Set Apart In Christ

OK... it turns out my previous post on my knee was somewhat optimistic. In fact, it was very optimistic!. Since posting that I have been the physio several times, and my GP who referred me for an MRI. I received the results of that today... So, I have: Torn my ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) Have some fractures in my tibia and femur. These are small fractures related to the impact of the bones hitting one another and twisting. Bruising in the bone. Grade 1 MCL (Medial Collateral Ligament) sprain. Needless to say, I will be off to see an Orthopaedic Specialist and surgery is inevitible. In the mean time, I'm not allowed to bear weight on my leg (particularly because of the bone damage), so it's crutches everywhere I go. I'm not allowed to drive either (because it's my right knee) which is frustrating and perhaps the most inconvenience. It's also a very busy time at work, plus commissioning is fast approaching. I would appreciate your prayer support, for ever...

I love Chopin. I love listening to his music, but I especially love playing his music. His Nocturnes in particular. There's something very satisfying about playing Chopin. He was a pianist, and every piece of music he wrote was for the piano, and so he "gets" what it's like to sit at a piano and wrestle with those 88 keys in front of you. He was a genius who knew how to get the most out of this instrument, and to challenge those who would want to call themselves a pianist (ever tried playing 12 notes at once with 10 fingers?). Perhaps what I like best, though, is the opportunity that playing Chopin gives me to really express myself through the music. It's like nothing else that I know and taps right into the depths of my emotions and indeed my soul. For me, it's very much a kind of prayer to play this music. Anyone who plays a musical instrument well understands (or should understand) that it's so much more than just the notes on the page. In fact, the b...

What do you think of the suggestion that Christ becomes a serpent? At first glance the suggestion will be shocking to most people. It's not a title that we're familiar with, and certainly not comfortable with assigning to our Lord Jesus. I can't imagine Darlene Zschech sitting down to compose "Shout to the Lord" and considering the words "My Jesus, My Serpent, Lord there is none like you!" It would have to take someone either incredibly deranged or someone with incredible guts. Gregory of Nyssa makes just this claim. We need to state at the outset that Gregory is allegorising, and for us with our scientific mindsets and methodologies we find it difficult to accept this as a "valid" hermeneutical method. In the 4th Century, though, it was commonly accepted practice. Gregory is dealing with the passage in Exodus 7:8-13 where Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh and in order to demonstrate that they come under God's authority they cast down the...