How well did I know ‘Grace’ growing up?

Over the course of my life I’ve come to realise how central grace is to God’s plan for the whole of humanity, I’ve started to think about how much a part of my earlier life it was.

I went to a Grace Baptist church, where we sung from the hymn book Grace Hymns, where every morning service began with the word grace (literally), these were led by my Father who was editor of Grace Magazine and wrote a monthly tract for the locals called Grace and Truth.

I’m sure there are many more examples too.

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
     and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
    and he relents over disaster.
                                                                    Joel 2:12-13

18 things I do not regret my parents doing with me

Inspired by when Anti Catrin showed us that Challies article when he wrote the 18 things he doesn’t regret doing with his kids.

1. Praying with us before bed.
That was part of the everyday routine for us, and that’s remained into my adult life. Praying with Sibyl before sleeping goes along with brushing my teeth and putting on my PJs.

2. Giving us pocket money.
Dad borrowed a method from the de Jongs in our church; we would receive our age squared (in pennies), every Saturday. Enough to buy sweeties (or da da as we’d call them in Welsh), but we had to save some for collection in church the next day.

3. Talking with us about theology as we walked
On the way to the sweet shop every Saturday, Dad would ‘teach us diligently when we walked by the way’. I remember the freedom to talk about any theological concept, ask any question. “How do we know if God even exists?” “Who is the Holy Spirit?” “Can God sin?”

4. Playing us Christian songs.
I still remember every single Steve Green Hide ’em in Your Heart song, along with great family hymns like Holy, Holy, Holy. I was even helped when Dad tried to get us all to sing Keep on the Sunnyside from the Oh Brother Where Art Thou OST.

5. Leading us in family devotions
Not a day went by without us having a mealtime (sometimes breakfast, sometimes dinner) when the Bible was read to us. I’m indebted to those times for a huge chunk of my Biblical knowledge now.

6. Prioritising a family meal everyday
Leading on from that, we always ate together. I remember a school-friend moaning that his Mum forced them to have a meal together once a week. I remember thinking “Once!? Who else would you have a meal with the rest of the time?”

7. Feeding us amazingly tasty food
Yes, I’m dwelling on these mealtimes, but that’s because they were so good! Roast potatoes, homemade chips, roast chicken, sausages, turkey bake, quiche, tuna pie. And then there’s the puddings… chocolate brownies, chocolate pudding, chocolate bread and butter pudding, millionaire shortbread (with chocolate), little pastry pie things with brown sugary raisin stuff in them, fridge cake, flapjacks, cookies, and shop-bought battenberg was always a hit too.

8. Disciplining us
We knew when we’d been naughty and often had to learn the hard way. But those smacks could well have saved my life, they helped me honour my parents, and I know that that means I can now enjoy long life on the earth. However the downside is I do have a phobia of all wooden spoons…

9. Taking photos and videos of us
There’s a great VHS of me when I was a baby which is amazing to watch, and there’s lots of photos which I love looking at, people who’ve died that I now have images of to look at, memories of birthdays and Christmases, great stuff.

10. Taking us to church
That was just normality on Sundays. Morning and Evening. What’s come home to me recently is that I heard the gospel so many times before I listened to it, God gave me (literally) thousands of chances, and so much time, this helps me to have patience with others who have not grown up with that privilege, and who are not converted as soon as I tell them the gospel.

11. Sending us to schools
Firstly, the Welsh primary school solidified my contact with Cymraeg and Cymru, a language and place where much of my heart is with, so I’m thankful for that. As for the secondary school, I’m grateful for the socialisation and contact with the secular world that that gave me practice in.

12.Teaching us how to decipher what they were teaching us in school and the Bible
Dad would often ask us after school, “Did they mention God even once today?” The answer was usually no. I went to one of the most humanist schools around, but I’m glad I went home and was given the tools to engage with all of that.

13. Telling us to watch things critically
Along the same lines, these were the tools that we were to use when watching TV and films. Dad’s catchphrase was indeed “are you watching this critically?” And from speaking to my fifteen-year-old brother this week, he still says that.

14. Giving us time to play outside in our garden
Hours and hours and hours spent in our garden, mostly playing football, but also making a treehouse with our friends the Barnses, and also digging holes, even making fires sometimes! And the tree-swing was amazing too. And the climbing frame. And the paddling pool in the summer.

15. Encouraging us to do household chores
Lay the table, clear the table, empty the dishwasher, tidy your room… all things we were encouraged to do, but I must confess were very poor at even those few tasks. Poor Mam. I’m still working on that one. But I’m glad I was shown the importance of them.

16. Telling us how important books are
I was a terrible reader as a child, Dad at one point even offered to give me £2 for every book I could finish, it still didn’t work. He is a voracious reader, and that example has served me well as I’m slowly growing in my love for books. So even for the times I was forced to read boring Enid Blyton books about inane supernatural teddy bears, thank you.

17. Encouraging a love of music in us
There was more often than not music playing in our house. From Mam it would be The Carpenters and Lionel Ritchie, from Dad it would be Focus and The Beatles, and on Sunday we’d have Classical music. Did you know, I still love music?

18. Deciding to have loads of kids
I love having four brothers. It’s so fun. It’s also mad. But I can’t think of a better community to grow up in, one in which you are in a house with four other kids who all share the same parents and space as you, and are all so different from you, but also share so much in common with you too. That’s been great.

Seven Questions Every Christian Should ask Before Getting a Tattoo

Whether it’s a simple black cross on each wrist, a verse about guidance on your left foot or John 3:16 emblazoned across your chest, there’s no denying that Christian tattoos have become popular in recent years. But before you join the masses of inked-up individuals, here are seven good questions to ask yourself before the needle hits the skin:

1. Is it against my conscience?

God has given us a conscience to help us decipher what’s right and what’s wrong. If you’re about to do something and you feel yourself thinking ‘this is wrong’, that’s your conscience. Ignoring your conscience is a very dangerous thing to do. The more you ignore it, the quieter it will get, and the more likely you will be to sin.

2. Should I pay attention to that verse in Leviticus?

There is a verse against tattoos in the Old Testament. Ancient Jews had a heck of a lot of laws, but for good reason. It was because God chose them as the race to whom the Saviour of the world would be born. They’re kind of a big deal. God wanted them to be visibly peculiar, and that meant no tattoos. But we are not Jews in the old Israel, in fact, no one is in the strictest sense. So these verses are there to give us an insight into how God thinks, and to remind us that Jesus was a specific man from a specific race of people. So do pay attention to it!

3. Is it morally right?

How do we know what’s morally right? We look at God’s moral law. They’re summed up in 10 laws (The Ten Commandments). Are we under the law? No! Christians are free from the law because of Jesus. Do we want to follow the law? Yes! Because we love the God who made it.

4. Will it become an idol?

Images are very powerful. If your tattoo’s going to stop God from being number one in your life, scrap it, it isn’t worth it. Our hearts are idol factories, so take care.

5. Is it taking God’s name in vain?

A lot of us are getting Bible verses tattooed onto ourselves, the Bible is God’s holy word. So think about that before you get it painted on your behind! Is this the best place for God’s voice to dwell?

6. Will it look good?

About 99.9 per cent of the tats I see look naff. (That’s mainly because I’m fussy when it comes to aesthetics.) But it’s an important point – this will be there forever, is it pleasing to the eye? I mean really pleasing to the eye?

7. Have you taken the 12-month test?

Get your potential tattoo laid out on a piece of paper, get it looking exactly how you want it to look. Then stick it in a drawer, and don’t look at it for a year. After a full 12 months, take it out, and see if you still like it. If you do, then you know this image has some enduring longevity, you can think about getting it.

This article was originally published for the website Threads.

It’s in the details

Started on 1 Samuel in my Bible in a Year. One wonderful thing about getting older as a Christian is that you get to re-read the stories you were taught in Sunday school and at the dinner table, but you notice details and contexts that were never there when you were seven. For example, today I found out that Samuel’s sons went off the rails and that that was one of the reasons Israel wanted a King, because there was no one to take over from his rule. I remembered that God had disagreed with the need for a king, but not the details.

So many instances like that in the Bible, God advises against it and people do it anyway. The key is to look for those moments in our own lives, it seems so obvious when you read other people falling into those traps, but I do it all the time, and I need to be more vigilant, am I doing something that God has clearly commanded against? That should be the Christian’s prayer, daily, that’s where wisdom comes in, that’s where a Bible in a Year comes in handy, if not essential.

Lidl bit of a shock

I’ve got my second cold of the year, this one’s more throaty which is always a lovely bonus. The stuff that comes out of my mouth in the morning is like boiled rhubarb.

We watched a film called Tyrannosaur. It fits into the category of social-realism. Very difficult film to watch, but there seemed to be elements of truth in it, searching for something important, so I think it’s a good one. It’s got some relevant themes too in terms of Christianity and morality.

I went to Cardiff this week with my course. We saw the Artes Mundi exhibition. I especially enjoyed the sildeshow work of an artist called Phil Collins (not that one). It was nice to be in Cardiff, a place I know mostly because that is where my Aunt and Uncle live. It was scary being in a city though, I wanted to get a bus to see my brother on the other side of town, he said he lived near Lidl, so I got on the bus and said – “do you go to Lidls?” “Waddyamean!? There’s millionsah Lidls!” He replied, flabbergasted. There’s only one Lidl in Aber, as you might imagine there’s only one of most things, apart from Polly’s there’s too many of them. I did make it to see my brother, but due to the faff of trying to circumnavigate the beast that is Wales’ capital I only got to see him for twenty minutes. But I got to give him his Bible which he left in Aber, so that’s good.

I’m really looking forward to it

We’re going to our fourth (maybe fifth?) and final wedding of the summer today. I’m really looking forward to it. But before that I’m going to go to the Post Office and send some birthday presents. I also have to send a document to do with my MA which begins very soon, things seem to have worked out wonderfully with that, God has been very good.

Yesterday was a day full of chores. The most difficult by far was putting up a toilet roll holder that had originally fallen down when our bathroom ceiling collapsed and then we had bought a new one and I tried to put it up and it didn’t last very long because I was too lazy to use wall plugs with my screws so yesterday I got wall plugs but they didn’t want to work and there was at east THIRTY minutes (not lying) of work which went into making it happen – trial and error, trial and error, trial and error, and the difficulty with trial and error in real life (as opposed to mathematics non-calculator GCSE paper) is that you don’t even know if there’s EVER going to be an end to your pain. But there was.

I’m reading Isaiah at the moment. One of the judgements that struck me was when God says he’s going to curse the beautiful women and he says that all their hair will fall out and they’ll get sores on their beautiful faces. That’s scary stuff. And all the talk about those who drink wine all night seemed very applicable to our generation. God is the judge. I’m really learning that.

Relating 2 Chronicles to ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Brave’

I have been reading 2 Chronicles over the past week or so and it’s riveting. It reminded me of many fashionably archaic yet modern royal dramas the most popular being the — watch with your finger on fast-forward — Game of Thrones.

2 Chronicles is full of long and short summings-up of Kings’ lives and the general pattern that emerges over and over again is that the good kings are those who show love and most of all those who honour God and look to him for their strength, the bad kings are those who are brutal, proud, self-reliant and idolatrous. In a more visual setting, Game of Thrones is also barbaric in its portrayal of the consequences of foolish royal lifestyle, honour is generally commended and with immoral behaviour it becomes clear to the viewer that actions have consequences. 2 Chronicles chapter 21 is reminiscent of this unrelenting gross-out repugnance, it speaks of King Jehoram receiving a letter from Elijah telling him that his murderous actions have not gone unnoticed and that he’s pretty much going to die of really bad diarrhoea:

You yourself will be very ill with a lingering disease of the bowels, until the disease causes your bowels to come out.

I just imagine being Elijah having to write this letter, or being the king and reading it. I can smell it all now. I feel sick.

We went to see Brave last night, this also contains talk of kings, tribes and houses. The film was okay, visually great and lots of little details which still sets it apart from most current animation. I love how there are copious amounts of ideas in it, alonf with much research: the trees – indigenous to Scotland no doubt; the language – much Gaelic slang; the little visual gags – a chicken on a stick becoming a shadow of a bear. However, the film feels like it needs a little kick, more emotional potency which would get it from a three star film up to a four or five. You don’t leave the cinema thinking YEAH, you just leave the cinema nodding apathetically.

Immediate Response: ‘Four’ by Bloc Party

So He Begins to Lie – Talking at the beginning much like the “keep rolling” from Red Light Indicates Doors are Secure. Not particularly poetic lyrics – “His reflection faded”. This song reminded me of AFI of all bands (a certain Beanhead may or may not agree). It’s very noisy, with a relentless grunge riff. Not particularly moving.

3×3 – It sounds like Kele is repeating “No one loves you” but he might not be. Quite violent lyrics anyhow. Again, not particularly moving.

Octopus – This was the first track we heard from the album. The first track that sounds like it could be vaguely memorable, that’s probably because it’s the first one I’ve heard more than once. It’s got that loop pedal end of Banquet guitar thing in it which is cool to listen to perhaps. The solo approaches something okay. Russell’s enjoying himself.

Real Talk – “Can we get real for a moment?” Sounds a bit Kilroy. I’ve heard this one via a bootleg on YouTube. My favourite so far. Kele’s voice in the upper register works well, tender and vulnerable. Do I hear a banjo? Again, lyrics are not Dylan. Trails off a bit by the end to something vague, maybe even possessing a recent Chili Peppers sound here.

Kettling – Starts with Kele saying – “Err, just talking about my feelings, yeah I was just feeling my breast, yeah it was turkey breast? I was keeping abreast of the situation.” That’s silly and ill-thought through. This is the most grunge influenced track so far, could be Smashing Pumpkins. Solo at the end sounds like Rainbow. This one has the potential to have potential. “We can feel it in our bones.”

Day Four – “It’s in the trees” This is gorgeous, but maybe I should just listen to So Here We Are. I’m hearing Foals, Bombay Bicycle Club, Maccabbees all that NME crowd. This is better than all the other tracks combined. I’ve booked live tickets and I was dreading it from the album so far, but I hope they play this.

Coliseum – This is the first Bloc Party blues track! It could be Robert Plant. Then it turns into Metallica. “Why are they playing metal?” Said Sibyl. Need I say? Not particularly moving.

V.A.L.I.S. – This seems to be a love song to some boy Kele is interested in. The chorus verges on being catchy. The lyrics on this one seem to be a little more adventurous. I might listen to this one again and enjoy it! Maybe dance to it! I just put headphones on and this makes the songs sound significantly better. Note to self – do not review albums with tinny laptop headphones.

Team A – Thankfully it isn’t so far so Ed Shearan. This is another I’ve heard on’t tube of you. Something fairly cool about Kele whispering in my ear “I’m gonna ruin your life”. He references The Groucho, isn’t that a hip club that B-list people go to? Yes, I’ve just Wikipediad it. This track goes on a bit. I’m not going to mention anything about whether it moved me, it didn’t.  At the end of the track Kele says this to someone: “The thing is, how would I know it was a spider bite, a friend of mine in school when he came back from Africa and he had strange lumps on his arm out popped lots of baby spiders.” THIS AUDIO QUOTE THING IS UTTERLY MEDIOCRE.

Truth – This is good. So far. I like any mention of truth, it’s one of the most beautiful concepts anyone can discuss. It drops from a five star track to a four star track about 30 secs in. Chorus says “you complete me”, that’s difficult to get away with saying, but I suppose this is a fun pop song. If I was the boss I’d say choose this as the single. Ooh, some violins. Then again, if this was the single, I wouldn’t put it on the Radio 1 playlist or the Radio 2 playlist. Xfm would play it. It’s finishing off with a solid 3.5 stars in my book. The most common rating I tend to give stuff.

The Healing – This track won’t play.

We Are Not Good People – This is a bit of metal/punk shtick. I would go to The Astoria and mosh to this if I was sixteen. Interesting title. A bit of apologetics while we’re here:

If God is God then why is he secret?
Today’s the day you’ve been set free
They might claim the best things are hidden
But I was here, you came to me

The hidden things are not our concern, the good news is that God has revealed numerous amounts of truths to us in his Word. See Deuteronomy 29:29. Taid preached some sermons on this a year ago this week (round about).

So. That’s my immediate response to the album. It isn’t very good on first listen. But I’ve thought that about lots of music though. But usually, more stuff jumps out at me. We’ll see. But, perhaps the dream is over. My favourite band may have just gone and taken it too far.

 

Conclusions

We did buy bicycles yesterday. Raleigh. I have definitely seen that on bikes as a child, whether the model is just as good when you’re an adult, only slime will tell.

Our tumble dryer’s fixed too! Thanks for holding out, we knew you were concerned. I had a chat with the man and I think I managed not to turn on my faux-workingclass charm too much.

Excitement is building for the EMW Aber conference still. I’m looking forward to hearing Conrad Mbewe’s morning addresses. Praying that his preaching is blessed.

I’ll leave you now with thoughts on hyperbolic statements we make when everything goes wrong. When we decry important things which we might not have meant to hate as much as we sound like we do, statements which crumble when we apply logic to them, but seem so fitting when we’re in despair. Someone told me today, “I hate jobs”. Not I hate some jobs, or I hate this job, I hate jobs in their entirety. Apply some rationality to the statement and we can conclude, jobs are kind of important, if not essential for the function of a society. But when things are hard we do hate jobs. Alan Davies was on Radio 4 talking about a nine year old girl who was having a tantrum and told her mother, “life is pain”. We’ve all been there, but it isn’t pain, all the time, it’s a lot of other things as well (James 4:14 or Colossians 3:3 for example). Praise God. Come and talk to me afterwards if you want to know more.

Context

There’s a sermon illustration (I like them, they stick in the mind) that is used to show the danger of using scripture out of context. It is of a man trying to put a screw in the wall using a chisel. Not only does he ruin the tool but he also ruins the screw and finds it extremely hard to put in. So with the Bible, if you take a verse out of its original background, and you don’t use it for it’s designed function, you ruin everything (thanks Dad for that one). So, a text without a context is a pretext for a proof text (thanks Taid / Don Carson for that one); or context is not a myth (thanks Stuart Lee for that one).

I did something probably as equally thick today when I used my penknife to screw on a new doorbell I was seeking to install. The knife was too big, slipped off the screw and snapped shut on my thumb. Thankfully I was using the smaller knife so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but I still managed to cut through my thumb nail and the top of the digit itself.
I will now shift to the present tense to make the story seem more dramatic (thanks Alan Partridge for that one)...
There is blood everywhere. What do I do, what do I do? Should I go to A&E? Kitchen roll! Apply pressure to the wound! Google my injury, see if I need to go to hospital. No hands. Type with nose. INTERNET’S NOT WORKING! Check out wound and it’s healing up. No need for 999. Crisis over. Not even crying. And I have a cool cut to show for it.

That was my adventure for this morning. And I felt doubly stupid because only last week I was making fun of a certain Mr. de Jong for making a similar mistake with his penknife!