Be plagued y'all

So a few weeks ago, my first ever letter in the CofE newspaper got published. Exciting stuff. I was basically bemoaning the lack of choice Christians face when it came to choosing a party to support. My conclusion to that letter was "I am not one for a gloomy outlook but given the choice between Conservative and Labour, I'm inclined to agree with Shakespeare and declare: a plague on both your houses." In other words, woe unto him who says that the Conservative party is the choice for Christians!

I'd kind of forgotten about all this and then I came across this from the an pro-conservative blogger (http://www.archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/)

If David Cameron made one mistake during this election campaign, it was his decision to sideline the Christian majority. It is one thing to ‘love bomb’ the Liberal Democrats and to court the minority faiths, but quite another purposely to rile and alienate Christians. [...] he denigrates and misrepresents the Church of England; he proclaims that ‘it is mainstream Britain which needs to integrate more with the British Asian way of life, not the other way around’; and he asserts that if Jesus were around today he would be supporting ‘gay rights’.

For the full piece, see Why the Conservatives did not win the General Election

What's more today I read that the Theresa May who is the new Home Sec, has decided to abandon traditional (i.e. biblical) values and is taking a more "progressive" approach to morality (Fragile Coalition under threat from political correctness) So who says the Tories are any better than Labour or the Trendy liberals? Reminds me of something the Prophet Isaiah wrote way back then

8 For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord,
defying his glorious presence. [4]

9 For the look on their faces bears witness against them;
they proclaim their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
For they have brought evil on themselves.

Quote of the week

When we get to the decisive point of the coming Obamafail, we are going to be looking at a political moon crater that makes Jimmy Carter's hole in the ground look like the something on the 11th green at Augusta.

From the legendary Doug Wilson: The Coming Obamafail

Joke of the week

A teenage boy had just passed his driving test and inquired of his father as to when they could discuss his use of the car.

His father said he'd make a deal with his son: 'You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible a little, and get your hair cut. Then we'll talk about the car.'

The boy thought about that for a moment, decided he'd settle for the offer, and they agreed on it.
After about six weeks his father said, 'Son, you've brought your grades up and I've observed that you have been studying your Bible, but I'm disappointed you haven't had your hair cut.

The boy said, 'You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I've noticed in my studies of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair...and there's even strong evidence that Jesus had long hair.' To which his Dad replied:
'Did you also notice they all walked everywhere they went?'

HT: Andrew Baughen

Deadly invitation

Is the kind of invitation Jesus makes in Mark 8:34-36... To follow Christ is the most wonderful and truly human thing any sane person would do but - and this is crucial - it is also the most costly thing to do. Read the gospels and see how Jesus loves to call people to Himself yet, he never hides the fact that to follow Him amounts to denying self and loving death. Bonhoeffer must have had something of this in mind when he wrote "When Christ Calls a Man, He Bids Him Come and Die."

The path to happiness

So I posted Friday on what I thought would make for a good, Christ-honouring stag day and yesterday I had mine... How was it?

Well we started off with some good food at a local pub, then we were off to the go kart race track for some serious racing - I think for many this was a real highlight. I mean seriously, put any man near some fast moving machinery, and very quickly they start behaving like a boy about to enjoy some toy. I was also surprised to see how one minute Christians can be sooooo friendly and ever so polite but get them racing against each other and its carnage at every corner!

After the racing we had some chill out time at the best man's house and the evening was concluded with a curry (lovely for most people but not for me who was 'encouraged' to eat some chillies - managed to eat three and then almost threw up)

I think if I had to be honest I would say it was an okay day. I still don't understand why stags have to wear comedy outfits and I still wonder why the stag has to be challenged to do something outrageous like eat raw chillies, or challenge strangers to a duel or some such...

Sometime in the near future and before any kiplets get married, I would like to think some more about what our ascended Lord Jesus thinks about one of his followers having a stag do - I'm sure His word has something to say on it only that I don't yet know what it is and if any of you have put some thought into this I would love to hear it...

Right now though I want to leave you with an excerpt of a note someone wrote me yesterday on my stag day. If you are married, about to get married, aspire to be married, these are words worth hearing

Utter devotion to Christ, fearless submission to Scripture, passionate faithfulness to your wife and radical, perservering, joyful, self-giving, humble, self-forgetful service in your marriage are the path to happy fruitfulness

Thank you for such stirring words dear David.

May the Lord give me and others in a similar situation great grace every day, hour and minute to walk this path, for our own good, others blessing and to God's praise and glory.

Stirred by a noble theme

So begins Psalm 45, where the writer is clearly enchanted by the theme of marriage. The wonder and beauty of marriage has been percolating in my mind recently as it is only 4 weeks until I enter unto this noble estate as Cranmer says somewhere.

Well over the next four weeks, apart from counting down the days, I would like to consider where the various activities we usually join in prior to or during the marriage service originate. As I do this, I'd like to consider ways in which we can further glorify Christ in the area of marriage prep and marriage celebrations. I take it, this is what Paul meant when he wrote 2 Corinthians 10:5

My first thing to consider is stag parties. Reading around, it looks like stag parties begun life as a feast put on by close friends of the Groom, the night before his wedding day to say goodbye to his days of being a free man. Not a bad thing you'd think but on further reading it looks like implicit in this notion of being a "free man" was the idea that bachelorhood was a time of irresponsibility (when immature and sometimes immoral behaviour was permitted). Unsurprisingly today's stag parties dwell on this notion with frequent reports of stag parties involving risqué elements such as strippers or the groom being stripped and tied to lampposts in the dead of night.

In a sense, this is where a God-opposed world would like soon-to-be husbands to end up - debauched and abandoned. It is the kind of treatment that Judas purposed for the most excellent of men when he betrayed him with a kiss. Rather than stir the bridegroom with a noble theme the pagan world would rather toy in immorality and folly.

Well how then should we stag? I suppose by starting off with some good food together, having a bit of whole hearted fun and merriment like going go-karting or enjoying clay pigeon shooting, perhaps a time together over a pint encouraging each other to be future men, concluded by a nice meal, some good wine and hearty prayers. How I desire that my stag day tomorrow, treads something of this path.

Quote of the week

I love that all people–writers, readers, or not–are made to be storytellers. God made us this way because he is the first Storyteller who told us into existence, and continues to define our lives with his redemptive words. But I think we partner with him in narration. Faith is one kind of buoyant of storytelling, we speak what we know is true and cannot see. But so is love. Love is definitely a narrator. Love chooses to speak what is possible about the people it describes. Love narrates lonely people into families. Love uses every word of its story to tell all people into grace.

From Sarah Clarkson at Tell Me Into Your Story