God is

God is, He is as He is in Jesus, so there is hope

In February, 1984 Downing Street announced the name of the Bishop of Durham elect. He was Professor David Jenkins of Leeds University. This was to be a time when the new Bishop of Durham was to be severely criticised as a "doubting Bishop". He had, before the announcement of his appointment, been interviewed for a BBC programme, Credo. He had been asked to discuss current mainstream theology.

In order to achieve a baseline he initially dealt with the interpretation of the Resurrection stories, the symbolic and mythological nature of the story of the Virgin Birth and the existence of miracle stories in all religious traditions. In his book, "Free to Believe" he said later, "As I understood it, I was merely trying to clear unnecessary obstacles out of the way in order to get on to discussing the real issues of living in faith today. All the points I made were in the mainstream of Christian theological discussion and had been so for over seventy years."
In other words, if any other mainstream theologian had sat in his seat the discussion would have gone much the same way. Only because he had been appointed Bishop of Durham did the press pick up on the Credo programme. To top it all, three days after his consecration in York Minster there was a serious fire in the South Transept. "Is this God’s response to the consecration?" was the question posed by the press. Only bad news and controversial news is good news for the press and on they went reporting on lots of angles on the event.

Theologians and many others in the mainstream of belief generally doubt the Virgin Birth. The facts of the Resurrection are regularly doubted by the most ardent Christians. There are many doubts cast concerning the birth of Jesus narrative. Yet these doubts do not for a second diminish the personal faith of those who express them. The former Bishop of Durham has a strong personal faith in a risen, living Jesus. Other leading scholars express doubts and most students for the ministry learn at college of the doubts surrounding what the Bible says. But none of this lessens the status and stature of the Bible. None of this lessens Jesus in the hearts of those who lecture on theology.

But let me digress to a story told by David Jenkins which is the reason for this posting. Jenkins had been often told that his sentences were too long. Once, when lecturing to some students, one of the class came to him and asked him to sum up what he had been saying. At the beginning of the next lecture David Jenkins told his class what he had been saying previously. He had reduced it and reduced it until thirteen words were before him. These were as follows: "God is, he is as he is in Jesus, so there is hope."

For me these do what David Jenkins intends them to do. He said, "These sentences are what I would call signposts into belief. The central point is that they emphasise that all faith starts from the reality of God. The question is, how do you get on to that reality?" These are the words of a scholarly Christian whose life and belief is centered in Christ.

The sentence challenges the preacher to use them as the basis of a three point sermon. So, firstly we have "God is". This has been accepted as truth since long before Christianity. From night classes in Archaeology I remember learning about pre history people being aware of a great creative force that controlled their successful activities as hunter gatherers and later as settled farmers. We Christians call that force, God. "He is as He is in Jesus" leads us to speak about personal experience which has confirmed for us where we stand and what is, for us, the nearest thing to a picture of God. That picture is seen in the ministry and teaching of Jesus. That Jesus was an exceptional man is not in doubt. The only debate is about whether that exceptional person is the incarnation of God. Christians have a firm belief that this is true. They see a constant reflection of the Father in the Son both from scripture and personal faith and experience. "So there is hope" is the conclusion we come to, having accepted the previous statements. To accept the three in one statement involves faith, hope and love. I am not speaking of blind faith but of faith in something we see, in the words of St Paul, "through a glass dimly." Hope is something that children can teach adults about. They are great on hope and see it in very simple terms. It is we who complicate matters. Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, unless you turn round and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.

We adults complicate everything in our lives. If only we would simplify what concerns us we should be able to move on in faith. The fact is that the Christian faith is a very simple thing in essence. It is based on love which we emulate in Jesus. The whole of our life is a learning experience. We never reach a point where we know all we need to know and then call ourselves equipped to manage alone. Christians in community are constantly helping each other to solve the problems which arise. We are constantly showing each other the way forward or, as the Bible puts it, "The Holy way."

Whatever we learn we pass on to others. It is the most natural thing in the world. We share our lives and our faith, thus showing others the value of looking for Jesus in order to make sense of life. Christians everywhere know the truth, that "God is, He is as He is in Jesus, so there is hope. What we then do is pass on this knowledge to others, that their lives might take on greater purpose through the acceptance of God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Way to Go

The Temptations of Jesus

In the fourth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel we have the story of the Temptation of Jesus. It tells us that the whole experience lasted 40 days during which Jesus ate nothing.

This was the point at which Jesus got down to the final planning of his ministry. There were many ways in which Jesus could have tackled the task he had to complete. This story shows what lay beneath the way on which he decided. What the devil said to him during his wilderness period tells us what ways Jesus rejected. The narrative tells us also something about Jesus from the decisions he took. It starts to paint a true picture of the Messiah. It turned out to be a picture quite unlike what the Israelites imagined for their Messiah. Later in the narrative there would be further clues to reinforce what we find in Matthew Chapter 4.

These were the three temptations:

Turn stones into bread.
Jump from the parapet of the Temple and land safely.
Follow Satan or make a compromise.

The first is a temptation to deal with his great hunger after having nothing to eat for 40 days and nights. Because he was the Son of God and had great power he could have done a conjuring trick with the stones that littered the wilderness and had bread to eat. This Jesus turned down. He could have begun his ministry with conjuring tricks to amaze and amuse the crowds. They would have come from far and wide to see wonderful tricks such as he could do with his special power.

But tricks like he could, in truth, perform, would not have been the sort of thing which would have given true satisfaction to those who he had to influence. Very soon they would have been debating how he did the tricks, formulating their own theories and dismissing the whole thing as worthless. Such an approach would also devalue peoples’ perception of God. So he decided against such an approach. When he did he said, "Man is not to live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." In other words humans were to remain listening out for what God wanted, not simply having plenty to eat. What God had to say would sustain the spirit whereas bread can only sustain the body.

The second way would have been to throw himself off the top of the Temple to be caught by the angels. Now that would impress the crowds, and no mistake. But here again it would have been only a temporary affair. They would flock to the Temple to see a death-defying leap but if he did this sort of thing all the time they would become bored and lose interest. We can be sure of this by remembering what happened following the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. At first it was fantastic. But later on we would hear "Been there, done that, worn the T Shirt." So circus stunts would not last long and the Gospel had to last for the whole of time.

He could have changed sponsors and done what Satan wanted him to do. It would have had power but would have been the wrong sort of power. Satan could offer nothing which could have led to the salvation of human beings. In other words, we discover the shallowness and evil side to Satan, to the powers of evil in the world. There is no power worth having there.

So Jesus rejected all three temptations in favour of the patient, persistent, way of love. Love would be able to conquer every obstacle eventually. It would be hard and sometimes almost impossible, but ultimately it would work and show itself to be the best way. Jesus had only three years available to him to set the whole new start for God moving. He had to choose a way that would be sustainable. The lesson of history has shown the worth of the way Jesus chose.

Jesus having decided on this effective way, it is now our turn to make a decision. Will we go for one of the temptations or will we follow Jesus in the same way he took? This is the only way that will work. It is the only way which leads ultimately to the throne of God. Remember how, in the Gospels, we hear that when Jesus died on the Cross the curtain in the Temple was torn in two? This was to show symbolically that the way to God was now wide open to all of us. The way leads through the crucified Jesus who gave up his life so that we could find the way to God.

With this in our heads it makes it more sensible to follow the way adopted by Jesus. Have you ever thought why Christians are called "followers of Jesus?" It is because we follow him along the same road in life. We opt for him and he leads the way into eternity. This is good news for us all. We have a Saviour and a guide to show us the only way worth following. We follow Jesus by behaving as we believe he would have us behave. Our lives are not easier because we are Christians. We face the same problems as others but some problems are solved in a different way. Instead of looking for quick temporary fixes we go for the longer way that is based on love and what we believe we are called to do by Jesus. We know, by faith, that it will work out and we shall arrive safely at the throne of God.

Faith, hope and love are great things to have but we bank everything we have on love because Jesus has showed us that it works every time. It requires the patience of Job to get through. It sometimes takes a sacrifice to get through. It can also involve taking a fearful route, but we have Jesus with us all the way. We may get frightened but we are never wiped out because he is with us always, even to the end of the world. Our faith as followers of Jesus tells us we shall get there.

See here

Seeing Jesus

After the birth of Jesus certain ceremonies had to be observed. There was purification and also circumcision. In addition his parents had, by Jewish law, to present him at the Temple. There was a man in the Temple who had been told by the Holt Spirit that he would see the promised Messiah before he died. On this day he entered the Temple, knowing he was just about to meet Jesus. He took him in his arms and was happy that he had lived to see the child. It was what his life had been for.

Simeon, for this was his name, had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen God’s Messiah. This day he got up with a special feeling. Surely, this was the day! It was indeed. As he entered the Temple his eye fell on a young couple with a baby and he just knew the baby was the one he was to see before he died. It was the culmination of his life. Now he could say he was ready to go when God called him. Seeing Jesus was the most important experience in his life.

Many years later a young zealous Pharisee was to experience a similar event in his life. It would be a true turning point because he would suddenly turn and do the opposite of what he had done so far. Saul of Tarsus was enraged at the activities of those who followed this so called prophet, Jesus. They were going about telling all who listened that, even after he was dead, Jesus could make an amazing difference to their lives. And, what is more, they believed them and started to to praise Jesus as the Son of God. Saul wasn’t having this. He started out as a Christian hunter and brought back to Jerusalem all who professed to follow Jesus.

One day he set off with his servants to Damascus because he heard there were Christians at work there. But on the road he encountered an electrical storm with lightning that blinded him and three him to the ground. Then he heard a vice speaking to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" He was very afraid when he heard the voice and replied, "Who are you, Lord?" He was not sure but he knew that a voice coming from a thunderstorm was very important. So he called him, Lord. Jesus then identified himself and began to tell Saul what plans God had in store for Saul. He was amazed to hear that God was calling him to follow Jesus and take the Gospel message to those in the world who were not Jewish.

It is a truly amazing story because it reminds us that, if necessary, even an enemy of Jesus can be turned round into a force for good. Like Simeon in the Temple, Saul had met Jesus and suddenly knew what his life was meant to be. This is how it is with everyone who meets Jesus. Don’t, for one moment, think that all the people who you see attending church each Sunday have found him. Many of them are still on the journey, seeking him. They are so faithful that they believe that one day they will make this great discovery. So they keep coming.

But then, not always does a person run across Jesus in a church. A church is where we worship Jesus but he does not live there, exclusive of all other places. You might be walking by a river, lost in thought, and suddenly find him there. It might be that you are out shopping and meet him in the market place, or in a shop. No single place gets exclusives rights to possess Jesus.
The day I first began to see what my life was for I was sitting in a church, listening to an eminent preacher and suddenly, in the pulpit, stood another whose outline shone like the Sun. I had found Jesus! It wasn’t that I had made an appointment. It wasn’t that I had been told he would be there. He just was, and it made all the difference.

Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, a World War One padre, wrote this poem:

I lost my Lord and sought Him long,
I journeyed far, and cried
His name to every wandering wind,
But still my Lord did hide.

I sought Him in the stately shrines,
Where priest and people pray,
But empty went my spirit in
And empty turned away.

I sought him where the Doctors meet
To turn deep questions o’er,
But every answer tempted me
To ask one question more.

I sought him where the hermit kneels
And tells his beads of pain.
I found Him with some children here
In this green Devon lane.

It is like this. If you are seeking an answer as to how one gets through life then Jesus is that answer. But you need to seek him out. If you feel too uncomfortable to enter a church just find someone who is a Christian and ask them to introduce you to Jesus. You may be able to find him through this blog or a particular website. He is anywhere you want to be. Just reach out and feel him touch you. A woman with hemorrhages once thought she could get a cure by just touching his robe. It worked and her life was changed forever. After you find Jesus things will never be the same. You will never be able to say he doesn’t exist because the evidence says you have met him. John Wesley underwent this experience of meeting Jesus and afterwards said how his heart was "strangely warmed."

Jesus says "Come to me". Approach him with confidence and you will never be the same again. But there is just one thing – after your training period, you too will have to tell others about him. Each one of us is relied upon to tell the stories of Jesus to others. This is why I wrote this short message for you.

"Good news, you guys!"

Jesus is a Threat
After his birth Joseph and Mary took Jesus away from the danger that King Herod posed. They had been warned that Herod was sending soldiers to kill all male babies of the same age in order that there should be no threat on the part of Jesus.

Even as young as a babe in arms Jesus was considered to have power. His birth had been celebrated by the Wise Men as a world changing birth of a king. This child of Bethlehem could have arisen against Herod and taken his throne eventually. Herod was scared of losing his position so he took no chances and had all those young boys murdered in order to be sure he had wiped out the threat of Jesus.

Even in the 21st century Jesus still poses a threat. He is a threat to those who rule by fear. Earlier in the 20th century he was seen as a threat by the Communists of the USSR. So the various leaders had most of the churches demolished or used for a different purpose. They thought that because there were now very few churches in which people could worship the Christian religion would die. Many years later we witnessed the Christian church suddenly increase again as the communists were replaced.

This was repeated all over Eastern Europe as the "Iron Curtain" was torn down. In many cases it was the Christians who spearheaded the moves to replace communist governments. Once again, the political leaders thought they could overwhelm Christianity for good. But Jesus was not dead and could rely on his silent followers to come out and declare him Lord.

The Nazis experienced the opposition of men like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, so they imprisoned them. Even though they eventually executed Bonhoeffer they could not extinguish Christianity and its opposition to them. Other regimes have arisen and tried to sweep away the followers of Jesus without ultimate success. Each time they have tried to block Christianity their efforts have failed. Iron Curtains and Berlin walls cannot restrain the power of the risen Jesus.

You too may think you can blank Jesus out of your life, but you cannot. But why would you want to do this? Could it be because you know his words are true and powerful? Is it because he is always there to haunt you when you are doing just what you please? Is it because he acts as a sort of conscience, challenging you when you do wrong?

Many parents come to church to have their children baptised and have no intention of returning to worship God each following Sunday. So why do they come? Could it be some sort of insurance policy taken out just in case Jesus really is alive in the current age? People come to have their loved ones laid to rest or cremated. Is this another insurance policy in case there really is a life beyond death? Do they come just to cover all bets?

It all tells me that Jesus still poses a threat to people in this supposedly Godless society. Currently religion and aspects of Christianity are very popular degree course subjects. Against a background of closing churches and dwindling congregations this is a strange state of affairs.

The fact is that Jesus does threaten society. People today still crave all the expensive alternatives provided by the acquisitive society. Four wheel drive cars, playstations, x boxes, mp3 players, mobile phone cameras are things that will have sold well together with fashionable clothes and jewellery this Christmas. Even Christmas that everyone looked forward to this year has now gone into the history books. Nothing lasts forever. There is nothing in this world that can sustain a person forever. But there is Jesus. He can sustain you as long as you live. He can walk with you all your days.

Remember the days when everything has appeared to fall apart. What has been the result? You have suddenly known who were your friends. Jesus stands in the same place. When you are slapped down he is there to lift you back up. When you run out of stamina he can give you a burst of energy. When you feel alone there is a friend standing by you. How he does it is through the actions of others who see your need and respond to it. If you feel alone in the world, stretch out your hand and the hand that grips you was put there by Jesus.

The difficult part is that he provides no guarantee against difficulty and hardship. You have to endure whatever the experience is. The difference is that you find the strength to continue through Jesus. When things are going badly, when they appear to have sunk to an all time low there is always someone who comes to you and gives you a helping hand. It restores your faith in humanity. But humanity is inspired by God through the power of the Holy Spirit. So really your faith in humanity is faith in God, though you do not realise this.

To Christians God is the great sustainer throughout life. He keeps us going when the traction is lost. We do not experience an easier life through faith in God. We go through the same experience as others. But the fact is that God makes a difference. In the early stages of being without a minister a church was visited by the Synod Moderator. His words of encouragement were: "The minister has gone, but Jesus is here."

This is the difference. When we seem lost we suddenly find ourselves through Jesus. If you have not made the discovery that he is alive in you then you have a wonderful discovery to make. These days with modern scholarship pointing out the errors in what was once thought to be eternal truth it is easy to find oneself doubting the existence of God. For instance, if there were to be found bones which were positively identified as those of Jesus, do you think this would be the end of Christianity? No, it would not be the end, because we have a warm feeling inside which reminds us that Jesus is alive within us. That feeling cannot be wiped out by any outside force. We have Jesus for keeps.

You too can have him for keeps. Provided that you and I tell others of our relationship with Jesus there will always be a Christian religion. Unlike some of our flora and fauna the movement will never become extinct. It has the benefit of a promise made by Jesus, "I am with you always, even to the end of the world." Each promise made is kept. Each promise may be totally relied upon. We depend on these promises and we are never disappointed.

Look for Jesus and you will find him. Having found him, he is yours to keep forever.