Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

I love reading biographies about interesting people and have recently been loving reading this book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. For those of you who don't know who he is, he was a German church minister who was involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler. I've found the book fascinating on several levels.

Firstly, hearing about how his parents raised him has given me inspiration for how to raise my children to follow Jesus and make their mark on the world in a positive way.

Secondly, I've really enjoyed reading about the events surrounding the Second World War from a much different perspective that year 7 history lessons. I've gained a better understanding of how Hitler pulled the wool over everyone's eyes until it was too late and Germany's fate was sealed. Reading Bonhoeffer's journey towards involvement in the assassination plot has also shown me that ethics are not always black and white and that obedience to God's calling moment by moment is more important that obedience to a moral code.

Lastly, reading about the things he did while running 'illegal' seminary schools reignited in me a desire for regular times of prayer and reflection. At his seminaries the students were all encouraged to meditate on a Bible verse and spend time in prayer every morning and evening at the same time. Taking time out to hear God speak daily is vital to building a relationship with Him. Also, the practice of doing it daily at the same time as other brothers and sisters in Christ builds a great sense of community.

When I was working for a Christian charity many years ago they too taught a lot about 'spiritual disciplines' and daily rhythms of work, prayer and praise. Back then everyone in the organisation, located all across the UK, would take 2 minutes to pray at the same time every day. We also were encouraged to cultivate daily Bible reading and times of reflection as well as learning about Celtic Christians and making use of ancient Celtic prayers. I found it so refreshing and it brought new life to my relationship with Jesus. As time has gone by I've lost those rhythms and my life and relationships are worse for it. It's been great to be reminded of those things again and at the same time I've discovered a great book of Celtic prayers with Bible verses, prayers and reflections designed for every morning and evening. I'm excited to find a new and better rhythm to life again but struggling to get started and wish I had others doing it with me to encourage me.

Will you join me? Will you hold me accountable and give me a kick up the bum if I don't stick to it?

We can be Heroes?!

So, who's been watching Heroes? I was determined to try to avoid getting hooked on yet another TV series so tried to avoid it but accidentally caught the end of an episode my housemate was watching and have been hooked ever since. It's an awesome show and has so many inspiring quotes and spiritual themes - I love it!

Perhaps I'm a little too into it cos now when I read the Bible I find myself relating it to Heroes episodes! For example, as I read through the gospels I see Jesus healing people with just one touch (like Linderman), reading people's thoughts (like Matt Parkman), commanding stuff and it just happening (like Eve). And then in the Old Testament you have the prophets seeing glimpses of the future that they don't fully understand - just like Isaac Mendez!

One of the big questions raised by Heroes is this - do humans really have hidden potential, is it possible for us to have powers like that? As I read about Jesus in the gospels it seems the answer is 'Yes'. But Jesus is special right - God in human form and all that - of course it makes sense for him to have these special abilities. But what about you and me? Well, just before heading back to heaven, Jesus tells his mates that the same Spirit that's in him will be in them and will give them the same abilities that he had. He also promises that ANYONE who believes in him will also be filled with that same Spirit and have the same abilities!!!! WE CAN BE HEROES!! The book of Acts describes Jesus mates getting these special abilities and in 1 Corinthians the apostle Paul talks about the kind of special abilities we might get and how we should use them.

One thing that stood out as I was watching Heroes was how they each dealt with their powers. Nathan Petrelli didn't really use his - he just tried to carry on life as normal and pretend he was like everyone else. He didn't want to be labelled a freak. But Hiro Nakamura instantly recognised the significance of his powers and the responsibility that came with them. He believed that he had these powers for a reason and that he had a responsibility to use them to benefit others whenever the opportunity arose. At first his powers were very unreliable and he didn't really understand how to use them but he was determined to put in the effort to hone them. And when an opportunity arose for him to use his powers he didn't think about his own personal safety. He saw it as destiny calling him and said that he had to answer that call no matter what.

So, I believe in Jesus, the same Spirit that is in him is in me, I have access to the same power. How do I react to this? Do I take time to explore these special abilities and hone them? Do I take every opportunity to use them to benefit others? When I see a bad situation do I see it as an opportunity to use God's power to change things? Or do I try to act 'normal' and fit in with everyone else and pretend like those abilities aren't real cos I don't want to rock the boat?

What about you? Are you more like Nathan Petrelli or Hiro Nakamura? Who do you want to live like? Is it time to make some changes?!