Jesus is the Word of God
This year UCCF reckon there'll be 100 university missions reaching over 30 000 students.
Andy and I talk over a day in the life of a university mission.
We discuss the use of the UNCOVER Luke’s gospels and shamelessly rip off Michael Ots’ website, and in particular his Definitive_Mission_
Given freedom and a throne in a world full of trouble.
Grasping ease and control in a me-sized bubble.
#humanity
Our rebellion began with abdication.
Our submission ends in enthronement.
When our champion wins, we celebrate. Thank God we have the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1Cor15:57) #EnjoyYourDay
Preachers: Remember Jesus came to set us free. Liberate your people
'Chance would be a fine thing' - Heisenberg.
'Chants'll be a fine thing' - Pope Gregory.
'Chancel be a fine thing' - Christopher Wren
Today the Father & Son are working hard to bring the Spirit's life, hope & dignity to a lost world. (John5:17) #EnjoyYourDay
- Sometimes hindsight is 0-0
- Why?
- No idea
- Sometimes hindsight is O-O
- Why?
- Cos she's doe-eyed
Jesus does not hit “Snooze” on your sins, to revisit them later. He’s hit “Dismiss”, once and for all. #EnjoyYourDay
The 1st rule of Barth Club is: You ought to speak of Barth club. The 2nd rule of Barth club: You are human so u cannot speak of Barth Club
Of course it's tricky getting in touch with Barth Club. There's no point of contact.
All that harms & perverts comes from a defeated enemy. Your victorious Friend brings fullness & life: even through this harm. #EnjoyYourDay
Heard in a prayer meeting this morning: "Release people from thinking they've let You down God. They were never holding you up."
When baking, every Mel needs a Sous. Complements to the chef.
<< Even if you don't understand it, RTs will make you seem clever ;-)
Don't [Google yourself] or u may hear [bloggers] cursing u. For u know in yr heart that many times u have [blogged against] others. Ecc7:21
Father, Son & Spirit means Fullness, Poured-out & Poured-in. Thus Divine Fullness is Poured-out for you and Poured-in to you. #EnjoyYourDay
Just spotted @MichaelVaughan at a train station. My nod perfectly conveyed 12-1. His was a chastened 'fair play'. Or so it seemed to me
Pelagius has all the best tunes
You have nothing to bring God but weakness & failure. But this just what He accepts through Jesus our Saviour. #EnjoyYourDay
That lead to these conversations with atheists...
MT “@amylevy_: At 10:43 this morning I met Elijiah Wood in starbucks in town.” I went too but couldn't see the Wood for the teas :(
@amylevy_ Dont encourage my Elijah Wood punning. It's a bad hobbit
Whatever you’ve done this weekend, whatever you will do this week, God’s love is as free as the sunshine. (Matt 5:45) #EnjoyYourDay
He’s magnetic, heroic & this world’s true Champion. He knows you by name, prays 4u constantly & longs to see you face to face. #EnjoyYourDay
Christians have a major problem with suffering. Rather than solve it, we invite the world to share our problem. After all God did.
“His name is the happy God, and nothing gives him greater happiness than to give happiness to his creatures.” (Spurgeon) #EnjoyYourDay
Available, Life-giving, Devoured by the world, Broken for you: Jesus is the Bread of life. #EnjoyYourDay..
The blood of Jesus turns away wrath, purifies from sin, cleanses yr conscience, brings u near 2 God & speaks in yr defence #EnjoyYourDay
The Lord says “Come!” Your only qualification is thirst. Isaiah 55:1-3; John 7:37-38; Rev 22:17 #EnjoyYourDay
Why has Christ been appointed Head over everything? For the church. For you! (Eph 1:22) #EnjoyYourDay
Which led to this interaction with an atheist...
Jesus doesn’t just give u a fresh start. He IS the Beginning (Col 1:18) All things are eternally new in Him. U especially. #EnjoyYourDay
Do not forget to wrestle strangers for by so doing some have wrestled angels unawares. #ScriptureInterpretsScripture
God's salvation is not "beam me up." It's "share and share alike".
Through Jesus your sins are covered, carried and cancelled (Psalm 32:1-2). #EnjoyYourDay
Anger is about exclusion & exposure. I hate to be blocked & I hate to be bared. Anger says "Don't stand against me" & "Don't stare at me"
All anger is righteous. But most is self-righteous.
“I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:27). By His Spirit He is still among us. By His Spirit He still serves. #EnjoyYourDay
The greatest saint needs the blood of God. The worst sinner can claim the blood of God. We all stand forgiven at the cross #EnjoyYourDay
I don't have it in me to be a Christian. Thank God Christ has it in Him.
Some Philomena Cunk goodness from Screen Wipe
UCCF estimate that 30 000 students this year will be reached through 100 CU missions.
In this podcast I talk about last week's mission to Edinburgh Napier University and Andy and I start to talk about student missions more broadly. More to follow in next week's episode.
When the Sun of Righteousness rises to banish the darkness, He will have two distinct effects.
To those with an organic connection to Christ, it means warming, life-giving rays.
To those disconnected to Christ, it means their shriveling as the lifeless branches they are - making them fit only for the furnace.
Same Sun, two different effects.
To the believer it is the sunshine of eternal love. To the unbeliever it is the furnace of God's righteousness.
Therefore the whole world is summoned to find healing in Christ's wings.
I was recently asked the old question: "But if the Christian is in Christ securely and unconditionally, why be good?"
Any number of counter-questions might be appropriate:
Is fear of punishment the only reason we can imagine for moral choices?
Isn't unconditional love most likely to elicit good living?
Why is being good the ultimate arbiter here (rather than the question of my relationship to God)?
But as we spoke it seemed clear to me that the big misconception behind it all was a view that says: The Christian life is really, really, really hard and the only reason to live it is because there are other, basically unrelated, spiritual rewards. Take away these carrots and sticks and of course you'll sin. Because, you know, sin is really great. It's so great that God has to threaten us with hell to stop us having fun. Offer free grace and there'll be pandemonium.
As though the way of Jesus is stifling.
As though sin is life-giving.
As though God's a cosmic kill-joy.
As though only eternal damnation balances the scales enough to make Christianity the clever choice.
As though the Christian life is so horrible, we need harsh sanctions to remain in it.
As though Jesus said "Toughen up people. My yoke is hard, but hell is harder."
But what if knowing Christ Himself is the centre of the Christian life rather than sin management? And what if Jesus really brings life and sin only brings death? What if Christ's yoke really is the easy one - the only one that properly fits? What if being good is just really, you know, good? And what if you don't have to dangle people's feet over the pit to get them to behave? What then?
Well you tell the believer "You're in Christ, securely and unconditionally, so why be bad?"
Must you evangelise? Well that depends on what kind of "must" we're talking about.
Take financial giving as an example. Must we give money to the cause of the gospel? Well, remember that both Moses and Paul insist you give freely and not under compulsion for 'God loves a cheerful giver.' (Exodus 35; 2 Corinthians 9). It's the same with mission. It shouldn't be done reluctantly and from compulsion for God loves a cheerful evangelist.
I remember watching Brene Brown's famous TED Talk a couple of years ago on the Power of Vulnerability and thinking 'you are not far from the kingdom.' As she speaks of our crazy desire to cover our vulnerability, numb it, shut down and blame others she could have been narrating Genesis 3.
Her talk of our need for a sense of "worthiness" probably needs translating into our need for a sense of "unconditional welcome" (in spite of our sin). But with that translation in mind it's a powerful analysis of our human condition.
Well it seems like the same breakdown she speaks of in the TED Talk also brought her to the Lord. She speaks with a lot of wisdom here:
Here's my conversation today with a taxi driver called Luke. I wrote it down about as soon as I finished speaking to him, so I've remembered it pretty much as it happened...
- Do you like working Sundays? Bit quieter right?
Absolutely. Saturday night is something else though!
- Yeah? What happened last night?
Oh, well... Actually I got a call at midnight. My friend drank himself into a near coma last night. He was rushed to hospital.
- Oh no. Is he alright now?
Not really. He has stage 4 Hodgkin's disease and time is running out. He should have been dead already really. He used to be a full on Christian but he lost his faith and now he's hit the bottle hard.
- Oh man. I'm a Christian minister actually. I'm on my way to Edinburgh to speak about a few things - including God and suffering.
You're a Christian??
- Yeah. I speak about God and suffering all the time. One of the things I always say is, if you get rid of God, you've still got the suffering, but now you're on your own.
Yeah, hitting the bottle has not been the answer. So you're a vicar? I'm not religious myself. No, I reckon I'm going to hell, haha.
- But there's no need! No-one ever needs to go to hell. That's the whole point of Jesus.
Yeah but I was a real fighter as a youth. I've done a lot of... I guess you could call them sins.
- Well that's good cos only sinners go to heaven.
Only SINNERS go to heaven? Wait. Sinners go to heaven?
- ONLY sinners. One of Jesus' most famous sayings is "It's not the healthy who need a doctor, it's the sick. I haven't come for righteous people I've come for sinners." Doctors don't want you to pretend you're healthy, you need to admit you're sick.
That makes sense actually. Haha... There were a couple of Christians in my cab a while back, they kept going on about how my name was the name of a guy in the bible. They said there's a book of the bible called Luke, is that right? They said they were going to send it to me. Still haven't sent it though.
[About 3 minutes earlier I had taken a copy of Luke's Gospel out of my bag, ready to give him. I place it on the dashboard of the car underneath the satnav.]
- Luke, I'll give you one guess what this book is?
You're joking! Is that the Luke book?
- Yep. And here's the thing. When I packed my bag on Friday I put Luke's Gospel in it praying that God would give me an opportunity to give it to someone.
- No way! This is what those Christians were going to send me??
- Yep. I reckon God wants you to read it, don't you?
I'm not religious but I like reading spiritual things. I'll definitely read that.
- Great, well it starts with the Christmas story - Jesus' birth and all that - and then follows him as he grows up. I became a Christian when I read that book, so I'd watch out if I were you.
Haha - I'll definitely read it. I'll definitely read it. And if I become a Christian I'll blame you.
- Haha, I think we've just seen this is out of both of our hands!
So pray. And carry gospels.
The Best of Moss (IT Crowd)
And Some Big Train
