green pastures/still waters

New Blog

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:59:00 +0000

New blog for the pond...go see

http://dwexcsv.wordpress.com/

The Confusing World of Eagles

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:31:00 +0000

One of the most oft repeated anecdotes in modern preaching is the one about the mother Eagle that pushes the young one out of the nest to teach it to fly, this is used to say that God pushes us so we step out in faith.

This post is not about the ridiculous romantic nonsense that this anecdote is, after all some eagle chicks eat the other chicks to ensure survival...what are we saying, that religious people devour each other, perish the thought?

The reason I mention it is for because I think when spiritual awakening occurs within a Christian framework it can be often be seen as the end of the journey, as if salvation is the prize, the goal.

My experience dictates that the time of awakening is the beginning of the journey, not the end.

Too many people are peering over the gates of heaven looking for their mansion, but surely the people of faith should have feet of clay, earth is where we were born, it is where we live, and it is where we will die...heaven can wait.

So do not be an eagle sat at the foot of the cliff, thinking that getting out of the nest was the big achievement, sat there hoping to escape predators whilst crying out like a malnourished babe crying 'feed me'.

Spread your wings and fly my friends, soar to the heights of spiritual maturity and be a restorer of the streets and communities in which you live. Lose your lives for others, for it is in the selfless giving to your fellow man that you will truly find yourself.

Question...do you know all the people who live within five doors of you?

Peace neighbour

Dave

No Faith?

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:44:00 +0000

Little did I realise how much interest there would be in my last post, a post which has, as always, been misunderstood.

Thanks to Peter and Steve who asked me directly what I meant, but for those who have an opinion formed from conjecture and rumour can I make an extra couple of points.

Firstly, I have not abandoned or renounced my faith, I have abandoned and renounced my belief in Christianity. If you cannot see the difference then it may well be that you have faith in Christianity and therefore you may equate any assault on Christianity as an affront to God.

Others have rejected the religion of their day and not rejected their faith in God, some notable people would be Jesus, Paul, Peter and Luther.

Each one of these men reckoned that the religion of their day was a religion of law and not of grace, each one was on the whole rejected by those who were part of that religion. Each one of these people believed that God made the first move towards man (grace), and did not believe that man could do anything to gain favour (salvific) with God (law).

Secondly I have not abandoned or rejected the church, I think it is a perfect way, and that is the crux, church is a way and not an institution, Dingwall has one church, and the church has been part of God's plan always. The reason I do not go to any individual church in Dingwall is simply because most of the preaching is law and not grace, that is not a criticism, it is an observation.

So I still believe all that Jesus said and I still rely that God gives me the strength to live that life...so all I can say to those who are angry at my last post...relax and enjoy life.

Christianity - The End

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:53:00 +0000

It is almost 17 years since I first called myself a Christian, since then a lot of water has flowed under the religious bridge. My summation of it all now is this.

I have met some wonderful people, and I have met some people who made me think of Jesus.

I have met a lot of people who are fearful, who follow God because they are scared not to, they are running from hell.

I have met many people who manipulate other people and who love people in the hope that it may put extra fuel in their heaven bound train.

I have met many people who are just simple hypocrites, who have an outward religious appearance, but simply do not bear much resemblance to Jesus.

I am not saying I have it all sorted, but I do know that what I see in Christianity is not the good news that Jesus spoke about, it is a man made pagan religion.

So if you do not mind I am leaving, I am no longer claiming Christianity as my religion or faith, no thanks, I was made free, I intend staying free, see you heaven if you make the list.

Farewell
Dave

Changes

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:59:00 +0000

Today I became a Grandad - nice!!!

Facebook

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:02:00 +0000

It appears that Facebook is taking over, i have been on it for about a year I guess, not long after notifying my lingering withdrawal from this blog. I wonder just how far this whole social networking thing will go and where it will emerge.
I have just created a virtual filmclub on facebook that will have a physical outworking in the town, will it work, a coming together of the virtual and the real...only one way to find out.

You may not find the film club unless you are on facebook as I am not creating a website, so its full steam ahead with the polar express in a few weeks.

Discipleship

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 08:36:00 +0000

I wonder if we ever comprehend what discipleship is, we do courses, have study guides, but in my experience it goes far beyond anything we can simply make as an offshoot of Christianity. Discipleship is not optional, it is the only way...see the quote below...

Discipleship is not limited to what you can understand – it must transcend all comprehension. Plunge into the deep waters beyond your own understanding, and I will help you to comprehend.

Bewilderment is the true comprehension. Not to know where you are going is the true knowledge. In this way Abraham went forth from his father, not knowing where he was going. That is the way of the cross. You cannot find it in yourself, so you must let me lead you as though you were a blind man.

Not the work which you choose, not the suffering you devise, but the road which is contrary to all that you choose or contrive or desire – that is the road you must take. It is to this path that I call you, and in this sense that you must be my disciple.

Source: Martin Luther (1483-1546), quoted in Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "The Cost of Discipleship."

Eric the Worship Leader 2

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:56:00 +0000

Looks like Eric had some spare time on his hands.

Eric the Worship Leader

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:58:00 +0000

After browsing God Tube (the Christian response to You Tube) I found this, what a great song...nice one Eric

Weird and then some

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 15:39:00 +0000

Last night whilst working on the taxi I noticed a series of orange lights in the sky above Tulloch, about 5 in all, I thought they were helicopters coming towards me as they were moving very slow. So I stopped the car to listen for noise and heard nothing, by this time a few more had appeared.

I went to the house I was picking up from and the two customers watched with me as a line of about 20-30 orange lights moved slowly, each one seemed to be about a mile away and a 200 yards apart, though distance in the dark is hard to judge.

Each light followed the same path before disappearing from view, the whole episode lasted about 10 minutes and I never saw them after this. The sky was slightly cloudy with little wind, these were unlike anything I have ever seen before.

I thought they could have been some kind of orange helium balloon with lights inside that had been released from a party, and the uniform track they took would be because of wind currents, but at least one of them at one point moved back against the flow.

Any ideas.

Back

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 10:55:00 +0000

Since being ousted from YouTube I have had requests for video's, this one is the most requested, so here it is back for a repeat showing...its Bob and his rulers!

Never say never

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:39:00 +0000

I am back on You Tube as Micah780, but i have also joined 'GodTube' so expect some good christian stuff over the coming weeks as well.

Scottish Northern Convention

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:51:00 +0000

Just been looking at posts I never posted - this person never responded to my emails...so here is the post one year on from when it should have been posted.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flicking through SKY TV tonight and specifically the GOD channels, and there on UCB I find some guy preaching from the Church of Scotland, Dingwall in 2006. It was weird because I could see lots of people I know.

The preacher was speaking about the fool, and saying that basically many non-Christians are fools, and are full of arrogance, he illustrated this by suggesting that if you shine a torch in Wayne Rooneys ear his eyes light up...in other words, Rooney is brainless.

I managed to find out that this man is the Rev David Earnshaw from a church in Swindon, I have emailed him to find out how well he knows Wayne Rooney.

I will let you know his response.

By the way if you want a more detailed look at his sermon you can find it on his website here, he had preached it before (30Oct2005 am).

Looking

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 07:54:00 +0000

Some people are looking for a city with visible foundations, a spiritual refuge that has a physical place on earth. Those people believe that their security is in the physical and temporal things of this world.

The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.

Story

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 20:38:00 +0000

In the film Apocalypto one of the tribal elders tells a story (see below). Where are the story telling elders in our society...

And a Man sat alone, drenched deep in sadness.
And all the animals drew near to him and said,
"We do not like to see you so sad.
Ask us for whatever you wish and you shall have it."

The Man said, "I want to have good sight."
The vulture replied, "You shall have mine."
The Man said, "I want to be strong."
The jaguar said, "You shall be strong like me."
Then the Man said, "I long to know the secrets of the earth."
The serpent replied, "I will show them to you."
And so it went with all the animals.
And when the Man had all the gifts that they could give, he left.

Then the owl said to the other animals, "Now the Man knows much,
he'll be able to do many things. Suddenly I am afraid."
The deer said, "The Man has all that he needs.
Now his sadness will stop."

But the owl replied,
"No. I saw a hole in the Man, deep like a hunger he will never fill.
It is what makes him sad and what makes him want.
He will go on taking and taking, until one day the World will say,
'I am no more and I have nothing left to give.'"

You Tube no more

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 12:52:00 +0000

It appears that my You Tube account has been removed on the very day I reached 1 million downloads - as I never made many backups all those 96 video's have been lost, oh well, maybe all good things really do come to an end, so now I need find another video hoster...farewell Youtube.

Robert Tilton and Benny Hinn tried to have me removed but I replaced them with images of monkey's, its seems 20th Century Fox finally did the business.

Indigestion

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:19:00 +0000

So there's these two indigestion tablets having a pint in a pub, its near closing time so they drink up and head for the door. At the door they turn to face the packed bar, the first tablet says 'well its goodnight from me', and the other one says 'and its good night from him', at which they walk out.

A bloke turns to the landlord with a puzzled smile on his face and says, 'who was that', the landlord replies, 'thats the Two Rennies'

The Big 1,000,000

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:02:00 +0000

Video Views: 1,000,088

I have just reached 1 big fat million video views of my videos on Youtube...here is the first one 15 months ago...and I only ever went on Youtube for a bit of fun, so if you please, excuse well I bask in a bit of self idolising glory...okay thats enough.

1 minute

1 minute

Reconciled

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 20:08:00 +0000

Someone was talking to me today about reconciliation and just what it was all about...so I began looking, not for my benefit, I know the deal, but listen to this...

1. Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
2. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

So why oh why oh why am I faced with people who pretend to be 'in Christ' yet no matter how many times you go on bended humiliated knees they look down with rank disdain and with a mighty swing of their hobnailed gospel shoes they kick your teeth right down your friggin throat.
Im sick and tired of people making out they are God's people but who run roughshod over the teachings of Christ. I think Gandhi (Hindu) was more like Jesus than some 'saved' people I know.

So here is the outcome of my mini rant, if you have anything against a brother, a grudge say, or you look down on them, or cannot forgive them, or think yourself more highly and yet you minister at the altar (as all God's people do) then your ministry is a sham, a clanging cymbal, a dark void.
You see if God reconciled you and gave you the ministry of reconciliation, yet you refuse to be reconciled to others, then you, counting mens sins against them, stop the world from being reconciled to God.

Sorry if all that seems a bit harsh or strong, but these things really hinder the gospel, and I have a far greater loyalty to the gospel of Jesus than to any one persons sensibilities.

I'm outta here

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:34:00 +0000

Hundreds of people in Peru have needed treatment after an object from space - said to be a meteorite - plummeted to Earth in a remote area, officials say.

They say the object left a deep crater after crashing down over the weekend near the town of Carancas in the Andes....more. The North West passage is now open, and people are being ill due to space objects...

REM - Its the end of the world - 4 minute video

The third Angel trumpeted. A huge Star, blazing like a torch, fell from Heaven, wiping out a third of the rivers and a third of the springs. The Star's name was Wormwood. A third of the water turned bitter, and many people died from the poisoned water.

Only kidding, the world is never gonna end ;)

Scottish Baptists

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:15:00 +0000

I was in college the other day reading about church history and picked up a book on Scottish Baptist church history. What interests me is the diversity of the Baptist church, for we do seem to be more diverse than most faith groups.

We do quite well here in Dingwall with currently just one Baptist church where I often attend, but looking at comparable size towns in the American bible belt I found it fascinating...here is the list for one town.

CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

FIRST SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH

HIGHLAND BAPTIST CHURCH

KOREAN BAPTIST CHURCH

KOREAN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH

Interesting to see two Korean churches, but thats not my point.

The point is this: Is the diversity of faith communities in small towns a good thing, or does it hinder the purpose of the church?

The Dogs of War

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 09:40:00 +0000

Snow Patrol - You're All I Have

Video runs for about 3m47s

I have been listening a lot to Snow Patrol, as Phoebe testified on a recent car journey to Manchester. All the songs are pretty good, but the one above has really tasked me these last few weeks.

It seems that wherever I look in these days of ours, from South Africa to the carnage in Iraq where the innocent blood of 3000 killed on Sept 11 2001 has been mixed with the innocent blood of undeniably more in another futile war, chaos is gripping the whole world.

In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar the following is quoted...

A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;
Domestic fury and fierce civil strife
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;
Blood and destruction shall be so in use
And dreadful objects so familiar
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quarter’d with the hands of war;
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:
And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice
Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.

It is a fact that a fire is a whole lot easier to start than it is to put out, one small flame can kindle a whole world of fire. So with listening to Snow Patrol it struck me from the opening line, that for me there is one objective/purpose in life.

It is not the purpose of the reductionist gospel of the evangelical fundamentalists who have salvation as the common denominator for their fractious groupings.

You see my (your) purpose, be it in home, community, self, committee's, church, wherever I am, is simply as Snow Patrol puts it in the opening line...to 'train this chaos turn it into light'. If we do not do this then the lions of destruction will continue to ravage this world, ripping and tearing and leaving people in pieces.

We cannot solve the world's ills, but we can be a people who take what is dark and chaotic and transform it into light and order.

Let's train this chaos turn it into light,
I've gotta see you one last night,
Before the lions take their share,
Leave us in pieces, scattered everywhere

Reluctant Grace

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 09:50:00 +0000

The other day someone wanted to give some money away, I felt they should not give it away. Why? Because it was in a complex way my money as well.

Anyway suffice to say: sometimes I act more like Judas than Jesus.

Sad

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 21:03:00 +0000

From rockinthegrass.blogspot.com

11 September
Today is a sad day.... Sad because it marks the death of so many people.
Some died in the terrible act of terror on the World Trade Centre in New York. And I will never forget the images of the twin towers on fire. And of people trapped helplessly inside the building. And I wept on September 11.
Many more people have died as a consequence of the revenge taken by the people of the United States of America. The angry frustration of the American people boiled over in Afghanistan, and in Iraq. And now there are noisy threats against Iran. And uncounted thousands have died at the hands of modern American warriors.
And I weep at the senselessness of it all.
I cannot see how killing more people is the way to making us all feel secure. I do understand that it might grant some sort of temporary relief for those who want to hit back. And I do see how it can be some sort of outlet for those who want to be seen to be doing something.
But I do not feel safer after the blood-letting. I choose instead to follow the teachings of one who said “..do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you” (Matthew 5:39)...because “I will pay back says the Lord” (Deuteronomy 32:35). When I take revenge I presume to play God in other people’s lives. And there are way too many cruel people who claim to act on behalf of God already.
Cry with me today.

Now that's funny

ddeg@live.com (Dave Lynch) — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 23:12:00 +0000

'What if' and I mean just go and place all your theological and doctrinal safety blankets with the baby Jesus in the crib for a moment...but what if, God, just for a laugh, just for the biggest wheeze in history, just for the most raucous and side splitting cosmic laugh ever - decided to let everybody into heaven after all.............Would you laugh or be angry?