God's grace is free - but will cost you your life!! There goes that lovely 5 letter word that is so easily bandied about by Christians without knowing or understanding what it is (a bit like the doctrine of the Holy Trinity!). For something so precious and at the heart of Christian beliefs it was great to hear Derek's heart wrenching expose on the matter. And what a blinding job he did - stitched up like a kipper only hours earlier when Dave called in sick - giving Derek the opportunity to rise to the occasion! I think he had less then 24 hours prep time but that was enough.
We have been doing a study on David in 2 Samuel and had seen him screw up his life culminating in the killing of "Uriah the Hittite" and the breaking of all the other commandments which I mentioned previously. He had truly buggered up his life - and then he repented - and then God blessed him. If Derek hadn't mentioned that he had flicked back a few pages you would think that 2 Samuel 7 is a progression from 2 Samuel 12.
2 Samuel 7 is about God's promise to David as given through "Nathan the prophet". And you would expect such a promise to be given to a person after they had an episode of sin/repentance BUT God being God - who knows what David will do in the future, just as he knows what we will do in the future, God gives David an amazing promise in 2 Samuel 7:5-16. God knew what David would be up to in a couple of chapters - breaking as many of the Ten Commandments as he could in a short period of time!
David's response was sincere at the time with a prayer. He appears to have his eyes and heart clearly set on the ways of God - determined to do what is right in the eyes of God. God had put upon David an amazing promise - even though He knew what David would get up to later on in life. If you were God and you could see into the future, would you have given David this great promise? This promise was given to David for free - and God gives a similar promise to us today. Romans 10:9 "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.". Knowing what "sins" we will commit between now and death, we will be saved. We don't deserve to be saved but we are - and its free!!
We don't need to screw things up as badly as David did, but its good to know that if we do screw up there is "grace" - and after we have said sorry, then there is forgiveness. This is brought home in Matthew 6:9-13 "the Lords Prayer" - not so much a prayer but a pattern for prayer - praise, adoration, supplication, requests for provision and finally the request for forgiveness. It is always tempting to get the order wrong - "lets ask for forgiveness first" - NO get the order right!! Grace allows you to bring praise and adoration first - sin has been dealt with - God knew what you were going to do before you did it, before you where born, before Adam-n-Eve!
I was drawn to the words of Davids prayer in 2 Samuel 7:18-29 - David repeated uses the words "Sovereign LORD". The word LORD is actually the divine name of God YHWH aka The Tetragrammaton. These Hebrew letters actually veer towards Yahwah or Jahweh or Jehovah. lost in translation!! So David's prayer was a personal prayer addressing God by His Name and not just a generic title like "LORD". And I think this aspect of "relationship" is lost in modern translations of the Bible. The generic titles like "Lord" or "God" depersonalises the relationships people actually had with God in the Old Testament. Worth pondering.
Well done Derek - lets have some more !!
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Friday, 25 November 2011
Prepare for the worst ...
ok - I didn't see that one coming. My apologees to Boris the Blade for bad judging the £40m cash move from the Fire Brigade budget to the Police. I can now see your hands were tied and the decision was made higher up the food chain. The "justification" in the news of the dawn raids on know drug dealers (Operation Hawk) where some 270 arrests across all the London boroughs, that was just a smoke screen! I'm sorry but why does a £40m incentive suddenly get mass police co-ordination doing the arrests that should have been done any way.
No, the bigger picture - the boarder control strikes is the tip of the iceberg. The fiasco with Brodie Clark and Theresa May is a whitewash - it is a hint that there is going to be a serious problem - the strike action is the start but things could then get alot worse.
My theory is the £40m is to be used to minimise the mass civil disobedience that is anticipated as the UK unemployment escalated and immigration becomes the scapegoat.
Is £40m enough? Why not invest a bit of money in a new version of the X Factor where people queue up to present their ideas to a panel of politicians, businessmen and economists on what we could do to boost the economy in the UK, and then help drag the planet out of this hole!! First prize - you get to spend the day with the Queen!!
On the other hand, if Boris was the top of the food chain and he made the decision to move the £40m - shame on you!!!
No, the bigger picture - the boarder control strikes is the tip of the iceberg. The fiasco with Brodie Clark and Theresa May is a whitewash - it is a hint that there is going to be a serious problem - the strike action is the start but things could then get alot worse.
My theory is the £40m is to be used to minimise the mass civil disobedience that is anticipated as the UK unemployment escalated and immigration becomes the scapegoat.
Is £40m enough? Why not invest a bit of money in a new version of the X Factor where people queue up to present their ideas to a panel of politicians, businessmen and economists on what we could do to boost the economy in the UK, and then help drag the planet out of this hole!! First prize - you get to spend the day with the Queen!!
On the other hand, if Boris was the top of the food chain and he made the decision to move the £40m - shame on you!!!
King David was no angel ...
What an interesting Sunday - well done to Adrian for bringing sobriety to the worship with his unique brand of leadership. It was different in that it had an air of quietude in a strange sort of way. The lack of drums and bass, and the refreshing sound of not wilting away from the opportunity of doing a simple acoustic number. And he can sing - not scared to harmonise or to solo. My pet-hate of playing whilst someone is praying out loud - something I think I'll just have to learn to live with!! But overall - refreshing.
And James as the MC and Tim's talk both had an air of humility which is so often missed when we have the more "dance like David danced" style worship. Nothing wrong with that but it would be nice to have a few minutes silence every now and then so you can reflect rather then just rush to get through all that has been prepared. ha-ho - life goes on!
Well done Tim for your sermon. Another bout of David but this time the David who is up to no good. 2 Samuel 11 & 12ish sees king David attempt to break as many of the Ten Commandments as possible! For someone who had the Spirit of God upon him (1 Sam 16:13) he went through a really dark period "doing evil in God's eyes" 2 Samuel 12:9.
Lets look at what he did:
1. He failed to divert his gaze from lusting after a woman in the bath
2. He fed his flesh desires by investigating who she was
3. He fed his flesh desires even more by summoning her to his palace
4. He then had sex with the woman knowing full well that she was already married
5. He then tried to cover up the pregnancy by giving Uriah advice with an ulterior motive
6. He then past sentence on Uriah - sentencing him to death by sending him to the battle front
"the things David had done displeased the LORD" 2 Samuel 11:27b . Jesus tells us how we commit just as bad sins in our heart by just feeding our imaginations, thus making us as "displeasing" as David. We all fall short on a daily basis - but there is a way out in the form of repentance and forgiveness.
Nathan then puts David back in his place with his sheep parable which leads to David repenting of his sins. David is told that the sins will not go unpunished and that "the son born to you will die." 1 Samuel 12:14. David then appears to loose the plot as any normal human would. Fasting did nothing to reverse what God had promised. Rolling about on the floor having a hissy fit had no effect! God had invested in David, and David had told God to get stuffed in not so many words. And God is a just God - A God of Justice and justice was served. The Word of God was fore filled and the boy died.
But after that came the blessing from God, and David had a son - Solomon. Tim's advice to us is summed up in Genesis 4:7 "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." or as John Owen put it, “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” .
If only David had that tattooed on his heart!! If only I had it tattooed on my heart!!
And James as the MC and Tim's talk both had an air of humility which is so often missed when we have the more "dance like David danced" style worship. Nothing wrong with that but it would be nice to have a few minutes silence every now and then so you can reflect rather then just rush to get through all that has been prepared. ha-ho - life goes on!
Well done Tim for your sermon. Another bout of David but this time the David who is up to no good. 2 Samuel 11 & 12ish sees king David attempt to break as many of the Ten Commandments as possible! For someone who had the Spirit of God upon him (1 Sam 16:13) he went through a really dark period "doing evil in God's eyes" 2 Samuel 12:9.
Lets look at what he did:
1. He failed to divert his gaze from lusting after a woman in the bath
2. He fed his flesh desires by investigating who she was
3. He fed his flesh desires even more by summoning her to his palace
4. He then had sex with the woman knowing full well that she was already married
5. He then tried to cover up the pregnancy by giving Uriah advice with an ulterior motive
6. He then past sentence on Uriah - sentencing him to death by sending him to the battle front
"the things David had done displeased the LORD" 2 Samuel 11:27b . Jesus tells us how we commit just as bad sins in our heart by just feeding our imaginations, thus making us as "displeasing" as David. We all fall short on a daily basis - but there is a way out in the form of repentance and forgiveness.
Nathan then puts David back in his place with his sheep parable which leads to David repenting of his sins. David is told that the sins will not go unpunished and that "the son born to you will die." 1 Samuel 12:14. David then appears to loose the plot as any normal human would. Fasting did nothing to reverse what God had promised. Rolling about on the floor having a hissy fit had no effect! God had invested in David, and David had told God to get stuffed in not so many words. And God is a just God - A God of Justice and justice was served. The Word of God was fore filled and the boy died.
But after that came the blessing from God, and David had a son - Solomon. Tim's advice to us is summed up in Genesis 4:7 "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." or as John Owen put it, “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” .
If only David had that tattooed on his heart!! If only I had it tattooed on my heart!!
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
What a loada pony ...
GLA - Greater London Authority, TfL - Transport for London. You either luv em or you loath em!! Or you have never considered the question "What did the GLA/TfL ever do for us?". Well they may have done some good things like allowing Oyster Card users use overground trains - not rocket science but you still have no confidence in how much money they are really charging you!
But I have a few gripes ("no surprise there" I hear you say!)
Number one, in this age of austerity where just about everyone is tightening their belts (an idiom for loosing weight due to not being able feed ones self!), which Boris sanctioned the £7.8m to be spent on 5 shiny new route master (The Guardian). Lets not forget the joy of the bendy buses - oh what joy - they only accounted for 1,751 accidents in one year (This Is London). How much did that venture cost us and aren't they about to get phased out before they kill to many more people!
Lets not stop there - we have the "normal" Double Decker buses that appear to be growing by an inch in width per year! I love those buses but can you please please please stop them getting wider!! I'm undecided about sending those glorified mini-bus buses down every singly road in London. Yes they do help pensioners get around and that is the only positive thing to be said about them. I feel sorry for those people that don't know that a journey that should be 1 mile and take 7 minutes, now is 7 miles and takes 1 hour!!
And now for the Low Emission Zone on the Greenwich Peninsula - ironic that it's the second highest polluted area in London thanks to the Blackwell Tunnel car park (traffic jam!). If you want to speed up the traffic going from north to south and south to north of the river - hear is a novel idea - why not lift the charge on the Dartford Bridge? Thousands of work hours are lost every day because of the constant traffic jams leading up to the Dartford Bridge and tunnel. We could probably reduce the countries carbon footprint by a whole 1% by dropping the toll! People may arrive at work happier, and return home to their families happier having not spent a couple of hours in the M25 car park! And this may reduce family break up, divorce, the need for fostering and adopting, the list goes on!! There is to much to gain - scrap the river tax!!
Am I the only one that thinks that this toll is crippling the economy of the country? WAKE UP!!!!! The money the government makes from the toll can be gained in business tax where businesses will be doing so much better. And I heard the other day that the toll gates do get lifted IF traffic is backing up for more then 10 miles - generosity!! How many cars is a 10 mile tailback? How many people? How many man hours lost? Come on leaders of the Government, or do you want the country to join the Euro?!!
Back to Boris the Blade, and onto the Cycle Superhighway. How much did it cost - £23m for 2 (BBC). Again, pure genius!! Have more cyclist died since the opening? A complete waste of London money. Paint the road blue and two weeks later it gets dug up and its back to black. Lorries, buses, artics still are limited in the route they can take around a corner. Like it or not they rule the road. They have poor visibility, blind spots, and rely on other smaller road users driving or riding with anticipation. If an artic is turning left, it will take a wide berth but the back wheels are more then lightly to chop across the curb. So why not give cyclist rights on the pavement. A simple "law" - don't cycle past pedestrians - stop and get off the bike and only cycle when the pavement is clear.
Rent-a-bike by Boris - a good idea? I really don't know. They benefit a handful of people but everyone pays for it. Did the majority of Londoners want them? Why cant the handful of people that use them just use the bus or walk (or jog!)? I hate to think how much this scheme cost but I'd rather have the money in my pocket!! This kind of enterprise should be in the hands of the private sector - why isn't it? simple - its not economically viable!! If its cheaper to scrap the scheme then scrap it!!
It's not all grim - the river boat from Woolwich to London is great value. For the first time in years Woolwich is on the map! A serious bit of regeneration going on there - a new Civic Centre, rejuvenation of the Royal Arsenal, New DLR link - fantastic!! DLR, best think since ..... I cant remember the last "best thing"!! Boris - well done for the DLR. Getting to Stratford has never been so easy (Before Westfields there was no real reason to go to Stratford!). An easy transport link to the City Airport, Canary Wharf, ExCeL, O2 - all good news - hats off to the DLR!!
But do we really need Crossrail? How many people actually do this journey from East to West? And how on earth does it generate new jobs? People still have the same amount of money in their pockets! Take Bluewater, generated hundreds of jobs but it drained the local shopping centres - so its a fools economy. Every time a new shopping centre pops up an older one deteriorates. Who will benefit from Crossrail? At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, this seems like an unnecessary luxury which we wont all benefit from. Right now, is this the right time to be spending obscene amounts of money on a traintrack? I know what I would do!!
Back to Boris but not to transport! This time, if I heard it right, he is taking £40m from the Fire Brigade budget and giving it to the Police. DER!! Has the world gone mad or just Boris? People died when you took Fire Appliances off the road over the last dispute. This cut is a big big mistake. You haven't done your home work. Just look at AssetCo - nearly bankrupt where they? Bailed out where they? I sense some funny handshakes going on here!! Looking at the last time you took tenders away for no good reason, you cant have got the full picture of what effect this had. I saw a report that failed to include in its "cooked" statistics the deaths of the two Sri-Lankan ladies in Deptford. Could they have been saved if the tenders were where they should have been? Blood is on someones hands - and not just the manic that started the fire.
Here's an idea Boris, why not take some of your budget and invest in projects that reduces re-offending? If its costing upwards of £37k per year to keep one person in prison, and that over 70% re offend within two years, then why not take £10m off the Police budget and invest it in such projects? Do the maths!! If you've got our money to give to the Police, then you've also got our money to spend on reducing re offending. Another case of fools economy from the GLA!
And I nearly forgot, to help boost the economy let's introduce yet another tax - London 2012 remembered by small business - not for the Olympic revenue, but because its the year of the LEZ (Low Emissions Zone) where the small business that already has small profit margins will get penalised yet again. From January 2012 they could face a £100 to £200 charge (tax!) per day for traveling in the zone. If this is new to you then have a read on the AA website. Who gives a hoot about Carbon emissions from vehicles when you've got volcanic action in Iceland blowing this tax into context. According to Ian Blimer, to quote if I may "Over the past 250 years, humans have added just one part of CO2 in 10,000 to the atmosphere. One volcanic cough can do this in a day." (Australian ABC Net). So Boris, take your foot off the small guy and let London work!!
I find it hard to believe we have empowered the GLA to waste our money on crippling the economy, putting lives in danger, and turning our beautiful city into a police state.
I'll wind my neck back in now!! Enough said.
But I have a few gripes ("no surprise there" I hear you say!)
Number one, in this age of austerity where just about everyone is tightening their belts (an idiom for loosing weight due to not being able feed ones self!), which Boris sanctioned the £7.8m to be spent on 5 shiny new route master (The Guardian). Lets not forget the joy of the bendy buses - oh what joy - they only accounted for 1,751 accidents in one year (This Is London). How much did that venture cost us and aren't they about to get phased out before they kill to many more people!
Lets not stop there - we have the "normal" Double Decker buses that appear to be growing by an inch in width per year! I love those buses but can you please please please stop them getting wider!! I'm undecided about sending those glorified mini-bus buses down every singly road in London. Yes they do help pensioners get around and that is the only positive thing to be said about them. I feel sorry for those people that don't know that a journey that should be 1 mile and take 7 minutes, now is 7 miles and takes 1 hour!!
And now for the Low Emission Zone on the Greenwich Peninsula - ironic that it's the second highest polluted area in London thanks to the Blackwell Tunnel car park (traffic jam!). If you want to speed up the traffic going from north to south and south to north of the river - hear is a novel idea - why not lift the charge on the Dartford Bridge? Thousands of work hours are lost every day because of the constant traffic jams leading up to the Dartford Bridge and tunnel. We could probably reduce the countries carbon footprint by a whole 1% by dropping the toll! People may arrive at work happier, and return home to their families happier having not spent a couple of hours in the M25 car park! And this may reduce family break up, divorce, the need for fostering and adopting, the list goes on!! There is to much to gain - scrap the river tax!!
Am I the only one that thinks that this toll is crippling the economy of the country? WAKE UP!!!!! The money the government makes from the toll can be gained in business tax where businesses will be doing so much better. And I heard the other day that the toll gates do get lifted IF traffic is backing up for more then 10 miles - generosity!! How many cars is a 10 mile tailback? How many people? How many man hours lost? Come on leaders of the Government, or do you want the country to join the Euro?!!
Back to Boris the Blade, and onto the Cycle Superhighway. How much did it cost - £23m for 2 (BBC). Again, pure genius!! Have more cyclist died since the opening? A complete waste of London money. Paint the road blue and two weeks later it gets dug up and its back to black. Lorries, buses, artics still are limited in the route they can take around a corner. Like it or not they rule the road. They have poor visibility, blind spots, and rely on other smaller road users driving or riding with anticipation. If an artic is turning left, it will take a wide berth but the back wheels are more then lightly to chop across the curb. So why not give cyclist rights on the pavement. A simple "law" - don't cycle past pedestrians - stop and get off the bike and only cycle when the pavement is clear.
Rent-a-bike by Boris - a good idea? I really don't know. They benefit a handful of people but everyone pays for it. Did the majority of Londoners want them? Why cant the handful of people that use them just use the bus or walk (or jog!)? I hate to think how much this scheme cost but I'd rather have the money in my pocket!! This kind of enterprise should be in the hands of the private sector - why isn't it? simple - its not economically viable!! If its cheaper to scrap the scheme then scrap it!!
It's not all grim - the river boat from Woolwich to London is great value. For the first time in years Woolwich is on the map! A serious bit of regeneration going on there - a new Civic Centre, rejuvenation of the Royal Arsenal, New DLR link - fantastic!! DLR, best think since ..... I cant remember the last "best thing"!! Boris - well done for the DLR. Getting to Stratford has never been so easy (Before Westfields there was no real reason to go to Stratford!). An easy transport link to the City Airport, Canary Wharf, ExCeL, O2 - all good news - hats off to the DLR!!
But do we really need Crossrail? How many people actually do this journey from East to West? And how on earth does it generate new jobs? People still have the same amount of money in their pockets! Take Bluewater, generated hundreds of jobs but it drained the local shopping centres - so its a fools economy. Every time a new shopping centre pops up an older one deteriorates. Who will benefit from Crossrail? At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, this seems like an unnecessary luxury which we wont all benefit from. Right now, is this the right time to be spending obscene amounts of money on a traintrack? I know what I would do!!
Back to Boris but not to transport! This time, if I heard it right, he is taking £40m from the Fire Brigade budget and giving it to the Police. DER!! Has the world gone mad or just Boris? People died when you took Fire Appliances off the road over the last dispute. This cut is a big big mistake. You haven't done your home work. Just look at AssetCo - nearly bankrupt where they? Bailed out where they? I sense some funny handshakes going on here!! Looking at the last time you took tenders away for no good reason, you cant have got the full picture of what effect this had. I saw a report that failed to include in its "cooked" statistics the deaths of the two Sri-Lankan ladies in Deptford. Could they have been saved if the tenders were where they should have been? Blood is on someones hands - and not just the manic that started the fire.
Here's an idea Boris, why not take some of your budget and invest in projects that reduces re-offending? If its costing upwards of £37k per year to keep one person in prison, and that over 70% re offend within two years, then why not take £10m off the Police budget and invest it in such projects? Do the maths!! If you've got our money to give to the Police, then you've also got our money to spend on reducing re offending. Another case of fools economy from the GLA!
And I nearly forgot, to help boost the economy let's introduce yet another tax - London 2012 remembered by small business - not for the Olympic revenue, but because its the year of the LEZ (Low Emissions Zone) where the small business that already has small profit margins will get penalised yet again. From January 2012 they could face a £100 to £200 charge (tax!) per day for traveling in the zone. If this is new to you then have a read on the AA website. Who gives a hoot about Carbon emissions from vehicles when you've got volcanic action in Iceland blowing this tax into context. According to Ian Blimer, to quote if I may "Over the past 250 years, humans have added just one part of CO2 in 10,000 to the atmosphere. One volcanic cough can do this in a day." (Australian ABC Net). So Boris, take your foot off the small guy and let London work!!
I find it hard to believe we have empowered the GLA to waste our money on crippling the economy, putting lives in danger, and turning our beautiful city into a police state.
I'll wind my neck back in now!! Enough said.
Sunday, 20 November 2011
More quality music!
another education in quality music fom my archive :
1. Under the broadwalk - Tom Tom Club
2. Enjoy yourself - The Specials (whatever happened to the "AKA")
3. Land of ... - St Germain
4. I don't feel like dancing - Scissor Sisters
5. I'm gonna lasso santa claus - Brenda Lee
6. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow - Dean Martin (for the Die Hard fans!!)
7. Price tag - Jessie J (Live on Jules Holland 2010 - acoustic version)
8. Fools gold - Stone Roses
9. Games without frontiers - Peter Gabriel (Live version on the B side of Steam)
10. Stuck In The Middle With You Lyrics - Stealers Wheel (Resevoir Dogs)
1. Under the broadwalk - Tom Tom Club
2. Enjoy yourself - The Specials (whatever happened to the "AKA")
3. Land of ... - St Germain
4. I don't feel like dancing - Scissor Sisters
5. I'm gonna lasso santa claus - Brenda Lee
6. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow - Dean Martin (for the Die Hard fans!!)
7. Price tag - Jessie J (Live on Jules Holland 2010 - acoustic version)
8. Fools gold - Stone Roses
9. Games without frontiers - Peter Gabriel (Live version on the B side of Steam)
10. Stuck In The Middle With You Lyrics - Stealers Wheel (Resevoir Dogs)
Fast lane theocracy ...
Good to heard Dave Holden give an old testament story relevance to living in living in the twenty first century. It was a thorough but you need to do a personal study of the 14ish books of the Bible to get a good picture in your mind of what is really going on. David becomes king - but it took some time from 1 Samuel 16 where God tells Samuel that David will be king, to 2 Samuel 5 where David actually is made king.
This time period is interesting - what happens if someone kills him or is he unkillable?! David has an interesting time - he is a theocrat (I think I've just made that word up!! Based on the word "Theocracy" he could talk to God and get an instant answer). David asked God direct questions and got direct answers - and all because of 1 Samuel 16:13b "... and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power."
David enquires of God : 2 Samuel 5:19 "Shall I go and attack the Philistines?" God instantly answers "Yes". David enquires of God again in 2 Samuel 5:23 and God again gives a very precise instruction as to what he should do. Theocracy in action - the Spirit of the Lord being upon him is what gave him this hotline to heaven!
Reading on from this story we get to see how David knew how to worship God and he wouldn't allow anything or anyone interfere with how he wanted to manifest this worship! But lets backtrack to 2 Samuel 5:13 where it kindly tells us a bit about Davids sex life - "he took more concubines and wives" oh how times have changed!! But on the downside, that's an awful lot of nagging!! And then onto chapter 6, David decides to transport the Ark of God. Again we see something interesting about David, he appears to be angry with God "David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah". Get over it!! You where told not to touch the Ark and he did so booosh!!
So David looses his bottle and leaves the Ark with Obed-Edom who reaps the benefits of having it in his house! But then David plucks up courage again to bring the Ark up to the City of David. But this time what on earth is flowing through Davids mind?! "Every six steps they sacrifice a bull and a fatterend calf" 2 Samuel 6 13. And then, David is dancing in such a way that I cant really imagine - the nearest I get is some kind of hippy dance from Woodstock which was acid induced!! But in the process I think he may have exposed himself in front of the young slave girls. Read it for yourself - Michal daughter of Saul didn't think to highly of the dance and had the audacity to confront David about it (2 Samuel 6:20).
That olde song we used to sing "I will dance, I will sing, to be mad for my King" (Matt Redman - Undignified), has a whole new meaning!! The challenge to get people to clap their hands in church, or go beyond tapping their foot to a upbeat number - well David wasn't reserved in his worship. But I don't think that is what Matt Redman had in mind!! Maybe a jump up in the air occasionally, or a pogo - nothing as extreme as a King Kurt concert!! But wow, David, would it be acceptable to dance like that today?!! People get upset at the sight of pants showing out the top of your trousers - imagine how those poor slave girls must have felt - scarred for life!!
So in summing up, somewhere between toe tapping and dancing like David there is a place where you should feel comfortable - but more importantly, what ever dance you manifest needs to be pleasing to God, so it needs to reflect what is going on in your heart rather then just being an act. God isn't looking at the act - He is looking at the heart. If it was the dance that counted then He will be excluding disabled people. If it was the singing that counted then He will be excluding the deaf and dumb, and those that are tone deaf! Worship is manifest in lifestyle and is reflective of what is going on inside you.
This time period is interesting - what happens if someone kills him or is he unkillable?! David has an interesting time - he is a theocrat (I think I've just made that word up!! Based on the word "Theocracy" he could talk to God and get an instant answer). David asked God direct questions and got direct answers - and all because of 1 Samuel 16:13b "... and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power."
David enquires of God : 2 Samuel 5:19 "Shall I go and attack the Philistines?" God instantly answers "Yes". David enquires of God again in 2 Samuel 5:23 and God again gives a very precise instruction as to what he should do. Theocracy in action - the Spirit of the Lord being upon him is what gave him this hotline to heaven!
Reading on from this story we get to see how David knew how to worship God and he wouldn't allow anything or anyone interfere with how he wanted to manifest this worship! But lets backtrack to 2 Samuel 5:13 where it kindly tells us a bit about Davids sex life - "he took more concubines and wives" oh how times have changed!! But on the downside, that's an awful lot of nagging!! And then onto chapter 6, David decides to transport the Ark of God. Again we see something interesting about David, he appears to be angry with God "David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah". Get over it!! You where told not to touch the Ark and he did so booosh!!
So David looses his bottle and leaves the Ark with Obed-Edom who reaps the benefits of having it in his house! But then David plucks up courage again to bring the Ark up to the City of David. But this time what on earth is flowing through Davids mind?! "Every six steps they sacrifice a bull and a fatterend calf" 2 Samuel 6 13. And then, David is dancing in such a way that I cant really imagine - the nearest I get is some kind of hippy dance from Woodstock which was acid induced!! But in the process I think he may have exposed himself in front of the young slave girls. Read it for yourself - Michal daughter of Saul didn't think to highly of the dance and had the audacity to confront David about it (2 Samuel 6:20).
That olde song we used to sing "I will dance, I will sing, to be mad for my King" (Matt Redman - Undignified), has a whole new meaning!! The challenge to get people to clap their hands in church, or go beyond tapping their foot to a upbeat number - well David wasn't reserved in his worship. But I don't think that is what Matt Redman had in mind!! Maybe a jump up in the air occasionally, or a pogo - nothing as extreme as a King Kurt concert!! But wow, David, would it be acceptable to dance like that today?!! People get upset at the sight of pants showing out the top of your trousers - imagine how those poor slave girls must have felt - scarred for life!!
So in summing up, somewhere between toe tapping and dancing like David there is a place where you should feel comfortable - but more importantly, what ever dance you manifest needs to be pleasing to God, so it needs to reflect what is going on in your heart rather then just being an act. God isn't looking at the act - He is looking at the heart. If it was the dance that counted then He will be excluding disabled people. If it was the singing that counted then He will be excluding the deaf and dumb, and those that are tone deaf! Worship is manifest in lifestyle and is reflective of what is going on inside you.
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Greenwich - the place to be ...
And about time to! I've been banging on about this for years and now the rest of the world has finally caught up!! Greenwich has made the top 10 global places to visit in the Frommer's travel guide. Yes we have the Mean Time and the Meridian Line, great museums and places of interest. Totally geared for tourism with the O2 and Greenwich town centre. We have overground, Underground, DLR, river boat, easy access to the City Airport. Next year we are hosting a chunk of the 2012 Olympics and the whole world will be watching. We are getting a new station in the form of Crossrail, and I think I heard there might be a new port built for luxury cruisers to dock.
When the rest of the world is going down hill, things are looking bright for Greenwich. A great opportunity to show the world what Greenwich is all about next year for the Olympics/Paralympics and to bounce off that we have the London Marathon starting in Greenwich Park every year. Everyone has heard of us!! Greenwich is the place to visit and spend your money!
Get to the new Sammy Ofer Wing in the National Maritime Museum, and then to the Fan Museum in Crooms Hill, then to the Royal Observatory and state-of-the-art lazer show in the Planetarium, followed by a night at Greenwich Theatre or the O2. And soon to return - the famous tea clipper the Cutty Sark and the redesigned Cutty Sark Gardens and the revamped Greenwich Pier. The foot tunnels in Greenwich and Woolwich under the river Thames are getting a face life.
I think you'll be spoilt for choice! You could easily spend two weeks in Greenwich and leave feeling you haven't seen it all! The O2 was voted the worlds most popular music venue for the forth year. The Thames Barrier should be one of the wonders of the world!!
Come on - don't go abroad on holiday next year - come to Greenwich!! If its on your doorstep then you've got no excuse. For a taster have a look at one of my virtual tour websites www.virtual-greenwich.net .
When the rest of the world is going down hill, things are looking bright for Greenwich. A great opportunity to show the world what Greenwich is all about next year for the Olympics/Paralympics and to bounce off that we have the London Marathon starting in Greenwich Park every year. Everyone has heard of us!! Greenwich is the place to visit and spend your money!
Get to the new Sammy Ofer Wing in the National Maritime Museum, and then to the Fan Museum in Crooms Hill, then to the Royal Observatory and state-of-the-art lazer show in the Planetarium, followed by a night at Greenwich Theatre or the O2. And soon to return - the famous tea clipper the Cutty Sark and the redesigned Cutty Sark Gardens and the revamped Greenwich Pier. The foot tunnels in Greenwich and Woolwich under the river Thames are getting a face life.
I think you'll be spoilt for choice! You could easily spend two weeks in Greenwich and leave feeling you haven't seen it all! The O2 was voted the worlds most popular music venue for the forth year. The Thames Barrier should be one of the wonders of the world!!
Come on - don't go abroad on holiday next year - come to Greenwich!! If its on your doorstep then you've got no excuse. For a taster have a look at one of my virtual tour websites www.virtual-greenwich.net .
Friday, 11 November 2011
Jesus - Author of the Decalogue ...
As you may or may not know, I created the website for Templehouse Publishing for Adam. And his book The Jesus Discovery is well worth the cost if you want to know more about who Jesus was and who his father Joseph was. Sad to say I have gone years with the thinking that Jesus was a carpenter, just as I thought the fruit that Adam and Eve ate was an apple! The book suggests another school of thought as to the profession of Joseph and who Jesus was in the society He lived in.
During reading this book I couldn't help but repeatedly thinking "oh that bit makes more sense now!". The idea that Joseph was an architect working on building the Temple for Herod, to Jesus being a rabbi rather then just an ordinary uneducated citizen makes more sense. He knew the Torah because he spent His "missing years" studying it in the Temple. Taught by word-of-mouth rather then being read from a book.
Jesus is God - a part of the Holy Trinity. He is co-eternal. He was there in "the beginning". He is co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit and as such Jesus would have been co-author of The Ten Commandments or Ten Words or Decalogue. So He knew the spirit behind what these words where about. So from His Spirit He could talk confidently to rabbis and teachers of the law about what they really meant having divine insight. When He lost His parents (or His parents lost Him!) He was found teaching the teachers - at a very young age, and they where amazed! I have never appreciated that Jesus had any involvement in the writting of history in the Old Testament - He as strictly New Testament!! DER!!
If I owned a big software company and found an 8 year old boy that could write very good Perl scripts and was teaching me things I didn't know after spending my life studying the language, I would but him on the payroll!! Adam Bradford suggests the same - Jesus would have been "encouraged" into spending more time in the temple teaching the teachers new things - things they previously didn't understand. And they would have wanted Him there as much as possible. "not today guys - I've got to help my dad make tables and chairs" - I dont think so!! "We'll pay for that - and keep your family happy. You just keep teaching us what you know!" is a more lightly scenario.
After watching the Revelation TV interview of Adam, I discover how poor the English translation of our Bible really is. A lot has been lost over the years in terms of "context". Just looking at modes of transport in those days is very interesting, and how people communicated over long distances. Mark chapter 8 gives an account (I hate the term "tells the story"!) of Jesus feeding 4000. A familiar story but look again - "some of them have come a long distance". "Long distance" in our time is different to "long distance" in Jesus' time. Consider how those people who travelled "a long distance" would have even heard that Jesus would be at a "remote place" at a certain time. And what was their mode of transport. Was Jesus just a carpenter doing some spare time preaching?!! Or was He a very interesting "Teacher of the Law" that was recognised by His attire?
Jesus spent a lot of time in various synagogues teaching. Can any Joe Bloggs go into a synagogue and teach? He appears to be respected by rabbis and pharisees to the extent that they followed Him and listened to His every word. Something has been lost in translation!!
I would urge you to buy the book ;) and have a read for yourself. If you conclude that Adam is wrong in his school of thought then please let me and him know!!
Ephphatha!
During reading this book I couldn't help but repeatedly thinking "oh that bit makes more sense now!". The idea that Joseph was an architect working on building the Temple for Herod, to Jesus being a rabbi rather then just an ordinary uneducated citizen makes more sense. He knew the Torah because he spent His "missing years" studying it in the Temple. Taught by word-of-mouth rather then being read from a book.
Jesus is God - a part of the Holy Trinity. He is co-eternal. He was there in "the beginning". He is co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit and as such Jesus would have been co-author of The Ten Commandments or Ten Words or Decalogue. So He knew the spirit behind what these words where about. So from His Spirit He could talk confidently to rabbis and teachers of the law about what they really meant having divine insight. When He lost His parents (or His parents lost Him!) He was found teaching the teachers - at a very young age, and they where amazed! I have never appreciated that Jesus had any involvement in the writting of history in the Old Testament - He as strictly New Testament!! DER!!
If I owned a big software company and found an 8 year old boy that could write very good Perl scripts and was teaching me things I didn't know after spending my life studying the language, I would but him on the payroll!! Adam Bradford suggests the same - Jesus would have been "encouraged" into spending more time in the temple teaching the teachers new things - things they previously didn't understand. And they would have wanted Him there as much as possible. "not today guys - I've got to help my dad make tables and chairs" - I dont think so!! "We'll pay for that - and keep your family happy. You just keep teaching us what you know!" is a more lightly scenario.
After watching the Revelation TV interview of Adam, I discover how poor the English translation of our Bible really is. A lot has been lost over the years in terms of "context". Just looking at modes of transport in those days is very interesting, and how people communicated over long distances. Mark chapter 8 gives an account (I hate the term "tells the story"!) of Jesus feeding 4000. A familiar story but look again - "some of them have come a long distance". "Long distance" in our time is different to "long distance" in Jesus' time. Consider how those people who travelled "a long distance" would have even heard that Jesus would be at a "remote place" at a certain time. And what was their mode of transport. Was Jesus just a carpenter doing some spare time preaching?!! Or was He a very interesting "Teacher of the Law" that was recognised by His attire?
Jesus spent a lot of time in various synagogues teaching. Can any Joe Bloggs go into a synagogue and teach? He appears to be respected by rabbis and pharisees to the extent that they followed Him and listened to His every word. Something has been lost in translation!!
I would urge you to buy the book ;) and have a read for yourself. If you conclude that Adam is wrong in his school of thought then please let me and him know!!
Ephphatha!
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Things to do before you die ...
A big well done to James for his sermon and presentation on Sunday. I may be going mad but does he speed up after the half way point?! Well I've missed the past three weeks due to other commitments but still had no joy finding the sermons on the NCC website so I could catch up - maybe they don't do sermons when I'm not there!! And where did all those new songs come from?!! More golden oldies please!) "And can it be", "How great thou art", "Will your anchor hold" to the sound of a pipe organ without drums!!
And what a blessing it was to see 5 babies being dedicated with all their possibly un-churched relatives - did I see people having to stand around the edge due to lack of chairs? An appropriate sermon and an easy way to get a house full. Maybe we should have a service dedicated to blessing the craft fair or praying for the football team!
Back to James, a break in the middle of a mini series which I have missed so far. A fantastic video presentation that gave a clear message for parenthood. I've been banging on about this for I don't know how long - The Sun newspaper recently ran a story on Baroness Greenfield who just happens to be a leading neuroscientist, saying that "Computer games 'are giving kids dementia'" - and according to James, children today spend on average 52 hours a week in front of a screen (personally I clock up over 100 hours and that hasn't effected me!!).
The essence of the talk was to not sit back and let society bring your kids up. Don't give in to the pressures of advertising etc or give in to the temptation of pursuing a career that takes you away from the joys of life. James quotes from John 10:10b "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (KJ). An "abundant life" - sounds good to me!!
Lets just look at our life for a minute, do we have the work/life balance nearly right? Do we pursue money or do we pursue our family? Are we more worried about work or the state of the planet, then we are about our kids having sex education when they are in primary school - Tower Hamlets schools teach it to 8 year olds - are you bothered? Information or innocents? Lets deprive our kids of their childhood because of teenage pregnancy! WAKE UP!! We can make a difference if we can be bothered. oppps - did I just rant?!
Back to the sermon. Does that mean we are given license to pursue our dreams? I don't think so. When you become a Christian a new part of you comes alive - your spirit. And when you become a Christian God will send His Helper - the Holy Spirit, and "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Gal:22-23 This is an abundant life - this is all we need for life. We came into this life with nothing and we are taking nothing with us when we leave - except that which is within our heart.
Thank you James for using MY rope analogy!! my version has a long washing line with a length at each end to represent co-eternity with our life somewhere in the middle of this time line. In my example I use a clothes pegs to represent different events in our life ie being born, going to school, getting married, retiring etc. But in terms of the sheer length of the clothes line, our life is a blip! And this is the meaning of life - what we do during this blip will determine what happens after we die. There is no backdoor into heaven.
James sums it up with a useful equation :
Jesus + nothing = Abundant life
Abundant life - Jesus = nothing
Not a difficult equation! You get a very simple choice in life - there are no other loops you need to jump through. As I summed up last week - Prayer, Study the Bible, Fellowship with Jesus followers and you wont go wrong. That is your responsibility.
There is no other reason for life on this planet - eternity is the only reason. What you choose now will effect you for eternity.
And James, did I hear you swear?!!!!!!!
And what a blessing it was to see 5 babies being dedicated with all their possibly un-churched relatives - did I see people having to stand around the edge due to lack of chairs? An appropriate sermon and an easy way to get a house full. Maybe we should have a service dedicated to blessing the craft fair or praying for the football team!
Back to James, a break in the middle of a mini series which I have missed so far. A fantastic video presentation that gave a clear message for parenthood. I've been banging on about this for I don't know how long - The Sun newspaper recently ran a story on Baroness Greenfield who just happens to be a leading neuroscientist, saying that "Computer games 'are giving kids dementia'" - and according to James, children today spend on average 52 hours a week in front of a screen (personally I clock up over 100 hours and that hasn't effected me!!).
The essence of the talk was to not sit back and let society bring your kids up. Don't give in to the pressures of advertising etc or give in to the temptation of pursuing a career that takes you away from the joys of life. James quotes from John 10:10b "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (KJ). An "abundant life" - sounds good to me!!
Lets just look at our life for a minute, do we have the work/life balance nearly right? Do we pursue money or do we pursue our family? Are we more worried about work or the state of the planet, then we are about our kids having sex education when they are in primary school - Tower Hamlets schools teach it to 8 year olds - are you bothered? Information or innocents? Lets deprive our kids of their childhood because of teenage pregnancy! WAKE UP!! We can make a difference if we can be bothered. oppps - did I just rant?!
Back to the sermon. Does that mean we are given license to pursue our dreams? I don't think so. When you become a Christian a new part of you comes alive - your spirit. And when you become a Christian God will send His Helper - the Holy Spirit, and "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Gal:22-23 This is an abundant life - this is all we need for life. We came into this life with nothing and we are taking nothing with us when we leave - except that which is within our heart.
Thank you James for using MY rope analogy!! my version has a long washing line with a length at each end to represent co-eternity with our life somewhere in the middle of this time line. In my example I use a clothes pegs to represent different events in our life ie being born, going to school, getting married, retiring etc. But in terms of the sheer length of the clothes line, our life is a blip! And this is the meaning of life - what we do during this blip will determine what happens after we die. There is no backdoor into heaven.
James sums it up with a useful equation :
Jesus + nothing = Abundant life
Abundant life - Jesus = nothing
Not a difficult equation! You get a very simple choice in life - there are no other loops you need to jump through. As I summed up last week - Prayer, Study the Bible, Fellowship with Jesus followers and you wont go wrong. That is your responsibility.
There is no other reason for life on this planet - eternity is the only reason. What you choose now will effect you for eternity.
And James, did I hear you swear?!!!!!!!
Friday, 4 November 2011
Enjoy yourself ...
Yes, after several months of painful waiting and waiting and waiting - marking the days off in the diary - the 3rd November 2011 is the day! Ally-pally - The Specials - this is it!! You cant focus on your work coz you've got tunes going round in your head - Rude boy, Rude boy, Rude boy! Well I knew it would be a surreal night out coz of who I was going with but it was far beyond what I expected. Mandy's brothers and a load of Chelsea fans - and setting off at 4 so we could get a few jars down our neck prior to kick off!!
It's a sad day when you have to borrow your sons Fred Perry to go to a concert, and your father-in-laws cardie so you blend in! ha-ho. Well I tarted up and set off on the unpredictable 51 bus - it could take 30 minutes or it could take over an hour to get from sunny Plumstead to monsoon St. Marys cray station.
And the heavens opened just as I got off the bus outside PC World Sevenoaks Way. There's no way I was going to walk in that! I was soaked just walking 2 meters from the bus door to the shelter. Things couldn't get worse so I waited and waited and then gave up waiting and legged it! Got to the station and was quite dry compared with Chris! Who cares - its the Specials!! 8 of us in all - and all bar-one had short cropped hair - or balding!!
From there cider, lager in bags ready for the off. all normal so far - lets see what effect booze has!! Onto the train and a rather empty carriage - chit-chat but then it became apparent that small talk was not on the agenda - Neil was with us!! I cant begin to describe Neils volume - it was how you would try and talk to someone who was standing a meter away from you in a night club!! Volume setting was set to "full on"!! Quite bizarre - A son he called Zippy, anecdotes about locking his wife in the boot of the car, showing his mates topless photos of her when she was pregnant, telling his outlaws to go-forth coz they supported united! He got up to use the toilet and the Irish lady behind us describe him as a "picture of domestic bliss!".
And then the question "are Tottenham playing at home?" emmmm!! do we have time to do a detour? Fortunately they weren't as we may have missed the gig. off at Victoria to the Weatherspoons - do I drink or don't I? So I splashed out on two bags of tissues anticipating my nose exploding as it normally does after the sniff of alcohol. A cheap round at £28!! And more stories from Neil "I've got no sympathy for fat people!", "when my boy is old enough for the BB I'm going to go back as a helper" (ex Bromley "pacemakers" Boys Brigade trumpet player), more anecdotes about mates that had done time for holding up off-licenses and post offices with a banana!!
More beer, more beer - is that the time? And we're off again - don't bother checking the tube map, lets just get on the first train that is roughly going in any direction - or follow anyone that looks like they like de specials!! More stories from Neil as he entertains the whole packed train weather they like it or not! not sure to laugh or cry or both - I did both!! "WE ARE THE MODS, WE ARE THE MODS" - speak for yourself - I'm a psychobilly ;) and Pauls a rocka!
"Now here's a couple that looks like they're going where we're goin' - we'll follow them!" - sounds like a plan. Yes Wood Green - and a pub. Off for a few more jars, Daren for a Kebab and then the excitement of a packed "The Specials" (needs!) bus to the palace. Still feel quite sober - and my nose is behaving!! Ally Pally and straight to the bar - more booze and into the arena. Not sure about the support act so back out again to the bar!! 5 minutes later and back in - this time to the bar at the back of the arena. Not my idea of a good place to watch your favourite group after spending so much on a ticket so I'm off to the front! A long fight to the front but my timing was perfect.
100 meters of crowd to get through so I set off as they started to play their intro video - "BOOOO BOOOOO HOOOORAY BOOOOOO BOOOOO" to loads of political photos - prime ministers, Dunblane, riots, bomb blasts - all controversial with a photo of Steven Lawrence which for me was out of place. Well whilst the crowd was focused on BOOOOOZE and HOOOORAYS I shot through right to the middle of the front of the crowd with that crowd protection bar the only thing between me and the stage. Not a soul in front of me except "de boucers"!!
RUDE BOY RUDE BOY RUDE BOY!!!
and if you want to get an idea of what it was like go to YouTube and type in "the specials Alexandra palace" nite klub, Stupid marriage, rudy, enjoy yourself ..... you'll either like it or you'll hate it!! How loud? and on that note I'm glad "we're havin' all the fun" was a Fun Boy Three number as the mention of "I like manchester united" may have tipped the Chelsea boys over the edge and we would have had a riot on our hands!!
God moves in mysterious ways and has a bizarre sense of humour - there I was with a lady on either side of me, being crushed by 12000 fans, full of beer, jumping up 'n' down like I was 20 years younger - bliss!! I had to cross my arms across my chest to stop the pain of the crowd pushing my chest against the metal barrier. I'd been standing like that for some time - jumping up 'n' down, singing along exchanging small talk occasionally with the girl on my left when I noticed that my hand was on someone Else's hand! Who knows how long for - 1 minute? half an hour? Well she didn't look dead from the neck up!! My brain was disfunctioning and I wasn't sure if it would be wise to pull my hand away quick! I glanced behind to see if she had a fella and there was a guy pinned quite close against her back so I put two and two together and got zero!! A few songs later my esophagus started sending signal to my brain and at this point I noticed she was holding her phone camera with both hands!!!!!!!! Whose hand was that's?!! I changed position and to my horror the mystery hand left the barrier and rose - and in the light I observed a hairy arm!! "oh woops-a-daisy, this is area seven" as the song goes!! So I decided it was time to make an exit and beckoned "de bouncers" to pull me out and hast my way to the gents - enough said!! Judging by the bruises I've now got up my arms and across my chest I think it was a wise move. Still breathing at least!! Well I think I got my moneys worth - legendary!!
Watched the rest of the gig from the back and decided to dance till I dropped - and drop I nearly did!! My legs we're both dead - lack of blood circulating or just full of BEER!! But I survived and there was no riot as expected during "do the dog". Old age creeping in! Weirdly all their lyrics were still relevant except the intro to "do the dog" which may have sounded a bit strange if it was updated. "mods, rockers, hippies and skin 'eads" no!! "nemos, goths, yardies and people that like the X factor" doesn't really go!!
We'll - job done! A gallon of sweat down the boys Fred! A stretched cardie, wet trousers, shoes full of rain from St. Marys! who cares what the time is or how we're getting home - the night is young and we've just witnessed a legendary act! But back to reality - where is the free bus back to Wood Green. Neils going off on one "OI BALDY - LET US ON THE F-ING BUS!" (a tad ironic!) well we got on in the end and sang our way back to Wood Green - one chorus of "enjoy yourself"!!!
The evening mellowed out as us ole-timers started to show our age - but not before Neil told a couple of Turkish football supports to go forth back to their own country - but in not so many words. We were descending on the escalators and these two singing Turks returning from who knows where, very kindly singing some strange song we didn't understand as they went up the opposite escalators. Neil didn't take to kindly to a scarf that didn't read "CHELSEA" so on that note "F- OFF YOU FOREIGN ..............." - I thought he would run after them but I think the train beckoned and he saw sense! More songs back to Victoria with a burst of "OH WE ALL HATE LEEDS" from Chris and a rush of various other famous weird Chelsea anthems!! And the occasional spurt of "making your mind up" by bucks fizz!! I simply don't get it!
Things just aren't quite what they seem!!!!
It's a sad day when you have to borrow your sons Fred Perry to go to a concert, and your father-in-laws cardie so you blend in! ha-ho. Well I tarted up and set off on the unpredictable 51 bus - it could take 30 minutes or it could take over an hour to get from sunny Plumstead to monsoon St. Marys cray station.
And the heavens opened just as I got off the bus outside PC World Sevenoaks Way. There's no way I was going to walk in that! I was soaked just walking 2 meters from the bus door to the shelter. Things couldn't get worse so I waited and waited and then gave up waiting and legged it! Got to the station and was quite dry compared with Chris! Who cares - its the Specials!! 8 of us in all - and all bar-one had short cropped hair - or balding!!
From there cider, lager in bags ready for the off. all normal so far - lets see what effect booze has!! Onto the train and a rather empty carriage - chit-chat but then it became apparent that small talk was not on the agenda - Neil was with us!! I cant begin to describe Neils volume - it was how you would try and talk to someone who was standing a meter away from you in a night club!! Volume setting was set to "full on"!! Quite bizarre - A son he called Zippy, anecdotes about locking his wife in the boot of the car, showing his mates topless photos of her when she was pregnant, telling his outlaws to go-forth coz they supported united! He got up to use the toilet and the Irish lady behind us describe him as a "picture of domestic bliss!".
And then the question "are Tottenham playing at home?" emmmm!! do we have time to do a detour? Fortunately they weren't as we may have missed the gig. off at Victoria to the Weatherspoons - do I drink or don't I? So I splashed out on two bags of tissues anticipating my nose exploding as it normally does after the sniff of alcohol. A cheap round at £28!! And more stories from Neil "I've got no sympathy for fat people!", "when my boy is old enough for the BB I'm going to go back as a helper" (ex Bromley "pacemakers" Boys Brigade trumpet player), more anecdotes about mates that had done time for holding up off-licenses and post offices with a banana!!
More beer, more beer - is that the time? And we're off again - don't bother checking the tube map, lets just get on the first train that is roughly going in any direction - or follow anyone that looks like they like de specials!! More stories from Neil as he entertains the whole packed train weather they like it or not! not sure to laugh or cry or both - I did both!! "WE ARE THE MODS, WE ARE THE MODS" - speak for yourself - I'm a psychobilly ;) and Pauls a rocka!
"Now here's a couple that looks like they're going where we're goin' - we'll follow them!" - sounds like a plan. Yes Wood Green - and a pub. Off for a few more jars, Daren for a Kebab and then the excitement of a packed "The Specials" (needs!) bus to the palace. Still feel quite sober - and my nose is behaving!! Ally Pally and straight to the bar - more booze and into the arena. Not sure about the support act so back out again to the bar!! 5 minutes later and back in - this time to the bar at the back of the arena. Not my idea of a good place to watch your favourite group after spending so much on a ticket so I'm off to the front! A long fight to the front but my timing was perfect.
100 meters of crowd to get through so I set off as they started to play their intro video - "BOOOO BOOOOO HOOOORAY BOOOOOO BOOOOO" to loads of political photos - prime ministers, Dunblane, riots, bomb blasts - all controversial with a photo of Steven Lawrence which for me was out of place. Well whilst the crowd was focused on BOOOOOZE and HOOOORAYS I shot through right to the middle of the front of the crowd with that crowd protection bar the only thing between me and the stage. Not a soul in front of me except "de boucers"!!
RUDE BOY RUDE BOY RUDE BOY!!!
and if you want to get an idea of what it was like go to YouTube and type in "the specials Alexandra palace" nite klub, Stupid marriage, rudy, enjoy yourself ..... you'll either like it or you'll hate it!! How loud? and on that note I'm glad "we're havin' all the fun" was a Fun Boy Three number as the mention of "I like manchester united" may have tipped the Chelsea boys over the edge and we would have had a riot on our hands!!
God moves in mysterious ways and has a bizarre sense of humour - there I was with a lady on either side of me, being crushed by 12000 fans, full of beer, jumping up 'n' down like I was 20 years younger - bliss!! I had to cross my arms across my chest to stop the pain of the crowd pushing my chest against the metal barrier. I'd been standing like that for some time - jumping up 'n' down, singing along exchanging small talk occasionally with the girl on my left when I noticed that my hand was on someone Else's hand! Who knows how long for - 1 minute? half an hour? Well she didn't look dead from the neck up!! My brain was disfunctioning and I wasn't sure if it would be wise to pull my hand away quick! I glanced behind to see if she had a fella and there was a guy pinned quite close against her back so I put two and two together and got zero!! A few songs later my esophagus started sending signal to my brain and at this point I noticed she was holding her phone camera with both hands!!!!!!!! Whose hand was that's?!! I changed position and to my horror the mystery hand left the barrier and rose - and in the light I observed a hairy arm!! "oh woops-a-daisy, this is area seven" as the song goes!! So I decided it was time to make an exit and beckoned "de bouncers" to pull me out and hast my way to the gents - enough said!! Judging by the bruises I've now got up my arms and across my chest I think it was a wise move. Still breathing at least!! Well I think I got my moneys worth - legendary!!
Watched the rest of the gig from the back and decided to dance till I dropped - and drop I nearly did!! My legs we're both dead - lack of blood circulating or just full of BEER!! But I survived and there was no riot as expected during "do the dog". Old age creeping in! Weirdly all their lyrics were still relevant except the intro to "do the dog" which may have sounded a bit strange if it was updated. "mods, rockers, hippies and skin 'eads" no!! "nemos, goths, yardies and people that like the X factor" doesn't really go!!
We'll - job done! A gallon of sweat down the boys Fred! A stretched cardie, wet trousers, shoes full of rain from St. Marys! who cares what the time is or how we're getting home - the night is young and we've just witnessed a legendary act! But back to reality - where is the free bus back to Wood Green. Neils going off on one "OI BALDY - LET US ON THE F-ING BUS!" (a tad ironic!) well we got on in the end and sang our way back to Wood Green - one chorus of "enjoy yourself"!!!
The evening mellowed out as us ole-timers started to show our age - but not before Neil told a couple of Turkish football supports to go forth back to their own country - but in not so many words. We were descending on the escalators and these two singing Turks returning from who knows where, very kindly singing some strange song we didn't understand as they went up the opposite escalators. Neil didn't take to kindly to a scarf that didn't read "CHELSEA" so on that note "F- OFF YOU FOREIGN ..............." - I thought he would run after them but I think the train beckoned and he saw sense! More songs back to Victoria with a burst of "OH WE ALL HATE LEEDS" from Chris and a rush of various other famous weird Chelsea anthems!! And the occasional spurt of "making your mind up" by bucks fizz!! I simply don't get it!
Things just aren't quite what they seem!!!!
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Birthing pool baptism and the fire that followed ...
Sunday was another opportunity to visit our old POW (Place of Worship) CBCF where the son of my ole school mate from Bluecoat days was getting baptised. Yes I am beginning to feel old! A bit disappointed the tables weren't out as they normally are on a Sunday morning for us to sit around - but then again the hall was packed without tables. Great to hear that personal prophecy and words of knowledge aren't dead! Quite refreshing to hear so may from such a range of people- quite envious!!
The birthing pool was a novelty - no reasonably sized human could ever lie down in it so you have to stand at one side and as you descend into a kneeling position the guys doing the bap will lower you backwards til you go totally under - but how much needs to remain dry before it is announced null and void!! And why don't babies drown when they are born in one of these?!!!!! DER! I hope they washed it!
And afterwards for some serious nosh from around the planet - arrived at 10:20 - left at after 3:00 and it felt normal - apart from the small fire that I put out with my coffee! I think a child may have plugged the water heater back in - without it being in water which isn't good! and it just caught fire. Baptism and fire in the same service cant all be bad!!
It was good to hear the Healing On The Streets (HOTS) had a guy waiting half hour for the team to arrive because his mate had been healed the previous week! WOW!! And they had a constant stream of people this week that wanted prayer - again envious - living the dream!!
And the sermon - with PowerPoint - Read the Bible, Pray, Fellowship - if you keep to these then you wont go far wrong! Nice one Mike - Good to hear the good ole beach missions getting another mention! And lets not forget Joseph leading the worship and Peter on the drums - that was refreshing to see "da youff" being utilised. A good time was had by all - well done!
The birthing pool was a novelty - no reasonably sized human could ever lie down in it so you have to stand at one side and as you descend into a kneeling position the guys doing the bap will lower you backwards til you go totally under - but how much needs to remain dry before it is announced null and void!! And why don't babies drown when they are born in one of these?!!!!! DER! I hope they washed it!
And afterwards for some serious nosh from around the planet - arrived at 10:20 - left at after 3:00 and it felt normal - apart from the small fire that I put out with my coffee! I think a child may have plugged the water heater back in - without it being in water which isn't good! and it just caught fire. Baptism and fire in the same service cant all be bad!!
It was good to hear the Healing On The Streets (HOTS) had a guy waiting half hour for the team to arrive because his mate had been healed the previous week! WOW!! And they had a constant stream of people this week that wanted prayer - again envious - living the dream!!
And the sermon - with PowerPoint - Read the Bible, Pray, Fellowship - if you keep to these then you wont go far wrong! Nice one Mike - Good to hear the good ole beach missions getting another mention! And lets not forget Joseph leading the worship and Peter on the drums - that was refreshing to see "da youff" being utilised. A good time was had by all - well done!
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