Is reverence something we need, as Christians, in the current world?
Is reverence a bygone requirement for believers, surpassed by the death and resurrection of Jesus?
Is reverence something we should be bothered about in our churches and families?
Andy B takes a look at something that he has been thinking through, and about, for more than 2 and a half years; pondering and chewing what he saw as a lack of reverence in so many churches, it seems normal.
After seeing some beautiful images of Autumn, or Fall – depending on what part of the world you live in – Andy B got thinking about cycles of life.
Because in life, just like those leaves, what can seem the end, can also just be the beginning of something else, and new.
There are always things which will blur how people will see us.
Much like my trusty boots, our identity can become confused by the scuffs and dents we all experience in life.
On my boots, they will always be the same brand. But, the name on the side, even though it is bright orange, is showing signs of age – after being used almost every day, all day, for a year.
We have a dehumidifier in our home. Because, in our last home, we had horrendous damp, which led to serious problems with mould.
And we were thankful that we were able to get some great advice about which sort of dehumidifier to buy. And so we bought the type we were advised to buy.
And ours really is superb. You set the humidity level you want in your home, which you can find in the manual, and you switch it on. That’s it – other than emptying the tank when it is full of water.
When we go cycling, things can stick to our tyres. If you go mountain biking, you might end up with plenty of mud liberally applied to your bike. And if you’re really unfortunate, you’ll end up with a clay/grass mix that will stick to the outside of your tyre, and weight your bike down enough that you struggle up hills you can normally cycle up, without much effort or thought.
Well this is exactly what happened to Jo, and her bike, when we were out Mountain Biking one day.
It seemed as though the weight of her bike had been doubled! And holding a pile of it in my hands, after I’d scraped it off her bike, I could easily believe it.
When a well runs out of water, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is no water left – just that the water table may have dropped, so our well runs out of water. When we dig down a bit further, we find that water again, and our fill will be filled with water once more.
And in our relationship, and walk, as disciples of Jesus Christ, we can often feel as though God has moved away from us.
We have several items in our recording studio that are nearly identical. They may be the same length, or the same brand, they may just look really similar. And this can make setting up the studio entertaining, when you’re trying to connect one specific microphone, or whatever.
Andy B loves simple solutions to life’s troubles, so when he had given up trying to be patient plugging into cables, that he can never tell apart, he came up with a solution – velcro.
Andy B took Jo for her return trip to the dentist, but while Andy and Jo share many traits and interests, one thing Jo does REALLY well, is not worrying about things she either has no control over, or things that haven’t yet come to pass.
With a hyper-sensitivity to needles, Andy would have been worrying for two weeks straight, letting the anxiety grow, thinking through the various things that could go wrong. Positive side of that trait, is the ability to read ahead, see the problems before they happen and prevent them – which makes event planning really easy.
Andy B loves his kitchen, and he loves kitchen shops, or departments with cooking equipment in them.
For ages now, he has been trying to make Yorkshire Puddings, using his super cheap cupcake baking tray.
In one way it is perfectly functional – it has a number of bowl like shapes, that help Yorkshire Puddings grow into the right shape as they cook. But, on the other hand, it is super cheap, ultra thin metal, and has the non-stick ability of super glue!
Matthew 7 verse 16 says that by our fruits we will be known.
This means that our actions are more important than our words because words, while very important, don’t necessarily lead to change, or action. But by their very definition, actions, are the outworking of what we truly believe and think.
Andy took his wife to the dentist and it made him think about what we can, each of us, do every single day to show the love of Jesus Christ to the people we meet, to the people we love, to people who know Jesus again, to people who need to know Jesus for the first time.
The bible clearly teaches us that we should expect to find people in positions of authority in our churches, and church communities, who exist simply to destroy.
Jesus dealt with it and so did Paul, so we shouldn’t be surprised.
We shouldn’t accept it either! But how can we work out who is for Jesus, and who is not?
While making a cup of tea, Andy B added far too much milk to his first cup of tea! And it totally ruined it!
Church can mean lots of different things to different people.
For some it is a place you’d only visit on high days and holidays – Christmas and Easter, and maybe birth and death!
For others it is somewhere we see as the place we go to each Sunday morning to worship God with other believers.
But, far too often it is also better known for everything that is nothing to do with Jesus or the gospel!
Parenting can be tough. But, thankfully, there is a instruction manual we can download that will teach us all we ever needed to know.
Our lives on this planet, are not designed to be lived out in isolation. God made us to live in Community.
And in the bible, we find the perfect instructions to live the best lives we can, and see perfect examples of how to parent.
Each day we get to choose what we cultivate in our hearts and minds.
Some people can be great at gardening. Then, there are people like us: I’ve spent time lovingly nurturing and caring for a weed, which I’d thought was actually a flower.
And we can do that in our spiritual lives too – we can spend so much time developing something that doesn’t have good roots or foundation!
As disciples of Jesus Christ we need to be constantly checking in God, and Scripture, to ensure that those things in our lives that we are working on, are flowers not weeds; that they’re good for us, not bad; that we’re building God’s Kingdom, not our own.
Andy and Jo are fasting for a week, because of some big life decisions coming up in the future, and found themselves waiting for these big changes to occur, before they start really enjoying living life to the full.
Can you relate to this? Waiting for something external to improve before you start enjoying life, and experiencing the joy that a relationship with Jesus Christ gives us?
It’s easy waiting for a better moment to start dieting, or going to the gym. We can wait for the perfect moment until we make the move for a better career, or tackling that unloved garden.
But, tomorrow never comes!
Robots can be great ways of saving manpower and time. They can be more efficient, saving both time and money. When it comes to important welds, they do it better than a human can.
But, only if they’ve been told what to do properly.
Andy B finally got his bike working, when he then had to fit a replacement rear wheel.
All good?
Well no! Because he forgot to add a small strip of plastic that protects the inner tube from the holes in the wheel, that allow the spokes to connect to the central point of the wheel.
In his first video of Series 4, this is more of a special Edition Andy B video!
With all that has been happening recently, Andy B has been finding sleep rather elusive!
Afghanistan; vaccination passports; President Biden; forced covid vaccinations for under 12s in Finland; global temperature fluctuations being used for political control and financial gain; China and Taiwan; a forced Home Education register in the UK – there is much to see around us that can easily cause us anxiety and worry.
But, as Christians what is God calling us to do?
I’ve spent most of my adult, working life, wearing a hard hat, glove and steel toe capped boots. Because I love my head and my toes and wish to keep them the way they should be. I banged my head, pretty badly, early on – because I thought hard hats were stupid and annoying and uncomfortable.
I had a very bad head for a while after that encounter! And I also discovered that standing up, underneath the main boom of a lorry mounted crane, is never sensible! I took quite a lot of insults after that, because I was never seen working on my truck without a hard hat. Lifting large, heavy, objects was – for me at least – an obvious clue that boots with steel toe caps was a must…that one I got immediately!
With a hard hat I was fit for purpose.
Without it, I was an accident waiting to happen!
If you think of a spring, they’re fitted everywhere! From DVD players to cars, from bicycle derailleurs to pens and staplers, from watches to door handles!
We can find springs, in one form or another, almost everywhere. And they have a really simple job – to make something move in a predictable way.
On my bike, the part I fitted has a huge spring which forces the derailleur to be pushed away from the centre of the wheel. When you press the gear lever, it allows that spring to relax, jus a littler bit – a very set amount – and your chain is put on a lower gear.
The one I bought does exactly this. But in order to fit (the lazy way) I had to remove a couple of small bolts so I could save myself removing the chain just so I could fit the new part to my bike.
We all have experiences in life which can be super helpful for ourselves, and the people we come into contact with.
One assembly I remember vividly contained this question – would you rather see an older doctor who was covered in blood and muck, but who was very experienced. Or a young doctor, fresh out of college, who was wall presented.
I can’t speak for my peers, but give me the doctor who has been doing it for a while!
Experience counts in so many places. But, as Christians, wisdom that comes from God trumps experience EVERY SINGLE TIME.
How often do we learn to become comfortable with the uncomfortable? Pain is a brilliantly designed tool, that God gave to us for our own protection! It’s been
We all know the game spot the difference. Sometimes those differences can be so subtle, they can appear almost identical.
But look long enough, and you’ll start to see the difference. The longer you look at the two images, the more they can look the same. But if we compare to just one of them, those differences start to stand out!
It’s like with spotting counterfeit money – we check what the genuine stuff looks like, and the fake stuff starts to stand out.
Andy B starts a 6 part series of Andy B 2 Minute Videos, all because he replaced a bike part, and God revealed many ways in which this part can teach all of us about life!
Andy B’s mountain bike came second hand, and happens to have had the wrong part fitted.
For 6 years Andy B struggled with issues, before finally replacing this one little part.
Returning home after a mountain bike ride, Andy B approached a roundabout. We love these in the UK (it seems). Simply put, you come to a junction, with a circle in the middle. You give way to the right, and proceed carefully.
But they’re super simple to use! Indicate on your approach, and as long as nothing comes from your right, you have right of way (and of course, the British drive on the correct side of the road – the left – hence giving way to the right!).
Life is full of ups and downs.
Some days we can fly along, and others it’s like were tasked with stirring treacle, with an oversized paddle, on a cold day! But sometimes, flying isn’t helpful. And sometimes that treacle simply needs stirring!
Heat can do funny things to us.
But so can our memories!
How easily can we forget how good we may have been at something, because our failures always shout louder don’t they?
Modern Christianity has skewed how we see God and the devil. It has skewed God into some sort of best mate or pal. And we absolutely should see God as always approachable. But we should do so, seeing Him with the respect we’d have for an earthly father, than just a mate.
God made us in His image. And God is emotional – just look at the life of Jesus, who is God, and you see the perfect Man, with emotions!
So emotions and feelings, clearly, are how Go made us to be! But how much credence should we give to our feelings and emotions?