On having more time than I think

Last week I watched Jennifer Byrne interview the author, P.D. James. The thing that surprised me was that she was 92 years old and her mind was so sharp.

Sometimes I think I started writing too late in life, that somehow time is running out for me as a writer. Then along comes P. D. James, 92 and still writing. I guess writing being a sedentary occupation has it advantages.

Currently I am writing some devotional thoughts from the book of Mark, when I finish I will have written a devotional thought on every chapter in the New Testament, all 260 of them. (See my progress here.) It occurred to me a while ago I should aim to write a thought on every chapter from the Old Testament too, all 929 of them, but I figured it would take too long. However I have already written about 50 from the Old Testament so if I wrote one devotional thought per week it would take me another 17 years. However watching P.D. James made me consider that even if I wrote one a fortnight I would still make it before I turned 92!

Maybe I have more time than I think.

Devotional Thought : Mark 7:5

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” Mark 7:5

This wasn’t a hygiene issue but rather an issue of obeying a tradition. The Pharisees had chosen to focus on the trivial at the expense of the important and in so doing, had created an inaccurate picture of what God is like – a God who nit picks and is hard to please.

The Pharisees had a great historic heritage. As Paul says, “Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah” (Romans 9:4-5). Yet they chose to focus on minute details of the law and neglected to be loving.

I wonder if we sometimes do the same? We create practices and routines which may have at one time been helpful but have now become traditions. Furthermore we have been doing them for so long we have forgotten why we started or why we thought they were helpful. It may be something as simple as reading the Bible for ten minutes every day which is a helpful spiritual discipline but when we make it compulsory for others it becomes a burden.

If we started expecting others to follow our man made rules simply because we find them helpful, we have a problem and cease to be Christ-like. When we are too focused on the trivial we will overlook the important.

From time to time we need to examine our traditions and considering whether they are still helpful or if they are creating a stumbling block for others to join us.

Book Review : Motive Games

Motive Games is written for young adults who play video/computer games and, although I don’t fit either of these criteria, I still enjoyed the book. I was unfamiliar with all the jargon, but I understood enough about computers to connect with the story. There is a glossary of these terms at the back of the book.

The story concerns Phil whose father was a computer game designer. He died in an apparent accident when he fell down a flight of stairs. Phil, however, believes he was pushed and seeks to discover who is responsible. It is an engaging story with all the usual twists and hidden clues that you would expect in a murder mystery.

Along the way we gain insights into the world of computer gaming and the big business that this high-tech industry provides. It also provides many possible motives for Phil’s father’s death. Phil takes huge risks to find the evidence he needs to convict his father’s killer and in the process learns and grows as a person.

L.D. Taylor is a Christian author and this subtle influence ensures the book promotes the value of completing schooling as well as encouraging gamers not to spend all their free time playing online games.

Overall a great read.

On giving up caffeine

I started drinking tea as a kid and by the time I was 20 I was drinking 6-7 cups a day. At the time this didn’t seem unusual and I suffered no ill effects. Over the years I have cut back and replaced some cups with water and some with decaffeinated tea which apparently reduces the caffeine content by about 90%. I’ve never drank coffee which has a higher caffeine content per cup.

The reason I cut back my caffeine intake is not because it is causing me any problems – it is only a problem when I stop, and often I unintentionally stop when I go on holidays. When I am at home I drink tea regularly throughout the day but when I’m away I forget. I’m out and about and don’t consider the fact that if I don’t have a cup of tea I’m going to end up with a headache. I dislike the idea of planning my holidays around my tea drinking habits. Furthermore I really only like plain, ordinary tea. I’m not even a fan of English Breakfast and I’m finding these days some cafés don’t sell plain, ordinary tea. So I’m faced with the further dilemma of buying a favoured tea that I don’t really like just to prevent myself getting a headache when I’d really prefer to have a hot chocolate.

Prior to my last holiday I had cut back to one cup of ordinary tea and one cup of decaffeinated tea a day. Then whilst on holidays I decided to only drink three cups of decaf tea a day.

The first week wasn’t ok. I had a few headaches but it wasn’t too bad but the second week was worse. I was having headaches every day and sometimes they were quite severe. Things were better the third week and now it’s been a month I’m fine. However I’m still having some caffeine.

At this stage I’m going to stick to my three cups of decaf tea a day and see what happens next holiday.

Does anyone else have a story about their caffeine habits?

Devotional Thought : Mark 6:51-52

They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. Mark 6:51-52

The disciples did not always understand God’s ways, some days neither do we. Yet Jesus did not give up on them, nor does he give up on us. The explanation for their lack of understanding was that their hearts were hardened. How did their hearts become hard?

The disciples had seen Jesus doing miraculous things – healing the sick, feeding the five thousand, calming a storm and now Jesus walks on water. The disciples were familiar with the prophesises concerning the Messiah and, as Jesus told John, he was doing those things which were consistent with being the Messiah: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (Matthew 11:5).

There was some expectation that the Messiah might feed his people like Moses had, but it was not prophesied that the Messiah would multiply food, calm a storm or walk on water. The disciples had not understood Jesus’ complete power over nature.

Yet Jesus expected them to have learnt from his teaching and his miracles. He expected them to apply the truth they had seen and heard to grow in their understanding of the Messiah. But often the disciples were stuck in their preconceived ideas and often we are too. If we have not seen Jesus do miracles in our lives, we may not expect him to do miracles for others. Nevertheless as the day of his second coming approaches it is foretold that we will see more of the miraculous.

The disciples didn't have heartened hearts forever. God was able to soften their hearts and he will soften ours too, if we let him.

Book Review : The Magician’s Daughter

The Magician’s Daughter by Justyn Walker is a delightful children’s story about two misfit children, Georgie and Thomas, who fall through a puddle into another world. In this other world they are given a task to complete which requires courage and a sense of adventure. There is also a degree of mystery as you are never quite sure who is a friend and who is an enemy.

The story is told with a sense of fun which makes it a very enjoyable read. There is enough similarity with the real world to make it easy to relate to and enough difference to make it intriguing.

Through the completing of the task, Georgie and Thomas also learn a lot about themselves and their place in the world. In this there is a covert Christian message about our value as people.

Overall a fun read for primary school children.

Devotional Thought : Mark 5:19, 43

“Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” …He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this. Mark 5:19 & 43

The previously demon possessed man is encouraged to tell everyone about his healing yet Jesus gives strict orders that no one speak of the healing of the girl.

Of course geographically these were two very different places. The demon possessed man lived in a Gentile area but the young girl lived in Jewish Galilee. The Gentiles had few preconceived ideas about the Messiah so Jesus was able to tell the man to share his miraculous healing with others. However in Galilee Jesus had to be careful that the people didn’t respond by prematurely claiming him as their king. Or alternatively being so disillusioned because he didn’t match their preconceived ideas that they prematurely kill him.

Different contexts required a different directive from Jesus.

It is important lesson for us. We cannot assume God wants us to react in the same way even when it appears to us that God is doing something similar to what we have seen before. God treats us as individuals and does not respond in a one size fits all fashion.

It is an easy trap for us to fall into. We think we know what people need to hear. We think we know what others should do. We freely give out advice without taking the time to listen and being sensitive to where people are at spiritually.

God knows people’s contexts far better than we do. He knows what they need to hear at a particular point of time. If we are going to minister effectively to others we must first listen to his Spirit.