Last Saturday I went to see Scrooge – The Musical in Woking starring Tommy Steele in the lead role. Scrooge is of course the main character in Charles Dickens book Christmas Carol. I have seen and enjoyed many different film versions of Christmas Carol over the years and it is one of my favourite stories that has been taken to the screen. I had not realised there was a musical though so I was intrigued to see what it would be like. Musicals can be very good but I did not know any of the songs so was unsure what to expect.
I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed. Tommy Steele was excellent as Scrooge and received a standing ovation at the end of the show. He portrayed both sides of Scrooge very well. There were many other strong performances from the cast. Also despite the limitations of a stage the scenery, props and special effects were excellent too and added to a very good production.
Scrooge is of course a very well known character and I still enjoy seeing him change after he encounters the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. What a wonderful change from a horrid man who only thought of himself and how much money he could get to a man who was deeply concerned with other people, especially those who were worse off than him.
As I ponder this story I’m reminded of a man called Zacchaeus. He like Scrooge loved money and it dominated his life too. Zacchaeus also had his life completely turned round. However unlike Scrooge he did not meet the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Zacchaeus met Jesus the Son of God and was completely changed. Have you met Jesus?
Yesterday our vicar preached on the parable of the talents from Matthew 25. This is a very familar parable to many of us but he made some good points which I have mentioned briefly below.
Interestingly at the start of the parable we are told that each person was given a different number of talents. However what is important in this parable is not the number of talents that they had been given but how they used them. It is better to use a few talents wisely then to be given many talents and not use them.
So why did the person not use the one talent that they had been given? Or maybe more relevantly why do we not use the talents that God has given us? Fear, laziness, apathy and disobedience can be reasons that stop us using our talents. If we don’t use the gift God has given us we let Him down and also other people as well. How many people will miss being blessed because we have not used our talents wisely?
Imagine that after you died your headstone said, “He nearly did that.” That would be so sad to see. So much that we could or might have done but the opportunity would be lost for ever, a wasted life.
It does take courage to obey God. Faith involves risk! Life is what we do with God’s gift and we should be willing to step out, take risks and undertake acts of courage.
We must use our talents to honour God and bless others. We may lose our talents if they are not used – use it or lose it!
Escape to the Country is one of the property programmes that I often watch on TV especially if they are visiting an area that I like. For those not familar with the programme, it features a couple who are looking to move from the town in which they currently live to relocate to the country. The presenter of the programme finds them four houses to look at in their favoured location and we get to see what they think of these properties. The idea is that they are looking to start a new life, hence the name Escape to the Country.
If we are being honest I expect many of us given the resources would be interested in moving to a nice location and starting a new life, leaving our problems behind. However, there is one slight problem here because a change of location does not mean a nice rosey new life. Why? Well because the biggest cause of problems in my life is “Me” and the biggest cause in your life is “You”. Changing location does not actually really change anything.
If I have a problem with anger whilst living in Hampshire and then move to Cornwall, the anger will go with me because the problem is with me! I need to change. I need to deal with the anger. Movng location will not solve this. And the only way I know is to confess this sin to God and ask for His forgiveness and cleansing touch to heal me of this. So by all means enjoy watchng Escape to the Country but please remember that you cannot escape yourself!
Last Monday something very unusual happened on Young Apprentice. Lewis Roman, a member of the losing team, when asked who he would bring back to the boardroom by Lord Sugar said himself. Now for anyone who has ever followed either The Apprentice or Young Apprentice would know contestants just do not do this. Yet this time Lewis was honest and admitted that he was to blame for the failure of the task. As Lord Sugar has correctly observed in this new series they all seem keen to take the credit for anything that is successful, even if it was nothing to do with them, and very reluctant to admit any mistakes they have made!
I think that it is easy for us to be like the contestants in the show and refuse to admit when we are wrong too. However as Christians we should be not be like this but rather be prepared to admit when we are wrong. It’s not always easy to do this but if we refuse to admit our sins we are unlikely to grow as Christians.
Joe Frazier yesterday died from liver cancer. For those of us of a certain age he along with Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Ken Norton was part of the golden age of heavyweight boxing in the 1970′s. Back in those days you had one undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and the title actually meant something, not three or four boxers holding different versions as it is today.
Many people will remember his three epic fights with Ali and how Joe was the first person to beat him as a professional in their first encounter. To say that the rivalry between Ali and Frazier was intense is an understatement. It was deeply personal and they once had a punch up on TV whilst being interviewed on a chat show! And of course this also meant their fights had a real edge to them. The third fight in Manilla was a gruelling contest and both men fought to a standstill and were totally exhausted when the fight was stopped by the referee before the 15th round could start. In one sense they both lost that day as that fight was Ali’s last great one.
I doubt if we will ever experience an era in boxing such as the one that Joe Frazier was involved in and so boxing fans will remember that time with fondness. I don’t normally blog on boxing but decided to make an exception today as Frazier was at his peak whilst I was at school and thoughts of him and Ali bring back a few memories for me. It is sad to hear of his death. RIP Joe Frazier.
Our vicar yesterday was preaching on the 5 wise virgins and the 5 foolish virgins from Matthew 25. During the course of his message he reminded us of how important it is that we use our time wisely.
I am always personally challenged by this as I know how easy I find it to waste time. It’s easy to fritter time away and not do anything productive with it. Before you know where you are another day has gone. Yes there is a time to rest, a time to play and a time to work and each of these are important. However if you are anything like me then you need God’s wisdom and help to get this right.
There is a very helpful verse in Psalm 90:12 that we can pray for ourselves: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
None of us know how long we will live on this earth. So it is important to use our time wisely.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life, from John 3:16, is probably the verse that conveys the message of the Bible the best.
The 20 second video I made below last night endeavours to illustrate this. I’m not expecting any oscar nominations for it! However if it helps in any way to show God’s amazing love to just one person then I would be delighted.
This weekend sees the end of British Summer Time for 2011 and from Monday I will be driving home from work in the dark for the next few months. In recent weeks I have grown used to coming home in the twilight but from next week it will be the real thing – darkness!
To be honest I don’t really like driving in the dark. It’s harder to see pedestrians who like me insist on wearing black coats and just wandering out into the road without thought of the traffic. Although I don’t need to wear glasses for driving yet, I do find it harder to judge the distances between cars when I pull out of a side road in the dark. And some motorists will insist on shining their bright lights into my eyes too!
It can be a bit depressing this period leading up to the shortest day, 22 December, as the days get ever shorter. However the thing that I tell myself is that as soon as we reach the shortest day then the nights start to slowly draw out again. Each day brings more daylight.
The darkness may be coming but I know that eventually the light will return. The light will overcome the darkness.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
