This Girl still Just Wants to Have Fun

Today is the first day of the rest of my life! ~ but then again so is every single day! and to be honest there's nothing particularly special about today. For me it is day when I won't be working as I am taking the day off to get my hair done; something I haven't actually managed for nearly a year now, I opened the door this morning to the post man and realised that as my Mother would have said, I looked like the Wreck of the Hesperus. My hair was all over the place and has now got to the length when I either have to have it cut or join a 70s rock band.

None of this has anything to do with what I sat down to write about though, during my prolonged convalescence I have had little to do except sit round watching bad daytime TV ~ sure I did manage some playing but quite often the day after I did anything I was so washed out the next day would turn into a duvet day. Apart from getting fat, idle and unfit this also led to me drinking far too much ~ maybe not unlinked to the getting fat bit ~ I have realised that once again my relationship with alcohol is getting unhealthy. Rather than cut down I have once again decided to fast from booze for Lent.   For me Lent is very much a time to think about, and work on relationships, primarily my relationship with God, and my relationship with Earthly pleasures. Don't get me wrong! I still plan to have fun, but it's more about who is in control of these relationships, in both cases I fear they may have slipped in the wrong direction.

For some time I have been aware that I have been drinking too much, but thought I was OK, I could handle it ~ after all I wasn't drinking Vodka for breakfast! but it's more complicated than that, I have to ask myself am I really in charge of my relationship with Booze? can I still have fun without a drink? and am I damaging my other relationships through my drinking? By the end of Lent I will be able to answer these questions differently ~ I hope.

Lots of Christians will be giving stuff up for Lent, most Churches have a tradition in one form or another of fasting, and most will also be following Jesus' advise in Matthew 6:16

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

If one of your Christian friends who normally enjoys a chocolate biscuit, a drink or a slice of cake, please don't push them, they may just be fasting and don't really want to mention it, I will be trying to carry on as normal, just not carrying a pint of IPA.

I Believe; week six

The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting

When we say we believe in the resurrection of the body, are we thinking of our own body, the body of Jesus resurrected after the crucifixion, or maybe the body of the church?

"The resurrection of the flesh", the literal wording of the Apostles' Creed, means that besides our immortal soul, our "mortal body" will also return to life.

The resurrection of the dead has always been a central Christian belief. "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. But, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor 15:12-14).

In Jesus' time, the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead. At the same time, Jesus castigated the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection. "You are wrong. You know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God, for God is the ‘God of the living'" (Mk 12:24-27).

Even more important, Jesus joined the resurrection of the dead to his own person. "I am the Resurrection and the life" (Jn 11:25). He promised resurrection to those who eat his flesh and drink his blood (Jn 6:53-59). He raised people from the dead as a sign of his future Resurrection (even though his was of another order). He proclaimed the "sign of Jonah," that he would be raised after three days in the tomb (Mt 12:39). The apostles became "witnesses to the Resurrection" because "they ate and drank with Jesus after he rose form the dead" (Acts 10:41).

Faith in the Resurrection of the body has always met opposition. "On no point does the Christian faith encounter more opposition than on the Resurrection of the body" (St. Augustine).

At death, the human body decays. The soul goes to meet God while awaiting reunion with the body. God will definitely grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls. All will rise: "Those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment" (Jn 5:29).

This gift comes from Christ who "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body" (Phil 3:21). "The dead will be raised imperishable, for this mortal nature must put on immortality" (1 Cor 15:35-37). 

So maybe it will not be the actual physical bodies we live in here on earth, but a perfected body, like Adam’s before sin entered the world, a perfected new body to dwell in the perfected new Jerusalem.

 “With these final clauses of the Apostle's Creed, Christian commitment to life from the moment of conception is under-girded and Christian hope in the face of death, even death by violence, is affirmed.

On the one hand, the Creed implies that life in this body is of everlasting significance and therefore must be tended, guarded and nurtured. It braces us with the reality that no human being is discardable or neglectable. On the other hand, the Creed comforts us with the hope that life goes on beyond the bounds of this world.

Though we may fail to protect life here, that failure is not eternal. There is more life to come. The forgiveness we seek is grounded in the sacrifice of Christ once for all in the past and also in the future he has established where the consequences of even our worst actions will be resolved.

The resurrection of the body
Our belief in the resurrection of the body is very different from the idea that what makes us essentially human is our immortal souls, which continue after the body is discarded. Our gospel shocked the culture of Greek thought that prevailed during the years in which the New Testament was written. The body was understood to be a prison for the soul. The goal of spirituality was to slip the bonds of corrupt, weak flesh through developing the mind or enacting mystic rituals. So, the gospel seemed foolishness to educated Greeks. What kind of God would actually take up residence in a stinking human body? The resurrection of Jesus in his body seemed contrary to everything they believed about spirituality. Even granting that God had come to the world in a body, why would he ever keep that body after death?

In that culture, bodies were often burned after death. There was no need to honour or preserve what had been only a hindrance to true life. By contrast, Jews and Christians tenderly cared for the bodies of those who had died. This was not done with some naïve idea that only an intact, preserved corpse could be resurrected. Rather, it was a matter of honouring the body because we have our lives in an embodied existence. Though these bodies will be healed, vivified and transformed into something more splendid than we can imagine, they will yet be our bodies. We will not be airy spirits floating on clouds with harps. We will be more real, more substantial, than we have ever known.

In a passage that has been crucial to the theology of the resurrection of the body, Paul declared: "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself" (Phil. 3:20-21). We are going to be like Jesus. Jesus was raised and ascended in the same body in which he was crucified. Yes, he has been glorified and outfitted for heaven. But he has not forsaken his body. Because we are going to be like Jesus, we know that our bodies will likewise be transformed and decked out for life in glory.

With his usual clarity, C. S. Lewis writes:

"He goes "to prepare a place for us." This presumably means that He is about to create that whole new Nature which will provide the environment or conditions for His glorified humanity and, in Him, for ours.… It is the picture of a new human nature, and a new Nature in general, being brought into existence. We must, indeed, believe the risen body to be extremely different from the mortal body: but the existence, in that new state, of anything that could in any sense be described as "body" at all involves some sort of spatial relations and in the long run a whole new universe. That is the picture – not of unmaking but of remaking. The old field of space, time, matter, and the senses is to be weeded, dug and sown for a new crop. We may be tired of that old field: God is not”

Gerrit Scott Dawson ,

·        If our bodies are cremated they are totally destroyed, does that mean our bodies cannot be resurrected?

·        Should this effect our attitude to organ donation.?

·        Will I still be deaf in heaven?

I Believe; week five

This was of course written for general Church consumption, but this can be a difficult area for many LGBT+ people as we so often find ourselves rejected and ostracised by churches. I hope I make the point that this is not about any individual Church, definitely not about a particular denomination, but about the body of believers

5     I believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins.

A lot of protestants over the years have struggled with this bit, thinking that this was a reference to the Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the veneration of Saints, I have very carefully not used capital letters to emphasise that this is the all-inclusive body of believers referred to in Revelations.   So often John’s symbolism shows us that salvation is inclusive, that it is available to everyone who accepts Jesus as Saviour, we should consider ourselves all part of the same family of God, His church.

The church is portrayed as the wife of Christ, to be united in perfect harmony with him at the second coming, that is Christ will bring all believers (the Saints) to himself, in a closer and more intimate way than we can imagine.

Some people believe that Saints are special super spiritual Christians, those who have been used by God for remarkable acts of faith, and through whom He has worked miracles.   It is out of this belief that some Christians will venerate Saints, seeking an intermediary between themselves and God.    The Saints are in communion with God as they are already in Heaven.

Yet when Jesus was crucified the Temple curtain was split down the middle signifying that God (through Jesus’ sacrifice to serve the sentence for our sin), had now made himself accessible to all who acknowledge Jesus, further John refers often to believers as Saints in Revelation, the saints are the individual believers who collectively make up the church, the saints are in communion with each other through their shared faith, and in communion with the father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.

When his disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray one thing he encouraged them to ask to be forgiven, and for help in forgiving “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”  Not only should we accept the gift of forgiveness won by Jesus on the cross but in turn we need to practise forgiveness.   The whole point of Jesus self-sacrifice was that he should pay the price for our sin, therefore allowing us to be forgiven paying the penalty.   Once we have been forgiven for God it is as though we had never sinned.

God is without sin and totally Holy, so much so that we cannot approach Him in our sinful state, therefore it was essential if we are to be in continuous relationship with God that a solution be found to the problem of sin.   God knew that there was nothing we could do so He had to act.   The price for sin is death, that is not death in this world but eternal death, separation from God for eternity.   If we were to be reconciled to God that price had to be paid and God choose to pay the price through Jesus.   It is only through Jesus sacrifice that we are forgiven our sins and reconciled with God.   It is through His forgiveness that we can approach the throne, that our prayers can be heard, and that we can receive the Holy Spirit.

I believe, Week Four

I believe in the Holy Spirit

Although only getting one line within the creed this statement is a fundamental of Christian Faith.   It is through the Holy Spirit that God is active in the world.   It is the Holy Spirit who heals, who enables true worship, who teaches, who explains scripture.

To believe in the Holy Spirit is also to believe in the activity of the Holy Spirit.   The Holy Spirit is the bringer of gifts ~ the charismata ~

 

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Romans 12

⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

These gifts are given to us for the benefit of others.   “Gifts of the Spirit do not depend on natural talents and aptitudes or developed skills, though God gave you those, too. A gift of the Spirit is something that God gives for the purpose of building up others in a life of faith. It is the experience of Christians over the years that the spirit usually harnesses one's talents in the service of the purpose for which the gifts were given. Yet sometimes, the spiritual gifts seem to work against a person's natural endowment. This is, after all, the same God who led his people out of Egypt using a stammerer named Moses, made a shepherd boy/musician named David into a renowned warrior and king, and turned rural fishermen into leaders who left a mark on the course of history. There are examples everywhere of people who don't have training, aren't highly skilled, have no particular knack, but when the time comes for them to benefit others, the gift is there. The Spirit takes pleasure in surprises and on turning the tables on the expected. It's wise to leave ourselves open for such action. You can develop a talent, but the Spirit gives the gift it's meant to go with.” Robert Longman Jnr

The spirit also brings us fruit, the nine visible attributes of a true Christian life.  Throughout the Bible, righteous men are likened to trees, and Paul in Galatians 5 explains what fruit a righteous tree bears. Accordingly, these fruit are grown by those who have truly repented, or are truly followers of Jesus.   In John's account of the Gospel Jesus said, "These things I command you, that you love one another" John15:17 referred to as the New Commandment or the second greatest commandment. Paul illustrates with these attributes the kind of love that marks a true Christian life.

·        We pray to the Father and to the Son, the Holy Spirit is fully God should we pray to the Holy Spirit?

·        If we do not speak in tongues are we proper Christians?

·        As Christians should we still expect the Holy Spirit to be active, and bestowing his gifts today?

·        Are Paul’s lists of gifts exhaustive, or are there other gifts we might receive from the Holy Spirit?

·        How can we recognize these gifts in ourselves and in others?

·        Should we expect all Christians to show evidence of all the fruits of the Spirit?

~

It is also this statement that that emphasises the Trinity, later Creeds make a lot more of this as various heresies grew up denying the Christ as fully human, or as fully God, suggesting that the Holy Spirit was subservient, or indeed created by the Father.   This is how the fourth-century apologist and theologian Anathasius explained the Trinity, his teaching played an important role in defining and defending the orthodox doctrines of the Trinity and the person of Christ.

“Now this is the true Christian faith: We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being. For each person -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- is distinct, but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty. What the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy Spirit.

The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated; The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three who are eternal, but there is one who is eternal, just as they are not three who are uncreated, nor three who are infinite, but there is one who is uncreated and one who is infinite.

In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty. And yet they are not three who are almighty, but there is one who is almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord.

For just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually to be God and Lord, so the true Christian faith forbids us to speak of three Gods or three Lords. The Father is neither made not created, nor begotten of anyone. The Son is neither made nor created, but is begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.

And within this Trinity none comes before or after; none is greater or inferior, but all three persons are coequal and coeternal, so that in every way, as stated before, all three persons are to be worshiped as one God and one God worshiped as three persons. Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity.”

 

I Believe; week three

I have not felt much like posting this week ~ for many reasons which I will not be going into just now.  But I will continue with my Lent series, this was originally designed as a discussion course, feel free to use it as you will.

And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

These are the fundamental statements of who Jesus is and what he did for us.   The first and most important thing is that Jesus is the Christ, that he is the Son of God, equal with the Father in eternity, majesty and power.   John tells us that “In the beginning was the Word” in a clear reference to Jesus, as the instrument of creation, a creation he then entered in order to save it.

·        Born to the virgin Mary – this is an important statement of believe, believe that Jesus is the Messiah as prophesied in the old testament.   

·        Conceived through the Holy Spirit – because Mary was a virgin, but also emphasising that Jesus is fully God and fully Man, born of woman but miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit. 

·        Suffered under Pontius Pilot, why did a minor Governor of a minor state of the eastern empire get his name into the creed? This is not an exercise in placing blame but a way of placing the events securely in their historical setting.   The Romans were pretty good at keeping records and we know a lot about the Governorship of Pilot and his relationship with the peoples of Palestine.

·        Was Crucified, dead and buried ~ Jesus was really dead, He was not in a coma, he was not just body injured He was dead.   The Roman’s knew what they were doing when it came to killing, they were very good at it, and to make sure that the victims of this crucifixion were dead before the beginning of the Sabbath, the others had their legs broken ( in the situation of crucifixion this would have caused almost instant death through bone marrow entering the blood system, along with forcing all the weight to be supported through the extended arms)   Jesus was stabbed in the side, through several organs to ensure that He really was dead.   His blood was poured out in sacrifice, just like the sacrificial lambs on the alters of the Temple

·        He descended into hell ~ there has been a lot of conjecture over this did Satan have dominion over Christ between his death and resurrection? Did Christ minister to the dead, did He preach the good news in hell?   The words originally used are those common in classical language for the afterlife, rather than anything as specific as the Christian concept of a place of punishment.   This is further affirmation that Jesus was completely dead, experienced death the same way anyone fully human will, the difference is that as God he choose to die.

·        On the third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, ~ Since Jesus was fully dead it was through the Fathers authority and will that Jesus was resurrected.   This was not the spirit of Jesus returning, but his body brought back to life, after being three days dead, his spirit had left the body and had been with the dead but the Father brought them back together and gave the body fresh life.   There were several occasion when Jesus was seen by individuals or groups, he spoke with them he ate with them, taught them, then he returned to heaven and joined the Father.   

·        He ascended into heaven, whether this is symbolic or he literally rose up into the sky he returned to heaven without dyeing again.   I was Jesus’ living body that rose into heaven until it was obscured from the sight of the disciples, this means that Jesus human body has now been incorporated into the Godhead.   It is in this body that Jesus will return, at a time unknown but in a way that we will all recognize.

·        and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. ~ The right hand is the place of honour, given by the host to the most important person present, the Father chooses to honour the son, above all else.   The Father has also given Jesus all authority, he and he alone shall sit in judgement, he and he alone has been found worthy to judge all of humanity

"You are worthy to take the scroll

And to open it’s seals

Because you were slain,

And with your blood you purchased

Men for God” rev.5:9

Jesus will Judge all, all those who have already died and those who are still alive at the time the Father has appointed.

When we say we believe in Jesus Christ are we fully relying on him

I Believe; Week two.

2 . I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth

This is the fundamental statement from which all others lead, without this basic belief in the Creator God, the Father of all things, Almighty powerful beyond our imagining all the rest are just stories.   This needs to come at the beginning of any statement of faith, just as the whole Bible starts with the basic statement “In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth”   

This shows the essential truth that God is independent of creation, existing before any physical matter, before the beginning of time or the universe, God was.   The existence of God the Father is the foundation of all that is created, He made it out of nothing, it is through His will all the things in the heavens and on earth are, they exist through His creative act, and they have no power over, or against Him.   He is almighty.

The creator God revealed in Genesis is very different to the pagan gods, those gods would struggle with creation, attempting to shape it, contending for control over chaos.   The God if the Bible is different, through His sovereignty He creates matter and without struggle or difficulty shapes it to His will.

1.  Do we have to be creationists to believe in the creator God?

2.  Why do we call Him the Father?

3.  We seek to be in relationship with the Creator God, what does this mean for the relationship we have with his creation?

As I have said before this was designed as a discussion course, to ask questions rather than provide answers, for me that first question was a Biggy! When I first became a Christian I could not reconcile my basic scientific understanding with a literal reading of the beginning of Genesis. I think I have now understood what God is telling us through those verses, but that would make a very long post, maybe something I could come back to another day.   For me the answer is no, but I do know people for whom it is an essential to believe that every word of the Bible is not only true, but (quite different) accurate.

Fast Action

So two days into my Lenten fast and I'm already getting innovative, last night I had failed to plan what I was going to eat, and of course I know that failing to plan equals planning to fail; but I had laid in a decent stock of supplies appropriate for my new meat free diet.

I have some frozen vegetable lasagnes, cauliflower cheese grills (I really like these!) mushrooms leeks onions and of course a good stock of rice, pasta, couscous and all sorts.   I had also bought myself some oats to make some flapjacks when I get a chance.   Having had a late lunch it was a bit late when I realised that I needed to get myself something and I had little inclination to spend much time. I looked at what I had and started wondering ~~~~~ wondering about mushroom porridge!

The oats were left on the work surface next to the mushrooms and sort of thought, if Heston can do snail porridge why not mushroom porridge!   At first I thought I was going mad but the more I thought about it the better I thought the idea, a little research and I came up with this recipe from The Food Medic

SAVOURY LEEK AND MUSHROOM PORRIDGE

Serves: 1 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

·         40g of porridge oats

·         175-200ml of water or milk*

·         1 free range egg

·         handful of kale, washed

·         handful of mushrooms, sliced

·         1/2 leek, sliced

·         30g of feta (optional)

·         ½ teaspoon dried thyme

·         Pinch of salt and pepper

·         Splash of olive oil or 1/2 TBSP of butter

Instructions

1.      Fry the mushrooms and the leek in olive oil or butter in a small frying pan over medium heat for 5 minutes until soft. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

2.     Place the oats and the milk or water in a pan over a medium heat. Add a tiny pinch of salt and stir with a wooden spoon. Bring to a steady simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring every so often to prevent it from cooking too quickly.

3.     Reduce the heat and crack the egg into the oats, stirring until combined. Add the kale, mushrooms, leek, and thyme, and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.  If you like your porridge runnier, simply add a splash more milk or water until you’ve got the consistency you like.

4.     Spoon the mixture into a bowl and crumble feta on top if using. Serve immediately.

Well I actually used half and half milk and water, cheddar instead of feta and I didn't have any Kale or anything to use instead, I still went ahead and gave it a whirl.

I'm not at all sure that it was a total success, indeed I don't think I will be repeating the exercise I felt it lacked piquancy and could have benefited from more contrast in texture, but I'm glad I tried.   I will be looking forward to a mushroom pasta tonight and leek risotto tomorrow. Maybe I'm missing some of the point and shouldn't really be enjoying my fast ~ after all it is meant to be sacrificial.

Decision made,

Today is Shrove Tuesday

I have made a decision

I am going to fast

I will be giving up meat for Lent! For me this will not be easy, it will be sacrificial and it will be challenging. I am quite sure I will still eat well, but I will have to think more about what I am eating and why I am not eating as normal, why I am choosing this form of self denial, and imposing this level of self control.   Because of this I will be following some traditional Shrove Tuesday practises, I will be feasting today, in order to get all the meat out of the kitchen ~ actually since I have about five meat meals in the freezer I think they can stay there, and I'll just finish up the bacon for lunch.

I will also be starting another series, a few years ago I put together a lent course on the Creed, each week I will post a part of this course, please feel free to discuss, share use or ignore as you choose. I am choosing to fast, I am choosing to share my faith, because Christ choose me, He choose self sacrifice in order to allow me access to the Father, that I could share in His holiness, He life and His inheritance ~ I suppose that not eating meat for a while is the least I can do.