Called Forward

I've recently felt a call to start stepping forward a bit more.

It's quite a daunting prospect.

However I believe God is challenging me not to hide behind the shelter of other people's ideas and beliefs... no matter how much I respect and value them.

I believe he's stirring me up to be at least a little bolder and assertive about my own walk. I'm not the same as the people who I stand behind, I'm no less right or wrong than any of my brothers and sisters. I am not dependent on their approval... and I should know this by now. I have to be prepared to stand next to my own God given assertions and be accountable for them. I have done it here... and I need to learn to do it in the physical world.

That means not clamming up if someone I respect disagrees with my viewpoint. It doesn't mean I should be arrogant and ignore them... it does mean that I show a bit of courage in my own convictions, and not just those of others.

For the most part, this is about standing side by side and shoulder to shoulder with others - but I can see that in some instances it might require me to take a lead and I have started to do this in the small ways.

We all have people we look up to, but we have to remember that they have their own flaws... and our walk of faith is not an exact facsimile of those people. We make our own clearly defined steps towards the Father through Jesus, by the power of the Spirit.

In Homer's Iliad, you have the tragic story of Patroclus. He was the close companion of Achilles... and when Achilles went into a self imposed sulk and refused to fight... Patroclus recognising the Greek's need for a morale boost, donned Achilles armour and led an assault on Troy. The Greeks were inspired and went with him... until he was overcome and slain by Hector.

In the Bible, the young shepherd boy David saw the Philistine strongman - Goliath, and recognised the need to to inspire the Israelites to victory by taking him out of the equation. Nobody else would fight... and so King Saul reluctantly let David accept Goliath's challenge. Saul tried to equip David in his best armour... to give him a chance - but David rejected the offer and chose to use his slingshot instead.... and with a solid blow to the forehead from a single stone, Goliath - Israel's bogeyman... fell.

I wanted to use those two stories to illustrate a point. Patroclus was NOT Achilles... he could not fight the same way as Achilles and his attempt to impersonate his hero led to failure. Similarly, David was not King Saul - not by a long shot (sorry... I had to lighten this up with a terrible pun). However, David recognised this... but instead of trying to fight the battle Saul's way, he trusted in the gifts and talents God had entrusted to him... and he overcame.

Or if you are a comic book reader, there is the character of Nightwing. Batman and the original Robin went their separate ways... and so Dick Grayson found his own path and became a hero in his own right.

Similarly, there comes a time when we have to roll with God in our own manner. There's only one man we need to emulate and that is Jesus... who by his Spirit is within us. So I'm going to be confident in my own walk... and not remain stepping gingerly in the shadows of those I have respected. This is what I am being encouraged to do by God (with a little help from a few of his faithful servants - and if you are reading these words and suspect you are one of them then... yes you are - and I think you know that).

It's funny because in many ways it feels like the door is swinging the other way. How I perceive the world around me, even arguably compared to other Christians... could often be described as tangential... and in the past I've seen this as a hindrance. The people over there say it won't work, so it probably won't - there's more of them. Yet now the boulders I seemed to be tripping over, look a lot more like pebbles.

You know I reckon God's even chucked a couple down there himself to see how I react... or more likely to teach me how differently I am reacting to things that might have incapacitated me in the past.

So I'm not content to walk the path of others... and I don't want to go my own way... I want to walk the path God has set before me with confidence.

I pray you too can be filled with this confidence.

N.

Guerrilla Spirituality

"How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill . May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy." Psalm 137:4-6

For one reason or another, there has been a reduction of services at the church I attend... to the point where in all likelihood there will only be one service a month at a time I can attend.

This has made me start to think about where I'm going to go invest my time on Sundays a bit more. There's been a belief in my church that God would strip it right down... and then, in time, begin a revival... against all odds. Now it would appear we are in the time between times

Those of us who are affected the most have got some thinking to do.

One positive thing is that our home group may meet more frequently.

When it comes to Sundays though, I suspect we may for a time at least... take different paths.

No doubt, we will be encouraged to attend the main church in the "minster model"... that would be the church of St. Nicholas in my hometown. However, I feel that in my teenage years, God called me away from that place for various reasons. Now I do return on seldom occasions... and I dare say there is unfinished business there between us, but it's not a place for me to get spiritually fed on a regular basis.

Though I am saddened to lose the opportunity to worship regularly at a church I am familiar with... I believe the right thing for me to do is to get out there and go from church to church, learning from and having fellowship with friends who are in different places. I thrive on fellowship, I'm like a sponge... I soak up the moisture in my surroundings.... and I benefit a lot from being able to share what I have learned with others.

So I'm going guerrilla.

I'm going to use the home groups and what remains of services at my regular church as pit stops... and I'm going to move in, out and about other believers - drawing strength from their gifts and doing my best to return the favour with the gifts God has given me... as I begin to learn more about them.

Many would say this is unwise "you must be grounded in a regular church". However, Jesus moved about from town to town... and so did the apostles:

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:8

But I also must do my best not to forget the promises God has made... and that is why I copied the quote from Psalm 137 at the top of this post (that same passage was given to me, to help other people who felt dejected about some of the decisions that had been made).

When we were praying on Monday, I felt God put a passage on my heart... I felt it was for those of us gathered... but since that time, I've had a feeling there is particular significance for myself in it:

"If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people."

The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." Deuteronomy 33:13-17

It's clear that wherever I go, I need to listen to God very closely... when he tells me to "go", I need to go. When he says "wait", I need to wait.

At the end of the day, if we are at all serious about discipleship... we have to be mindful of Jesus's response to the man who said they would follow him wherever he would go... and I'll leave you with that as a final challenge to ponder:

"When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Matthew 8:18-20

Go Figure That One!

While I was away in the Lake District, I stumbled upon the following snippet of news:

Action figures face competition from talking Jesus doll next year.

Apparently this toy line (distributed by One2Believe), does pretty well for itself in America... but I find myself questioning - why? I can understand Christian parents wanting to buy their children edifying toys, playthings that foster the growth of the Gospel message in the hearts of their offspring; but is it really appropriate to use a Jesus figure to do it? Now of course, the obvious critical angle to come from would be the whole "not making idols or carved images" commandment, I accept that neither kids, nor parents would be "worshipping" the dolls as such... but the question remains.

Another question, is whether kids in their innocence, would play with the toys as the manufacturers or parents intended. Kids are great at imaginary play... they like making up stories with their toys and you never know quite what role the toys are going to play - the opening of Toy Story springs to mind as an example. The Guardian spoke about Jesus going head to head with Spider-Man in the shops... but is it that far a leap to imagine kids getting the Son of God duking it out with the web-slinger in their toy box? It works the other way too... when I was a child, I was told off by my dad for hanging my Action Man from the bath cruciform. So if a kid can use Action Man as Jesus, then surely it's just as easy for kids to use a Jesus doll like Action Man!

And looking at things a little lighter, what about toy abuse? I referenced Toy Story earlier... but imagine... what if a Jesus doll ended up in the hands of Sid??????

Oh the inhumanity! I can just see Sid, preparing to send Buzz Lightyear exploding off into the ionosphere when all of a sudden instead of Woody, the Jesus doll pipes up from the barbecue grill... "love your neighbour as yourself!" and then a similar scene to the one above unfolding - hilarious.

Going back to the original, more serious point I was making and I think my main reason for finding this more than a little tasteless is just that... well, the concept is just so tacky! I just find the idea of action dolls that are based on real life people too much. Just under 10 years ago, they started churning out Princess Diana doll which were equally in bad taste... and that in my opinion was definitely idolatrous.

I don't think this idea will take off as well in the UK as it has in the US, we think too differently to the Americans

I think action figures and dolls exist mainly for developing children's imaginations and their ability to play with others... I believe if parents want to engage with their children spiritually, they should do so through prayer and storytelling... genuine interaction with children - isn't that what good parenting involves?

A Sanctuary Century

My blog passed another milestone the other day.

If you look down below at the myriad of gadgets and lists down the right hand side, you will see I have become a multi-national stopping off point. I have finally managed to break into three figures with regard to the number of countries/regions that visit.

I just want to thank everyone who has come here whether that be as a result of regular visiting, random stumbling, or Governmental investigation.

To misquote Elwood Blues:

"I'm so glad to see so many of you lovely people here tonight. And I would especially like to welcome all the representatives of the world's law enforcement community who have chosen to join me here in Nick's Sanctuary at this time. I do sincerely hope you all enjoy the show, and please remember people that no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive and survive there are still some things that make us all the same. Me, you, them, everybody, everybody!"

So now this place is truly global... I'm going to have to hold an ambassador's reception and break out the Ferrero Rocher... complete with cheesy audio dubbing! :-)

Driven

Those of you who have been in the habit of visiting my blog on a regular basis, will be aware that I ran a monthly saga that eventually came to be known as Debtwatch. It was where I spoke openly about how I believed God had provided the opportunity, need and the desire for me to clear up the temporal effects of some of my past mistakes. By his grace, it took me less than a year.

It's been several months since I even touched upon the subject... I believe I paused only to mention that I had taken a breather and treated myself to a laptop.

However, I have not been idle. I have been working along a similar principle to try and save up for a car... as well as looking at more long term savings.

At the current time, I'm 3 months into my voyage of saving. I could probably afford a vehicle of some description now but it would undoubtedly be a:

So much as I'm dying to get out on the open road again... I think I'm going to have to be patient. This is really frustrating because there are people I want to meet, places I want to go... there are events in the calendar coming up that may well require me to be under my own steam if I am to help others... and at present I can't - the way is shut. To people questioning the environmental wisdom of me purchasing a car, I would caution that it's very easy to pontificate about the importance of public transport when you live in a metropolitan transport hub like London or Birmingham. Living in a small relatively rural market town does not offer me the same advantages. I have to travel 8 miles to access the nearest rail network... and direct trains are very hard to come by.

By my estimation, I think I'll probably be ready by the beginning of July (but then my money is in an ISA... so i may not be able to get to it before then anyway).

I'm looking at getting a car that's about 3 or 4 years old and is 1.4 litres or lower in cubic capacity. The budget I'm setting myself is approximately £3,500 - £4,000.

I reckon I'll be looking at something like a Ford KA:

... or a car in the same class. I don't need anything flash, just something that will get me from A to B without flying apart at the seams.

If you have an recommendations about make, model, specification - heck even colour (but not something crazy like "hot pink"), I'm fairly open minded.

I'm reminded of the time - several years ago, when a friend passed his driving test and we jokingly set up the P.P.B.V. (Pat's Porsche Benevolent Fund), in our youth fellowship's magazine (I was joint editor at the time). The project was a surprise success and we managed to raise the necessary funds...

...for a die cast model.

So I announce with some trepidation the launch of my new fundraising trust - S.A.I.N.T. (Society for Accumulation of Income for Nick's Transportation). I say with trepidation because this is the Internet... and there are probably some people out there who are crazy enough to actually contribute - I probably know half of them! ;-)

Poll Axe

So we won't be queuing out in the November rain to cast our votes after all. Gordon Brown has dismissed the idea of an Autumn election and probably also the prospect of a 2008 one too.

It's the right decision.

Think about it for a second. We've had a "New Labour" government for over 10 years... and a change of Prime Minister in only the last few months. If you are in favour of Gordon Brown's leadership... naturally you'll want to extend his reign for as long as possible. If you are against it, I don't think you should be so keen to risk giving him a four year mandate to make things worse.

There are some people who would vote against New Labour purely because they think 10 years under one party's rule is enough. However, change for the sake of change is one of the most erroneous choices a person can make. I have often spoken out against the policies of Tony Blair, so you might be mistaken for believing I'd like to see New Labour out as as soon as possible. In fact, my opinion is that we should give Gordon Brown an opportunity to see if he can keep and live up to his word - he has limited time... not a full term. He will have to hit the ground running to prove his salt... and by the time he is obliged to call an election, we - the voting public will be in a much better position to make an informed decision (for those of us who still believe in doing such things... rather than moronically voting on autopilot for any one party).

However,although we have arrived at what I believe is the right outcome... we have done so in a manner which I believe has damaged Gordon Brown's credibility.

I saw David Cameron's strong arm tactic of calling for an election, as primarily a bluff. It is a gamble that has paid off. Brown has seen a blip in the opinion polls and has been the first to blink. It has weakened his image as a strong leader... but in the long term view, he has given himself more time to prove himself - be that as a success or as a failure.

One of my strongest reasons for not wanting an election now, is that on the face of things we still have two centre right economical and authoritarian parties contending for Government. I want to see if Brown is going to temper Blair's reforms and bring in more laws favouring welfare and less that favour Orwellianism. There is precious little hope of that as it is... but an election would severely damage what hope does exist.

Lets wait and see what 2008 brings.

You can read more analysis and reaction on Nick Robinson's blog over at the BBC.

Trouble With Time

In the words of Coldplay:

"Confusion never stops, closing walls and ticking clocks."

Today, I learned that my alarm clock has become self aware... and it has also become evil.

My normal work routine requires me to get up at 6:45am and that is what the alarm is always set for. I always whack my radio up to full blast and wait faithfully in the land of nod for the eruption of music that jolts me awake... and my radio never lets me down, it always goes off at 6:45... at which point I begin to slowly stir from within my "cocoon".

Not today though... oh no. Today my alarm clock decides it's going to try and make it's own decision... and at 4:01 am, I was rudely summoned back from my slumber!

See... just what I said... evil, pure evil.

Truth be told, I always struggle this time of year... I think I should hibernate - I just don't operate properly. I get tired at really random times and I get even more gormless than normal. so as you can imagine the last thing I need is a rogue alarm clock getting ideas above it' station.

It had better not keep this mischievous habit up.

Now I'm off to catch some Z's. Hopefully more than four hours worth.