The Words of Christ on the Cross 2

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46 ESV)


If ever there was a cry of desolation, here it is. We are all familiar with the experience of God seeming to be distant, or unavailable. Our hardened hearts make it easy for us to exist without knowing His presence. But for Jesus this was different. Here was the Word who was with God in the beginning. He had always known fellowship with his Father. He could pray: "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me” (John 11:41-42 ESV). Nothing could break this fellowship, because Jesus is the Beloved, in whom the Father is well pleased.

The Words of Christ on the Cross

One of the many things on which Christians have been meditating over Easter are the words which Christ spoke when he was dying. The last words of anyone are considered to be important, especially when they are coherent. and not suppressed by the palliative drugs which are administered these days. Therefore the words of one whose life and death have affected this world more than any other living being are surely worth considering.


The Bible records seven sayings, and they are all pointers to what Jesus intended to be and do here in this world. Volumes could be written about each saying, but here are some openings to get people thinking.

Free Grace - Costly Grace 3

When we talk about a Christianity which calls us to sacrifice, we are always in danger of falling into the legalistic trap. We begin to believe that “If I don’t do certain things then I can’t possibly have received grace.” So our faith descends into a set of rules. The only antidote to this is to make our whole lives a matter of making Christ our treasure.

Free Grace - Costly Grace (2)

Did I say that true grace is costly? It is only relatively so.

When the world looks upon the followers of Jesus it says that He asks too much. He asked the wealthy young man to sell all his possessions, give them to the poor and follow him. (Mathew 19:16 – 21) He called his disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him. (Mathew 16:24) Peter, the apostle who was to lead the first church according to tradition was crucified; James was beheaded; John was exiled to the island of Patmos for years; Paul was spurned by his own nation, underwent numerous beatings and floggings, imprisonments and trials before being executed.

Free Grace - Costly Grace

Grace is one of my favourite words. It is a word which gives me hope, and tells me of a loving Father in heaven who, despite my horrible rebellion against Him, has taken me to be his own.

0 - 60 Eventually

I don’t know whether you take any notice of car stickers – they can be amusing enough at times – “Midwives help people out” was one which made me smile; “Mother-in-law in boot” was another.

One which I haven’t seen for a while, but which used to be seen fairly regularly on old bangers was “0 to 60 eventually!” Of course, no self-respecting young driver would have such a sticker on his car. But it seems to me that this may be something of a motto which I would take for my own desires now – not with reference to my VW golf which I drive, but to my Christian life.

Journey to Riga 5

Sunday in Riga was an opportunity for me to preach in the Riga Baptist Mission Church where the conference had been for the past three days. The Pastor, Petr Samoylich,(seen in the picture below)was born in the Ukraine, but had been in the US, where he had built up a successful property development business before coming to Latvia to help the church. This is an old church, dating back to pre communist days. During the communist era the building had been commandeered by the authorities, but after independence came in 1991 it was returned to the church.

Journey to Riga 4

God is to be worshipped. Our great privilege is to be the worshippers that the Father seeks, and Romans 12:1 tells us that all of the Christian’s life is to be lived as telling forth the glory of God. Worship is not confined to the time we gather together as God’s people in church. However there is such a thing as corporate worship, when we focus our attention together on the One in whom we live, move and have our being.

Journey to Riga 3

There were many things which moved me in Latvia, making me think, pray and worship.
The country itself is amongst the most seriously affected by the world financial crisis. Many of the banks had allowed borrowers to take huge loans with no security, and when the crunch came with unemployment soaring, many have found themselves unable to repay their debts. Some therefore travel abroad to seek work (The population is decreasing dramatically). Others sink under the pressure. The suicide rate is the second highest in the world (with a large number of these among those from 50 years old upwards). Alcoholism is an enormous problem, as is corruption in both Government and Business circles. This combined with the long history of a country ruled by others makes for a people with a great lack of self-esteem.

Journey to Riga 2

The conference which we were attending in Riga was called Mission Days and was organised by Bridge Builders International. This is an organisation begun by a Latvian American, Charles David Kelley. Chuck, as he is called by all who know him here, was brought up in the USA. His grandfather was a Latvian who had fled the country with his family towards the end of the second World War, eventually reaching America. Chuck himself was born in the US, and pastored baptist churches in Corvallis for twenty years before giving himself to the vision of building bridges for the gospel to and from Latvia.
(A fuller account can be found in “Surprised By The Father’s Plan” by Charles David Kelley with Kristen Zetzsche)

Journey to Riga

This blog has been silent for some months. There are many reasons, but I’m not going to try to justify this silence. I’ve wanted to write more, but wanting is not the same as doing. I just didn’t get round to it!But following this last weekend, here is an attempt at writing again.

Anyone who knows me realises that I have an interest in the church in former Communist countries. Whilst Communism was the ruling power in Eastern Europe I visited Christians in Prague to encourage and learn. Following the collapse of communism I have always been glad of the opportunity to visit churches in Eastern Europe, again to encourage and learn, but also to be encouraged as I see how God has answered those prayers of over thirty five years ago. So when I was invited to accompany Lindsay Brown to a conference in Latvia I was happy to accept, and to see what was happening there.

The conference we were attending was called MISSION DAYS, and brought Christians from both the student world and churches in the country together to consider the call to mission. Lindsay (former General Secretary of IFES) was asked to give five talks on Mission, and there were opportunities for seminars, Bible studies and much fellowship.

There are a number of things which I hope will be helpful for me to share, and I trust will both encourage us, inform our prayers, and will compel us forward in obedience to the great commission.

Firstly, some general points.
We are all encouraged when God answers prayer. However we in the West tend to be a bit impatient. Our prayers are often general and vague, and we often miss what God is doing. When I think back to the mid-seventies when I became a Christian, we were challenged often to pray for Christians in Eastern Europe who suffered under communist regimes. Open Doors, Friedenstimme, and other societies encouraged us with exciting stories, but there was much suffering at that time. I don’t know whether over the years we have forgotten those prayers. But God has not forgotten, and He is still answering them. Seeing this is a sure aid, both in our own faith and worship, and in our commitment to the Gospel. Having an old woman with a wizened face come and embrace me, thanking me for our prayers was both a humbling and motivating experience.

Secondly, Latvia is a country which has suffered much over the years, and since the year 1300 has known almost constant domination by other nations. There is something in the Latvian psyche which corresponds very much with the Welsh inferiority complex, built over years of domination by another culture. There is an affinity which makes it particularly easy to minister to them.

Thirdly, it is a very needy country. Economically it is one of the worst hit in the recent economic crisis. The hopelessness, especially among the middle aged, has led to the country having the second highest suicide rate in the world. The young are leaving the country in droves, and the population is decreasing. There is much corruption in government and business.

Fourthly, the churches there are encouraged in many ways, but the workers are few. Many are missionaries who have come from other countries. The dominant church would be the Lutheran church. But liberalism has left its’ mark on much of the church. However there are good things happening in many Lutheran churches. There are also Baptist and Pentecostal churches which are growing. There are gifted young men and women who can be trained, and it was a joy to meet some 250 of these people in the Mission Days Conference.
I will try to give a taste of the conference in the next couple of blogs

Christ on the road to Calvary - 3

(continued from previous two blogs)

As we approach the next verses in this chapter (Luke 23:35 -43) it is hard to imagine the depth of darkness in the situation. Yet in this darkness something happens which should encourage every follower of Christ to be confident in the gospel.

As Jesus was nailed to the cross, everyone seemed to be against him. The guards were mocking; the priests and religious leaders were calling out in derision; Mathew tells us that even both men who were crucified began to mock him. But then something happens to one of the dying thieves. Maybe seeing the way Jesus was reacting to everything challenged his heart. He knew why he was there – he had set himself up against the authorities and knew that if he was caught this would be his fate. He realised that he was going to meet his Maker, and would answer for what he had done. But what had Jesus done? He had surely heard of him. He might even have listened to Jesus among the crowds sometime. Maybe he knew someone whose life had been changed by the healing touch of the one who was hanging there beside him. And he was given eyes to see that all this evil poured out upon the carpenter’s son from Nazareth could not destroy the better kingdom that was His.
And in that dark hour, he took hold of his only hope – “I do not understand how this is going to happen, but when you have moved on from this cross, and come into your kingdom, remember me.”

The answer Jesus gives him is astounding. He was here in weakness, deserted by his followers and to all intents and purposes his enemies had won – they were getting rid of him. But in his weakness he can turn to this dying, repentant sinner and confidently proclaim: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

a) Paradise – what a contrast to the rubbish dump outside Jerusalem where they crucified wrongdoers. People have all sorts of strange ideas about paradise – and it is mostly guesswork or wishful thinking. But the Bible gives us some true idea of what it will be like – No sickness, no death, no evil without to tempt us, and no evil within to cause us to fall, no tears as they are all wiped from our face. (Revelation 21:4) There will be a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no sickness. The effects of the fall in Eden will be overturned in glory.

b) Today – there was no time for the thief to atone for his sins, but Jesus does not tell him that he’ll have to wait in purgatory to suffer for what he had done. The transfer to glory would be immediate, and all of grace. There would be no delay as the Son washed away his sins through the perfect blood that was being poured out even as they spoke to each other. What a difference between the blood of the sinner, calling out for judgement, and the blood of the spotless Lamb, washing away all condemnation. The thief would suffer a few hours, but in trusting Jesus he would spend eternity in glory.

c) You will be with me – That is the greatest part of this promise. To be with Jesus is heaven itself. Those who reject Jesus would not find themselves happy in heaven because the essence of heaven is being with Him. The Bible talks of heaven as a wedding, where the church – all those who have been purchased by the blood of Christ – appears glorious in perfection, prepared for the Bridegroom – Christ himself. And as one hymn expresses it so well:
The Bride eyes not her garment, but her dear Bridegroom’s face;I will not gaze at glory but on my King of grace.Not at the crown He giveth but on His pierced hand;The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land.

Now if Christ in his weakness can boldly proclaim that his sacrifice will accomplish this, how much more confident should we be. We have heard him cry “It is finished!” We have heard the testimony of the witnesses that he was raised from the dead the third day. We have all the promises of the gospel. And countless numbers have been persuaded that this gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all those who believe.

How can we be silent when others today give everything for the privilege of telling others the good news? As you read this Christians in some countries are being persecuted, imprisoned and killed for the faith. And their testimony bears fruit which causes heaven to rejoice. If the gospel in Western Europe seems to be under a cloud, in other parts of the world it is thriving, especially where it suffers persecution.

What a wonderful promise Jesus gave to the dying thief, and what a privilege we have to proclaim this same promise to the dying world around us. Yet we are often fearful, and our fear causes us to be silent!

As we consider Christ on the way to Calvary, let us learn to take up our cross and tell others about Him. Let it not be a burden but a joy and not a duty but a privilege. And may we be filled with His compassion, driven to our knees to intercede for those who do wrong to us, proclaiming boldly His promise of life.

Christ on the road to Calvary - 2

Again we turn to Luke 23, concentrating his time on verses 32 - 38

If we are amazed at the compassion of Christ as he is led to Calvary, we cannot be unmoved either by his attitude towards those who were carrying out the outrageous deed of nailing him to the cross.

These were hard men. They had done this so many times before as Roman soldiers. They were there to execute the judgement passed by Roman law. They had become oblivious to the cries of the prisoners as the nails crunched through the flesh and bones of their victims. This was their job, and they could even stand calmly, dividing the clothes of the victims as their pay for doing the work – one of the perks of the job. When they found one quality cloak among the clothes, they had some fun drawing lots to see who could have it.


They were there to obey orders, and to ensure that the Jews were kept in their place. The Romans were the law here – not the Jews. This man had a sign to place above him – the King of the Jews – and any one who tried to set himself up against Caesar would know what would follow. As the people mocked Christ they probably thought: the poor deluded fool – even his own people have turned against him.


How do we feel when we are wronged? What do we want to do when we are blamed for something we did not do, or suffer an injustice? Our natural reaction is to strike back. We want to protest our innocence and right the wrong, even if it means that others will suffer.


Yet never did any one suffer such injustice as Jesus on the cross. He did no evil ever. He once challenged his enemies to point out any sin which he had committed (John 8:46) but they couldn’t. He did not deserve to suffer here, and what these men were doing was unfair, unjust and evil. Yet what words appear on his lips?
Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34
He intercedes for them, even as they are casting lots for his clothes, asking that his Father would bless them.
“They know not what they do” –
(a) They do not realise what sin is. For so many people sin is just a mistake, or failing to hit the mark – after all no one is perfect. But sin is telling the eternal God that we do not want him to be God. We don’t want to live his way. Our way is better. Sin is rejecting the One who gives us our very existence and spitting in the face of the all powerful.
(b) If they realised who I am – that I am the eternal Word, and that one day they will have to give an account for their lives before the eternal judgement seat. They do not realise that on that day they will look up at the throne, and the judge will be the One they are now nailing to a piece of wood to hang and die. If they realised this they would not do this – they would bow down in awe and terror. Paul said something similar when he wrote to the Corinthians about the wisdom of the world: None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Corinthians 2:8

And Christ, having compassion on these miserable sinners, intercedes for them.

How do we, as Christians, react to those who reject the gospel? It is easy to find fault with them. It is so much easier to condemn than to be concerned. How many, I wonder, have prayed for the conversion of leaders of the Al Qaeda movement? How many have wept and prayed for those who persecute and kill Christians in some countries of the world today? And what about opponents in our own country? There are those who attack Christianity, mocking it as a delusion or a retrograde fantasy. And it is easy to condemn militant atheists in our reaction to this. But Jesus prayed for those who were doing him the most awful injustice and wrong.
These people today do not know that the One that they reject will one day judge them. They do not realise that as they follow their own way, they are spurning the Almighty and calling down judgement on their own heads.


Where is the agony in our praying for the lost? Where is the cry that God would forgive them, and open their eyes and hearts to see what the eternal love of the Holy One can do?


Facing a task unfinished
That drives us to our knees;
A need that, undiminished,
Rebukes our slothful ease

Christ on the road to Calvary

I've been quiet for a while. There have been a number of reasons for this, which I won't go into but here is a new train of thought which hopefully will help some.

The cross of Christ is central to every Christian. There we see the great act of salvation accomplished as Jesus takes upon himself our curse and dies for the sins of the world. For us therefore the fulcrum of history is the cross and resurrection of Jesus. We boast in it, and we never move far from it. And there are so many aspects of the cross which speak to us. As Evangelical or rather as Biblical Christians we believe it tells us about the wickedness of sin, the fulness of the atonement, the justice of God, the greatness of salvation, and supremely about the love of God the Father and God the Son towards us in accomplishing such a gracious redemption.
One other aspect which I have been thinking about recently is the example of the cross. Peter tells us that “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21) Or to put it another way, the cross is a path for us to tread, as Jesus himself taught us that to follow Him means to take up our cross and follow Him. (Mathew 16:24.)

The danger here is that we can think of following Christ and telling others about Him as a duty rather than a delight. How many times have preachers felt that they are whipping their people into action, rather than encouraging them. Here is where meditating on Christ as he proceeds to Calvary can help – or at least it has helped me. So over the next few blogs I’ll be looking at Luke 23:26 – 43, especially thinking about the attitude of us Christians towards those who do not know Christ as their Saviour.

And we begin with the compassion of Christ.
We can all have some idea of the horror of the situation. Jesus had been in public ministry for three years. He’d been in the public eye, working and giving out to people day after day, often ministering late into the night. There were times when he often spent the whole night in prayer. At other times when he was tired, people came to him seeking help and he never turned them away. He must have been emotionally and physically tired. Then had come the betrayal, and although he knew it was coming, it could not have lessened the hurt. He’d given so much to the disciples, and then Judas betrayed him, the disciples fled and Peter denied that he knew the Lord. What emotional grief this must have been. Then he was taken and tried before a kangaroo court , lied about and condemned. He’d been humiliated by Pilate, Herod and the soldiers. He’d been cruellyu scourged, and often these whipping would be enough to kill the sufferer as the metal pieces tied into the leather thongs ripped the flesh apart.

Then there was the shame. How did this young man from Nazareth, with such godly parents, end up like this – “for a hanged man is cursed by God.” (Deuteronomy 21:23)? And as he is dragged naked through the streets of Jerusalem, women there weep as they take pity on him.

But Jesus’ response is truly amazing: But turning to them Jesus said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. (Luke 23:28) He tells them that their perspective is all wrong. “You look at me and think that I am worthy of pity, but this is a path that I have chosen. There is purpose to my suffering. But what about the path that you, and Jerusalem have chosen?” He compares the green with the dead dried wood. We have all seen what happened in Australia earlier this year when a spark from a carelessly dropped cigarette would set a forest on fire, enough to burn whole towns and communities. So he says that if God, who is merciful and loves his Son with an eternal love, yet pours out his wrath in such a way when Jesus clothes himself in our sin, what will happen to those who reject Him. Jesus wept over Jerusalem when he entered the city (Luke 19:41) knowing what would happen when Rome finally lost patience with the Jews in about 40 years from that time. The story of the destruction of Jerusalem is terrible. But that was only a shadow of the destruction that would come in the judgement at the end of time. “do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” He had compassion for them.

What is our concern most often. We are so full of our own problems. We don’t see things as Jesus saw them. We think of the difficulties we face, rather than the eternal judgement which awaits those who would reject Christ. Often we secretly even envy those who are rich in the things which this world offers. We do not see them as Jesus sees them. No one is as blessed as those who know Christ as a Saviour and Redeemer. And no one is to be more pities than those who are without Christ. I recently heard of a converted Muslim, a week after his conversion to Christianity undertook his first missionary journey. He went to tell his friends about his new found Saviour and Friend. They hung him up by his hair until his hair fell out, and he now has great bald patches on his head. But he knew that he had no choice but to try to save his lost friends.

O teach me, Saviour, teach me
The value of a soul.

European Leadership Forum 9

A twelve hour journey back from Eger to Bangor gives much time to reflect and to try to consider how to sum up the Forum.

The one thing which makes such a conference stand out is the variety of those who attend. Over 42 nations were represented, and a variety of occupations (that is not all pastors, professional theologians or even church workers.) The quality of the teaching was excellent, and the opportunity to question, challenge and engage was plentiful. But it was the participants that make this event unique.

The fact that we were not all from the same theological stable was interesting. We were all agreed on the gospel (The Bible was held up as the infallible Word of God; the atoning work of Christ was rejoiced in; the truth that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone was upheld throughout etc.). However differences were there, but they did not seem to cause the conflict which often comes in such situations. We were all prayerfully concerned about the effective spread of the Gospel throughout Europe, and were there to further that aim. And for my part, although I am sure that I would disagree deeply with John Lennox about some issues, I learnt much from him as he expounded the Word of God, and rejoiced in the fellowship and personal discussion we had.

Whilst the steering committee is essentially European, much of the arranging and administrating, including the running of the whole event in Hungary, is done by friends from the USA. Their commitment, hard work and generosity are major factors also in the atmosphere of the whole event. When we arrived this year each participant was given an ESV study Bible as a gift. This was paid for by the adult Sunday school class of Wayne Grudem (who was the general editor of the study Bible, and a frequent contributor to the ELF). This gift was especially valuable to many of those who come from Eastern Europe. This was the spirit of the whole Forum, and on the final evening a long standing ovation was given to all those volunteers who had given of their time and out of their own pocket had paid to come to help us. Any who would doubt the American way of patronisingly try to sort out the rest of the world can see here a very different spirit.

The challenge for me (as is often the case when we have been away) is to bring back home some things which can be applied to our own situation. Certainly I have been refreshed, and my vision for the lost has been sharpened. I have a deeper understanding of certain portions of the Scriptures, and have greater knowledge to use in the proclamation of the Gospel. I also have new brothers and sisters in Christ for whom I can thank God, and for whom I must pray. I received numerous invitations to other countries to help them as they seek to serve God.

There are some things which I would want to see change. Firstly it seemed very difficult to find a cup of coffee after 11.00 a.m. – a major complaint!! Maybe a little more seriously, a pastoral track might be useful. Whilst some pastors were used, most of the speakers seemed to be those who were not so directly involved in the full time ministry of the church, and at times the apologetic emphasis overshadowed all else. I am aware that much personal mentoring was done there, but there could be a place for something else.

One serious issue for me was that I was the only Welsh speaker there, and on one night when we sat according to our nations for food, I had only one companion from Wales – Lindsay Brown. I would dearly wish to have others from my country there, so that we could continue the work here between Forums. Maybe next year I can persuade someone to come with me.

In the meantime, I pray that God will make me faithful in putting into practice the things I have learnt and been convicted of. I am grateful to have been there this year, and look forward to other blessings God may have in store for Europe.

European Leadership Forum 8

The final evening meeting was a summing up of our desire to see the Gospel explode across Europe, and a sending out of the conference participants to proclaim the gospel. It was good to see a fellow Welshman giving the word, as Lindsay Brown, former General Secretary of IFES was the one chosen to speak to us. He gave a clear, powerful challenge as we face not only the pluralism of our age, but also probably increased opposition and even persecution. (One of those at the conference had nearly been imprisoned in Greece six months earlier accused of trying to proselytise someone from an Orthodox background.) He took us to the first letter of Peter and gave us a general overview in the light of our calling to be witnesses. His five point sermon was enriched as usual with stories of Christians from around the world, but this was not just a catalogue of inspiring stories. It was a direct challenge to take the gospel to others.

1) Our witness issues from our identity in Christ:
(a) We have a trans-cultural identity (1 Peter 1:1, 2:9,10) shown clearly in the make up of this conference.
(b) Our identity is tied up in our being a chosen people (1 Peter 1:2,12; 2:9)
(c) Our identity is inextricably bound in our common experience of God’s grace and wonder (1 Peter 1:10,13; 5:10)
(d) Our identity is found in knowing the living hope of the Gospel (1 Peter 1:3 – 5)
2) Our witness is sharpened by our response to adversity (1 Peter 1:7; 4:12 – 16). We do not suffer from the hopelessness of unbelief or the resignation of Stoicism when we face pain and loss.
3) Our witness is sharpened by a godly lifestyle (1 Peter 1:13 – 17; 2:11) When the Roman world suffered epidemics in the second and third century, the Christians cared for and loved those who fell ill, and many of them died, but the impact was a great influx of people to the church as they witnessed such love. In Albania, when there was a shortage of blood in the hospitals, it was the evangelical Christians who queued up to answer the need, so much so that one of the government ministers publicly thanked them for it.
4) Our witness is galvanised by conviction of the truth claim of the Gospel (1 Peter 3:15) In Algeria last year one pastor had baptised 1,500 believers. When the police took hold him to tell him that they were going to imprison all the Christians, he challenged them – You do not have enough prisons to hold us all – the Gospel is true, and we will see many people turn to Christ.
5) The heart of our witness is Christ. 1 Peter 1:8,19; 2:24; 3:18)

The meeting was both a blessing and a real challenge. It was not overly charged with emotion as the last night of a conference can often become. However the sound of people from over 42 nations raising up their voices in unison to praise the eternal God was an uplifting and encouraging experience.

I will leave the final summing up of the conference until tomorrow, when I will have had a good night's sleep in my own bed.

European Leadership Forum 7

Wednesday opened with John Lennox again preaching from Genesis. This time he opened with a plea that we need to let the Bible speak. We often begin with our problems, and see what the Bible has to say about it. But he contended that the Bible is true, and we believe it not because we can win all the intelectual arguments, but because God has spoken life to us through it. Turning to the story of Joseph he looked at The story of the brothers going to seek food in Egypt and the way Joseph deals with them. The insights were deep, and we saw the two sides of repentance and forgiveness being shown in Joseph’s actions and the brothers’ (in particular Judah’s) response. We ended up seeing Judah being turned from a man who sold his brother, to a man who repented and evetually was willing to give himself for his brother (Benjamin) and thus being a faint shadow of the Lion of the tribe of Judah – the Lord Jesus Christ. I was conscious of the presence of Christ, and was greatly humbled.

The Evangelism seminar then continued, firstly with Michael Ramsden leading us to consider the way Ideas mold the thinking. We considered the influence of such men as A.J.Ayre, who contended that Moral and Theological statements had no meaning; and H.L.A.Hart who with his views on jurisprudence pushed all moral and consideration of God out of the window in legal matters.

The second half of the session was a challenge, firstly by Michael Ramsden, looking at Luke 14:12 – 24. He set the parable in the context of his own Middle Eastern background, and challenged us as to the compelling them to come in. Then Michael Green encouraged us from John 16 about the Paraclete – the Friend sent alongside us and advocate who comes with us to prosecute those who challenge us. We then prayed for each other for 30 minutes in groups of two or three, and in this praying looked at our own situations in a very direct way, praying about what we had learned at the conference, what were our weaknesses where God’s grace could abound, and what we needed to do when we get home. My group of three was Michael Ramsden, Klara – a health worker from Novi Sad in Serbia, and myself. To sit in a room of men and women bowing our heads, and putting ourselves and each other in the hands of an all-powerful God to do as He wills with us is something special.

A blog cannot convey the sense of the presence of God in these things, but I know that once again I have been faced with the fact that God in his rich mercy has called me to work with him, for him in the power of his strength. Weak though I am, He must increase.

European Leadership Forum 6

Tuesday
This has to be one of the most encouraging days of the Forum for me. The sun was again shining as I took my breakfast in the open air with brothers from Northern Ireland, USA, and Denmark.


We then proceeded to listen to a scintillating exposition of Genesis as John Lennox tokk us mopre into the story of Joseph. The first part of his Bible reading looked at Judah (Chapter 38) which was shown not to be an irrelevant sideline, but at the heart of the plan of Genesis to prepare the way for the seed of Adam to come as the Messiah. His insights were both pastoral and theological. Then he went on to consider the suffering and rejection of Joseph. We all left the main conference room inspired, humbled, wanting to know more and wanting to come home to share the pearls of insight with others.

The three hours of morning seminars on evangelism which followed were divided into two parts. In the first part we looked at the way to deal with questions which people ask us. We honed in on one question which we might be asked by an unbeliever – Are you saying that I’m going to Hell? We split into groups to discuss (a) What could be the motive behind such a question? (b) What would be the questions that we would ask? (c) How would we answer the question? The insights different people had on this was very helpful in thinking about dealing with such a question. In the second session Michael Ramsden took us through a number of logical fallacies which we might come accross when we talk to people. It was a practical and enjoyable session.

The Book Stall
One of the benefits of this Forum is the extensive bookstall that is here. A great number of books are available, and they are all at a 60% discount. We might think this is marvellous, and indeed I felt like a child in a sweetshop looking at the tables. But there is another aspect which sobers those of us who come from the west. Some of the participants from the poorer countries of Eastern Europe could hardly afford even these. So a scholarship fund is set up to help them. One couple from Serbia were speechless when they were given a small gift of 20 euros. They had not been able to spare any money to buy books, but a little gift meant that, together with the scholarship they could have some quality literature to take home with them. How humbled I felt, yet how rewarded when I saw the light and joy in their faces.

European Leadership Forum 5

Monday

John Lennox took us to Genesis again today, concentrating on the disintegration of the family life of Joseph. The insights are fascinating as he pointed us to simple things which together make for a deep reading of the text. In the story of Genesis we get God setting up a natiopn, but it is not simply a multiplication of offspring. Abraham, to whom the promise of being the father of nations and with whom God made a covenant passed the blessing of the covenant to Isaac, not Ismael, and Isaac in turn passed the covenant promise on to Jacob and not Esau, but now we come to a different passing on – the twelve sons were included in the covenant. But the passing on was not just a physical birth. There is also the story which will eventually lead to Christ and there is a spiritual story here. As we looked at the factors which led to the disintegration of the family we were faced with questions which were so relevant to today’s issues – issues of gossip, loving our neighbour, favouritism, cutting corners as we do God’s work, God at work and the deceit of the human heart. We left feeling that there was so much depth that we yet had to see in the familiar story.

In the seminar tracks on Evangelism we had two sessions. In the first Michael Green faced the challenge of the Da Vinci Code and the accusation that the church distorted the true Gospel in a paper entitled The Books The Church Suppressed. And he readily admitted that as Dan Brown has claimed, the church did suppress some books – books which appeared long after the original Gospels and other documents included in the New Testament appeared – because they were a distortion of the true gospel. We should not be intimidated by the false claims of Dan Brown. There is no evidence to support his claims, whilst the Scriptures as handed down to us by the church in the New Testament have all the marks of authenticity.

In the second session Michael Ramsden then took us into the Ontological Root of the Gospel which sounds complicated. But really it simply means that Christianity is not rooted in ideas (epistemological root), feeling (existential root) or doing (pragmatism), but in being. It is an encounter with the living Christ which changes what I am.
Its method of revelation is that Jesus did not come to tell us about God. He came as God, and in seeing Him we have seen the Father.
It is rooted in being in Salvation. Through Christ’s physical death and ressurrection that we are saved. He took on our desperate need in his being and we are saved.
It leads to our transformation. Our very beings are restored and thus we can truly begin to learn how to think, how to relate to the world around us and how to live.
So Christianity is ultimately different to all other religions.

The afternoon seminar by Michael Green was entitled Don’t Just Sit There, Plant, and led us to consider the work of Church Planting. The people in the seminar included those who had planted churches in the UK, France, Belarus, and other places. We had valuable discussion with much insight into the need, challenge, and encouragements to be involved in this work.

The evening was given to a culture night with many choices as some participants in the Forum performed. I went to listen to Ellis Potter argue that as Christians we must redeem the arts, in our Christian faith utilising our creative nature.

Once again the fellowship with people from all sorts of cultures seemed to me to be the great blessing of the day.

European Leadership Forum 4

Sunday afternoon I did not go to the optional workshop. It was better for me to digest what I’d already heard, and to try to think about some of the conversations I’ve had.

Then at 4.00 the next workshop was with Wayne Grudem. His discussion was A Call to Personal Holiness. His point was that we seem to have neglected the fear of God as a factor in our living, and replaced it with a softer reverence. God is holy and calls us to holiness, and scripture tells us that not living holy lives brings inevitable consequences. The example of Ananias and Saphira is an extreme one, but we were reminded that there is a judgement which is not eternal judgement – and God deals with us according to what we do (1 Peter 1:14 – 16) There is a passive judgement, where God removes his presence, giving us up to our own desires. But there can also be an active judgement where something happens which seems to be God calling us to repent and turn by allowing something bad to happen. Of course this is not the only reason bad things happen to Christians (take the example of Job). But there seems to be in the USA an emphasis on grace which belittles sin. I found his emphasis needing to be qualified, but I understand where he is coming from.

The evening session with Pablo Martinez brought out the caring and careful nature of the man. He is a Psychiatrist in Spain who has done much for the church and especially the student movement there during his life. He spoke on Love, Faith and Faithfullness in Family Life. He began by illustrating how things have changed in European attitudes, citing a spanish tv reality programme, where the premise is that to preserve faithfulness to one’s self, one needs sometimes to be unfaithful to our partners. Faithfulness is threatened by a triumvirate of rights surrounding the self – My right to be happy, my right to change, and my right to be myself. These selfish rights supercede the duties or responsibilities towards others – they justify unfaithfulness. The result of these rights being insisted on is the death of self.
However to combat this we have a triangle with God at its’ centre. This triangle consists of love (not eros, the passion which scientific research has shown lasts about three years, but agape.) faith, which leads to faithfulness. this means that instead of insisting on “my rights”, when I fulfill my duties, this leads to life abundant. This was so reasonably and carefully presented that they could form the basis of a course of preparation for marriage.