Comprehending the Brightness

 "Can you know the ordinances of the heavens - establish their rule on the earth?". Job 38:33.

I recently partook in a refreshing walk amidst the stunning scenery of Dartmoor. About half way through this, my friend and I came upon the enigmatic zone of two straight lines of standing stones. Stretching out for a good length, probably around half a mile, there were placed there because of the stunning spread of the sky above. In this spot, on a clear night, it would have been easy to view an extraordinary disc of the heavens. It's perhaps no surprise then that the other ancient feature of this landscape were marker stones that identified places of burial. Whatever the spiritual aspects of these people's lives, they clearly felt a very deep sense of connection to the majesty of the heavens. The vast splendour of what was "sung" into the world by such a breath-taking expression spoke of an unceasing magnificence in their lives.

I touch on all this because recently writer David Beddiel published a reflection in which he sought to argue that the reason that the notion of God is so buried in our lexicon of vital ideas is because of our shared fear of death. Whilst I don't doubt that this indeed often troubles us and it can no doubt be an imperative cause for wanting a way out, I think the far more fundamental reason for thinking on such things is the manner of sense of connection that inspired the thousands of standing stones across our world, erected as people  who allowed the grandeur above their heads to resound so deeply in their souls.

The magnitude of what was encountered "spoke".

In our present times, such considerations in our lives have become disturbingly rare. Perhaps a moment of astonishment in the birth of a child, or when something entirely uncanny encroaches.

The 'mystery' of the latest on-line game or other entertainment, which seem, at least initially, to beckon us into a realm of unceasing welcome and revelry, prove to be far more satisfying than the often arduous demands of everyday life.

I recall a documentary some years ago which told of how some children raised in modern cities have never visited the coast or even seen a night sky without the every-present haze of the continual street lighting - never, in truth, been exposed to the wider realities around them.

Is this why some modern social commentators can feel so comfortable arguing that there is 'zero' that is miraculous about the conception of a baby (it's merely biology) or that there is nothing extraordinary behind our being here.

We tend, like gamers or confined creatures in a matrix, to buy-in to the notion that "science" gives us a reason (or at least, an excuse) not to reflect further - to see the kind of wonder our ancestors perpetually knew, but this is our profound mistake.

The world is still just as extraordinary, in truth, in so very many ways, and good science actually opens us to the truth that what is genuinely astonishing is still there for comprehension to encounter.

The little we actually know shouldn't incarcerate us, prevent us, or limit us to the life that foolishly concludes that it's all merely irrelevant and accidental.

Eternity resonates in our minds and hearts when we contemplate the vastness before us not as random stuff, but as the magnificent creation of a master artists, and that we have a role within the vast scope of His work. Molecules and Atoms were formed in such a way to bring you and I into being in our uniqueness - think on that. It all has place and purpose, so where will the ramifications of that astonishing truth take you today?

The Missing Piece

 "They dress the wounds of the people in a fashion that states that the wounds are not truly serious. They bring no peace"  Jeremiah 6"14.

So, yesterday, I watched a fascinating and deeply troubling speech given by Robert Kennedy on the modern history of American foreign policy and the impact this has had upon the modern world. It's striking for a number of key reasons, but it spoke again to the trouble we all so clearly face at the core of all our current woes - what happens when we seek to apply the wrong solution to a problem and what follows as a result.

Back in 2020 here in the UK, when we faced a new trouble in the form of a pandemic, the UK government chose not to look to God for aid, but to place it's confidence in the recommendations of what was defined as science, which was to be implimented and rolled out to every person in the country by the means of the state 'church' - the National Health Service. Government mandates made it essential that everyone comply with the new requirements, from not going anywhere (except for essentials), to wearing masks to taking numerous injections of the materials that were supposed to protect or cure you from the virus.

This is always how religion seeks to resolve a human crisis - follow the rules, do what you're told, and you will be defined as 'good' by those around you. It doesn't solve any of the inherent problems - it doesn't take them away - it just makes everyone the 'property' of a particular system, and from then on, they continue to conform to whatever nonsense is given for them to follow.

Jesus spoke of such evil as leaving us as people without anyone who truly cared for us - as those bereft of true and lasting hope. The only true remedy is when truth comes in such a fashion that it truly makes us free to comprehend the truth about ourselves and our world, so we can see the lies for exactly what they are.

The religion of the day is 'sciencism' - not empirical, valid science, but the hocus pocus that the likes of Neil Ferguson and co can manufacture out of thin air that then becomes the basis for the actions of an entire company of people. This is no different to the travelling snake oil salesman that tells you he has a remedy to cure your ills, when all he's interested in is fleecing you!

Jesus faces the charlatans of His day and says away with them - don't listen to their lies. There is only one truth and that will truly make you free.

The same is true in this hour as our world enters a despicable day of darkness - do not believe the lies, but rejoice in the truth, for the day is fast approaching when that truth alone will endure forever!

Getting into what's good.

 So, this week, I came across a You Tube channel that is really worth some interest.

It's called 'Strange Theology' because, whilst it seeks to discuss some very apt theological themes and subjects, it's doing so in correspondence with current discussions on issues that people are talking about.

Have a look at this video put up this week to give you an idea. There's a growing number of presentations of this kind on intriguing subjects, so see what you think.

The Adorning.

 "Only the unshackled will remain". C S Lewis The Great Divorce.

The 'magic trick' (great illusion) of our time is that "rationalism", as now defined, provides the singular means (dialectic) to total wisdom - the understanding of things as they really are (purely materialistic), thereby facilitating our 'ascension' from the phantoms of the need for God, or heaven or any required redemption.

This is the religion of the day, and all action must be taken to advance this - onward to the desired utopia!

The priest behind the curtain of this delusion is the shaman of atheistic belief (who shares far more with the likes of Marx or the Ayrian mystics than they would care to admit - the only reality is the material).

The enchantments of the cultic soothsayer is the language which converts, conditions and conjols. Such manipulation is continuously broadcast to muddle and mute free thinking - to disrupt and prevent true liberty which can only be evidenced by providing the necessary good order of what we actually are meant to inhabit.

The call is continuously to accept the new synthesis, to deny what is of eternal meaning and value.

The problem, of course, is the 'closed order' such beliefs affirm is constantly interrupted by something higher than the mundane. As Jordan Peterson discusses here, modern "enlightenment" only works when we choose to tune out the deep reality that is at work amongst us.

When we recognise the limits of the 'fashion of the day', we quickly long to be seeking to be arrayed in something far more substantial and enduring, and that allows us to travel to the far more fulfilling realm where what what we are engaging is eternal and vital - both the immediate and the etherial are brought close and together as creation and redemption marry in the revelation of the eternal Father who sustains and completes what is His handiwork.

The agony of the present is the poison of the lie it provides. Atheists caricature Christianity as a 'cult of human sacrifice' because of the unique work of Jesus whilst they perpetually offering up the current generation to death via the dogmas of the age (abortion is merely 'healthy care', nothing else, and mutilation the minds and bodies of children because they must be allowed to be re-defined sexually to be entirely healthy). Evil masquerades behind a presumed 'good' to grotesquely conjure a world drunk on selfish, destructive ends.

The true health is something so much deeper, richer and enduring.

Come to the place where the honey runs, and the sweet goodness never ends!

Stepping Out

 "What if I knew I couldn't loose this time".

Cages - We The Kingdom.

"Now, when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your head, because your redemption is drawing close".  Jesus - Luke 21:28.

It's been a brutal week.

There's been the news that A I is rushing forward at what appears to be increasing speed, and the cultural ramifications of where this may go are chilling to say the least (take a look here at one possible track that may arise soon).

Then the middle of the week brought the news via the Wall Street Journal that the Instagram network has been furnishing one of the biggest pedophile networks in the world, almost certainly behind the trafficking of thousands of children.

This was followed by the news that The World Health Organisation is about to establish a monitoring system via iPhone technology devised by the EU during the pandemic which will allow them to restrict global movement of anyone who is not sufficiently vaccinated accoutring to their records with the failed mRNA materials employed during the Covid outbreak. Just how pernicious this program is can be appreciated when we unpack the latest scientific data on the development of the man-made virus itself, as shown here.

So, with all this in mind, look afresh at Jesus' words to His disciples in respect to the days which were about to open up in front of them. They were about to face an empire that would hate them for their testimony to what happened but Jesus tells them the solution is to look beyond all of that - to be truly in tune to what happens, and what really counts, asking for the strength to walk through it all, because He has promised to be with them.

This world is going to stand before the King, and what makes us ready for that moment is what has already been done by the King, so look above the waves - see the grace that pours down upon us because of the Cross and the empty tomb.

We're never ready for what life breaks upon us - whatever the challenge may be. Some days we just collapse under the weight of it, but the GOOD NEWS is, You're on your way home! Underneath all these troubles, there are everlasting arms, and they will carry you to that place where war will end and troubles will be purified into precious treasures.

The answer to right now isn't panic or over confidence in what we can achieve - it's to look into the amazing provision of Jesus - that's what will keep us going, even when we fail. His all sufficient work at Calvary is what will hold us in our troubled times today and in our final breath - it will take us home.

Beyond our woes, or worries, there is a well that never runs dry, and table always provisioned with over abundant goodness.

The future is set, and it's entirely defined for us by an unfathomable Lord of mercy.

So, let the world froth with all its folly.

Jesus is on the throne of grace, and He will bring us to the splendour of His reign.

You are not up to the challenge - none of us actually are.

The one who was is YOUR SAVIOUR!

He is on the throne, and HE RIGHNS - FOREVER MORE!

That is the true source of our peace and our joy.

Jesus is Lord.

Respite

 "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her, and there I will giver her a vineyard. The Valley of Achor, is a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth. And in that day says, the Lord, you shall me your husband, and I will make you lye down in safety, and I will betroth you to me for ever... I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice and in steadfast love, and in my mercy, I will betroth you to me in my faithfulness... And you shall know the Lord".  

The Valley of Achor by A Door of Hope.

So, yesterday, after a very hectic work day on Thursday, I managed to grab a lunch break and head out for a short walk down to the city's barbican, which was swimming in people out enjoying the good weather and each others company amidst the pleasant surroundings. I walked around amongst this for a short time, but then found what I was looking for - a small corner where two large horse chestnut trees provided a gorgeously calm and refreshing spot where I could step out of the heat and fully appreciate the lustre of the numerous flower arrangements near by and the voluptuous feel of the calming breeze for a few moments before heading back to the office.

The words of the Psalmist regarding finding himself in such restoring places comes easily to mind in such a moment, and I'm reminded that amongst often harried or demanding conditions, it's these moments that are provided to 'speak tenderly' that however troubling the times, the Lord who has come to dwell with us is the one who can cause the very aridness of the most demanding realms to be transformed into a refuge bursting with beauty and refreshment, purely because He delights in showing His goodness to us.

The days are indeed fraught with the foolishness of men - their empty wars and broken promises littler the barren realms they make everywhere, but the Lord is so good, and wants us to look afresh as His unceasing care in all these places - where men find nothing in themselves but empty ruin, God comes and renews through the precious life that He so often provides, and we find our souls enlivened afresh by the wealth of love that He showers upon us.

May these days allow us to look with such a gaze afresh, and see the beloved who sands us such care so entirely!