Aaron's Blog

The gong sounds and the dance goes on...

2011-01-09T08:52:00.006Z

Another few months have passed, once again many things have happened in close succession, with the time for big decisions rapidly approaching. Two weeks consisting of exams to test six years of work, the announcement of where I will be working next year, the decision of what direction I'll be going in, and a relocation to Germany all await me... Good thing I've got a loving saviour with a good track record, he who can be eternally relied upon, the ultimate giver and sustainer! Reading the Psalms this year has been a fabulous reminder of this :-)

Quick recap on 2010:

Jan to April - Many clinics and medical departments in Salford (west Manchester)
April/May - Ash cloud cancelled my placement in Germany. Wrote an essay on limb amputations instead...
May-July - Mega-research project relating to kidney medicine (abstract hopefully submitted next month - woop!)
August - Rearranged ash-cloud medical placement in Dresden, Germany, this time without the essay requirement (doppel-woop!)
September - Clinic with an awesome Christian doctor in lovely Budapest, living with some German PhD students, and making weekend excursions to explore Budapest, Wien/Vienna, Pecs and Kiev. Also the chance to do the saline solution course with some really encouraging Russian/Ukrainian doctors and medical students.
October - Placement in surgery (Salford hospital), great insight into what a job on the wards will be like next year... potentially manic!
November - Working at a GP practice in Wigan. Thems very nice pies they make in Wigan.
December - Anaesthetics/Intensive care in Bolton. Was a really great placement, would love the chance to work in this field post-qualification.

The year to come...

January - Final exams, find out where I will be working (Preston, Stockport or Oldham), trip to Greece, relocate to Homburg, Germany.
February to May - Praktikum in Homburg, Saarland. Rotations will include skin/STI, heart, intensive/emergency and digestive medicine [Derm/GUM, Cardio, ITU/A+E, GI]. Good church sighted through a fantastic 'God-incidence'
May - Return to Manchester to tie up last part of medical degree.

Summer - A return trip to eastern Europe/Russia in a Christian medical context? (Am open to suggestions!)

Wishing you a really blessed 2011, treasuring all that God has done for you in his son!

Another month, another exciting city!

2010-09-18T11:42:00.004+01:00

This month, I have been mostly living in....

The magnificent hungarian capital - Budapest!

The city is one of splendour and faded grandeour... The people are friendly but the language impenetrable (I'm finding this most frustrating). I've honed up my bakery skills however - the pastries here are pretty good! Magyar pekseg woop!

As with Germany there have also been many challenges, with much being learnt about Hungary, about people, about medicine, and about myself, in addition to the many ways I need to be growing in my relationship with God. Many strange and unforeseeable 'coincidences' have happened over the past three weeks, God has been incredibly gracious in putting my in touch with a huge range of people, both Christian and not, very few of which I knew previously. I've really been shown the potential for further work in this part of the world at a later period. I am realising ever more how much of an undeserved blessing this time has been, and that I can simply only come to him in thanks.

He really is the one deserving of praise.

New Website

2010-09-07T09:05:00.001+01:00

Exciting new website for the home church :-) click here to see!

Wise words from J Piper

2010-08-31T08:27:00.002+01:00

Wise words from Mr J Piper (once again!).

Christ died to make us 'zealous for good works'. Zeal means passion. Christ did not die to make good works merely possible or to produce a half-hearted pursuit. He died to produce in us a passion for good deeds. Christian purity is not the mere avoidance of evil, but the pursuit of good

Taken from Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, number 36.

Core Values

2010-08-29T18:22:00.003+01:00

After chatting with a Christian mission organisation called Pioneers, they asked my to read their core values and put them into my own words. The first of these, Passion for God, is included beneath. As always, I look forward to your thoughts.

Passion for God

Passion for God is a very good thing, however it's something I wish I had more visibly more often! Often with me there's a break somewhere between the head and the heart. As is always the case, the answer comes from repeatedly reminding the sinful person within exactly who God is and what he has done.

God is Lord. He reminded the Israelites repeatedly of this in the wilderness. We should not follow anything or anyone else. Remembering that he is creator and sustainer of everything, as well as the definition of what is good and just, helps to create right attitude of reverence and fear that he truly deserves (Exodus 20). This is someone not to want to get on the wrong side of, and not someone to belittle or treat with too little regard. As Narnia puts it, he’s a friendly lion, but not a tame lion.

God is Love. In being three in one, God is relational and defines pure love. Furthermore, God wants a relationship with us to the extent that he revealed himself personally to us in his son, limiting himself to a man, being rejected, despised and hated, and ultimately undeservedly dying for those who deserved to die (Romans 5:6-8, Isaiah 52-53).

God has a plan. Tying the above together, God will unite all things under one head, Christ. This salvation plan has been in place since the beginning, and makes sense of all things. There is a glorious end in sight, and shows us just how good and important it is to live for Christ in all aspects of our lives. Christ died to present us pure to our heavenly father, and we are right before God only because of his actions (Ephesians).

God is fantastically powerful, unfathomably loving, and has a plan for the world. There are myriad reasons to be passionate about serving our Father, including those of fearful respect, knowing his righteousness, heartfelt gratitude at his rescue, and knowledge that his plan is rightfully and unstoppably coming to completion. However being a sinful man I recognise that I let myself be dulled by the chimes of the world far to often. Thus, the importance of immersing in scripture, fellowship, building one another up in Christ, prayer, and living for God, should never be underestimated!!! Only with God at the foundation will true passion for his plan happen.

Amongst other things, I'm hoping to read a chapter each day of Piper's - '50 reasons why Jesus came to die' each day. There's definitely enough time each morning for this (they're very short!), even if it end up being on the tram!!! Why not check it out - it's free to download and has helped me a lot in the past.

Romans 5:6-8

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

It's gotta be...

2010-08-07T22:16:00.004+01:00

There are few cities where:

you can start jogging in the party district,
run between two huge fountains,
head down a floodlit parade,
be greeted by fireworks,
cross a cobblestone bridge,
enter a world heritage city centre,
passing by an opera singer and accompanist,
through to a Starbucks and McDonald's,
racing a tram along the streets,
stopping to admire the river,
watch an open air theatre slowly become flooded,
chat to other tourists in a mutual second language,
and return via some glorious eastern-block architecture!

It's gotta be...

Awesome stuff

2010-07-31T18:51:00.002+01:00

Good stuff from the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10821363

Mark 1:9-15

2010-06-17T22:40:00.003+01:00

As promised, beneath is a copy of my talk from preaching workshop tonight. All comment gratefully received!

Mark 1:9-15
Right guys, tonight we’re going to be looking at Mark 1 verses 9 to 15. If you could turn to it now, I’m going to read it out before we begin.

So, previously in Mark’s gospel...

Isaiah’s predicted messenger John the Baptist arrives on the scene. He fits the bill, even down to the clothes that he wears. His message is simple – repent from your sins and start living for God. People from all over came to do just that, being baptised by John as a sign that they wanted to be washed clean.

However the message doesn’t stop there.

To quote John the Baptist’s words in verse 8 – I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit. – God himself is coming. The excitement is building – repent, God is coming.

So, after such an exciting introduction and with such expectation, Mark pushes on to verse 9;

“in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptised in the River Jordan”...

Is this the one we’ve been waiting for, God’s chosen messiah to rescue his people!?! Verse 9 has just told us that Jesus came from Nazareth, and that he gets baptised. Nothing seems too strange there. However, digging a little deeper, several things would have seemed a bit strange to the Jews standing on the banks of the river Jordan. Firstly, Nazareth wasn’t really a place of note in the ancient world. In fact it was a bit of a backwater. To take a verse from John chapter 1 (46), a Jew called Nathaniel says;

‘Nazareth, can anything good come from there?”

Jerusalem, yes, good credentials, Rome, well it’s the capital of the empire, it might do, but Nazareth? If this man was the promised one from God, would he really have such credentials....

To make things seem even stranger, Jesus is then baptised in the river by John. Last time we heard in verse 7 that John wouldn’t be worthy to even untie the promised one’s shoes. Something doesn’t seem right. If this is the promised one, why is he acting like this. Baptism is something for sinners, a sign of a broken relationship with God. How could Jesus possibly be the promised one, when he’s just the same as anybody else!?!?!

With these questions in mind, Mark pushes on with his account showing us three very important things about Jesus. The first one is this, Jesus is endorsed by John the Baptist.

As we heard last week, John the Baptist had a diet of locusts and wild honey, and wore a cloak made of camels hair. Although these things sound strange to us today, the Jewish audience then would have seen many similarities in John to one of the greatest prophets of Israel, Elijah. The Old Testament had said that Elijah would return before the coming of the Lord, and that he would prepare the way. John the Baptist’s clothes and message, fit with this. He is preparing the way for the coming of the Lord. So, if Jesus is the promised one, why is he baptised by John the Baptist? Does he really need to repent and turn back to God? We can find out more about this in the book of Matthew. Please join me in turning to Matthew chapter 3:13.

13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.

It is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.

John knows that he isn’t worthy to be baptising Jesus. He knows that he is a sinful man, and cannot be right before God by his own merit or works. However, Jesus insists, he asks to be baptised by John. Not because he wants, or even needs to repent, but instead, because he wants to be like the people he came to save. He wants to be like his people, so that he can be the perfect sacrifice for them.

So, point one - Jesus is endorsed by the John the Baptist, the predicted prophet.

One box crossed off the tick list for a potential Messiah.

Point two: Jesus is endorsed by God the Father.
To turn back to scripture, in verse 10 we see that Jesus’ baptism doesn’t have the expected ending. As soon as Jesus comes up out of the water, something spectacular happens. The heavens are torn open and the holy spirit descends on him. Following this, God’s voice proclaims that Jesus is the son of God, and that he is very pleased with him. What a spectacle, what a show.

Imagine yourself at a concert with many thousands of others. You’ve been through the warm up acts, they were all right, but that’s not what you’ve been waiting for, that’s not what has been promised on the tickets. The lights go out, and the arena goes dark. You can make out a silhouette on the stage. Is it him, you think to yourself, you’ve been waiting so long. A blinding spotlight lights up the centre of the stage. The most famous of rock stars walks to the microphone – it’s unimaginable how they got him to come to the arena. His voice booms across the loudspeakers, as he announces the new musical talent you’ve heard so much about, and waited so long to hear. With such an endorsement, this guy must be everything you’ve been waiting for, and more.

This is just a human example, God is greater than any rock star. He made, sustains and controls everything imaginable. His power doesn’t stop at the Earth, at the galaxy, or even at the universe. And he is saying that Jesus is loved by him, and he is pleased with him. If God is to say this, we must take note.
Jesus is God’s promised one, and all who’ve come to the river to repent and be baptised will know this, because he’s had God’s seal of approval.

Jesus is endorsed by God the father.

Point three: Jesus proves himself
If you’ll look down at verse twelve with me, you’ll see that there’s a bit of a scene change. Jesus has just been proclaimed to be the promised one by God, and had the spirit come down to mark him. The one that Israel has been waiting more than a thousand years for, is finally here. God’s people can at last be rescued from their captives, and the world be judged!

However that’s not what happens, at least not at this stage. Jesus is driven out into the wilderness, and remains there for forty days. Although this is perhaps more than a little unexpected, the reason is reassuring. We’ve heard that Jesus wanted to be baptised by John in order to be like his people in every way. Similarly, going into the desert for forty days allowed him to be tempted like the Israelites were during their long journey from Egypt, through the desert. Mark shows us that Jesus knew temptation, yet overcame it – he proved himself the part.

Perhaps to extend the earlier illustration a little further, the long awaited protégé announced by the rock star, starts playing. It’s like nothing you’ve ever heard before. He’s lived up to the every ounce of the speculation by playing in a way that took your breath away, in a way that only he could. Whilst Jesus is man, and he went through things that we struggle with too, he didn’t turn from God. He didn’t give in to temptation, he held to God.

Jesus proved himself to be the promised one.

So to do a little recap, we’ve seen that:
- Firstly: Jesus is endorsed by John the Baptist
- Secondly: Jesus is endorsed by God the Father
- And thirdly: Jesus has proven himself

Three pretty big affirmations that Jesus is the promised one for the people of Israel. He is the one who will put man right with God and will be the judge.

However what does that mean for us, how should we respond?
Jesus’ words in verse fifteen make plain what our response should be.

‘The time is fulfilled’
‘The kingdom of God is at hand’
‘repent and believe in the gospel’

The ancient nation of Israel, Mankind, You and Me have not met the criteria needed to earn God’s favour or be right with God. Jesus Christ, the one eternally predicted, repeatedly prophesied, and eagerly anticipated, has finally come. He has reached the mark, and he’s creating a new Kingdom of people who can be right with God. Later in Mark’s account, we hear how he did this through taking the deserved punishment for our rebellion. We need to trust in him wholeheartedly, giving up living for ourselves, casting away our selfish desires, and turn to living for him. Whether you would call yourself a follower of Christ or not, we’re all in the same situation, we’re all sinners, and we all need to repeatedly be turning back to the one who came to save us from ourselves, Jesus Christ. Think, who he is, and who he is endorsed by. Can we afford to take his message lightly and not apply it to every single aspect of our lives.

‘The time is fulfilled’
‘The kingdom of God is at hand’
‘repent and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ’

Meeting leading

2010-06-13T17:11:00.001+01:00

This morning my lovely church (the Plant), gave me the opportunity to lead the church meeting. The job involves welcoming everyone to church, leading in prayer, and introducing the speaker. I've included my notes from the introduction beneath; all comments would be gratefully received!

Hello, and welcome to the Plant on this summer morning. Later today, we’ll be hearing the last Bible talk from our series on the book of Exodus. I don’t know about you, but I’ve found this series for the Old Testament pretty challenging over the last term.

To do a little recap, we started back in Exodus 25 with God’s telling Moses of the intricate description of how the Israelites should worship God, the specifications of the tabernacle and actions of the Priest. We even hear in Exodus 29 how God will dwell among the people of Israel, and will be their God. However when Moses returned to his people to tell them this, he was greeted by them worshipping a statue of a golden calf... Not a good response to a holy and almighty God! The relationship was strained – could God really return to his people after such blatant and willing disobedience? After much interceding from Moses, the relationship is given another opportunity, and the people given another chance to worship God. This time the people willingly contribute to the work of God, and his tabernacle is finally completed to the letter. Our voyage through Exodus will culminate today in chapter 40, when we hear Phil speaking on God’s presence coming to his people.

So, that was a quick recap on what we’ve covered so far – what a choppy story!

Whilst the last week probably hasn’t been quite so adventurous, I imagine we’ve all had some interesting and challenging experiences. I hope for some of us, things may have gone pretty well; maybe the end of exams, the chance for a bit of sun, start of the world cup... However I’m sure that there have also been times for each of us over the past week that haven’t been so great.

Regardless of how the last few days have gone, we all know that we haven’t sought to serve God as we should have done, and like the Israelites chosen to instead to put our time and effort into worshipping other things with our lives.

However unlike the people of Israel in the book of Exodus, we don’t need a temple anymore. God the son came and gave himself up for us, handling the punishment for our rebellion, putting us right with God.

It’s so easy as Christians, to forget how great this message really is, and the enormous implications of it for each us. A little later today, we’re going to remember this awesome sacrifice through the Lord’s supper. However, before we do this, I thought it would be good to come to God in prayer, firstly to thank him for what he’s taught us through the book of Exodus, and secondly, to thank him for the most amazing grace, seen in Jesus. I’ll start each with a short prayer, after this, please do add to them with own prayers, either out-loud or in you heart, thanking the Lord for what he has taught us and done for us.

Thanks for reading this far! Later this week I'm giving a talk on Mark 1:9-15, as part of a preaching workshop organised by my church. Again this should hopefully appear on-line shortly afterwards.

Wishing you all a most pleasant week.

2010-05-04T09:21:00.002+01:00

Good morning, just spent a pretty awesome fifteen minutes spent watching the beneath, (direct link here).

Evolution?

2010-04-19T08:49:00.002+01:00

Just read an interesting article on mutations and evolution from the website of Russia's Pravda newspaper. Yesterday whilst jogging, my mind wondered on to the area of how genetic mutations could be progressive. The thought pattern went a bit like this:

Mutations in the genetic code are completely random
The majority of these decrease/increase a current function in a pathological manner
How could this or the comparatively few 'improvement mutations' lead to progression in a species?

Anyhow, the link to the article from Pravda can be found here. I appreciate that the article has been simplified (as indeed most articles are in the media), and more depth on his thoughts would be helpful. All non-sensational comments would be appreciated.

being sanctified

2010-04-16T07:56:00.003+01:00

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own." Philippians 3:12

That very statement is key to endurance and joy "Christ Jesus has made me his own". All my reaching and yearning and striving is not to belong to Christ (which has already happened), but to complete what is lacking in my likeness to him.

"For by a single offering [namely himself] he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" Hebrews 10:14

Passage taken from 'The Passion of Jesus Christ' (pages 48-49) by John Piper

MP Expenses

2010-02-06T11:08:00.003Z

Looks like another round of revelations regarding the British Members of Parliament (MPs) expenses has just been released. I don't think I've seen such united disgust at a particular issue (possibly ever) within my countrymen. Whilst I can see that this is indeed a grievous scandal within Westminster, I fear that the MPs were sadly acting as a microcosmic reflection of our society. I know of a lot of people who'll willingly take 'cash in hand' for a piece of work or stretch their company expenses claims that bit further, seeking every possible tax loophole to gain the greatest personal economic benefit and pay the minimum amount in tax. I find it saddening that people and such damning in their judgements of others, yet hesitant to evaluate or be accountable for their own actions.

Being a poor student I can perhaps escape most of the financial aspects of hypocrisy, however I know to my shame I too often take the personal moral high ground over others in my thoughts and actions, wittingly or unwittingly seeking to furnish my own interests. Reading the letter to the Romans this week has thankfully humbled me in this...

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement do the same things. Now we know that God's judgement against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgement on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgement? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgement will be revealed.

Romans chapter 2 verses 1-5

Why does God allow natural disasters?

2010-01-19T20:01:00.008Z

At the heart of Haiti's humanitarian crisis is an age old question for many religious people - how can God allow such terrible things to happen? Philosopher David Bain examines the arguments... (full article here)

Thought I'd write a comment on the BBC website to the article above. Am intrigued to see whether they publish it... Will say in the comments shortly!

Natural disasters remind us how little power humanity really has.

The Bible tells us that whilst God does love humanity, humanity doesn't want to live under its creator. It rebels and seeks to serve its own desires, with itself as it's 'own master'. If God is what defines good, for him to be perfectly just and thus judge over the world, he has to punish what is has departed from good. The New Testament says that the Ten Commandments serve not as a benchmark to show us how good we are, but as a means of showing us that no one has fulfilled all that defines someone as good. No person is perfect, living up to God's standards - we've all done things wrong and thus fallen tragically short. When we see the horrors of a natural disaster we see that this is not how the world is meant to be. Not only do they highlight our fallibility, but they show us that actually no matter how hard we try, we can't rule this world separate from God. Jesus said that he came into the world to take the punishment for mankind's rebellion from God, a sacrifice in place of us that took place through his crucifixion. The message of biblical Christianity is too turn back to God from serving ourselves as lords (to repent), and to live lives under God, to the praise of his name, in light of the freedom and restored relationship that he has bought for us.

The book of revelation (final book of the Bible) depicts a kingdom post-judgement. There the relationship between God and humanity has been restored, and as a result natural disasters are no more.

The Cambridge Seven

2009-12-25T16:40:00.003Z

The Cambridge Seven is a biography focussing on the lives of seven ordinary men, who came together after their studies at Cambridge during the late 1800s. Their progressive coming to and growth in their faith of the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal saviour, led to the increasing sentiment within each of them that this was a message which couldn't simply be kept to those with repeated opportunities to hear it i.e. those within the fair British isles - China was their destination to be. The book shows each individual's journey towards this decision, and the many challenges and huge sacrifices put before them to be conformed more into His likeness, giving up all within them to Him, trusting in him fully and serving the kingdom of God with all that they have. These personal recollections are an awe-inspiring and tremendous challenge to the all too often feeble faith that I possess. The sacrifices joyfully made, and the love for and rejoicing in time spent praying to and reading the word of God, and their eagerness and sincere desire to talk to others about their personal relationships with God, has earnestly encouraged and inspired me, to want to live in light of a Saviour and Lord most worthy.

A good read indeed! [ 8.3/10 ]

The latent...

2009-12-18T21:39:00.004Z

Am I the Latent?  While the majority graduate and move on, the medics keep on going.  Three more years of intensive studenthood awaits... I'm now halfway through this, just a year and a half to go!  But what is to happen after this... I find myself becoming lost in the possibilities of the future.  The path seems to have so many possible divisions, some steep and angled, others flat and smooth, if you squint just right you can almost see where they go.  But then you remember that there's the long straight road before you reach that junction.  There's no turning off this road, no rest station, no diversions.  So you keep plodding on, pushing onwards as the gradient picks up pace.  Every so often you get a little glimpse through gaps in the clouds.  The view looks good, you see your friends trying different avenues from routes they're taken.  It seems so long since their paths split away.  However take your gaze away from the route ahead for too long, and you trip.  A old man passing by tells you to watch your step - the road's not for novices!  But I am a novice I think to myself, I don't know where I'm going, or how I'm going to cope when I get there...  He sits down on a stone by the side of the road, and ushers for me to sit next to him.  'Don't stick you head in the clouds, and don't stare down at your feet' he says.  'When you get to the junction, the stride you've grown used to, will be the stride you take then... If you're not prepared for mountain climbing at the junction, then you're not going to end up doing it, or worse keep slipping down when you get a few feet up...'.

'So here's a park manual, and here's the rangers details.  He's the guy you need to keep in touch with'

So here I am, walking up hill, working on my stride, trusting in the manual I've been given.  I'd trip up a bit less if I used it's guidance a bit more, however it's something I'm working on.  The junction is coming, however in the meantime I remain... the Latent.

Anglican group mulls Rome switch

2009-10-24T21:34:00.010+01:00

Christianity, without the Christ?

Father Geoffrey Kirk, one of the leaders of Forward in Faith, is among those who said he intends to convert to Catholicism.

He said: "The Church of England is, in the view of many of us, ceasing to be the church of Jesus Christ and becoming the church of political correctness, not only the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate - to which we object - but also in many attitudes to human sexuality from divorce and remarriage, to homosexuality."

www.bbc.co.uk (24/10/09) "Anglican group mulls Rome switch"

Traditionalists sometimes accuse liberals of diluting the Christian belief in Jesus as the only way to God, through an attempt to preserve neighbourly relations with the followers of other faiths.

Some conservative evangelicals even suspect progressive members of their church of seeing other faiths as a "valid" route to a relationship with a common creator.

www.bbc.co.uk (23/09/09) "Faith Diary: Changing Loyalties"

There's been a lot of interesting stuff in the news recently regarding the Anglican church, especially concerning a large body thinking of moving to Catholicism. It concerns me, not because there may be a potential split in the church, but more because it shows that people feel the church has gone so far away from Jesus, that there is no longer any Christ in Anglican Christianity. Should the basis of the church be ever less on what he did, and instead on what feels right, what is politically correct...? I find it very hard to relate this to reflect an ultimate ruler, which the Bible says is above all and is stable like a rock. How can we each declare our own version of God based on our opinions - surely this can't then be the same God?!?! I agree strongly that the church should be able to relate to the society that it is in, however when I read the bible I find repeatedly that whilst many aspects of our society have indeed greatly changed, the way people live and think has not. People were looking for exactly the same things 2000 years ago as they are today. I sincerely pray, that if a split occurs, it will mean that more churches and congregations will humble themselves and return to teaching based on what Jesus' followers reported about his life.

The Bible says that man is sinful, he wants to serve himself first. He cannot save himself, and needs a saviour to rescue him. Jesus is that Saviour, and can bring us back to a relationship with God. Every person needs to turn from worshipping themselves, back to their loving heavenly Father. Doing so frees you for eternity. God is good :-)

I'd like to finish with Psalm 8 - it shows us so clearly the mindset we need to be in:

¹ O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.

² From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

³ When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

⁵ You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honour.

⁶ You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:

⁷ all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,

⁸ the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

⁹ O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Thank you grately for reading this far, it means a lot to me.

'Avin a reet good time in Blackburn!

2009-10-18T21:10:00.005+01:00

The vagrant wanderer has now moved on to Blackburn. My current placement of Children's and Women's medicine has taken me to this new northern extreme, and I'm loving it! The pies are good, the countryside is a stones throw away (the accommodation is surrounded by rabbits), and the people are very friendly. The learning schedule is a bit on the intensive side, and I'm a wee bit concerned about the looming exams... however many subtle hints by the big Guy regarding his control and sovereignty are putting me in my place - I've been slowly working my way through the Bible section called Deuteronomy over the past month. The story begins with a wizened and elderly Moses, who has just finished leading the grumbling people of Israel on a forty year trek through the desert. Before he dies he wants to remind them one last time of all many things God has done for them, and the laws that he's given them to follow. They need to remember who God is, and to live like it, if they want to stay in the promised land... God knows that they won't manage it, and already there are many hints of the future provision of his saving mission through Jesus, something that happens almost a thousand years later. He's got it all in control! One section that has stuck in my mind is Chapter 10:15-17:

"Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe."

Thanks for reading, and please let me know your thoughts!

More Dresden photos!

2009-09-30T22:39:00.001+01:00

Die Frauenkirche Dresden!

Mein Mitbewohner (Matthias) und Jeremias und sein nettes Freunden

Meine Kollege Ein Kinderlied bei der Kirche

Das Essen........ Leckeres...................................................Nicht so.....(Fettbaemmer)

Dresdener Strassenregeln

A small diversion...

2009-09-05T20:42:00.012+01:00

I've escaped the wilds of northern Lancashire for the weekend, and have headed to the lovely east coast to spend some time with my Grandparents. Similarly, In this post I'm making a little diversion away from Colossians, taking up one of the apostle Paul's desires for the colossian church and have studied some of the old testament (the first half of the Bible, written before Jesus' ministry).

Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.")

So here's a quick overview of what I learned from the book of Haggai!*

*Disclaimer: My context and study was done without the wisdom of others. I've tried to back up all I've said from the book of Haggai or other books of the Bible, however I realise that in my inexperience/young knowledge I may have gone awry! Please let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Context
This book is in the old testament, and so it pre-Jesus' ministry. Haggai was around during the reign of Darius, a Babylonian/Chaldean king (Hag 1:1, 1:15, 2:10). Darius was relatively leniant towards the Israelites (Dan 6:2-6). The people of Israel were mostly exiled to Babylon and the temple in Jerusalem destroyed. A remnant of the people however remained in Judah (Hag 1:12). The Judeans were beginning to repent and return to God (Dan 9:1-20)

NB I was quite excited when I discovered that Daniel (exile) was written at the same time as Haggai (remnant)!

Breakdown

1:1-11 - God (Yahweh) has judged & witheld his blessing, because his people have not worshipped him

1:12-15 - The people of Judah realise, turn back to God, and rebuild the temple as much as they can

2:1-9 - God's temple will one day be rebuilt to give him full glory, true peace then

2:10-17 - The people of Judah will always be unclean, and so not fully deserving of God's blessing

2:18-19 - They are to remember God blessed/es them, though they don't deserve it. The relationship is undeservedly restored.

2:20-23 - God will restore his kingdom

Summary

Judah, the surviving part of the promised land in (southern Israel), had been captured by the Babylonians, and the holy temple in Jerusalem [the sign of God's presence] looted and destroyed (2 Chron 26:18-20, Dan 1:1-7). The majority of Judeans had either been slaughtered (2 Chron 36:17, Hab 2:17) or exiled, as in the case of Daniel (Dan 1:3-4), with only a small, poor remnant remaining (2 Kings 25:12). All this was forewarned judgement for the Judeans repeated, and long term rejection of rebellion of God (Hab 1, Micah 1).

Haggai was a prophet to the remnant left in Judah. Inspite of the judegement the people hadn't learnt from God's punishment to them - they still cared only for themselves. God, ever patient, speaks to the remnant through Haggai, after they have experienced several years without his blessing. Without him, they could not even meet their most basic needs! Haggai addresses all the remnant (Governor, High Priest, and people), reminding them that they have been and are being judged, because they didn't treat or want to treat God (creator, sustainer, provider) with the respect and glory that was truely due to him.

This realisation amongst the remnant leads to them to return to God, and start to rebuild the destroyed temple in Jerusalem - the traditional place when they met with God. Their work was nothing like as splendid as the original temple was, or indeed as much as God deserved/s. God reminds them of his promises to his people, and despite their inability to worship him as he deserves, he will bless them once again, promising that he will more than restore his kingdom.

Paediatric themed illustration (lol, my current med school rotation)
Turning back to God might be like... a 3 year old trying really hard to draw a picture for their father because they want to please him. It's not a masterpiece, however when they give it to him, he shows his joy and love to the child, welcoming and encouraging him. God wanted Israel (and all people today) to stop living to serve themselves, and to turn back him.

Points for thought

- We see how truely reliant man is on God
- No one's attempts to be in control will ever be truely enough

- We need to live for God and not for ourselves

- God's rule and kingdom is and will be fully restored (through his new king - Jesus!)
- There will be a judgement, and justice will be revealed

- God is a gracious and forgiving father, accepting us back if we truely desire his forgiveness i.e. turn (repent) back to him

Quick personal reflections
I take far too much for granted, and despite my too often feeble efforts in trying to live for him, I've still got a long way to go! I need to trust God a lot more in the situations around me - he's the one in control. I guess in some ways, it's blasphemous to thing that I can handle everything!!! I should also rejoice more in the blessing of his kingdom now, and rejoice in the certain hope of the kingdom to come!

Colossians 1:15-23 - JESUS

2009-08-30T12:54:00.004+01:00

In this part of the letter, Paul emphasises to the colossians exactly who Jesus is, and what it means for him to be the image of the invisible God. Creator, sustainer, redeemer, ruler, trendsetter and head of the church! The colossians can only be saved through their continued trust in him!

This passage continues to challenge me, every time I read it. I all to easily become complacent in my thinking of who Jesus is, or what he has done for me. How can I justify giving him 30 minutes of my day, and then spending 2 hours browsing the internet looking at junk?!?! I need to lift my eyes and focus on him a heck of a lot more than at present - to my detriment is my laziness and complacency. My thinking if so often muddled with my own wordly life goals and perspectives - I need a shake up several times a day - my life needs to be one of praise to the supreme and saviour king!

p.s. thank goodness my place in heaven is purely down to what he has done; works ain't gonna get me a comfy seat up there - they're my appreciation, thanks and praise to a wonderful saviour and lord!

Letter to the Colossians - Getting a feel for the letter

2009-08-19T17:38:00.008+01:00

For a bit of background, Colossae was a small town in located in western Turkey. Paul, one of the early Christian disciples, wrote a letter to a young church that had been planted in this town. The church was under considerable pressure from various factors, and overall the letter seems to be an encouragement to them to keep on trusting in who Jesus was, and what he had done.

Task 1: Getting an overview of the letter
Following the much appreciated notes downloaded from the website of st-helens, bishopsgate, my first task was to get a general feel for the letter. Although divided up into chapters and verses, originally the letter would have been read outloud in the church in one go. After reading the whole letter, a lot of things previously looked at in Bible studies at random points during my time as a Christian suddenly started to click together. The mantra, "text without a context is a con", is starting to hit home - exciting stuff! I'm starting to realise how everything (i.e. all topics adressed in the letter) was/is to be based on their trust on who Jesus is.

Task 2: Thinking through it's structure
The next task was to divide the letter up according to different topics adressed. After advice from the notes, I scribbled over the paragraph headings (lol, Paul didn't write those), and examined for different themes myself. These were then summarised into headings, giving me the following:

1:1-2 --- Author & recipients
1:3-8 --- Paul's thanks for their living in light of the gospel [faith in Christ, hope in heaven, love in light of this]
1:9-14 --- Paul prays that they will contiune to grow, to mature, and to endure
1:12-20 --- Jesus is supreme over all [creator, sustainer, head of the church, first to rise from the dead, holy, sacrifice, reconciler]
1:21-23 --- The Colossians are saved because of Jesus
1:24-29 --- Paul's example and mission in light of Jesus
2:1-7 --- Paul desires for them to get greater spiritual riches in their relationship with Jesus
2:8-15 --- Jesus has proven himself victorious, don't be trapped by the world's ideas
2:16-23 --- Salvation and growth is through Jesus, we're free from rituals and regulations
3:1-4 --- Having citizenship of heaven (with Jesus), live like it!
3:5-11 --- Therefore put your old sinful natute to death
3:12-17 --- Live your life as a child of God [love and the bible are key in this]
3:18-4:1 --- Don't seek personal pride, but submit yourself in relationships, in the name of Christ
4:2-6 --- Pray always, especially for opportunities to live for and speak of what Jesus has done
4:7-18 --- We should encourage, support and challenge each other in out walks with Christ

Task 3: Next was to pick out recurring themes and anything I didn't understand
Recurring themes: Jesus, foundations, growing to maturity, supremacy
Questions: The how to's of greater spiritual riches in JC, word of God dwell in you richly (OT?)

Summary
So, off the top of my head, Colossians in a nutshell would be...

Paul, one of Jesus' disciples, is thankful to God for the how the good news of what Jesus has done, is transforming their lives. However Paul is eagre that this spiritual growth contiunes. He reminds the Colossians that Jesus is supreme over everything; creator, sustainer, holy, a perfect sacrifice and first to rise from the dead. Although saved, Paul is eagre that they keep on growing and get the very most from their salvation. This can only come through a greater understanding and rooting in Jesus. Jesus has more than proven himself, and is the only life that will provide true fulfillment. In light of this, the Colossians should realise that all previous/current religious activity and ritual were there to point to Jesus. So now that the Colossians have a place in heaven because of Jesus, they need to start living like citizens of heaven. This means putting to death their old self serving ways, desires, and speech, and living as God wants them to be living, love for each other being a key aspect. Humble submission in all relationships (marriage, parent-child, worker-boss) is another key aspect of this. Paul concludes by telling them to be praying, for opportunities and wisdom for himself and themselves to be telling others about the good news of Jesus. The end of the letter has a few notices for the church, showing that we should be encouraging, supporting and challenging each other in our walk with Christ.

Since Germany...

2009-08-19T14:40:00.004+01:00

Well... I flew from Germany to Edinburgh, where I spent two great weeks helping to run a Christian cafe for international visitors to the city. I also went to a nice wedding during that time! Upon arriving back home, I was overcome by tiredness and as a result frittered away the best part of two weeks... Motivation for anything (except cooking rather strangely), was hard to find. Bible study and prayer, aka the listening and speaking parts of the relationship, were scanty at best. However purely by God's grace, I managed get a seminar and Bible study together for a Christian holiday for teenagers, the next stop on my hectic life course! One week with a great bunch of people up in the lake district, hearing the basics of Christianity preached clearly and faithfully from God's word, was what I needed... I'd sold myself to Colossians 2:8. Despite perhaps having the head knowledge, during that week my heart was struck afresh as to the complete sovereignty and enormity of God, and the reality and impact of what it meant for Jesus to be God and man here on Earth. I'm now back home again, this time enjoying a relaxing and productive week. I've realised the importance of rest, am praying once more, and really really enjoying getting stuck into the Bible. Had a nice star-gazing session last night (can't do that in Manch), seeing just how huge the universe really is; and by implication, how much greater it's creator must be :-) . Next stop, Blackburn.

I 'll try and put up some of my reflections on the letter to the Colossians as I work through it (it's awesome!).

Choice Dresden Photos

2009-07-04T08:33:00.007+01:00

Much has been happening over the past three weeks, beneath is a small selection of some of the things seen and done!

Trip to the Opera (was awesome!)

International group at the Christian union and my new church home group (both very nice people!)

The hospital and me in my new uniform

Weekend trip to Leipzig with Jeremias and his friends (Slack line walking)

Bundesrepublik Neustadt festival - whole town quarter taken over by a street party!

Dresden!

2009-06-14T22:13:00.015+01:00

Well, after a great deal of anticipation I'm finally about to start doing some medicine in Germany - Kras oder? Below are a few pics of the weekend ala Deutschland so far, promise to post more info and pictures soon!

View from the balcony

and

the church service

Exciting German breakfast

and

making plaster of paris masks!

Words of the day include...
- Ringelblume: marigold
- Knöchel: ankle
- Hirt: shepherd

Something new!

2009-04-15T16:32:00.002+01:00

Thought I might try something a little different this time - might need to krank the volume up on your computer for it tho! Klikka!

sorry and thanks!

2009-04-05T09:49:00.001+01:00

Sorry for the gap in posts - should resume in the near future!

Merry Christmas :-)

2008-12-23T23:50:00.002Z

In the blink of an eye, half the year's gone by...

2008-10-30T17:12:00.002Z

Looks like I haven't written a post since July... Thought I better squeeze one in before November arrives - very much has happened in the world of Aaron Poppleton.

After completing my BSc I've now entered the second stage of my medical degree, where I'm studying/working/shadowing in a clinical (hospital) setting. My first attachment has involved being placed in both the Accident and Emergency and Elderly Care departments. I've met many lovely and helpful people and had a plethora of interesting and exciting learning experiences. However this has of course been compounded with some of the hard hitting realities of a world where there can be great pain, suffering and death. Much to think about - especially when combined with an almost life consuming syllabus!!! God has been good to me, in spite of my decreased time reading his word. I know this is to my detriment and am trying to make amends. It's slightly scary to see as to how the study of medicine fully consumes people; I know this is something I am struggling with myself. A battle as to how one prevents a very good thing becoming one's greatest thing (hopefully the beauty pictured beneath will help me in this battle!) - I will indeed endeavour to keep you posted on this! In the meanwhile, I was recently struck by a particular talk on the nature of God. The bible tells us of the trinity where God is made up of three persons in perfect unity, bound by love. I fear no illustration I could give could ever detail this perfectly, but the human relationship between man and wife - two different people united in a permanent relationship by love for one another as one couple - reflects some of the principles! Either way, the perfect Jesus died for people on the cross to take the punishment that humanity deserved for its selfish lack of desire to serve God (sin). This switch of places means that if we choose to follow Jesus, God sees Jesus' clean conscience and not our dirty ones. That means God will direct the same sort of cosmic loving relationship that we see in the trinity on us!!!! Love that is beyond comprehension and experience in this fallen world. We can feel a little experience of this now - but more is indeed to come. Fantastic Hope.

So the aim for the next three years of med school and beyond, is to remember this hope (whilst at Salford's Hope hospital - lol) and to try to be a doctor that lives to work in a manner that praises and glorifies God.

P.s.
Something I'm currently very excited about! Only four days to go!!!!

Review
"The ESV is a dream come true for me! the scope and theological faithfulness of the ESV Study Bible notes is breathtaking." -- John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis. "The ESV Study Bible is the most important resource that has been given to the emerging generation of Bible students and teachers. The ESV Study Bible is the best. Perior." -- Mark Driscoll, Preaching Pastor, Mars Hill Church, Seattle. "The definitive clarity and beauty of the ESV Study Bible is extraordinary! For everyone who wants to understand God's word in a deeper way, the ESV Study Bible is an outstanding resource" -- Joni Eareckson Tada, Founda of the JAF International Disability Center. "The ESV Study Bible is the finest study tool I have seen in fifty years of Bible teaching. The notes, articles, maps and illustrations are all of the highest quality. It is a great achievement!" -- Jerry Bridges, speaker and bestselling author of The Pursuit of Holiness.

Just the happenings...

2008-07-10T19:07:00.005+01:00

Thought I better write a quick post of the happenings in the world of Aaron Poppleton, so that the time gaps on my blog dont get too long!

I'm still trying to work hard at the care home and am rapidly approaching the halfway point of my time there. A new rota has just come out and it looks like I may be working with a different set of people and perhaps even in a different kitchens in the near future - will tell you more of this earth shattering change of events in my next post! Hopefully I'll also have had chance to put my thoughts together on dementia (deteriorating brain function) and whether someone can choose to follow Christ (there a couple of residents who would have formerly said they were Christians). In other news we've gained five turkeys and have had nine chicken eggs hatch, with quite a few more eggs left in the incubator. The tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and onions are also starting to ripen. I'm learning how nature is amazing, especially seeing chicks hatch and then grow... development is far to well thought through to have originated by chance me thinks!

I've also now officially graduated (although my graduation certificate said Anna Poppleton... need to get that one changed!). After the graduation ceremony, I had a look at my house for next year and the realisation that I've left catered halls and will be daily cooking for myself has started to dawn. Should be able to get another look this weekend when I'm up in Manchester for the wedding of two friends, Joe and Gail.

Recently I've been reading a relatively short book of the bible, 1 Peter. I've learnt a few things, but I think one of the biggest things is that I often seem to superfically know and think I'm doing what the Bible tells me to, but when it comes down to it, I'm either too lazy or set in my ways to realise that the way I do things is still Aaron centred. The way I deal with possessions or the risk of people criticising what I believe are two things in particular. Still have a long way to go before I reach the great model there is in Christ - I'm glad that I'm not saved by my works but by his! And what a salvation that will be! So, the works of thanks shall continue!!!

Ps In addition to my reading, I've been listening to a series of sermons from a German church preached by Thorsten Uthardt - they're really good!

Working at the care home

2008-06-10T22:04:00.006+01:00

I've been fortunate in the summer job hunting and have managed to find work at a care home that employed me last summer. I enjoyed working there last year and learnt a great deal - thanks to the chefs I can now do basic cookery! The residents there gave me much to think about, including how conditions such as dementia could affect a Christian's belief in God/Jesus and decision or even ability to live as a follower of Christ.

This morning I went to the wrong building to start off with; thankfully a new colleague drove me to the right place. My first day wasn't too hectic - highlight has to be one of the residents praising the Lord that she was allowed to have a piece of birthday cake. The shifts are quite long and tiring, but offer me many opportunities to honour God through humbling myself, working hard and serving others!

Try something new today!

2008-06-02T20:08:00.010+01:00

Weeeell the end of exams came, so I thought what the heck - lets try something new today! So I did. My chin is now seeing light after seven years of darkness (and my head after 21 years...). Am intrigued to see what the comments will be!

The other new thing I've tried is to read about Jesus' life through Luke. I'd never read it before and am discovering lots of things about Jesus - I challenge you to do the same! Luke part 1, part 2, part 3 . In the words Dr Pepper "what's the worst that could happen"! Lol, at the very least it'll be useful for pub quizzes.

Ps If anyone would like a nice gold leaf covered bible for free (courtesy of the Gideons) please let me know, and I will gladly pass one on to you. My email is Aaron.Poppleton@gmail.com. Am happy to do postal orders too.

Leipzig Hochschultage

2008-05-29T19:29:00.004+01:00

The SMD student group at Leipzig University is in the middle putting on a week of events call the Hochschultage, where the basics of Christianity are explained. I had the pleasure of helping them out behind the scenes last year - was an awesome week. Have a look at the webite if you get chance, will probably be some pictures up at some point!

I've also started a new blog in German, with the hope of practicing and improving my language. Some of the stuff from here will be translated up there, as well as a few other bits and peices. If you know any german, please feel free to correct my language mistakes!

Exciting Germany find

2008-05-27T09:01:00.003+01:00

In my usual crazy manner I decided to visit my friends in Germany a few weeks back - unfortunately it meant cutting my exam leave that bit shorter... On the plus, as well as having a really great time, I discovered a website called purpose driven life. The website has a daily devotional (a little reminder), reminding you of what it means for you to be a Christian in different situations. There's the option to read them on the website or to sign up and receive via email. My only qualm is its seemingly slightly erratic use of bible translations (switches between literal and more colloquial translations - nothing too heretical though!). Overall however, the content seems generally quite good. My thanks go to Johannes Fischer for this one.

Lessons from the Judges

2008-05-09T11:25:00.004+01:00

Time seems to be going past pretty quickly - revision for the finals is well underway, gonna be a little touch and go though. However in the grand scheme of things there are more important things!

Recently I've been working my way through the seventh book of the Bible, Judges. It's about the fledgeling nation of Israel under the rule of various judges (although not as we would interpret a court judge today). A pattern that keeps repeating itself is that no judge can keep the Israelites faithful to God - despite the many great things God had done for the nation a relatively short time previously. Even the best judges can only keep Israel faithful during their lives. The result of the Israelites continual desertion from God is invasion by those nations they were originally told, but chose not, to conquer. Each time they cry out to God for help and he reminds them of their desertion and then gives them a judge to rescue them. For what is becoming sadly predictable, soon after being rescued the rebellion repeats itself yet again...

This is until chapter 10...
Israel seems not only to have started worshipping one god of their enemies, but seem to go for any and every other god they can get their hands on. This includes pretty much all of the gods from the nations they were originally told to conquer. As usual they are invaded and suffer at the hands of a foreign nation - however this time when they cry out to God, he tells them they should go to their "new gods" for help and see what happens. The Israelites realise they've overstepped the mark big time, and for the first time in the book of Judges seem to earnestly turn back to God. God has pity on them and gives them a Judge in the unlikely form of Jephthah.

Abstract ancient history...
For many of the days I've been reading Judges it's felt like reading abstract ancient history. If the Bible is there to instruct us about God and how to be living life in light of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, the history of a rebellious minor middle eastern nation >3000 years ago seems a bit hard to tie in. However I've realised that my impatient and short sighted reading may actually be more of the problem. After 10 chapters I'm beginning to see the pattern and finally realising how this could apply to the world today and also to an impatient now-culture individual like myself...

Firstly, no human leader can save the Israelites from their rebellion from God - no matter how tactical or great a man/woman they are, the Israelites will want to serve themselves and their desires - not submit to God. Secondly, it's God that saves them. Each time they cry out to him in their distress and he sends a Judge to rescue them. Often it's not someone that would be expected to save them, however they all stand out for their trust in God.

The nature of individuals hasn't changed over 3000 years. We each want to do what is best for ourselves, often ignoring what would be best for others/society, but also more importantly what God would want (in a nihilist model their is no place for morality - yet it seems ingrained in every person). Jesus says that judgement will one day come and that like the Israelites we will reap the results of living for "other gods". We need another judge to come and save us really - however humans don't seem to cut it - even the best... Good thing God stepped in once again. Jesus, being fully human and fully God, could both lead and save. He was able to directly relate and empathise with us, yet at the same time defeat the enemy that faces us. Will we stick by this leader? He's different to the others, this time there's potential for permanent defeat of the enemy, will we choose to be part of this Israel where the surrounding nations don't pose a threat? We get the chance to, if we like the Israelites in Judges 10 earnestly turn back to living for God.

I guess a comparison for today's world and myself could be - 'will my career or studies save me, when the world is ending?'. Something I should remember as my exams rapidly approach, and the temptation to push God and serving those around me out of the equation... Will I remember what God has done for me in Jesus, or will I like the fledgling nation of Israel forget and live for me? Let's hope the former!

It begins here...

2008-04-19T15:04:00.001+01:00

Hello reader,

Thank you for stopping by. My name is Aaron and this blog is intended to get me thinking more about what I believe as a Christian.

The blog was born out of a desire to be pushing forward in my personal relationship with God. For me this will mean trying to take more time out of my crazy schedule to spend with him, trying to learn more about him and his world, the grace that's on offer through his son and the power by which he can be working in me today. I want to be applying and thinking through these things in my life - as opposed to just learning (and forgetting...). The hope is that I can draw closer to him, and be able to more clearly understand and explain what I believe to be so amazing.

I'll try and post the things I go through, and would be very appreciate of others' contributions and thoughts, whether Christian or not. I know I've got a long way to go, and a lot to learn.

Right, lets get on with the marathon that's set before me!

Nothing in my hand I bring

2008-04-19T14:46:00.003+01:00

Nothing in my hand I bring,
only to thy cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, saviour, or I die.

Rock of Ages - AM Toplady (1740-1778)

and He gives us this grace too, all that's asked is that we trust in him...