Thursday, September 14, 2017

Grand Finale



Apocalyptic
It’s meant to unveil truths, which sounds like it should be fascinating 
but it seems a jumble of nonsense.

Apathetic 
It is part of God’s word so I know I need to read it but it doesn’t seem to teach me anything about God.
How on earth does it apply to me? 

Allusions
So many oblique references to the Hebrew Scriptures, but when you flip back it’s not exactly the same.
It’s hard to get interested.

Awkward 
We believe Gods word is full of life and power 
which sounds exciting,
but it feels like reading it aloud to kids or unbelieving friends will probably either put them to sleep or freak them out.



Amazing Authentic 
But when it comes to carefully studying the Revelation it does reveal the fascinating reality of another realm. 
A peek into the throne room, the Lion/Lamb takes the scroll from the enthroned one.

Astonishing Astounding
It shows who God is and what he has done.
Brimming with relevance and things to learn.



Awesome
A multitude washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,
The slaughtered Lamb who is the victorious Lion. 
He who was, who is and who is to come
He is alive for ever and ever
And he holds the keys to death and Hades




Velvet Ashes this week is curious, which reminded me of late last year when the expat woman's Bible study groups started reading Revelation. We had come to the end of one study and choosing what to do next. One of the options was the final book of the Bible, it seemed like most of us weren't that familiar with it. With the help of John Stott, along with Jensen and Barnett we have been working our way through. Hopefully this expresses some of our journey from curiosity and confusion to excitement.  

Thursday, September 07, 2017

Connecting and the letter O

Connecting is the Velvet Ashes theme for this week. 
(I didn't really plan ahead for it but I ended up posting some photos from our time in Chiang Mai years ago. It felt like we had instant real community even though we had never been there before, and were only staying for a few months.) 




Overloaded
Motorbikes in Cambodia comfortably seat two people, but actually carry five and a pig.
We have so many electronic ways to communicate; email, SMS, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
If I want to talk to someone overseas I just need to figure out if I want to Skype or use Messenger.
Communication is easy, fast and plentiful but can weigh us down.

Obvious
It’s plain for all to see when I sit and when I rise, they can perceive my thoughts from afar.
They can discern my going out and my lying down; they can be familiar with all my ways.


Obscured
The huge tip of the iceberg can be seen easily, but do we assume the tip is everything?
Despite the bombardment, all the information is filtered, cherry picked, out of context and decorated with sun rays.
A cool day in the tropics is considered a hot day elsewhere. That one is easily measured and joked about, but often the importance of context is invisible.
The abundance of communication can lead to miscommunication, frustrations. We might think we understand but we might be building assumptions around what we can see sticking out of the water.

Omniscient
He knows when I sit and when I rise, he perceives my thoughts from afar.
He discerns my going out and my lying down; he is familiar with all my ways.

decorated with sun rays



See also Context is your friend
and for the flip side Home assignment actually at home