The title is a quote from good old Renee Descartes, a philosopher from the 1600’s. I know many of you will [ like me ] will know little about philosophy and the like, but one thing we all need to learn is to think. Not just the responsive thinking such as  ” I wonder what’s for tea?” or “Does my caboose look big in this ?” or perhaps ” My dear brother seems to be irritating me, I wonder if it’s anything I’ve done or said…”

The kind of thinking I mean is where we deliberately set out to be challenged, to extend our understanding, to get a deeper meaning in our minds and perhaps even change our minds as a result of some thoughtful discovery.

Today we seem to be very happy to accept whatever the media broadcasts as being truth. Rarely do any of us try to carry out any research of our own. When someone does express an opinion assertively and with an apparent foundational understanding, we just accept that presentation without processing anything for ourselves. This is not only a superficial way to lead our lives, it’s also dangerous and leads to large sections of the society being led down the garden path by politicians, opinion formers and others seeking influence, status and power. Just take a look at the Climate Change debacle and you’ll see what I mean….but this isn’t a rant today.

Sadly this is also true of the wider church. We seem to have come to a point where hardly any christians want to think for themselves. We just amble along, cherry picking from various books, ministries, tele-personalities, conference speakers or whatever. Isn’t it interesting that we all tend to accept and promote the things that prop up our frail and ailing psyches. We don’t like looking deeply to discover the truth in the inner most parts. We don’t like making any efforts to pray and meditate on a section of scripture to see if the Holy Spirit might reveal something to us  – just for us! We simply press on as good little evangelicals, toeing the party line or being blown in the winds of doctrine because at some level or other it suits our emotional architecture and we don’t want to rock our psychological boat!

Yet God has said that we do not have a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and a sound mind. The latter gift is so that we can do some serious thinking and get engaged with God one on one, be lead by His Spirit and perhaps even be edified directly [ which is much more fulfilling than getting inspired second or third hand or worse ] and then share that with others who are called to be around us. All the verses to do with church, edification and exhortation are about communities praying, meditating, being inspired and sharing together what they have discovered by thinking!

Over the last two years I’ve learned to carry a text or piece of inspired writing with me  in my bible for meditating and reflecting on. The text is printed on the left side of a bit of A4 paper, the other side is blank. I read it often, prayerfully, and as I feel something coming to me, I write it down on the right hand side or underline the text or link bits together with pencil lines. Once I was doing this for about three weeks, then suddenly things took a really different shape of understanding for me. Almost immediately afterwards I was asked to speak at a local fellowship and in prayer I found that I was to deliver what I’d recieved. What a blessing to me and it appeared to be timely for my friends too. I don’t tell you this to puff myself up, but to encourage you to do some deep and extended thinking – you never know who it might be for.

Please don’t settle for the easy route. Satan has got that well and truly covered and a passive and compliant, unthinking, nonpraying, unmeditative, thoughtless Christian is just what he wants you to be. Don’t do his work by doing nothing with your fine mind. Don’t tell yourself you can’t do it – all of us can think, it takes work but we can all think. Don’t refuse a challenge and don’t blindly follow anyone. Get your thoughts vertically active, get that wisdom from above rather than from the usual places.

Here’s a passage from a book which has inspired thousands over the years to seek a thought life with God. Why not give yourself a whole hour to pick it apart and see what you think it means to you. It’ll be difficult because the languange is archaic….but it’s still English and nothing that you can’t sort out with a dictionary and a pencil. Write down your thoughts and where they lead you.

The emanation or communication of the divine fullness,
consisting in the knowledge of God, love to him, and joy
in him, has relation indeed both to God and the creature:
but it has relation to God as its fountain, as the thing
communicated is something of its internal fullness. The
water in the stream is something of the fountain; and the
beams of the sun are something of the sun. And again,
they have relation to God as their object: for the knowledge
communicated is the knowledge of God; and the
love communicated, is the love of God; and the happiness
communicated, is joy in God. In the creature’s knowing,
esteeming, loving, rejoicing in, and praising God, the
glory of God is both exhibited and acknowledged, his
fullness is received and returned. Here is both an emanation
and remanation. The refulgence shines upon and into
the creature, and is reflected back to the luminary. The
beams of glory come from God, are something of God,
and are refunded back again to their original. So that the
whole is of God, and in God, and to God; and he is the
beginning, and the middle, and the end.
Jonathan Edwards  “The End for Which God Created the World”

For those of you who only do bible material, try these verses…

Romans 14:19,  1 Corinthians 14:26, Ephesians 4:11-13.

Write them down, think and meditate on them and about them.

When you’ve done these things, share them with your friends and family. If you get excited about thinking so will those you love and live amongst.

Get thinking – get richer in your soul and spirit rather than drifting past the buffet of another person’s thoughts!

…and yes! I’d love to get your reaction.

So now it’s worthwhile buying that DAB radio that you’ve been avoiding.

At last we’ve been able to get  reception. I moved our DAB from the kitchen to the bedroom cos it had a remote and I’m too lazy to get out of bed at night and turn the danged thing off. Previously reception and available channels had been poor downstairs, despite the kit sitting on top of the fridge [ a tall one ] with the aerial blu-tacced to the ceiling, but now all is great.

It’s a blessing to be able to listen to something inspiring whilst waking up, drinking orange juice and tea and taking tablets, doing nose drops, heading to the shower, dressing etc etc…kind’ve gets you in the mood for Radio 4 in the car on the way to work.

Love it!

Why don’t you do the same, tell yer Buds and tune in. Some of it won’t appeal and you might find some content trite or challenging or not quite hitting your spots…but you never know what you might hear or how the Lord might speak to you!

Premier Christian Radio !

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I am eloquent and available – so get in touch now whilst capacity is available.

Once again it seems ages since I last posted and indeed it HAS been a long time since I last posted. My reasons ???…..actually, I have a theory.

Most of the last few weeks since July 31st I have been in a really good place. Lots of great things happening, lots of good quality fellowship, Lots of breaks and lots of  involvements with my girls and friends. It’s not all been milk and honey. There’s been more reflection on the nature of my heart and my desires to REALLY belong fully to the Lord. Hmmm! Try it… There’s been upsets and stab wounds in the fellowship side of things. There’s been physical downsides as my hip has hurt such a lot -  and yes, I do believe the Lord can and does heal, but generally speaking I’m trying to concentrate and focus on my eternal life rather than my temporal, earthly demands. There’s been workplace stresses. There’s been computer malfunction with the pc going bandit for over three weeks at one point and I’m still trying to recover the functions and facilities that I had before the crash.

But underneath all this I’ve been right happy! I don’t think I’ve needed to blog. I don’t think I’ve need the cathartic release of pouring my heart out into the ether. I’ve just been content.

That’s not to say that I’ve suddenly got all depressed and need to write,this is  just another computer thing that I’m catching up with. I’m saying that when we’re content in all circumstances and content to leave things to the Lord,and to trim off the unnecessary activities of life, the need to be heard and to share with all and sundry just isn’t there.

But I’m still going to do some blogging. There are some interesting meditations that I’ve been having.

So this re-joining of the Blogosphere may well have taken some time, but I’m back, & I reckon, with a slightly different understanding and mindset.

Read John 7 verses 1 – 10. I’ll be sharing this on Sunday at a little fellowship in New Elgin. Returning to old haunts you might say.

Actually  -  another thing I’ve been doing is speaking at various places or just catching up with some young old friends.

The Jesus Manifesto * is also something I’ve spent some time reading & thinking over. Why not give yourself an hour to just read it prayerfully and write down what you think Holy Spirit might be saying to you through it?

* Not to be confused with “THE Jesus Manifesto ” which appears to be a very radical, Catholic oriented site which I haven’t explored but will do.

A group of five rare alpine orchids - a species called epipactis

The reason I put the flower picture into the post is that whilst we were on holiday in the Dolomites, we took a guided ‘flower walk’ led by an expert who was knowledgeable, passionate and very humble and amenable.  After about an hour, one of the group spotted this little bunch and having pointed them out to the Prof, we were all amazed at his reaction. He hadn’t seen these in a long, long time. He promptly spent the next fifteen minutes clearing the boring old grass from around the orchids then shooting dozens of pictures. He was SO excited. His routine walk had been transformed into a moment of sheer joy and re-discovery. He was just delighted and blessed. I wonder if those of us who have been at the Kingdom thing for a while are prepared for re-discoveries or are we just growing in expertise and dustiness as we extend our mastery, rather than delighting in the joys of early salvation and revelation….letting our delight and reward be in the simpler, straightforward things that once lit us up?

What’s your orchid?        Yes! I would like it if you let me know!

Be Blessed – Be His!

love

Dave

I’m amazed at how long has passed since I last posted anything.

I’ve not been ill [ apart from my duff hip ] or particularly busy – just really enjoying life. Just living! I reckon that things have been so much fun, despite the occasional hiccup, that I’ve not wanted to indulge in any cathartic or ranted blogging. No need for any eco-Antidotes [ .....no point since many major warmist organisations are already beginning to revise their "We're all going to die" statements as the pragmatic Earth gets on with her Solar-Terra Tango and the cooling gets significantly under way! ] and not a care about the political conniptions that have revealed the true nature of the breed.

Nope! I’ve had a whale of a time with family and friends, at work, on hols walking in the Dolomites last week with the Mem Sahib. We celebrated our 30th Wedding Anniversary t’other day too. Pearl don’t ya know! I bought her a leather car coat in the Spring sales!!! She already has  enough pearls.

It only remains to tell you that I’m re-reading the best Christian book I’ve ever read. I started almost straight away after finishing the first slow, deliberate and amazed read through. The first read got slower and slower as I re-read sentences, paragraphs, sections and chapters. Brilliant stuff.

It’s called “From Eternity to Here” by Frank Viola. It gives a magnificent account of God’s plan for His Son, His Son’s Bride and the Bridal Chamber/ Mansion. I have never been impacted by a book like this one. Get it! But first read Frank’s other two books so that you are ready for this one and the forthcoming book. Read “Pagan Christianity” then “Re-Imagining Church” then “From Eternity ….” available from the usual places.

...the third book in Frank Viola's recent series and the most inspirational so far. A work of beauty. Nice one Frank

So don’t expect too much here eh! Mim & John are in build mode. Fran & Peter are in ‘hunt us down’ mode. My household is full of community life as we share with three friends. Jasciah is the best form of church I’ve experienced to date. Worship is pretty high on my agenda fairly often. Parents are being supported. None of the former  includes professional and commercial pressures.

Life! I love it…but I love Jesus more!!

……………………………………………………disengage SmugMode ! 

As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man. Pro 27:19

Once again I really am amazed at how time has flown … but more about that later!

In the meantime, we’ve had a lovely visitor, one Peter Farmer, who is from Nottingham and has been visiting the North East of Scotland as part of his ‘Mission Britian’ initiative. You can read his own account here. As a wee small church group we were really blessed. Peter has very powerful prophetic and apostolic giftings which we believe the Lord brought to us as an answer to prayer. In my reading of two influential emergent books [ Viola and McClung], there was a strong indication that groups needed releasing into their role as communities and communicators of church. It’s not enough to just set up shop and declare yourself in business, but rather seek the Lord for His endorsement and wait on Him and the Holy Spirit.

As a group we had been lovingly and powerfully fathered by Gary Goodell. As founders of  TDC/Jasciah in Elgin we had been prophesied over by Graham Cooke on our trip to San Diego in January 08. Now, after a time of preparation, growth and prayerful waiting, the Lord sent Peter. We had already experienced a real coming together of what the Lord is doing in that our small group has slowly grown in grace and number, we have established contacts with others of like mind and look like networking with them soon.  Peter spoke a powerful endorsement over our understanding and we feel that we are moving in the right direction. I’m looking forward to strengthening our connections in Keith Huntly and Findochty as a result. Also felt it was right to go ahead with a gathering….

A weekend of conversations, beginning on the evening of Friday 25th September and continuing through to the afternoon of Sunday 27th September.
My hope and vision is that this will be a time of sharing together and testimonies from those of us who are exploring the Emergent/Simple/House/Organic expressions of church. This is about recognising and discerning this element of the Body and encouraging and exhorting one another while it is yet called today.

I feel it is right to have no agenda believing that the Holy Spirit will lead and guide and shape the gathering.
I see times of chat, times of worship, times of prayer and times of reflection all interwoven with food and fellowship and some gentle walking and touristy pointing at things.

There will be no key-note speaker but many key speakers and many notes of interest since Lord calls us all to both ” be “  and to be partakers.
Hopefully all will fulfill the role of servant at some time and will minister with food and drink and clearing up.

This will be a time when we will be brave and bold in meeting old friends, making new friends and praying with and for those with whom we eat and worship.

The accommodation is plain and simple, clean and functional. There are places for 34* in bunked rooms, so you’ll need to be able to submit to one another out of reverence…and possibly  be prepared to say goodnight to your spouse in the corridor before retiring to your rooms [ depending on the balance of marrieds/singles etc ] for the night.
But then again, sacrifice shows the heart.

The venue is the lovely Cairngorms Christian Centre at Kincraig, just South of Aviemore.  [ www.cairngormschristiancentre.co.uk ]. The cost is £12.50 per person per night plus food. The catering will be sorted out as places are taken up.Sadly [ and I really mean this... ] there will be no provision for child entertainment but hopefully at subsequent conversations we will know better how to involve and engage with the younger members of our constituency!RSVP by June 20th please!

I’ve also been on a training course on Therapeutic Patient Education with regard to initiating lifestyle changes in chronically ill patients and have strengthened my exisiting knowledge base and added several other understandings and techniques to my armoury! Amazing how much I’d already covered [ under slightly different terminology ] both in my biblical studies and as a pastor! What an amazing book – the Bible! Science is continually endorsing the ‘discoveries’ of science!!

Also enjoying having lodgers again! Kingdom lodgers are such good fun!

As a pharmacist I am expected to carry out Continuing Professional Development, or extended learnign to maintain and develop my clinical skills. I’d got a bit behind so have been spending some merry hours playing catch-up!

So all the above plus meeting with Jasciah in and out of the home plus teaching some sisters a few guitar chords has really kept me going. I think it’s great that I’ve been too busy to blog or facebook or even write my journals. I love peopling – don’t you?!

‘Peopling’ – the act of meeting with many and varied persons as in fellowshipping but with fewer letters. I also like making up new words like ‘groody’ – the state of really longing to become a grandparent. Fran & Peter were over with their friends two weekends ago. Their pals had a five week old baby boy. MMMmmmm! Nuff said!

Speaking of time, here’s an entry from my journal, dated 14/5/09 and written on the plane to my training course whilst cruising at 35,000 feet….

I’ve been really touched with the particle theory concept of the ‘Higgs Field’  [ as in Higgs' Boson ] where nothing exists, the space between all the most minute of particles. I’d gone into a bit of a revery about this ….. and the following kind of popped out,

Between the particles, lies this space

Out of time since no need to express the chronology of being

No substance, No barriers, No hindrances.

The possible is always the potential.

The impossible has become the norm.

The Divine is become the Now.

Eternity is my beginning and end -

Alpha & Omega is my fulfillment.

I AM infinite.

Now that various Western Governments have been duped so far down the Catastrophic Climate Change road, it seems that no depth is too low to stoop to in order to perpetuate the myth.

Check out this article and if you’ve an open and enquiring kind, Google “The Manhattan Declaration” and do some research – then aske a few pointed questions of your local councillor, mp and any other greenie.

We need Conservation NOT Consternation!

As if we could trust politicians and bankers with our money, can we trust the politicians with our climate responsibilities. We need to develop strategies to assist and support the Third World through the coming cycles on natural climate change rather than waste more billions on carbon capture /reduction/credit/panic/copying of eco-panicmongers.

It seems a long while since my last post, and it is really. I’ve not been on Facebook very much either other than to quickly look over what’s been going on.

I’ve been very saddened at some recent ‘goings-on’ in the area but have managed to get a sense of peace about them now.

Even though I’ve felt as though I’ve been a tad adrift, I’ve been blessed that the Lord has been close to me in all these things, patiently waiting for me to turn up in the study, that favourite lay-by, viewpoint or secret place and with a heart wanting and needing Him more than anything else.

The Mem Sahib and I had also been working very hard towards our recent performance with the Buckie Choral Union. How wonderful it is to be involved in performing a work of worship with several other believers and declaring the Creed in such a creative way. Praise God that he has given us as part of our spirit – conscience, connectedness and creativity. When you really know what you are singing [ even if it is in Latin ! ] and you can sing with love in your heart it really does become worship and is so uplifting and fun. I’m really getting in to choral stuff and not only rate Handel and Dvorak but also a bod called Poulenc who has written an equally glorious work.

Thank you Lord that music moves us but You LIFT us as we praise by the virtue of Your presence.

I am just SO loving freedom. I suppose it’s one of those things that you don’t appreciate till you realise you can really explore it, really enjoy it, really bask in being free.

The last few weeks I’ve been spending my days either at work and chatting with some folks  there about Kingdom matters during coffee breaks or in corridors. Or I’ve been spending quality time with a lovely and loving christian brother just talking and praying about matters that concern us or light us up. Or I’ve been meeting with friends on Sundays in what I affectionately call the Asdafarian Temple aka the cafe at Asda’s. One of these friends is a very new christian but has struggled with many hard knocks in life but now has begun to get his head and heart into Jesus – and He’s making such a difference. There’s no way this friend would go anywhere near a conventional church but he loves to talk about Jesus and Kingdom things.  He’s blossoming and learning how to take the knocks and come out smiling and it’s a beautiful thing to watch. If I had remained in ‘ministry’ there’s a strong chance that we wouldn’t have developed the friendship and relationship that we have and our lives would never have crossed and I’d have been all the poorer. We share our freedoms and I believe we are both richer and the Lord is getting some glory in the life and testimony of this man. Fancy ‘christians’ spending Sundays in a cafe !

I’m also continuing to be drawn to some wonderful, inspiring and challenging books. Some are old stuff brought freshly to mind and life, others newer and radical yet conventionally biblical. Of course the Bible remains a wannaread and I’m loving The Message.

We’ve been busy these last weeks  what with buying a vehicle to replace the Audi, so that we can drive up to Miriam and John’s house off the beaten track and also get my ailing parents easily aboard. All those boxes ticked with Esther the X-Trail. So needless to say we’ve also put about 1200 miles on the clock with going to and from Glasgow, Aberdeen and Peterhead along with usual work and social mileages, and Esther is the perfect lady for all these trips…smoooth and comfy.

I continue to enjoy exploring the emergent church scene. You either get it or you don’t but if you do get it..here’s a quote from the Missio Dei blog….

“ The Top 50 Possible Reasons why you’re not Emergent

50. They’re all a bunch of false prophets. Really, that’s what they told me

49. My mother will disown me.

48. I just don’t like Doug Pagitt. He scares me.

47. I heard from a famous pastor that Emergent is from the debil.

46. I don’t like Rob Bell’s hair.

45. The word Emergent is not in the Bible.

44. It’s just not allowed in the Vanderhoeven family.

43. I heard Calvin would simply not approve

42. Mark Driscoll told me I couldn’t.

41. I’m just not “certain” yet it’s the right way to go.

40. I heard from this guy who knew this lady who had a brother who was Emergent and he went blind doing it.

39. I enjoy being a skeptic.

38. I didn’t learn about Emergent in seminary so I’m not going to start now.

37. I like being on the bigger team.

36. I heard you had to take yoga.

35. I’ve heard from a famous prison ministry guy they don’t believe in the Bible.

34. Where would I be without absolute truth.

33. Tony Jones went to Princeton Theological Seminary…that liberal.

32. They didn’t teach this in Alpha.

31. I’m not white.

30. I’m over 40.

29. I don’t have any cool, black eyeglasses.

28. I don’t like coffee or Guinness.

27. It’s immoral to smoke pipes or cigars.

26. They haven’t yet come up with my denomination of Presbymergent

25. Emergents read unapproved books.

24. I’m allergic to candles.

23. I like Jesus but not Emergent.

22. Brian McLaren’s books are not theologically correct. I’m not sure why, I just know they aren’t.

21. I like my Christianity strong and hot.

20. The orthodoxy police will bust me.

19. I’m not uber-cool. In fact, I don’t even know what “uber” means.

18. I don’t understand it and I don’t want to.

17. If it doesn’t have the letters SBC in it, I’m not interested.

16. All they want to do is love. Where’s the truth in that?

15. I’m a bullhorn type of guy.

14. I prefer Joel Osteen.

13. I just finally bought into fundamentalism and you want me to shift?

12. I don’t really want a generous orthodoxy.

11. I refuse to switch to Apple

10. I can’t. I go to John MacArthur’s church.

9. My friends will think I’m a heretic.

8. I already was a New (Kind of) Christian.

7. I refuse to grow a soul patch

6. Hell fire and brimstone works just fine, thank you.

5. I don’t like loud, rock music at church. It’s a sin.

4. Their hermeneutic of ecclesiology is unorthodox, fundamentally esoteric and meandering. It borders on epistemological ambiguity that is really troublesome. I’m afraid it will lead to heretical uncertainty of the most pernicious kind.

3. But then I might have to really have faith.

2. Brian McLaren is the debil.

And the number one possible reason Why You’re Not Emergent is:

1. The emerging church is so yesterday.

——————————————————

Just in case you were wondering. The answer is yes, this is humor.“

It made me laugh for sure…… I have heard a few of those things levelled at myself before now by ‘well meaning friends’. Check out Missio Dei and the link blocks to the right of the page especially “Pastor abandons church” . It’d make a good conversation starter next time you’re in a house group…..

Must dash – time to wash up…for free!