The Date is Set

Well, it's come around.

It's house warming time.

Friday 1 Sep round at Evo's.

Formal invitations will be sparse so you will have to make do with this post here.

All regular bloggers are cordially invited.

Look forward to seeing you here - in person - though if not possible, I'll open a blog up on the night ;)

For the Record

Phil asked very nicely a day or so back how I actually "found" God.

Well, it just so happened that just before the close down of one of the Christian sites I used to visit, I rescued my "testimony". (A day or so later it had gone!)

So here it is, word for word from there and a little bit out of date but here it is - warts and all:

How I found Christ? A long and winding path if there ever was one. When I was a teenager, I was the most evangelical atheist you ever met. To my shame, I won many Christians over and destroyed there faith. One of them, a close friend of mine, attempted suicide as a consequence of what I told him - though this happened a few years later. That shook me hard. For years, I stopped "evangelising" to many people. I had a really unhealthy dislike for the church and the leadership in particular.

The strange thing was, when this was going on in my teens, I was invited to a Christian housegroup as the resident atheist. They were happy to let me air my views - (maybe they thought twice about that afterwards). They accepted me as a friend in every way and the leader whose house we met in became a very close friend. Though we would argue til the cows came home all the time. He tried to explain in rational terms about Christ and with my strong knowledge of science, I was able to cut his arguments up into little pieces. This went on and on but we never seemed to get on each others nerves - frustration yes, dislike never.

And then I did something which I had been prone to do. Because of a few things happening in my life, I decided that I didn't want to see this guy anymore and I very ruthlessly and deliberately fell out with him.

One thing I should mention about him, although I never agreed with a single thing he said about the faith, I found him so intriguing since he never ever told a lie. He seemed incapable of doing it. That was different.

Well, around 15 years later or so, I happened across this fellow again and we arranged to meet. For a few weeks or so, we met up on a weekly basis to have chats. This time it was different though. He did not try to reason with me or argue with me, he asked me questions about what I thought Jesus meant to others. Then he shared some of the things he had experienced over the recent couple of years which had changed his perception of God entirely. That left me with a puzzle. Either this guy was lying, or Christ was very real. And I knew that he couldn't lie.

It culminated in my agreement to spend two weeks not NOT believeing. I promised to give God a chance to show himself to me. It sounds weird, but any doubt or negative thought that came into my mind for just two weeks I would just get rid of. Within ten days, Jesus had shown himself very powerfully to me and I knew him for myself. I remember the exact moment when I fell to my knees and sobbed my heart out in repentance. I remember the burning feeling as all the wrongs I'd ever done, all the emotions I had repelled came flooding through me and passed onto Jesus. It was awesome and I felt so NEW. I should mention that just as most other times when God has revealed himself to me, I was on my own - cos He knows how sceptical I am of other people.

That was about three years ago now. I'm 33 and still so grateful. But as I might mention again, it wasn't the bible that converted me, or the truth about Jesus, it was the truth OF Jesus - as demonstrated by one of his disciples. I pray that maybe others might think the same of me that I did of that guy - who is now a very close friend.

Well, you did ask

Love,

Evo1

Back on Track

How long is it now since I started at slimming world? I forget. (Thumbs back through the blog) ah, May 15, that was it.

This week, I got back on track with 2.5 lb off yay! Taking me to 1st 1 off in total.

I've now been runing every day for the last two weeks clocking up more than 100 miles in the last three weeks. Not played squash for ages but have a match on Saturday. Looking forward to having some stamina to rely on.

It seems a bit of a slow burner but I have those 34" trousers in my sites.

What a great song

Do you know, I can't think what has reminded me of this, but I have only recently remembered how much I like this clever little song:

- Well, I've seen a horsefly. - Ah, I've seen a dragonfly.
- Hee-hee. I've seen a housefly. - Yeah!
See, I've seen all that too.
I've seen a peanut stand and heard a rubber band.
I seen a needle that winked its eye.
But I be done seen about ever'thing
When I see a elephant fly
- What'd you say, boy? - I said when I see a elephant fly
I seen a front porch swing heard a diamond ring
I seen a polka-dot railroad tie
But I be done seen 'bout ever'thing
When I see a elephant fly
- Da da-da-da - Da-da-da do-do-dow wow
- Da da-da-da - Hey, wow
I saw a clotheshorse He rear up and buck
And they tell me that a man made a vegetable truck
I didn't see that I only heard
Just to be sociable I'll take your word
- I heard a fireside chat - I saw a baseball bat
And I just laughed till I thought I'd die
But I be done seen 'bout ever'thing
When I see a elephant fly
Bo Sho Ba-da-do-do
But I be done seen 'bout ever'thing
When I see a elephant fly
With the wind.
When I see a elephant
Fly

If you dish it out

You must be able to take it coming back.

Number one rule of life but how many of us fall down here.

Now I get a good ribbing from all and sundry and I don't mind that. I usually help out. As I mentioned on another blog recently, whilst people are picking on me, I know some other poor unfortunate is being left alone.

But if there's one thing I find poor form, it's when the pressure is turned up on the bulys and they can't hack it. I remember when I was the new boy at work many years back now, one of my managers, out for a welcome evening with us started to mercilessly berate the six of us new boys and girls.

Now, totally innoccuous, I just happened to observe that this guy had a stunning resemblance to Benny off Crossroads. Oh dear, so began a lifetime of dispute. He took a distinct dislike to me - but kept his mouth shut for the rest of the night I might add. Irony is, his wife is now best of buddies with Mrs Evo. I think he is actually a cracking bloke, but he just can't get past the Benny thing - oh, there are a few other wind ups as well which grew up in similar circumstances, I just can't resist.

Now I admit I have been a bit rough on fellow blogger but deliberate insulter, Phil. It seems now he is a bit upset that I've treated him unjustly. Sorry Phil, I don't really think you are a Dumbo.

Actually, you are probably in my top ten of ideal trivial pursuit partners.

Go on, say it, just the once for me: "Miss Diane" ;)

Love Others as I have Loved you!

In all my days studying evolution and earning my evo stripes, two things stick in my mind as particular difficulties for the great Darwin (I'm sure probably not insurmountable with a lot of bending but nevertheless, very tricky points). The first one is farming - but you don't want to hear about that - why is that interesting? The second one is altruism. Now some people might offer "sort-of" explanations for altruism but it is far from being fully packaged up just yet.

Now John, in one of his letters says something which you have probably heard time after time after time. That is, that "God is love".

But as the discussion has already led us to question, "you can't see God, so how can he be real?" So I wanted to throw in a cuddly question here. You cannot see love - the thing which God allegedly IS, so how do we know that love is real?

Hands up everyone that is loved or that loves someone? Be it husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend/dog/goldfish/brother/sister/son/daughter?? Answer me honestly now, and then lets talk about why you believe that to be the case.

I dare you to take this seriously - go on, let's hear from you.

Let me be the first off the block, I love and am loved. How do I know? I don't have any evidence, and yet I know it. I sense it in my spirit body and soul - and I can even only see one out of those three too!

Books and Cleverness? There are more important things

Ten bonus points to the team that can tell me who said those words.

If you are not sure which team you are in, just read a few of the comments in the last couple of posts - should clear things up.

OK, serious point.

I have been blogging now for coming up for two years I think. Today is July 19. On July 12, I put up a seemingly benign comment on here and seven days later, my blog has had 126 comments (to press). In the intervening two year period, my total blog received 98 comments!

I have more important things to discuss than Where God lives you know, how about paying attention.

Last week for instance, despite running more than 40 miles and cycling more than 20, I put on 1lb!!! I was doing so well as well.

So come on, could everyone get back to criticising my sense of direction and pestering me for the date of the house warming on a casual basis?

Every Man a Liar

This is a blog about what men (and women) do.

They fight and argue, they lie and steal, they war and plunder.

In the crusades, atrocities were committed by Christians as they attempted to convert the known world by force.

The muslims had a period of "killing the infidel" - being those that refused to convert to Islam.

Men stole other men from their native homes and forced them into slavery in strange lands where they couldn't understand the language. They were treated in the most terrible ways - and still today they are not entirely free.

The sons of the sons of the sons of the sons of the men that did this to them, rather than be apologetic are active in suggesting that the remnant of the slave trade should be "sent home". It gets me angry. But I know who I am angry with.

And it isn't God.

The most terrible attrocities have been carried out by men, often under the excuse that it is "in God's name". Well, here's a shocker. If men say it is in God's name but it is not what God would do, it is not in God's name. Jesus said that anything you ask for in his name would be given to us. And people get dispirited when they don't get what they want - like good health or whatever. They think they have been short changed - they haven't. They perhaps thought they were asking in God's name - just like the crusaders probably really believed they were acting in God's name. They weren't.

Every man is a liar. Be angry with them. God alone is true - don't shout at him, you are one of those men we mentioned earlier.

When you see injustices in the name of God and shout up at the sky, "why do you allow this?" Don't look straight back down. Listen to Jesus' reply as he says, "you're telling me, the buggers crucified me for healing people and forgiving their sins - and all of that apparently in the name of God!"

Romans 3:4a "Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar."

Fame for Evo

Just try googling "Evo1 god"

See what you get!

And then there was ONE

Wow, since my five year old sparked somewhat of a comment overload on the last topic (Well done Sam - I said he'd provoke more response than a long sermon didn't I - and that's a fact!) I thought I might open up a fresh canvas for opinion.

I think what happened there with Phil's bringing up the topics of Evolution, Big Bang and alien invasion theories was that we were able to clear out and quash the odd misconception that these theories in some way explain the beginning of life in the universe. Although the misinformed (sometimes even self confessed) may cling on to this, it's clear from today's evidence that this is not what any of these theories do. Sometimes this is obvious (as with the alien invasion) and sometimes it takes a little bit more digging until the dead end is reached.

The key hypothesis since the beginning of time has been of course that God created. And that hypothesis, although tested to the limit, has never been overturned. Unlike all of its counterparts which as we have seen with these two or three, examples, soon wilt under the pressure of critique - only God's strength can withold this. ("Come to me all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest" "Lift me up and I will draw all men to myself")

This is before we even start to mention any of the confidences we see in God working in our lives. What a painful punishment it was when God disallowed Adam from walking with him in the garden and sent him out into a cursed world.

Want to know why you can't see, hear and touch God today? Best ask Adam. The good news is that you can. But until you really want to, you will have to live by the sweat of your brow and your plants will not grow easily.

"Thou shalt not test the Lord your God!"
(But when we do, he is never found wanting)

PS - I am going to politely brush over Phil's accusations that it was I that was changing the subject, poor old guy must have forgotten that these somewhat random theories came from his own good keyboard.

Where Does God Live?

I got my little lad's first school report back a few days ago and I was really chuffed at one of the things it said. The teacher remembered asking him where he thought God lived and rather than saying "in the sky" or "all around" or something else you might expect from a five year old, he said - and the teacher observed that she thought this was a clever and confident statement that God lives....

"On us".

Aw, a two word sermon from the mouth of a babe which cuts through intellectual theology faster than a two edged sword. What a challenging thing to believe! Jesus said to his disciples that the Holy Spirit has been with them and WILL BE IN them.(Jn14:17) He is in each Christian today as a deposit. And more than this, he is in our "heart". But heart is not what we now understand as heart, but actually means our core - physically understood by the people who coined the phrase as our intestines/bowels.

Imagine that, God who was born as a human in nothing more than a stable, actually resides in the bowels of each of us! Boy does that give an amplified meaning to Jesus' parable here.

So what does it mean that God lives "on us"? Jesus also says that if our faith is strong enough, we can order a mountain to move and it will move. Now some people believe this literally - that a mountain might physically move at the command of a faithful person (I am one of them). But others believe something a little different, that a faithful person might inspire other people to pick up shovels and get that mountain moved spectacularly - but conventionally (and I believe this too). So when we ponder on why God is not doing something, perhaps we should be thinking that God lives on us. He isn't doing anything because we are not doing it!

That reminds me, when I was a young blade, I used to go rowing (there's a pun there - 10 points if you can spot it). I rowed for about two years in a coxed four and I was always at the back of the boat in the "four" position, or as it is sometimes called, "bough".

Now one day, a few people from my school went rowing as an activity and I went with them. I joined a group of four people and the guy helping was from my rowing club - and actually knew me very well. In his wisdom, he put me in the "two" position. Well, all went reasonably well until it came to turn the boat around. We were heading towards the bank and the cox shouted for "Two" to pull on. But Two did not pull. The boat continued toward the bank. Again he called for Two to pull one on. I was surprised that two could be so deaf, we were about to run aground. Finally I got fed up of waiting for Two to pull on and decided pull on myself to get us out of trouble.

Of course, I was two. It was me that should have been doing it in the first place but I had no idea - so used was I to answering to the name of "bough". Now the cox was a plonker, he knew me very well, why didn't he call me by my name? Why didn't he shout for bough to pull on anyway since we nearly crashed? Why didn't he... Why didn't he...

But he didn't. And sometimes God is the same. He expects that we might do something first. After all, if he lives on us, what we do, he is doing.