V is for Vindication

vindication (noun): the fact of proving that what someone said or did was right or true, after other people thought it was wrong.

The earliest known use of this English word was from the Middle Ages (1150—1500).

Psalm 17:2 (NIV)

Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right.

D is for Doctrine

Doctrine (noun): a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. 

The word comes from the Latin word doctrina, which simply means "teaching." It can be seen as a framework for understanding particular beliefs.

In The Salvation Army (my church), there is a Handbook of Doctrine which can be downloaded and studied. The Handbook details the 11 Articles of Faith which since 1878 have been the basis of The Salvation Army’s witness to the Christian gospel. Such a document equips anyone to distinguish between truth and incorrect teachings.

There's nothing worse that following something blindly. Always question, always struggle to understand, always seek to apply this to your own life. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The Two Most Important Things

I've got a day off today. And even more surprisingly, I'm not trying to cram my non-working day with hundreds of little jobs so I can put off the most vital part of a non-working day. To sit and rest. Push that off button and reset myself.

I did a lot of those silly little jobs yesterday. Today is a sitting and blogging day. Tomorrow looks like it'll be another running around day. Oh well...

However, today is for blogging. Serious blogging. Spending an hour or two to put my thoughts down onto a computer screen. 

And, as I like to do when I blog, I take stock of where I am personally. Not just to upload the odd graphic, to keep the feed running. Something a lot deeper. 

I've done a lot of deconstructing recently. And stocktaking. Instead of mourning the activities I had to give up after lockdown, I've been re-prioritising. Adding certain things back into my calendar, keeping other things out. Stripping my life back to basics. 

And those basics, spiritually, I've got down to two things. Two Most Important Things.

The two most important things Jesus asked us to do was 

1. to love God and 
2. to love people. 

It sounds so simple, because it is - but it’s actually very difficult. 

Point 1 is Loving God with all of my heart, soul, and mind. This means letting go of my way of doing things. In many ways it has meant re-reading familiar readings and asking myself if I have truly understood what is being said. And in many cases it has meant asking Jesus for a fresh understanding of His teaching. 

Point 2 is Loving people - which means loving them exactly as they are. It’s particularly easy to love lovely people. God asks us to love all kinds of people. Which means I have to constantly check my motivations, my thoughts, my words.

36 ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’37 Jesus replied: ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’

Matthew 22:36-40, New International Version - UK

G is for Gaslighting

Gaslighting is a modern-day form of bullying, where someone makes their victim doubt their own reality by making them believe their own memories are faulty. 

According to Wikipedia, the expression derives from the title of the 1944 film Gaslight, where a husband slowly manipulates his wife into believing that she is descending into insanity.

Bullying is wrong, whatever way you look at it. Ask questions! Hold on to the truth. 

Hold On To The Truth

 

Am I Just Playing A Part?

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely Players;
They have their Exits and their Entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His Acts being seven ages.

Words from William Shakespeare's As You Like It, Act 2 Scene 7

“Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theatre, but the God who made you won’t be applauding."

Matthew 6:1 (The Message)

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 (New International Version)

Perception - Some Thoughts From This Weekend

A little bit of scene setting. Because of the pandemic, myself and my family are trying to stay safe as much as possible. The current advice is to work from home, so instead of travelling to the office, weekday life is centred at home (with the occasional trip out in the car to run family members around). Apart from a shopping trip on Saturday, we're at home. We're not meeting together at the Corps on Sundays at the moment, so even on Sunday I am usually at home. And that, of course, means that I have lots of extra time on my hands. How best to use that?

I'm catching up on my podcasts; listening to music and to the radio; reading books; binge watching TV and DVD box sets. Pretty much an ideal lifestyle for an introvert.

And of course I am thinking... and blogging!

I run the risk of dwelling on things a little too much ('overthinking') so I'm very cautious when I let my mind wander in this way. I'm also well aware of the influence of the media (TV, radio, social media) who are dedicated to the propagation of one particular way of thinking, or another. Telling us all how to think.

That's why I have been taking another look at my own particular perception of what is happening in the world at the moment. Because I strive to understand, and to make up my own mind on the top news stories.

We are bombarded with opinions from the media. Other people’s experiences about something or other. Sharing our own perception is never easy. 'That's your point of view', they say. 'I have a different one'. Freedom of speech is a valid legal principle. See here. 

During the pandemic, each day blurs into the next, and it seems to me that the news agenda doesn't change - the topics are predictable, and seem always to be the same. No wonder so many switch off - ignore the stories being shared. 'Turn it off; let's see what's on the other channel...'

The top three news stories in the news this very day (apart from the pandemic!) is an ongoing battle concerning questionable integrity in the UK Government; decisions made by an overseas Government about whether to exclude a tennis player from an international tennis tournament; a legal battle in the US involving a member of the Royal Family. They've been the top news stories for about a week now (familiarity breeds contempt)...

Opinions on both sides are shared, and shared again. The media try to explore as many different aspects of each story so that they can share a balanced argument with the general public. Each are other people's perception of the truth. However, they can't all be right. They are often contradictory.

Over the last ten years I have described myself in this blog as a 'seeker after truth'. However, and the $64,000 question is, who decides what is true?

I suppose, I do. 

Finally, a question: what did Jesus mean by the following?

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6 (NIV)

B is for Beware Of Fake News

Always check the information you get about the pandemic. Remember, not everyone tells the truth... check it out first before telling others!

I is for I Am...

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14: 5-6 (NIV)

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

John 14: 5-6 (Amplified Bible)

Jesus Saves

Tyler Moon was a keen runner and felt that this would be a great chance to fulfil a dream. He entered the Twin Cities 10 miler in Minneapolis on 6th October 2019.

On his bib, where his name would normally be, Moon decided to put the words ‘Jesus Saves’ in bold as a profession of his faith.

The runner recalls feeling confident for the run. However, just a mile in, Moon’s heart started to beat irregularly and the 25 year old experienced a ventricular tachycardia at the 8 mile mark.

Moon hit the ground hard and doesn’t remember anything after that moment.

However, just behind him was Jesus ‘Jesse’ Bueno, a registered nurse anaesthetist. He watched Moon hit the ground, called for other runners to call 911, as he and another person began CPR and breathing for Moon, ultimately saving his life.

Moon is making a great recovery and is so grateful Jesus was there to save his life.

True story. Just Google it.

It Makes Me Sad...

... when people are quick to accuse people and organisations of wrongdoing based on minimal information. Because it's easier to pigeonhole than to sort out the truth.
... when people are slow to offer help to people in need. Because they are 'different from us'. Guess what - we're all unique!
... when the people we try and help throw it back in our faces, preferring to continue on a self-destructive path. We can offer help but can't make anyone change.
... when we realise that you couldn't help them no matter what you did...

It makes me want to cry. Sometimes, I do. However, it doesn't  make me want to give up. It makes me want to fight on.

Nevertheless, I'll fight...

"While women weep, as they do now,
I'll fight
While little children go hungry, as they do now,
I'll fight
While men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now,
I'll fight
While there is a drunkard left,
While there is a poor lost girl upon the streets,
While there remains one dark soul without the light of God,
I'll fight-I'll fight to the very end!" - William Booth

To thine own self be true

Polonius:
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee!

Laertes:
Most humbly do I take my leave, my lord.
Hamlet Act 1, scene 3, 78–82

A quote from Shakespeare, there. Never thought I'd end up quoting the Bard in the blog today... but that's what happens when you start mulling over a particular phrase or saying and end up tracing it right back to the source... this follows a period of self-reflection. Did I make the right decision there?

Sure, came the initial answer. Got to be true to yourself, haven't you? Which led me up to this point, and to the realisation that Shakespeare made the character of Polonius a bit of a parody of a character - more the fool than the wise man...

And I keep asking myself the question:  so, then, am I guilty of simply spouting platitudes and glib phrases, or do I actually want to be out there making a difference in this world?

Do I want to be simply true to an altruistic public image, or more that I want to true to who God has made me and wants me to be?

Am I prepared to upset the apple cart?

Are people prepared for the fallout if I start saying things that people won't like?

How Can I Tell If You're Lying?

Would the world be a better place if people always told the truth?

I would assume so, but it would be such a different world. For example, we would be under no illusions as to what people truly thought of us. And that, I'm sure, would be very eye-opening.

So, how can you tell if someone you know is lying to you? Or even exaggerating one aspect of a situation in order to encourage you to think in a particular way? I would call that a 'half-truth' - and these are the things which make it all the more difficult to work out what is fact and what is fiction...

Reading up on the topic lately, I discover that science has presented us with a whole host of ways to tell if someone is being honest with you. A myriad number of verbal and non-verbal cues that are said to be dead giveaways, based on research and practice. Whether they work in all circumstances - or indeed at all - I'll leave up to your own studies...

Apparently, you can tell if someone is telling a lie if:

• Their story lacks something - a fabricated story will be incomplete or merely strung together - for example, it may have 'too much middle and not enough beginning and end'... liars will also tend to use sentence fragments while speaking, while truth-tellers tend to speak in complete sentences. 
• They make overuse of eye contact - they used to say that liars won't look you straight in the eye. They say the opposite now. According to psychologists, liars tend to maintain more deliberate eye contact than those telling the truth. They are aware of the old saying, and try to 'bluff it out'. Additionally, a recent piece of research revealed that a liar's eyes will blink more slowly when they’re telling a lie, and then the blinking speed will increase up to eight times faster than normal after the lie has been told. Not sure if that's true - you'll keep a sharp eye out for this!
• Their body language often gives them away - someone who is lying to you may breathe more heavily as they speak. Their bodily functions are still reacting, and would affect their heart rate and blood flow. You may also need to watch their hands - a speaker may cover certain “vulnerable” body parts when they are lying. Or maybe they are just nervous...
• You can histen for the excuse - liars tend to rely on negative outside forces as excuses ("I’m late again today because of the traffic"), whereas truth-tellers are less likely to do so. 
• You hear the 'bells' - Follow your instincts! Have you got a little 'warning bell' going off in your head? Trust it. Often our instincts for determining whether someone is lying or telling the truth are fairly strong. God gives some of us pretty good means of picking up 'non-verbal cues' which can guide us well...

Why have I blogged about this today? I've got a couple of situations in my life at the moment where I'm increasingly convinced that the person or people concerned simply aren't telling me the full story. I'm not comfortable. The warning bells are going off - however I'm not sure if this is total 'spin' or just the embellished truth.

Lord, please give me discernment.

A Light Switched On

I read something today that really changed my outlook on my week. And I'm glad it did.

It's not been a great week for me, to be honest with you. Challenge after challenge, one problem after another. I've carried on regardless, but eventually this rubbish week took its toll on me. I've ended up feeling frustrated, and even bitter about what had happened (and I thought I had dealt with you, Bitterness, my old adversary). I was about as low as I could get. I wasn't exactly thrust into darkness, but life was pretty gloomy...

I sought refuge in prayer, desperately holding one to at least one aspect of my relationship with my Father in Heaven.

And today, it was like a light had switched on.

I was reading a passage about how prayer works, which explained that God speaks to His people in many ways (of course - He's God, and infinitely creative - He can use any of a hundred thousand ways to speak to His people).

Through the Bible, God speaks generally — the Word of God to everyone — and that is what scholars call logos.

He also speaks personally to individuals through His Word, and that’s rhema. God can choose to illuminate certain passages, to show how it can apply to us, or to teach us something new. Point us in the right direction.

And that's when the light switched on. (Click)

Suddenly, all the things I had been listening to today in church started to fit into place, started to make sense to me. I began to come alive again. The light level in the room went up three notches.

Thanks, Lord!

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth."
John 16:13a (NIVUK)

Truth or Intuition?

I've just woken up from a rather fitful night's sleep.

There were so many images in my mind, many of them flashbacks from things that I had experienced the day before, but these were interspersed with all sorts of new things. Feelings, images.

• Extrapolations on a theme?
• My mind just wandering?
• Or genuine intuition?

I can't say at the moment. I certainly can't tell you what was in those dreams...

But what was revealed was certainly enlightening. And disturbing.

:(

Clickbait!

It's been quite a reflective week for me. And one where I've come to a couple of quite disturbing conclusions.

And it all started when I began to take a closer look at other people's blog posts and Facebook accounts, in order to review them for what we now call clickbait.

It's an internet term which is defined (Oxford University Press) as: content whose main purpose is to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on a link to a particular web page.

Now, the idea is to drive traffic to your website, blog or even your Facebook wall by saying something deliberately outrageous or controversial.

The writer wants your reactions, because he wants you to click on their link or go to their site to read more; he wants you to make more and more comments. This all feeds into the stats to their site.

The problem comes with the fact that it's a form of manipulation. You're being played, enticed to learn more in a way that benefits the site owner. Any means is fair game, just as long as it works. Benefits may even be financial... some website owners get quite good money from advertising revenue from their website (I don't. I dislike advertising so don't want it on my blog).

However, I've discovered that it doesn't end there.

You can apply that same sort of thinking to other aspects of life.

In the past, I used to listen to a lot of talk radio, until I got so fed up of all the negativity that I used to hear. But now, I realise that many talk-show hosts are doing the self-same thing. Stirring up controversy just to build up listenership... 'clickbait' on the radio...

And I suppose that you see it on the front pages of the popular press, where controversial headlines are placed on the front page to increase readership. It's what they used to call 'yellow journalism', where a good headline will always take precedence over legitimate or well-researched news... or even the truth.  Anything just to sell papers. (sigh)

And today was the saddest realisation of all.

I realised that one of my colleagues was doing the exact same thing to me. Deliberately saying outrageous and offensive things to try and goad a reaction from me.

He didn't. However, it all came out tonight in a massive ball of rage, which I'm trying to channel into this blog post to get it out of my system before I go to bed tonight.

Stranger Than Fiction

“‘Tis strange – but true; for truth is always strange; Stranger than fiction.”
Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron (1788-1824), from his epic poem Don Juan

Things are always a little bit strange in our household. A bit odd. Because we're not by any stretch of the imagination a normal family. If such a thing actually exists...

• We certainly don't act like a normal family (even though we are mum, dad and two kids, that's where the similarity ends...)
• We like to push the boundaries of normal living where we can. We've even got a sign up in our house, which says ...
• "Remember as far as anyone knows we're a normal family" :)
• We don't even keep normal hours. 

However, we still strive to keep some things, some essentials at the centre of our lives. It's a real battle sometimes to ensure these ideals are present. 

One of the essentials for me is truth.

It's something that I strive very much to hold on to. Just look at my profile pic and the subsequent description. 'Seeker after truth'. 

Yes, truth is what we need. What we all need. 

More precious than hard cash; a powerful force once it is recognised; rarer than hens teeth (as my mum would say)... and sometimes it is certainly very strange...

... and yet I'm convinced that it's the only way to be truly free. 

John 8:31-32 (NIV)
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Avengers: Marvel, Movies and Marshmallows

The other week, I went to see "Avengers: Age Of Ultron" with my family. Terrific, we all loved it. I definitely need a copy of the film for my DVD collection. I appreciated all the work that Joss Whedon and team put in to the production, developing some of the characters. I loved to see new members of one of my favourite superhero teams introduced and brought to life; characters that I had known since my teenage years as a young comics geek.

However, to tell the truth - if I had to find a fault it would be with the action sequences, well crafted though they were. There was just too much on the screen, so some of these were a little too much for me. Everything went by as a blur, particularly those shots where multiple Avengers were on screen at the same time. I'm going to have to sit down and watch some of these scenes again, just to pick up all of the detail.

I have since read other reviews of the film. One stood out to me. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said, "Although this movie is effective moment to moment, very little of it lingers in the mind afterward. The ideal vehicle for our age of immediate sensation and instant gratification, it disappears without a trace almost as soon as it's consumed."

Instant gratification. I want it now. Isn't that the catchphrase of the modern world?

Walter Mischel developed something called we now call the 'Stanford marshmallow experiment' to test gratification patterns in four-year-olds. In this study, children was offered a choice between one reward (say, a marshmallow) provided straight away, or two rewards if they waited for a short period of 15 minutes. He discovered that having an ability to resist eating the marshmallow immediately would indicate success in later life.

The modern 'action film' is fast-paced and breathtaking. Each new release tries to top the previous one. So, in order to attract a modern audience, new action movies need to be faster and have lots of exciting sequences, hoards of menacing foes, fiery explosions chasing people down a corridor. That has to be there to get the crowds in, I know. Yes, that particular 'marshmallow' is sweet - but I personally want something else from my films.

I want a good storyline. I want something to think about when I head off home. I want to be able to lose myself in their world for a couple of hours. I'm looking for emotion, for teamwork and, above all, for truth.

So, I don't see every movie that's at the cinema. I pick and choose something that's special to me. Something worth waiting for. Something that's definitely worth two marshmallows.

Oh, by the way, on the same day as I saw the film, I also picked up the DVD box set of 'Firefly', Joss Whedon's cult TV series. I'm currently working through the box. There's plenty there!!!

You Gotta Have A Dream...

This week I have been encouraged to step out and claim that tremendous promise mentioned in Mark 9:23 (NIV) — "Everything is possible for one who believes."

However, in order for me to step out in faith, I need to have a clear vision of where I need to be. And, let's face it, it has got to be God's vision of the future, not anyone else's. There's plenty of political commentators campaigning about next week's General Election who are keen to make promises about the way things are going to be over the next few years. What better guidance - what surer guide can I have than the Creator of the universe?

My vision - my dream of the future - has got to be right.

• It shouldn't be some rose-tinted view of the years ahead
• It shouldn't be a utopian fairy-tale where 'we'll all live happily ever after';
• It shouldn't be an idealistic 'pipe dream'...

It's got to be realistic, it's got to be from God, it's got to be true.

In the words of the song from 'South Pacific' - "You gotta have a dream, if you don't have a dream,
How you gonna have a dream come true?"

I believe that I'm here on Earth for a purpose. If I don’t have a dream to work toward, it's just 'existing'. And that's not living.

The Wrong End Of The Stick

I am, when all is said and done, a seeker after truth. This does mean I tend to challenge things more often than most people. I tend not to take information on face value. I take time to check my facts.

I know quite a number of people who tend to believe everything they are told. I guess I understand that - you'd want to trust people; to believe people are being fair to you. Unfortunately, sometimes what you are told - is wrong. Sometimes people lead others astray deliberately - a spoof, a prank (Facebook seems to be full of these this week!). Alternatively, they may be simply relaying information without checking further...

However, it's staggering to see just how many people there are who quickly grab 'the wrong end of the stick' - hearing one small piece of information and leaping quickly to an erroneous conclusion. Assuming that something or other is going to happen, based on minimal facts - or even just on hearsay.

I think you've guessed. Something happened in my life recently that prompted this blog. It made me so angry.

Then I calmed down. I went away and checked my facts, just to make sure. And then took a week or so to write this down, choosing my words carefully.

John 7:24 (CEV)
Don’t judge by appearances. Judge by what is right.