False Idols

Welcome to Christian Charity World as we look at the subject of False Idols.

"2 Kings 17:33

So they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away."

　

A good friend recently bought tickets for him, me and my son to go and watch my favourite football team play. Since boyhood I've proclaimed that I'm an avid supporter of Gillingham FC but in recent years my actual attendance has been extremely limited due both to a lack of finances and little time. Until recently I'd felt guilty that I could pledge allegiance to the team and yet not back them with my presence. After all wouldn't a true supporter be there for his team come what may; through thick and thin?

　

The fact that I was feeling bad about it perhaps meant that I was giving too much adoration to my chosen team. I was making Gillingham Football Club a False Idol. I remember as a boy attending my confirmation classes; the vicar accused me of treating football as my God because I'd missed one lesson to play for the school team. I couldn't see it at the time particularly as I felt commited to my team mates.

　

Ultimately our awe, adulation and devotion should be aimed in one direction only; at God through his son Jesus Christ. And if I feel bad about anything it should be the fact that I have offended him through my sins. I've heard it said that I shouldn't "beat myself up" if I sin as God forgives us as long as we repent. I'm speaking purely for myself here when I say that I feel that I do need to beat myself up when I sin. I need to know how God feels when I sin so that I can try and learn my lesson. Yes I sin daily particularly through thought, but I must recognise this so that I can attempt to lead a more righteous life.

　

I've also read that you know when you are a Christian when you hate the sin. Yes we continually sin but because we know it is wrong we detest that sin. When God is placed in such high regard that we care so desperately about the actions that offend him we have made him our idol. Not a false idol but our one and only God deserving of our worship.

　

By the way Gillingham beat Bristol Rovers 4 - 1.

　

How fantastic is that?

Terry Norrington

http://www.cryinthedark.org/

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Cheerful Giving

Welcome to Christian Charity World as we look at Cheerful Giving.

2 Corinthians 9 — “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

I was very proud of my wife the other day. Seeing a "Big Issue" seller in the street she went and bought a cup of coffee and gave it to her. She gave it willingly and it gave her a warm glow in her heart for the rest of the day.

A very simple act you may think but it was a spontaneous gesture; an act of cheerful giving.

How many times have we passed beggars in the street? Do we look at them and begrudge giving them anything because we question as to whether the money we give will be spent wisely?

Very often homeless people have other issues. They can have drug problems, alcohol addiction, perhaps gambling issues. We refrain from giving because we doubt that our hard earned money will go towards food, a cup of tea or other things we consider necessities. Our giving then becomes subject to conditions. Is that the cheerful giving?

God calls us to give and give with a cheerful heart. It is not for us to judge a situation. If we give and give willingly, gladly, then we have fulfilled God's wish. If the receiver then chooses to spend the money on the wrong things then he (or she) has to answer to God. It can't be for us to make judgement on whether the person in need is justly deserving because we will never know all the circumstances that has drawn that person to that position. But God does. He knows that individuals full life history and He knows what is in their heart.

Cheerful giving doesn't have to be about sharing financially. It is also about sharing time, giving hospitality, listneing to somebody's woes, helping somebody in need. We may never know what effect our charity has on somebody but we can be content knowing that we have done The Lord's work. When we do see the difference that our act of kindness has on somebody we then feel truly rewarded.

How fantastic is that?

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Christian Charity World - The Prodigal Son

Welcome to Christian Charity World as we look at the story of the prodigal son.

Luke 15:11-32. The Prodigal Son

A couple of years ago I was with my wife and two boys at Camber Sands. We had pitched ourselves in the dunes on a hot, sunny, Sunday afternoon. As we were enjoying our relaxation we became aware of some children searching for something. They had lost their five year old brother. These children were obviously extremely concerned and worried and the parents were frantic. The police had been called to help find the missing boy and we joined in the hunt as well. I could only imagine the despair of the mother and father as I thought of how I'd be feeling if it was one of my two boys that had disappeared. Fortunately the story had a happy ending as one of the lifeguards on the beach spotted him.

As parents we know that we would do anything to protect our loved ones and if one of them strayed from the fold we would not rest until that child had been found. This is motherly and fatherly love; the bond that forms between parent and child. The very thought that our son or daughter is lost and they would be suffering either emotionally, physically or both, meters out such anguish and pain to a parent.

In The Story of The Prodigal Son the father despairs as his younger son takes off with his inheritance and squanders it on wild living. His son has lost his way and followed the wrong path in life. Eventually he sees the errors of his ways when all had run out. He seeks the forgiveness of his father and is truly repentant; to the point of being prepared to be one of his fathers slaves. The younger son had been humbled. Yet when his father saw his son he was overcome with joy and great celebrations took place. At first the older son could not understand his father's joy and celebration. The senior son had worked hard for his father and had never strayed. Why had a fattened calf been killed in his brother's honour?

The father explained. His son was lost and now he is found. I'm sure that every parent who reads this could understand that. We all can see how feelings of both relief and jubilation would fill our hearts if one of our own was lost and then was found.

The purpose of this parable is to make us understand how God feels when we have been treading along the wrong path and are lost. We are his children and when we are lost He is desperate for us to be found again. When we realise that the road we are on is using up all our inheritance and we humbly seek God's forgiveness, He is as jubilant as any parent who has lost a child and found them again. By turning back and following Our Father makes Him extremely happy; just like the father with the return of his prodigal son. And when we decide to follow His way we can rejoice in the security that comes from knowing Him through Christ and we can rest in His shadow.

How fantastic is that?

Mary's Tale

Welcome to Christian Charity World as we look at Mary's Tale.

Luke 1: 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”

Imagine what must have been going through Mary's mind when she was told that she would be with child despite the fact that she was a virgin. In those days girls who became pregnant out of wedlock could be stoned. It was totally frowned upon to be impregnated by any man other than the husband. And who would believe her.

" The Holy Spirit came upon you and put you in the family way? Yeh right!!"

And yet when the angel Gabriel stood before her as The Messenger from God she had the immense courage to say "OK". In Luke 1 she says

"I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said."

We can see in Mary's Tale, in her story, that she must have been extremely fearful of what the world would think of her; what the world would do to her. Yet she took on the role of being the mother to the Messiah with complete faith in God. She believed without a shadow of doubt that she was doing as God wanted.

It is probably fair to say that in the Western World, as Christians we have it relatively comfortable. Yes we have ridicule occasionally from those who really just don't "get it" but do we really suffer the backlash that Mary could possibly have received. It seems much harder to be a Christian in other areas of the world where religious conflict exists. Where Christianity is a minor religion Christians can suffer horrendous persecution; violence, attacks on their homes, imprisonment, even death. Again in our world of relative comfort it is hard to picture life under these extremes. Would our faith survive the test?

This isn't to trivialise the hardships and pressures of Christians in countries with religious freedooms. The worries of paying bills, keeping a roof over the heads of our loved ones can still weigh us down. God still tests our faith. But we must remain strong in our trust in God. It is amazing that we can off load our burdens onto God and He can sort them out for us. We can rest in His shadow if we just ask Him to.

God will only test our faith to the point that He knows we can take it. He won't try to break us. So for those who have always had life easy, never really had to face the downs in life, perhaps God hasn't felt that their faith is strong enough.

In Mary's Tale we can see that her strength of faith was tested and she was equal to it; which of course God knew it would. Which is just as well as the whole course of history would have changed and you and I wouldn't be experiencing the joy of being saved by our Saviour Jesus Christ.

How fantastic is that?

The Christmas Story

Welcome to Christian Charity World as we look at The Christmas Story.

"Luke 2: 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

A couple of years ago I rember talking to a good friend at a church service the Sunday after Christmas. I'd asked him if he'd had a good Christmas. He answered, "Yes, but I get extremely sad when people try to destroy The Christmas Story. It is such a beautiful story so why do people want to analyse and disect it so much?"

He'd obviously dwelt upon this point over the festive period and had somewhat dampened his spirits. I can understand his sorrow. Whether it be aetheists or historians, there seems to be a body of people that are bent on discrediting The Story. We can be told that Jesus wasn't born on the 25th December and this date has been hijacked from a pagan festival. It is said that it actually took The 3 Wise Men two years to find the baby Jesus so was unlikely to be found in the stable at that point.

Despite attempts to place doubt on The Christmas Story, whatever so called facts emerge, we are still left with the one undisputable fact, that Christ was born. What ever date he was born, he did arrive, and he came as our saviour. From my understanding, this has never been disproved.

Astrologers have declared that at the time of Jesus's birth, certain stars and heavenly bodies had moved into alignment such that a bright star appeared. Facts like this are giving credence to The Christmas Story rather than discrediting it and it also shows that God is in control as the prophocies of scripture unfold.

I wonder, as various people try to place falsehood on the birth of Christ whether these same people still join in the festivities. Do aetheists eat turkey and brussel sprouts, drink wine and offer presents? If so, isn't this a bit hypocritical?

Fortunately we know differently. Jesus came to this earth, born of a virgin and laid in a manger, in a stable. He came to be our king and to save us from our sins, to give us hope and a new life.

How fantastic is that?

Manger Trail

Welcome to Christian Charity World in this Season of Advent

Luke 2: 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

I know I’m not the first to feel that the true meaning of Christmas gets left out of many people’s celebrations. How many people do we know that quite happily eat, drink and be merry without giving a thought to the birth of a baby in a stable some 2011 years ago and laying its head down in a manger. Sometimes it is nice to remind others exactly what they are celebrating.

Certainly when we watch our little one’s portray the nativity scene this gives us a good nudge in the right direction, but last weekend I was extremely fortunate to be involved in our town’s Manger Trail. For those who are unaware of the nature of a Manger Trail, it takes children (and adults if they so wish) through various scenes of the nativity as they search for the baby Jesus. Within these scenes actors act out the various roles and try to make it interactive for the children. Our town’s Manger Trail started with an actress dressed up as a Christmas decoration acting very confused as to why she came out every year. She then took the group of children on a journey via scenes of wise men, King Herod, shepherds, Roman centurion, innkeeper and finally the stable where baby Jesus was found before heading off for donkey rides. In the process the children had to find the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and answer silly riddles from King Herod helping the children to take in the story whilst having fun at the same time.

A project such as this takes a lot of organising and being as this is the first time that a Manger Trail had been produced in the town the organizers were really unsure as to how successful this would be. Indeed, they were only aware of one other having been held in the country, so felt they were nervous trailblazers. Fortunately within the town there is a very strong Churches Together movement and it was marvellous how a combined effort spectacularly brought things together.

However, people were still wary of how many visitors would come through the doors. As the opening time drew closer the nerves set in. Yet as the doors were unlocked it was truly amazing how many children with their parents came flooding in. It was constant from start to end.

There was no entrance fee, just a suggested donation. The whole idea was to spread the Christmas message to as many children as possible, not to make it a money spinning venture. This wasn’t a professional production, just Christians working voluntarily together to help others understand the true meaning of Christmas. Everybody that took part were enthused by the experience and not one bad word was uttered.

It just goes to show that when God’s work is done with Him in mind and faith to shore it all up, God will come good every time.

How fantastic is that? 

Terry Norrington

http://www.cryinthedark.com/

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