Lent Day 40

 It seems everyone's minds are as boggled as mine is by the mysteries of heaven and the New Jerusalem etc. Thanks for contributing to the discussion.  All the comments are really helpful to us all as we ponder together .

Today I've been trying to digest the news.

First Kate and then the Moscow shootings.   Im pretty sure we are all on the same page about the Princess.  And Im sure we have all been talking and thinking about her since her broadcast.  Hopefully praying for her too.  The news from Russia is awful for different reasons.  Not just because so many died and were injured, but because despite the fact that Islamic State have admitted responsibility and did so immediately and publicly, Putin has chosen to blame Ukraine. Its unbelievable. And scary.

These two big news stories have made me think about the nature of truth.  The people of Russia have been told a story about what happened in the concert hall in Moscow and we have to presume that what they hear on their news and in their press will be what they believe to be true.  Putin is lying and most of his people will believe him.  Bizarrely, here Kate has been forced into a position where she has had to lay bare the truth about her situation, and yet people will continue to not believe her.  Democracy warps the truth every bit as much as dictatorship does.  Why?  Because “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?'' (Jer 17:9)

Satan is the father of lies.  Ive said it before in these blogs, but I will say again that I think that two of the biggest weapons he has in his arsenal are lies and fear.  Lies tend to cause fear.  Lies blind and fear paralyses.  Lies and fear are infecting every area of society at the moment - just look at the state of our collective mental health.  No amount of self-help books and mindfulness workshops and psychologists will free us - only the Truth, who is Jesus, and the Holy Spirit can rescue us.

Did anyone else notice that Kate talked about needing to take care of herself body mind and spirit? And she told cancer sufferers not to lose hope and faith.  She will have chosen her words incredibly carefully and those references to a spiritual life will not have been included by accident. A woman who has been surrounded and bombarded by lies and conspiracy theories and haters has , I trust, realised that she needs more than her own inner resources if she is going to survive.  Kate's situation seems extreme and we all wonder how we would cope with being the victim of the sort of social media nonsense she's been subjected to of late.  But the truth is we live in the same world. we are part of all those social media networks,  we hear the lies the world tells us every time we watch an advert or get sucked in by a clickbait headline.  The attack we are under might be more subtle but it is no less real.  We live in a dirty world.  We are every bit in need of rescue as our Princess is.  

Im so thankful that this Lent I have learned once again that in the end Jesus is going to win. Not just scrape a victory, but categorically and triumphantly defeat our enemy, routing him and sending him to the pit so that love and peace and truth can be forever established.  FOR EVER.   As we wait it is going to become more and more important that we, the church, are known for being a people of TRUTH and a non-anxious presence in the world.  The darker the world becomes the brighter we will shine and the more people will run to the light.   

Lord, shine Your light on any place in us where lies, deception and wrong thinking reside and root out every shred of fear. As your adopted children let us live and move in your spirit of power, love and excellent mental health so that we can lead others into that place too.