Iftar

Iftar is an evening meal that follows the days fasting during Ramadan. As far as I can understand they are family gatherings, a shared breaking of the fast together. It happens at evening time straight after sunset. An old friend from the Café, he hasn't visited in quite a while, came in yesterday. He lives nearby with his family and has invited me to join him for Iftar one night. It is a great opportunity to experience something like this, and I hope to have a reciprocal event in the café thereafter. Ramadan is considered by Muslims as the holiest month of the year - the year they believe the prophet Mohammed received his revelation from Allah. It is supposed to be a time of reflection and repentance - a self-submitted desert time. Ramadan is believed to be a time of worship - they fast for the sake of God.
The chap that came to church last Sunday met up with me twice the following Tuesday. We had some really interesting conversations and I got to learn some of his family history. He said his father died when he was only one year old and that he doesn't think it affected him much. I think that whatever kind of parenting we had affects us massively, but I know I often underestimated it's significance. He said that he found the sermon interesting yet he couldn't follow it too well since he believed the account of Abraham was an allegory and not fiction. He did like hearing when I said to give God the wrong kind of offering is like giving a bunch of flowers to the parent of a child you have killed in a car accident - an insult. It is so nice to get into some deep conversations with these friends.  

At last!

Yesterday I gave a sermon on Abraham's sacrifice of his son (Genesis22)- did you notice it was never 'near' sacrifice - it was all the way! And he came BACK from the DEAD! Anyway here's the big news! One of my friends came to the service - for the first time in 5 years I have known him! Very exciting. I just hope that the topic was suitable. We have been reading through Abrahams life as a topical study and it's been very interesting. Yesterdays one was difficult since the story is so well known - it's one of those one's where you have to remind everyone about what's written there. Granted there are many who don't know the story and so there's always the joy of finding other peoples insight. We normally have a Q&A&comments session after the sermon but we didn't this time which is a bit disappointing since so much of the text can be elaborated on. Please pray for D_ that he comes again and that what he's heard hits home!

Who do you know?

It's interesting to note the number of people who come into Cafe Forever, and indeed those we meet in daily life, who want to tell us about their importance. One gentleman has told me that he flew spitfire planes, has won marathons around the world, and coached Paula Radcliffe. Whatever the topic of the day in the news, he's been involved somehow! I have often searched the internet to verify it and there's nothing. It's so difficult to talk to him since there's nobody to talk to, just a set of stories. Another lady I have known for a while came in yesterday and the news of the UK phone hacking tribunal was going on. She told me that she was a great reporter in her home country and when she retired in UK she was offered a role on the truth commission. It may be true, I don't know how to verify it. She said she was 'so glad justice was being done', and she was very proud to be a part of the committee. But she is very vocal about her position in society and in truth, and when it comes to mentioning it, she tosses her hair and puffs her self up. She said she has never lied, she wasn't brought up that way. I told her that everyone lies and sins. She said she doesn't believe that. I asked her if she had ever told somebody she liked them when she didn't - 'Ah, now that's diplomacy' she told me. I reckon that is lie number 2. She said that she believes that we will be re-incarnated if we mess up in this life, A second, third, fourth chance - perhaps on another planet, to get things right.

Hannah trying on my shoes.

My daughter spends a lot of her time playing games, sometimes it's difficult to know when she is acting she is sad, acting angry or otherwise. It is something that I hope she grows out of. I want to have a relationship with my daughter, not some fantasy that she has. When she is happy, I want to know it; and when she is sad. It becomes really difficult to have a relationship with people who are involved in a fantasy, or those who have an inflated opinion of themselves; you can never talk on the level.

Often I find myself wishing I was something else, perhaps even fantasizing. I wish I had a job that brought in more money, or I wish I had my own home, I often dislike working at Café Forever. I'll talk about people I know who worked with me at Sky news as if through knowing them I am something special and someday I might go back. That is when I become useless; If I pursue it; it is difficult for others to be my friend. I present myself as something 'better' than what I am. It is through the fall that we have a need to 'cover up' - to hide our weaknesses, just like Adam and Eve.God has a vision for us, and a purpose. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We don't need to be anything other than what God has ordained for us. It is through the second Adam that we can be restored; if only we would come into relationship with the second Adam. Do you name drop? Have you ever name dropped 'Jesus'. Please pray for our 'difficult' friends.

Meeting your neighbour

Ley Street Centre

Last night I went to Ley street centre where Imtiaz Khan from the London City Mission is working. It was a great evening. When I arrived the meal was still being eaten and so I was able to sample the delicious curry cooked by Abdul Aziz's wife - really wonderful. I sat at the table of the two guest speakers who would later talk about the perspective and instruction to family given by the Quran and the Bible. I heard that the Muslim man was a Islamic psychotherapist, and the Christian was a pastor at St Helens. There did not seem a whole lot of differences between the two faiths from the presentation, there were points when question time came, from the public, that were somewhat difficult to take and in most cases both debaters would argue to look at the context in which the text was written. One of the sticking points was the prophet Mohammed's relationship with Aisha - the fact that she was so young when he married her. The argument that was given was that in those days such a thing was not uncommon and that Mary was very young when she married Joseph. The defence was that why because society deems it sick, is it sick? I would argue that a child has no way of making an informed decision about who they want to marry, but then from the Muslim worldview, marriage is arranged. There was an earlier statement that forced marriage was not permissible within Islam - one could then argue where freedom of choice is removed in parent child relations. Later one Muslim woman suggested that some scholars say Aisha may have been between 16 and 19 years. I did not think that questioning was helpful for building relations since it is easy to bring up our differences, but we look for the things we share in common when we are trying to make friends. Imtiaz did an excellent job of hosting and chairing the event. I will certainly try to go again, it is the sort of meeting that really inspires deep thought and apologetic thinking and a great place to enter into relationship and discussion with Muslim people.

The harvest is plentiful but...

Saturday evening in ASDA - rows of short fuses!

There's so many people who we are in contact with who need REAL friends. It is such a big requirement - they need somebody to come and visit them in the evening, when there's the temptation to have a drink - it's a daily requirement. Without GOOD friends (and you know what I mean by good) they become influenced for evil - to neglect or hurt their children; their neighbour; their environment. I know of many such cases that need a real friend, but friendships take time to develop, and they are a heavy burden on families. Our church has a small core group most of whom are families. The singles among us work incredibly hard at loving their neighbour - going the extra mile in the evening or on a weekend - tensions run high. But how does a father of two young children go to a contact in the evening when his wife has come home from work tired and now has to deal with, bath, the children? These contacts, as I say, need friends who can come 3 out of 5 days in a week, to help them as they cook dinner, to chat to them about seemingly unimportant things, to be a friend, to laugh, to cry, to share in life. The city is a difficult place to live, the concrete jungle - this island has so many competing forces, so many wicked spirits. Please PRAY - pray to the Lord of the harvest. 

Truth about drugs

This video requires some discretion from parents due to the language etc so please be warned!... I don't know if you were ever able to see this documentary, but it's up there as one of the most enlightening I have seen. Ben's struggle with his addiction to Heroin. His parents seem to have an experience nobody wants to go through - so much sadness. Ben: 'Please Lord, please, forgive me for all my sins'.