Christmas is here again, the shops are busy, queues are huge, kids are excited and every one is gearing themselves up for the two days when it'll all stop; we'll eat, drink, be merry and then start rushing around again in the sales. This year there is an expectation for the sales to be really good with the retailers desperate to shift stock because the economic future still looks shaky.
The situation with Woolworths has brought the reality of the credit crunch to the high street and perhaps this shock will change the way we assess our lives. Perhaps the days of financial carelessness are over?
We have formed a society accustomed to a throwaway lifestyle and many have lost the real value of life replacing it with wealth, possessions and lust. The financial uncertainty may cause some people to be angry because of the fear of losing the lifestyle we have become accustomed to. For some when all the success of this world is stripped away they may find themselves scared and uncertain about how much they have trusted in what they have gained.
Maybe the financial uncertainty will cause us to remember what is really important in life. At Cross Rhythms we believe that the real value of life isn't in what we own, or how much money we have, but it is in how God values us, (He sent His Son to die for us), and how much of God's love we allow to come through us to this broken world we live in. We sincerely hope and pray that during these times people will search and seek for the meaning of life. In the adversity of these days wouldn't it be inspiring to see the British spirit once again rise up out of the apathy and complacency we have drifted in to? Many of the younger generation and older ones too, haven't felt that there has been anything to fight for, but maybe we've missed the real battles of love and compassion.
Recently Billy Graham prayed on a radio station in America which caused the biggest response of any in the station's history. It's a timely prayer of repentance that echoes across the Atlantic and finds a place in our own country:
'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbour's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen"
At Cross Rhythms 96.3FM we seek to put hope into the heart of Plymouth….and to point people in the direction of Eternal Life. We can all rest in the storms when our perspective is bigger than the few fleeting years we experience in this life.
Friday, 19 December 2008
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Baby P............ Responsibility and Reason
The story concerning Baby P is harrowing for any person who has as a sense of decency and concern for a fellow human being.
According to the media, a little baby born in March 2006 endured the most horrendous emotional and physical abuse including eight broken ribs and a broken back. He was defenceless and vulnerable and should have been safe in his mother's care, but this little soul suffered greatly before he succumbed and died.
Many would say where was God within the plight of this little life? It's a reasonable question, but not reasonably answered, because life isn't reasonable or fair. For many people of faith, life is a battle between good and evil and the 'freedom of choice' to make right and wrong decisions within our 'free will'.
Some say a society is judged by the way it treats its children and this particular story seems to just be one amongst a host of similar stories currently being played out within the media.
The media will demand answers because that is what the media does. The media, through good journalism, asks the questions we're all thinking and acts as our conscience on occasions. The current question is "who was to blame?" The mother and her live in boyfriend? The social workers? Who?
The unsung heroes are those within our society who help produce the services and care which fortifies the stability of our communities and civilised society. Social workers are amongst these caring members of our community.
As society seems to disintegrate with the breakdown of accountability within our family structures, it is easy to look for simple answers and blame those who have the responsibility to respond. "One bad apple can ruin the whole barrel" is a common saying, but we shouldn't fall into the trap of thinking that if we identify a bad apple that all the other apples are bad. It is the responsibility for all of us to ensure that we govern our spheres of influence, whether we're in the police, medical or political sphere of public service, with a corporate voice of care and reason.
Most civilised human beings will understand the importance of morality, character, love and free will. From a Christian worldview, one day each of us will have to give an account to God Almighty when we die for the life he has given us. In a relationship with Jesus Christ, many here on the Cross Rhythms Plymouth team have experienced incredible forgiveness (and continue to do so) for their own wrong doings and sin. God gives us a great sense of peace and security within this amazing spiritual transaction of Grace.
Another vulnerable child was born 2,000 years ago. He was born to die thirty three years later and through his death released a power which laid a foundation for the civilisation we enjoy in the first world. When we depart from his faith as a Nation, there are consequences for that Nation.
As we face increased insecurity, let's remember the real meaning of Christmas and find the true meaning of life.
Friday, 14 November 2008
Radio silence
Here at Cross Rhythms 96.3FM we recently had our 2 minutes of radio silence in remembrance of the war dead from 1914-18 and all the subsequent conflicts. It made us think of just how many wars there have been in the last hundred years, and the awful scale of human suffering that they represent. Someone once called war a ‘necessary evil’, and to be honest it does sometimes seem that it has been the only way to stop a greater evil. But the cost is fearful, and like any right minded person, we would rather see an end to all wars. According to the Good Book, that day is coming!
Edmund Burke, one of the foremost political speakers of 18th century England, said: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” We hear this quoted so often that it may be that we are deaf to the actual meaning of the words. (Often quoted as simply “evil prospers when good men do nothing”).
So what does it mean? It seems to say that evil grows not only because people carry out all kinds of awful acts, but simply because good men sit back and do nothing about it. In other words, apathy breeds evil. The natural tendency of society, if left to itself with no force for good acting upon it, is a downward slide into depravity.
If that sounds a bit of an extreme view then just take a few minutes to ponder the rise and fall of just about every civilisation that has been recorded in the history books. Chaos, disorder, lawlessness and the breakdown of family and society seem to be the hallmark of every failed system that has gone before us.
Recent history thankfully has at least one glowing example of good triumphing over evil, when the disastrous threat of Nazism was thwarted by a nation pulling together, making tremendous personal and community sacrifices in the cause of freedom and the continuance of Christian civilisation (as Churchill himself said). Many commentators have said that it was precisely 'good men doing nothing' in the twenties and thirties that allowed the Nazi threat to become so real. It was a costly apathy, and we need to honour our grandparents and great grandparents for their years of sacrifice, which is almost unimaginable in our comfortable times.
In our great city of Plymouth we are blessed with TV, Radio, Newspapers and Magazines which, for the most part, enjoy freedom of speech and can campaign for the good of our communities. We can encourage social regeneration, highlight problems and ways to overcome them, and reward community heroes with good publicity.
Yet that same media can also feed the selfishness and apathy of our human nature, lulling us into a state of entertained numbness where we do not feel the pain of others, and so have no compulsion to do anything about it. We can so easily become like the ostrich with its head in the sand, only we usually have our heads in the TV. Meanwhile, in many parts of the world, people are literally in a living hell for the want of just a little compassionate help. Closer to home, it can even be that we do not know how our next door neighbour is faring, good or bad.
Well, as Bob Dylan said in the sixties, 'times they are a changin'. The credit crunch looks set to bring some adversity to all parts of our society. But rather than viewing the future with fear, we have an opportunity to approach the days ahead with faith, and a simple trust in God. It may be a cliché, but it does seem true that the British are at their best when they face troubles together. In the rare event of an inch or two of snow in Plymouth, which for some reason brings everything to a complete standstill, we do tend to see people more readily giving and receiving help from their neighbours. A community spirit, a shared zest for life in the face of hardship, seems to spring up from our hearts.
Let's hope, and pray, that the financial storms we are currently in will produce a similar result in all of us. We all know that necessity is the mother of invention, but we're about to discover, if we respond rightly, that adversity can be the father of character, hope, and an authentic faith that works out in acts of love and kindness. At least, that's what the Bible tells us.
You can check out Cross Rhythms Plymouth online at www.crossrhythms.co.uk/plymouth
Edmund Burke, one of the foremost political speakers of 18th century England, said: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” We hear this quoted so often that it may be that we are deaf to the actual meaning of the words. (Often quoted as simply “evil prospers when good men do nothing”).
So what does it mean? It seems to say that evil grows not only because people carry out all kinds of awful acts, but simply because good men sit back and do nothing about it. In other words, apathy breeds evil. The natural tendency of society, if left to itself with no force for good acting upon it, is a downward slide into depravity.
If that sounds a bit of an extreme view then just take a few minutes to ponder the rise and fall of just about every civilisation that has been recorded in the history books. Chaos, disorder, lawlessness and the breakdown of family and society seem to be the hallmark of every failed system that has gone before us.
Recent history thankfully has at least one glowing example of good triumphing over evil, when the disastrous threat of Nazism was thwarted by a nation pulling together, making tremendous personal and community sacrifices in the cause of freedom and the continuance of Christian civilisation (as Churchill himself said). Many commentators have said that it was precisely 'good men doing nothing' in the twenties and thirties that allowed the Nazi threat to become so real. It was a costly apathy, and we need to honour our grandparents and great grandparents for their years of sacrifice, which is almost unimaginable in our comfortable times.
In our great city of Plymouth we are blessed with TV, Radio, Newspapers and Magazines which, for the most part, enjoy freedom of speech and can campaign for the good of our communities. We can encourage social regeneration, highlight problems and ways to overcome them, and reward community heroes with good publicity.
Yet that same media can also feed the selfishness and apathy of our human nature, lulling us into a state of entertained numbness where we do not feel the pain of others, and so have no compulsion to do anything about it. We can so easily become like the ostrich with its head in the sand, only we usually have our heads in the TV. Meanwhile, in many parts of the world, people are literally in a living hell for the want of just a little compassionate help. Closer to home, it can even be that we do not know how our next door neighbour is faring, good or bad.
Well, as Bob Dylan said in the sixties, 'times they are a changin'. The credit crunch looks set to bring some adversity to all parts of our society. But rather than viewing the future with fear, we have an opportunity to approach the days ahead with faith, and a simple trust in God. It may be a cliché, but it does seem true that the British are at their best when they face troubles together. In the rare event of an inch or two of snow in Plymouth, which for some reason brings everything to a complete standstill, we do tend to see people more readily giving and receiving help from their neighbours. A community spirit, a shared zest for life in the face of hardship, seems to spring up from our hearts.
Let's hope, and pray, that the financial storms we are currently in will produce a similar result in all of us. We all know that necessity is the mother of invention, but we're about to discover, if we respond rightly, that adversity can be the father of character, hope, and an authentic faith that works out in acts of love and kindness. At least, that's what the Bible tells us.
You can check out Cross Rhythms Plymouth online at www.crossrhythms.co.uk/plymouth
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