Throughout history we are faced with the picture of great leaders, the "movers and shakers" of their time, surrounded by an entourage of people- Caeser, throughout his battles in Spain, Gaul, Briton, Rome and Greece, he was constantly accompanied by a veritable army of advisers, generals and confidents. Everyone who is anyone, from Popes to Kings to Pop Singers, has an entourage. Kylie Minogue**, for one, is followed by "creative directors", "PR people", stylists, makeup artists etc etc. It always amuses me how, on a much smaller scale, when the auctioneer leaves the office, at work, and walks out towards the podium to begin the sale of vehicles, they are followed by two or three porters, a 'runner', clerical workers and even customers, its like a scene from a hollywood film!!
In contrast, however, one of the most influential and important people to live on earth, whose letters are still read, 2000 years later, week after week across the globe, never had a PR man or a pack of assistants. I am, of course, talking about the Apostle Paul. Instead of an entourage of followers, Paul had a close bunch of friends, each who loved him, not for his status or power, but for who he was. Paul often travelled either alone or in ones or twos, with no bodyguard or chaffeur. His friends gave him shelter, protected him from enemies, provided for his needs and suffered greatly for him.
So, if they didnt aid Paul for money or status then who were these self-sacrificing friends of Paul? What did they do? Where did they live? And how do they affect us, if at all?
I wrote the above, as my notes clearly state, on Wednesday 15th October 2008 (I like to be precise), however I still have a great interest in the lives of these guys. When reading through Paul's letters or the book of Acts we occasionaly see them pop up. Have you ever wondered more about them? I do.
I hope to post something about one of Paul's Friends each week, because I have such an admiration for them and what they did, and I would like to share that passion with others... namely you!
Thursday 26 November 2009
Wednesday 25 November 2009
Birthright for Broth
After reading through the account of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob, I am left confused, my notes are equally baffling, I have attempted to type up my thoughts and they leave me seeing little tinsywinsy circles in the corner of my vision. Perhaps I am trying to read in too deeply. In trying to see what is going on in the minds of Esau and Jacob, I have missed the obvious.
Jacob's motives in procuring the blessings of his father (and those of the Lord) are up for discussion; especially as he had already been promised those very blessings from before his birth! He has widely been critisised for his "devious" ways, however the Bible never judges Jacob as being in the wrong here, Esau is always named as the uncaring one.
Its clear that Esau cared little for the spiritual blessings of the Lord, although he later came to regret the loss of material gains. Reading on in the next chapter, I see that Esau married two women, neither believers, and this caused great bitterness amongst his family. It would seem that Esau repeatedly cared more for the world he found himself in than the God of his father and grandfather. Esau was reknown for his great hunting skills, his hairy chest and his masculinity, all things that the world approve of. However these things mean little to God, rather He chooses the weak and feable of this world to be His "Trophies of Grace", Jacob was one of these.
It should also be noted that in the next chapter, Isaac is seen to be influenced by his neighbours, the Phillistines. His fear of them and lack of trust in God, led to him lieing to them about his wife, and eventually led to his discovery and great loss of respect. Christians are never to be ensnared by the world, but rather to be a blessing to it, this was mentioned only just before in the passage, as part of the Lord's blessing to Isaac and Jacob:
As Christians, and spiritual heirs of Israel, we have an amazing commission to bring the blessing of Jesus' Salvation to the nations! As Isaac did, we desperately need Gods help and guidance in this task, and His protection from the "darts" of the world. The Lord has given us our "armour" and the Holy Spirit for these very jobs!
We need to learn from Jacob and Esau and need to firmly hold on to the blessings God has given us, constantly reminding ourselves of God's goodness to us, namely His death upon the cross for our sins.
Jacob's motives in procuring the blessings of his father (and those of the Lord) are up for discussion; especially as he had already been promised those very blessings from before his birth! He has widely been critisised for his "devious" ways, however the Bible never judges Jacob as being in the wrong here, Esau is always named as the uncaring one.
"Thus Esau despised his birthright."
"....or unholy, like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal."
Its clear that Esau cared little for the spiritual blessings of the Lord, although he later came to regret the loss of material gains. Reading on in the next chapter, I see that Esau married two women, neither believers, and this caused great bitterness amongst his family. It would seem that Esau repeatedly cared more for the world he found himself in than the God of his father and grandfather. Esau was reknown for his great hunting skills, his hairy chest and his masculinity, all things that the world approve of. However these things mean little to God, rather He chooses the weak and feable of this world to be His "Trophies of Grace", Jacob was one of these.
It should also be noted that in the next chapter, Isaac is seen to be influenced by his neighbours, the Phillistines. His fear of them and lack of trust in God, led to him lieing to them about his wife, and eventually led to his discovery and great loss of respect. Christians are never to be ensnared by the world, but rather to be a blessing to it, this was mentioned only just before in the passage, as part of the Lord's blessing to Isaac and Jacob:
"I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."
As Christians, and spiritual heirs of Israel, we have an amazing commission to bring the blessing of Jesus' Salvation to the nations! As Isaac did, we desperately need Gods help and guidance in this task, and His protection from the "darts" of the world. The Lord has given us our "armour" and the Holy Spirit for these very jobs!
We need to learn from Jacob and Esau and need to firmly hold on to the blessings God has given us, constantly reminding ourselves of God's goodness to us, namely His death upon the cross for our sins.
A-Road Inspiration
Travelling home from work this afternoon, crawling through the 50 mile an hour limit along the resurfaced A1, behind a beast of a lorry, coughing up smoke, and being bombarded by rain and swept by wind, stuck in the mass of vehicles trudging their way South, I saw something of the futiliy of a world under the influence of a curse.
Millions and millions of tons of consumer goods, building products and fuel sent up and down, round and round, from Dover to Edinburgh, from Glasgow to Manchester, Liverpool to Norwich. It brings to mind the words of Reginald Perrin, a fictional character appaled by the mediocrity of his own life,
So, Solomon, Reginald and myself are in agreement, it all means nothing. So, how come when I stood on the Himilayas, I felt the wind in my face and the power and beauty of the lands unfolding beneath me? I felt something of wonder, surely? What about love, I hear you ask. What of the joy when one sees a newborn child? Perhaps these things are a reflection, a glimpse into the splendour of the God who made this world, the one who gives it all its meaning. Solomon views God as the crux of the issue:
Jesus said "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." If we seek His will and live for Him, reading his word and trusting in Him then He will show us something of the Glory and Wonder of Himself and His creation. There is a hymn that begins to speak something of this:
Millions and millions of tons of consumer goods, building products and fuel sent up and down, round and round, from Dover to Edinburgh, from Glasgow to Manchester, Liverpool to Norwich. It brings to mind the words of Reginald Perrin, a fictional character appaled by the mediocrity of his own life,
"What have I done with my life? "I've sold razors so people can shave the stubble off their faces. And what happens? Next day it GROWS BACK AGAIN!"Reggie's despair at his life is the same as that which was voiced thousands of years ago by a King. Solomon was the richest man alive, he had everything he wanted. His life was full of exotics and spice, he was THE modern man of the 1000BC period. He tried everything, in his own words,
"I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the children of man."Sounds nice to me! Imagine how you could spend your time if you were Solomon! Banquets, Dances, Expeditions, Boating, Chariot racing, Eating (my personal favourite), Swimming, Visting your own collection of exotic and amazing animals, Commisioning the building of new wonders and palaces, Gardening (on a massive scale), Leading Armies, Visiting Kings and Queens of the Ancient world....and much much more! Well, lets see what Solomon thought of it all....
"So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun."Wooooaaah, Solley, what are you saying?!?! Striving after the wind?! Nothing to be gained?! Im not liking the sound of this! Although now I think about it, this is similar to what I was thinking stuck in the rain on the A1, although slightly more poetic!
So, Solomon, Reginald and myself are in agreement, it all means nothing. So, how come when I stood on the Himilayas, I felt the wind in my face and the power and beauty of the lands unfolding beneath me? I felt something of wonder, surely? What about love, I hear you ask. What of the joy when one sees a newborn child? Perhaps these things are a reflection, a glimpse into the splendour of the God who made this world, the one who gives it all its meaning. Solomon views God as the crux of the issue:
"The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."That is fairly final, God is the reason we are here, our entire purpose and the meaning of life is all rolled up in our Lord, the author of all life.
Jesus said "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." If we seek His will and live for Him, reading his word and trusting in Him then He will show us something of the Glory and Wonder of Himself and His creation. There is a hymn that begins to speak something of this:
Who paints the skies into glorious day?So maybe, just possibly, there is more to life than the A1.
Only the splendor of Jesus
Who breaths his life into fists of clay?
Only the splendor of Jesus
Who shapes the valleys and brings the rain?
Only the splendor of Jesus
Who makes the desert to live again?
Only the splendor of Jesus
Tuesday 24 November 2009
Wonders........?
After a recent re-read of many of my old notes- then written in the ancient form of "handwriting", a now little used art- I was excited to find my studies of Solomon, Paul's Friends, the Armour of God and other fascinating topics! I will be trying to post some of my old thoughts and ideas as the days pass, however I am currently studying Jacob, what a guy! I began my study into Jacob with a lot of zeal, people's opinons of him are very varied, stretching from disdain at his 'devious' ways right to uttmost respect for his life and heritage.
In Jacob we see an outsider running from his dad and brother to long-lost relatives in far lands, there he loses his heart to a beautiful girl. However he ends up married to someone he doesnt love, finally joining with his first-love, we see the sorry story of his first wife, her grief and sadness but final contentment. The family returns and amidst great tension and fear, our "hero" faces his elder brother once again. Finally we follow the actions and lusts of the divided and devious sons of Jacob.
This is a story in a story, Jacob's tale is an epic one, we follow him from his birth to his death. However it is but a second in the greatest story of all, the epic of the Bible. Reaching from the very creation of the worlds to the future, the Bible spans centuries, written by Kings, Farmers, Poets, Lovers, Shepards, Fisherman, Manufacturers and Musicians, revealing things which Angels strained to know, wonders that leave us open mouthed, telling the story of God's world and His people, the rebellion of the first man and the devestation that followed. And most of all, it tells us of God's great plan to end the rebellion for ever.
Eve, the first woman, was told that one of her descendants would free man from the grip of sin, this promise continued down through Abraham and Isaac, Isaac and his wife Rebekah were told that it would continue through their youngest son, you've guessed it.... Jacob. Why Jacob and not his older brother Esau? We arent to know, who are we to question God?
Jacob, emerged clutching at his brother's heel, desperate to be first! Sadly we quickly see a pattern of favouritism emerge from his parents: his father prefering Esau, due to his great skills at hunting and presumably his implied masculinity. Rebekah, however, prefered Jacob, who was known as a "quiet man, dwelling in tents". Hardly the smoothest family life, one would think! But we shall have to wait and see what happens to Jacob and his colourful brother, Esau......
In Jacob we see an outsider running from his dad and brother to long-lost relatives in far lands, there he loses his heart to a beautiful girl. However he ends up married to someone he doesnt love, finally joining with his first-love, we see the sorry story of his first wife, her grief and sadness but final contentment. The family returns and amidst great tension and fear, our "hero" faces his elder brother once again. Finally we follow the actions and lusts of the divided and devious sons of Jacob.
This is a story in a story, Jacob's tale is an epic one, we follow him from his birth to his death. However it is but a second in the greatest story of all, the epic of the Bible. Reaching from the very creation of the worlds to the future, the Bible spans centuries, written by Kings, Farmers, Poets, Lovers, Shepards, Fisherman, Manufacturers and Musicians, revealing things which Angels strained to know, wonders that leave us open mouthed, telling the story of God's world and His people, the rebellion of the first man and the devestation that followed. And most of all, it tells us of God's great plan to end the rebellion for ever.
Eve, the first woman, was told that one of her descendants would free man from the grip of sin, this promise continued down through Abraham and Isaac, Isaac and his wife Rebekah were told that it would continue through their youngest son, you've guessed it.... Jacob. Why Jacob and not his older brother Esau? We arent to know, who are we to question God?
"Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger."
Jacob, emerged clutching at his brother's heel, desperate to be first! Sadly we quickly see a pattern of favouritism emerge from his parents: his father prefering Esau, due to his great skills at hunting and presumably his implied masculinity. Rebekah, however, prefered Jacob, who was known as a "quiet man, dwelling in tents". Hardly the smoothest family life, one would think! But we shall have to wait and see what happens to Jacob and his colourful brother, Esau......
The Naming Game
The naming of a blog had always before appeared to me as such a simple task, however my view was to be permanantly changed as of yesterday.
I began with the simple, "Matt's Blog", this moved on towards "Matt's thoughts", I then had a minor brainstorm (or should I say "thought shower" or even "Stir fry in the Mind Wok") on the word "thought" and came up with many variations. I then moved on towards the Bible and wanted to reflect how refreshing it is. Ideas included:
After much thought and pondering, I concluded that the name of the blog should really include my name in it, then I promptly changed this opinion.
I considered using some form of mythology, and then decided against it (i am fairly normal, and dragons and gargoyls probably dont give that impression).
How about if the name was totally meaningless?!?
After much agonising and theorising I arrived at the marvel of "Wonders and Wigwams", why on earth, I here you ask......... well, you shall have to wait, and maybe I will reveal all....or maybe not.
I began with the simple, "Matt's Blog", this moved on towards "Matt's thoughts", I then had a minor brainstorm (or should I say "thought shower" or even "Stir fry in the Mind Wok") on the word "thought" and came up with many variations. I then moved on towards the Bible and wanted to reflect how refreshing it is. Ideas included:
- the Coach House
- Refreshments
- Pit Stop Ponderings
- Spring Lagoon
After much thought and pondering, I concluded that the name of the blog should really include my name in it, then I promptly changed this opinion.
I considered using some form of mythology, and then decided against it (i am fairly normal, and dragons and gargoyls probably dont give that impression).
How about if the name was totally meaningless?!?
- The Flying Wagalolacoop
- Shaking Shabadaza
- Racaca
- Hisssssssssssssssssssss
After much agonising and theorising I arrived at the marvel of "Wonders and Wigwams", why on earth, I here you ask......... well, you shall have to wait, and maybe I will reveal all....or maybe not.
Monday 23 November 2009
Wigwams.......
So here I am, apparently now a fully fledged member of the 21st Century; no longer able to simply talk, but instead requiring of a computer with something known as "wifi" to voice my thoughts to the world, which are, presumably, of some vital importance to someone, somewhere.
My main aim of this "blog"* is to convey some of the thoughts and ideas I have while studying God's Word, and to document some of the stony paths I stumble down. Obviously a blog can never replace my trust notebook, but I hope that some of my more productive thoughts can be penned here!
Heres to the future!
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