MTP02 Remix: When It Comes To Wisdom – Go All Out For It

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5)

And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom … And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man. (Luke 2:40, 52)

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Luke 11:9)

The queen of the South will rise up at the judgement with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater that Solomon is here. (Luke 11:31)

I never set out to have so many scripture references at the top of today’s MTP, but when you read the whole of chapter two, then read it again and break it down, there are some crucial notes to take about this quest of living well.  After all if we’re going to live for the best then we need to get the right instructions on how that works.

Now I’ve been accused in the past of that great sin of apathy – you know apathy, it’s where you lose all passion for anything.  I don’t think the opposite of love is hate, I know the opposite of love is apathy.

The book of Revelations knew apathy as lukewarmness (Rev. 3:14-16).  Neither one thing or the other, not just middle of the road but with no inclination one way or another.  In the circumstances that the book outlines, Jesus states that he hates the condition and should it continue then there’ll be no option but to be spewed out like a nasty piece of phlegm that had been stuck in your nose for a while.  And if you didn’t like that image that might be the beginning of understanding why God is not a big fan of the condition of apathy.

What does that have to do with Proverbs 2?  Check the language used in the first five verses – receive, treasure, attentive, inclining, call-out, raise your voice, seek, search.  I’m reading the ESV but other versions will have other similar words.  What’s the point?  You cannot be passive, complacent and apathetic if these words apply to you.  Not only is there something about being active, there’s something about having a focus for activity and the nature of the focus is relational – calling out essentially to God to get wisdom.

Where there is that passion and that desire for wisdom more than anything else in the world the consequences are overwhelmingly beneficial.   When you add to that the fact that God is only too willing to supply that which we ask for, and won’t hold back, this seems like the deal of all time! You’d wander why anyone would turn down the offer.

This gets to the heart of the issue though and back on the apathy problem.  If someone was offered the ability to be discreet and avoid evil ways and dodgy dealers in all areas of life as well as avoiding the one who could lead you to death itself, that would sound like a pretty good deal.  That’s because it is a pretty good deal – in fact I’d go as far as to say it’s the best deal going.  Yet, the cost for that deal – a life consumed with the desire to pursue wisdom and its Source – can seem counter-intuitive.  I mean someone offers financial security, physical well-being, fame, and things like that – these would be more readily obvious goals.

Yet our great example, Jesus Christ, the King Himself wasn’t focussed on financial security, fame or anything of the like.  His pursuit lead others to remark on his outstanding wisdom and even when it was rejected there was always the case that it would have deadly consequences for the judgement.  Jesus’ pursuit started from early in His life and led Him to handle a lot of tricky life situations in amazing ways, sometimes so unconventional, yet always seasoned with grace that even His accusers had to work overtime to stitch Him up.  Yet who came out the Victor?  Who rose on the third day?  At whose name will every knee bow and every tongue confess to His Lordship?

So what does that suggest about what’s worth pursuing.  Yet everything in the world would point towards us having a half-hearted, emotion-driven approach to something that demands so much more.  So we’re left with a choice we face every day.  We want to enjoy life and live it to the full, but we don’t know the way.  The Way is made known to us, but it will cost us forsaking every other way put in our path.  The benefits are eternal and the costs are temporary.

Commitment to that way leads us to reflect positively on some of the last thoughts of this chapter.

So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, (Pro 2:20-21)

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Doing My Head In

I haven’t blogged in a while.  The posts that have been on here recently have been ones I’d scheduled a while ago.

The reason for that is mainly because I’m not well.  If it were a flu-type thing, that would be easy to ascertain and deal with.  Yet the ailment is not a physical one, it is a mental one.  My personal journey in mental health has been an intriguing over my life taking in quite a lot of different experiences and nuances.  This particular episode is new and as such is rather baffling to comprehend even if the strands and contributing factors are not so baffling.  In terms of those factors, without going into detail February has been an amazing month for things happening – nothing traumatic in itself, with the possible exception of one piece of news which is usually a game-changer.

In this current phase, it’s almost impossible to even blog, which is a huge deal for me, because I do love blogging.  I have been encouraged to share some of the issues about once I get through this episode, and I look forward to doing so.  Being a believer in Jesus Christ and having trying issues mentally are not incompatible at all.  Thankfully I’m not longer under a guilty feeling when I’m not well as though every time I’m not well it’s because I’ve sinned.  If that were the case surely people would be perpetually sick.  So seasons come and go, and this is another one.  In God I trust do and even though it’s doing my head in, He still gives sweet peace.

Something I’m looking forward to posting that should keep my mind stayed on Him as it were is the usual March Thru Proverbs exercise that I’ve conducted on this blog over the last two years and a project that I initiated about five years ago now.  Now more than ever tapping into the wisdom of God will be a huge help in negotiating this particular episode in the life story.

Want to thank the usual suspects – Alan (over at Assembling), Arthur (over in the Wilderness) and Eric (over in his Progress) – for putting material online that thrills, stimulates, challenges and questions the commitment I have in Christ.  I pray that their efforts will go from strength to strength as they encourage the saints to go from glory to glory.

Despite my state of wellbeing, I have been aware of some interesting news that I felt worth sharing and getting y’all to pray for God’s wisdom.

The Same-Sex Marriage: Issue:

It is interesting that this issue is taking so many column inches in the press.  The nature of the issue is not the same as it is across the pond and certain moves within the Church of England makes it harder for it to be as polarising as it would be in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.  It is still though evidently a topic worthy of reporting.  When I read articles like this concerning the Archbishop of Canterbury’s suggestion that the government shouldn’t make the issue one of legislation, I have mixed emotions.  It often appears that the issue is a distraction to the mission of the church.

By distraction, I mean it brings to mind again the role of the Church in society, especially one that continually seeks to get the Church to accept and bend to the norms and values that are prescribed by society.  So a pressure group comes out with equalities legislation and the language of liberty to suggest that the Church’s ‘traditional’ stance on the issue is outdated and contravenes fundamental human rights and what the power of rational mind has concluded as being right.

We can turn this into a philosophical issue, we can argue it as a political contention, we can debate it for its social ramifications, we can put our point across as a cultural perspective to be upheld.  Whatever we do, however, I struggle to see how we are remaining faithful to God’s call for us to be light.  If society has rejected God’s standards, is that really a surprise.  Let’s face it, those standards were rejected even in the ‘traditional’ model where the number of marriage of conveniences and empty marriages were so rife it was almost a given.  It is with rose tinted glasses that we should suggest that things were better before.  Evidently there was a disconnect between the lives that were lived and the message that was passed down t the generation to come.  Or maybe there wasn’t so much of a disconnect if we were promoting the autonomy and glory of the individual.

In any case, my point is that the role the church is called to play is by being that of a prophetic community hightlighting the Kingdom standards God expects us to live by in all our brokenness and flawed issues.  That prophetic statement doesn’t go down too well if we suggest something we ourselves are hardly upholding.  Still, I hope we can use this as an opportunity to spread love and the light of what God says on the issue in a way that penetrates through the contention and argument and merely establishes what His will is and leaves people to engage with it and then accept or reject it.

Infanticide OK:

It is not often not what you say, it is how you say it.  Consider carefully the proposition being made by the authors of the article that is reported in today’s Telegraph.  They are not explicitly proposing the arbitrary disposing of babies as soon as they are born if we don’t like them.  They merely wish to help define the stage when the foetus and subsequently delivered baby is worthy of moral worth.  It is their conclusion that we justify infanticide in the same way we justify abortion (we of course justified it when we legalised it, because like the same-sex marriage issue, once we rationally justify it then we can crack on and legalise it with the authority invested in us by ourselves).

This is not a new argument.  This is not an argument that started in this century or the one before.  It’s just that now we have people who are highly regarded in their medical field who have considered the matter and have spoken with the authority invested in them by their own kind.  And with such a highly revered authority and their exalted status in our society, it is only a matter of time before some leeway is given for the ‘exceptional’ circumstances that they speak of in which such acts can take place.

Once the principle is in place, it will not take too much for our perfection driven society – best car, best house, best mobile, best laptop, best wife, best baby – to make room for more allowances to relieve parents in the modern cut-and-thrust world of the burden of rearing, nurturing and cultivating undesirables who happen to still be precious in the eyes of God.

As with the same-sex marriage issue, it’s important to be aware of what’s going on primarily for the reason of then reasserting what the Kingdom Lifestyle promotes and how it engages and counters the values of the world it encounters.  Vociferous political campaigns aren’t really the answer.  Formal education and legislation certainly isn’t the designated route we should take to solve this thing.  As a community it for us to hold high the banner of the standard of the love, righteousness and justice of God is the call.

I can say that for all the problems I’ve endured over this month it has been the community of faith that has rallied round in their own unique, informal, compassionate and superb way that has really given me the strength and hope to know that God is far greater than teh situation and His love and consideration of me as part of His family doesn’t wane because I’m having a dip.  It’s that often understated love and compassion that is the declaration the world needs to see as the alternative to some of the more pressing words that others would have you follow.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd

DMCD Songs: I Know You – John P. Kee and Fred Hammond

So back in the day I enjoyed playing these dream combinations in my head, y’know like ultimate fantasy football teams with Schmeichel in goal, Pele and Maradona up top supported by Johan Cruyff etc.  Then of course there were the super-hero combos, not just Avengers or JLA but deals like Spiderman meeting Superman  and that kind of jazz.

When it came to music I looked forward to those type of collaborations whether in duets or when one biggie would produce for another biggie.  There were quite a few I had in mind in the gospel world, but I’ve got to say of them all teh combination of Fred Hammond and John P. Kee would make me faint away in terms of the immense talent mash-up.  Only Marvin Winans and Andrae Crouch could in anyway begin to compete with these two for my affections in the gospel world and even then these two would still be a street and a corner shop ahead.

So they did a deal on Fred’s Love Unstoppable album and that was … passable.  This one is better for me.  Fred gets to stretch himself out and JPK is also prominent in this brilliant track about what at the end of the day is the basis of any relationship the growing deal that we can turn to loved one and say – I know you.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Celebrating A Birthday Of Sorts

I love how God works.

In my eyes I dedicated my life to my wife in April 2002.  We then had two engagement services (one for her people, one for my people … who happened to be her people as well, just because that’s how she stays) – the first in August, the second in October.  That culminated in the wedding in June 2003.  So to all intents and purposes people regard the date of our wedding as the time to celebrate our anniversary, yet I’ll start celebrating from April!

Similarly we celebrate the birth of children from the day they emerge from the womb and yet to some (like me) life took place from conception some nine months earlier.  So although you will celebrate my birthday on 21st November (with gifts as selected from my Amazon wish-list – no pressure), I entered existence as my father’s seed was successfully planted in my mother’s womb way back in March.

What does this have to do with anything?  Well a while back a friend of mine asked me how long I’ve been ‘in the faith’.  That was an intriguing question to ask.  In fact ever since I’ve been an active member of church I’ve never been able to give a straightforward answer to that.  So my response to my friend was not brief!

There is the lazy theological route that suggests that you’ve been in the faith ever since before the foundation of the world when God foreknew and predestined.  That sounds cute and nice, but misses a lot of the story.  Some may want to go by the date that they got confirmed or baptised.  That’s interesting as well – and it has bearing for the date of today’s post.

Yet for me I fall short of stating that I started out ‘in the faith’ at the date of my baptism, for the same reason that I wouldn’t say my marriage began in June 2003 when we had our wedding ceremony.  As I said last year, things kicked off the year before in August.

Still, the fact remains that my public declaration of faith and symbolised in the act of total immersion took place on this date 19 years ago.  So it is celebrating a birthday of sorts.  What made the deal special was that of the two men who conducted the baptism (why they needed two still baffles me, I wasn’t that heavy) one of them was my Dad.

With every passing year as I remember the time, so grows my affection for my Dad being one of the two in the water to help me in the dip.  I still see him in my mind’s eye now.  Pleased without being overly proud.  The smile on his face acknowledging the awfully obvious observation I made as I went into the pool and said to him that the water was wet.  Quite something. So he lived to see his firstborn son acknowledge the Father.  That must have been something for him.  I know it would be something huge for me should my daughters take a similar step.

For today, I celebrate the public expression of a work of the heart that God miraculously wrought through His Son.  That public confirmation that indeed His love had broken through and I was no longer on my own and I was no longer my own.

I thank God to spare my life to see another year marking the most significant step any human can take, far more important than any other, and far more fulfilling, enriching, challenging and stimulating.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd

DMCD Songs: Purge Me – John P. Kee

The album was older, but I remember getting me hands on this album – Just Me This Time – as one of the first purchases I made that was rather special on Amazon way back in 1999.  (Remember the 20th Century, folks? I was there!)

I remember the thrill I had opening the wrapper and slapping the CD in me CD player.  Yes, these were the days of the CD – now I find all that palaver so … so … so 20th Century.

In any case I remember coming across track on the album and it stopped me cold.  It stopped me cold because it spoke to me about confession, repentance, the recognition of a desire to be made whole with God once more knowing there were times in my life when I was far from Him. This song summed up those sentimes so marvellously well it made me admire JPK all the more and devote my life to God all the more.  Indeed it wouldn’t be too long after getting this album that I made one of the most significant, traumatic and seismic decisions in my life that would literally change everything.  That may not have happened unless this necessary process of repentance took place.

So a great deal of thanks to God for a song like this that reminds me that however far from God you walk, there is always a route back to Him.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd

God Is My Healer – I Don’t Need A Doctor?

Just a thought.

If I needed someone to build a house, would God – my provider – just miraculously put the foundation and then the bricks and other stuff together so that the house would be ready for me?  Why did God ask Noah to build the ark, surely God could have done it Himself?

I ask this question because I am aware of some people who are suspicious of anything man-made, like the man-made intervention offered by the medical profession.  So if you have a headache, you should just pray about it, because God is your healer and if you trust Him, He will heal you.  No need for paracetamol, no need to consult the doctor, because that means you are putting your trust in man and not in Him.

Let me say, here and now, I believe in and am a recipient of God’s healing. I suffer from asthma and know from experience times when I’ve been seriously short of breathe without my usual relievers and He has healed me. There have been other ailments and other examples of His rescue for me and for others.  When I read of the supernatural healings that Jesus and His disciples carried out I have no reason to believe that this is not happening today among believers.  I have every reason to believe that His disciples today are still carrying out these acts and there is every reason to believe that we can see that in our day and age.

I can believe that – and still maintain that to hold such a sceptical opinion of ‘man-made’ medical services as being contrary to the will of God is rather bizarre and can be irresponsible. I am obviously not an advocate of being a hypochodriac and would heartily agree that some have seen the advances of science almost as the next religious thing to slavishly follow.  That is not helpful whether you’re a believer or not.  I don’t see the medical profession as such a vaunted hallowed  one that must be revered and has all the answers.  I’m intrigued by those who explore ‘natural’ remedies and the like.  It’s a fascinating thing to consider.

In all that, the thing to do when it comes to healing is not to rule out any of the routes within which He can heal.  Maybe through the doctor, maybe through the surgery, maybe through the tablet, maybe through the massage, maybe through prayer, maybe through the laying on of hands, maybe through one or a combination of the above, maybe through something else – something ridiculous like taking seven dips in a mucky river. (Ha! As if that could ever work, eh Naaman.)

Just a thought.

Carry on. (Nurse.)

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Dublin Gets Drydenised

Dublin, Ireland.

Quaint city.  It was the first time that any member of my family had touched foot in Ireland.  It was a pleasant experience for the girls who especially loved St. Stephen’s Park.  They loved the swans, they loved the waterfalls, they loved the greenery, they loved the statues – they  loved the park is what I’m getting at, I hope you understand.

Also special thanks to the staff of Camden Court Hotel.  They were ever so helpful in our time there.  The facilities were fine and the environment as a whole was superb.  The girls loved the hotel. They loved the comfy chairs, they loved the breakfast, they loved the large screen TV in the bedroom, they loved the swimming pool (oh did they love the swimming pool) – they loved the hotel is what I’m getting at, I hope you understand. (Big thanks to Mr. Higgins!)

The Dryden Daughters taking over Dublin! Deborah is behind the pram. The brave Abigail stands beside her. And STILL SLEEPING is Zozoz.

To conquer Dublin required a trip by plane, which was the first one conducted by the youngest Dryden Daughter – Zoë aka Zozoz, all of 23 months old. She took the whole affair in her stride.  She slept on the way to Dublin and was busy gesticulating about the funny other passengers on the plane when returning.

Deborah – the firstborn – was also accustomed to plane trips.  It was the middle child, the tough one, the big cheese of the family – Abigail, who had some difficulties with the whole plane-goes-up-stomach-goes-down issue.  She was fairly concerned to the point of needing to hold the hands of her father rather tightly so that if anything happened at least her pater would go with her.  Isn’t that sweet? Indeed in the light of her hard-girl reputation and this new fear of flying we changed her name to Abi Baracus in tribute to her A-Team inspiration who likewise had an aversion to flying.

To be honest, re-establishing her tough-girl credentials, she didn’t need her father’s hand on the plane back.  This was all the more remarkable as her older sister was rather unhelpful in giving graphic commentary and analysis on the alternative methods in which the plane journey could end. Abigail would have none of it – and quite right too.  I cannot for the life of me imagine where Deborah could have learnt to be so devious in her verbal tauntings. (Cough-cough)

The weekend was all too brief to enjoy the delights of Dublin and we are sure to make a return jouurney there at some point to complete the domination we began.  It is as you should know the beginning of The Dryden World Tour all motivated by the matriarchal force in the family.  Dear Authrine has travel in her blood and now that Dublin has been Drydenised, you can guarantee that no country on God’s green, brown and rather grey earth will be safe from our ever spreading tentacles.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Drydens Dominate Dublin

So I’ve not been blogging on here for a few days and your question would understandably be, what is the problem, why have you not blogged?  The answer to that question is that over the weekend I had the honour and pleasure of taking my three daughters to the pleasant city of Dublin.  I’ve got plenty more to share on that but just had to post this for the time being.

So we went to Dublin and what did I see, the Guinness? The people dressed in green? Leprechauns? No - this!

Isn’t it great?  Yes, I’m glad that you agree that it is!  More to come soon.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd

DMCD Songs: When Will We Sing The Same Song – John P. Kee and VIP Mass Choir

Interesting to note that this song is over a decade old and we’re still asking the same question.  The sentiments of the song really echo the deepest desire of my heart to see the church reflecting the vision God has for Bride that comes from every tribe and nation.  Love how JPK and the VIP Mass Choir do justice to this song.  Brilliant stuff andI trust you’ll likewise be blessed by it.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Clarity from Humility

I am someone who thrives on clarity.  I have let myself get all in a twist by the lack of clarity in a situation.  I’m not looking for all the answers.  I don’t need to know everything, but clairty in what I am about to do is very important to me.  Failure to be clear is an invitation of a muddled and confuddled approach which ends in disaster for all concerned.

I was conversing with a friend of mine recently about how the best route to clarity often starts with humility.  The acknowledgement that there is so much to learn and so much we don not understand and everything we do know and understand was done in the context of grace, means we can take our time to allow Him to give us the clarity we need to go further.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd