I've been reading more of Peter Morden's book about C.H.Spurgeon - The People's Preacher. It's a facinating read and really informative on the people and events that shaped his early life leading up to his conversion and into the early days of his new found faith.

What is really interesting is that a number of people involved were nothing special in the eyes of men. He was converted in a sermon led by a Primitive methodist preacher who had little ability to preach and mainly kept repeating his text from Isaiah over and over again. And yet at one point he fixed his eyes on Spurgeon and implored him to be saved. "Young man, look to Christ. Look. Look. Look. You have nothing to do but look and live". And there and then Spurgeon looked and found Christ.

He says much later  in his life;"many days of christian experience have passed... but there has never been one which has had the full exhileration, the sparkling delight, which that first day had. I thought I could have sprung from the seat on which I sat and called out with the wildest of those methodist bretheren who were present "I'm forgiven, I am forgiven. A monument of grace. A sinner saved by blood"

God does not need the clever or the skillful, he just needs an open and willing heart and a willingness to be a channel through which His power can flow

Well it had to happen. First there is the website, then we set up a Twitter account and finally we have established a Facebook page. I'm sure it was easier for Paul when he just had a quill and parchment, but then I'm not sure that I would have wanted to live in that era. So now all these things feel like hungry pets that always want feeding. So that's my day off sorted then.

Yo probably think that I never do any work because yesterday I listened to the whole of the book of Job being read on the computer. (Honestly, I was working as well on the accounts) The version I have been listening to is the TNIV published by Hodder. Listening to the whole book in one go gives a very impressive overview and helps you to grasp all the arguements from Job's so called friends. You have to feel sorry for him as he innocently finds himself as a pawn in a spiritual battle played out unseen from his eyes. You feel the pain of his losses as disaster upon disaster strikes until he has little left. Then when things can't get any worse along come his friends to stick the boot in. They are a bit like some christian counsellors who toe the party line and spout dogma without compassion or reality.

Somehow their eyes are closed to the wider picture. If scolars are to be believed then very possibly this could be the earliest book in the Bible possibly even being set before the Flood so they didn't have a lot to go on as far as theology was concerned. Every arguement that the friends make is countered by Job, but none have seen things from God's perspective.

And just when you feel enough is enough God steps in with an amazing 'you know nothing' speech that blows them all away. Talk about majestic and powerful. Wow.

So the story ends happily ever after and with Job restored to health and we have the legacy of an amazing book. And that's just 1 of the 66. 

I've had an opportunity in the last couple of days to spend some time up in the office catching up with some paperwork. This has enabled me to have the Old Testament scriptures being read on my computer while I am working. I have been listening to Kings and Chronicles and as you listen you can't help thinking that I've heard this before recently. There are a number of incidents that are covered in both books, often with a slightly different perspective. It would be interesting one day to try and create a parallel harmony of these 2 double books (perhaps with 1 and 2 Samuel as well) in the same way that you can get a harmony of the gospels.

However, that aside (and don't you find that it is so easy to get distracted and want to do another bit of research) what comes across again and again is how so many of the kings in both Judah and Israel blended a potent mixture of true worship and idol worship together (or at least thought that they could, as if hedging their bets). Some kings were just plain evil and routed out all the opportunities for worship and yet others saw the light and turfed out all the evil stuff and reestablished the role of worship in the temple as a king structured his kingdom around the book of the Law. And several times they started out well and got distracted at the end of their lives.

I suppose the reality is that nothing changes so we have no right to judge them , ultimately we all compromise in some way in our lives. However, the true king - the King of Kings - the Lord Jesus is the only one who is pure through and through. It is a good job that we are following Him. He will never let us down and we can absolutely guarentee that He won't fall at the last hurdle.