Got your eggs in one basket?

The first thing I want to make clear is that this is not a blog comparatively arguing the theologies of some of the greatest Christian minds in history for that would take a dissertation, not a blog! But rather, this an exasperation as to why we put them on such a pedistool.

Calvin, Luther, Arminius, Wesley, there are so many to choose from but what really drives me mad is why people insist on defining themselves as one or the other. What is so special about these guys that we feel the need to come under their yolk like they're some kind of Jewish Rabbi.

In methodist circles, there is barely a week that goes by without some kind of trumpeting of the Wesleys. Now that I am in Bible college, people simply just have to make it painfully clear that they are either 5 point Calvanist or 5 point Arminian.

I think it is some very shaky ground to be stood upon if we are putting all our eggs into one theologians basket, because no man is infalliable. Otherwise we create a kind of papacy that the above mentioned reformists were all against! I am not saying either that we should go around creating our own theology willy nilly, but rather that we find the security of our beliefs in Christ Jesus

"But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." ~ Galatians 6:14

Heaven Rejoices

This is a song I came across a long time ago, but I still love the lyrics today. We quite often sing songs about what we feel about God, but this is a song about how the writer thinks God feels about us, and I agree. I particularly like the line

I know my ways are hard to understand
But my plan is greater than you can imagine
Through all the darkness, I've never left your side

A new chapter

Isn't life amazing? It's amazing for a lot of reasons. It's mysterious, it's entropic, it's infinitely diverse, it's full of experience and feelings and depth. I love life, and I love the God who designed it. How amazing is our God who made all of this just for his names sake, and he lavishes this creativity upon us, his prize possesion of all His creation (Ps 8).

I have got to experience so much of that beauty over the last 24 years back home in Northern Ireland. Stuff like StreetReach, Queen's University, High Street Methodist, the Mourne mountains, stuff I will never forget. But it's a funny ol' world isn't it? And God in His grace has begun writing a new chapter for me to play a part in His story.

When I look at my life 5 years ago, and indeed even from just this time last year, it's almost unrecognisable. The people whom I am surrounded by, the things I dedicate my 'nine til five' to have completely changed, but I do not lament this fact. Of course I miss people, but I praise God that he is revealing his will to me in new ways every single day.

After a short flirtation with banking, I have finally decided to go England and train as a youth worker. It is a move surrounded entirely by faith as I have no clue how I am going to pay for it all! So if if any of you reading would like to commit that to prayer, it would be greatly appreciated! I should also give a mention to the East Africa stuff I was involved in over the summer (see previous posts). It seems we have poked the bear, and now God is opening up a whole stream of possibilty there, so watch this space!

This last year for me has definitely been the hardest and most painful of my life, but in my pain God has proven faithful and is rebuilding my heart into something He can use. And for those of you who are suffering, I want you to know that God has seen your pain, and His heart breaks with yours.

The same man that the winds and waves obeyed,
Is the same man who was the first one to know pain
Same man could keep control of everything
Same man knows more than me about suffering

28-30"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

working 9 to 5

As I wrap up my time with Northern Bank Ltd, I would like to say some things about the rat race that is the nine to five work culture. First of all I should say I have rather surprisingly enjoyed working for the bank. Beforehand I struggled with the idea of being trapped in a weekly routine commitment. However, I have enjoyed learning how to live in the professional world, and I have seen vast potential for God to work in this arena.

A lot can be said about the office. It's a lot like how my friend Donna puts it - like a "goldfish bowl". The dynamic/politics of it all can be at times complicated and intense. On the other hand, I can find the great beauty God intended for His creation in the diversity of the people I work with.

The common denominator I find with nearly all people is the desire for the weekend to come. Phrases like "I can not believe it's Monday", or "roll on Friday". Even during the day people watch every painstaking movement of the second hand on the clock, and it's this kind of living that moves me to frustration and then sorrow.

WHAT A WASTE

How much of your life do you want to have spent wishing away? Everytime you wish for it to be 5 oclock and then it comes, or wish for the weekend and then it passes, that is time you are never getting back. Oh how I wish people would realise that you can feel as much fulfilment in your life at 9am on a Wednesday morning as you can at 9pm on a Saturday night.

We need to see our daily routines as more than just going through the motions. We need to stop waiting for the weekends. In the end, what really all that special happens at the weekend? We need to stop waiting for something to happen in our lives. We only get to live it once, and we have got to make every second count.

How do we do this? We can work to the best of our abilities. We can purposefully bless those around us. We can be thankful for what we have, when there are plenty in the world who have a lot less. We can be the joy that we want to have in our lives. But more than this, we can make everything we do about our worship to our Creator. Not everyone believes in God, but if they would give it just one chance, to see that God came to give us life and life in its fullest (John 10:10) and not the nine to five monotony that we have become so familiar with in our lives.

He's desperate to give it to us, don't settle for anything less.

Student Loans

I can't decide if the student loan company is good or evil

It's good because you can take a huge loan, and it doesn't effect your credit rating for other borrowing. If you can't pay it back you don't. If you haven't paid it off within 20 years, your debt is forgiven. You can't default on any payments because it comes out of your wages before you get them. At the end of the day it's just glorified income tax.

It's evil because their rules are ridiculous. For example it discriminates against the middle class. If your parents earn less than a certain amount you get grants and fees paid for you. If you're parents are wealthy they can pay you through college. But if you're middle class, and you live in a family or 1, 2 or maybe even 3 siblings; your parents are expected to pay you through university with a minimal loan. This on top of having other children, a mortgage, and rising living costs to deal with, not to mention in this current climate - job insecurity!

Also if you're a second degree student, you can not get funding unless in special circumstances. What about the countless number of people who choose a degree when they're 18 and decide when they're done, or even worse when they don't even complete it, that the course leads to a path they do not want to pursue for their career. That is way too much pressure on someone not old enough to make a decision that will decide the path for the REST of their life. I mean how many 18 year olds really know what they want to do with their lives? Only a select few.

It leaves people feeling trapped and miserable in what they do. How many people aren't even using their degrees? Their should be more support for people who wish to retrain because often with a little bit of life experience they've found out what really drives them. This has been my experience, and if I have children I will be encouraging them to wait a few years after A Levels to try a few things, enjoy a bit of life, figure out what they're passionate about and then go for it.

Especially because there's big bursaries for those who are over 25, as they are considered "independant of their parents". What a pile of poppycock! So I'm living away from home permanently but just because I'm only 24 I'm still dependant on my parents?!

Another thing about all of this that bothers me is that 15 years ago, people were practically being paid to go to university. There was no such thing as the Student Loans company, because there was no need for one. The government was giving out grants practically saying "There you go son, go and get pissed for three years". Since then there's been tuition fees, top up fees, and now they're considering even doubling that.

I get it. I understand that universities need money to progress, but it's getting blind ridiculous. The only advantage to increased tuition fees will be that it will discourage people from taking on unnecessary degrees. There are too many degrees out there at the moment. The value of the degree has been cheapened. "I have a degree.....Oh who hasn't", which is a great shame.

/end rant

lip service

Everyone has pet hates, and one of my biggest ones is lip service. You know when people say something with their mouths, but you know it's a pile of bull, and they'll never follow through.

But there's a worse kind of lip service, the type when you actually believe what someone tells you, and you get disappointed or even hurt that they don't live up to their word.

I mean for goodness sake, don't say you'll do something if you never had any intention of making any kind of effort to follow it through. It's infinitely better to just be honest, so people know what to expect from each other.

As with all people in the hypocrites anonymous club, I have been guilty of my own pet hate.

my mate dave

Has anyone noticed that Dave is actually the most common name ever? You can actually walk into a room of people and exclaim "Dave!" and it's almost a dead-cert someone will react.

This post is about my friend Dave, whom I met camped beside the spar on botanic avenue on a freezing cold November night. I had just bought a new hat, that I was particularly fond of, and as I got chatting to him, he asked me if he could have my hat, and my heart was immediately endeared him.

As we shared with each other about our lives, mostly his, I could see a life of sorrow. His weather beaten face suggested years of being exposed to the elements, sleeping rough, and alchohol abuse. As I got to know him better I discovered that he had an amazing faith in Jesus Christ, and even more so that he writes hauntingly beautiful poetry about it. His faith brings him great joy in the midst of adversity.

Which makes me feel great shame. I'm not gonna do the whole "his faith puts us to shame" thing, but rather the churches inability to live out it's mandate given to us from Christ. That is to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to visit the prisoner. Why is a man like this who has such faith, on the streets? Why isn't the church doing it's job and taking in people like this? And this guy is a Christian, God help the unbelievers!

This guy even went to a church, that turned him away for his appearance, because they thought he looked like a "bum". I mean what? Have they not even read the Gospel? Jesus came to heal the sick, not the healthy! Is it too far to expect a Christian to invite people like Dave into their homes for a hot meal, even for a nights rest and a shower? Where does our responsibility end? Is it not up to the church to rehabilitate these people?

Anyway time passes by and I haven't seen Dave in a good few months. Don't know where he's been. On Saturday passed there I randomly decide after leaving some people off to the boat, that I wanna buy a hat from the Rusty Zip on Botanic Avenue. And yes, you guessed it, as I walked down the street, there was Dave sitting on that familiar spot beside the spar. I was so excited so see him, and I believe now, that it was no random act that I found myself there.

It turns out that Dave has pluracy on his lungs. He's in his 50's now, and with sleeping rough, and no one to take care of him, it's likely he's going to die someone soon. So he's decided to go to Edinburgh to see out the rest of his days in a place that he loves. I really hope he finds peace there. As he continued to share with me about his struggles with alcohol, his face lit up with joy in the knowledge that his faith covers his sin by the blood of the Lamb, and that someday real soon he is going to be redeemed with his maker.

His faith in an inspiration to me. One of his favourite sayings is "I have nothing yet I have everything, in the Lord". That is the kind of deep revelation one can only get by being close to the Father. It will be a sad day when he leaves this earth, and I believe the earth will notice his goodness missing. Please pray for Dave, for peace, for health, for his continued faith, for someone on this earth to love him.

I have another friend called Dave. He's just swanned off to East Africa for the indefinite future. He and his wife are wonderful people and I will miss them immensely, so please keep them in your thoughts too. There really is something about the name Dave!