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...