More holiday reading

The book I mentioned in my previous blog I haven't finished. But I did finish a crime novel AND I finished a book that was in the 'library' at the hotel we were staying in Corfu. Among the usual range of novels there, I spotted John Stott's recent publication, The Living Church.

It was a good read. But I say that because I agree with what he says! However, it was still challenging. In other words I agree with what he says a living church should be, but how do we get there? How do we, at Laindon Baptist get there? I have some ideas, and I'll be sharing them with the deacons soon!

I also took away on holiday, The Green Bible, which is a version of the Bible where passages that speak about the environment are printed in green. It's interesting reading. Sometimes I think, "Why did they highlight that?" and at other times, "Why didn't they highlight that?"

But I found most interesting the "Green Subject Index" at the end. Looking at the passages in the Bible, for instance, that speak about pollution. It's obviously not about oil spillages or leaks of toxic chemicals. No, the ground is polluted by the spilling of blood on it. The ground is 'polluted' and does not grow crops as it should when there has been killing in the land.

In other words, when we sin, the land suffers. This is not surprising, as when Adam and Eve sinned, it didn't only mean their banishment from Eden, but the whole of creation was somehow affected (read about it in Genesis 3).

It therefore must mean that when we repent of sin, the land is also 'healed' of pollution. See 2 Chronicles 7:12 (which, oddly, isn't in green).

If you have seen the Transformations video, you may remember the town in Mexico (I think), where the harvests were transformed when many people turned to God.

It's a very interesting subject, which demands more study!