Making disciples like a fission process!

The Great Commission is so well known to many Christians. It is very clearly spelled out at the end of the Book of Matthew: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” (Matthew 28:19 NKJV).

I think that whenever we hear these words we consider and reflect on ourselves and think how few people we have saved up until this point and consider it as some sort of single-step process starting with us as individuals- I get saved and help someone else get saved. Though a reasonable thought, we forget the grandeur of this idea and the Master plan.

However, notice how this section of the Word starts in verse 18b, Jesus says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”. This is to say it all starts with Me, I start this process because I have all the energy needed to do it. Jesus is like the first neutron in a fission process.

Once He got to the disciples, their hearts became like unstable nuclei (too heavy to hold this Word), just ready to burst with the Holy Spirit (more neutrons) onto the next lot of people. We know in Acts 2:41, Peter (one of the disciples) went on to save many: “…those who gladly received his word were baptised; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (NKJV). We also hear of Paul who caught hold of the Spirit going out and releasing the Spirit into churches all over- church in Corinth, churches of Galatia, in Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse and so on! This kind of “knock on effect” in Fission is known as a “chain reaction”.

We need to remember that we might not all be saving people (though we should try), but people all over the world are now saving people- think of how you received Him (if you have)? We are part of a much larger process than we can think or imagine. Unlike in a nuclear reactor, where scientists try to control the reaction by capturing some of these neutrons, I believe God has allowed this Great Commission to effectively be a nuclear bomb- releasing the Holy Spirit (neutrons) in all corners of the world like an out-of-control chain reaction, hitting the hearts of many!

In Fission, energy is also released. This could be perceived as the excitement of God and what it is doing in the lives of those that are saved by the Holy Spirit.

Fission can aid Fusion (a more energy-producing process). Please read the blog on Fusion for a continuation of biblical concepts in a scientific context.

QED.

Long term Christian: Climate vs Weather

Being a Christian is not particularly easy! In fact, it is really difficult, even Paul tells us that longsuffering is some trademark that we are believing in Jesus for everlasting life! (1 Timothy 1:16). There are points where we stumble in life and other times where we feel we are drowning in sin. However, we must remember that there have been good times, there have been rays of hope over time even when we feel we are in the darkness. In fact a lot of the time we feel more down because we remember Christ and feel bad. So don’t feel so “under the weather”! Don’t let that dictate to you what your walk with Christ is, but think about your climate…!

I thought I would bring this common misconception to the surface, even though it may be known by many, but it often causes a further confusion when thinking about Climate Change. So what is the difference between weather and climate? Well weather is the elements we see hourly or daily etc. such as wind, rain or a touch of sun! Whilst climate is how the weather changes over a long period of time, typically ~30 years according to the Met Office (https://youtu.be/bjwmrg__ZVw).

Image credit to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7286596.stm

Watch the video! It is really insightful and will stop you panicking about Climate Change when you see snow in summer time in the UK! 😉 This should also be a wake up call to the fact that we are imperfect and our walk in Christ will fluctuate just like the weather but God cares about our climate.

QED.