The Cell

This three part miniseries exploring the history of the science around the cell was very interesting and well presented by Adam Rutherford. The slow discovery of the microscopic and the demonstration of the first microscopes and what could be seen through them was in the best history of this type of BBC documentary.

Adam is a real enthusiast for his topic. This has its drawbacks. He is so amazed and enthralled by what he sees, and refuses to touch ("these are Darwin's original books, I don't feel I can touch them"), that by the third program it's starting to wear a bit thin.

The second program dealt with what's inside the cell and taught me a lot about biology that I wasn't too clear on. Some of the historic TV clips I recognised, and this was a good way of showing how quickly this particular branch of science has progressed.

The third program was more disturbing. Now we are at the stage of producing diesel from modified bacteria, and cloning sheep and long horn cattle. The promise of what can be done with cells is endless - a new dawn in science. It is clear from the presenter that there is no limit to what is permissible to us. Adam's article in the Guardian makes that quite clear. There are so many benefits to be had.

The questions posed by these capabilities are more serious than those posed by the nuclear revolution. If the planet had been destroyed by the first nuclear explosion (and the scientists weren't that sure it wouldn't be - but went ahead) there would have been a few seconds of extreme suffering and that would be that. The potential for error, mistake, or malice in the biological field is enormous. What will be the biological equivalent of Chernobyl?

Every science and technology has had its disasters. This topic was completely overlooked. No dangers were even mentioned.

This was a major failing of the series and left me feeling quite scared that we put our trust in such people - Adam is a scientist as well as a presenter.

Josiah and the purification of Israel

Introduction - Time Line

It is 700-600 years before Christ. In Britain the Iron Age is just starting, a couple of hundred years after the rest of Europe. In Israel the Kings have abandoned the God of their father Abraham, and are worshipping the Gods of the surrounding peoples. Israel is under the control of the Assyrian empire. In the middle of the century the Assyrian king is old and the empire is weak. Soon the Babylonians will take over the whole region, but when Josiah was king the Babylonians were only the subject of prophesies.

Year (BCE)	Age	References	Details
640	8	2 Ch 34:1	Josiah is made king after the murder of his father Amon and the murder of the conspirators. Amon is counted in the top 5 worst kings of Israel. He had been king for 2 years. Manesseh, Josiah's Grandfather was also a bad king, but at least humbled himself before God.
633-2	16	2 Ch 34:3	Josiah began to seek God
629-8	20	2 Ch 34:3	Begins the purge of Judah. The country is cleared of Idols and cultic practices. Covers the whole Assyrian province of Israel. All of Judah, the southern kingdom, and some of Israel, the Northern Kingdom.
626			Jeremiah begins to prophesy – destruction and desolation (caused by Amon)
629-6		Jer 6:22-24 Zeph 1:12	Scythian invaders (raiders) from the north cause instability in the region.
622-??	36	2 Ch 34:8-18	Starts repairs to the temple The book of the Law is found (Deuteronomy +other writings) Passover party
609		2 Ch 35:20-24 2 Ki 23:29-30	Josiah picks a fight with Neco II of Egypt. The battle takes place at Esdraelon, and Josiah is mortally wounded.

Josiah - Situation and Story

As a Child

What must it have been like for Josiah to be made King at the age of only eight years. There would surely have been guardians to look after him, but we cannot tell who they were, or where they came from. No-one allows free reign to an eight year old.

Whoever they were they had done an excellent job of bringing him up. Josiah became known as one of the very best Kings Israel had ever seen. At the age of sixteen Josiah began to seek Yahweh. Our God is one who promises that those who seek him will find him. It was as true for Josiah as it is for us.

At the age of twenty Josiah was ready. Still only a young man, but by now his own man, he decided that it was time to act.

In human terms the time was right. The Assyrian overlords were weak, and their king was dying. They were distracted by attacks from the north. In Yahweh's terms the time was right. So the purification of the nation of Israel began.

The Asherah poles were removed from the temple. An Asherah pole is the figure of the Goddess carved out of a tree trunk, or sometimes just a tree selected and dedicated to the Goddess. Imagine it, the objects of foreign Gods in the temple, it's like having a carving of Shiva in the Cathedral at Canterbury. Its unthinkable to us, but it had been the case for generations in Israel.

There were worse things than carvings and alters to remove. There were also male prostitutes in the temple. They were part of the system of the worship of Asherah, and I have no intention of describing that.

Purifying the Nation

Josiah was not only concerned with purifying the temple, he wanted to purify the nation. Beyond the temple there were other practices he put and end to – including the practice of child sacrifice.

2Ki 23:10 He desecrated Topheth, which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so no one could use it to sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech.

To be certain that there was no residue of worship for the gods Asherah and Baal, Josiah killed all their priests, and had their bones burnt. He smashed their alters and had the stone deposited where it was not worth retrieving. He ground up their carvings to powder so they could not be reconstructed or repaired. All evidence of the transgressions of the Israelites from previous generations were removed.

Of course Josiah didn't travel around the country personally vandalising shrines and smashing alters. Most of the destruction was carried out by the High priest Hilkiah and his fellow priests.

Once the alters, prostitutes, pole and shrines had been removed Josiah set about repairing Solomon's temple (the first temple). It had been allowed to decay and had not been looked after.

It took Josiah a long time to purify his country although the account in Chronicles doesn't make that very obvious.

Rewards

There were rewards to be had. As part of the reconstruction of the temple the book of the law was found. Only at this point did Josiah realise just how far the Israelites had moved away from Yahweh. He tore his cloths as a sign of how he felt, and decided that the passover should be celebrated properly. What happened next makes Scrouge's celebration of Christmas look pathetic. The passover was celebrated at the right time, and in a way that honoured God. The King personally provided many of the animals needed for sacrifice.

Much of the land was recovered – almost as much as David had.

Purity lead to a revival in Israel.

Purification

Purity is something we value. It is certainly one of the things that make people buy mineral water.

Water

Mineral water is probably one of the purest things you can buy.

Calcium 9

Magnesium 2

Potassium 2

Sodium 8

Bicarbonate 22

Chloride 11

Sulphate 8

Nitrate 5

Total 67

Dry Residue @ 180C 180

PH at source 6.4

Of course that's just the mineral breakdown, it doesn't tell you what else might be in the water to contaminate it. Only about one third of the dry residue is accounted for by the minerals (67 of 180). Many of the poor people of the world suffer because their water isn't pure, its contaminated with disease or other biological matter. Many would argue that the water you get from your tap is purer, because the standards set for biological purity in this country are much higher for tap water than bottled water.

you cannot get pure water quickly. Wikipedia tells us that

In general the methods used include physical process such as filtration and sedimentation, biological processes such as slow sand filters or activated sludge, chemical process such as flocculation and chlorination and the use of electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light.

Getting pure gold is even harder

To extract gold from pyrite compounds, they are sometimes treated in a proprietary chlorine process. The roasted pyrites are moistened with water and impregnated with chlorine gas. Gold chloride is then leached out with water, and the gold is precipitated by reduction with ferrous sulphate or solid charcoal. Bromine water is sometimes used instead of chlorine.

There are some very nasty Chemicals involved in that process, it is dirty and dangerous, but what it yields is amazing.

Getting pure people is harder still.

First of all the person has to want to be purified. As we have already seen purification is not a simple quick process. I hope we have also seen that it is worth all the trouble. It certainly was for Josiah and the Israelites. It is for us too – pure water is one of the most important things for living a healthy life.

A pure person in the Bible is often referred to by the expression 'pure heart' meaning to us that the core of your personality – whatever makes you who you really are, is the part that is affected.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Only once we like Josiah are truly seeking God will any purification be possible.

So, when you pray the prayer in Psalm 51:10, what is likely to happen?

Well, unless it becomes a regular prayer – so that it is something that you really want, then probably very little. If it is you prayer – the prayer you have inside for your life then little by little, and with some difficult struggles things will start to change.

Everyone Pure

Imagine for a moment that the whole of Christendom really prayed that prayer. That everyone wanted a pure heart. That everyone wanted to put Jesus first in their life. The personal relationship with Jesus was the first and foremost thing. That nobody who came to church and claimed to be a believer really came because their friends were there, or their job was there, or it got them away from their grumpy spouse for a couple of hours a week.

No, we all have our relationship with Jesus as our main motivation. That means when we get to church our conversation – that exiting buzz that occurs before the service – all of that will be about how we have struggled to do God's work in the community of the people we meet every day. Or the astounding successes that God has given us.

We would all have a strong sense of justice and of love. We would all stop being in the slightest bit selfish. We would consider others greater than ourselves (Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ) We would all be prepared to help each other with our daily tasks. We would readily share the things we have. When we had borrowed something from someone else we would treat it as a prize possession and return it. And return it in a better state than it was when we borrowed it, because we would be concerned that the next person to borrow it had a good experience. Our change of attitude to each other would soon be noticed. People outside would talk about us, they would see how we are different.

Some of them will become infected with our ideas. Many more than usual will want to know what's going on. They will come looking. Some will still reject Jesus, but most will be amazed at what He has done and the effect that it has, and they will be only too happy to join in.

It's called revival, and it's similar to what happened in Josiah's time. If you want revival – and it's there freely available, start with yourself.

Imagine the whole world following on.

• If there are strikes they are so that others receive better pay

• Care Workers and Missionaries are paid more than bankers

• The Fair trade organisation is out of business – there is no unfair trade.

I could go on, but we need to look at how we get there.

So you want to be like Josiah

So you have prayed the prayer, and you do so every day. The holy spirit will begin to convict you of certain sins. I cannot tell you what the sins will be in your case, but I can give you an example in my life. Even during the preparation of this talk. There I was, sitting at my PC playing one of the facebook games. Not at all focussed on the task in hand. You see I'm quite competitive, and was trying to get a good score in before any of my friends. The competitive trait is what got me through training, so its not a bad thing. Anyway Jo said "you're doing a lot on your sermon then" quite sarcastically. My reply was rather rude and doesn't bear repeating. God has graciously used the situation – one that I shouldn't have got myself into – to illustrate exactly what He is saying. When we are convicted of a sin (anything that takes our primary focus away from God is a sin), we must repent and turn from it. It must be removed from our lives completely, so that it does not have any further call on us. My score 2:

1. overly competitive – remove the scores from the facebook feeds, so I'm not tempted to try to beat them so frequently.

2. being rude – much harder to overcome, but also much rarer thankfully. Apologise, repent and move on.

Jesus said “if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.” Matthew 18:9

Josiah crushed the idols, and burnt the priests bones – it sounds a bit extreme – but if you want to be sure that the sin does not return, it is the only thing to do. It is said of Josiah that no king tried harder to fulfil all the requirements of the law.

A Christian friend of mine once went through a book and blacked out all the offending phrases in the book. At the time I was stunned – it sounded very over the top -, but now I understand. If it was causing him to sin, then it must be removed – completely.

You wouldn't drink water with only 95% of the Cholera removed would you?

You wouldn't buy gold that was mixed with other metals, if you were expecting 24 carat gold, would you?

Little by little the purification proceeds for some of us it will be faster than for others. As we realise a sin or a temptation and struggle to overcome it we become closer to the Lord Jesus. The holy Spirit will graciously point out our sins and turn them to victories Something to give thanks for, and a launch pad to deal with next one. Our love for or brothers and sisters in Christ will increase and we are on the path to revival.

The Blokes Bible - Dave Hopwood

ISBN 978-1-85078-712-9

I spotted this book at Lee Abbey while waiting for the hot chocolate to be served. The reviews on the back looked interesting. "Refreshingly and even Disturbingly honest ...". Also I have an interest in finding material that may be of particular interest to men. This one has a fetching black cover with a light tan coloured strip along the top. If that doesn't remind you of something straight away think toucans, or the phrase "he waits, that's what he does".

The book certainly lives up to its billing from the back cover. The story of one mans escape to his local, his pint, and some time spent reading his black book. Each chapter takes a bible story, some are well known, there's David and Goliath, and Moses' murder of the Egyptian. Some are less well known, and delve into the prophets. These sent me back to my copy of the black book to remind myself of the settings. The stories are re-told in a modern genre. There is by the authors own admission some licence in the re-telling. Then the stories are related to the 'real life' situation in Cutters, which is the Local pub.

"The whole of human life is here" is a phrase often used of the Bible, and is really true of this adaption as well. This version though is a lot shorter! The writing is good and clear, and the biblical characters come to life, you can sometimes get the sense that you knew the sort of person they were. I especially like the characterization of the apostle Thomas (the doubter?).

Does it connect with men? Well assuming you can get them to read, then yes it does. Unfortunately books are not the easiest thing to give to some men. For those that will read it there should certainly be some degree of emotional response as they engage with the biblical stories, although that may not be so true of the cast of Cutters. They, of course, are just a mechanism to ground the story into the real world - the stories themselves are what its all about.

The Blokes Bible is an interesting way of presenting the Bible, which I enjoyed reading. I hope it gets shared around, and gets out there to a wider audience than those who attend Lee Abbey, where the book is sold, and where Dave works.

Here it is on Amazon.

Mark 6:1-13 @ St Mary the Virgin, Little Burstead

Introduction

As we look through the gospel reading today, I am going to pick on a number of words and phrases to try to give a better picture of what was going on. Marks' Gospel is a fast moving text. It could be called "What Jesus Did Next". It is easy to get caught up in the story and miss some of the undercurrents. That of course wouldn't have been a problem for Marks readers, but for us 2000 years later, and without a Jewish upbringing it is very easy to do.

Home town

After healing the woman with the flow of blood, and Jairus' daughter Jesus moves to his home town. Nazareth was a small town with a population around 300. It is where Joseph and Mary settled after the birth of Jesus. Jesus would have been well known there, many of the people would have grown up with him. There was relatively little movement, most people were born in the town they were living in. Nazareth was primarily an agricultural settlement. The archaeology shows that there are grain store and wine presses. Jesus had left home and made his ministry around Galilee about 30 miles to the north east. When he arrived in the town he would have headed straight for his childhood home. He would have stayed with his family. If his mother was not able to accommodate him then one of his brothers would have taken on the duty.

Synagogue

Jesus had been home for a few days, and as was the family tradition they attended synagogue on the Sabbath. Just as in the church of England it is not permitted for just anyone to teach. You have to have had some training. Normally a trainee Rabbi would be apprenticed to well known and respected Rabbi. We can be fairly certain that this was not the case with Jesus. However he was recognised as competent and allowed to speak. He would only have had a few minutes. The sermon was not the main focus of Jewish worship. Scripture reading was considered more important, as were prayers.

They were amazed

The people in the synagogue were amazed at Jesus teaching. They all thought they knew who he was. What he said appeared to them to have genuine insight, it would have been clear and straight forward. It would have been honest and open. The regular guy had not been away that long, but he had come back and He was different. Those who listened, really listened and were open to Jesus words were the ones who were really amazed. They had clearly heard about his ministry, it would have been impossible to not have heard of this healer even from 30 miles away. Remember there was no internet, television, radio, or newspapers. News travels fast in any human culture no matter what the technology.

Carpenter

But then they start to think a little more. Perhaps Jesus message was a little uncompromising, perhaps he spoke a few home truths with his message. Isn't this just the repairman? As a carpenter Jesus would have spent most his time repairing furniture and buildings. There would have been new work also, but most of the work would have been wandering around town looking for things to repair, or buildings to help with. Carpenters also included general building work. So this guy is just the repairman – what right does he have to tell me how to live my life?

There is a certain irony here. Jesus is the repair man. Both physically in his skill with wood, but also spiritually with his clean clear wisdom from God. Then there are the miracles, evidence that Jesus can and does repair people physically too.

Yet despite the evidence that they have heard both on the grapevine and now with their own ears they still choose to reject him.

We know now that Jesus is the ultimate repair man – putting the universe back together after it was ruined by sin.

Mary's son

Now they are really getting into it. Calling him Mary's son is a polite way of questioning his parentage. Even if Joseph had died by this time (which seems likely), he should still have been known as Joseph's son. It is true that the Jews count their racial purity through the mother, so if your mother was a Jew, so are you. The message here is that Jesus is illegitimate - a cause of shame in the 1^st century. It is just being used to bolster there argument that they shouldn't take any notice of the piece of wisdom that they have just heard. His brothers and sisters get a mention and he's being viewed just as one of the towns children, why should they take any notice of a child?

So they took offence at him.

Prophet without honour

Only in his home town, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honour.

This phrase or something like it can be traced back about another 200 years from Jesus time. So he is picking up on a well known phrase to express his frustration.

Some preachers will tell you that the hardest sermons are those preached in front of their parents. I can't confirm that, but it makes sense to me. Even talking about my conversion with my parents was difficult. You may have had similar experiences. After conversion you seem the same, but you know you are changed. Its almost too personal, will they see the change in you? Do you really want them to?

Could not do any Miracles

There are many theories about why Jesus could not perform his usual miracles in his home town. We must be careful to remember that Jesus was both Man and God.

We must not allow ourselves to think that God's power can somehow be limited by peoples lack of faith. If that were the case God would not be able to do anything in this world, because everything He tried to do would require someone already here with absolute faith that the task can be successfully completed.

Neither should we think that for some reason Jesus refused to heal them because of their lack of faith. That would be out of character with the Jesus we know from the remainder of the Gospels. He wouldn't come home and then decide that the people here do not have enough faith, so I will refuse to heal them. In other places he says you need faith the size of a mustard seed – one of the smallest seeds. There are also times when Jesus had compassion on people, it would be difficult to think that he lacked compassion for the people he grew up with.

The most likely explanation is that their lack of faith meant that there were only very few who were prepared to ask. If you don't believe that someone can heal YOU, why would you go to them and ask them to?

Perhaps you know the scene in the Life of Brian, where Michael Palin as the healed leper is complaining the Jesus just came along and healed him, and how badly its ruined his life. He was doing very nicely begging. Jesus does not do that. God created us with free will, He will not suddenly just override our free will for the sake of making us better, we have to ask – that way he knows that its what we want, and we have shown our faith.

Lay his hands

He was only able to lay his hands on a few sick people does not imply the gentle touch that we associate with healing prayer today. This is much more like the way a policeman might lay his hands on a criminal. It is about taking control and providing physical direction. No wonder the demons left, they did not want to be arrested by the son of God.

He was amazed

Jesus was amazed by their lack of faith. I think this is the only time when it is recorded that Jesus was amazed. Their lack of faith was so remarkable, so complete, that even Jesus was taken aback. This was a sign for Jesus. He saw just how much there was to do, and how little time there was to do it.

What happens next, the sending out of the twelve, is no coincidence. The reaction of his own people – those from his home town, mirrors the passage in John 1 where the Son of God comes to the world and is rejected by the people. Jesus decided that now would be a good time to put his recruits to the test.

Two by two

Jesus had realised that something else is needed. His disciples are not from around here, so they will have the respect and acknowledgement that he cannot command. It is time for them to try out what they have learnt. So he sends them out to the surrounding villages two by two. Under Jewish law they have to travel in pairs. This is not for protection, or some form of first century health and safety, its because they are to be witnesses to what Jesus has done and is doing. To be an acceptable witness there must be at least one other person to corroborate the story. This is a fundamental part of Jewish law and is explained in Deuteronomy.

Take nothing

The task is urgent, they are not to spend time preparing, they are to rely on what they can get on the road. No food, no bag – so you can't be mistaken for a beggar, and no money, so that neither you nor your hosts can have any expectation of you paying your way.

Sandals

Not even a coat. That may be OK today, but we don't know whether this was summer or winter. The only things they are allow was a staff – for protection from wild animals most likely and sandals – essential for long walks.

There were itinerant philosophers walking around, and teaching for food. They were known as the Cynics – from the word for dogs – that was as much of an insult then as it is now - so people didn't have much respect for them. The message of the cynics was largely “The world is rotten, get used to it”. Once the disciples started their teaching, “repent for the kingdom of God is here” people would have soon realised that his was something different.

Shake the dust off your feet

Jesus instructed the disciples to 'shake the dust off their feet'. So if you're not welcome, if people won't look after you, if they won't listen to what you have to say shake the dust off your feet. The Jews would always shake the dust off their feet at the border to ensure that they didn't bring anything unclean back into Israel, and make themselves unclean in the process. So this is Jesus telling the disciples to leave, and let the people know that they have excluded themselves from the Kingdom of Heaven.

Repent

Most of the discussion on the web about this passage is based around the difficulty people have with the message they think is implied – that God is condemning people to damnation. We must consider though the mission the disciples were sent on. They were sent to preach repentance and heal the sick. No doubt Jesus gave them a certain number of days, and they agreed where they would meet afterwards, if not the disciples may never have come back – or they may have given up too quickly. So there was a limit to the amount of time they would spend in any one place. If you go somewhere with a message requiring people to repent and they choose to ignore you, or they refuse to repent, what is there left to do. THEY have made their decision- You cannot stay.

Many years ago when Spring Harvest was in the Pontins holiday camp in Prestatyn, a number of volunteers were sent out to visit the surrounding houses with the message of the Gospel. Because this is England, we don't have to operate under Jewish Law, and we don't want to appear too threatening, so we went as individuals. There I was at 2pm, with strict instructions to be back for the coach at 5pm, or walk back to the camp, and assigned a couple of roads in which to go door knocking. There were more than enough houses to visit for just 3 hours, and you had to allow time to talk to people. If they were not interested, or exceptionally grumpy, or if they just hid behind their curtains, (I experienced all three of those) the I just moved on. I offered, I tried, and that is all that Jesus requires of me, and that is all that he required of his disciples.

Drove out many demons …

At the end of the passage Mark simply reports that “They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.“ I bet they came back full of themselves, I know that I would have done.

O Lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz

Introduction

Today's reading is about prayer. There are all sort of prayers. Something I read reminded me of the song 'O Lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz'. Today of all days I can echo that prayer. The particular Merc that I would like is white with go faster stripes down the sides. It usually has the number 23 on it somewhere. By the time I get it, it will be second hand, but I'm happy with a used car. Especially this one. Before I have the Lord buy it for me, 'cause there's no way I could afford it myself, it's current driver must drive it to victory this afternoon. I'm talking about Jensen Buttons Brawn GP, which is powered by Mercedes engines. That's just my fantasy, of course.

The song does provide a way to contrast the worlds view of prayer with the view that Jesus is talking about in the Sermon on the mount. Let me read it to you:

Song

MERCEDES BENZ (Janis Joplin / Michael McClure)  Janis Joplin - 1971 Elkie Brooks - 1995   
O Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz?
My friends all have Porsches I must make amends 
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends 
O Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz? 

O Lord, won't you buy me a color TV? 
Dialing for dollars is trying to find me 
I'll wait for delivery each day until 3 
O Lord, won't you buy me a color TV?  

Oh Lord won't you buy me a night on the town
I'm counting on you Lord, please don't let me down.
Prove that you love me & buy the next round. 
Oh Lord won't you buy me a night on the town  

From what you know of God, you may think it's obvious that a prayer like that won't be answered, so lets take a look through it as we try to understand what Jesus really meant when he said "Ask and it will be given". Well first you have to ask, and the song certainly manages that. There are times though when we don't ask.

When James is writing on prayer he says "^{Jas 4:2} You want something but don’t get it. You kill ⁱ and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God."

Sometimes we don't ask, because we can't believe that God could possible care about our request. Perhaps we think it is too trivial. Sometimes we don't ask, because we know what we want really isn't the sort of thing that God gives, or isn't the sort of thing that God wants.

In my case I have not asked for more healing for my shoulder because I just assumed that as it is healing up well that was all God wanted to do. After what we heard last week I now realise that may not be the case.

r1) Children don't get bad things from their parents (almost always)

Sometimes we are not sure that we have any right to bother God. Ephesians 1:5 tells us that we are adopted children. God is like any good parent and wants to hear from his children. In the second part of today's reading Jesus uses the parent – child analogy to show that even evil (earthly) parents give good things to their children. The examples here are clearly great contrasts – stones and bread – they may look the same, but they are very different. Fish (probably eels as they were classed as fish) and snakes. They may look the same, but they are also very different and the results from trying to catch and eat them could also be very different. You and I would not treat our children like that. We are in general careful to give our children things that are good for them, not things that will ultimately be bad for them, so we do our best to ensure they have a balanced healthy diet – not too much sugar, or too much fat, and a good mix of vegetables and fruit. We send them to school and encourage them and support them through University if we think it will be of benefit to them. We try to keep them away from excessive hours in front of the TV or computer. We long to see them grow up and become good parents in their own right. God is a better father than yours or mine – regardless of how good your father was God is better. God is a better mother than yours or mine – regardless of how good your mother was God is better.

Sometimes we have to give our children a negative answer. This can disappoint them and upset them. It is the same with God. If you are asking for something that is harmful to you He will say 'No'. God's no is more final than any parent's, but be sure that it is a 'No' and not a 'not yet'.

In C.S. Lewis' book Voyage to Venus (you may know it as Perelandra). It is the story of the temptation of Adam and Eve written as a Science Fiction story. The people on the planet live on large floating islands and are forbidden by God from setting foot on land. However once the temptation is over, they are permitted to move from the islands to the land.

My daughter Karen wanted her ears pierced. She first asked when she was about nine. Jo said 'No'. Karen is not one to readily take no for an answer, so sometime late she asked me. I said vaguely - “when you're older” Karen kept asking, Eventually we agreed she could have them done and set the age as 14. She stopped asking until she was 13½.

r2) The song is not persistent – Merc, Colour TV, Night on the town, Next round

Persistence is another attribute that God values – because it shows that you are really keen. In the song the singer starts by asking for a Mercedes Benz, by the second verse the request has been scaled down – to a colour TV, a long way from a Mercedes even in the Sixties, in the third it is scaled down again twice! First to a night on the town, then to the next round.

There are some amazing stories of persistent prayer. The Israelites were held in slavery for four hundred years – I bet some of them were praying the whole time. Before the Welsh revival at the start of the last century (1904) there had been prayer groups meeting for another century. One of its Leaders – Evan Roberts, had been praying for revival for Eleven years. There was a member of our church who was praying for her husband for almost all his life. When he finally gave his life to Christ the holy spirit came on him and spoke to him in dreams and visions, which almost overwhelmed her. Be careful what you pray for – you may get more than you asked for!

'Ask and it will be given' sounds easy, but Jesus does not stop there. 'Seek and you will find' Seek sounds a bit harder. There's some work involved in seeking, you have to get out of your prayer chair and go an do some serious looking. This is not about asking God to help when you've misplaced your keys or you cheque book. In 2006 a team of explorers set out to find the true source of the river Nile. It's source had been a British obsession during the days of empire and many expeditions had been sent to find its source. On their 80 day expedition, the 2006 team faced dangers including crocodiles and warring tribesmen in Uganda who killed one of the diplomats helping them, but they did find the longest tributary. That is extreme seeking.

Martin Luther: "Pray as if everything depended on God, then work as if everything depends on you"

'Seek and you will find'. Much harder than 'Ask and it will be given' Jesus doesn't even stop there. 'Knock and the door will be opened'

A bishop ( I can't remember which one) once said that prayer was like knocking on the door of an apparently abandoned house repeatedly because you once thought you saw the curtain move. I found that a rather depressing description. It does however give some idea of the feeling of 'Knock and the door will be opened.' In the bishops case I don't think there is much chance of the door being opened, but Jesus promises that it WILL be opened.

That final step must be taken, you have asked for directions, got lost, gone another way, stopped and asked for directions again a number of times, and now you have finally arrived at the house. You must walk up to the door boldly and knock.

What will you find behind the door?

There is a sense in all of this that the heat is being turned up with each of the statements. Ask is straight forward, Seek is more forceful, and a Knock at the door requires it to be answered. I had not heard this type of forceful prayer until last week, when Neil told us how he prayed for his Sinus headache. 'I'm not having it Lord, I'm not having it Lord'.

He was praying from a sense of need, if you've ever suffered with migraine of sinus problems you will understand how completely debilitating they can be.

r3) Motive

There are two lines in the song which suggest that the singers motives are not based on any need. They are not what they should be. 'My friends all have Porsches' – so what – do not covet your neighbour's Porche. And 'Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends' gives the impression that the singer is somehow owed something by God. The Psalmist recognised the need to have the right motives Ps 51: 5 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Greed and envy can take no part in our prayers, if they do we cannot expect a positive answer. Only if our prayer is within the will of God can we expect it to be taken seriously. That doesn't mean there isn't room for debate.

In Genesis 18 Abraham has a long debate with God about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Will you spare the cities if there are 50 righteous men, then 20, then 10. Each time God agrees with Abraham – no He will not destroy the city if this number of righteous men can be found.

r4) Not in Scope

The last reason why our singer may not get an answer is because the prayer is not within the scope of things that God is prepared to debate. What good is a Mercedes in the Kingdom of Heaven. If you want one, or if I really wanted to be the proud owner of a Brawn-Mercedes, I would have to demonstrate that there is some role for it in my ministry.

So the Mercedes, the colour TV, even the last round are not going to be considered because they are requested from selfish motives, and have no use in the Kingdom of Heaven. In this case seeking and knocking will add nothing to the chance that the request will be granted

What then can we ask for?

Anything – the thing is not the issue. The qualification for a positive answer is whether it is good for us in the long term. In a similar passage in Luke (11:13) “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

God is waiting for us to ask, hoping that we will seek, and eventually knock on the door.

What would you ask God for?

Joining in with Jesus

Introduction

At first glance the two readings do not appear to be that closely related, but there is a link. As I read through the Gospel two phrases stayed with me “Love each other” (twice v12 and 17) and “you are my friends” v14. I had read Acts first, but if you read them in the order they appear in the Bible, you can see that the commands that Jesus gives in the gospel reading are being carried out in Acts.

Jesus came from heaven and was born as a man to die on the cross so that he could restore the broken relationship between humanity and God. He came to the place where there were already some who were doing what they could to keep the relationship alive. Jesus came to the people that God had chosen to bring the news of his love to the world. They (the Jews) had not succeeded in their mission so far, indeed they had hardly succeeded in staying faithful to their God. Now though things were to change. Instead of the followers being servants they would be friends. That way they could bring Gods love to others who are yet to know him in a more remarkable and successful way.

We are going to look at the difference between being a servant and spreading Gods love that way, and being a friend and spreading God's love that way. We will do this by looking at some of the stories of incidents in the lives of biblical characters, famous Christians from the past and present, and some ordinary people around us.

As I tell these stories I will mention the love that they show for God and the people around them.

Jonah

Lets first look at the old Testament model – where specific people are chosen as servants of God and given specific things that they must do. We'll look at the story of Jonah

We do not know that much about Jonah. The first two verses of the book are “The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." “ and as to his family and where he was from that is all there is in the Bible. (There's 2 Kings 14:25, but that doesn't tell us anything new). There is other evidence but now is not the time for that. We already have the start of our story.

The word of the LORD came to Jonah "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."

God wants them to repent and change their ways. He does not want to destroy them. That is exactly what Jonah is afraid of. “I'll go up there, make all this fuss, they will repent, nothing will happen, and I'll look stupid” He's thinking about himself, not the people of Ninevah. From where Jonah is Ninevah is in the east. Jonah decides to go west – To Tarshish (probably Spain)

He boards a ship– a cargo vessel was the only option in his day as there wasn't a tourism industry. He makes friends with the crew, and settles down to enjoy the journey. A bad storm arrived and Jonah was nowhere to be found. The sailors were praying to their Gods, and wanted Jonah to do the same. They found him asleep at the bottom of the ship. The sailors then cast lots to see who is responsible – and the lot falls on Jonah. If he didn't already know it, he does now – God is on his tail! He volunteers to be thrown overboard. Is Jonah thinking, “I won't be able to go to Ninevah when I'm dead”? The sailors are reluctant to throw him off the ship, but they're scared for their lives, so they do. The storm subsides, and Jonah descends to the deep. He is swallowed by a big fish. In the fish Jonah prays, and again recognises God as the ultimate authority, and kind of promises to carry out his task. The fish takes him to land. This time Jonah keeps his promise and goes to Ninevah. He gives them the whole of God's message, that destruction is to come on them for their evil ways. They repent, nothing happens, and Jonah is very upset “I told you so”.

Peter

The story of Cornelius and Peter in Acts 10 is so very different

Cornelius sees an angel

The Angel says send for Peter @ Simon the Tanners in Joppa

Cornelius did

Meanwhile

Peter is having a vision

Animals on a sheet

The Spirit says “Get up Peter, Kill and eat”

Nothing unclean has ever passed my lips

3 times for Peter to understand

It always is

Then the spirit says “Simon 3 men are looking for you” “ don't hesitate to go with them, I have sent them”

Peter doesn't Hesitate

He goes to Cornelius the God Fearer

Its 4 days since Cornelius saw the angel

Peter goes in, that makes him unclean– he's not done that before

Peter explains what God has done through Christ

The spirit comes on Cornelius, and his friends

They speak in tongues

Peter announces their baptism. - a symbol of their Conversion.

Different

See how different the story of Peter is to the Story of Jonah. Jonah as a servant isn't told by God what's going on, just given the word and expected to act. Sure, he can work it out for himself, but that doesn't mean he's fully committed.

Peter, on the other hand, has been prepared by the spirit, and has accepted what God has said to him. He has learnt that the things of God are not 'unclean'. He has managed to extend the vision of the food to allow him to enter the house of a gentile. Cornelius was known as a God fearer, one who was sympathetic to the Jewish belief, and followed them to an extent, but had not yet committed themselves by becoming a proselyte. When Peter spoke to him, his story was told from God's point of view. So Peter explained what “God did through Jesus ….”.

Then the gift of tongues. They may have been speaking in Hebrew or Aramaic, at this time tongues were not ecstatic utterances (or heavenly languages as some call them) Tongues would most certainly have convinced the friends that Peter had with him. Speaking in tongues was the first piece of evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit they had. They were all Jews at this point. They were part of a Jewish sect known as The Way.

Peter has allowed the fledgling faith to take a mighty step forward. God has shown Peter that there are no races or tribal limitations, no longer is God's spirit restricted to the Jews. It was still Peter's decision though. He could have said at any stage in the process “this is a step too far”. He didn't because he was following God lead through the situations he found himself in. He had been shown that something was going to happen, and by his actions he supported it.

Forget Pentecost. This is the day that you and I should be celebrating. The day God spirit was first given to the a non-Jew. Without this event there would be no Christian church. The name Christian is adopted in the very next Chapter of Acts (11). Peter would be in huge amounts of trouble for this when he got back to Jerusalem. The believers there would insist that Cornelius became a proper Jew before he could join them. But it is a done deal. The Holy Spirit is out and unstoppable.

That is how it has been ever since. God prepares the ground, and the Christians move in and occupy it.

Hudson Taylor

Born May 21, 1832, Died June 3, 1905

The next person I want to look at is Hudson Taylor.

Born into a Christian family, he was moving away from the faith when at seventeen, after reading an evangelistic tract pamphlet, he professed faith in Christ, and in December 1849, he committed himself to going to China as a missionary. This was an answer to his parents prayers.

What is most impressive to me about Taylor is his preparation. He was not in regularly good health, so tried to toughen himself by taking long walks and sleeping on hard mattresses.

He knew that he would need more than preaching once he got to China, so put his background as a Chemist to good use and started training with an uncle who was a doctor in Hull.

It was there in Hull that Hudson first learnt his lessons of personal faith. Having moved out from his Uncle's so that he could learn to live on little, and give most of his wages away, Hudson one evening was asked if he could go and pray for an Irish labourers wife who was close to death. When he arrived by her side he found that her weak state was a result of child birth and severe hunger. He knew he should do more than pray, but he didn't have the money - only half a crown which he needed to live on. Yet he was aware that God had sent him to help this woman and unless he did what he could how could he expect God to take notice of his prayer. So he gave his money to the husband to buy food and trusted God to provide for his own needs. The following day the Lord provided half a sovereign through a gift from someone. This was the start of Hudson's life of faith.

He founded the China Inland Mission, a society dedicated to reaching out to inland China, not just the areas around the coastal towns that the other missionary societies were concentrating on. Hudson's missionaries wore Chinese cloths, and built their churches in the Chinese style. They allowed women to be missionaries (a first), and were non-denominational.

The Mission is supported entirely by the free-will offerings of the Lord's people. The needs of the work are laid before God in prayer, no personal solicitations or collections being authorised. No more is expended than is thus received, going into debt being considered inconsistent with the principle of entire dependence upon God.

It has been said of Hudson Taylor that no-one other than St Paul did more to spread the gospel over a large geographical area than he did.

The spirit had prepared the ground in China, the country was opening up to foreigners. Mostly though they had only managed to have any influences around the major ports. Hudson saw what God was doing and ensured he was best equipped to take part.

Jackie Pullinger

Jackie Pullinger on the other hand, was singularly unprepared. She had been trying to be a missionary for a long time, and had received many rejections. Thankfully for us, and for many in china she spoke with a godly Parish priest who saw something of God in her and told her just to go. Can you imagine giving that sort of advice now? - or ever? She had just enough money to get her to Hong Kong on a cargo vessel. So far as I know there were no bad storms on the way. On reaching Hong Kong she was almost turned away. She worked for a while as a primary school teacher in Kowloon Walled City. The city was not policed, and was controlled by the Triads who used heroin to control their members. She started a youth club. Taking heroin is called Chasing the Dragon. Many of the inhabitants barely scratched a living with many in extreme poverty.

She says “I could walk down the street and see a hundred people chasing the dragon. You had to climb over their legs. I wanted something real to offer them… not just treatment in a centre.”

Despite the power of heroin and opium addiction, the boys weren’t only kicking their habit, they were leaving it behind completely. They put this down to their commitment to Jesus. Many addicts who prayed for Jesus’ help found themselves freed of their addiction without going through any kind of withdrawal. Jackie opened a home for those who needed help and was soon inundated with pleas for help and a place to stay.

Not all of the addicts reformed immediately. Jackie started to realise that becoming a Christian didn’t automatically heal you of your addictions, or immediately reform you after a lifetime in the underworld. But the signs were good.

Several reformed addicts joined Jackie in her work. One day she had a meeting with a Triad leader who had offered protection for the house she was in.

She told him simply that she wouldn’t help the boys escape their addictions purely for them to become gangsters again. If they were to be followers of Jesus, they had to leave the gangs altogether. To her astonishment, the gang boss still offered to guard her house, and renounced all claim on those boys who chose to become Christians. It was unprecedented in Hong Kong gang culture, where people were bound to the Triads for their entire lives.

Jackie had decided to be a missionary as a child, before she even knew what a missionary was. She had intended to go to Africa, but after a dream had switched her destination to Hong Kong.

She realised that the people were so desperate that they didn't even know how to ask for help, or that they needed it. When she started she didn't know what to expect – she was just following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Jim

All of us as Christian should be following the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Not all of us are called to foreign places, but some are. A friend of mine believed that he was being called to become a clergyman. I agreed, and became convinced that he would leave England at some point – probably for Africa. He went through all the usual channels – first to his vicar. Yes, he too believed that Jim may have received a call. Then to the Diocese. Jim had not been a good student at school and didn't have any qualifications. He had to get 'A' levels before he could be considered. The next step was evening classes. He passed the necessary qualifications. He was accepted by the diocese and sent for training. After training and ordination, he became a curate. Then after serving his time as a curate announced that he would be working with the ex-pat community in France. There, with his young family, in a huge European Parish he lead the church of England, providing a spiritual home for those who were working away from their own home, or those on holiday

He has not spread the gospel to a different race, founded a missionary society, or seen hundreds of miraculous healings, but he has followed the Holy Spirits Lead. He has spread the gospel, to the people he meets, and encouraged them to do the same.

Conclusion - Me

Each of us is called in some way. Tom Wright in his commentaries on these passages suggests that we may only be called for one thing, or one other person. I disagree. We are given gifts and prompts by the Holy Spirit in how to use them. We may have one main mission for our lives, but there are hundreds of little things we can do on the way, or afterwards. As someone whom Jesus calls a friend, I'm always looking for ways to join in with what he's doing. Some of us will need training – I've spent four year of specific training (evening & weekends only) to get to where I am now. Some of us will just go, like Jackie Pullinger.

God is preparing the ground, the Holy Spirit is readying the prompt. We have to listen and decide how best to respond.

Where next Lord?

References

http://www.rejesus.co.uk/site/module/jackie_pullinger/P2/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Pullinger

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Taylor

http://www.theologicalstudies.org.uk/article_taylor.html

http://oursharedworld.blogspot.com/2007/10/hong-kong-jackie-pullinger-doesnt-look.html

Field of Blue '09

The rest of the Album is here: https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipO5G_SapkXgXASDMUHGSEkHRNFLBzzfKMItq7Br

We started out for Norsey wood on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The short drive across town and out the other side was routine. However, arriving at the car park, it was full to overflowing with a queue to get in. We were not the only ones who had decided to take a walk in the woods to see the bluebells and make the best of an unexpectedly good day. Norsey wood is noted for its bluebells. We drove back to a little known or used entrance, and parked on the main road. It was only a short walk to the trail. We do not visit the woods often, after last year we had intended to go back, but never made it. That was partly due to me finding work. Having found the trail, I carefully marked it so that we would know where to turn of on our way back. I would probably have remembered, but I might not have. Making the mark caused some discussion, but was worth it. A broken branch is propped up against a tree, pointing the direction that we should travel in on our return. There was little chance to stand and listen with so many people, including children and dogs, in the wood. We made our way round, past the children playing in the stream and up the hill the other side. The bluebells here are sparse. Further on though, there are better samples. It is not possible to capture the full panoramic view through the trees, or the impression of the blue carpet running under various thickets, but the pictures give an indication. Wild life was mainly limited to ants nests, where the ants are busy building. Even now, it fascinates me to drop a stick in the middle and watch the chaos as they check it out and confirm it is not a threat. I expect we look like that when something unexpected happens, though I don't think we understand our roles as clearly. There was the occasional butterfly making the best of the sunshine and being distinctly camera shy. A few birds, thrushes I think, flew away as we approached, so it was difficult to tell what they were for sure. The star of the piece must be the bluebells - it is their time. In a few weeks only their leaves will be visible and as summer approaches they will disappear under the brambles, ferns and trees. Up by the top end of the dear bank, where the view was so stunningly beautiful last year, the growth of the trees filters some of the blue and the image is not so impressive. Near the visitor centre, there are a few garden plants - forget-me-nots that have made a home in the wood. It's along this path, part of the disabled access track, that the best views are found this year. We go past the still full car park, and the still full road leading to it. Onwards around the trail, up and down until we return to the turn-off. Jo is ahead and waiting for me. "See, it worked." "I was going by the post" (a way marker showing the route of the trail) "There are loads of them" No reply. We turn off and start to work out how long we have been in the woods - a little over an hour. Not long, but time well spent. We will have to go back in a month or so and see how things have changed. Look out for next year's post.