Steven Colborne's Blog, page 18

Reflecting on Generosity

There is so much of value I want to do in the world, but until I am discharged, my dreams are only hopes. Nevertheless, I know God is faithful and that He will not forsake His saints. I just need to stay positive and press on.

Today, generosity is on my mind. How can we be truly loving people? Surely patience is virtuous, as is perseverance. However, how should we react to hostile behaviour?

The teachings of Jesus provide clarity in this regard. Jesus gave us the time-honoured instruction that we should ‘turn the other cheek’ – even that we should pray for those who persecute us and ‘go the extra mile’ with them.

The counter-cultural teachings of Jesus are a stronghold. We can always revisit the beatitudes when we need to stay grounded. They talk of being poor in spirit, meek, and merciful. This kind of behaviour pleases God, according to the words attributed to Jesus found in the New Testament.

Generosity is not a straightforward mathematical formula. When we want to be generous, but rules prohibit certain actions, what should we do? In my view, we should acknowledge that rules and laws are governed by God, and therefore if our conscience tells us that certain rules have been created in our best interests, we should try our hardest to stick to them.

Nobody is perfect, and when we slip up we have the hope that God will forgive us due to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who suffered to save us from the wrath of God over sin. Thank You, Jesus, thank You, Almighty God.

Let’s all strive to be generous, within the confines of the law, and hope that God will guide us when the best way in which we can be generous is unclear.

Life Update: Feeling More Grounded

Hello everyone. Thank you for subscribing to my blog and reading my posts, I really appreciate it. I thought I would give a general life update, being open and honest about my thoughts and feelings.

I’m still in hospital, I have leave but only escorted leave around the hospital grounds. I’m feeling quite trapped and really want to go home, but everything in God’s perfect timing.

Theologically, I’m grounded in my Christian faith, reading the Bible every day and praying regularly. I can’t wait to worship God in the congregation again.

I still have a deep respect for Islam but I have never been a practicing Muslim. I just want everyone to appreciate the beauty and wisdom contained in the Qur’an.

As I wrote in a recent post, I believe in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, but I also take seriously the Quranic teaching about Jesus being a prophet and not God. I think I believe in the unity of God, so I struggle a little with Trinitarian formulations that imply Jesus has existed eternally.

When I am discharged from hospital I hope to do some work in my local community around interfaith spirituality, bringing together Christians and Muslims especially for theological and philosophical debates.

You can support me during this challenging time by praying for me and considering purchasing one of my books. All the details can be found on the Books page.

All glory to the One True God forever. Amen.

Hope in His Unfailing Love

Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp.

He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Extol the Lord, Jerusalem; praise your God, Zion.

He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls down hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.

He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 147, New International Version.

The Lord is my Refuge

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

An extract from Psalm 18.

One Small Step, One Giant Leap

Dear friends, I hope that you are in good spirits today. I wanted to discuss my medical review today,

I saw the consultant. We had a long chat all about my current circumstances. There is light at the end of the tunnel – your prayers have not been in vain, God hears every prayer.

It seems I will be able to return to my flat to sort out a few things, and I ALSO HAVE TWICE DAILY LEAVE!

This is most wonderful and I thank God who is sovereign over the unfolding of all events.

What will I do on my leave? God only knows. Probably a bottle of Coke and a chocolate bar.

Please join me in celebrating this small victory which is also a huge step towards full discharge.

God bless

Appreciating Creation

God has created an astonishing Universe. But it’s also true that God is unable to create free creatures, because free will is impossible with an omnipresent God.

When we say ‘thank you’ to God in prayer, this is in a sense God talking to Himself. Nevertheless, as part of the cosmic game He is playing, God wants us to thank Him. Whether we do or not is not a matter of free choice, and I wonder whether this might be frustrating for God.

In my books, I have speculated that God may get angry for two reasons: one is that free will is impossible, the other is that there will never be an ending to existence for God.

I would be the first to point out that I don’t understand everything about our Creator, but the above speculations are at least logically possible. Much more likely, however, is that God is perfect – all sufficient and lacking absolutely nothing – and in this context, suffering is a creaturely facet and God would have no reason to ever be angry or frustrated.

It would be wise to take a little time to say thank you to God. Just look around at this vast and complex creation which God holds in existence and develops in the most intricate ways each and every day.

A prayer:

Thank You, Lord God Almighty, for your immensely wonderful creation. May we never take it for granted. Amen.

Freedom from sin

Friends, as you know I am very interested in interfaith dialogue, especially between Christians and Muslims.

The problem of sin is something we have to contend with, whoever we are. Everyone has a conscience, and our conscience is a God-given ‘sin indicator’.

Our awareness of sin becomes more subtle when we study the Scriptures which have been given in order that we might live lives that are pleasing to God. We will never be entirely free from sin in this life, so when we do sin, what should we do?

In Islam, prayer is part of daily life. In Christianity, prayer is part of daily life also. We only have differences in terms of how we ritualistically submit to God.

While Muslims pray at set times, Christians pray whenever they have a need, a request, or an apology. Often our Christian petitions are in response to a prompting from the Holy Spirit.

Forgiveness in Christianity is the result of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, while in Islam there is no intercessor- Muslims go directly to Allah. So this is a key area of disagreement in these two great religions.

My personal experience is that in Islam the fervent desire to avoid hell makes for quite extreme behaviour, at times. In Christianity, if people are truly following Jesus, there will be a fear of God but also an underlying confidence that everything is okay, because Jesus already paid the price.

Both Muslims and Christians believe in the resurrection of the dead and a day of judgement at a time in the future known only to God. So the question is: Do we boast in Jesus, or do we boast our own goodness?

God is not a monster. While the prospect of hell is frightening for everyone, we can have a quiet confidence (a hope, at least) that God is forgiving and merciful to everyone who truly repents.

Thanks be to God.

Lessons

This spell in hospital has been full of lessons. So many I think it will take some time to process everything. I do hope this trial is nearly over, but God does whatever He will.

A few things I’ve learned (or have become more aware of):

1) Women rule the world

2) The mental health system is plagued by the devil

3) God is vast in His wisdom

4) I just need to be myself

5) God’s favour is everything

I don’t know when I be discharged, but I am holding onto hope that this week will be the week.

With love and good wishes to all my readers.

The Ever-Relenting

Oh how I need the mercy of God! My life is in tatters. I am so thankful for the steadfast love which He has shown me ever since I repented and gave my life to Him back in 2007. What a crazy journey life is when we follow Jesus!

There are lessons to be learned every day, the wisdom of God is immense. My word for today is temperance. Moderation in all things. Keeping an even keel.

When I prayed for God to perfect my character, I should have expected to be put through the refining fire. But I had no idea how chaotic things would be. God does whatever He will, and

I hold onto the hope that nothing I’ve been through will be wasted. I will come out of this more faithful, more compassionate, and a better person. What am I saying?! I am not a good person in any way, there is none good but God.

My prayer is that every reader of this blog finds peace and joy this year. The sun just came out as I typed, glory be to Him!

His love never fails. Mercy, temperance, and steadfast love be with you all. Amen.

Jesus Christ WAS crucified

Regular readers will know that I believe the central issue in religious discourse is whether Jesus Christ was crucified, as Christians believe, or not, as Muslims believe. So much theology hinges upon this question.

Because we can’t access a video recording of the crucifixion, we rely on historical evidence and whatever God reveals to us personally.

Knowing that Jesus was crucified means we can trust Pauline theology and that Christians have the hope of salvation. It also means that the Qur’an is not an inerrant and infallible Scripture.

I have every respect for Jewish people, Christians, and Muslims who are well-intentioned and try to live lives that are pleasing to God. We will all be judged.

I hope to live out the rest of my life as a Christian, but a Christian who has a deep respect for Muslims and Jews. Prayers appreciated.

Thanks be to God.