments made by Jesus about old wine were redacted. I often got the impression that new wine was good and old wine was bad. I mediated on Luke 5:36-39 for some time, letting the passage speak rather than doing an exegesis and pondered on this obsession with the new wine. Perhaps there comes a time in our lives as Christians where, like John's disciples we need the old, good wine and we should not ignore this when we speak about the new. 

I open this book I find something new. That was a recent post on Facebook alongside a picture of the Holy Bible. Thought I would start writing about some of these "new" things as it's been a long time since I read it regularly and I am struck and somewhat in awe of new revelations from God's word. The first one I want to point out is Luke 4:5-6 which is part of the discourse on the temptation of Jesus where Satan shows him all the kingdoms of the world. The striking thing here is that Satan points out that he has the "authority" and "glory" of all the kingdoms of the world, all the kingdoms of the world are under Satan's authority and they glorify him. Made me think, I hope it makes you think too.