Strangely Happy

       The fallen nature of people explains all human relations. Politically, people are unable to divorce ideals from selfish ambition. Despite caring about individual liberties, equality for the oppressed, ending deprivation, getting everyone opportunities and creating a better tomorrow for all, a fallen me is susceptible to letting myself down and being used by Satan. I let myself down by giving in to short term gain for the sake of approval or some personal satisfaction. I am used by Satan every time I feel that someone else is being preferred to me, or is rising up on the back of my hard work. Fear of people’s disapproval makes me lose my nerve. The ambition of office makes me compromise my aims.       In marriages and civil partnerships, falling in love and vowing lifelong faithfulness is followed, in real life, by feelings of being misunderstood and disrespected. Quite apart from extremes of adultery or violence or abandonment, there is the...

As far as I can tell, the opponent, magistrate and judge are all God in this warning from Jesus! Our rebelliousness makes us God's enemies! This is not a good position to be in (to say the least) especially since God is very friendly, very loving, very understanding, very helpful and very powerful, and he is interested in using that power on your behalf to speak up for you ("justify" you), make you a better you ("sanctify" you) and put you on a throne ("glorify" you). But when we want to justify ourselves (defensively but unconvincingly), sanctify ourselves (making New Year's and other resolutions which we don't keep, for example), and glorify ourselves (it's not hard to see how, so I'll leave it to your imaginations, but be prepared to wince), we are left strangely unhappy. So take a deep breath. God is good. Feel it. You're not made to shoulder the burdens of the world. He has bigger and more willing should...

"Red sky at night, shepherds' delight, red sky in morning, shepherds' warning!" Before the more precise meteorology that we today take for granted, people still got pretty good at forecasting the weather! Certain features of the sky lent themselves to memorable weather patterns in the minds of observant onlookers. We pay attention to what we want. Jesus was a (very!) patient person, but was at least borderline indignant with people's ability to focus and discern weather patterns, while closing their eyes to signs in society that humankind is spiralling downwards, morally, and this descent is marked by strife, greed, hate, slander, neglect of the vulnerable, disrespectfulness, obscenity, and indignities suffered - from homelessness to statelessness. How can you be an expert in predicting rain and an amateur at predicting judgment? "Men are without excuse since what may be known about God is plain to them, since God has made it plain, being understo...