Reading Matthew 24 Highlighted Passage: 24:15-28
Jesus teaching here is some of his most chilling. For those of us who live comfortable lives it is hard to grasp their significance. Yet throughout history, people choosing to follow Jesus have faced persecution. Jesus here reminds us that the danger of being confortable is that we settle and forget that persecution is the normal state for believers
Spend time today praying for those you know where following Jesus means persecution
Apologies for the silence – internet not working
Reading: Matthew 17, Highlighted passage Mathew 17:14-20
Another tricky passage but again a reminder og our need to rely upon God. The disciples were unable to heal the boy. Why was that? Well Jesus berates them for their lack of faith. However the clue is in the image he uses. It’s not the amount of faith they have simply who they put their faith in
Who am I putting my faith in?
Matthew 14, 22-33
An amazing and familiar story – but I find myself asking just one question; ‘How on earth did Peter have the courage to step out of the boat?’ Of all people he knew about water – he was a fisherman.
I wonder where have been the times in my life when I have been willing to step out of the boat? Or is it all too easy to stay in the boat – with what I know rather than trust that Jesus knows even better than me?
Its strange how travelling to other countries and meeting Christians shifts your perspective on world events. I was full of good intentions to blog about my experince in Egypt in November. Well moving house and Christmas seemed to get in the way. However nothing prepared me for the turmoil in Cairo over the last week or so. In fact while things began I was on facebook chat and posting thoughts and prayers to people I had met. So it came as a surprise when all of a sudden internet traffic just stopped.
As I have watched the news and listened to the radio I have found myself both understanding and frustrated. Pictures of people standing in a square that I have visited. The radio presenter talking about the streets of Cairo being empty of cars – they never were even at 2am! The idea that people don’t feel safe walking the streets – something I never felt in all my time in Cairo.
So how did my new friends respond to my concerns. ‘Don’t worry – we have a protector’ they said. As I spoke to them about the bombing on New Years Eve in Alexandria – one of them said: ‘God will use this to make sure that people think about the importance of trusting in him – it will bring good’.
Meanwhile I just feel lost and in the dark – so I pray and am reminded of some of the most famous words in the Bible. ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear, for you are with me’.
On thursday we visited 3 mission projects in Narobi. The one I went to see was in the Korogocha slum. This is one of the poorest in the city with almost everyone unemployed.
We went to a Medical Centre who have a maternity clinic in the slums. Its like a beacon in the midst of the darknesss. We were met by the doctor who talked about how they charge very little and make a loss in order to help the mothers who come to them.
We were then taken by the mothers to their home where we talked with them about what it is like to live in the slums. The mother that Cristi from Romania and I went with was called Lilian. She had a breach delivery and the baby needed to be resuccitated. They live in a room about 8 foor by 10 foot with a stove, a bed, a sofa and very little possessions. The walls were made of mud and metal pipes. The roof was metal and there was an illegal electricity supply.
Kevin who lives with her volunteers for the Red Cross at times but one of the main ways of getting money is collecting plastic and glass from the nearby rubbish tip and selling it. I asked Lilian if she did that and she said ‘yes she leaves the baby with neighbours’.
I discovered that these people pay rent to live in the slums. This is structural exploitation. The system takes money from them and people get rich on their poverty. This is all sanctioned by the government. Olga commented ‘people should not have to live like this’ and that is a great summary of what many of us feel
My overriding feeling was initially one of surprise. People were resilient and they were surviving. The clinic offers hope in some areas and is effective in demonstrating word and deed mission. But over time this surprise turned to anger. This is a system that makes it difficult to escape from the slums. Lilian came to the slums as a 9 year old when her father died and her mum could not cope. She is now 19 living there with a 4 month old baby.
In contrast we have seen many signs for churches and there is a massive divide between the rich and poor churches. Alongside that there is the NGO’s in the area. I realise that its impossible to do everything but it’s hard to imagine living here and turning a blind eye to the injustice.
Yet I ask myself, ‘Do I do the same back home?’. What does it mean for me back in England to do something about the injustice I see around me?
As part of our time here we are working our way through the SU Statement of faith. Today we looked at the paragraph about the fall. It was an important reminder that the implications of the fall are much greater than individual they are also corporate and structural. God’s redemption plan is not just individual it is also corporate and structural.
In many ways just having these conversations in Africa provide a completely new meaning to them. Vast numbers of people on this continent live without water electricity or sewage. The Bible has been used to justify a whole range of behaviours including apartheid. Even as we met today we heard about 300 people killed by mudslides in Uganda – only 2-3 hours away from where we are. Evidence of the brokenness of our world. We need to acknowledge that we are part of this brokenness and we have to live with that brokenness as part of our everyday experience
But of course humanity is still called to be an image bearer. In creation God makes male and female in his image and likeness. Together we are called to be image bearers. Although the fall mars that image, those of us who call ourselves Christians are called to continue God’s creative purpose and more accurately bear the image of God in the way we live our lives. It’s the jars of clay that Paul talks about in Corinthians that make the possibility of God being glorified all the more amazing.
It was with a sense of deja vu that I drove up the A1 on the evening of January 7. The snow made everything look very different, but just under a year ago I covered much of the same journey after an SU staff meeting. No-one could have guessed what would happen next. Within 15 minutes of being home, my wife Jackie had a brain haemorrhage. After a roller coaster ride where we were told she would not survive she is currently settled in a superb nursing home having suffered sugnificant brain damage in the days that followed.
The rest of life has been put into perspective throughout 2009, but in the midst of it all, I have learned that God can be trusted even when everything else seems uncertain. I have seen his hand at work through other people and been aware of being supported by others.
Part of that remembering has been thinking about the people who have been significant in my own faith development and giving thanks to God for them. The biggest issue that God’s peoiple seemed to face was they had this amazing ability to forget! They regularly forgot
a) Who they were – God’s treasured possession
b) What God had done for them? – in history through generations
c) How God had provided for them in the present
As I look ahead to 2010, I find myself wanting to be someone who remembers these three things.
Well I have arrived in Leamington Spa after an adventurous day in the snow. You can see from the photo that when I decided to set off from Sheffield thetre had been a bit of a snow fall. It took me 20 minutes to get out of the street and 2 hours to travel the 10 miles to the M1
Well it’s 2010 now and I have decided that it is time to blog more regularly. This is more of a personal blog but i will also post stuff on the SU Youth Blog, ‘Gathering Crumbs’ when the issue is directly related to youth & childrens work.
I have just returned from a fantastic few days on an SU holiday over New Year called Breakthrough. It was a real privilege to work with such a great team and have such a fun time seeing in the New Year with God. It was also great to see such a wide range of young people together. As i looked back on 2008 it was with considerable pain (check out my facebook notes if you want to know why) but also with a sense that I am not alone in this journey. God is with me and he has sent fantastic people to walk with me.
A couple of economists have written a book – ‘God is back: How the global rise of faith is changing the world’. The brief description says
It seems that the Times is having a bit of interest in religion. They did a feature during Holy Week, a story about Gavin Peacock training for church ministry last week and a story about Michael Howard’s son Nick in April (From Tory Boy to God enforcer!)
Recent Comments