Renew Your Mind

Jesus spoke these words to Martha, at a time when she was angry and upset, grieving the death of her brother and feeling let down by Jesus, not understanding why he had not been there when she needed him. These were words of Hope- for Jesus, they were truth, he was explaining his mission to bring life. But for Martha, she heard these words in the midst of death. She did not know that Jesus was about to raise her brother from the dead, or indeed that Easter was coming... Easter tells the story of Hope- however hard things seem in our day to day walk, however many times we feel we struggle and fail, however often the idea of character perfection seems out of reach, the battle has been won- we don't have to fight it all over again.  Enjoy the victory that Jesus has won for those who love him!

Mid-afternoon Darkness drops Like a stone. Day, interrupted Hold your breath- Here God meets death. Son, separated From the Father. Torn apart From light, From love, From life. Journey's unexpected end..... It is finished.

What does it mean to be truly human? What is the best that we can be? How can we be our most authentic selves? Perhaps it is in the last few days that Jesus, the Son of Man, spent on earth that we catch some glimpses of humanity at its best. Paul reminds us that Jesus certainly was truly human- he had forsaken all divine privileges and submitted to the limitations of human flesh. Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death- even death on a cross. Philippians 2: 6-8 Being truly human is not dependent on status, position, physical ability or achievements. The opposite seems to be true- we read here of emptiness, humility, obedience and eventually death. This seems extreme, counter-intuitive, and certainly against the grain of contem...

Christmas is really for the children Christmas is really for the children. Especially for children who like animals, stables, stars and babies wrapped in swaddling clothes. Then there are wise men, kings in fine robes, humble shepherds and a hint of rich perfume. Easter is not really for the children unless accompanied by a cream filled egg. It has whips, blood, nails, a spear and allegations of body snatching. It involves politics, God and the sins of the world. It is not good for people of a nervous disposition. They would do better to think on rabbits, chickens and the first snowdrop of spring. Or they’d do better to wait for a re-run of Christmas without asking too many questions about what Jesus did when he grew up or whether there’s any connection. Steve Turner Easter and the events surrounding it are awkward- difficult to package and market commercially, as Steve Turner points out. It's a time of year when most people are happy to enjoy the benefits of a ho...

T-CUP, or Thinking Clearly Under Pressure, was the acronym used by Sir Clive Woodward when he was the coach of the British Rugby team.  Read more about TCUP here We have seen that cultivating character is slow, patient work that can take a lifetime, and sometimes the results of that steady cultivation are not obvious until we face a challenge. Surely the events of Holy Week presented the greatest challenge so far for the followers of Jesus. We saw at the weekend that Peter was not ready for this challenge, and when it came to a test of his character he buckled under the pressure. Earlier that evening, Judas had made a decision that revealed his true character. While the other disciples shared the Last Supper with their Lord, Judas slipped out to arrange to betray him to the chief priests and elders. Under the slowly mounting pressure of competing ideologies, Judas saw only weakness and disappointment in what Jesus seemed to be offering, and chose instead a way that appeared t...

And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. Pursue love... 1 Corinthians 13:13, 14:1 This week the events and importance of Easter begin to come into sharp focus. We remember Jesus' last week on earth, and because we know the events still to come, the people he chose to be with and he things that he said to them carry extra significance. John spends 4 chapters of his gospel telling us what Jesus said to his disciples as he prepared them for what was to come next. Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. John 13: 1 Jesus said:' Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. God will also glorify him in himself, and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, "Where I am going, you cannot come." I give you a new ...

Sometimes reading self help books or well-meaning blogs can make us feel that adopting a regime, a mantra or a new habit will lead to measurable results in a steadily increasing way. We feel as if we should be drawing a progress chart that climbs steadily upwards- but real life is just not like that. Maybe that's why so many of us find Peter an encouraging character in Scripture. When Jesus changes Simon's name to Peter, meaning the Rock, we cheer for him as we see Jesus recognising his strength of character. Jesus replied,  ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter,   and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades [  will not overcome it.   I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be  bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be   loosed in heaven.’   Then he ordered his...

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Galatians 5:25 Many of us are becoming increasingly   conscious of the number of steps we take each day, helpfully reminded by our smart devices, some of which will even prod us to get moving if we haven't reached our daily quota. Each small step on its own makes very little difference, but a decision to walk more each day becomes a habit that builds a more healthy life and (hopefully) has long term benefits. Practising virtues is perhaps a bit like this. A small decision to act with kindness, to pause and respond gently instead of angrily, an attitude of forgiveness to others rather than blame all begin to build into a life lived according to the Spirit, rather than our natural desires. Our choices become habits. Recent brain research suggests that habits actually rewire our brain, creating new neural pathways which become our new normal. Or, as Paul writes, since we live by the Spirit, let's keep in step...

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Galatians 5: 22-23 The Message One of the great things about 21st century life is the ability to access many different Bible translations so easily. Eugene Peterson's translation, or paraphrase, is a really helpful approach to reading a familiar bible passage in a fresh way.  In Peterson's words, we get a sense of the cohesion of these fruit, of how they work together to give a picture of a life well lived rather than a tick list of virtues to be acquired. His use of the word "we" so often also r...

But the fruit  of the Spirit is love,  joy, peace,  forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,   gentleness and self-control.   Galatians 5: 22,23 This list in Galatians is perhaps the most well known list of virtues, memorised by many of us in song, preached in countless sermon series and stitched into Bible samplers. But the fact that we know it so well does not mean that we are any better at living this way. We have seen over these weeks of Lent that the challenge of cultivating character is a huge one- one that involves far more than knowing what to do, and one that will take our whole lives here on earth to achieve. The image of a tree is one that we have seen before, and a helpful one because it reminds us that we should not be surprised if we don't see instant signs of growth- these are fruits whose cultivation will take time, intentionality, sunshine and rain. David Brooks, in his book on character that I mentioned yesterday, describes peopl...

So I say, walk by the Spirit,  and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.   For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever  you want.   Galatians 5:16,17 Paul writes to the Galatians, as he has done before, of the tension between what he calls th Spirit and the flesh. David Brooks, in his bestselling recent book "The Road to Character", recognises this same tension between the two impulses driving our behaviour. He names them Adam I and Adam II, and claims that our lives are often shaped by the needs of Adam I: to do, succeed, win. As he explains, these things are valued by our culture and we are encouraged to pursue them- but often at the expense of developing character, the Adam II side of our nature.  Paul paints the contrast in much starker terms. He writes that the desires of the flesh are in conflict with the desi...

Mark14: 3-11 While Jesus was in Bethany,  reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume?   It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages   and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,”  said Jesus.  “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.   The poor you will always have with you,   and you can help them any time you want.  But you will not always have me.   She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.   Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve,  went to the ...