Revelation Part 4: Thyatira

The letter to the church in Thyatira is one that certainly shakes me.

The core of the message is that the church is doing well in some areas: love, faith, service & endurance.

All of that seems very good, but the problem is the church tolerates immorality.

It is great that the church does so well, serving others and being a good witness. But then it lets itself down by falling into sexual immorality - and when people discover this, they will accuse the church of hypocrisy.

It's very easy to preach to people telling them what they should do, and even easier if we're doing loads of good things ourselves, but we should strive for integrity above all things.

Have a read through this passage - Revelation 2:18-29. This is a pretty long one, and there's a lot on what punishment awaits those who stray.

When I first became a Christian, I was very hesitant in telling my old school friends, as they had seen the 'un-Christian' side of me, and would question this. And I wasn't sorted then, not by a long way.

So what's the solution? To let our good deeds to the talking, and to be honest about areas where we struggle.

Find an appropriate person to talk to about areas of difficulty - preferably someone of the same sex, and with more life experience than you. Once you open up about the hard things in your life, you will often find you are not alone, and also that there's a way out!

What the up side then?

vv26-28 says 'he [or she] who overcomes...will have the same authority I received from my Father' (see Psalm 2:8-9 for the source of this idea). If we walk in the light, there is essentially no limit to what we can do! The power we have is also power over evil, which is rather useful is you ask me!

Revelation part 3: Smyrna

It's been a while...let's get back on the Revelation bandwaggon.

Smyrna at the time was a famous city, a dangerous city, and was also known as the resurrection city (Rev 2:8b).

The church in Smyrna is solely praised in the shortest of the seven letters - its outward appearance is that of destitution and affliction with Christians regularly arrested, persecuted and even martyred. However, spiritually the church was rich - bringing sanctification and justification.

Now there's a lot of big words there, so let's look at the words and concepts.

As Christians, we know that this world is nothing more than a prelude to what is to come. Hence outward destitution and affliction mean nothing. Remember that when you die, you can't take anything with you! The Egyptians believed the dead took all sorts with them on their journey to the afterlife, so they buried them with all sorts of treasure and equipment. When the great explorers cracked open the Pyramids thousands of years later, where were all these treasures? Right there where they were left...

Spiritual treasure is a funny concept - I for one don't believe we each have a treasure chest in heaven, and each time we do something good, we don't get another bag of coins in there. I mean, what would you buy in heaven? Okay magazine?

Rev 2:10 tell us that Jesus is our reward in heaven - with 'the crown of life'. Look back to Genesis and a certain lady by the name of Eve was after something similar...

So in your suffering remember two things - Jesus knows (v9), Jesus saves (v11).

Briefly on sanctification and justification:

Sanctification is being made holy. We can only be made holy by God - we can't do it by ourselves (Ex 31:13), and he's already done it - once for all (Heb 10:10).

Justification is to be proved right & to be absolved (think someone found not guilty in court). It is also linked to righteousness, but be careful with that idea - read the Parable of Two Men who Prayed in Luke 18.

This letter challenges me about how I am seen by those around me. I shouldn't want to be seen to be wealthy, sorted etc., but I should be honest, not concerning myself with earthly concepts and desires.

Does this mean I walk around in rags? No, but it means I don't shop Prada, Superdry, Hollister etc., for all of my clothes - meaning I have the money to give to those more needy, and to the Church.

Two questions, which will be investigated more next time:

1) Am I willing to die of Christ?

2) Am I willing to live for Christ?

Revelation Part 2: Ephesus

So John starts with Ephesus. Why, you might ask? We'll it's simple actually. Have a look at the map again: here and have a guess.

From the island of Patmos, Ephesus is the first stop, so the decision is pretty straightforward. From there, Postman Pat* (*names have been changed to protect identities) heads in a nice horseshoe north, looping round and heading back down to end in Laodicea for a nice cup of tea.

Ephesus is the only city to already have a starring role in the New Testament. Challenge 3 of the series is to read Ephesians - a very good book. The good thing here is you get two perspectives - Paul and John (speaking for Jesus). In actual fact, Revelation is the fourth book in the New Testament to have been a letter sent to Ephesus…prize of nothing if you can guess the other two…

Well done! 1 & 2 Timothy were written by Paul, who founded the Ephesian church in 52 AD, to Timothy, who was boss man at the time.

As well as having an established church, Ephesus was the light of Asia - its great and famous city. But it was also a wicked and infamous city.

How easy is it to not be so nice to people when they're horrible characters? VERY!!! I know that all too well, and it's certainly true here. In Ephesus, Jesus says, the church has lost its love. Its love for Jesus, but also for the people of the city.

How do you think the two are linked, if at all? I would say there is basically no difference. Jesus isn't sat on the next park bench - we show we love him by loving others…think of what he says in Matthew 25:40, "Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me."

So what does it mean to lose our first love? Just think of the love you had for something new - boyfriend, girlfriend, baby brother / sister, phone…there's plenty of things I can think of. But over time your interest can wane. It doesn't mean you don't love that person / thing anymore. Just that once it gets a little tarnished - the grass can look greener somewhere else.

And how do we get it back? The key phrase for you is: "Beholding is becoming". Sounds very Mark Elder, but what it means is, by looking into the face of Jesus (beholding), we become more like him. How do we do that exactly? Intentional, communal worship is a good start, and we also see Christ in the Bible.

This is an immediate and an ongoing process. Look at verse 5: "Think about where you have fallen from, and then turn back and do as you did at first." To 'think about' is an ongoing thing, 'turn[ing] back' is immediate.

So if losing your first love is a problem for you, you can choose to do something about it right now, and also every day for the rest of your life!

Dead easy!

Up next…Smyrna, the resurrection city.

Revelation Part 1: Introduction

We've recently looked at Revelation in Youth Lifegroup, and having heard a Bible Reading series at Keswick, I thought it a good excuse to do a blog series on the letters to the churches in Revelation 2 & 3.

First challenge…can you remember the names of the seven churches?
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No? The first letters are E, S, P, T, S, P, L.
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Still not got them all? Go on then - they're Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.
Check out a map of the area here:

The letters were a series of transcriptions, John the author having been inspired (told what to say) by the Spirit. Rev. 1:13 says Jesus is there speaking to him, and much of the description of Jesus here is repeated in the letters.
The most likely time of writing was ~90AD, at a time of intense persecution of not only Christians, but also other faiths & philosophies deemed dangerous to the rule of Emperor Domitian. Even astrologers were expelled from Rome, in case they predicted the downfall of Domitian. Funnily enough he died in the end…like the rest of us.

As is clear if you have a quick read through chapters 2 & 3 (go on…I double-dare you!), there's a lot of things Jesus has to say to all the churches (and by inference all Christians). Everything he says is said in love - even the bad stuff.
Second challenge…how can you say negative things in love? We aren't called to be soppy, cheerful, never saying anything types - there is plenty of room for discipline and challenging in the church - the difference is how we do it. Why not read through again and make a note of all the negative things said, and see how they are said, and what accompanies them?
Also common throughout is Jesus saying 'I know where you are at'. I don't know about you, but empathy can sometimes be hard; especially when you haven't chosen to be nice to that person…sometimes you just get a load of emotions dumped on you and all you want to do is run away…Jesus never runs away.

Now to look at the way Jesus speaks to his church. Do you remember what relationship there is between Christ and the Church?
That's right - the church is the bride of Christ, and Jesus speaks to it as a broken-hearted lover. As we'll see, parts of the church were denying Christ in their lives; think for a minute how you'd feel if your boyfriend / girlfriend / parents / sibling(s) denied knowledge of you and completely blanked you…ouch.

Finally, here's a great analogy for who is welcome in Christ's church - a rugby team.
Unlike a football team where everyone looks the same (except Peter Crouch) - no porkers trotting around next to Wayne in the England team - a rugby team has such a variety of people. From the wide-boy front row props, to the beanpole second rowers, slippery scrum half and runt-like winger and full back, there's probably more variety there than anywhere on the planet (except for women, but they don't really count, do they…), and that's a great picture of the church - all are welcome. Unless you play Rugby League.

So there's an introduction for you - keep your eyes peeled for the next seven parts appearing here over the next few weeks.

My obsession

What are you obsessed with?

Whilst you may initially think nothing, there will be a few things that come to mind when you think about it.

Your boyfriend/girlfriend/cat, a possession, getting a new possession, revision, avoiding revision.

All worthy of our obsessing over them...or not!

We've just got (I say just...it's been sat in its box for 6 months because I didn't get round to putting it up) a pan rack that hangs from the ceiling, from which our pans hang. It is VERY nice, and makes our kitchen look lush - I find myself admiring it every time I go downstairs. But I'm starting to think I might be a little too in love with this possession. Fortunately Jessica loves it too, so doesn't feel like I'm in danger of leaving her to set up house with the pan rack...

The psalmist says our sole obsession should be God - with him as our strength & fortress, nothing can break through.

Obsession here goes far beyond just thinking warm fuzzy thoughts about God - Paul admits to being obsessed, back when he was Saul, saying in Acts 26 'In my obsession against [the early Church], I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.'

Here, it is about actually becoming what our obsession is - Saul became evil personified, but we should become like God personified - that is, Jesus!

In Acts 17, we are warned as children of God to avoid thinking of God as a stone idol - 'God isn't like anything humans have thought up and made' - how could we obsess with material possessions and put them on a par with this God, who is incomparably wonderful and mind-blowing!?

Why not make a commitment to eliminating one materialistic thing from your life this month? I'm giving up popping in to Silverlink for a stop at M&S, Waterstones / HMV etc.

As I hope I've made clear, it's a struggle we all face, but be encouraged that as we move closer to God, he moves closer still, setting up His fortress around us, and from that strong tower, we shall not be moved!

Strength will rise as we wait

Psalm 23 can have many faces. I read it at my granddad's funeral some 14 years ago, and for a long time I associated it with sadness. There's a lot of talk of death, lying down & enemies...that's not so good.

Coming back to it with fresh eyes as a 'baby Christian' some 7 years ago, it soon became one of my favourite passages in the bible.

The biggy here - and something I want to share almost as much as a warning as anything - is that God WILL make you lie down. v2: "he makes me lie down in green pastures."

In my first term at uni, I did a lot of things - one of them wasn't becoming a Christian, that happened in my second term. Consequently, I ended up with glandular fever, and spent 5 weeks of my first term (which was only 10 weeks long) in bed. There's a lot of ways in which God can MAKE us lie down - exhaustion is a good one.

More important is what happens in that place - he restores our soul.

So how much greater will the blessing be if we choose to come to that place - a thought that leads me nicely on to the title & the first line of a well known song.

Just as our strength can be sapped by the things we do, God can take it away (1 Samuel 2:31) or restore it - so this exam season, be sure to take the time to look to God, to rest in Him, and to intentionally make space for Him.

He will reward you with peace, with renewed strength, and you will find that by taking time off (going on facebook doesn't count), you will end up getting more done - if you don't allow God into your revision & exams until the last minute, don't be surprised if you can't hear Him when it's too late.

Ps. 121:1-2 says "I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."

Lift your eyes to the hills in the coming weeks, and be still for the presence of the Lord.

Talk without works is...

Well the election was a bit of a funny one, wasn't it?

5 days on, and there's nothing doing in terms of a new Government. All talk and no action.

Some might say that's a good thing. Some might say they didn't vote for party X so they shouldn't be in Government. Unfortunately, the headline answer to this one is "shut up!" We've had our say, and the results came out as they did...we didn't vote for the Prime Minister, just 649 individual MPs.

Now 640-ish of those MPs get to choose what the next Government will look like (the Speaker doesn't have a say, and Sinn Fein MPs refuse to take the oath of loyalty to the Queen, so can't come to Westminster).

In times of uncertainty in life, it can be tempting to witter on about this, that an' t'other, but really, what shows up as being worthwhile and constructive is getting stuck in.

I would encourage you all to get to the HBC website, and listen to Sunday morning's sermon by Mike Chesterton of Tearfund [here]. Or even better, stick the link there into your iTunes, and get it to download them automatically every week.

Mike talked about faith without works being dead - a great quote from the Book of James (I won't tell you where, because it's such a good read, you should read it all) - "But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."

Now you can write to your new MP, congratulate him/her on his/her (re-)election, and say what you expect him to prioritise. Even better if you've heard him/her promise something good...remind him/her of that.

But even more, you can live the life Jesus would want you to live - following his example, his teaching, and the example of other who strove to be like him in the early Church and beyond [Try Paul, Peter, St. Augustine, Mother Teresa & Tony Campolo out for starters].

Abraham (had many sons) was justified not by faith, but by his actions - let that be a challenge to you and to me in the coming months.

As an action point from this, why not encourage & build each other up by targeting one or two things you want to do to show your faith (wearing a WWJD bracelet doesn't count), telling a friend / mentor, and asking to be held accountable to that over the next three months?

Election...schmelection?

So the election is almost upon us!

Having watched the final debate, I must confess to getting bored halfway through, and switching over to BBC2, even though I passionately care about the outcome of this election!

So here's my potted guide to who you're voting for:

Local elections - much more say in how local things are run, but local councils have no control over a lot of the bigger decisions. Local councillors are often less hardcore party supporters (less Steve Wilkinson, more Jessica...), and generally do a great job for their local area and care about the concerns of people.

National elections - with around 100,000 people in each constituency, an MP won't know everyone by name. Some MPs, however, do fantastic things for their constituency, and often raise issues of concern affecting their area in Parliament, or direct to the government. This often goes unseen, but good MPs will listen to you and respond. Better MPs will also have voted against the 'party line' a lot more if a vote will disadvantage their constituency.

And how would Jesus vote?

He probably wouldn't, but it's good to think about it. Remember that Jesus is someone who loved everyone, and that God views all sin as equal.

So the main three parties do quite well - voting for any of them is not 'un-Christian'. All are trying to do the best for everyone in the country; the main difference is left-wing policies believe the state needs to intervene more to do this, right-wing policies believe the state should keep its nose out, and people do it for themselves.

UKIP - borderline...they aren't great, as they're a bit too narrow-minded - a lot of people would get left out of their vision.

BNP, English Democrats - nooooooo way! Jesus would be denouncing these hypocrites (although he would still love them as part of God's creation, so no assassinations please). There's no love in the BNP for the majority of the world, plus they believe climate change is made-up, so they'd kill the planet too.

Greens - as with the main parties, the Greens do wish to benefit everyone through their policies, although they have a pretty narrow view of how to do that. It is also a fairly secular vision, and doesn't tolerate disagreement with it that well.

SNP, Plaid Cymru - not as mentally nationalistic as the BNP et al., but still pretty inward-looking. Granted, neither party will win many seats in the overall Parliament, but they are pretty myopic, and don't seem to suggest their countries have a role (as rich, developed nations) in helping others.

Independents - assess them on their own merits. Relationship is important as it was to Jesus - find out what they're about, and why they're standing. Perhaps also find out some more about what they think on issues that aren't their headline issue. In Boston, my hometown, a party called the 'Boston Bypass Independents Party' won control of the council with 24 of 28 seats 3 years ago. Needless to say, they don't know how to run a council, and the town is now pretty much broke and in a right mess!

Enjoy election day / night - I'll be up to the wee hours I think, and might well blog a little as I do. Jessica might also put together a post on who each disciple would vote for, and why.

In Christ

Tomorrow, we start our new series in ID:AM entitled 'In Christ'. For the swots out there, we're starting with 'Chosen in Christ', Ephesians 1:4.

Be prepared for some hardcore theology, as this gets complicated - predestination, Calvinism...you'll have guessed by now that Jessica will be doing most of the talking.

In introduction to this topic, there's a few important things to think about:

1) Chosen & Christ come together. We wouldn't all be 'Chosen' if it weren't for 'Christ'. Before him, God didn't really choose many people - there's specifics such as the house of David, Jospeh, Moses, Abraham. Then there's the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 7:6). But in terms of the global population...a drop in the ocean. Heaven would've been a very empty place before Jesus came along.

2) This isn't just some wacky idea - Peter picks it up in 1 Peter 1 (well worth a read) in his letter to the scattered church, and it follows on from God choosing Israel in the Old Testament.

3) Stuart Townend's 'In Christ Alone' will no doubt make an appearance in this series. Have a listen to it again, and meditate on the words. You stand in the love of Christ, you live in the death of Christ, you are bought with the precious blood of Christ, and you stand in the power of Christ.

Can I get an Amen?

On seeing God

So we're all back from Spring Harvest now, and mostly recovered from the ordeal.

Congratulations to those who abused traffic cones on letting most everyone know it was you who did it...I heard Butlins have barred you from the site for next year.

Mind you, that ain't nothing compared to the carnage they were expecting at the weekend with an 80s weekend - apparently the worst weekend in the year for damage and drunken-ness. Just don't tell your parents, or they might want to stay on next time.

Continuing on the theme of Esther, I would like to share some thoughts on hearing from God - a word not used at all in the book.

So first things first - why is there a book in the Bible that doesn't mention God? If we believe all scripture is God-breathed...isn't that like writing an autobiography, but not telling the reader who you are?

I would like to suggest not - and also that this should act as a reminder to us to remember that God is there, and working, even when we can't see him.

1) The Jews are saved. It doesn't look good, but something happens. Mordecai is confident in Esther 4:12-16 that even if Esther won't do her bit "relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from some other place". Esther 6:1 is the 'literary centre' of the book - Esther, along with several other Old Testament books, is a mirror book. Take a look - it starts and ends with a feast. Move one step in, and there's an execution. And at the middle there's a seemingly insignificant thing: "That night the king could not sleep". Just imagine the fun God was having at that point, knowing what was to come.

2) In our own lives...even when we don't believe it can happen...God works miracles.

Did anyone see God at Spring Harvest? There was a funny-looking chap with a beard wearing dungarees lurking at the back, but I don't think that was God.

However, he really was there. I hope you all noticed - and have since told at least 12 other people (no? Go and do it now!) about the healing that happened.

For those who didn't notice - after prayer for all the girls, God gave one of the youth team a word that someone had a problem with their right hip that he wanted to heal. A girl went forward, received prayer, and was healed. Her name...Esther of course. How many other people named Esther were in that room of 400+ people? Zero of course.

Sometimes God really is as subtle as a slap around the face with a wet fish.

3) He's behind you... At the end of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:20, Jesus says "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." This is very cool...Jesus is with us all, he's always there. And even better is what happens just a few verses earlier in Matthew 28:17 "but some doubted".

At the time of their doubt, Jesus reassures the disciples; do you sometimes worry that you don't trust God enough? Or doubt that you really believe? Jesus' presence is with you, even in these times. Just because you might struggle to believe in Him, He certainly believes in you!

Immanuel - God with us - is right there whenever you turn to him.

So what one thing have I taken from Spring Harvest? God is everywhere! His sovereign rule is over every situation I face, every person in authority, EVERYTHING!

I'm still working on living in the reality of that, and denying God is probably something we all do on a daily basis...but one step at a time, let's allow God to be glorified in our lives, hey?

On perseverance

Man, it's been a while.

I blame moving house, clearing the garden of jungleness, and general life-busyness.

How are things with God? Pretty good on this side of the fence - Easter is a good time to reflect on stuff...both the power and the humility of Christ.

In Hebrews, the writer (because no-one alive today knows who wrote it...it probably wasn't Paul. Ask Jessica for more) talks about Jesus being foreordained to 'bring many sons [and daughters] to glory'. This means it was always in the offing - when Jesus prays to God in the garden {see any of the Gospels. Or all four!}, asking God to take the cup from him, Jesus got silence. Ouch.

So here's my thoughts on perseverance coming from this passage, found in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, John 18.

The long and the short of it is that God doesn't always answer prayer straight away. Or at all. Sometimes, it can seem like he's not there.

Point 1) God is omnipresent - He IS there, He IS listening.

One thing to think about here is is what I am asking in line with the will of God and his revealed nature (found in the Bible). So if you're praying to win the lottery, and that you'll give some money to the church or the poor...don't expect an answer. Did you know that if you buy your ticket at 7.30pm on the night of the draw, statistically you're more likely to die before the draw than win the jackpot.

So why did Jesus ask God to take this punishment away from him? Well mostly because it would involve separation from God, and a LOT of pain. But God had His plan...and the outplaying of that mean a lot for you and for me...if we put our faith in that plan.

Point 2) Works without faith is dead.

So yes, that's the wrong way around. But it's also true. Try all you might to get into heaven - if the Muslims are right and it's a straightforward case of good outweighing bad and BINGO! You're in...how many bad things have you done? Have you read the Old Testament?

Did you know that a woman is unclean for a week after giving birth to a boy? And she can't be purified for another 33 days - no church, no touching sacred things...And if it's a girl, you can double those numbers! As part of the purification ritual, she has to make a sin offering - that's the inevitability of sin, that even in bringing forth new life it happens. [Check out Leviticus 14 if you fancy a laugh]

Rant over - but you just can't win. Faith in God is the only way. Do you believe in what Jesus did? Jesus was separated from God, didn't hear from Him, was painfully aware of this absence...for you and me.

Put your faith in this, and earnestly seek after God.

Point 3) Don't give up.

A great Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush song, but also the conclusion of this message.

Back in the garden and in Matthew 26:36-46. Jesus prays once. Goes back and the lazy gets are asleep! To Peter: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Prays again - no answer from God, but he knows God's heart. goes back and the lazy gets are asleep again! Probably stayed up all night playing Fifa 32AD or something. He doesn't even bother waking them this time, and goes off and prays the same prayer again.

Then he comes back and takes them off to meet Judas.

Conclusion 1) Why is Jesus awake and the disciples asleep? Jesus is probably bricking it. He knows what's coming, so uses the time to pray and commune with God. Here's an idea - use dead time to talk to God. I do it on the drive to work, and I've not crashed yet... Can't sleep? God's still up.

Conclusion 2) Jesus doesn't get an answer from God, but he knows the answer. Prayers 2 & 3 are more resigned. How does Jesus know this? Other than omnipotence, he knows God's will for his life. So let's learn God's will for our lives - the Bible is the only written guarantee of this, so get it out, and read it daily. But listening to wise people talking, and reading wise books is a good companion too.

Conclusion 3) Jesus seeks solace in the company of others. He takes the disciples out, and then takes a little clique of three out further. If you need encouragement, talk to a friend (or me...or Jessica, or Aileen, or whoever), if you need prayer, do the same. If you need someone to hang out with, there's plenty of people around who don't even need the excuse of talking about Jesus to lure them into a coffee shop...

So there we go. Hope that was coherent and useful. And my Easter resolution (can you make those) is to be blogging more (and possibly shorter) from now on!