The seemingly never-ending renovation project.

Colossians 3 teaches us to "put on a new self" - a bizarre image. This isn't about pretending to be someone you don't think you really are, its about becoming the person God intended you to be when he designed you. Following God involves a choice, to turn away from activities that don't reflect God's intentions or desires and begin to ensure all your activities are in obedience to God and form your worship to him. There's a clear difference between the two sides of that conscious choice and if you know the differences for you then its relatively easy to understand what it means to put on a new self. But that choice isn't just a moral or ethical endeavour, it overflows from realising a need of Christ and salvation.

What I like about this passage is how it says your new self is being renewed (verse 10), as if being made new once isn't enough. John Gill's "exposition of the Bible" (whatever that means) says it's a daily renovation that comes from an increase of spiritual, experimental and saving knowledge of God.

Gill says that this constant renewal sees you increase in holiness and righteousness, grow in grace, and particularly in knowledge.

The more you know God, the more you love God; I find myself consumed by his sheer awesomeness when I reflect on all that I know of him, what he's done and continues to do in this life - yet my knowledge of God is a mere glimpse of his fullness, but I'm so ready to put my faith in even just that glimpse of him.

As I put in my previous blog post, when you gain an actual understanding of that knowledge and apply it in righteousness, then the result is wisdom (sounds mathematical!). I want to be wise, I want to know God more, I want to love him more.

Everyday I need to ask myself, "is this the beginning of a new me?" Not because everyday is a new chapter in my life, but because everyday I should be striving for newness in God by seeking to increase those spiritual and experimental moments with him that lead to my personal growth in holiness and grace.

However, do also recognise those chapters in your life, they are milestones of the work God is doing in you. Know God's will for you, his calling on your life, and identify a plan (obviously a plan that you allow to be fluid as God reveals new things). When St Paul's did a 5-year plan, I had my own personal 5-year plan involving uni, getting a job and the dream of becoming a Senior Manager by 23. Marriage wasn't a part of that plan, but God set us up! Claire and I now have a 2-year plan to the end of my graduate scheme which ends later this year; buying a property was part of that plan, but Claire convinced me to do it sooner than I thought we would, and I'm pleased about that, I believe it was God's intervention. Together Claire and I commit our lives and "idealistic" plans to God praying that in all of it his will is done and in his timing. So I guess although I say we have plans, really it's by God that we live.

So here it is, once saved in Christ we are each a daily renovation project where God is the Architect and you're the Project Manager. If you want to see the Architect's previous work that you're modelled on, look to Jesus. We're not never-ending renovation projects because the day will come when we will be restored to perfection, the day when we meet Jesus face-to-face.

In the meantime, plan. Either to advance yourself so that you are prepared to respond to God's call, or so that you have some idea of how you are responding to God's call - I think that's what Claire and my next focus will be.

Above all, give it to God.

Ignorant, inactive or in order?

5 points to fast-forward this blog to today:

• God is unchanged (no surprises there). He is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
• I still worship, serve and have excellent fellowship at St Paul's church, Weston-super-Mare
• I married Claire on 16th April 2011 - she's incredible and I thank God for using her to keep me close to Him
• I graduated from Plymouth University in 2012 with an upper second class honours degree in Economics
• I have been working in Commercial (Procurement and Contract Management) for almost 2 years with Magnox Ltd, a civil nuclear decommissioning management company

Monday and Tuesday this week I went with Claire and a huge group of leaders from our church to the HTB Leadership Conference at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
There were some fantastic speakers there- very senior figures in society, business and churches. God spoke to me through them to reaffirm my calling and I believe he somewhat put my next foot forward to walk with him in this calling. I wanted to streamline the output of my thoughts and encouragements from those two days into something I can easily refer back to that will help focus me going forward, hence the resurrection of my blog as a means for doing that (and I hope my experiences may hold value for others).

Almost seven years ago now I was privileged to travel to Rwanda and Kenya and witness two new concepts to me, Kingdom Business and Business as Mission - that's doing business God's way and doing business with a view to meet the needs of people and lead them to know Jesus. I am thankful to Jon Air, a successful entrepreneur, for inviting me to join him on that trip. From that trip God confirmed for me a calling to be in business and do Kingdom Business. Since then, over the last seven years I've been trying to understand how to do Kingdom Business here in the UK, an already developed country where starting up successful businesses appears at first glance to have more, tougher challenges than somewhere like Rwanda. I've been troubled by and wrestled with the ideas of success and failure; profit maximisation and wealth creation; working conditions, treating employees and contractors correctly; scarcity and stewardship of natural resources; greed and selfishness; competition; imposing faith in organisations - all of which are commercial/business issues I hope anyone involved in business has given at least some thought to. I don't have all the answers on how to get these huge (mainly ethical) issues "right", but I do know that business can be built on a foundation of love, of God - I've seen it and I believe God will reveal the rest.

I see wisdom as the output when righteousness meets knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2 verse 6-7). Looking back, God has been working on each of those three factors in me and continues to do so. At the Leadership Conference I saw a successful business man who has an incredible personal relationship with God that shapes his worldview and the way he shapes his business. I also saw a successful QC who prays for God's will to be done through her as a vessel in the judicial system. I've always wanted to be in a highly influential business position to employ the aspects of Kingdom Business I am passionate about seeing. However now, after seeing these successful Christian people being obedient to God in different ways to influence their business and work, I realise that I already am in an influential position. My sphere of influence may not be as large as Julian Richer of Richer Sounds for example (the businessman I mention), but I do have a sphere of influence and I am doing business, so I need to start doing Kingdom Business. It seems such trivial knowledge, but I've suddenly grasped an understanding of it and I count it as wisdom because of my confidence that I have been made right in God (Romans 5 verse 1).
I will always strive to be the best I can be and see myself as my own competition. In God's strength I can do better than I have already. So while I start exercising Kingdom Business now, I remain ambitious to reach higher positions with greater spheres of influence to see Kingdom Business result in Kingdom Growth.

For the last seven years I haven't been ignorant of God's calling on my life, I've been very much aware of it and have been waiting on God. I certainly haven't been inactive, I've strived to put myself out there taking advantage of open doors and opportunities that would advance me in business knowledge and understanding. This is all "in order". It is God's order, God's timing, and I believe God knew I would have this seven year chapter in my life. Be encouraged if you know there's a calling on your life but don't feel as though you're fully exercising it yet. Continue to pray about and try the opportunities that arise in front of you.

Has the state killed the church?

It's been almost 3 years since my last post. That's a long time.

I've just participated in a seminar discussing the economics of European Union Social Policy. It was when someone mentioned the differences in Social Policy across EU nations that my mind started to drift. Don't worry, I quickly restrained myself from losing complete concentration; however, after the seminar, my thoughts returned to the disparity in social agendas among EU member states.

In the seminar we discussed how Mediterranean countries focus on the church and family for welfare and social support; this is what got me thinking: there was a time when the UK focussed on the church and family for welfare and social support. It was on Christian principles and Church values that a welfare state was founded; however, over time, as the state has grown, it has taken on consistently more of the church's role. The state now provides for the poor, it has developed a judicial system, it enforces living and working standards, it provides support for dysfunctional families, and more recently, it carries out marriages/civil ceremonies. Moreover, in assuming the church's role, the state has morphed it into a socially acceptable and "politically correct" state; for example the Weston Mercury have just tweeted the news of a "Recruitment drive to find more gay adopters". So what is there left for the church to do? Should the church be managing its own decline?

There is one role the state has chosen not to adopt from the church, and that is the profession of Jesus as Lord and Saviour. The state does not offer God, Jesus or Love. So there is still something the church can put its efforts into, and I can say that I've witnessed this happen more evidently. The church is moving its balance from a greater focus on family and community to a greater focus on professing God's grace and mercy, Jesus as Saviour, and life beyond the social norm. That's what I perceive the Alpha movement being all about. How many of those churchgoers reading this actually attend church with their family?

That's not to say the church ignores the importance of family and community, the church still fulfils its original role by incorporating such values into its new age primary objective of making the gospel known.

This isn't a criticism of such a change; the church has had to change in response to the state's attempt to take on a worshipful role. The church has adapted as the wealthy welfare state have provided more and more.

There is a new issue now. The fat welfare state is no longer fat, but instead it is debt ridden and making significant cuts to operations. Over the last half a decade, St Paul's Church, Weston-super-Mare, have seen significant growth in the area of welfare it provides. Where the state is unable to provide for the rising welfare issues this economy faces, the church is there to fill the gap and do what it does best.

I doubt the church will provide gay adoption services, but it can create jobs for the unemployed, it can offer financial and living support, it can offer love and community, it can offer skills and knowledge training, it can offer business advice and support. The church is massive with a presence in almost every single community in the UK. The church takes it personally. The state can't trump that. Is it time for the church to rebalance its focus, to compliment the gospel with more welfare provision?

For me there are three types of churches; those which never adapted to the new role of explicitly proclaiming the gospel; those which adapted so radically that all they do is focus on clobbering individuals with the gospel; and those who have a healthy balance of both and are able to be continuously flexible with the needs of society.

I believe that an active church can change the UK's social agenda and resume a greater role in society. The question is whether it wants to, or even, whether it needs to?

I'm content.

I described myself as content earlier. This was because at church, many people were experiencing God at work right there right then in their lives.
I dismissed my missing of communication with God to fact that my life is fine, it's just chugging along smoothly. There have been no huge "wows" and there have been no huge "ows" in my life recently. I thank God everyday through my words, actions and prayer for this content life I'm living at the moment.

As I walked back from Church, I yearned right there right then to serve God solely. I want to live on the edge for Him. I want to have the "ows" and "wows" of this life as I run through rain or sun with God. I want to serve Him! I can not express how much my soul longs to serve God! I just feel as though I'm not doing enough!

Yet when I look at what I do already, God is in all my activity. I talk about Him so much!
Can I do more than this? Or is God just still keeping me patient?

How long left?

"Just keep swimming"
When you swim you use you're whole body. You breathe in pattern and sync with your body movements. You swim through a substance that is molecularly incomprehensible and creatively majestical.

"Just keep swimming"
When you live, you use you're whole body, every physical part, every part of your soul, every part of your mind. You breathe, sometimes gasp, for that precious, refreshing, living breath that God breathes into you. You breathe in sync with your life movements; desperate times, restful times, times of pattern and consistency. You live life in a world that is physically wierd, creatively majestical, divinely designed.
Its a privilege, a challenge, an adventure, a mission. Its temporary.

Who invented self-checkouts?

Tuesday morning I got up, showered, got dressed, had breakfast by myself, walked into town, went to Tesco, picked up the Financial Times, two bottles of Robinson's Sugar Free Orange Squash (the ones with the blue caps) went to the self checkout, scanned my items, put my £5 note in the machine (that was all I had left of my weekly £20 from the night before) picked up my bag of items, my receipt, my small change, walked out the shop, watched the Audi RX-8 zoom in front of me, walked back to my flat, had a drink of my newly purchased Orange Squash then went to my room and starting reading my paper.

In those few early hours I spoke to no one.

I was surrouned by people in different situations who I'm sure without hesitation would have passed a few words in response to my starting of a conversation.

Philippians 4:5
"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."

To all.

Who do I show my character to? Who knows the meaning behind my character?

A simple conversation:
"Good morning, wonder what's going on in the financial world this morning. How are you?"

"Very well thank you. Although I'm sure you won't find much positive news in there! How are you?"

"I'm... actually... very peaceful this morning. I don't need to find positive news in here- I know all the Good News I need to know. Have a great morning, God bless."


Then I suppose it could carry on:
"Wait a minute, what do you mean..."

Is this just the perfect morning conversation, or can it really happen?
There's only one way to find out- keep popping down to the shops each morning to get the Financial Times! Moreover, pray for the opportunity of this conversation to arise.

New Record!

Woop woop! I've got a new record! And by that I don't mean I've brought out a chart-topping music album, however, if I were to bring out an album it would definitely be chart topping (failure charts)- a mix of rap and country I reckon... hmm, I might consider doing that.

No no! I'm talking about how the other morning when I broke one of my personal records and created for myself a new personal best- I'm always striving to do better and be the best, but didn't really see this one coming, furthermore- I don't know whether it will really be viewed as a positive new record...

Basically, I managed to stay up until 5.45am working on an essay- and finished it! Now tell me, is that sad? Is that good stewarding of time? I hadn't really thought about it- however, what did occur to me is this idea of getting things done in time. Striving to do better and reaching our targets...

I was reading in Acts last week after wanting to find out about the source of communism, and it led on to describe the day before the great and glorious day of the Lords arrival. It says the sun will become dark and the moon will turn a blood red. Now that totally freaked me out because every night the sun goes dark giving way to the moon, and often the skies are blood red

"red at night, shepherds delight" -farmers and shepherds would say that this is the sign of a brilliant next day. So next time I see a blood red sky I am going to be thinking, "tomorrow could be the day, the delightful day when Jesus returns to sort out the good and bad in this world". However, I'm sure all who know the word will know when the day of judgement is about to arrive.

But it got me thinking, if it was tomorrow when Jesus comes back onto this earth, who's going to heaven and who's not. Who will I see again? But I want everyone to get this awesome gift of eternal life given by the grace of God- if I knew I had one day before Jesus arrived I would certainly be out there telling everyone that they need to understand the truth.

The other truth is that we don't know when it's going to be, it could be tomorrow- so why am I sat here at this computer typing about it- shouldn't I be out there talking about it- whoops, I think I just gave myself a challenge- that's it, grab the stool and Bible and hit the streets of Plymouth-

Wait a minute, Chelsea are playing West Ham in 6mins, that's a better opportunity to evangelise through fellowship- I think I'll do that instead.

We've got a target to reach, the issue is we don't know our timescale- how long we've got to do this assignment, in which case, we better be getting on with it now.

I gave my flat mate a couple of paracetemol earlier, her way of thanking me was by saying "lifesaver"- people need to know the truth about life saving... I'm off- come on God, we're going to win this match today and everyday.