SpoonfulOfDreams

Words are important. Freudian slips are accidental but no less significant. "I didn't mean that" can be both a genuine and a bogus excuse. With some of our news coming in a one sentence tweet you need to choose your words very carefully and woe betide the birdie who drops a bomb like 'suicide'. It's not really surprising that someone has said that suicide is selfish. In a proper debate that point of view would have to be aired and examined. It would need to be tested from different angles and according to different criteria. The definition of 'selfish' has to be established. Does it simply mean I did it for myself or does it carry the caveat that it has no consideration for others? Is being selfish, of itself, a bad thing or does it depend on how you are being selfish? Maybe it shouldn't but it bothers me a little seeing article headlines saying suicide isn't selfish. It's not that I believe it is but it seems that everyone has to defend Ro...

Now you see Hamas, now you don't. The answer to, "Is Hamas a terrorist organisation?" is neither yes nor no. It can't be 'no' because they clearly are terrorists. They are terrorising Israelis with their indiscriminate bombs and they undoubtedly terrorise Palestinians. So why can't the answer be yes? No one in the media is defending Hamas but do they not at least deserve a fair trial? Go back to the troubles in Ireland. From the mainland we could look at loyalists and republicans and wonder how they could support their respective paramilitaries. The IRA and their counterparts were thugs (no doubt there) but so long as there was an 'us' and 'them' there was no hope for peace. The Sinn Fein were never flavour of the month except among republicans but they won elections, even to the UK Parliament. Ian Paisley was never a terrorist and Martin McGuinness was never a saint. Neither garnered much support outside their respective camps and if eithe...

Many American right wing nut jobs will claim that Obama is the antichrist. It sounds ridiculous but I would suggest a rational argument can be made to justify the title. Before you decide to disown me please allow me to explain. In what is now the Holy Week, churches throughout the world are centring on the Passion, the final hours around Jesus' crucifixion. According to John's gospel, Jesus was taken before Pilate and questioned. Pilate asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews because the Jewish leaders were accusing him of claiming that title. Jesus confirmed that he was a king but not of this world. If he were, then he could command an army to defend him. Outside the specific context of his trial and execution this has massive implications for us who claim to be Christians. First of all it means we are citizens of a spiritual kingdom and, as Christians, have no nationhood as its understood in an earthly sense. Secondly it forbids us to assault those who do not claim Christ...

It seems to me that Christians are their worst enemies when it comes to alienating those who do not share their faith. I am aware that Christians are persecuted for their faith throughout the world more than any other faith but we should distinguish between raw persecution, reasoned dislike and difference of opinion. Setting aside the principle that any discussion on religion is bound to spark passionate debate and raise the usual suspects, its the moral dimension that I want to address. We should distinguish between morals and moralising. Society requires moral fabric, accepting that stealing, murder, rape, fraud etc. are not acceptable. But inevitably we each become arbiters of what is morally acceptable and judge others by our moral code which, for each of us, is different in degree if not in content. Stealing is a crime but the principle is that you do not acquire the property of another without their permission or by some sort of legitimate contract. But its a rare person who can...

Performing at the Morecambe Parish Church Christmas Festival. It was a half hour slot in which I sang all Christmas songs apart from James Taylor's Sweet Baby James and a song I wrote which has an advent theme so it still counts. I sang a song I wrote 2 days ago as well as one I wrote last year and one I wrote over 10 years ago. The audience was small but appreciative and the sound was great especially when I sang Away in a Manger to the American preferred tune. A nice intro to my Christmas.

I previously had the spoonfulofdreams domain pointing to SongRamp where many of my songs reside before repointing it here where I have a link to my Youtube account. So you can hear my songs on SongRamp and see and hear them on YouTube, here's the link to my SongRamp page. You can also find some of my songs on Spotify and iTunes. Simply search for 'The Beauty of Grace'. I really must get some more songs recorded professionally. Alas that will have to wait but maybe just till next year.

Its been a long time since I've contributed to my blog. It must be time to get back into the habit. Much has happened since I last wrote, notably the Lancaster Music Festival. Yes, I helped organise it - built and maintained the website, designed the posters, banners and brochure and put the brochure together. Then I performed over the weekend and did my bit in being part of the team. It was an amazing experience and to cap it all we won an award. I think I can pretty well hang 2013 on the Festival; it was incredibly significant and will always be a mile stone for me. Earlier this year I left the church I'd helped to lead after I could no longer reconcile myself with the direction in which it was heading. Sometimes its not a matter of staying in order to be a positive influence especially when its taking all your energy to remain sane. It almost feels like I've abandoned everything I used to believe yet I've remained true to the faith. Some of those held up as mentors ...

You are my God You are my Father You train my hands To turn the lathe Transform my life To match your likeness In you alone My life is saved As Jesus slept Rock for a pillow No food to eat No friend to share He learned the hard way No help or comfort Until the angels Met him there You chose the way That would destroy you Knowing destruction Would be destroyed Hoping only In truth and justice No host of angels Was deployed You rose victorious And sent your Spirit The God of comfort For my distress But I have also Your example Life's bitter tests Your righteousness Why do I grumble When life is easy? Why do I doubt When life is hard? Where did I learn You're there to please me? Did I forget You are my God? © Chris Price 2013

So you get an email from a marketing guru. She tells you your life story like she’d been sitting next to you all these years. She knows exactly what walls you’ve been bashing your head on, what hurdles you’ve been knocking over and what weeds you can’t keep down. Maybe she gets you reading the blurb for 5 minutes, nodding your head and giving grunts of recognition as you acknowledge her total grasp of the situation. So, obviously, if she has such a good grasp of the situation then she’s probably got the answers lurking in her briefcase. Now, is she a scam artist? No, she’s earning six figures practicing what she preaches and has helped scores of people to sort out their jumbled business lives. You’ll notice that as she explains some of the principles of running a successful business she keeps punctuating the proceedings with a reminder that she started out as ignorant as you. So how did she come by this wealth of wisdom and expertise? Well, of course she has tested all the angles and...

I realise I have to write shorter articles; otherwise I'm just not going to keep this blog going. So here's what I'm thinking: I've noticed one or two songs expressing our desperation for God and, somehow, it just doesn't sit right with me. Desperation suggests being at the end of your tether and while its good that we recognise our dependence on God for everything this is surely not a healthy state to be in permanently. Let's say you have become unemployed or suffered an injury that leaves you unable to work. You then become dependent on benefits. So long as the benefits come in on time and are meeting your basic needs you shouldn't be desperate. It might make you realise how dependent you are if a payment should be delayed a few days but this wouldn't be how anyone would expect to live. Life is relatively easy in our country and that can make us lazy in that most of us know where our next meal is going to come from. We can be open about our faith beca...

Christians don't have a monopoly on the view that Christmas has become too commercialised. Nor do they have a monopoly on a yearning for traditional values or the sentiments of joy, goodwill and peace that are central to the Christian, Christmas message. Many of us, lemming like, run headlong over the cliff of common sense to over indulge, overspend and generally mortgage the oncoming January in the pursuit of short lived and sometimes dubious pleasures of the Christmas season. The Queen's Speech invariably turns to the central message of Christ's incarnation just over 2000 years ago but I doubt that message has a major impact on her audience beyond the possible warm glow which may owe some to the imbibing of alcoholic beverages before, during and after dinner. So when Christians wish to put Christ back into Christmas what are they envisioning? I suspect that if Christmas were a largely religious event its appeal would be somewhat limited to the general public. If you want ...

I didn't get a Father's day card last year. I was fairly pragmatic. After all, its just a made up day and mostly geared to selling cards, gifts and generally sustaining our consumerist economy. If you're not hung over, bloated or broke after a big day then it can't have been that good, can it? I'm not heartless though. It did hurt a little. It must have, because I can remember how I felt. But piling misery on misery really doesn't have any beneficial effects so it's not good to dwell on these things. I got one this year and it feels worse. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, which is true if you're on a promise. But when nearness is painful, distance is a mercy. When you're separated from your family by distance you can count the miles but when you're separated by regret the counting never stops. I'm on my own with a lovely Father's Day card in the window. It says "Thank you for everything." So I did something right b...

I've recently read the book of Esther. Its remarkable in that it is the only book of the Bible that mentions neither God, worship or prayer. It's an encouragement for those of us who acknowledge the Great Commission but feel uncomfortable bringing God into every conversation. I cringe at some of the words and phrases Christians dream up to claim ground for God. "Godincidence" is one of them. This is supposed to counter the idea that things happen by chance. Rather, God orchestrates our circumstances to bring about his plans for good. Far from bringing a fresh perspective it merely presents a narrow Christian world-view that is ill conceived and poorly constructed. I am fond of the idea of Jesus being the unseen guest. After all, Jesus said that where two or three of us are gathered together, there is he in the midst. On the other hand, it can sound a little spooky to think that an invisible person is constantly watching you. Nearly every book in the Bible brings a dif...

In a previous post I asked, "Who is Jesus?" I'm not sure that I really answered the question, rather that I questioned our answers. Young children disregard those around them as they play or interact with their friends or immediate family. They have no thought about how they appear or relate to strangers. When asked a question they often simply hide, stare or offer an answer that doesn't relate to the question at all. They first must establish a context in which the conversation is taking place. If the question doesn't relate to the child then its irrelevant and meaningless and who the person is, is also irrelevant until the child can build a framework in which that person has meaning. One of the greatest challenges for a Christian (or any person of faith) is prayer. Formal prayer is easy because it's very much like sending a letter to Santa. You simply need to know that your god has the position of 'God' then your letter will arrive at the right place...

There is no question that Jesus was born a Jew but did he live as a Jew? Jesus came to fulfil the Law so he had to be the perfect Jew, better than the Pharisees or any Jew before him. The question we then need to ask is, did he dispense with his Jewishness once he had completed his ministry and, in a sense, he did because he broke down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile. Paul says, in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile. The important thing is that He made peace between the two. Crucially, Paul says that the Jews own the legacy and only when they are brought into the fold will the Gentiles have the full measure of the truth. Rediscovering the Jewish Jesus clearly gives us a fuller picture of who the historical Jesus was and what he meant by what he taught. It seems to me that Paul translated the Gospel into 'Christian' beautifully as did the other letter writers but Jesus, in the Gospels, was speaking to Jews as a rabbi, not to Christians as a pastor. Much of Christi...

For Daniel Softly comes the evening chill When sun's warm glow is gone The day is done, its hours are spent Yet time still trundles on The day that was gives way to night But had it not been born The evening would be colder still We never would get warm And though sun's heat and light are quenched The moment it retires The trees have been both warmed and fed To build and fuel our fires The moon can but reflect the sun The night yearns for the day But when dusk calls and all is done We can but love and pray

In the 4th chapter of Nehemiah the Jews are mocked as they attempt to rebuild the wall of their devastated city. If being faced with a home city in tatters is not enough their neighbours mock their efforts to rebuild then, to add injury to insult, they threaten physical violence. And it doesn't end there. While their strength is giving out they are faced, not only with rebuilding an entire city wall, but clearing masses of rubble. "There is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall", they say. How do you motivate yourself to face a task that you don't believe you can accomplish when everyone is betting on you failing anyway? Nehemiah first establishes a plan of action. He positions people at the weakest points with bows, spears and swords. Then he gives them a reason to fight. "Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes," he tells them. I've seen nature programmes...

photo © Sarah Klockars-Clauser for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike I hear people say, "God won't let you down." But we know from experience that he does. He will stand you up at the street corner. He will ignore your prayer, allow you to screw up and to completely embarrass yourself. Jesus explicitly said that we would experience trouble in the world, that we would be ill treated and killed for being his friend. 11 of the 12 Apostles were murdered for honouring Jesus - counting Paul as an Apostle that makes 12 out of 12. If you're counting on life going smoothly, don't look to God. If you watch bank adverts with a critical eye you will realize that they all offer you the same thing, precisely nothing, wrapped up with fancy ribbons. They have no vested interest in your happiness. They only need to lure you into the net so they can use and abuse you and spit you out when you're no more use to them. You will find individuals and branches more or less hel...