40 Acts - Day 23: ' LAST ROLO'

It's often said that the way to tell whether someone loves you is to see whether they'll give you their last Rolo. 

Whether it's our last Rolo or our favourite jumper, sometimes we get a bit clingy about the stuff we have. 

When the stuff we own starts to own us, it's time to re-evaluate the situation. 

And the best solution to hoarding?                                         Giving it away.

[Jesus] said to them, ‘… life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’ 

(Luke 12:15 NIV)

I’ll always remember my first trip to India: there were people making idols out of wood and stone along the roadside; shocked I asked my colleague Sekhar, ‘Why can’t people see that these idols are just objects, not gods?’ I don’t recall his answer, but I do recall the corresponding question he asked when he came to the UK: ‘People here have so much stuff; why can’t they see that it’s not making them happy?’    

Ouch. I had nothing to say. His remark completely cut through my cultural blindness. I thought worshipping objects in India was crazy, but we were doing the same thing right here!

   

I’ve had the pleasure of encountering people in the UK who seem to live free from this blindness, and their generosity has felt like a cool glass of water in a desert. For example, when my wife and I were working in Zimbabwe and returned to the UK temporarily, we needed a car for a couple of weeks, but were short of cash. Someone we barely knew lent us her car (and travelled by public transport instead) with hardly a second thought. I couldn’t believe it.   

   

When Jesus encounters a man who loves his possessions (in Mark 10), he tells him, ‘One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor…’ He doesn’t say this to everyone he meets, but he’s very clear about the prescription for this young man.  My belief is that this was the specific remedy for the materialism that afflicted him.  At times I’ve really struggled with letting go of some of my stuff in the same way, but I know that the tension I feel in these situations is a firm reminder of how important it is for me to let go and offer someone that last Rolo. 

Today's blog was written by Rich Gower from Tearfund. 

Find out more about him and support their chosen charity here.

To see today's challenge in full - Click HERE

40Acts 2016 - Day Eight: ' Dirty Cash '

‘Money is the root of all evil’ – isn’t it?
Actually, no. It’s in the love of money that evil finds a root.

If financial giving has become a taboo subject for you, face it head on today. Give financially. Whether you've got pennies or millions, there is great joy and freedom in thoughtful and intentional giving.

You might be a regular giver or never have given before: use today as a way to explore your capacity for financial generosity.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. 

Some people, eager for money, 

have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 

(I Timothy 6:10 NIV)

‘Are you a Christian? How can you do this and wear a cross on your lapel?’

‘This’ was me giving a talk to some medical staff about their financial planning some years ago. I was wearing a suit with a small gold cross tastefully pinned to my lapel. My questioner was a newly qualified Christian doctor for whom (by the turning up of her nose) money was as inevitable yet as distasteful as emptying bedpans.

Interestingly, the Bible in general and Jesus in particular have a lot to say about money – without the upturned nose. The book is full of wisdom about saving, investment, insurance, debt, budgeting and, of course, generosity.

The overwhelming message of scripture is God’s grace to an undeserving creation. And the consistent application of that grace for us as we handle money is in generosity.

In fact, it is not the cash that is dirty; it is our love of cash. We are the recipients of so much grace and generosity from the Father, the least we can do is live generous lives for others. But when our love of money overcomes our generosity we can become resistant to God’s grace. The love of money may be the root of all evil but generosity with money grows good fruit in our lives.

As we learn generosity and how to handle money as recipients of grace, we make better and better decisions about finances in all areas of life. Money is not dirty cash – something that we separate out from our faith. Following Jesus affects everything, including how we spend, invest, borrow and give.

So I turned to the doctor and tried to explain how there was no conflict for me in wearing a cross and talking about money. In the words of John Mumford, founder of Vineyard Churches in the UK, I described life as a Christian as being less like a grapefruit and more like a milkshake. Faith and money should not be tasted in separate segments but all whisked up together!

Today's blog was written by David Flower, Leeds Vineyard / Flowers McEwan Ltd.
Find out more about him and his chosen charity here.

To see today's challenge in full - Click HERE

40Acts 2016 - 6 ' Cupboard Love '

One key to a generous life is to be good stewards of what we have.

Today's the day to say I'm bored of the hoard, and put the stuff we have to even better use.
What do you have hidden away in cupboards that someone else could benefit from?
Who might need/want it?
Could you give it away or lend it out today?

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers – most of which are never even seen – don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? 

What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. (Matthew 6:30–33 The Message)

‘Your living room is where you share the story of who you are,’ wrote a certain well-known Swedish retailer. I wonder what your living space says about who you are.

Looking across our lounge I see: a bed-settee (we love having people to stay), candles (remembering our babies who died in miscarriage), rugs (reducing fuel consumption as we care for God’s world), mugs and strewn items of clothing (evidence of four young people in the house), a box of musical instruments (still there from our pre-school era!), and a returns package (our offspring are on first-name terms with Amit the delivery man).

This question could extend to your wardrobe: does it hold a select few items regularly worn, or is it clogged up with clothes tied to your aspirations for the future (different bodyshape/job)? I like William Morris’s words, ‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.’ It’s a great benchmark.

Jesus, in Matthew 6, says: ‘What I am trying to do here is to get you to relax, not to be concerned with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving’ (The Message).

One key to a generous life is to be good stewards of what we have. Self-help books and TV shows sing the praises of decluttering. Giving things away benefits the people who receive, but it is also about freeing us up to respond to God’s giving. As you consider the three challenges for today, I wonder what the things you give away say about who you are.

I had a couple of items to give to a homeless lady back in the summer, and God prompted me to also give her the bracelet from my wrist. This had no financial value, but was special as a tangible reminder of God with me when I was suffering from anxiety.

Sometimes we are called to give of our best, inspired by God who has given the most precious gift of all.

Today's blog was written by Anne Bookless. 
Find out more about her and support her chosen charity here.

To see the whole of today's challenge - click HERE

Write and Wrong

Seems to me that on a day where 80,000+ people petition to have a boxer banned from a BBC sports personality vote and 200,000 sigh another petition (probably many of the same people who voted over the Fury thing!) to ban Donald Trump from coming to this country because he's a wally (albeit a rich wally of course) that the words of St Augustine of (not 'the') Hippo spring to mind:

Now just because we don't agree with someone is not reason to ban them or vilify them or act against them; what democracy does is permit people to hold views, even when the person (or the views) are foolish or differ from the views you hold.

We are seeing more and more of this childish attitude where, having heard something we don't like, we stick our fingers in our ears to deny their words being heard. Being grown-ups we now engage in all these stupid polls and petitions because we have the mistaken mindset that sheer numbers of people wanting the same thing makes whatever view is being held, right - and of course that's a wrong mindset.

I encounter many people on a daily basis, many of whom have lifestyles, viewpoints and attitudes that are just plain out of whack with anything rational, positive or good (and I'm not just looking at the Bible here - I'm talking about good old-fashioned logic here).

Some of these will tell me how something is right, because they want to think that or because it's something they do, and yet the same people will pull down the attitudes or lifestyles of others and tell me how they should not be allowed to exist! 

You can find a whole raft of opinion on a whole spectrum of behaviours, attitudes, mindsets and the like. The problem is that if I am willing to take Tyson Fury to task for his apparently mysognistic views. I have to say 'apparently' because I have met a woman who told me that he'd got it right and that he'd described the world she wanted with her man! Hey ho, there's always one - and that's the point -  and what of the misandrists who seem to exist in such numbers these day, how will you deal with them? The answer has to be 'open-handedly'.

Even if there is but one person who holds a view that you don't agree with: They still have the right to hold that view! This is what freedom of speech and democracy are all about. We might not agree with a person but the fact that they can hold their view and speak about it should they so wish is something to be cherished and protected.

I meet many who want proportional representation to be the model for the politics in the UK. I tell them that this is fine, but that they must be willing, if that is to be the means by which we elect our parliament, to have coalition government and to have MPs from the National Front, UKIP and other oft' vilified groups. Their response to this is usually, "Oh no, they'd have to be banned!' This is not democracy but another facet of the fascism we are seeing from all political parties and all social groupings too!

And this is the problem - we don't want tolerance, we want what we want at the cost of free speech, democracy and equal rights. I am happy for someone to be an atheist and respect their right to be such and yet many atheists demand their right to be such and want to see people of faith wiped of the board - apparently their opinion outweighs the opinion of a believer; mind you one side might use the Bible whilst the other likes to be as subjective as some Christians I meet by referring to their own intellect and logic (so that's them on the losing side then I guess!).

My right to choose how I might live in terms of relationship or sexuality appears, or so it seems, greater than someone's right to not have that as their chosen lifestyle. The problem is that when this occurs one side is 'whatever'phobic' whilst the other side is merely 'right' and that, of course isn't right.  If I choose not to drink coffee (and I don't drink coffee) then I am not engaging in 'coffee phobia', neither am I making a comment or criticism about coffee-drinkers, I am just saying that this is not something I have chosen. Why doesn't this apply across the board and why can't we engage in conversation over issues rather than resort to fingers in ears, demanding our way and creating yet another ridiculous petition?

I can't imaging that the government will waste its time debating this facile petition - all it requires is for us to largely ignore the bloke (but the press won't because it sells papers and air time) and to listen to those rational voices around us instead. He's not going to be the next President of the US (although they said that about Reagan I recall) but if he did get that job, there's no doubt he would be most welcome here as part of cementing the 'special' relationship (well, he appears to be a case for 'special needs' education so perhaps he's halfway there!).

Why don't you stop signing petitions and demanding people be silenced and vilified and try to use some reason? You might find you like it and things get better :-)

I'll leave you with a sound bit of thinking:

Pax

Made me smile: Before the ice bucket challenge 2

Thought this was quite clever!

Made me smile: Before the ice bucket challenge

Yes indeedy - it's true!

The Archbishop of Canterbury Speaks . . .

And, as is often the case with this bloke, I like what he has to say:

Now those are very good words indeed (and of course we need to extend them to people who will disagree with our theology on grounds of choice, what society wants and selfish desires - but that wouldn't have been a sound bite by the time that had been said, would it?)

Sadly, I haven't seen too much of that in Church so it would be a great move forward to see this being done.

Happy Wednesday

Blue Sky Thinking: Friends who Argue

These are some of the truest words I think I have ever read.

Those who I find to be lacking in with are usually surrounding by people who agree with them.

Wouldn't you agree?

Thought for the day

Crown Him as your Captain in temptation's hour!