How ironic

Become like me, as you were once like me, but then you became like I once was, so now you need to sort yourself out or alternatively - Galatians 4:8-21.

There are no surprises to see that Paul’s concern for the Galatians in verses 8:21, primarily regards rescuing them from the Judaizers false gospel. It seems to dominate this passage, as it does the rest of his letter. I love the irony in that Paul became like a Gentile in his pursuit to win the Galatians over, but the Christians in Galatia were now trying to become Jews in order to win Gods favour. Paul reminds them, actually pleads with them not to revert to such enslaving and miserable principles. Now that they know God or even better God knows them, its time to rejoice in their freedom, freedom that comes from faith.

On a practical note for some consideration, Paul urges the Galatians to regain some of their lost joy, as they seem to have mislaid it somewhere while trying to carry out their legalistic rituals and not keeping the main thing the main thing. This made me think about two things a) how free in Christ am I? b) Does my relationship with Jesus generate joy or have I lost it, or did I ever have it in the first place?

So what is this freedom in Christ/from the law all about? According to John Piper freedom from the law does not result in self-gloryfing lawlessness, he goes on to explain that becoming like Paul, and being free in Christ therefore free from the law means that we must allow Christ to be formed in us! Earlier in the letter (2:20) Paul gives us a big clue on how to ‘get some’ of this freedom, he writes, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Dying to self and allowing Christ to live in us is pretty difficult. I depend on myself quite a lot and I feel we all have a little in-built desire regarding our own self importance. Allowing Christ to be formed in us means that we have to rely completely on him, proper Christ shaping only comes with us genuinely abandoning ourselves to him.

Now I must go and have a ponder at the joy that my relationship with Jesus should bring me……….

The importance of the Spirit

Something tells me the apostle Paul is somewhat annoyed. We can tell that he felt strongly about the issue at hand due to his willingness to first personally then publicly attack Peter and his thoughts and actions regarding justification, let’s not forget this guy has previously walked on water with Jesus….

So after publicly rapping Peter on the knuckles in Galatians ch2, Paul sharply turns his attention back towards the recipients of his letter “the foolish Galatians” (Paul’s words not mine) in chapter 3.

So much of chapter 3 is parcelled up by teaching regarding Jewish law and its role in our reconciliation with God. Paul is explicit in his argument that justification comes through faith and faith alone. I find it very interesting that in pointing back to the Old Testament in defence of his argument, Paul recalls that it is Abram’s act of belief in God rather than any participation in Jewish law which brings about his righteousness in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 15v6). I think we can safely say Paul is teaching us that if we want to enter into a right relationship with God and receive the promise of Spirit we do it by having faith in Jesus Christ.

What really interests me, other than the obvious, being - the assurance of my salvation through believing in Jesus Christ, is God’s ‘promise of the Spirit’ to all who believe. What is the promise of the Spirit and what exactly does it involve. Is it more than an impartation from God, where all we have to do is sit back and say “ok now it’s over to you”.

I think our job is much bigger than this. Paul explains in verse 23 that one of the main reasons for the law (before the arrival of Jesus) was to lead those who followed it to the promised Messiah. On the flip side then, one of the main reasons for God promising the Spirit must surely be to help in our process of becoming more like Christ, therefore leading us to a greater understanding of the character of Jesus and how we apply this to the way we live.

For the devout Jew, the law was their life, which gets me thinking that in the new covenant, the promise of the Spirit and how we interact with the Spirit must be an incredibly large part of our lives, or in fact maybe it is to be what God wishes we devote our entire lives to.

For me, now, i think i am going to go and have a litle look at my daily inter-action with the Spirit, i think i need to pay this area a little more attention. Ill let you know how i get on.

In spirit and truth or genre and tempo

So after the rant in my last entry, I feel that I have had lots of time to mull over what it was that I was ranting about and properly consider just how important my ranting was.

Honestly, probably not that important at all, in-fact possibly a little childish. Each human being has been uniquely created and therefore we are very diverse, with many different things that will float our boats.

Recently I was given the Kings of Leon’s new album ‘Only by the night’ as a birthday prize, and its great. I must say in the beginning I did have a little dilemma with an album that contained a hit single called ‘sex on fire’, but having got over that hurdle the album is musically fantastic. Something tells me though that most Chopin and Tchaikovsky lovers will probably disagree with me on that point, and most likely hate the kings to the core. What is quite interesting is that there is probably Chopin lovers and Kings of Leon lovers alike in many of our churches today. So how then are we meant to come to a compromise regarding the style of music we use in our corporate praise as a congregation, so that we are sympathetic to everyone’s likes and dislikes?

The answer is quite simply this; we don’t compromise in order to keep everyone happy. We can’t compromise to keep everyone happy because quite simply it’s not about us! In critiquing the liturgical model of his national church and indeed many other churches Soren Kierkegaard argued that God is the audience in worship. Fuzz Kitto (http://www.spirited.net.au/) explicates Kirkegaard by saying that the congregation are the performers in worship.

We are not the audience, and worship does not happen for our entertainment. Worship is for God alone!

So is suppose the big question is does God prefer the Kings of Leon or Chopin? Something tells me though there may be bigger issues on God’s agenda, things such as the state of the hearts of his people and the sincerity of their praise! Maybe if we spent more time getting these things right then we could move on to things that are a little less important in due course.

All things bright and beautiful; all instruments great and small - What’s the bible got to do with it?

It really winds me up that some people think certain musical instruments shouldn’t be used in congregational Christian worship today. I could probably cope with constructive criticism and direction from those that attended churches with praise bands made up of harps, flutes and lyres, but in reality there are not too many of said congregations about today.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not an attack on the organ, I really don’t mind the organ, in-fact I have the pleasure of working with, and listening to one of Glasgow’s finest every Sunday morning, but yet I do not think it is the overarching definitive answer to all our needs concerning ecclesiological accompaniment, in the same vain I don’t really think there is any one particular instrument which could hold such esteem.

Some though would have you believe that the group of prophets in 1 Samuel 10:5 were descending from on high with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, a harp and a mighty large church organ as well, but as we read that is not the case. The prophet Isaiah when writing about the night when a Holy festival is kept tells us that gladness of heart may actually be associated with the flute, don’t think these are my words just because I’m Northern Irish, have a read at Isaiah 30 and see what you make of it.

So what guidance does the bible give regarding the instruments we should use when meeting to worship God. My personal opinion, if you asked me right now to answer such a question would be that I don’t think there is any such definitive list. I would believe that more emphasis should be placed on our spiritual condition when we come to glorify God, and the attitude that we have during our worship, rather than the instruments that are present. I will however attempt to give this a little bit of attention over the next few days and see what the bible tells me. Anyone reading this, if you have any thoughts, and want to drop me an email at beattietim@hotmail.com or leave me a comment on here, I would be very interested in your opinion.

7:36

The truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
7:36 . Galatians 1 . 23/08/09

So what does the film 'a few good men' have to do with the first chapter of the book of Galatians. This film deals with a group of US Marine attorneys trying to uncover the real reason behind why a code red (this is when a soldier who fails to keep up to standard is "trained" (or rather bullied) by other members of his unit until he is up to it, the correct terminology is called hazing) was ordered on a particular soldier, who died because of his attack. Tom Cruise (in the scene we are using on tuesday night) wants the truth and pushes Jack Nicholson, the high ranking officer, until he eventually gives in and the truth is uncovered.

Galatians chapter 1, indeed the whole book is also directly linked to important truth finding (of a slightly different sort I might add, but truth fighting nevertheless). The truth Paul is concerned with uncovering is the truth regarding the Gospel. A gospel which Paul firmly believes is directly from God, the story of Jesus which brings freedom to all who trust in him.

The new Christians in Galatia where facing a dilemma. They were struggling to understand who was telling them the truth about God? Paul, who had introduced them to the Gospel of Christ, had said that faith in Jesus was the basis for their relationship with God. But he had no sooner left town than and a group within the new church started teaching that faith in Jesus had to be accompanied by circumcision in order for God to accept their worship.

Who was right? Who should the church believe?

This Tuesday night (23rd) we will be taking the first chapter of Galatians apart trying to understand more about what this gospel Paul is talking about is, and what it should mean to us. Feel free to come along every other Tuesday evening (we meet every fortnight) at 7:36pm.

Lack of posts

Ok so since I last posted on my blog I have, moved out of my pad au bachelor, acquired a wife, driven up the California coast in a convertible mustang, moved into my marital abode and taken part in a summer club for P4’s to P7’s. What I haven’t done though is post anything on my blog while all of this was happening. I feel I am guilty of neglect, so I must right something worthwhile soon……but here is a picture for now.

Being consumed with the perpendicular pro-noun.

I was at a Church service in the middle of March. It was at Findlay Memorial. And it really got me thinking. The sermon from Michael made me think about two things. Two things which I have thought about in the past, but when you are involved in leading a congregation in praise, two things which are useful to examine on a regular basis.

• What songs do we use in times of praise? Are the songs that we (the body or congregation) are using, songs that tell us very little about God but lots about ourselves?
  and
• What do we want to achieve during our times of praise, in light of what Praise and worship truly is (the celebration of God, earnest in prayer and intense in song)?

These issues need careful exploration and what I am about to write doesn’t answer them, either directly or sufficiently. I just wanted to put them out there, giving fuel for thought. Thousands of words could be, have been and probably will be written on what corporate praise and worship is all about and I would encourage you to explore as many of these musings as you can, allow them to ruminate in your thought processes, but in all your enquiries look to the bible and follow its example in everything.

I have though, been thinking about the role of the worship leader regarding the personal pro-noun in corporate praise. We need to remember times of praise are not about us. Worship leaders have a responsibility to make worshippers aware of this, and sustain this train of thought with those that come under our ministry and guidance. I also feel that we often need to remind and examine ourselves ‘personally’ regarding this as well. The calling to facilitate others, and lead them in collective praise must be met with a humble heart. It is to the humble that God gives grace; and He will oppose those who are proud (James 4:6). Leading praise in order to achieve self glorification comes from a proud heart, it is about an audience of one, not two, the congregation should never be seen as our audience. We are reminded that being of such heart is not just a matter of concern; it is in direct opposition to God. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18)

James 4:6 may well have been referring to the rich people caught up with the world that surrounded them in 1st century Jerusalem. Nevertheless it still alludes to the opposition God shows to our human single minded devotion. If pride in general is opposing to God then how much more must it annoy God when a worship leader takes some of the praise that should be exclusively for Him.

First and foremost corporate praise is not for the worship leader. Primarily corporate praise is not for the worshiper. Above all corporate praise is for God alone.

P.S This is a bit random but quite appropriate. As sad as it sounds I often use dictionary.com to find out what some big words mean that I don’t quite understand, in doing this I can sometimes take a mild obsession to their ‘word for the day’. It was very interesting that today’s word for the day was ‘Paean’, pronounced PEE-uhn, and although phonetically sounding like something which someone may do at the side of the road, a paean is actually a joyous song of praise, triumph or thanksgiving. This was very interesting considering the above post, which I was writing at the time. Although I suppose Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Paean’s doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, does it?

The worship of Psalm 50, more than singing songs

Psalm 50
"Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God. I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,
for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice thank-offerings to God, fulfil your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honour me."


I believe that Psalm 50 is telling us that higher than our ritual of singing songs is the simple acknowledgement that God is what we need. In Verse 15 the Psalmist urges to call on God when we are in trouble; this is what God wants over our sacrificial ritualistic Sunday morning or big event praise offerings. The Israelites were very quick to offer sacrifice through burnt offerings, but God wanted more than that, he wanted to be present when his people needed help, God wants to be part of everything.
We have a tendency to find comfort in the song and not in the comforter. It is more difficult to find the creator in the mundane things of life than in your favourite songs on Sunday, but when you do, when you begin to find him in all the stuff of life, everything starts to sing. This is living praise.
I hope that my worship becomes more than a song. I pray that my worship is habitual. I pray that my worship becomes the worship found in Psalm 50. Make worship your lifestyle.

Tim Beattie

Living Jesus

I have started reading "Following Jesus - a non-religious guidebook for the spiritually hungry". It is making me re-evaluate how living a Jesus centred life should be more of a danger than we let it be, it prompted me to create the above picture.

Speaking to one another

Speak to one another
with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:19-20

Mostly when I hear people talking about verse 19 of Ephesians 5 they are using it to argue for the different styles of songs that can be used in times of praise. It’s good for that. It also tells us so much more than that though. We tend to miss out the first line, but it sets the scene. It includes the verb, the doing part of the verse. It tells us what to do with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. It tells us, that we should use them to ‘speak to one another’.

Now don’t get me wrong, above all, I believe our praise should be giving God the glory that he rightfully deserves. We sing and make music in our hearts to give God thanks for ‘everything’. God must be our focus. But there must also be an awareness of others around us when we praise as part of a community or gathering. I like to think of it as a direct parallel, when we praise God together, we should also be building up the body of Christ in Spirit and truth. So does that mean praise isn’t just about us and God? Should we think of corporate praise as being about ourselves and those around us and how we interact with God together?

I think we have to understand it like this.
I also think we need reminded of this.

It’s easy to get carried away with the notion that praise times are times for God and me to do business on our own. Fair enough it might well be that there are lots of other people in the room, but the interaction taking place is really just God, me and nobody else. Paul’s teaching in his letter to the Ephesians however reveals something different. The next time you gather to praise God think about those around you. Never ever allow anything other than giving God glory take centre stage during praise, but endeavour to make it more than just about how you make God centre stage by yourself. Make sure you are making every effort to edify those around you as you exalt God to the highest place. There couldn’t possibly be a better built community of believers than one that emerges from our praises to God.






Tim Beattie

My Interesting Ode to something special

You’re always missing when I need you
Well ok you’re sometimes there
But so often when I reach out
There’s no part of you to tear

Someone’s been before me
They’ve taken more than they could need
This really leaves me wanting
It leaves me really stuck indeed

Roca let me stay a while
Roca let me go
Rocas taken part of me
No part of me you’ll know

The smallest piece of you could help me
Just enough to get me through
They know I’m lost without you
I’ll not know what to do

Roca let me stay a while
Roca let me go
Rocas taken part of me
No part of me you’ll know

Maybe you think nothing of me
In fact you never think at all
Some could say you’re heartless
Setting me up for a cruel fall

Roca let me stay a while
Roca let me go
Rocas taken part of me
No part of me you’ll know

Me

Something missing

People walking by,
I wonder where they’re going,
So many faces.
And their expressions showing,
Social smiles,
For everyone who’s looking.
Still inside,
There seems to be something missing.

What fills that space
Inside of us all
I want to be complete
Feels so sweet

me

Values and Beliefs that are ROUNDED

I was taking Time Out (youth group) on Wednesday evening past. It was pretty much planned that as it was our last normally structured night before Easter, we would have a look at something associated with what Christians believe Easter is all about. I thought it might be a good idea to try and get to grips with how the disciples may have felt after they saw Jesus coming back to life after he was crucified and put inside the Tomb.

We had an interesting discussion about this, and one of the groups afterwards progressed on to the question of how God has always been about since the start of time. I was pretty much making the point that because I am a Christian and believe that what the bible says is completely true, I therefore have to believe that God is a deity that has always been in existence, or as A.W Tozer declared “Whatever God is he is infinitely.” A Theology, that unless you are willing to push faith to its boundaries is actually incredibly hard to comprehend. One of the girls then simply said “yeah, God’s like a circle.” An analogy I had heard before but hadn’t spent too much time deliberating over. It’s true though that we can look at a circle and see that it doesn’t have a starting or end point and to be honest it doesn’t really bother me that much, what’s more important is that it is a circle, and acts like a circle.

Gods pretty much like that to me as well. I’m not reflecting too much on the analogy of God being like a circle, but I am concerning myself with not being that troubled of looking at a circle and considering where it might begin or where it ends. I’m just pretty content it does what it says on the tin and acts like a circle. So as with God, I’m really not that worried that I can’t specify when God was begotten, as I believe God was not, but I’m rather more interested in the fact that God does what God does, and interacts with me on a daily basis as a loving father and righteous judge.

Os Guinness writes that “God’s existence not only cannot be proved, it should not be attempted”, I take that to mean that we shouldn’t attempt to stretch our imaginations by trying to figure out how God has always been around. I would agree with this. We maybe would have enough to occupy ourselves with if we just stick to trying to obey God through the guidelines he has given us in the Bible, and also His constant interaction through the Holy Spirit, and the disciplines we should be carrying out to live a Spirit filled life. If we think we are getting completely on top of these tasks, then maybe we could preoccupy our thinking with big questions that we don’t have any answers for, or more importantly in the long run don’t really need to know the answers for. As Robert M. Horn writes, “God is not for proof but proclamation; not for argument but acceptance.” I don’t think I spend enough time praying to God, or praising Him for who and what He is, or being alone with Him, never mind try to discover the reasons behind his perpetuality.

Never ending,
always You will never end
Because, You’re always never ending,
You where there before there was beginning,
Always You where
You are never ending.

Here You are now with us
here we are found in You
And this makes all the difference,
this changes everything
making our whole existence
worth something so we sing…..you make all the difference.

D.Crowder

Worth a listen

I have been doing a bit of listening to David Crowder’s new album, Remedy, and I must say it sounds great. I thought the band may have been cheating the average music punter out of a track by putting Everything Glorious on it, simply because it was the title track of last years Passion album, but I must say the studio version is excellent. On occasions though, when listening to the intro of the song, I got the impression the guitar and drums had been mixed with an 80’s Nintendo platform computer game. Take a listen and you will appreciate what I’m getting at. All the tracks are worth a listen, but i think the standout song for me has to be "You never let go", its a very powerful song and simply conveys the hope that we can have through believing and living in Christ. If you haven’t already purchased it, this album is definitely worth a buy, I must confess I was a bit of a cheap skate and got mine posted from America for a fiver, but if you haven’t got it treat yourself….

The Saturday that never was

I woke up this morning filled with so much excitement and anticipation for the day that was about to unfold. Today was one of those days with no work to go to, no social commitments to uphold, just a day that revolves around one special word…SPORT. The mighty Manchester United started it off with their 6th round F.A Cup tie at home to Pompey, closely intertwined with the battle for the Triple Crown at Croke Park. What a disappointment, I would have been better stay in bed.

"If you are going to accept the horse, you have to accept the horses head."

So I was having breakfast this morning with Karen in a nice little cafe and we happened to be eating beside two very audible ladies (apparently it’s rude to say old, so I will use the term ‘getting on’). It started as one of those conversations which you didn’t really want to hear at 10am. I am not really a fan of salivary ailments at the best of times, but especially not when I have just sat down to pancakes and maple syrup.

Anyway, after blocking as much of that conversation out as I possible could, we were invited with the rest of those in the coffee shop to passively listen to the ecclesiological events ongoing in the town. Most of the conversation revolved around the lack of skirts and hats in many of the congregations today. Apparently you could count the number of skirt wearers on one hand at one particular denomination on a particular Sunday evening, and all bar one had left their hat at home. It was at this point that we were introduced to the phrase "If you are going to accept the horse, you have to accept the horses head." It was some sort of metaphor or simile that this lady thought she had heard regarding ecclesiological head coverings. It was very bizarre. She continued by telling us that she couldn’t really criticise the sermon that the minister was delivering as she was sitting at the back of the church so she couldn’t quite hear it.

Now I have absolutely no problem with ladies wearing skirts or hats to church if they want, but I consider it rather petulant to pick on people that don’t.

It pains me that people believe issues like this are more important than spiritual growth, relationship with Christ, connecting in Spirit filled community, giving glory to God in corporate acts of worship, and many other important issues. It did however get me thinking about my perception and attitude towards church. Is church about what Church offers me, or is it about what I can give to building and sustaining Gods Kingdom here on earth? I would like to be known as a kingdom builder rather than a kingdom criticiser. I am going to take a good look and pray hard that this week God will show me some ways to be a Kingdom builder.

Jack Attack

It was hard to call how, or if, Jack Johnson was ever going to return to what the industry may describe as his solo studio album successes of ‘in-between dreams’. The album sold more than 15 million copies worldwide (putting that in perspective would mean that, the population of Ireland would have almost 4 copies of the album each , quite impressive) and was probably as commercial as Jack has been in his music to date.

Sleep through the static is Jacks 4th studio album. It sees him reunite with producer JP Plunier, who was the chief architect in Jacks first offering, and coincidently my most favoured Johnson album, Brushfire Fairytales. Holding this in consideration would mean that I quite like ‘Sleep through the static’. As yet I haven’t had a chance to tear it apart completely, but what I have heard I liked. Others though are not so keen,

“Sleep through the Static has one gear, and that's the one marked 'Actually, can we do it tomorrow?'."

[The Guardian]

The constant reference to the sun in the album (featured in at least six songs) is undoubtedley linked with the fact that the album was recorded with 100% solar energy. Songs I particularly like are the title tune ‘Sleep through the static’, ‘If I had eyes’ which is getting some airplay at the minute, the quirky beats featured in ‘What you thought you need’ and as its coming close to valentines day (that one day per year were humanity deems it possible to show expressions of love to one another) ‘Angel’. Guys this song is gold dust and its inclusion on the inside of a valentines card would mean serious brownie points, it reads;

“I’ve got an angel, she doesn’t wear any wings
She wears a heart that could melt my own
She wears a smile that could make me want to sing

She givs me presents, with her presence alone
She gives me everything I could wish for
She gives me kisses on the lips just for coming home.

You’re so busy changing the world
Just one smile and you could change all of mine
We share the same soul.”

[Jack Johnson]

So is it worth a buy, at under a tenner definitely! In so many ways it’s a step forward from ‘In between dreams’ but ironically its also a step back to Jacks earliest offerings, and there is not even one cartoon monkey in sight.

The most famous no7 - Cantona, Ronaldo or Jack

I was standing in Kelvinbridge subway station the other day, and while waiting for a train noticed a poster for Jack Daniels Silver cornet band, I thought he was only famous for making his No7 brand, but apparently not. Infamous might be a better description of the band, as rumour has it they were not really that good. I was intrigued, advertising had prevailed, and I wanted to know more.

According to the Silvercornet website, the bands were made up of amateurs, townsmen like the banker, the hardware clerk, the feed merchant, the harness maker, and (in Lynchburg's [I presume a town in Tennessee] case) workers in Mr. Daniel's distillery. Their instruments were temperamental conical horns,­ a challenge for trained musicians, and nearly impossible to control and play in tune by the perspiring home grown players whose enthusiasm and energy was seldom matched by any technical skill or musical knowledge.

But play they did, at rallies, saloon openings, parades, funerals, picnics, and at regular concert appearances in the gazebo bandstand in the courthouse square. Their repertoire ranged from the raucous to the reverent, from music hall to battlefield, from the popular to the patriotic.
What gripped me was the fact that although these guys were lacking on the skills front, they still had a go. It’s now over 100 years since they came on to the scene, yet they have websites which attribute to the enthusiasm that they showed back in the day.

So what about enthusiasm? Generally it means great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause. The English word apparently first appeared in 1603, and fascinatingly (or maybe not) stemmed from the Greek adjective ‘entheos’, which means ‘having God within’. This made me think. The parallels and symbolism of great excitement and having God within were once upon a time very relevant, socially relevant enough to form language. It made me question how closely they are linked at present. If we were making up words today, what would we use to describe the feeling of being greatly excited about a subject or a cause?

Taking it further, Jacks cornet band has made me appreciate that just because you aren’t the best in the world, or even your town, or possibly even your office or classroom, at a particular activity, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pursue it. I haven’t even heard Jacks cornet band and in many ways they have influenced my thinking today. God can use us to impact his society in ways that we will never be able to understand, and truthfully perhaps we don’t need to understand in full, we just have to be willing to do what he asks.

“I pray that out of God’s glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

[the apostle Paul, Ephesians 3]

Numb

I've become so numb, I can't feel you there

I've become so tired so much more aware

I'm becoming this all I want to do

Is be more like me and be less like you

[adj]., numb·er, numb·est.

1. Deprived of the power to feel or move normally; benumbed: toes numb with cold; too numb with fear to cry out.
2. Emotionally unresponsive; indifferent: numb to yet another appeal.

Sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the reality of the situations which surround us. On occasion our lives seem to go by with out us, almost like we’re watching a DVD in fast forward. Could it be that our lives are numb? Or is it that, like the person in the song, we are searching for some shred of hope in our society, or more personally, in our own lives? Especially when we feel like we are carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders.

Different people have different perceptions of the ideology behind the word Hope. Some would argue that, hope is grief’s best music. Many world religions believe that hope is faith in the future tense. Being a Christian I believe that both these definitions are quite accurate, but I also believe that we must have a hope for today, not just for when grief strikes or for when life ends. As a Christian I believe Jesus Christ is my hope for today. I would love you to take some time during the day to contemplate what it is that your definition of hope might be?

Beginnings

So I have been at Jordanhill Parish for just over three weeks now and I seem to be settling in as well as I could have expected. It has definitely come to my attention that Glasgow is a little bigger than the greater Donacloney-Waringstown area, but I am starting to get used with city life and the weegie intonation, though I’m quite fortunate to live in the west end of the city where the Glasgow burr isn’t just as hard to figure out. Church is going great and everyone is very friendly, including the young people or folk as they would be referred to. The style of worship on a Sunday morning is very different from what I am used to but I feel that it is where God wants me to be right now, and part of the learning process he wants me to go through.

On the youth work front most of my time is split three ways:

• Jordanhill School - where I take assemblies and work with Clubs/organisations.
• Church – concentrating on all things for the under 25’s, Junior Church, Sunday morning Worship and of course Timeout, which despite sounding like a biscuit and a punishment for being bad, regularly sees between 25-30 young people attend a bi-weekly event in their year group. Currently we have an S1 and S2 group, with the hope of next year starting a third group.
• Katharos - Finally I am involved in the planning of a new initiative, a monthly gathering of young people in the west end of Glasgow, meeting to grow in their relationship with Christ and explore what it means to live in community with one and other.