oxford adventures revisited - part 4: God's promise is just as powerful as His presence

i've decided to post my online journal entries from my time this past summer (july) studying at oxford. the original post date for this entry: July 23, 2006.

I just attended an evangelical anglican church, and i truly enjoyed it. it was a new experience to walk into a very ornate church (cathedral like) and have a praise band there and a screen hanging from the ceiling. the man who preached (was filling in for the pastor) was michael green (an author) and he spoke on John 4:43-end of the chapter. the story is about the nobleman whose son is sick and he asks Jesus to heal him, jesus' words heal the boy, and the nobleman and his family all become believers. the main point of the sermon was that God's promise is just as powerful as His presence.

ever since i walked back to my dorm room i have been pondering that statement... i believe that this is a very important thing to remember and believe. all to often we run into those (and even believers fall into this trap) who say that "if i witnessed a miracle done by God, i'd believe then" or "how can you believe in something you cannot see?" the bible is full of stories of when Jesus performed a miracle and then the people who observed it did not have saving faith (the feeding of the 5000 is a great example, after Jesus fed the mass of people, he went out on the water and the crowd met him on the other side of the water, they asked Jesus to feed them... they were not asking for spiritual food, they wanted their physical hunger to be met once again. even the disciples who witnessed this miracle still had a hard time believing that Jesus was who he said he was). today we have the bible, the inspired word of God, which is full of God's promises to us, his people. God is revealed to the people through Jesus, Jesus is revealed to us through the Bible (Word of God), the word must then be preached to the hearers (John 1:1)... that is how God's promise is as powerful as his presence.

as i sit here (at the coffee shop once again) i am amazed how down the road from me men were killed for believe that very concept, that God's promise is just as powerful as his presence. their faith was so great that they know the promise of salvation offered to them through Jesus, and revealed through the scriptures. i am reminded how small my faith is. how feeble my trust in God is. would i give of my life for that same promise? i hope and pray that i would...

as i continue through this growth experience, i pray that God's presence become just as real in my life that others confront me for my faith. in acts the face of stephen is described as shining the glory of the Lord... may that same light shine from me, and all of us.

oxford adventures revisited - part 3: scottland adventures

i've decided to post my online journal entries from my time this past summer (july) studying at oxford. the original post date for this entry: July 21, 2006

well i made it back from scotland yesterday and i must admit that i am glad to be back at oxford. scotland was beautiful and the temperature was cooler, but all of the traveling the past five days has worn me out.

as always there is much to write... especially since my internet access has been limited. we spent 3 nights in scotland (and the drive there took us around 11 hours, because they don't know what it means to have a straight street), and the scenery is amazing. i saw more sheep since i've been here than i have in all of my life (there are actually more sheep in this country than there are people). we went to the town of st. andrews and i was able to see the remains of a castle and a cathedral, and i was able to see the old st. andews golf course (golf was invented in st. andrews and i was able to actually stand on the course - the picture is of me on the famous bridge on the 18th hole).

we stayed at the university of edinborough while we were in scotland and traveled out from there every day to see other things. we had a very interesting experience out last night there. one of my professors 16 year old daughter was staying on the same dorm hall as i was, and had her purse stolen from her room. in that purse was her passport, drivers license, money, credit card, etc. we spent a good 5 hours dealing with that... the police came, and the thief (thieves) had already purchased 3 train tickets within 20 minutes of getting the card. the number one crime in the UK is theft, and sadly we got to experience that. so now they are working on getting her passport replaced, thankfully we had to turn in copies of them to the leader of the trip, which will help make the process much quicker and smoother.

one interesting thing... when walking around in the larger cities of the UK, one would see this "look right" or "look left" painted on the ground. the brits have actually painted instructions for us dumb americans so that we know which way to look before we cross the street. i find this quite funny.

oxford adventures revisited - part 2: mind the gap

i've decided to post my online journal entries from my time this past summer (july) studying at oxford. The original post date for this entry: July 15, 2006

well once again i am back having a nice cup of tea at the coffee shop. i have neglected to inform you that this coffee house (greens cafe) is right next door to the pub (the eagle and child) where c.s. lewis and j. tolkien met to talk matters of the faith. tolkien was the one who led lewis to christ. i plan on eating at the pub sometime soon.

i spent yesterday in london and was able to see many amazing things. i am such a tourist. we saw buckingham palace, big ben, westminster abby (the outside, but we will see the inside soon), parliament, the british museum, the british library, rode the underground (subway - mind the gap is what they tell to make sure that you pay attention to the gap between the platform and the subway cart), and ate fish and chips. it was quite an experience to finally get to see everything that i've seen in pictures and on tv. i have uploaded some of the the london pictures as well.

i have this morning off and start lectures after lunch. i think that i am acclimated to the schedule, but i must admit that having class until 11 pm is still hard to get used to (i doubt i ever will, and it makes for a long day when i've been up since 6:00 am).

i will be going to church at one of the church of england's churches (which is anglican, very close to catholic, started by king henry when the catholic church would not grant him a divorce), so i am looking forward to that experience. next Sunday we want to take the oxford tube (the train) back into london to go to a service at westminister abby, which i am really looking forward to.

thank you for your prayers as i continue to experience God in new ways. until later...

oxford adventures revisited - part 1: which way is really right?

i've decided to post my online journal entries from my time this past summer (july) studying at oxford. The original post date for this entry: July 13, 2006

i have arrived to oxford and all is well... except for my sleeping pattern, but they shall adjust in due time. god is so great. i'm being challenged in new ways, of which i will write more later. i am at an internet cafe around the corner for the part of oxford i am at (it is called regents park, and is one of the 35 oxford universities). i have my own room, and i am the only single girl on the trip, which has actually been a blessing as well. i have been able to talk with some very godly men who are becoming great friends. they are looking out for me (i am on a hall with all guys, so they volunteered to give me the bathroom on the floor and go to the one downstairs, so god is revealing his servant heart through these men).

so far the hardest thing to get used to is the driving on the other side of the road. which is why my subject title is what it is... which way is really right? i am pondering which way i believe is best, and i'll let you know what i determine. =)

i was walking through the streets of oxford yesterday and came across a monument for some men who were burned for their faith (anabaptists, a religious group who were persecuted for their believe in believers baptism, and many were burned at the stake), and it has amazed me that this country has shaped the baptist heritage so much and yet after talking with the bursar of the school i'm at (we had lunch together and it was quite enlightening) i've learned that only around 5% the brits actually go to church. broke my heart. god used this nation so greatly in developing doctrine and biblical "stuff" and now it has turned its back on him. he said that the greatest unreached group are the 14-40 yr. olds... which i would say is where my heart is... who knows, maybe god might lead me back here some day, and i must admit... i don't think i'd mind that one bit!

traveling over here by myself was an adventure, once of which i don't know if i'd want to do again, but it really worked on my trust in god, so it provided numerous faith lessons. amen for that.