Book Review: The Everyday Gospel by Tim Chester.

 

Who washes the dishes in your house? Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, aunts and uncles, grandparents, you?

This great little book by Tim Chester, is for those believing Christians who want to live out their faith through everything they do because the role of a Christian does not end when the Sunday morning service finishes. How do we link what we do in Sunday Worship to the work we start on Monday morning? Chester describes how we can live out the Holiness on a Sunday through every day of the week – it can be found in washing the dishes! Chester goes through the process of washing dishes as a God-like activity –

1. Ordering chaos: As God created and ordered the world from chaos, we too are called to order and govern the world, like sorting out a pile of dirty dishes – to be fruitful and multiply as the Lord has extended his governance to us but still under his ultimate rule.
2. Serving others: Washing the dishes requires a dying to yourself. You could spend the time doing something you want to do but to imitate Jesus, he calls us to serve others. In serving other you are making a sacrifice of praise to God, pointing to the cross, not as a sacrifice for your own glorification. Chester goes on to say that the kitchen sink is a great place for church leadership to training and learn servanthood – for whoever cleans and serves others at the sink will imitate that in their household and their church.

The book warns us of the dangers of washing the dishes when we can be obsessive or seek total domination and there are times we are called to let others wash the dishes, those who are learning about the Christian faith and even our own children. It is also a place where we can encourage pastoral care and discipleship.

Chester concludes that we can see the revelation of God through natural theology, by the things we see and do – reflecting over the joy of creation as we stand at the kitchen sink, giving thanks to God for the tastes of food as we scrub off the burnt bits of lasagne. The problem we have is we like to keep the sacred and the secular separate when they should be brought together and seen every day. As Chester says “The church is the community of God’s people sharing life-ordinary life, everyday life – at any moment and in any place with gospel intentionality” (p38). The only holy place is heaven for everything on this world is corrupted with sin. We are called by the power of the Holy Spirit to live out the gospel in everything that we do – including washing the dishes and not just on Sundays!

I would recommend this book to anyone who struggles to live out their Christian faith apart from coming to church on a Sunday. Let us offer up our washing up in praise to God!

Book Review: Happiness by J.C. Ryle (updated by Mary Davis)

Are you happy? A woman once asked an Atheist this question while he was trying to convince a crowd that God did not exist but the more the woman asked this question, the more the atheist withdrew because he wasn’t comfortable within.  Are you happy?

JC Ryle was the Bishop of Liverpool during the 19^thCentury and his work continues to inspire many evangelical Christians even today. The focus of his writing is not to satisfy our sight our hearing but to change our hearts. This small book addresses a key issue that is still very much a topic for today as it was during the 19^thcentury, the source of true happiness.

Ryle explores the absolute essentials of happiness, the common mistakes about the way we try and find happiness and then where true happiness is found.

Ryle agrees with the common perception “Happiness is what everyone longs to obtain”(p.13). He sees Happiness as the end goal but he exposes preconceived ideas of happiness to be unreal – it is not freedom from sorrow, it’s not found in laughter or smiles, or found in worldly amusements and enjoyments. Ryle argued that nothing in this world can give to us true happiness because everything around us is full of uncertainty. He said “To be truly happy, the needs of your soul and conscience must be satisfied.”(p.17)

Ryle then continues to highlight the common mistakes about where we find true happiness. You can’t find it in rank or status for even kings and queens are never truly happy. It is not in wealth because money holds trouble and is a burden. You could never have a ‘light heart.’ It is not found in intelligence because there is no gladness when we look to sickness, death and finally our grave. Leisure and Idleness cause more misery, pleasure-seeking can never satify someone like expecting a child to play with its toy all day long. Ryle refers to these “short-cuts” of happiness and says if we look to happiness on these roads, you will never find happiness. He then draws out examples relating to each mistake.

Ryle concludes with the path of true happiness, “The way to be happy is to be real, thoroughly-going, true hearted Christian…the true Christian is the only truly happy person.” (p.34). He carefully defines what he means by a true hearted Christian as one whose heart and life have been taught by the Word, through the work of the Holy Spirit, “…one whose faith is not merely Sunday coat but a compelling principle governing every day of their life.”(p.34). He admits that there are many people who do religious acts but have no true faith! True Happiness is a Christian whose heart deep down have solid peace and overwhelming joy. Ryle does admit that a true Christian has weaknesses like anyone else but the difference is, by their faith, no matter what happens in this life, your eternity in Jesus is secured. Ryle says “Mere formal, ceremonial Christianity cannot make people happy. We need something more than going to church to give us peace. There must be a real union with Christ. It is not a formal Christian who is happy, but the true Christian who is happy.”(p.41) Ryle calls the reader to find in Jesus the source of true happiness. He then gives tips to develop our happiness even further by learning to be more thankful, to grow more in grace and to do more good for God’s glory.

If you are struggling to find true happiness, read this book and discover the source of true happiness that Ryle wants you to find, only in Jesus.

 

Book Review: The Freedom of self-forgetfulness by Timothy Keller.

Are you struggling with your identity in Jesus? This is the book for you! This little book by Tim Keller focuses on the clear distinctive marks that come out of a person’s heart when their lives have been changed by the grace of God through Jesus Christ and where their new identity is found. He focuses his exposition on 1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7 and he reminds us that the church in Corinth is not different to the church that we see today.

Culturally we desire pride and boasting, making sure our lives are better than anyone else and creating a high view of ourselves but that this view is also our own downfall. Keller draws out 3 points from 1 Corinthians:

1. The natural Condition of the Human Ego – Our pride can swell up, even beyond a natural point where it leads to emptiness, pain, busyness and fragility. The root cause of our ego is pride because “we are only proud of being more successful, more intelligent or more good looking than the next person.” (P18).This leads to boastfulness. The problem is we can never satisfy our ego because we are always seeking to be better than the next person and our lives can never find rest or satisfaction.

2. The transformed view of self – Paul in 1 Cor 4:1-2 tells the church that he doesn’t care about the world’s view of him or what other people think of him because his identity is in Jesus. Paul displays great humility, acknowledging that he is a great sinner and realises it is not all about him anymore.“True gospel-humility means I stop connecting every experience, every conversation with myself. In fact, I stop thinking about myself. The freedom of self-forgetting.” (p32)We stop thinking about ourselves and we don’t get hurt from criticisms and opinions because they don’t matter.

3. How to get that transformed view of self – The verdict we are looking for in life is that we are important, that we are valued and raised up. Paul didn’t care what others thought and he didn’t care about what he thought of himself because there is only one opinion that really matters – God’s. Everyone in the world live within the walls of a courtroom – we are continually put on trial in what we say think and do, but those in Christ, he is the one who gives us the verdict that really matters. In Jesus, we are taken out of the courtroom because our trials, our verdict was placed on him and the cross – therefore we are free – we don’t need to meet what the world expects, only what God expects and because Jesus has done that – we can live in peace and joy!

I hope this little book will give you a sense of freedom and joy, it’s not all about our own thoughts and opinions or what other people think, but it is all about fixing our identity in Jesus for there is freedom and satisfaction in him that the world cannot give.

Facing your anxiety and fears

Most, if not all of us today suffer from some kind of anxiety or fear. It could be related to your job, your health, your family or friends, finances and even your faith. Some of us suffer from panic attacks that come out of nowhere. They all begin as something very small but if left unmanaged, they can grow to the point where it impacts every part of your life. A few years ago, as a student I suffered the fear of writing assignments and essays. Despite studying for at least 10 years in higher education, I still hadn’t learnt how to deal with the fear of a pending deadline or the pressure of achieving the best mark. Is it the right format? Did I actual answer the question that was asked?

I came across a really helpful booklet called Anxiety and Panic Attacks: Trusting God when you’re afraidby Jocelyn Wallace (pictured). She is a Christian counsellor who has worked in residential treatment centres for girls in the USA. In this booklet, Wallace defines Anxiety as being “…fearful or apprehensive of something bad happening that it affects you physically.”(p5) It is something that your body begins to suffer after your mind has processed your thoughts and feelings that you might have. I am no expert on how to deal with Anxiety but through my biblical studies, I was able to uncover the truth about how the Lord understands anxiety and fear.

The most related verse to anxiety is Proverbs 12:25 which reads:

“Anxiety weighs down the heart,but a kind word cheers it up.”

God understands anxiety as the weighing down of your heart, our heart full of worry, not knowing what is happening or if anyone can control what is going on. It feels like we are being brought to the ground under the burden of fear. When we live without a relationship with God, our lives feel out of control – we are fearful about what will happen because we live in a world where bad things do happen, when reality hurts us. God designed the cure for anxiety to be found in Jesus. Through Jesus we can come to the Father and find comfort and strength. The Lord will never abandon us in what we are facing. We might feel that the only person we can trust is ourselves and we want to be safe from other people.

Peter wrote to his fellow Christians who themselves were suffering the reality of this world and he instructs them:

 “Cast all your anxiety on him (God) because he cares for you” 1 Peter 5:7

Peter tells them and us today to cast or throw your anxiety to God because he cares and loves you. It is like throwing a bag full of books to a friend – the worries and fears that weigh your heart down, throw them to the Lord, and trust that he will catch them, hold them and deal with them. Even if we haven’t believed in Jesus; God is still there for us to come back to him. Come and receive his care, his love by completely trusting in him. It sounds easy to say trust in God, but without giving it a go how will we know?

What is the thing that causes anxiety or fear in your life? Throw it to the Lord because he cares and loves you. He loves you so much that he sent Jesus, his only son to die on the cross for you, so you can throw your fear of work, of health, of life to him and receive the hope and joy of eternal life.

C.H.Spurgeon on Genesis 24:63

Over the last 2 years, I have been fed by the wonderful wisdom that C.H. Spurgeon has provided in his “Morning and Evening Prayer”. For the Morning of the 15th August, Spurgeon takes us into middle of Genesis with this very specific verse:

⁶³ And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.

Spurgeon draws out the importance of meditation and specifically, the location and time that should be devoted to it. He brings to light this amazing statement:

“If those who spend so many hours in idle company, light reading, and useless pastimes, could learn wisdom, they would find more profitable society and more interesting engagements in meditation than in the vanities which now have such charms for them”. C.H. Spurgeon. Morning Prayer 15th August.

Spurgeon emphasises that the time we have and the way we use it has a huge impact in the way we view our own lives and how we treat God. The amount of time we can spend watching ‘trash’ TV or playing games on our mobile phones – including the trend of catching Pokemon – is remarkable. We become slaves to our own pastimes and we find it very difficult to leave our phones alone for more than 5 minutes.

When was the last time you went for a walk without your phone or computer? When did you last go into a field and give praise to God for the beauty of his creation and grace he gives to us so freely?

I have recently discovered that I am spending 5-6 hours a day just sat in my study – working on my computer – this is not healthy – this is not spending time meditating and enjoying and receiving the wisdom of God through his Word. Spurgeon raises this issue:

“Our little rooms are neither so healthy, so suggestive, so agreeable, or so inspiring as the fields.” C.H. Spurgeon. Morning Prayer 15th August.

We are to meditate in the field – spend an hour in the evening everyday and go for a walk – giving thanks to God for the day you have had, for sending the Lord Jesus Christ to be our Saviour and for giving us the wisdom found in his word. In the Urban climate I am him – Spurgeon does say – The Lord is found in the crowded streets too.

Where do you spend time in meditation on God’s Word? It is vital we spend time reflecting and growing closer to the Lord instead of growing more dependant on disposable ‘charms’.

NEW BLOG: The arrival of the Urban Curate

Well… It has been a while. Since the Ministry Trainee came to an end I have been training at Bible College and therefore I have not been able to update this blog as much as I wanted to. The blog remains the same with the same focuses but with a new name. The Urban Curate reflects what I will be doing over the next 3-4 years. I will be living in an Urban area near Birmingham and working in a local church that is small in number and strong in tradition. These posts will be a variety of experiences, reflections and learning that come from what the Lord is doing here and hopefully it will build and encourage Christian believers to be effective and growing disciples. As Paul encouraged the Colossian church by saying:

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. Col 2:6-8 NIV.

This is a challenge for us as Christians today. We need to be aware of what we believe and accept today. There is much heresy available on the Web, in magazines, newspapers, books, movies, etc. We need to be rooted in Jesus Christ and grow by being built up by his teaching and his grace. What is interesting in these verses (that you might want to reflect on) is the overflowing of thankfulness. We are so thankful for what the Lord Jesus has done by dying on the cross for our sins and to restore our relationship with God. It is by Christ alone that salvation is obtained and therefore we need to be full of thankfulness. I am so thankful that the Lord has called me to be a servant of his Word and that by his Spirit he has given me encouragement, Wisdom and knowledge. I pray that as you read this blog, you will be encountering God through his Word, by his Spirit, so you may be encouraged and grow in your faith. I hope you benefit from the blog. Please keep reading and growing in your faith!!!!