Belief and Action ...Are yours aligned

I preached from 1 Kings 18:16-40 yesterday . Elijah on Mount Carmel . The people of Israel had been called to account for their lapsed faith ...

" If the Lord is God then follow him " Elijah challenged them and "If Baal is god then follow him "

Elijah was saying that there is no middle ground , you either embrace fully the Christian faith or you fully embrace the way of the world . You cannot do both .

I was challenged by this . As a Christian I have to stop pussy footing around and live a life that fully reflects my belief in Christ .

I came across this article by a personal development guru Steve Pavlina ...From what I can gather about his belief system he had a catholic upbringing but now seems to embrace a form of humanism ...Although he is still on his spiritual journey ( according to his blog )

He said this................. Which is a true but sad reflection on our Christian hypocrisy

Quote from Steve Pavlina

"Do your current beliefs empower you to be your best, or do they doom you to life as a mere shadow of what you could be? Can you honestly say that you are doing your best or very close to it? Are you living congruently with your most deeply held beliefs? Whatever your religious or spiritual beliefs, how well do you practice them? Do you walk your talk?

On Monday as I walked around the Las Vegas Strip, I saw a downtrodden homeless man sitting on one of the overhead walkways asking for money. As over a hundred people passed by him each minute, no one even stopped to give him a kind word or a smile. I thought to myself, Where are all the Christians? If Jesus is the model for Christian behavior, what would Jesus do in that situation? What would other role models do? What would you do?

By their words I hear that most Americans are Christian. By their actions I see that most aren't
.
If you really believe something, you will act in accordance with that belief always. If you believe in gravity, you will never attempt to defy it. If you claim to hold a belief but act incongruently, then you don't actually believe it. you are only kidding yourself. Casual faith isn't "


He is almost completely right ..I say almost because he hasn't understood the nature of sin and evil and how as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 7

18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to dothis I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

We will fail as the Apostle did ....but I am sure that Steve Pavlina could never have accused the Apostle Paul of not walking the talk

Elijah called the people to account .... If the Lord is God then follow him ...... that means 24/7

Had to share this cartoon with you

My tentmaking business ....on eBay

The Apostle Paul from time to time would make and sell tents to provide an income to finance his missionary work .
Acts 18:3
"and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them."
2 Thessalonians 3:8
"nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, labouring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you."

Well I have my own little tentmaker business over on eBay ...inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of Jon Mackenzie who first put me on to eBay a few years ago. I have from time to time sold one or two items .

Just recently though, I have taken it a little more seriously , driven by the basic household financial equation of "What comes in is not matching what goes out " ( I do have three daughters after all you know :-) )

I am trying to sell five or six household items a month ....so if you visit our house in a couple of years time your bound to comment on our minimalism ..cos there will be nothing left to flog :-)

Anyway I have also written another blog about my experience that will also help me with my "Financial equation" ...check it out ..its called "ebay4u" ...and if you are feel like clicking on a couple of the google adverts you will add 5p to towards solving the aforementioned equation :-)
Go on if you love me you wil give me a couple of clicks xx

So now you have two Whiteway blogs ...you really are spoilt :-)

"Give careful thought to your ways..."

I was reading from Haggai this morning and was struck by the text " give careful thought to your ways "

Haggai had been instructed to shake up the people of God ...they had lapsed into self-centredness and neglected the house of God ..

What was true for them is certainly true for us today ....

what is more important to you ?...is it you or is it God ?... I'll let haggai say it again " Give careful thought to your ways "

Bouncing around

Back into the stream of things at Wem ...its great ... although sometimes though you feel a little like Tigger in Winnie The Pooh ...you feel as if you are bouncing from one place to another ...or one meeting to another ...or one sermon to another ...or one visit to another..

But for me personally I love bouncing ;-)

Back to being a Wemian

Back to my day job today ....my 3 weeks at The Bridge was a tremendous blessing to me , I learnt so much ...many thanks to all the fellowship there for their warmth and hospitality .

So back to work. I have just calculated that in the next two weeks I am speaking eight times, so I had better get my head down and study ...Oh and there is the minor complication of submitting my essays about my placement ... Back to needing a 28 hour day :-)

Anyway ...one last picture ...or maybe two ..of my stint in Liverpool ..Ant will love these


The Inner Sanctum ....Anfields changing room ..and the shirts the team wore in their defeat of ManUtd on Saturday

The infamous this is anfield sign ....I'll never wash that hand again :-)

Oh no ...she's 14

Katie's motley crew of mates
Pinyata ..I think that's how you spell it !

Happy Birthday Katie

Golden Anniversary

Mum & Dad
the view from the Liverpool Marina Restaurant
The Cake



Mum and Dad managed to clock up 50 years of married bliss on Saturday . My dad said that in fifty years of marriage he and my mum had only ever had one argument .... the problem was that it had lasted fifty years :-)

Sorry for not posting ..

I haven’t had much time over the last few days to post ..sorry …but I have 10 minutes now so here is an update

My time at the Bridge is nearly over , as usual time has whizzed by , 3 weeks feels likes 3 minutes . It’s been a joy to work with the folk at the Bridge , they have a real passion for Christ and the extension of his Kingdom .

On Thursday I did my final assembly with Bill and the LFC community coaches (with the European cup ). These assemblies are very powerful … they are entitled “ Truth4youth” …seven pearls of wisdom are talked about..

Show racism the red card
Give bullying the boot
Kick drugs into touch
Think disease before you please
More important than being a good footballer is being a good person.
Shoot goals not guns.
You will never walk alone ( the talks always finish with the Gospel being proclaimed )

This message is going out to every primary school and secondary school in Liverpool …what a tremendous opportunity ..

Mum and Dads Golden Wedding today …so back over to Liverpool for some posh nosh..

Took some stick from the kids >>

Just because I didn't buy roses ..just because there were no chocolates ... just because I made my own card for Valentines day .... I was rounded on by three wise !! daughters this morning ..

Gill the love of my life was fine ( me thinks ...mmmm ) ..she knows that my romantic side comes out occasionally ..... I had contemplated taking her to see Liverpool vs Arsenal at Anfield tonight for an extra special treat for her ...now that would be a wonderful unselfish Valentines gift ..don't you think :-)

Put to work at the Bridge

They put me to work yesterday...........In the morning service I did the childrens talk to the gathered masses ( 450 of them !!) and then in the evening I led the service with Bill preaching . I also managed to do a "Richard and Judy " with Gill ( my wife ) ..interviewing her about her faith ..she was brilliant ..

Also in the morning I met one of my old scout masters from the 4th Allerton Sea Scouts ..Phil if you are reading this it was great to see you again ...keep in touch

Back over to liverpool this morning ... accompanied by John Piper on my MP3 player this morning ... Cya

Outreach

Yesterday I did another couple of assemblies with the European cup ..as you do ...and afterwards I sat Down with Brian Hall ( ex Liverpool player of the 70's and now public relations manager) and interviewed him about the role of the chaplaincy at Liverpool Football Club . He said that he never would have thought that football and Christianity would go together but he had been proved wrong over the last few years as he has witnessed the chaplaincy under Bill Bygroves have a very positive effect on the club , the staff and the surrounding community.

The evening was spent at the "Thursday Club " at " The Bridge" another excellent work reaching out to over 70 adults who have learning difficulties . Les Stamper ( the afflicted Evertonian ) heads up the work with a team of 30 or so support workers . The love for these people was more than evident . A special meeting with some special people . Praise God for works such as this .

It's tough sometimes :-)

Sometimes its tough .. The things you have to do ...like take the European cup into schools and then go on to Anfield and then on to Melwood (the training ground) meeting and greeting many famous faces ...its tough I dont know how I am coping with it all :-)

Beware the ambitious :-)

Its tough for the salmon sometimes !!

I wouldn't wear the pinny !!

I am loving my time back in the homeland . The church because of its size has many ministries all of which I hope to sample in the three weeks that I am there.

Last night the BBC 1 course ( Bridge bible course ) was great , with a number of really probing questions a group of 27 people seeking to answer the question What is God like?

This morning I attended the Barnabas meeting . A weekly gathering of people from a number of Liverpool churches for prayer and Bible study . This was followed by lunch from the Bistro. I became a waiter for a couple of hours a throw back to my days as a student nearly twenty years ago ...clearing tables , washing dishes ..but I did draw the line at wearing a pinny !!

This afternoon I met with the apprentices . Two young men who are training for the ministry and are being mentored by the church ..

Tonight I was back in Wem doing a "Christianity Explained" class entitled "Why bother with the Bible & Prayer?" .............Full days at the moment ..but good days.









Gill wanted to buy me this pinny !! Harsh I think :-)

Weekend Round Up

Apart from yesterdays result the weekend had many highlights .....

Anna and Katie took part in the school production "The Mikado" on Saturday night . They did well as part of the chorus .... I had never heard of the play until now . Apparently it is well known amongst theatre buffs ... I am obviously not a cultured type.

Sunday was spent at the Bridge . Bill Bygroves preached morning and evening. Both sermons you can hear via their website .In the morning we were introduced as a family to the whole church and between us we read Esther Chpt 1 . The girls were nervous but they did well . Its not easy standing in front of 450 people . We looked like the Von-trapp family on the stage :-).

Les and Cathy Stamper had us for lunch . They have been friends for many years but there is a problem . Les is an Evertonian and he has suffered with this affliction for many years ...I really do fear for his long term mental stability because of this burdensome problem ...If you are reading this Les ...get well soon :-)

In the evening service I was asked to give my testimony ... I had about 10 minutes so I only managed the abridged version ..... which was good for the poor unfortunates who had to listen to me .

Off to the Bridge again today ...taking part in their BBC 1 course ( Bridge Bible class) . A course aimed at non-believers . Tonight's big question is "What is God Like "

Are you a Pessimist ?

Then this is for you ...click here

Valentines

Family Photo
I was reminded about Valentines day today ...mmm ..its origins are dodgy but it's sentiment is spot on ....if you have a romantic interest in your life then what are your plans fro the 14th?? ... I'm at a meeting ..now there's a surprise ...but don't tell Gill she doesn't know yet :-)

A cup of tea and a slice of cake ...

Yesterday at The Bridge I joined the "Widows & Widowers" small group . A group that meets once a month in the centre .In my opinion you cannot beat the ministry of a cup of tea and a slice of cake ... Folk just coming together to share and laugh and cry together ( especially after Liverpools result !) . I met some older folk who used to run the local chandlers shop up the road from where I lived as a kid , Binnies it was called . Doris the proprietor said that her late husband and herself had had the shop for 64 years and that they were both still working when he died at the age 82....Now that's what I call commitment to a job .Sampling the youthwork tonight . Looking forward to that .

A Fairytale Finish ...Not quite !

Tee, Will& Mark ..nice hat Will
Birds eye view !!
Tee infront of the Kop
Yours truly
Well what can I say about the best football team in the land ....Well last night they didn't quite live up to their billing . 1-1 with Birmingham and the blues had 10 men !!

Robbie Fowler the returning hero very nearly made it a fairytale finish with an injury time winning goal but he was judged to be offside ...Nightmare ..But the evening itself was great despite the result and the parking ticket !!

Back to The Bridge this morning and evening ...I'll keep you posted

Multi-Faceted

The Bridge chapel has many strings to it's bow . The place has so many different ministries to explore that I don't know whether I will cover it all in three weeks .

Yesterday I spent some time with the youth ministry team planning an Easter HBC ( holiday Bible Club) . In the evening I went along to one of the 40 small groups that the church has .

One thing I have observed is that there is much emphasis on bible study and teaching . I was impressed by the level of knowledge that recent converts have .... There is much to learn from this church .

Anyway ...Don't tell anyone ...But I just might have in my possession 4 tickets for tonight's premiership game at Anfield ...Full report tomorrow ...With pics