by emma | Aug 12, 2007 | Faith
Tonight is the last night of Spark. We finish up with a thanksgiving service in High Kirk at 8pm tonight (if you’re in the area feel free to come along!). It has been wonderful to be involved over the last few days… I’ve been so privilleged to get to take pictures, to try to capure the heart and the vision in an image, to hear stories, to share moments, to praise this beautiful Father who is in the heavens.
Pictures will be on Flickr (here) over the next few days. I’m processing these before the Latvia and USA ones, so give me another few weeks for those ones!
More Spark stories later…
the vision of Spark…
is that the church of Jesus Christ in Ballymena would together represent the characteristics of Jesus in their town: loving, compassionate, full of grace and mercy, kind, humble, forgiving and passionate.
…Spark homepage
… Spark blog
by emma | Jun 21, 2007 | Faith
Last week (while my net was down) I was reading through the book of Daniel. I find it really helpful to write up some thoughts on things that I’ve learnt – it helps me to distill what I’ve been learning and need to remember and keep working on.
“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
[Daniel 3:16-18]
I love the almost of reckless abandon and faith Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego show here. Despite that, I can’t help but wonder… where is Daniel? Less than a chapter ago, king Nebuchadnezzar fell at Daniels feet in worship, and declared his (Daniels) God, YHWY, to be THE God. Seven verses later Nebuchadnezzar has the whole peoples bowing down to worship a 90-feet tall golden statue.
Sorry… huh?!? Did you catch that? In seven verses we go from declaring YHWH to be the greatest God, to worshiping a big hunk of metal.
In between these two events, the king made Daniel ruler over all of Babylon. This is the context we are in leading up to this verse.
YHWH acknowledged as greatest.
Daniel made ruler.
Everyone worshiping a gold statue.
In step Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, threatened with being thrown into a blazing furnace.
Their courage and tenacity inspire me to strive for more in my life. I do not have to live the way the world lives. I do not have to value the things the world values. I do not have to spend all my time, money, and effort striving after the elusive “American dream” (UK dream).
I am free to chase after God.
“Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.”
[Psalm 24:6]
by emma | May 30, 2007 | Faith
This has kinda been floating around in my mind for a week or two now. Don’t know what I think of it, if I even like it, or if it’s finished…. but here it is for now…
When day has turned to night
When nothing else is light
When all seems lost
And I cant find my sight
All I’ve got
To get me through tonight
All I’ve got
To make it seem alright
All I’ve got
To find a joy once known
All I’ve got
To trust your love for me
Open my eyes
Let me view the dawn
When hope returns
Your goodness I shall see
All I’ve got
To get me through tonight
All I’ve got
To make it seem alright
All I’ve got
To find a joy once known
All I’ve got
To trust your love for me
Strengthen my heart
To gaze upon your glory
One glimpse of you
Is all i need, so
Help me
Get me through tonight
Help me
Make it seem alright
Help me
To find a joy once known
Help me
Trust in your love for me
[Emma Boyd, May 2007)
by emma | May 12, 2007 | Faith
I’m spending the weekend in Swanwick (here) at the Vineyard Prayer Network conference. So far it’s been refreshing!
I was meditating on Psalm 25 earlier, and had a few stand-out phrases that struck me anew. “All day long I put my hope in you” (v5) was one, as was “for in you I take refuge” (v20).
I also spent some time thinking about Jesus’ words in Matt 16… “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Got that phrase… come after me… stuck in my head…
by emma | May 10, 2007 | Faith, Uni
“The essence of all pantheism, evolutionism, and modern cosmic religion is really in this proposition: that Nature is our mother… The point of Christianity was this: that Nature is not our mother: Nature is our sister…”
[GK Chesterton]
I’ve been doing a fair bit of research on climate change lately as it’s been a focus for us as social action team at GUCU. I put together a short powerpoint-type thing with some of the biblical basis for why we should care about which we showed at CU last night, and then gave out some flyers with practical steps we can take. Thought I’d post the flyer up here, click for a larger image.
Sign up at icount for some more ideas, and check out Tearfunds stuff… they have a really good booklet called For Tomorrow Too which I used a lot.
“The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”
[Rom 8:19-22]
by emma | May 7, 2007 | Faith, Photography
“If our lives are easy, we must be doing something wrong… Following Jesus is simple, but not easy. Love until it hurts, and then love more.“
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