Avoiding Worry 7 - Help Others

Here's another suggestion to avoid worrying as a Christian.

7. Help Others

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:33-40)

Looking after the needs of others is not only another command that we should obey, it will also help you to take your mind off your problems and your needs.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

Inspired by Exiled Preacher, I have just written to my MP, Dr Rudi Vis, about the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill which is making its way through Parliament:

Dear Dr Vis,

I am writing to you about the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill which I understand is soon to be debated in the House of Commons.

Please will you consider voting against the proposals on additional embryo research and for any amendment that would lead to the reduction in the abortion limit?

The Bill raises some serious ethical issues and I find some of its aspects very disturbing.

Researchers should not be allowed to work only on the basis of what is possible in the laboratory without regard to ethical principles. The unique dignity of human life should not be undermined by allowing the production of human/animal embryos for the extraction of stem cells. This is especially the case now that scientists are discovering the potential of adult stem cells, culled from human skin. See, for example, http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/scientists-reprogram-human-skin-44173.aspx. Money should be invested in developing the benefits of this kind of research rather than in ethically questionable work on embryonic hybrids.

I am also very concerned about the proposals in the Bill regarding therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning. These also represent a serious attack on the value of human life.

Regarding abortion, I find it incomprehensible that this country is not horrified that there are now some 200,000 abortions occurring every year. The Bill will give an opportunity for MPs to table an amendment reducing the abortion limit from the current 24 weeks. In specialised neonatal units, up to 82% of babies born prematurely at 24 weeks now survive. Added to this is a new appreciation of foetal sensitivity to pain.

The Christian Institute has a helpful set of resources on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill: http://www.christian.org.uk/issues/2007/hte_bill/index.htm.

Abortion Petition

Since 1967 there have been almost 7 million abortions in the UK, now 200,000 a year, with one in four pregnancies ending in abortion.

Please take the time to sign this petition that has been organised by a number of pro-life organisations.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, now in the House of Commons, provides the first opportunity for 18 years for changing the law on abortion.

Please sign the new petition at http://www.aliveandkickingcampaign.org/petition/ calling on Parliament to support amendments to reduce the number of abortions in the UK from 200,000 a year and to oppose amendments that would further liberalise the abortion law.

Praying must Stop?

According to a report in today's Daily Mail, Bideford Town Council has been advised to stop opening meetings with prayer.

The National Association of Local Councils has advised that the practice might fall foul of the Race Relations Act. It could even attract an action under the Human Rights Act. It said the practice, which is observed at many town halls, was merely an "old custom" which might upset councillors and members of the public of other religions.

How sad that this should happen in this country.

At least this doesn't seem to be the end of a story. The report says many councillors are outraged by the advice. While the local MP is quoted as saying, "This situation is proof of a disturbing tendency to try to use spurious legal arguments under the Human Rights Act, and equality legislation, to eliminate the Christian faith from the fabric of our public life ... I do not believe that there is any serious risk of a meritorious action under the Human Rights Act, or the Race Discrimination Act. The advice is quite simply misleading and wrong."

Apparently he has written to the Local Government Secretary Hazel Blears demanding "urgent clarification" for town and parish councils to know how to conduct their meetings without breaking the law.

So that's all right then.

Marriage and Suicide

In a report published yesterday, the Office for National Statistics shows that married people have a substantially lower risk of suicide than non-marrieds.

The key findings of the report are (emphasis mine):

• People who are married still have a substantially lower risk of
  suicide than those who are not, despite changes in marriage
  patterns over the last 25 years.


• Despite an overall reduction in suicide rates, there has been no
  narrowing of the gap in suicide rates between those who are
  married and those who are single or divorced. Rates for single
  and divorced men and divorced women were around three times
  higher than for married men and women throughout. For single
  women, the differential widened from just over two times to
  around three times between 1983 and 2004


• There was a small decrease in the differential between single and
  married men aged 25 to 44. Suicide rates were three times higher
  for single men in 1984 but two and a half times higher in 2004


• Among men aged 45 and over, the gap in suicide rates between
  widowed and married men fell from just over four times to around
  three times between 1983 and 2004. For widowed women, the
  differential was around two and a half times throughout

Avoiding Worry 6 - Be Spiritual

Another way of avoiding worry ...

6. Be spiritual rather than material

The present world view is basically existential - live for now and for what pleases you. But the Bible says:

(a) Store up heavenly treasure

The verses in Matthew 6:19-6:24 about storing up heavenly treasure act as prelude to the teaching about worry. The juxtaposition of this teaching with the teaching about worrying is surely not a coincidence - even though in many of our Bibles it’s broken up with sub-headings.

The main lesson of this is: we have to get our priorities right. If we’re always concentrating on ourselves - what we need, treasures on earth - then it will lead to worry; but if we look outside of ourselves - the needs of the kingdom and of others, storing up treasure in heaven - then we’ll be less inclined to worry.

(b) Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33)

Our main responsibility is to look to the needs of God’s spiritual kingdom, not our material needs. I would suggest that this includes: seeking to meet regularly with God’s people; praying for others; looking for ways to tell others about the good news of Christ; being kind to others; reading the Bible, meditating on what we read and seeking to put it into practice; seeking to live holy lives before God.

Should the Church of England be Disestablished?

I came across a thoughtful post from Exiled Preacher on this question.

Some extracts ...

... the idea of an established Church is alien to the New Testament. Under the old covenant there was no distinction between the religious and civil aspects of Israel's life. The nation was a theocracy - God's chosen nation, living under the terms of his covenant.

But all that changed under the new covenant. Now the people of God are gathered from all nations. The Church may be a theocracy under the lordship of Christ, but she is distinct from the State. The State has been ordained by God to restrain evil and preserve peace and order in society (Romans 13:1-7). But the Church has been called to carry out her Great Commission to preach the gospel and make disciples for Christ from all peoples. The State may use force to subdue law breakers and protect its citizens. The Church's only weapon is the sword of the Spirit, the word of God.

There is no sense in the New Testament that the Church should aspire to a position of establishment. Obviously, that kind of thing would have been impossible under Nero. But the apostles don't so much as hint that a State established Church would be in any way desirable. All they asked was that the State tolerated the existence and activities of the Church (see Paul in Acts).

The apostles would certainly have been outraged at the thought that the State could appoint Church leaders. But the Church/State distinction found so clearly in the New Testament was gradually eroded away from Constantine onwards ...

... Some would like to see the Church of England disestablished for secular reasons. They resent the intrusion of Christianity into public life. But that is certainly not my motivation. Christ's lordship is not limited to the Church. He is Lord of all. Christians should [act] as salt and light to influence the direction of their country. We can do that by scrutinising legislation, writing to [MPs], lobbying Government ministers and so on. It would be a good thing if more genuine believers entered politics to bring Christian values to bear upon the public square.

The fact that the Constitution of the USA forbids the establishment of a Church, does not mean that Christianity has no voice in public life over there. In fact it is a strange paradox that in England, with its officially established Church, Christianity is often banished to the sidelines. ...

Paradoxical Twins - Teaser 6

Peter and Allison are twins. Peter is Allison's older brother because he was born 34 minutes before her. But Allison's birth certificate records that she was born at an earlier time.

How is this possible?

Hint

This really happened — on 4 November 2007 in North Carolina. In Britain it would have had to happen a week earlier.

See Answer

Peter was born at 1:32am on 4 November. 28 minutes later the clocks went back an hour because Daylight Saving Time (equivalent to British Summer Time in the UK) had come to an end. Allison was born 6 minutes later, at 1:06am.

Full details: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2011296/

Avoiding Worry 5 - Remember God's Character

Another way that a Christian can avoid worry ...

5 Remember God’s character

Not only does God love you but ...

(a) He is all powerful, he is the one who created you, and he’s sovereign over the universe. He is able to bring his plans to fruition and nothing can thwart him.

(b) He’s also all-knowing and wise. He knows what is best for you.

(c) He’s also omnipresent – present everywhere. You cannot walk away from his protective hand – neither intentionally nor unintentionally.

(d) Finally, remember that God is dependable – he never changes. You can trust him for the future.

Do not be afraid of tomorrow; for God is already there. (Anon)

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)

A Thief

A thief in Paris planned to steal some paintings from the Louvre.

After careful planning, he got past security, stole the paintings and made it safely to his van.

However, he was captured only two blocks away when his van ran out of petrol.

When asked how he could mastermind such a crime and then make such an obvious error, he replied,

"Monsieur, that is the reason I stole the paintings...

I had no Monet...

to buy Degas...

to make the Van Gogh."

See if you have De Gaulle to pass this on to someone else.

I posted it here because I reckoned I had nothing Toulouse.

Sensible Government at Last?

I was heartened by two items in yesterday's news.

The penalties for using a mobile phone while driving are being increased (BBC News). Motorists now face a jail sentence if their use of a mobile phone causes them to drive dangerously. This has to be good news - even at low speeds the effect of such distractions can be deadly. It would be even more sensible, though, to hammer the message home more consistently. The police should be more active in pulling over and warning drivers they see using mobiles - even in traffic jams and slow moving traffic.

The other item that caught my eye is that Harriet Harman, the Commons Leader, has called for it to be made illegal to pay for sex, as has apparently been done in Sweden (Daily Telegraph). There appears to be evidence that prostitution is fuelling a growth in international human trafficking; anything that can be done to help prevent such evil has got to be a good thing. That this proposal has already been opposed by the Liberal Party is perhaps unsurprising, and should make us think twice before giving them any more power.

Avoiding Worry 4 - Remember God's Love

Another strategy for avoiding worry if you are a Christian ...

4 Remember God’s love for you

When you meditate on God’s love for you in the Lord Jesus Christ: choosing you before the foundation of the world to share in his eternal kingdom; sending his own son to die for you - to deal with your sin and to clothe you with his righteousness … When you think about all these things and the other good that flows from this, how can you doubt that God loves you and wants the best for you? God will supply everything you need.

... your heavenly father knows that you need [food, drink, clothes, etc.]. (Matthew 6:32)

And you are precious to him.

Are you not much more valuable than [the birds of the air]? (Matthew 6:26)

Yes, times might be difficult, but the promise of Romans 8:28 still stands:

You know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. (Psalm 84:11)

Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits -
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-
with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, O my soul. (Psalm 103)

London Speak

This is a public service announcement on behalf of strangers to the capital.

One sure way to tell if someone is a visitor to London is to listen to them talking about bus routes. If they refer to the one hundred and eighty six (or - worse! - the one hundred eighty six) or the seven three, they probably haven't been here long.

Here are some rules to make you sound like a native (at least here in the North West).

Refer to routes with numbers under a hundred just as normal numbers; so:

13: thirteen
73: seventy three
82: eighty two
C11: C eleven

Once you get over a hundred, the rules get a little more complicated. If the number's not a multiple of ten, then just list its digits:

183: one eight three
113: one one three
102: one oh two (not one zero two)

If the number's over a hundred and a multiple of ten, then you need to combine the two rules above:

460: four sixty
210: two ten

Easy.

Avoiding Worry 3 - Realise Its Effect

More on avoiding worry...

3. Realise its crippling and negative effect

Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. (Mark 4:18-19)

Not only is it futile. It can prevent you being productive, and can even make things harder than they would otherwise be.

Worry is rust upon the blade. (Henry Ward Hughes)

In other words, worry blunts the sharp edge of our tools. You’ll find it harder to do what you’re supposed to be doing if you’re worrying about it.

An anxious heart weighs a man down. (Proverbs 12:25a)

Worry acts like a great burden on our backs … slowing us down, causing us pain, and making everything a bigger effort.

The Global Warming 10 Commandments

There's a clever post from Tominthebox in response to the recent United Nations "definitive" report on global warming.

It includes the Global Warming 10 Commandments (the environment speaking):

1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make an image out of any piece of wood.
3. You shall not speak out against environmental causes.
4. Rest weekly from your use of the environment.
5. Honor your Father Sky and Mother Earth.
6. You shall not murder any tree.
7. You shall not burn any fires with passion.
8. You shall not take resources such as trees or water.
9. You shall not say anything falsely against the defenders of Mother Earth.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's SUV.

More Evidence for Global Flood

The London Metro reports today (so it's probably a story that's been around for a few days!) ...

A huge landslide under water produced the longest ever flow of sand and mud. The flow travelled 1,500km before it stopped off the coast of north-west Africa.

A researcher from Bristol University is quoted as saying, "The volume of sediment transported is difficult to comprehend. It was one of the largest movements of material ever to occur on our planet."

They say this happened 60,000 years ago. I think it happened more recently - during the flood described in Genesis.

Avoiding Worry 2 - Realise Its Futility

This continues an earlier post in which I started to outline some ways to avoid being crippled by worry.

2. Realise its futility

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matthew 6:27)

This is a really powerful argument if we can persuade our minds to recognize it.

Worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere. (Glenn Turner)

It only seems as if you are doing something when you're worrying. (Lucy Maud Montgomery)

A hundredweight of worry will not pay an ounce of debt. (George Herbert)

Worry is completely useless. It doesn’t help at all. It doesn’t bring any pleasure and doesn’t help to make the problem - if there really is one - any smaller.

The Mary Rose and the Flood

This morning on the Today programme there was an item about the 25^th anniversary of the raising of the Mary Rose from Portsmouth Sound, where it had sunk in 1545.

During the interview, John Humprhrys expressed surprise at the beautiful condition of some 19,000 objects found on the ship, including longbows, domestic equipment, jerkins, nit combs, bowls, shoes, plates, shoes and leather wrist guards. "Why is it all in such good condition? ... You'd have expected it all to have rotted wouldn't you, after all this immensely long time?"

The maritime archaeologist, Alexzandra Hildred, explained, "The view is that sediment went in through the open gun ports very quickly and sealed it ... sealing the objects below and completely excluding oxygen so they didn't disappear ... that's why she was preserved - covered in mud."

In other words, if the objects had not quickly been covered in mud they would not have survived so long. This is common sense.

On the other hand, most palaeontologists would have us believe that the wealth of striking fossils we find today - some retaining well-preserved soft tissue, including blood vessels - were gradually covered over hundreds or thousand of years as they rested on the sea bed, millions of years ago. This is plainly rubbish. Even after a few weeks or months, the carcasses would have completely rotted and the bones dispersed. Even if buried, such tissues would not be preserved for so long.

Only a moderately recent cataclysmic and world-wide event, such as the flood described in Genesis, can explain the excellent preservation of so many animal remains in so many parts of the world.

Avoiding Worry 1 - Realise It's a Sin

Worry is something that affects all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons. Many people throughout history have recognized its power to damage us psychologically, to drain us emotionally, and to prevent us enjoying life as we should.

As a rule, what is out of sight disturbs men's minds more seriously than what they see. Julius Caesar

Grief has limits, whereas apprehension has none. For we grieve only for what we know has happened, but we fear all that possibly may happen. Pliny the Younger

It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow, that weigh a man down. George MacDonald

Oh the nerves, the nerves; the mysteries of this machine called man! Oh the little that unhinges it, poor creatures that we are! Charles Dickens

You can’t change the past, but you ruin a perfectly good present by worrying about the future. Anon

I've developed a new philosophy ... I only dread one day at a time. Charlie Brown (Charles Schulz)

Worry is something that can seem overwhelming and that we can feel powerless against. We cannot sleep. Our thoughts go round and round, always thinking about the same thing. ...

As Christians we know that we shouldn’t feel like this but can be completely unprepared for the onslaught when it comes. We find we can’t just laugh it off.

We need a biblical perspective to deal with worry when we feel so overwhelmed.

Here are some thoughts that I hope will be of some help - not only at that point, but also to help avoid worry before it begins to tighten its grip.

1. Realise it is a sin

When I first heard and thought about this, it came as a real eye opener. I suppose I had previously thought that it was just part of some people’s characters, mine included, which we could do nothing about. But Jesus says, Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. (Matthew 6:25) God has commanded us not to worry - and disobeying God’s commands is sin.

Another way of looking at this is to see that, if you’re worrying, it’s probably a sign to yourself that you’re not trusting God completely. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and [the crucial point] everything that does not come from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)

If you’re worrying because you’re discontented with what God has provided then you’re in danger of falling into even further sins, like envy and greed, and even further heartache. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

Now, we know what to do about sin!

First of all, of course, we need to repent, and ask God to forgive us our sin, on the basis of what Christ has done.

Then we need to remember that God always provides a way of escape from temptation - we need to look for that. No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:13) Perhaps this will mean turning our minds to other things, doing something different in our daily routine, meeting with other believers, helping somebody. Whatever is needed, we need to do this as soon as we can. If we can nip the sin in the bud it will be much easier to deal with.

To be continued ...

Learning from Them

I believe that there is a lot to learn from many in the charismatic movement: their desire to worship God with enthusiasm, using contemporary language; their concern to demonstrate real, practical love to others; and their emphasis on evangelism. I may cringe at some of the methods used, but blanket criticism is not helpful — particularly when I know that so often my worship is cold, my desire to see others saved is non-existent and my love for others superficial.

Regarding one aspect of worship, Exiled Preacher has posted a thoughtful and helpful reflection on "why Reformed believers should not balk at singing hymns by charismatic authors".

He concludes:

I am not happy with much of what goes on under the "charismatic" umbrella. But I recognise that there are genuine godly believers in that movement, men and women who love the gospel. Some are even Calvinistic in their theology. If that is the case, the Spirit is at work in their hearts and lives. He has given these friends the gifts and graces that have produced some wonderful new hymns. If "all things are mine" as a member of the body of Christ, then these hymns are mine to sing just as much as those of Isaac Watts and Vernon Higham.