Be A Man

The other week in our Thursday evening Bible Study we were discussing Paul’s teaching about how Christian men and Christian women ought to behave. Somewhere along the way I made a comment to the effect that young men these days are not so manly as young men were in times gone by. Neal – you can always count on Neal not to let you away with a thoughtless comment. – pulled me up with a few pertinent questions. What do you mean by manly? What is the difference between manly and effeminate? Isn’t manliness something that is determined by the culture of the day: something that is constantly changing? Does the Bible set any absolute standards for manliness and femininity?

Good questions. They got me thinking.
The subject came up again at the beginning of January in our Sunday morning series on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. You might be interested to hear what I said on What It Means to Be A Man.
If you have time to listen, I would love to hear your comments.

When Protestants Protest

This week Pope Benedict XVI will arrive in Scotland to begin his visit to the UK. A group of 60 members of the Free Presbyterian Church, led by Rev Ian Paisley will also travel to Scotland to stage a legitimate and peaceful protest against the Pope’s visit. I neither question their right to do so nor do I disagree with any of their concerns: quite the contrary.

Here is my problem. Last Sunday morning we looked at Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:1 – 2 (click here to listen to the sermon).

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.”

Ephesians 4:1 – 2

It seems to me that “all lowliness and gentleness” rules out public protest, especially so when I consider that to be lowly and gentle is to follow the example of the Lord Jesus.

“He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street… He will bring forth justice for truth.”

Isaiah 42:2 – 3

Can you imagine Jesus staging a public protest? Do we have any example in the Bible of His followers staging a public protest? Has He called us to hold back the tide of sin by protesting against its advances? Has he not rather sent us into the world to proclaim good news to every creature?

The Right Tools for the Job

To be able to understand anything properly you need to have the right mental tools for the job. I mean, if you did not know about addition, subtraction, multiplication and division how would you know how many potatoes to boil for a family of six. And, as for a trip to Tescos, you would be easy prey (Which is better value, three packs of six at £1.00 or two packs of nine at £1.60?).
You began to acquire those particular tools for thought when your mother sat you down with some building blocks — “How many will you have if I take one away?” My grandfather used to confuse me by doing “magic tricks” with the blocks and making some disappear — I swear that’s why Tescos get the better of me every time.

Other concepts call for the right tools for thought too. Could you think about how to make your marriage work if you did not know about love, commitment, sacrifice and perseverance? And how could you understand the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and His church if you did not know about what makes a good marriage?

Are you giving your children some good tools for thought, or are you confusing them?

Take The Plunge

I have been enjoying our Sunday morning services lately. Paul’s prayer at the end of Ephesians 3 holds up the tantalising possibility of depths and heights of Christian experience that most of us have never imagined.
I am convinced that the reason we do not know the things Paul is praying for is that most of us are too scared to take the plunge. Either that or — more likely — we are not prepared to let go of what we would have to leave behind on the shore. So we are content to paddle in the shallows when there is an ocean of joy to be experienced.
All the time I am meeting Christians who are discontent: they are anxious, they feel unloved, they are miserable and they have no idea what it means to be “filled with all the fullness of God.”
It is possible to be full — totally satisfied and blissfully happy in the Lord — but you will have to let go of all the other things you are trying to fill yourself with.
The sermons from the past few weeks are available on KEC Audio — look for numbers 15 – 20 in the series on Ephesians: A Peep Behind The Curtain.

Youv'e Got a Friend In Me

Rent A Friend has just been launched in the UK. Rent A Friend is a web site that allows you to rent friends anywhere in the country. You can rent a local friend to hang out with: someone to go to a movie or restaurant with, someone to go with you to a party or event, someone to teach you a new skill or hobby, someone to show you around an unfamiliar town. It is all strictly decent of course — platonic is the word they use — but still, most of us balk at the idea of friendship at a price.

Helen Rumbelow, commenting in the Times yesterday, made some insightful remarks. She said, “Most of us feel smug in our rejection of this web site’s business plan. Friendship has never been free. Friendship is based on trade. Show me a friendship of any duration and I will show you a balance sheet of who did what for who. Ruthless accounting is involved, and if one party goes even a little into the red — a certain someone who stayed just a little too long in someone else’s spare room, for example — then the emotional auditors may be called in. Bankruptcy can follow.”

I would like to say she is wrong but, you know what, most of us do operate our friendships on the basis of “what’s in it for me” Think about it.

God says:

“A friend loves at all times.”

Proverbs 17:17

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends."

John 15:13

The same God who said those things came into the world and they say he was a friend of sinners.

Would you like to have a friend? Have you ever had a friend? Have you ever been a friend? 

Oh, by the way, Jesus’ friendship is still on free offer for a limited time.

Its Not Enough To Go To Church

I could not help noticing that The Times yesterday made a point of mentioning, albeit in passing, that Nick Clegg had taken time out from his busy round of negotiations to attend church.

As I write, Gordon Brown has tendered his resignation to the Queen. David Cameron is on his way to Buckingham Palace and to becoming our next Prime-Minister and Mr Clegg is set to hold a position of some influence in the government of the United Kingdom. I would like to think he will remember that it is the God he went to worship on Sunday — not the British public — who has brought him to this position. I would like to think he will recall that, whatever his office, he is appointed as God’s minister for good. I would like to think he will not forget that worship without obedience is sham hypocrisy and that obedience to God takes precedence over duty to the electorate. I would like to think it, but it is not likely for he himself said during his election campaign that he does not believe in God.

In recent years Parliament has introduced legislation that runs contrary to God’s Law and, in some cases, interferes with Christian liberty. It has done so with the approval of Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg. I would like to think it will not happen, but I will not be surprised if we see more such legislation before Parliament in the coming term. I will not be surprised if it has the backing of the leaders of all the major parties. My expectations of our new government with regard to these issues are not high.

However, if it happens I will be expecting our local MPs — many of them openly profess to be Christians — to have the courage to speak up for what they know is right even if it should cost them votes in the next election.

Let us pray that God will help them to use the extra clout a hung Parliament has given them for His glory.

“There is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God… he is God’s minister to you for good.”

Romans 13:1 – 4

“I exhort that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for… all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”

1 Timothy 2:1 – 2

Relate To Relate?

It is hard to feel sympathy for Gary McFarlane.  In 2008 Mr McFarlane was sacked from his position as a relationship counsellor with Relate Avon. He claims the service refused to accommodate his Christian beliefs with regard to same-sex relationships and sought leave to appeal a judgement made against his claim of unfair dismissal last November. That right to appeal was turned down by the High Court today.

Maybe it is another case of Christian beliefs being sidelined but still, I do find it hard to sympathise. The question that niggles me is, why would someone with the "strongly held Christian principles" Mr McFarlane claims to have want to work with Relate?

Relate offers relationship counselling that is largely non-directive: solutions to marital tensions are found by negotiation and compromise between the parties concerned; the counsellor merely facillitates the process.

Gary — if I may call you that — dear brother, can we not do better than that? We have the ear and the word of the One who invented marriage. He has told us what a perfect marriage looks like and how to make it happen. Do we really need Relate?

I find it hard to sympathise. You should not have been there in the first place.