Something worth fighting for

Some of you may know that once upon a time, I was a seriously committed martial arts practitioner.  That's me, flying through the air in the picture, by the way.  Admittedly, I was 5 years younger and 20lbs lighter back then, but it's always good to reminisce about when I was in shape.  Yes, I know I look like the type who wouldn't say boo to a goose, but I'm a person of many layers - a bit like an onion, although far less likely to make you cry.  Even so, I enjoyed training, and was pretty competent (yes, I am a black belt, before you ask), even competing nationally and internationally with some success.

It became something of an obsession for me, affecting almost every aspect of my life.  My diet was specific, even cutting out crisps, biscuits and chocolate (the horror!) and I was training 5, even 6 days per week.  A sizeable proportion of my time and resources went towards training sessions, paying for training equipment, transport and entry to tournaments around the country, insurance and nutritional supplements.  When I wasn't training, I was watching videos of others who were fighting to learn techniques (or just to see others kicking butt with style).  The pinnacle of my martial arts career would have been winning the European championship in 2006, just before I moved to Manchester.  After the move, there simply wasn't the time to maintain the level of commitment to training that I was engaging in before.  So in 2007, I quietly retired first from competitive martial arts, and gradually from martial arts altogether.

There was a time where I felt like a huge part of my life had ended - and to a certain extent, that was true.  However, the more significant truth is that I've actually found something more important to fight for - the mission of God.  Let's be clear about something, there is nothing inherently wrong with training and competing (although I never got involved in the spiritual side of martial arts for obvious reasons).  Yet when I look back at what I have to show for all of the efforts of my training, my net results are a few trophies and a black belt.  However, committing my life to Christ will yield a far more valuable prize than all the titles in the world (Timothy 4:8).  

If I persevere, by building myself up in faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, I receive the mercy of God and eternal life (Jude 20-21).  The discipline of physical training grants a sharpened mind and a honed physique, but  the discipline of spiritual training bears the fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11).  When I fight for the Kingdom, I'm not fighting for my own glory - as I did before as a martial artist, I fight for the glory of the King of Heaven.  My hands are trained for war - not to break bricks or to smash opponents, but to break spiritual strongholds in the lives of people and smash the works of the devil.

I don't belittle the years of training I underwent, since I received much that is good which has benefited me during the course of my life.  The fact is, Ill never stop fighting - I just have something better to fight for.

AN Out

Of new resolve

So here we are at the start of another year - and Happy New Year to all of you, by the way.  I'm currently showing the signs of having had a very merry Christmas right around the mid-section, which may necessitate the wearing of stretchy pants until I manage to burn off the effects of Ma Nelson's turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, plantain...  I'm sure you get the picture - though I probably don't fit in it at the moment.  I think I've surprised myself in terms of the capacity of my stomach this year, and being of a certain age these days, I'm actually feeling it which is a relatively unique and entirely undesirable experience.  On the plus side, it does have the beneficial side effect of my needing to spend more time training - which is an entirely desirable one.


It so happens that this is the time of year when most people find themselves making commitments to get fit, stop smoking, cut down/out drink, or something that will see them become "a new me for the new year".  Admirable as these good intentions are, very few last the month, let alone the year.  It seems a bit of a waste of time and effort, and only seems leads to an ongoing cycle of good intention and disappointment/apathy.  I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions as it very much feels like I have an excuse to put off until the start of a new calendar year changing something in my life that will benefit me right now.  To me, I guess that resolutions are the well intentioned result of procrastinating for the previous year(s).  As Karen Lamb puts it, "A year from now you may wish you had started today".


I actually like what Victor Kiam (that fine purveyor of men's grooming products) once had to say on the subject of putting things off:


"Procrastination is opportunity's natural assassin."


I recently read a Bible passage which caused me to think about procrastinating, which seemed pretty relevant around this stream of musing,


"Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”" ~ Ezekiel 12:28


God doesn't delay and doesn't put off doing what needs to be done - even though He has all eternity to act! I often speak to people who procrastinate on following Jesus.  They express their desire for a relationship with Him, but not just yet.  There are things for them to do, people they need to see.  Maybe when they're a bit more settled in life, then they'll make a bit of time for God.  The trouble with this approach is surmised quite eloquently by Martin Luther King, "How soon “not now” becomes “never”."


God has a very specific plan and purpose for your life - which according to Jeremiah 29:11 will prosper you and do you good.  Putting it off means that you miss out on all that good and exciting stuff that He has in store for you!  If you find yourself asking "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" (Matthew 27:22) don't put it off or save it for next year's list of resolutions - instead, just remember:


"Procrastination is suicide on the installment plan." ~ Unknown author


AN Out

Family Tree

As you may be aware, I love to read.  One of my favourite books - asides from the Bible, of course - is Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley.  It's widely acknowledged as being a classic, and disputes over authenticity and accuracy aside, it's one of the books which had a shaping influence on my life.  One of the things that most intrigued me was the idea of an entire family or village's history being maintained and passed on via oral tradition; entrusted to griots who would with astonishing accuracy, recount tales which stretched back for many generations - usually as villagers gathered around a baobab tree.  It's something that I find fascinating - being that my own natural family history comes to a painfully abrupt halt not many generations back from my own.


So it was with a great sense of joy that my Grandfather sat me down today and began to 'fill in the gaps' as it were, sharing detailed stories about some of my ancestors and how it was that the Nelson family came to Guyana in the West Indies.  It was a great privilege to hear first hand some of these stories about family members long since past, as my Grandfather skilfully played out the role of griot.


Why is this so important?  A wise person once taught me that if you want to know where you are going, you must first know where you have come from.  If you don't know your own background, you can't fully appreciate what your inheritance is.  A sense of identity can give history, purpose and gravitas - as well as a sense of belonging.  I often look with a slight feeling of envy at some of the brothers and sisters in the Church who can say with a sense of pride that their forefathers were missionaries to far off countries, or deeply involved in revivals and great moves of God.  Of course, there are some folk who know their family history and feel that it is something that they would really rather forget.


I pondered this today as I spent time with my family and I was reminded of the following passage in the Bible,

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." (Galatians 4:4-7)

Through Jesus dying on the cross and the giving of the Holy Spirit, I'm actually adopted into God's very own family - I'm able to share in an unimaginable inheritance with Jesus and I can call the creator of the universe my Dad!  I can say for certain that I have the purpose and direction in life that comes from having a secure sense of identity, because I know who my Father is.


So I guess that ultimately, we don't need to rely on oral tradition or genealogical research to find out our history and identity - if we really want to know our family history, just look in the Bible.


AN Out

Hello again!!

Apologies as it's been a long while, and I shouldn't have left you; left you without a dope blog post to step to...  Well it's good to see that my absence from the blogosphere hasn't dulled my creative edge!  Things have certainly been busy (hence the still waters being a little quieter than usual) and I may have alluded to my life taking some interesting turns back in an earlier post, and it certainly became even more interesting back in September as I became a full-time student again at School of the Word.


This is a life-changing experience which has been incredibly exciting and yet deeply uncomfortable at the same time.  No doubt I'm going to come out very different to how I went in, and I'm extremely privileged to learn from and be shaped by men and women of God who bear an astonishing depth of theological, biblical and spiritual knowledge and are only too happy to share their heart; the vision and passion that they have for the Kingdom of God and the Church, and seeing creation restored back to the Father's original intention.  It's awesome to realise the part we have to play in that.


I'm also privileged to have the best classmates in the world (of course, I realise that the SotW alumni from years past may dispute this, but hey -this is my blog and I get the final say-so).  These guys have blessed, shaped, challenged, encouraged, shared, supported, taught and loved more than I could possibly imagine - I'm deeply honoured to share life with them.  I especially love Tim & Holly Eagle - if you guys happen to be reading this, I can't begin to express how amazing you two are!


In any case, I'm back and ready to unleash a literary creative hurricane on the interwebs once more...


AN Out

Getting out of the boat

I recently had an excellent (albeit candid and at one point, somewhat heated!) conversation over dinner with a great friend and fellow Christian about what living for Jesus means to us, and how we practically outwork that in our own lives.  Neither of us will ever claim to have it nailed down perfectly, and it was refreshingly honest to talk as we did; hence our passion for the Christ-life spilling over into how we elucidated our respective points to each other at times.  Not surprising really; if Jesus doesn’t provoke any fervour in someone – whether they believe in Him or not – then there’s a case for arguing that they are either worryingly apathetic or insufferably nice.

Our discussion skittered over a melange of subjects before landing on the topic of the supernatural and in particular, miracles, signs and wonders and their place in the church today.  I honestly believe that they are a fundamental part of who we, as the representatives of the Kingdom of God, are designed, created and purposed to be.  The reason why the early New Testament church were moving in healings, deliverances and other signs freely and without doubt hasn’t changed (compare Peter and the apostles limited faith disposition in Luke 8:22-25, Luke 9:37-42 & Luke 10:1-20 with their faith-filled approach in Acts 3 & Acts 6:12 -16).  As such, there is still a place for supernatural works of God demonstrated through the faith of His people.

The same works of the devil are present today as they were in 1st Century Judea and beyond; people will still need to be healed of sicknesses and infirmities, relationships amongst families and communities still need to be rebuilt and restored, deliverance still needs to come to those spiritually oppressed and in bondage to sin, and people need to be restored to right relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  As far as I am concerned, there is just as great a need to see miracles through the Church now as there was in Paul’s day.  As the Teacher writes in Ecclesiastes, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) 

One point in particular which became something of a bone of contention was Jesus (and Peter) walking on water (Matthew 14:22-36).  After I’d suggested that it was entirely possible that another person could – and indeed may already have, albeit remaining unpublicised – walk on water again if God responds to their faith, my friend pointed out that this was extremely unlikely (isn’t that the nature of a miracle though?) and there wouldn’t be any logical reason for God to do so nowadays.

I pondered this point for a while (or at least until my steak came along) and of sense of disquiet grew in me. 

Is it even possible for someone in this day and age to walk on water? 

The natural answer is “No, don’t be stupid – we have boats so our shoes don’t get wet.”  The supernatural answer is “with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26).  But why would it be necessary to walk on water?  Answer: it isn’t, but if God is going to be glorified through us, the least we can do is to keep an open mind. 

One of the reasons why we fail to see miracles is through our own contextually limited reasoning and logic.  In as far as the world is concerned, if it isn’t naturally or humanly possible, then it isn’t possible at all.  We continue to put God in the box of our humanistic rationale.  The Lord Himself summed it up best (doesn’t He always?) when He said:

““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

There’s a general malaise towards works of power and spirit in the church and all too often, those who do have faith to believe in the miraculous are shouted down as cultists, crackpots and charlatans (ref. Azusa Street Revival).  Even those who accept that God moves supernaturally through His people will limit manifestations of His power to a ‘miracle checklist’.

“You prayed and the deaf can hear?  Great.  You laid hands on the blind (no spitting!) and they can see? Fantastic.  What’s this about dead people rising and walking?! That’s not on the list; they’re heretics – BURN THEM!!”

Bill Johnson writes in When Heaven Invades Earth:

“His manifestations, while offensive to the minds of many, are limitless in number, and are simple indicators of God’s presence and purpose.  Why are they necessary?  Because He wants to take us farther, and we can only get there by following signs.  Our present understanding of Scripture can only take us so far.

Remember, signs are realities that point to a greater reality.  If He is giving us signs, who are we to say they are unimportant?”

And that sums it up in a nutshell – it’s not about whether we think they’re important, but that they reveal the reality of God’s Kingdom here on earth – in the Kingdom, natural laws do not always apply.  When we consider the consequences of what was accomplished by God in bringing us into right standing with Him, exemplified on the cross by the expiative and propitious work of Christ; walking on water doesn’t seem like that big a deal.

Maybe it’s time for us to get out of the boat.

AN Out

A Life Less Ordinary

What constitutes the normal life of a Christian?

Is it going to church on a Sunday and maybe even a home group during the week? Is it about being an upstanding, law abiding citizen? How about being a good person who is kind to others? Does it mean leading a responsible life, structured around working hard and supporting one's family?

These are all admirable characteristics and lifestyle habits for certain. However, looking at those criteria objectively it could be argued that any person would aspire to live that kind of life (with the possible exception of wanting to go to church).

If that really is the benchmark for Christian living, what incentive is there to those who don't know Christ to get to know Him? To the average unchurched person, there's no tangible, visible Heaven that they can see, but their idea of hell might range from being crammed on a stiflingly hot Tube service next to Mr Anti-antiperspirant during their journey to work; to witnessing the misery effected by crime, war, poverty, sickness and injustice. In other words, this world is, for millions and millions of people, a living hell already.

Christianity seems to be at it's best when it's inoffensive and unassuming in the eyes of many Christians; a run-of-the-mill existence that is cocooned away from all those things that Paul writes about in Romans 8:35-39. There's no challenge, just abject mediocrity in simply waiting for God to show up again; it's a safe, nice life...

No - there has to be something more than this.

We are the very dwelling places of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 1:14); the same spirit that raised Jesus from death to life (Romans 8:11). Every person who is called into the service of Christ (Ephesians 6:6-7) is destined to live a life that is going to change the world in which we live. This is, not to put too fine a point on it, awesome!! Living life in a holy bubble is not going to change the world - in fact, it won't even change us. It is, in fact, an aberration in terms of living in Kingdom citizenship.

We are a missional, apostolic people - our mandate is set out for us in Matthew 28:18-20:

"And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

That mandate can't be fulfilled by hiding away (Matthew 5:14-15); instead Jesus instructs us to step outside the comfort zones of mundane, routine living:

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

God is an incredible, infinite God, who chooses to work in, through and with us to accomplish His purposes. Let's get something straight here; in our natural state, we're nothing special at all. However, God makes us something special and extraordinary - you could say He takes our ordinary lives and adds His extra to it. Miracles, signs and wonders should follow us as a matter of course. As a result, our lives are anything but ordinary when they're lived fully for Christ; but that should still be our benchmark, our minimum expectation of what life can - and should - be like for us.

So with this in mind, I again ask the question - what is normal Christian living?

• Is it living free in the power of the Holy Spirit everyday? (John 6:63; Romans 8:2)
• Does it mean doing the miraculous works that Jesus did, and then even more spectacular feats? (John 14:12)
• Could it mean proclaiming the Good News and seeing the eyes of the blind opened, the lame able to walk, the deaf able to hear, the dead raised and liberty coming to the poor? (Matthew 11:5)
• Can it mean that we are going to change the world?

Y'know something? I really think it does.

AN Out

God in a box...

Hello, it's been a while hasn't it..?

You do come across some strange sights on the Internet, and it would not be entirely unfair to say that a large proportion of those sights you really *don't* want to see. In amongst the many examples of superhero failure, unchecked idiocy, sneaky cats and near misses, was this oddity.

That's right, it is indeed God Almighty - The Action Figure. And yes, He is packing an AK-47 and "the cloak of invulnerability". For the completionist in you, there's also a Jesus Action Figure, although there's no heavy ordinance for Him. However accessories-wise, He does come with five loaves of bread and two fish included, apparently.

I cannot begin to imagine what was going through the minds of the developers when they first conceptualised this hilariously tacky, and borderline blasphemous "product". I wonder why they think that the all-powerful, sovereign, master-creator God would need to administer righteous justice through mass-produced cheap firearms. I've read Revelations, but John clearly missed out the "cloak of invulnerability" from his description in amongst the jasper, carnelian, and emerald-coloured rainbows. (Revelation 4:2-3)

Come to think of it, why would an omnipotent God need a cloak of invulnerability?? However, after I managed to compose myself following my fit of hysterical laughter; I actually got to thinking, "Isn't this how many of us see God?"

Not in a "As the King of all creation, I thought you'd have a better tailor" kind of way, but more in the "God is limited and constrained to how I imagine Him to be" kind of way. Simply put - when it comes to our life's potential and living it in the power of God, we put a infinite God in a finite box of our own making. It's impossible to contain God as proved in 1 Kings 8:27. It's just as impossible to hide from God, as Adam & Eve found out in the Garden of Eden, as David recognised in Psalm 139 and as Jeremiah clearly understood.

A God who fills everything and can do all things, and uniquely holds omnipotence, omniscience, omnibenevolence and omnipresence among His characteristics, surely cannot be constrained by human concepts of what is and isn't possible! He is, by His very nature, a God without limits!!

Yet it's sad to say that the modern-day Western church is inherently guilty of sanitising the power and awesome nature of her King. Considering less than 2000 years have passed since the birth of the church in Jerusalem, a rapid decline has taken place in the expectations of what God is truly capable of between then and now. Such was the faith and expectation of the church back then, that Paul's sweaty clothing was used as an instrument of healing (Acts 19:11-12). We restrain God by our thinking, rationalising the illimitable power of the Holy Spirit to the limitations of our own intellect.

We say "Oh we've prayed for that brother's cancer..." but never truly believe that God really can heal them totally.

We baulk at the idea of actually seeing those in obvious pain and suffering healed through prayer. "That must be for one of those folks with a special anointing to pray for - you can tell they've got that anointing because they've got a television ministry and a white suit!" (Not that there's anything wrong with white suits per se).

"Maybe God could heal that person in the wheelchair..."

"Maybe God could raise the dead..."

Well just to be clear, God isn't a God of the maybe - God is a God of power and we, as His representatives here on Earth are given the task of administering that power and love to a sin-sick and broken world. We have every authority (Matthew 16:19; 18:19) to establish the Father's dominion and will here on earth as it is in heaven (sound familiar? - Matthew 6:7-13). We can see miracles, signs and wonders because Jesus did it first, and told us that we would not only do the same, but greater works still if we have faith (John 14:12).

If we have faith...

Faith cannot limit God, because it sees with the eyes of God. Nothing is impossible for those who choose not to put God in a box, because with God "all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). Famously, Luke left the book of Acts somewhat unfinished - God's expectation is that His church will write chapters 29 and beyond. I'd like to think that we can come up with something just as exciting as the early church did.

Life totally lived in faith and without fear or limitation - that's what we need to be seeing in the church. I, for one, certainly don't want my generation's crowning achievement to be Left Behind: Eternal Forces - the videogame.

AN Out