Life Lately - This I Believe, Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Own photo from a live production of The Passion of the Christ; Trafalgar Square 2019

I really enjoyed evangelism as a child. There were few things I loved more than going out in the bus with my dad before Sunday services and special programs to invite people to church. Some kind people would come to the bus to request more information after hearing my squeaky voice over the PA system. They would tell me how surprised they were to hear a child speaking so passionately about God and they would compliment my confidence. A few of them even showed up to church – something that delighted me greatly.

Then life happened. I grew up and started to get sidetracked. Rather than focus on God’s love and redemption, which made for a simple and compelling message, I would let myself get drawn into lengthy discussions about the original meanings of Greek and Hebrew words, hair coverings, trousers, tithes, and church scandals. The message became complicated and more difficult to convey. I started to major on the minor.

And this is one of the reasons I love Easter Sunday! Because it was on one fine Easter Sunday a few years ago that I decided I’d had enough of the complexity and I wanted to get back to what was most important. I decided it was encapsulated in what is probably the most popular Bible verse (with good reason): “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” A few days later, I found Hillsong Worship’s This I Believe (The Creed) and was drawn in by its elegance and simplicity. “I believe in you [Jesus], I believe you rose again, I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord’.

“I believe in God our Father

I believe in Christ the Son

I believe in the Holy Spirit

Our God is three in one

I believe in the resurrection

That we will rise again

For I believe in the name of Jesus”

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

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I decided to add new sections to these Life Lately posts. I’ll experiment for the next few weeks till I find what works, but I’ll start with:

What I’m currently reading: Do you ever wonder about the unintended consequences of advances in gene editing or interstellar travel? Forward, a collection of six short stories by really fine fiction writers (including Amor Towles – A Gentleman in Moscow, Andy Weir – The Martian), explores the potential impact of technological advancement. I’ve read five of the six over the past two days and I recommend them all! Randomize and Emergency Skin are among my favourites. They are Amazon Original Stories and you’ll need a (free) Kindle account to read them.

What I’m currently listening to: Hillsong Worship’s This I Believe (of course) – Apple Music, Spotify; Don Moen’s God Will Make A Way (this was my favourite gospel song as a child) – Apple Music, Spotify. They're both pretty simple songs to accompany on the piano and I've enjoyed singing along during the past week.

Cheers to the coming week!