revmusings

I believe that you, God, speak into people's lives - that through a myriad of means we can learn more of you, of you love and mercy towards the world, your dep yearning to reconcile all the world to you. As your covenant people we have access to Scripture, to Jesus, to the power of the Holy Spirit - all pointing us to you and aiding us in our sanctification and transformation.

So how is it that different church can listen to the same scriptures, know your Son and his scarifice, have the same Holy Spirit in us and yet turn out so differently! Some turn in on themselves, only caring about their own (and sometimes not even them) and their needs whilst another turns outwards, their only concern to be so transformed and so used that the world might come to believe in you and your saving grace?

Where does it all go so wrong? A bad minister, a bad leadership, a bad experience, the surrounding culture? Or are all these just excuses for our own sinfulness, our own refusal to be transformed and to challenge others to be transformed too? So often as Christians our niceness means we don't challenge poor behaviour or actions in ourselves or others. Mutual accountability is absent from our churches.

So what should happen to the churches that have turned inwards - should they be left to die so scare resources can be channelled more effectively - or should we never give up on them, trusting in your awesome ability to use even the most weak or sinful of people - me included?

You might have thought Susan Boyle vs Diversity was a veritable clash of the titans in TV talent show terms, but the winner of Ukraine's Got Talent makes both of them look like lightweights.

Kseniya Simonova's heart-wrenching sand painting set to music provoked tears of emotion as it depicted the invasion of Ukraine by Germany in World War Two - showing peaceful scenes engulfed by death and destruction and ending with the message "you are always near".

She's rumoured to be coming to Britain soon, but check out the amazing video right now...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=518XP8prwZo

Its great when a plan comes together but when it comes together and you haven't planned it it is even better! I  finished my series on 1 Corinthians with cghapter 15 and the soaring words about the resurrection and its implications for us. In the children's slot I was talking about waiting, waiting for God to returnand what we should be doing as we wait  - i had set a timer for 3 mins and asked if I could finish my talk in that time - people doubted it.

Anyway I carried on talking and said although we've been waiting for 2 thousand years Jesus could return NOW!

At that very moment the timer went off!

I couldn't have timed it better if I had tried!