My Hope

I have re-editted this text of a tract I wrote a while ago now. Though it might be a blessing to someone, so here it is (un-proof read!).

Hope can be a very elusive thing. Just when we think our hopes will be met, so often they are dashed. Without hope we end up in despair. But even in despair we can have a hope that there will be something to hope for again one day and even that can keep us going. Hope is in many ways the foundation of our lives. Most hopes, however, are uncertain; like the hope it will be sunny tomorrow. It may be, but the weather men are sometimes wrong! More seriously, you may hope your latest romantic entanglement may be the one that lasts, but sadly, even after many years relationships can fall apart. Now I have a hope. My conviction is that the hope I have will never be dashed. I share this hope with many people. I have seen this hope in them through serious illness, through joys and sorrows, even in the face of death. I share this hope with people of history, with people of today and with people across the whole world, from every nation and culture. My hope is in Jesus. But before you put this down, thinking, “Here we go. I’m not interested in religion – not your one anyway!” I would like to ask you a question…

You are hoping for a better life, yes? But, if you are honest with yourself, what you have placed your hope in is uncertain. Even though it is uncertain, you are still willing to take a little trouble and difficulty in the hope that it will come through. Here’s the question I want to ask; “What would you give to have a hope that was certain, a hope that lasts?” Could what you hope for in life be replaced by a better, fuller, more certain hope? Is there a hope that cannot be dashed, that will carry us through all the circumstances of life? I have found that Jesus gives us that kind of hope.

I find Jesus both beautifully attractive and incredibly challenging at the same time: his purity, his boldness, his straight talking, his miracles, and, most of all, his love and compassion. And it is in Jesus that I have put my hope. In the Bible in 1 Corinthians 15 the apostle Paul talks about the resurrection of Jesus. He says that Jesus is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”, which means that Jesus’ resurrection is the guarantee that all people will be raised from the dead. For that reason we can have a hope that doesn’t just last for this life, but lasts into eternity. Paul (the writer of 1 Corinthians) writes of over 500 people who saw Jesus after he rose from the grave. His basic implication is: If you don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead, go and ask some of them. Of course we can’t now, but the point is that you could have then. Paul himself is perhaps the best witness of the resurrection. He was absolutely opposed to all things Christian, but then Jesus appeared to him and his life was completely turned around. Jesus gave him a new hope.

The hope I have in Jesus is one where pain will come to an end, where tears will be wiped away, where grief and sorrow will be unheard of and unremembered. It is hope of a time when my body won’t get aches and pains; where we won’t break our bones, and viruses will not harm us. It is hope of being with God, of enjoying only good things; where the glory of the summer sun will be like a shadow compared to the glory of God himself. The Bible tell us that this is not an uncertain hope, like hoping for sunshine on your wedding day, but a hope that is 100% sure. The reason it is 100% sure is because it does not depend on me, or on anyone who could make a mistake or get something wrong; it depends on Jesus and is proved by what he has already done.

When Jesus is talking about eternal life he says this about resurrection (John 5:26-29), “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement.”

Jesus tells us very plainly about the two possibilities for us in the resurrection.

I have tried to think about what would be going on in my mind if I knew I was going to die soon. I think my mind would be racing. I would remember so many good times and joys I have had. I would remember too so many things I wish I hadn’t done, and think about things I wish I had done. I know that a sense of guilt or shame would mingle with a sense of achievement and thankfulness. But without my hope in Jesus I would wonder this: “Have I been good enough for the resurrection of life?” What amazes me most about Jesus is that my hope of life is not dependent on my effort or ability but on what Jesus has done for me. Jesus was asked once by a crowd, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (John 6:28). Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” This is why my hope in Jesus is certain – because it isn’t based on my success but in my Saviour. The apostle Peter says that, “[Jesus] suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Because he was successful I can be sure of eternal life. Jesus himself tells us he came not for those who think themselves righteous – who think they have a hope because of what they have done – but for sinners – those who know they don’t have a hope by themselves, and therefore they put their hope in him (Mark 2:17).

Jesus also tells a short story that explains how to have real hope of joy in the presence of God: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:10-14).

The obvious implication of what Jesus says is this: if we consider ourselves good and point the finger at others, then we will be humbled not saved. But if we own up to our faults before God, and seek his mercy and grace, then God will exalt us, rescue us from our sin and lift us joyfully to heaven.

The end of Psalm 16 sums up my hope: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures for evermore.” The path of life is faith in Jesus Christ. He is my hope. He came to bring hope to the world in the face of brokenness, pain and death. My prayer is that you will know him as your hope too – whatever your situation. Only he can bring you a hope that is certain, that takes the fear from death and that lasts through death – because he came through death for us.

Norway’s Pain At The Hands Of A ?Christian Fundamentalist?

So many people dead - it is very difficult to write anything as I try and take in the scale of the pain and the violence and seeming hatred of what has happen in Oslo and on Utoeya island. I can’t take in the distress of the families and friends of those killed. I have listen to the report of a young man who played dead to stay alive as his friends were killed around him. It is harrowing and heart rending in the extreme. Of course our prayers go to everyone directly affected and to the Norwegian people as a whole. We ask the God of all comfort to bring his comfort to each one and that he would swiftly snuff out this vial extremism.

At the same time I do feel the need to write now and to write quickly. Why? Here is the reason. Among the first reports about the man thought be responsible for both the bomb and the shooting are these words from deputy police chief Roger Andresen, "We have no more information than... what has been found on [his] own websites, which is that it goes towards the right and that it is, so to speak, Christian fundamentalist." The BBC has set up a page that gives a sketchy profile of Anders Behring Breivik stating that, “On the Facebook page attributed to him, he describes himself as a Christian and a conservative. The Facebook page is no longer available but it also listed interests such as body-building and freemasonry.”

There is a wider issue of bias in BBC reporting which I am not going to begin talking about now. However the immediate concern is that this man identified himself as a Christian, and is being identified by others as a “Christian fundamentalist.” As a Christian I would want to define a Christian fundamentalist as a someone who strongly believes and holds on to the fundamentals of the Christian faith; fundamentals such as the Bible being the infallible word of God; God existing in trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the Lord Jesus dying as a substitutionary atonement for our sin; and so on. The reality however is that the world increasing defines a Christian fundamentalist as someone who holds on to their views in a bigoted fashion; that we hold to beliefs unreasonably in a way that leads to judgemental and hateful words and actions towards those who disagree with us. So in their minds a Christian fundamentalist is likely to commit the type of evil act that Breivik has committed. Increasingly when they come across a Christian who holds firmly to their faith and argues for certain unpopular moral positions because of their faith, they think that person is on a slippery slope towards some kind of violent act.

First of all then we must deliberately and clearly condemn the kind of atrocity that Breivik and any associates have committed as evil, utterly evil, and the complete opposite of a life that is fundamentally devoted to Christ. The Lord Jesus did not come to use his life to take the lives of those who stood in his way, or disagreed with him, or led his country in a way he didn’t like. He came specifically “to give his life as a ransom for many”; that is to pay the price of death in our place to give us life full and complete. A life that is devoted to a Saviour like this will not take the lives of those they dislike. Rather they will do as their Saviour did and commanded, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” On the cross Jesus prayed for those who had put him there, “Father forgive them for the do not know what they are doing.” A month later Peter preached to a huge crowd of them who had ignorantly cried “Crucify him,” and about 3000 of them realised both their mistake and the full reality of God’s mercy and gave themselves to this now resurrected Saviour.

Nothing of Breivik’s actions or words that I’ve seen chimes with this kind of Christianity at it’s most basic (or fundamental); the giving of your life for the rescue of others, the Lord Jesus being our ultimate example, and in that example being our actual salvation. No, Breivik’s actions are entirely evil and nothing to do with true, historic, Biblical, fundamental Christian faith.

The second issue that this raises and is more painful for us to address is how could Breivik think that his views were at all Christian and how can the world even begin to link this kind of atrocity with the word Christian in a way that makes sense to them? How can people begin to think that a Christian fundamentalist is on a slippery slope to extreme judgementalism and even this kind of violence? This is a bigger question than I really feel equipped to answer. But there are a few things that seem clear to me. Jesus’ words to his disciples were these, “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.” That is go to the world with the good news of salvation and be ready to die as you serve them. The famous words of John 3v16 tell us, “For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” The less famous words of John 3v15 tell us that this sending meant he would have to be “lifted up,” crucified, for that gift of eternal life to be given freely.

The problem, from where I sit, is that the church for too long has been a place that has spent so much time pointing out other people’s sin and condemning and being judgemental and getting angry about other people’s sin that we have not spent enough time showing people this wonderful offer of eternal life. Our lives have not been characterised by self sacrifice to the glory of God and salvation of our neighbours. Our words have not been “full of grace, seasoned with salt,” but full of judgement and seasoned with a condemning tone of voice. Therefore when someone like Beivik sees some vague similarity between what he thinks is right and what he hears the church saying; when he hears condemnation from the church of things he hates he begins to think that he holds Christian views. When he sees anger from the church it chimes with his anger. And in the twists and turns of his heart he begins perhaps to think that he can be an instrument of God’s justice, when all he is is a doer of evil, and no doubt a self righteous, determined he is right to do it, doer of evil. Too easily the church has done him and the people he has so savagely attacked a huge disservice.

The only way for this perception of the church, and the confusion of people like Breivik and the deputy police chief to be undone is (and I am mainly talking about Christians in the West) for Christians  themselves to stop playing at trusting Christ and do it really. It is vital that Christian people live the eternal life they have been given and value the things God values. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” There is no easy believism with Christ, no emotional response without life transformation. “Let us not love with words, but with actions and in truth,” says the apostle John. Life is found here; full, vibrant, spiritual life. Life that hurts, life that is let down by other people, life that sticks out its neck and often has that neck hacked at. But it is true spiritual eternal life. Life that is full of the Spirit, that produces the fruit of the Spirit, that is lived in praise of God because of his mercy to us in the Lord Jesus Christ, and life that is the aroma of life to those who are being saved. We should be so radically self giving as followers of Christ that there is no way that anyone could confuse a solid, Bible believing, historic evangelical, dare I even say fundamentalist Christian with anything other than a servant.

How Do You Organise Your Time?

I reorganised my diary last night. I do this fairly regularly as things I need to do often change slightly, and if I don't keep up with my diary then I easily lose my way. I tweeted/facebooked that this was what I was doing and my sister asked me how, as a pastor I went about organising my diary and building flexibility into it. (She had reasons for asking!) As I was trying to note down brielfy what I did I thought it might make a good blog post - and she encouraged me to go for it. So here is a slightly expanded version of what I wrote to her. I would be very interested in how you organise your diary (especially if you are entirely responsible for how you organise your time). It's always good to share ideas and learn from each other, and being organised is definitely an area I could do with some help in. Anyway - enough of the intro; here it is:


I use Google Calander for my diary, which I find very helpful - especially as it syncs with my phone (which plays a reminder for each thing I need to do!!!). We also have the church calendar online, and Helen has her calendar online too. Therefore at a glance I can see what is on Helen's schedule, my schedule and the church schedule. As I plan and change my plans having all three together is really very helpful.

In terms of how I sort out my weekly time table it works something like this.

1) I print out (or write out) a blank sheet of paper seperated into 1/2 hour blocks from 8am-10pm for the whole week. I do not plan to work outside these hours (and usually not before 9am or after 9pm). It gives me time to get up to pray and help Helen with the kids. It helps me to make sure that I get to bed on time so that I can get up on time! As Rico Tice likes to remind us, "If I go to bed after 10pm I have decided not to pray in the morning."

2) I write into that all the immovables - which for me are mainly meetings (and meal times!) my day off and time to spend with the family. It is very important as a husband to corner off part of my week specifically to spend with Helen. It is very important as a father to corner off part of my week specifically to spend time with the children and for us to spend time together as a family. Most of my other immovables are on the church calendar; homegroups, Sunday ministry, etc.

3) I make a seperate list of all the things I need to spend time on in the week, preparation for meetings, admin, visitng/phone calls, etc. and write down next to each one how much time I want to spend on them.

4) I then add up all the hours I have placed on that list and if it is more than I can handle working week in week out I begin to edit the numbers until it is manageble. You need to know yourself to do this well - and it may take some trial and error. You need to know if you can work a 60 hour week no trouble, or if you will burn out if you work more than 45 hours. Know yourself - don't expect more of yourself than you know that you can give - but plan with faith in the goodness of God! If you are anything like me you will end up with a total above what you know you can do - therefore you will need to slim how much time you want to spend on tasks, to how much time you need to spend - starting with the most important things. For instance I would love to spend 10 hours on sermon prep, but I limit myself to 8.

5) Once I have my list of what I need to do, and how much time I can afford/need to spend on each item I begin to work these into the week planner that I have drawn up. I put the most important things earliest in the week so that if the unexpected happens I have some time to reorganise for later in the week. I put more flexible(read "unpredictable") things in later in the week so that as the week fills up with unplanned things (you notice how weeks do that) I can swap the important things that I have missed into the place where the flexible things were planned. (Hopefully this makes sense. I will try and post a couple of examples soon so that you can see all this worked out.)

HERE'S THE FLEXIBLE BIT

6) I add at the end of every day time to thank God for what he has helped me get done that day and to prayerfully plan the following day. (I also spend some time on a Tuesday morning planning the whole week). I know what I have and haven't accomplished that day; I can see where I have meetings and other events that are unplanned (an urgent hospital visit for instance) and can reorganise my time around them. I have time on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday that is flexible that is either labelled "Pastoring" or "Study". These are the major blocks of time that are movable in the week describing a broad range of activities that crop up in the week at all sorts of times. Then if I get a call to make a visit on Tuesday when I should be starting on my sermon, it simply swaps with part of the "Pastoring" time. Or if I have a meeting about organising a youth event earlier in the week when I plan to be doing admin, then I can swap it round with the "Study" time. Study time moves to Admin time and Admin time moves to Study time.

The most important times in the week are these 10minutes at the end of the day to give thanks and to plan the next day. If I don't do these then everything falls apart because I get stressed that I haven't done what I have planned - stress causes me to procrastinate - and everything goes down hill from there!
If you got through all of that - congratulations! I will try and post some examples of what I do and how it works out so that you can see it in action - I think that will help more. I do this process three or four times a year, depending on how my diary might change. School holidays are obviously different to term time. Different terms are often different because of after school clubs, etc. It takes about an hour of prayerful work - but without it I would be thoroughly lost!!!
I hope this is helpful to someone.