POLICE- Follow this van

POLICE    FOLLOW THIS VAN

   

Ever seen this before? I queued behind one such van earlier this week and had time to consider the implications of the sign.


What actually does it mean? Is it warning us that police do follow this van? Or is it warning all police to follow this van? Hmmmm.


Is it the result of a brainstorming session at Villains and Crooks HQ? You can picture the scene: hundreds of minor robbers and fraudsters, a few men in dark suits, a scattering of bankers, one or two men with tattoos and huge heads- all sitting around a large boardroom table. At the head of the room, seated upon a red leather button-back chair, stroking a cat, is a bald man in a grey overcoat.


"Last year, our success rate doubled. The government's austerity measures are leading to a reduction in city-policing. It is getting too easy. Gone are the days of excitement and fun. Now any greedy citizen can commit a crime. How about we give the police a helping hand? Something to start them off on the right trail? Put the danger back into crime!"


"Got it! We label all our vehicles with big black stickers saying 'POLICE follow us!'"


"Good idea, Dr Z."


Okay. Maybe not. But as another blogger has observed, if we follow these signs to the letter then imagine the chaos. Huge queues of panda cars and police motorcycles, all following a white citroen van, leaving no police left to stop the real crimes taking place on the other side of town!

It must be fairly daunting driving a van which obviously is used for transporting money. You must see shadows everywhere! Every postbox is really a mugger in disguise waiting to attack you. Every suited man reading a newspaper is actually a 'scout' trying to plan when and where to take you down! I suppose if I was a securior driver then I would want a "POLICE-HELP!" sign too! Some vans are even fitted with talking alarms, ever heard this one:

Help! Help! This van is being robbed! Please call the police! Help! Help!

Amusingly (or maybe not) most people's reaction to such an alarm is to walk by with a bemused expression and to do nothing at all!

As a Christian it is a daunting thing to be labelled as a follower of Jesus Christ. In a similar way to a security van attracting hordes of scheming villains, a Christian seems to attract mobs of bullies, waves of persecution, tornadoes of insults and just simple grief.

Jesus told us that our purpose as Christians is to witness. He used the imagery of a city, or a lamp:

The mountain city of Montalcino in Tuscany.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.







Thats a whole lot of pressure! And by ourselves, we would fail in doing this every single time. Casting Crowns puts in well in one of their songs:

So maybe this time 

I'll speak the words of life

With Your fire in my eyes

But that old familiar fear 

is tearin' at my words

What am I so afraid of?

'Cause here I go again

Talkin' 'bout the rain

And mullin' over things 

that won't live past today

And as I dance around the truth

Time is not his friend

This might be my last chance 

to tell him that You love Him 

But thankfully we aren't doing this on our own.

Back to our Securior van driver for a moment: he feels safe knowing that he is being followed by police- those with the power and authority to apprehend the criminals and to protect himself and his precious cargo.

 Likewise, we don't walk alone but we walk with Jesus Christ, who has filled us with the Holy Spirit. The writer of Hebrews says:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

With the Lord's guidance and protection we can step into the world and be labelled as Christians, certain that nothing can separate us from his love and confident that the good news of Jesus will transform lives and shatter strongholds! This is a lot easier said than done, and I don't claim to be an expert, but God truly has given us some great promises:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?....                          

 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?..... 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Who really is The Chairman?

 "Have you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary;     his understanding is unsearchable."

                                                                                     Isaiah Chapter 40 verse 28

 Last week I watched Matt Damon's "The Adjustment Bureau". I knew, vaguely, that the film asked questions about the sovereignty of God, but I had thought little of it.

   Firstly, I would like to say how good it was to watch a film which actually had a meaningly question at its heart. Matt Damon tends towards staring in 'meaningful' films (with the odd exceptions) and he, I thought, acted brilliantly. It is rare that a film ventures further than pure entertainment: occasionlly we a treated to a political or romantic adventure but nothing of any real 'life or death' substance. This was an exception to that rule. The acting was solid, the backdrops and music was perfect and the effects were just as reliable. The plot was one which, while having a high level of tension and 'on-the-edge-of-the-seat-ness', allowed the watcher to immerse themselves in the drama and excitement. There were however several large- some would say gaping- holes in the questions which, though never faced directly, were implied throughout the plot.
   The film is based around a US Congressman running for Senate. While following his election trail we are introduced to a shady organisation which operates across New York. Men in overcoats in cool hats are always watching and whispering. These men, we soon learn, belong to the 'Adjustment Bureau'. Their job is to make 'adjustments' in peoples lives so that they continue to- unknowingly- follow 'the plan'.

   Early on in the film, however, one of these men makes a mistake and fails to delay the congressman from getting on a bus. This leads to a series of events through which David Norris discovers the existence of the bureau and of The Chairman- someone shrouded in mystery,  the one who actually wrote The Plan. You can see the not-so-subtle allegory here?!
   We soon learn that these people have been running planet earth for some time, and have often intervened- if not entirely manipulated- human history. They know all about us, and each carry a little black book which show both us (small pulsating red dots) and also our own small contributions to the overall plan.

   The story which follows is one in which the Congressman attempts to forge his own plan and to be reunited with the one woman he ever loved.
    By the end of the film we are left with mixed feelings about the bureau and its chairman. One of the adjustment men- angels?- leaves us with some words of- seemingly- great wisdom.

    It was an enjoyable film, if only for its drama (and the cool hats). However, as one would suspect of a secular film group trying to understand God, they really missed the best scene of all!
    By suggesting that Norris's plans were greater than The Chairman's they were greatly underestimating God and his wisdom. The Bible tells us that God was the one who created us and continues to sustain us: doesn't it go without saying that he knows and wants only the best for us?
    Contrary to God binding us in shackles and sending angels to force us into his will, we read in the New Testament that God often allows us to follow our own desires and to see for ourselves the problems and wickedness of our own plans.

"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.......For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.........And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done."

     The Angel-like men in T.A.B. are concerned that men, if left to their own devices, lead the world into war and darkness, (they probably have a point there!) and are more concerned with leading the world to a brighter future than in allowing individual people (like Norris) to flourish and be happy.  This is where the film writers really have missed the greatest scene of all!
  
     The Bible tells us that God so loved people- like you and me- that he sent his own son, Jesus, to become a man and to live among us. God knew that, rather than being slaves to his 'plan', rather we are slaves to our own sinfulness and wickedness. That is why Jesus had to die at the hands of Roman soldiers. So that we- the individual men and women that he created and loves- could be freed from slavery and could be reunited with God!

    In pitching The Chairman as a distant, secret, hidden man who orchestrates world affairs behind a closed door, the film fails to see God as he really is.

    If you really want to know God, then don't watch The Adjustment Bureau; but turn to the Bible, starting in the Gospels, because there you will meet Jesus and, trust me, you won't help but be amazed!

A Brighter Discontent

"But is a brighter discontent
The best that I could hope to find?"

   One of the main topics which regularly emerges in my blogs is that of  'the vanity of a life without God'. Below are a few posts which really highlight this point.

• One Life Remaining.......    
• The Greatest Story     
• P.S. Jesus loves you    
• A-Road Inspiration) 

   

   I think it is probably time to move on from this topic! Why? Because- on the other side of the proverbial coin- a life with God is brimming with purpose!

   I don't know if you have heard of The Submarines? They are a Californian-based duo. Fascinating story behind their music, look it up if you get a chance! In one song Blake Hazard (what a cool name!) sings these words:

"But is a brighter discontent

The best that I could hope to find?"

  I would humbly suggest that, without God, a 'brighter discontent' is indeed the most one can hope for! Without God life lacks purpose and spark. Work, relationships, money, pleasure: they are all, ultimately, meaningless.

   As Christians, however, we can experience true contentedness. An early Christian called Paul said these words:

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him..."

   Paul was prepared to give up his religious status, wealth, health and future all for the Lord Jesus. Why? Because he thought that knowing Jesus was of 'surpassing worth'.

    Contentedness is somewhat elusive. We live in a continual rat-race. Work, work, work, work. Make money, make friends, get qualifications, get power, get prestige. Keep trying harder. We think that if we could just get that next pay-rise, get that next promotion or get that next deal then we will finally be content. But it simply doesn't work like that. When we achieve our objectives we simply replace them with new and higher ones. We are constantly pushing on for the next 'big thing'. People who win the lottery seem so happy and content- you can watch them opening the champagne and celebrating. But I recently read a newspaper article describing how some 'winners' soon found that their lives were harder and less satisfying after winning the lottery than before! Money brings its own problems.

   So how come Paul was so content? What is it that we really need?

   In a recent episode of the British sci-fi series Doctor Who the Doctor's companion realised something about her friend:

"You are looking for Salvation!"

The Doctor replies:

"Aren't we all."

   Is this true? Has the BBC finally caught on?

   Yes I think so.

   In the bible the secret of contentedness is revealed: its Jesus.

   In him we find salvation and freedom. When we discover that God came to earth to suffer and die so as to bear the punishment for our own sin then our lives are transformed. Paul says this:

"I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

   If you are a Christian then you have such a wonderful gift. You have the secret of contentedness. Christ has forgiven you for your sins and reserved a home in heaven for you. Whatever happens here on earth now is of little consequence- because you are safe with your saviour!

   Life without God may be meaningless and vanity. But life with God is a content one. We can truly have more than just a 'brighter discontent'!

"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear;

what can man do to me?”"

                                                                                Hebrews 13 verses 5-6