Scripture melee!

I took a few verses from the Bible, combined them and this is what happened, please be changed in some way.

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, who being in the very form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men, he grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, He was pierced for our transgression and bruised for our iniquities, he was oppressed and afflicted, and He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, by oppression and judgement he was taken away. He was cut off from the land of the living and for the transgression of my people he was stricken, pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, and by his stripes we are healed, you see, all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned to our own way, and the Lord had laid on him the iniquity of us all. Why? Because Love is patient, love is kind, love does not envy, love does not boast, love is without hypocrisy; Love never fails, and guess what? God is love… and he so loved the world, that whosoever believes in him, will have eternal life. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, so if you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved, and you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And when you make them, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Remember to trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return. Because one day, at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father. So to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and present you faultless before the Lamb, to him be power and glory, both now and forever amen.

The Gorge

This is a story I finished of today, Try and see any parallels in our walks in life. Enjoy.

Very early, every morning, a man walked a treacherous path to the fields where he worked; the path was a gorge between two huge rocks and was only wide enough to fit one person. There was another path above, but only the most experienced climbers could dream of walking it. On the lower path many people stumbled and fell on the sharp rocks and deadly vines. Many inexperienced travellers never made it to the other side and some were lost forever winding passages. Now, there was a point in the gorge that split into four paths, three of the paths were wide, more pleasant and pleasing to look upon. The first had a stream that gently bubbled and swished to itself, the next had grapes growing of beautiful vines, and the third other bouncing moss that soaked any warmth that could be found. However, all three ended in disaster and mostly death, they were cunning traps laid by the leaders of a neighbouring villages to catch field workers make them to work as slaves in the fields of other villages. There was a fourth path, it was fair and bleak to some, to others it was pleasant and exciting but to most it was menacing and grim, often one could see shadows of dagger-like rocks caressed by the seeming smiles of evil creatures, and dark holes and pits swallowing in all the life they found, but to the few who worked the fields, it was the only way. This man knew the right path and never strayed from it, he never fell or injured himself, and sometimes he would even light candles to make the way easier for when other workers passed. The years progressed and all the paths grew more delightful and pleasing, all apart from the fourth, which stayed just as dark and grim. It wasn’t long before the man had a son, he loved his son with a love that surpasses all thinking, his son was so precious to him and he took great pride in all he did. Much time passed by and soon the season came when a man takes his son to work with him in the fields. So early in the morning while it was still dark, the man and his son walked from their village and down towards the gorge, soon the path started to get rougher and more demanding. As they approached the gorge and the father took the upper path above leaving the son alone to take the lower path. Suddenly the son turned round and realised his Father was nowhere to be seen, He called,’ Father? Where are you?’ He heard his father’s voice and looked up, his father was looking down upon him and said,’ Son, I love you, so follow me, listen to my voice, never stop looking up at me, I will give you all the direction that you need.’ The son looked a little confused but simply obeyed. He continued along the path, looking up at his father. Suddenly his father, shouted for him to stop. The son stopped in his tracks and looked around, he found his head inches away from a huge set of spikes protruding from the walls, he started to panic, fear rose in him and just as he was about to move his head away, his father calmly said,’ Look up at me’. The son looked up at his father, fear settled sank away and the son continued to walked on, what the son didn’t know was that if he had turned he would of collided with even sharper spikes, that would of caused much pain to him. The son looked up at his father, and walked on as his father spoke instruction to him, soon the son could hear rustling, much like leaves on a tree, he flashed his eyes down for one split second and saw a huge poisonous vine towering over him, he leapt to the side and found himself quickly buried in a bush of menacing thorns, as he felt the pain of the thorns sink into his skin he found himself looking down, trying to find a way of escape, while he struggled he called out to his father, ’Father! Help me!’ ‘Look up to me son’ and as the son looked up to his father, he felt the thorns release their grasp. He saw the eyes of his Father beckoning him on and he continued along the path, his father gave him directions as to where he should tread his feet and where he should rest his hands. In no time the son had reached the crossroads, the father once again called down to his son,’ Son, listen to me, hear my voice, there may be times when you cannot see me, but remember, I know the path well, so take heed to my words.’ It was just after these words were spoken that the son heard the chirping of birds and the babbling of a brook and forgot his father’s instruction to look to him and peered down to see what he had heard. Before him lay three wonderful paths, one layered with flowers and with a wide brook running down the middle, another had moss curving up the sides of the gorge to make a beautiful blanket on which to rest. Another had all kinds of fruit ripe and ready to fall from towering trees that caressed the sun onto their mighty beams. He didn’t even notice the other path, and he thought to himself, ‘These must be the ways; I wonder which one is more exciting?’ He chose go down the path with flowers and the babbling brook, as he stepped towards it he could hear his father’s voice calling out to him, ‘Son, stop and look at me.’ But the son chose not to notice,’ It’s fine father, I have found a wonderful new way to the fields where you work!’ listening only to the happy babbling brook as it swam gently down the path, for a while he even skipped, happy recalling pleasant memories from childhood. He closed his eyes and thought, ’I have made it! I have discovered a new way!’ As he was pondering to himself he barely took time to look ahead and see the disaster to come, as he began descending into the brook, he felt the cool, refreshment of the brook, it seemed good, so he continued to walk down the path. He failed to notice the widening of the brook, and soon he found himself tumbling into a vicious rapids, he called out,’ Father, help me!’ through the billowing, white waves he heard ‘Look up to me!’ the son shouted, ’Father, where are you?’ The son felt strong hand on his shoulder pulling him from the current. ’I’m here my child, right next to you,’ The Father then carried his son back up the river, battling against sharp rocks and strong currents. The son didn’t take time to notice the cuts in his father’s legs or the grazes on his elbows, he just complained about his own injuries. As time went on, they reached the crossroads, and the father put his son back down on the ground, he said,’ Child, where you go I cannot, but I will guide you, always look up to me and listen to my voice.’ So the son followed his father’s voice and went down the fourth path, but it wasn’t long before he turned his head away from his father, to his terror he saw sharp rocks and thorns with evil shadows lurking nearby, He started to run back up the path to the crossroads, when he heard his father’s voice. ’Son! Stop and listen to me. I will keep you safe.’ The son stopped and saw his Father above; he heard the comfort in his voice and followed it. The path at times was wide and easy, other times it was hard and narrow, but his father never stopped speaking words of comfort and guidance, as they were drawing near to the end of their journey when the son felt prickles against his legs, He shouted up, ’Father! What are you doing? Why have you told me to go this way, I can feel scratches all down my legs, because I followed your voice!’ What he didn’t know was that there was a deep pit beside him filled with terror and man-eating animals. The father said, ‘Child, trust me it is for your best, follow my voice,’ the son kept looking at his father, but soon he felt nettles sting his hands, ’Father!’ He shouted,’ Why are you doing this to me? You are leading me wrong!’ It was about this time that a rock stood between the son and the father, the child couldn’t see the Father, so he called, ’Father! I cannot see you, where are you?’ ‘Son, I know where you are, listen to my voice and trust me’ But it was dark and the son started to panic, he looked down to see for himself where he was, as he stepped backward, he lost his footing and fell, he screamed in a mix of fear and pain as he crumbled down the hole, he hit the bottom hard, and felt his arm cut open, he heard the growls of fierce animals and felt the bitter cold of the wind,  he cried out, ‘Father! Where are you, I have fallen and my arm is hurt. Help me!’ Then he heard his father’s soft, gentle voice, ’My child, I am here beside you.’ The son felt himself being lifted onto his Father’s shoulders, as they travelled up the steep sides he grew angry with his father, ’Why did you make me fall? Look at my arm, it is bleeding! Why did you do this to me?’ The father gently lay his son on the ground and ripped some cloth from his own robe and bandaged his son’s arm. The son failed to notice the tears in his father eyes or the deep cuts in his father’s hands from climbing up the steep, sharp side of the pit. He picked his son up again and started to carry him again, the son began to accuse his father again, ’Look my arm still hurts, my ankle is swollen! See for yourself the pain you cause me! I can’t believe I ever listened to you!’ As they reached the top of the pit, the sun was rising, taking hold of the day and streaming light onto the path. However, even in new morning light, the son still failed to notice the deep wounds dark scratches in his Father’s side, or the deep holes in his father’s hands nor the thorny stems still entwined in his blood matted hair. He didn’t notice the bites to his father’s legs or the gashes running down his arms, then, he turned his head and looked down the path from which he came, he saw the shadows of sharp rocks and evil faces had disappeared, and green grass and flowers had taken their places, he noticed the spikes in the wall and remembered his doubt he turned again and looked at the top of the gorge where his father walked, there he saw the sharp rocks and evil creature. He turned his head again and saw the path leading down into the hole where he had fallen, deep bushes of thorns and menacing spikes of rock were spread along the path. Blood was spattered among the thorns and rocks, and then he looked down at his father, he saw the blood, cuts and pain all over his body, it was then he realised what his father had done for him, he turned back to hole then saw slain wolves and bloody thorns. He felt tears stream down his face as he understood why he had to keep looking at his father, ’Daddy,’ he said ,’ I’m sorry for not listening to you, I’m sorry for disobeying, If only I had listened!’ My child, I have already forgiven you, I forgave you even before you fell, and even before you were carried away by the current. I was there to save you and it doesn’t matter what you do, because to me your life is more precious than mine, and I will always be there to help you. Some things you will never understand, but I want you to understand that I love you more than you could possible imagine.’ The son turned to look again into his father, he saw the love and peace in his eyes and embraced him. He never knew of some of the sacrifices his father made, but he knew without doubt that his father loved him more than anything else, and would be with him all the way to the fields were they worked.

All have sinned...

‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ Romans 3:23

What? Really? Mmm… I bet! As if! Cool. And…? Recognise these responses? Yup! They were most likely your last response when you heard this verse or something similar. So before you leave, read this!  I’m going to be quick because I know you don’t have much time and to make this easier to understand I have taken liberty to divide this verse up into four segments.

1.        ‘For all’. Who exactly does this apply to? For starters it applies to you, therefore it must apply to me and every other human (Except Jesus) who is and will be on this planet or universe! This is absolutely you and you can never get away from this ‘all’ meaning you.

2.        ‘have sinned’. Sin. It’s a nasty topic and unfortunately some make it seem like a good thing, but God meant sin to mean any and every bad thing we do “Every act of wrongdoing is sin” 1 John 5:17 (Phillips Modern English) Think about the worst thing you’ve done. Jesus has the power to take it away, but more of that later! It is sin that cause things like pain and suffering, this is a result of disobedience that occurred just after we were created by God, involving Adam and Eve. In summary ‘All have sinned’- We have all sinned, all committed something bad, hurt somebody or said a wrong thing. This is what sin is, and what it does I shall explain later.

3.        ‘and fall short’. The dictionary definition of ‘fall short’ is to not reach an amount or standard. People always set goals for themselves and God has set a standard for us- absolute perfection. We obviously can never reach this standard and that is why God has provided us a way of escape from the punishment that occurs because of this inability to reach the standard.

4.       ‘of the glory of God ’. The glory of God is so amazing and so spectacular, when Moses (a man in the Bible) saw part of this, his face was shining so brightly that he had to cover his face so that people could look at him. ‘And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face.’ Exodus 34:35. I saw a useful quote on a website (who’s name escapes my memory but not my heart) it said, “The glory of God is the beauty of His spirit. It is not an aesthetic beauty or a material beauty, but it is the beauty that emanates from His character, from all that He is.”

5.        So in conclusion, You have sinned (done bad things), you have fallen short of the glory of God (you cannot because of your sin ever reach perfection). What then are the consequences of sin? The simple answer is, eternal separation from God. Otherwise known as hell. When you realise the how God holds together the universe and how he protects you and keeps you living, you will realise what this is like. Hell is the worst possible place to be and it lasts for eternity. But how do we get saved from such a place? One word- Jesus. He came down from Heaven as God and became like us, who he created. He subjected himself to human authority, lived a perfect life (totally sinless) and died an agonising death on the cross to crush the power of sin and then rose again to make a way for us to spend eternity in Heaven with God. Seem a little weird, made up story? All you have to do is admit your sin, believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection and understand that you cannot possibly live this life to the full without God. When you do this, Jesus stands in your place as a sinner and gives you a new life, hope and meaning.

So, was it worth your time? I hope so.

Dad = Superhero

I haven’t blogged for a while, but I decided that today I would continue my hobby. I have decided to take this step so I could write how much I appreciate my father. So here goes…

Most people go through their childhood years thinking their fathers are invincible and inevitably can do nothing wrong. They look at superman comics and think,’ Pffft, how pathetic! My Dad beats up villains for fun!’ I’m sure you can relate to this, I mean who needs heroes when you have Dad? This however was very different from my father, he didn’t grow up with a dad, his died when he was still in my grandma’s womb. I am still amazed to find that my father has turned out the way he has. In no way am I suggesting that those who have no fathers are automatically doomed, I am saying how he has managed to become such a good father. I guess him having no father, made him really have to think hard about how to be a Daddy to me and my three brothers- in a way he had to start from scratch. The truly amazing thing about my Dad, is how gifted he is at understanding and communicated Christian principles to me. Many hours after a church Bible study have been filled with discussing predestination, election and so on. He has been a huge inspiration to me and I know that without him, I would be in a very different place. The love he has shown me has helped me understand how to love God and others more. My relationship with him has helped me understand how God can be both a friend and father. I look to my Dad for guidance and counsel. I know that I am safe when I’m with him; he is a friend, an example, a companion and a true father. I am writing this to tell you all what he means to me. He is a true hero, and an absolute superhero.

So Dad- Much love and thanks,                                    

From your Son.

Love?

Love?

Like most people, I’m going to start with a question. So here goes… What is love? Is this not the same question many a teary teenage girl has inquired of her mother or many a discerning philosopher has contemplated with his peers? I would venture to say no. See, to ask the question we have to find out what love we are talking about. Am I talking about the sappy, Hollywood type of ‘love’? – No, or maybe, ‘Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, but I do love thee, and when I love thee not, chaos is come again’- that idealistic Shakespeare love. - Again I must say no. The love I’m talking about is true love, the absolute type- pure and refined. To dig deeper we have to go straight to scripture. So deep breath and here goes, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘Love your enemies’ ‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The list goes on…  All these scriptures tell us what to love, not necessarily what love is, these are evidences of love much like helping your mother in the kitchen or giving someone a hug, these are not love but the fruit of love, and then we find it! The scripture verse that tells us what love truly is- 1 Corinthians 13: Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. This is what love is. But to truly understand love, we have to know where love is from. It can only be from Love itself, that’s Love with a capital ‘L’. God is love. This phrase may only be three words, but three words that are fundamental to the enormity of what love is. You see, for something to exist, something has to first be it. To have love, God first had to be love.

 ‘We love him, because he first loved us.’ You see, we can only love because God first loved us first. Love only exists because God is Love. Amen? The amazing thing about this is he is, was and always will be love. Faith, trust, hope and other virtues will not exist in Heaven, Why?  Because they will be fulfilled at the coming of Jesus! Think about it, why would we need to hope or faith in Heaven. They just won’t be necessary, but love will be. God isn’t faith, He isn’t hope, but He is love and because God is love, if we want to be with him we have to have love both on Heaven and Earth. Love is a divine virtue; this means we are going spend all of eternity in true love. No more disappointments, no more envy, pride, selfishness or things that get in the way of us and God, an eternity completely fulfilling God’s purpose for life- to glorify Him. Someone recently said Heaven was like strawberry cake but a thousand times better! If that’s the case, we certainly have something to look forward to!

There are many examples of love in the Bible, but to find the deepest kind of love we have to go straight to the crucifixion.  What type of love was this? This love is sweat turns to blood, friends fleeing, healing enemies, ridicule, mocking soldiers, unjust circumstances, unbearable pain sweeping through body. Cruel, cold nails. Glass, metal, rope whipping through skin piercing even the deepest nerve, false accusations, crown of thorns, psychological torment, spiritual pounding, physical torture. Calvary’s cruel glare, condemning cross, confessing criminals, utter forgiveness, obedience to death, undeniable courage, unforgettable peace, liberating life, denying death, releasing captivity and pursuing freedom, bleeding body, suffering saviour, Head raised with a death-defying shout of ,’IT IS FINISHED.’ Death overcome, curtain split in two and victory is won. All for us, laid out for you. Jesus, our living sacrifice. My friends, this is love.

My day in the office...

...Today I’ve been completing work experience in an office. It’s interesting to see how different people work with altering working styles together. Some are busily typing away; Others are more relaxed– having a more social-work experience. So you’ve got the general atmosphere, but let us go into more detail.
Morning: Busy traffic so left early, dead on time. Introductions take place and then real work starts. Latecomers slowly slink in avoiding the managers eyes- “Traffic...” the perfect excuse and is therefore used. Smokers occasionally leave to have a quick ciggy. Lunch is an hour away now. The workers barely notice, work is now intense.
Lunch: Lunchtime comes and those who never seem to leave the office stay. Now off to Nandos, apparently it’s Nandos every day and every week. Half a chicken fills me up; one guy however has a chicken a day. Everyone finishes and heads back to the office.
Afternoon: A brief discussion on how the trial Breivik affects peoples view on religion leads onto a longer conversation on capital punishment. Then lunch break officially ends, maybe a few minutes late. So I move of to the admin area and do some minor work, giggles and laughter ensues (not from me!) as the people there find out who I am and why I'm there. The manager tells them to get on, giggles stop and a quick smoke break is undertaken (outside of course). I stay mostly because I’m not a smoker and continue doing some work. They return and more giggles are heard. The manager gives up comepletely and goes for a coffee.
Early Evening: Eventually work finishes and I head upstairs to where a conference call is occurring, frantic shifting of money around to fit the budget is happening. Sweating faces and hurried voices eventually solve the problem (at 2.am that morning). I go home at around 7pm with a headache, sore throat and shivering body. Now off to have a bath and crawl myself into bed. Sleeping ensues…. Hopefully!

Just War Theory- pt 1/5

So I haven't posted anything for absolutely donkey's years, the lack of posting is to do with School work. So I'm posting something I qrote about a year ago, This is part one of five. I'm going to be talking about the just war theory- one my most enjoyed subjects. Also, just as a little note on the side, all me work is from my own head, if however I do use someone else's work I will of written a bibliography or the such like. If you want to use any of my work in an essay or any similar thing, it is severely appreciated that you ask me first. :)

Just War Theory

The Just War Theory was developed at a time when armies frequently fought major battles in campaigns of conquests and when Christianity and Catholicism formulated a common cultural framework for the European world. In their society the Just War Theory had a major place in warfare. It kept countries from waging war for territorial reasons and revenge, and it made peace available to all those under Catholicism. However, since that time the world has seen a major shift in 'society' as a whole. We must ask the question - can a ‘just war’ play any part in today’s modern warfare and can it relate to the contemporary structure of international relations? In the following paragraphs I aspire to construct unambiguous reasons for the fact that the Just War Theory is outdated and cannot play any part in today’s society; I will also discuss what we can use instead of Just War Theory.

Just war theory or Bellum iustum has its roots in the thinking of various Roman and Greek philosophers, including Plato, but Catholicism played the larger part in its development. There are several specific criteria that must be met to label a war 'just' ¹(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_War). These criteria are: just cause, comparative justice, legitimate authority, right intention, probability of success, last resort and proportionality. Bellum iustum has two closely related components, Jus ad bellum (Just cause) and Jus in Bello (the laws of war). Jus ad bellum says is that the stimulus for going to war must be just, and thus cannot be based on recapturing stolen items or punishing persons who have done wrong. Also, the lives of innocents must be in critical danger; therefore, the attack must be solely based on saving their lives ¹(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_War). For war to be just, the wrong suffered by one side must significantly overshadow that suffered by the other. This is called comparative justice and is the perception that one side is more in the right than the other. Some people believe that this only works if one of the sides has done nothing wrong. This, of course, is difficult to assess in many cases, as usually both sides have participated in hostility... more to come....

People and noise- (primarily people and nothing to do with noise)

So in my previous post I briefly wrote about the noise, and the obvious thing now would be to talk about the creators of noise- us.

On Sunday, I was in the Cotswolds and during my time there I found myself in a wonderfully quintessential village. As I was pushing my little cousin on some swings I saw a group of ten lads appear on the road outside the park. As I glanced at them I realised something quite amusing: they looked all had scooters, they all wore the same brand of shoes, they all wore the same brand of t-shirt, they all spoke with the same slang, they all had the same mannerisms and they all created the same noise. I found myself chuckling as I watched them trying to slice along the curb and leap over obstacles, but I found the obvious similarity among all of them even more amusing. Isn't it interesting that people do the same things just to fit in or to be accepted.

They all followed the latest crazes and tried to create many mutualities to remain 'in the group'. I only a little older, found this amusing, however, I thought to myself, 'What do I do to fit in, and why?' Why is it that I wore those certain shoes to that certain party? Why is it that I had my hair that particular way when I went to church? Fundamentally, It is so I have even more reason than usual be accepted.

You see, us as human beings (or a highly regenerated form of some glorified monkey, if your an evolutionist) have a desire to be with others. This is evidenced all throughout history. We are social beings, and we will do almost anything to fit in. Our desire for company manifests itself in such a way that we have to stop for a moment and think about why we do certain things and choose to be a certain way. If we are not careful we will find ourselves slipping into a dangerous cycle of conforming, not for ourselves but for others. Be different, be yourself for once.

Noise and people.

For the last 60ish hours I have been in London. While looking around this city, two things really caught my attention. People and noise. The deep choral sound of the big, red buses rumbling down the street. Street vendors making you think you are their perfect customer. Great, old buildings stretching high and wide. The high squeek of the brakes of the tube and buzz of people trying to talk over all the noise. The noise they create. Trying to communicate over the noise that they create by transportation, commution and colour. It creates a fantastic contrast to the peaceful countryside. But is noise a good thing? Is it like marmite, in the sense that you either love or hate it? Or maybe we just get on about it, and just whistle away through our lives, adding to the noise. Just pause for a moment and listen, Can you hear nothing, or do you hear something. Maybe hearing nothing is hearing something. Maybe a little to far, but worth considering all the while. We have a fantastic ability to interpret a subject in many different ways, so maybe we just need to accept it- noise will always be with us. We make noise in everything we do. Maybe the thunderous roar of a jumbo jet or the beautiful syphony from an orchestra. We create it all. More to come...

Individualism?

Think about it... is individualism tearing the world apart? More to come...

*(My own picture so if you want to copy/ use it- you must ask me first)

Perspective of time in a consistent journey.

Set yourself in this scene: You drive every day from home to school or from home to work. This 'pilgrimage' is undertaken most days and is a necessary procedure for every-day proceedings. You seat yourself in your car and drive. You know which route to take (though you might at times experiment with other routes), and you know your surroundings as you take this journey: the dense urban traffic or the peaceful farm track, the beeping of horns or the rush of wind on your face, the sound of heavy machinery and workmen shouting orders. All this after a while becomes unnoticeable and we tend to glide past without the slight curiosity or a hint of acknowledgement. However, this is a great contrast to the first few journeys that were undertaken to work or school. The object of our attention was the present not the future, and an inescapable desire to know and become familiar with our new surroundings; but as we become more familiar and comfortable with our surroundings we spend less of our focus on our immediate surroundings and more on the future events. We see a major shift and what was a journey that used 85 percent of our focus now uses 60 percent or less. So to get to the point, the journey that seemed 15 minutes long now seems like a 10 minute trip, But why is this? To be brief it is because we have less objects to focus on and become familiar with, because we have seen and taken in our surroundings thus thinning our focus to only the essential things. We have begun 'just going through the motions.'

This is also a great reminder of how we live our spiritual lives. In the business of the phsical we need to remember the spiritual. We need to stop going through the motions of Christian life, but rather wage ware against the enemy. We need to remember that we have great influence in these battles and have many ways to do this. God has blessed us with one of the most deadly weapons - prayer. Through prayer we can accomplish anything, the boundaries of the unknown are cast down and God's hand is planted firmly in place providing us with a way to battle.

'The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.' Romans 13: 12.

We need to stop going through the motions and realise how much of a difference we can make. We must have the passion and the drive to serve God now when we have the opportunity. We need to seize every opportunity that falls into our path and grasp it with both hands. We need to fight for the Kingdom.

'And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.' Romans 13:11

I don't wanna go through the motions

I don't wanna go one more day

without Your all consuming passion inside of me

I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,

"What if I had given everything,

instead of going through the motions?"

by J.O.Pike

Focus.

What's your focus? Money, family, cars, people, relationships? With increasing distractions whizzing around our heads it is hard to keep a focus. The increase of globalisation keeps us busy, trying new things and maybe dabbling in things of the past and our focus is so much on what's going to be happening in the future that we can't seem to stay in the present. Our increased drive towards individualism is a fantastic way of showing how we think only of ourselves and those who will benefit us. Take a step back. Just think, how many REAL friends do you actually have? I don't mean facebook 'friends' or work colleagues, nor do I mean the sitcom, I mean close, hardcore friends. Friends who you share your troubles with and who you trust to keep the very personal things about you secret. OK, so you may be wondering at this point what I'm blubbering on about, but to get to the real point that I'm trying to make, I'm asking what it is that keeps our focus and why? All I'm going to say for the moment is think about why you say and do certain things in a particular way. Think about it, we all have a focus, we see people achieving their goals (maybe not to dissimilar to ours) and we do the things and say the things they do or say so we can seemingly get closer to our goal/ focus. However, we as human beings are easily led and get very distracted, so its difficult to maintain your focus. This is of course justifies why we don't achieve to the standard we can. Or does it?

Are chickens gettting smaller or families getting bigger?

The Overview

You might be wondering at this moment in time if I'm off my trolley, but in actual fact the title does make sense. Let me explain: To make things more clear this brief piece of writing is on globalisation, but what about the title? 'Are chickens getting smaller or 'families' getting bigger?' - This refers to the traditional Sunday roast, The 'families' are (because of globalisation) the people that we have communication with via the Internet, phone, work and any other thing you can think of. However to really delve into the title we must first look at what Globalisation is. Globalisation is the extreme increase in communication, trade and world relations we find ourself in today (that is of course a brief definition). A fantastic example of Globalisation is Macdonalds. Macdonalds is an originally American based company, however, it has expanded to become the world power in fast food. Through Macdonalds we have been able to eat different foods and indulge ourselves in the brand. Even the clothes we wear show signs of Globalisation. Increasingly foreign based companies are setting up shop in England and expanding their market. This is all possible through Globalisation. We can experience different cultures, markets, clothes, tastes and identities through globalisation and through the next few weeks, I will be writing on various aspects of globalisation.

Mediocre?

me·di·o·cre
  –adjective
1.
of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.
2.
rather poor or inferior.

In the current economical and technological climate we find ourselves in today, it has become increasingly apparent that we find ourselves in amedeocre state of mind. We feel inadequate to approach challenges and we find ourselves being swept along by the crowd and the medioracies that surround us. This is being an increasingly comfortable way of living, avoiding challenges, becoming stale and making no difference. We blind ourselves from the economical struggles and the hard life. We bury our head in the sand and seek to keep our valid opinion to ourselves. We don't wish to cause a scene and make a difference. What about the increasing pressure from government on Christianity and freedom of speeech? The solution is simple: 1. Bury head in sand. 2. Make no sudden movements or gestures.

Is this how we want to live our lives? Is this what we want to confine our hearts to? Do we wish to contain the fire? Sadly, it seems like this is the case. Instead we need to pull our heads out the sand when challenges come and take a look around. In a single glance we will see others facing familiar struggles and challenges, but with their heads buried. We can stand together building each other up and strengthening each other in love. This is not a revolution but is summed up in one word. Church.
We are not inadequate or of moderate quality. We are warriors for the Kingdom, a strong army ready to fight against challenges and wage war against the devil. We need to take hold of what is given to us and be prepared to make sacrifices, we need to be prepared to be struck down, but we need to ready to be lifted up. We need to look at what is coming and have the faith to conquer. We need to be brimming with God's love and overflowing with the Holy Spirit. Our ability to make a difference is greatly influenced in our desire to become like-minded in Christ, to walk and not be faint and to mount up on wings like eagles. We need to be on fire for God, a different generation ready to make a difference. A people ready to serve. A nation ready to conquer.

Case Study: Kosovo

Kosovo a new country found in one of Europe's poorest regions, almost half its people live in poverty. Its main economic activity is agriculture, even though it possesses rich mineral resources. Kosovo was one of the last countries to emerge from the break of Yugoslavia. However, the emergence of Kosovo as an independent country was not a pleasant one. It became the scene of violent conflict in the mid to late 1990s. This conflict was between Kosovo Albanian resistance forces and Serbian military. The commotion and violence throughout the then state of Yugoslavoa, caused a lot huge amount of tension between the inhabitants. This is shown by the fact that some 200,000-280,000 people (the majority of a the Serbian population) left Kosovo with the Serbian forces. The tension, however, still remains with looting of Serbian properties by inhabitants who have a severe distaste for Serbs and general violence against both parties of people. Also, it is clear that the nation has not settled with over 65,000-250,000 (a figure disputed by some) IDP's or internally displaced persons.

During the war a number of the killings/ executions of Kosovo Albanians made it clear that some outside intervention was desperately needed. So in March 2009 NATO launched a ten week aerial bombardment against Serbia. These intensive attacks were aimed at the Serbian military and police forces, causing them to withdraw from Kosovo. It is estimated that during the war, more than 13,000 people died, were wounded or went missing and the scale of the tension and disturbance is clear when up to 1 million people were forced to leave their homes and flee to the surrounding countries. The population now consists of about 2 million Albanians who make up around 90% of the population, and around 100,000 Serbs remained after the war. They live in separate areas watched over by NATO peacekeepers.

This conflict is a good example of inter-state conflict with many not knowing who to trust, and fearing that if they settle down they will have to accept and comply to a new set of rules and regulations. This is seen is the huge amount of IDP's. Fear that violence will kick off again is also evident in the fact that external forces have stayed for such a long period of time. This is also a good example of tribalism, where there are many different minorities, who have settled and are not willing to change their cultures and risk losing identity for the good of the nation. Change is needed, but for change to be put in place, you need a stable and popular leader who can unite the nation and lift it from its poverty stricken state.

So in conclusion cooperation and trust is needed in Kosovo, Why? Well, the UN can only do so much. It is up to the government to make some fast and effective decisions, and it is also up to the remaining Serbs to gain the trust and friendship of the inhabitants.
They need to change the way the country is headed. Its up to them to transform it short history.

Identity Crisis?

More and more pressure is being heaved onto countries to comply with the rules and regulations of the units/ organisations (the EU or such a thing) they have joined. I agree that it is good to have high standards of living and trade, but when we are faced with changed how we think because the organisation wants us to stay in line is unacceptable. We are individual nations! We are not one mass of units functioning as one body. We are different cultures, different people and have different views on things. Individual identity as a nation is becoming less and less important. Now its more important to stick together and play a fantastically messed up game of leap-frog! Why can we not be more individualist as nations. The problem is that if we pull out of these organisations we are faced with, less support and less trade, this bring the economy shooting down and disaster soon follows. It would be helpful if a lot of nations pulled out at the same time. Is this the solution though?- A triumphant act of rebellion? I don't think so, these organisations are good, but they want to have more and more power over how we act and what we do. I think we need to be able to draw the line concerning how we function. Granted there are times when we need to pull together as a world, but we need to remember that we also need to work alone.
I believe there is an identity crisis.
One that has to be sorted.

Unity?

How do we define unity? or maybe, In which ways does unity define us as people? and Where, when and how do we see and show this unity?
A fantastic example of unity is seen in both of the World Wars, and specifically in the United Kingdom. In the face of the Nazis invading the country, the U.K. rallied together and stood strong as a nation. This is evident when I have spoken to people who experienced these events they spoke of how it seemed that everyone was almost family, it was clear to see that everyone was fighting for the same cause. So this example of unity shows how people join together for a mutual cause. But where do we see this nation-wide unity now? The simple answer is that we don't. Unity has either taken a different meaning or it is gone. I think we see different aspects of unity, but we don't see it fully embodied in our nation. However, when the United Kingdom unified they won. I think we ought to take this as an example that we will accomplish more by unifying. Unity is essential, we need to have the same goals (economically/politically) and unify to make them happen.We have to give 'unity' the meaning it deserves. If we want to see ourselves excel as a nation and get out of the mess we are in we need to do a little bit of soul-searching. We ought to delve deeper into what really makes up our nation, what values are compromised and what sacrifices we make. It is essential to bring back the good in the character of the nation. We need to strive for purpose and value. We need a different emphasis. We need unity, but how?

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Tribalism?

Tribalism. How does this work? Well, in brief terms less importance is placed by the public on country and more on community. In this, a very localised form of neo-realism is found. Our desire to see our 'immediate', (i.e. where we live, walk and work...) improve and become more comfortable increases the awareness of tribalism. To make this more clear let me ask you a question-Would you rather see all the housing market rise by 10% or your local area rise by 15%? If you answered 'no' to the local prices and 'yes' to the nationwide prices, its seems obvious that you are more concerned with you wider community (your country) and if you answered 'yes' to the local prices, it seems like you are more inclined to tribalism. Even though you might not see it, this individualistic character is becoming more and more evident. 'Ah!' you might say,' How does this 'tribalism have any bearing on me as a person?' Well, I think we will see more politics arrowed at communities. We as a nation are more interested in this than our wider country.
Tribalism continues and there is definitely more to come....

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Change or 'Revolution'?

'The faster we're falling, we're stopping and stalling- we're runnning in circles again....' do these lyrics from ,Sum 41- 'In to deep', remind you of anything?
It seems that they have an unfortunate similarity to the politics we are faced with. Maybe change is needed? Maybe it our turn to sort this mess out? I'm not suggesting revolt, I'm suggesting revolution. We need to change how we think and act on a political scale. Some say capitalism is ending, others say it is just beginning and some even suggest it is already dead. However, I think it is in the process of transformation. In the transforming process it is key to direct this process in the right direction. The name 'capitalism' may be changed, but essential the fundamentals will remain the same. To change our political system would be disastrous for us and others, therefore we need to revolutionise in a way that gradually transforms our system. This will be a benefit for us all. However, we need to consider what is more important on a world-wide scale- us or others.
We can't change others, we can only change ourseleves.

Unitism?

The state of the world that we live in is becoming less and less secure. A fantastic inability to meet each others demands. The UK is quickly sliding down the economic premier league table and it is clear that with our weakening economy we will be forced to sit with the other European powers agreeing to every thing that they say and meeting their every demand. It seems to do this would take any sort if government out of power. However the wishes of the mass are taking its toll on government and we stand on rocky ground concerning the Euro-political zone.

Another brilliant example of less security is the Arab League. Syria is faced with being thrown out if their country continues on the way it is going. The Arab League has sent in 'monitors' to well monitor the situation while doing a fair bit of damage on the way. The UN has been rejected access to Syria showing the utter dis-contempt to those in the west.

We talk about the rise of individualism, but I think that this is not so obvious in world politics. I think it is clear that we are trying to conserve our nations, however political units, for example the EU, are becoming increasingly more important then the national politics. However, trying to fit into the mould of the EU means sacrificing a large quantity of our comforts, and we of course are rightly unprepared to do so. The problem is that others either have no option or made the rules. Being stuck in the middle means that you tend to be a large factor in balancing the scales.

Unfortunately, majority wins.

End of.

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