God's gift for Christmas? (click for audio)

On the day that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, I think its fair to take out a few moments to think about the whole issue of the claims of Christianity itself.

As I was working today, I was challenged again by hearing one of our interviews with a special guest called John Blanchard. John has spoken at my Church a few times and he speaks articulately for the evangelical view that faith is based on relationship, not religion.

I have posted John's interview on this page and it makes interesting listening to anyone who may consider the importance or existence of God at this time.

To listen to the audio, please click on the TITLE of this post and may I wish people of all faiths and none, a very peaceful Christmas.

http://www.johnblanchard.org

Tis the season to be merry

Click the ^^^^^title^^^^^ to see festive house lights taken to the next level

The music you hear also plays to accompany the christmas lights but after many people simply camped outside the house for front row seats the owners had to pull the plug.

...No wonder the USA contributes 25% towards global warming, I've a funny feeling theres a good 10-15% going up in lights right there :-)

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!

Vatican Photographs

For the last few days I have been in Rome, fulfilling a long time ambition to visit the Vatican. I am not a Roman Catholic but for anyone who's vaguely interested in Church History. St Peter's must be top of the list of places to visit.

Its the worlds largest Church in the worlds smallest country and although there are bigger golf courses than the whole Vatican state itself, you'll be hard pressed to find other places which such a great and varied collection of art and sculpture.

Photographs
Anyone who wants to see some of photographs from my visit may do so by clicking on the "Vatican Photographs" text above the banner at the top of this entry.

The value of God?

I arrived home today to find my latest coin had arrived for my collection. This is a special coin with a special story.

Coin collecting may not be everyone's cup of tea but most people can identify with some coin or other. Some coins seem rather normal but others ooze intrigue and interest after a few hundred years underground or even underwater.

Whether its pirates pieces of eight or medieval coinage from the darkest streets of London, I love wondering about the history behind these tiny discs of metal. If only they could speak. Whose hands could of held them?

My new coin certainly falls into this category. It was minted around 35AD in Jerusalem and its a standard shekel which would have been changed at the temple into temple money (this was coinage bearing no idololoturous imagery). The old coins would never be used in the house of God.

Problems soon arose however as people who changed this money soon realised that they could charge a premium for doing so. Over time, the cost of changing coinage grew and grew meaning that poorer people couldn't afford the better offerings once inside.

It was this system which angered Jesus greatly. On one occasion He stormed through the temple, turning over the money tables as he went "This is supposed to be a house of prayer..." He said "but you have turned it into a den of thieves!"

What's it worth?

This coin is also very special for another reason. Although its minted approximately two years after the crucifixion of Jesus, this coin is the same type as the infamous '30 pieces of silver'. This was the price for which Judas agreed to betray Christ to the authorities. As I held this coin for the first time today, I wondered for what price I betray the faith which I claim? The coin looks so small especially in comparison to the life of a man yet sometimes people seem to betray their beliefs for even less than this.



For anyone who's interested. This coin is valued today at £186.28 which means that using the same '30 piece rule' the price on the head of Jesus would be £5588.40.

Today at Old Trafford

A few days after the death of one of the greatest footballers of all time, tributes are continuing to grow outside one of his old clubs, Manchester United

I was outside the ground taking photographs for work. I arrived just after lunch and was amazed to see most of the pavement in front of the ground occupied with all kinds of tributes and messages from members of the public.
George Best certainly lived up to his name, he was a great footballer during his day and he was probably the first 'modern' footballing superstar. His private life may well have been checkered by alcohol abuse, bust ups and court appearances but the UK people watched with sadness as George Best failed to recover from a complicated and protracted illness.

Largely thanks to the media, everyone can identify with death if they have followed the story via the news channels. We have heard all the details and even seen pictures from his bedside so it is no wonder that when the news came on Friday, lots of people were genuinely saddened. I was also saddened by that fact that after his Doctor had given him 24 hours to live, George best would have been able to read his obituary in the paper the next day. I can't help but wonder why the media chose to make as much of this as they did. It has been said that people from the UK now show collective grief on an unhealthy scale at times like this and whether this is true or not. It has probably been largely fueled by the hourly updates on his condition which were broadcast for two or three days solid.

George Best will definitely be remembered for his football, but like some footballers of today he seems to have been the 'flawed genius' He struggled off the pitch in many ways but according to those who met him, he was a gentleman who had time for most people. Over the last few days most people at Old Trafford made time for George Best. They carefully looked over the masses of cards, scarves and shirts which have been place outside the ground.

I felt strangely moved by being there today. Not just by the awareness that someone from the media spotlight, to whom I had become attached has died, but was also moved by watching other people as they came to be a part of what was happening. I spoke with a family from Glasgow who had come to lay flowers and I also spoke with a man from Nigeria who seemed deeply moved by what he was seeing even though he was unaware as to who George Best was.

As I left and as I look back over my photographs, I am challenged in many ways. What makes a hero? Why can so many people seem to be so affected by events such as these and why is our society so defunct when people obviously care so much? Whatever the answers to questions like these are, my thoughts and prayers rest with Georges family.