It's on the zog drive

I am not a techophobe nor am I completely PC illiterate but it took me two hours to get my photo onto this blog. Yes, two hours. Actually uploading it is fairly easy (even more straightforward if you want the picture as part of a post) but as the picture shown is smaller than the original, the reorganisation of pixels (or whatever the term is) gives me teeth not unlike Goofy's. I am fond of Disney but have no desire to look like Mickey's best friend.
Still, the picture is there now and I'm loathed to try and remove it given the sweat inducing struggle it was to get it there!
If anyone anywhere has any tips..........

Derren Brown - thought provoking or offensive?

Robbie Williams was criticised in the press today for seemingly trivialising the crucifixion in an illusion on Derren Brown’s C4 programme Trick of the Mind.

Church leaders were quoted as admonishing Robbie for his actions; one went as far to say that it was ‘unforgivable’.

It is of course true that you can’t believe everything you read in the papers and the publications included certain tabloids which are not known for accuracy, however it did provoke me to make a response. I watched the Sunday night programme and did think that the metal bore some resemblance to a cross in shape but then I had been to church for the Good Friday and Easter Sunday services so the image of the crucifixion was very much at the forefront of my mind. Practically speaking of course, if you did want to stick needles through somebody’s skin so that they are then able to look at them afterwards, then the arms are an obvious place to try, so it’s equally possible that the decision to have Robbie in that position was for convenience rather than an attempt to trivialise Jesus. Perhaps this comparison was in the back of Mr Brown’s mind at the time of formulating the idea for this stunt and that in the putting together of the series it was very deliberately decided that this episode should be scheduled for Easter Sunday, it is equally possible that nobody noticed any comparison whatsoever and no offence was intended. It is interesting that the criticism is being levelled at Robbie, even though he quite obviously didn’t know what was involved in the stunt beforehand, I suppose out of the two men, he is the more famous so it makes a better story.

This situation nicely illustrates the question that I’ve been pondering for some time about what offends me as a Christian. The conclusion that I’ve come to recently is that things like this actually don’t. I may at times be upset by some of the abuse that is hurled at Jesus, it is after all just like watching your best friend get bullied and not do anything about it, but I am not angry. As I move into my 19^th year as a Christian I do so knowing more of God’s capacity to love and of His awesome strength. My battle is not with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers unseen. If God is at all offended, He is perfectly capable of defending His Son and Jesus is equally capable of making himself known to those who would seek to denounce him. We are called to love not hate, we need to allow God to be God in situations like this and not try to fight His battles for Him. Transforming hearts and minds is God’s job not ours, I suggest that what He needs us to do is pray, and make it one of blessing not retaliation, too often we underestimate the power that can be unleashed when we simply let God be God.

I am more effective if I allow myself to be offended by the way the elderly are treated in this country, the problem of the AIDs epidemic in Africa, world poverty, the adverse affect that binge drinking has had in this country and the ignorance of cocaine users in the UK and US as to how their habit impacts the poorest of the poor in Columbia. If I am offended by these things it moves me to pray and act – not in judgement but in love.

When I was spiritually young, my understanding was that of a child and though I would not claim to be that wise now, I do know that I cannot ignore the grace and favour that God has bestowed upon me and the enormity of His love. In light of this I want to learn more about this love, how it can transform and change the most hopeless of situations, how the loving Father sees His children and how I can live a Christian life with a passionate not mediocre heart, with focus not distraction, in action not in complacency.

It is strange to find that in things I once saw as threats to the name of Jesus, I now see the sovereignty of God – the opposite of what I should see and yet isn’t that what was meant, in part, by ‘Father, forgive’ ? My Saviour - turns it upside down and somehow makes it right, the startling logic which first appears as foolishness, this mystery which I know the answer to but am still working out, what else could my response be but love?

Home

The recent major event that I have yet to write about is the miracle that God has done by providing me with a place to live. I had been living in shared housing for 11 years and was desperate for a space of my own. However with a very small budget and two cats, my options were limited. At the end of last year the situation in the house I had lived in for 3 years changed and the result was that it didn't feel like home anymore, to the point where some nights I cried myself to sleep. Of course I was grateful that I still had a roof over my head but somehow as a daughter of the living God couldn't I expect more than this? So I asked Him for a solution, either give me grace and patience to enable me to deal with it or find me somewhere else to live. The prospect of giving up the cats was not a nice one but something I was considering.
However, as is often the way with the Father in the space of a week things had completely changed. Following a conversation with a Christian friend I was prompted to call a local church in to enquire about a masionette. That particular option was too expensive but they mentioned a single occupancy property advertised in a village not far from where I lived. I called the landlord fully expecting the cost to be at least £700 pcm but instead I was surprised to learn the cost was £350 pcm plus bills. I couldn't quite believe my ears! I went to view it and the property was a bungalow tucked behind the garage of the main house, it boasted a lounge, bedroom, kitchen, conservatory, bathroom and cordoned off section of garden. The couple who owned it were happy to put a catflap in and insisted on buying a microwave for me as the current tenant was taking theirs with them. All I need to provide was a freezer (there was one advertised in the local paper for £10 which I enquired about but when I went to collect it the seller gave it to me for free!), so I moved in and everything is perfect. Even down to the little details, there is no doubling up of furniture so what I have fits in without any problem, the house is situated 5 minutes from the M40 so my journey to church in London has been reduced by 20 minutes and there is a swimming pool in my landlord's garden which I will be allowed to use in the summer!
I have never had any problem believing that God does these kind of crazy miracles, I just didn't ever think I would be on the receiving end of one! This bungalow has provided so much more than just an opportunity to have my own space, it has released me and given me a freedom, I sense a lightness in my spirit that I hadn't been aware of before. The icing on the cake is that a couple of weeks before I moved in I was praying and thanking God for His provision and I sensed Him say that this new home would be a place of restoration and new beginnings. I noted this in my journal and didn't really think anymore of it until a fortnight later at the prophecy course which I had been attending at church, the speaker said that he sensed that God was doing a work of restoration amongst His people! Since that time I have seen my finances blessed and seen the beginnings of what God is doing. A hope that was diminishing is now regained and I have the boldness to ask God to restore those aspects of 'me' that have been lost following hurts and disappointments. I cannot fully put into words the sense of freedom that I have now but I thank God that I can testify to His faithfulness and awesome power.