Author: Andrew

I have found from running this blog over many years that you can rave on about all sorts of things, you can have a laugh about people and places and churches and theology, you can even delve into a bit of politics here and there, if you dare. But the one thing that seems to be the most problematic is when you criticise music.

As soon as you say something about a popular ‘Christian’ song, or any song for that matter, the first reaction from a lot of people is, “How dare you! That is my favourite song / hymn because:

• it’s the song my grandma sang to me when i was a toddler;
• that is the song that converted me;
• I want that song played at my funeral!

So with all that out of the way. Here goes!

We sometimes sing the lovely old hymn, “Trust and Obey” at our church. The best thing about it is the very catchy tune. I often can’t get the melody out of my head. But we are often encouraged to think about, and reflect on the words. I am not sure whether it is because of my own Christian background, or theology, or issues in life, but some of the lyrics either do not make sense to me, and do not fit in to what I would consider good theology. Now I am not a theologian (as do you think any serious theologian would write a blog called Christian Funny Pictures). But more than theology, it just doesn’t seem to fit with what I read about in the Bible. Here are a few very quick points, which I would love to hear from you whether you agree or disagree:

• “While we do His good will, He abides with us still” – really? So God only abides with us while we do His good will. I hope not because we have all fallen short of his glory. What happened to ‘While we were still sinners, Christ died for us’?
• “Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear, Can abide while we trust and obey” – double really? Some doubts and fears and sighs and tears can result from doing exactly that, namely trusting and obeying. There will be no tears in heaven, but in this world, that is tainted and wracked with sin, it is full of all of these things.
• Even the chorus is a bit of a problem: “Oh, Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey”. Are we really aiming for being happy in Jesus? What about genuine Christians who have depression, or grief, or sadness, but are still living with Jesus as their Lord and Saviour? Still trusting and obeying!

I could keep going, but I had better stop before people turn away completely. I get the point of the song, that Jesus does call for our trust and obedience. But this song seems to be more influence by Stoicism, and lacks a bit of nuance as to what life is really like in this world.

But hey, that’s my two cents worth. What do you think? Is the song a load of piffle, or is this post a load of piffle?

Let me know with a comment below.

This was a genuine question that a non-Christian asked me recently. It was their view that Christians are judgemental. How would you respond?

Is it true? Are Christians more judgemental than the average population?

I have been thinking about this a lot lately, as whether it is true or not, it certainly is how Christians are viewed by the outside world. If they are accurate that seems incredibly sad. If they are inaccurate about such a label, why is it so prevalent.

I think if Christians are honest with themselves, it does seem to be a very tempting sin to partake in. I am almost certain that all Christians would know their own heart on this issue, or perhaps easier to think of a few fellow believers who do seem do be very judgemental of others (both those within the church and those outside the church).

Do you have any advice or experience on the topic? Or perhaps you are willing to share a possible answer to the question?

I have just had some time off work. And it has been wonderful. Not because I have done anything amazing or exciting, but just some rest. And whenever I have time off work my brain goes into hyperdrive, or more accurately attempts to process many of the things that I don’t normally have time to think about and process when I am working.

And during part of my time off I spent some time considering the phrase “There is no rest for the wicked”. I knew it was a Bible quote, but it seems that it has come to mean a whole range of things in different contexts, including a song of a very similar name (Ain’t no rest for the wicked, by the Cage Elephant).

The quote originally comes from a book in the Bible called Isaiah, in chapters 48 and 57, where it doesn’t actually have the quote exactly, but pretty close. It appears to be talking more about how there will be no peace for those who do evil, and that the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest. Hence, the phrase that there is no rest for the wicked.

The difference between the idea of peace and rest is important. Peace with God, which is possibly the greatest gift of all, must include rest, but must be more than just rest. But the phrase is used in many other ways these days.

One way in which it gets used, is in this picture. We originally posted this in 2017 and it has now been shared over eleven thousand times:

But the phrase has now been used, or it appears that it is currently being used in the following circumstances:

• in the idea that evil doers will ultimately face punishment and miss out on rest / peace (the original biblical meaning);
• as an excuse to do something, or about something having been done that couldn’t be helped;
• to somehow encourage children to behave;
• as a result of laziness or fault or a problem a person will need to catch up on work and miss out on rest;
• to comment on a person’s work ethic, and how they are always busy with work to be done.

It is interesting that the last usage, is one that is used by Christians and non-christians alike, as if somehow being busy is a goal in itself.

There is a very common assumption these days that if you are not busy, then you should get doing something. Being busy equates to being important, being worthy, or even worse, of having value. I don’t really want to comment that only one usage is the right usage. However it is interesting that both the ‘being busy is good’ usage, and the ‘doing wicked but fun things is good’ usage are not really the way in which God used it.

Regardless of all this, I enjoyed my rest, and I am looking forward to my ultimate rest?

What about you? What do you think the ultimate rest will be like? Will we still be busy? What will we be doing? Is it ok to have rest now?

Yes, this seems about right.

You may or may not have heard about the idea of ‘quiet quitting’?

Depending on where you get your information, or what sources you trust, it appears to be either a very good thing or a very bad thing.

The proponents of ‘quiet quitting’ say that it is simply doing the tasks involved with your assigned role at work, no more, no less, and doing your job without your job taking over your entire life.

Another positive way of looking at it, is saying ‘no’ to extra work at work without extra compensation, which is hard to argue with, as it is doing the job you were initially hired to do at the pay you agreed to do it for. Jesus in fact told a story about this idea in the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), although the point of that story was more about the overwhelming generosity of God in our salvation, as opposed to appropriate workplace relations.

There are then those who appear much more critical of the idea of ‘quiet quitting’ as it is more a step towards quitting on life, and people giving up on any ambition in life to go above and beyond to achieve success.

So how should Christians approach the topic? What is a biblical viewpoint?

Well this is probably much too complicated to deal with on a blog post on a website called Christian Funny Pictures, but here are a few thoughts:

• Christians are called to work and rest, not just because both of these things are good for us, but so that we can look after ourselves, and our families, and to be generous with what is left over;
• Christians are supposed to put our work in a proper perspective, both doing a good job, but also having an eternal perspective;
• We will not be much use to anyone, our family, our society, or our church if we are so exhausted from work we have no energy for anything other than work, or even worse, if because of our work, we burn out completely;
• It is probably not a great idea to ‘quiet quit’ on church (see a fantastic article by Russell Moore in Christianity today);
• If we are in full time paid ministry, it is probably not a great idea to quiet quit, and only do the bare minimum;
• If we are not in full time paid ministry, it is probably not a great idea of saying no to extra work without extra compensation. As a church volunteer myself, if I only did what I was paid to do at church, I wouldn’t be doing anything, and I like doing stuff at church (not always, but generally).
• It is good to call out bad bosses, companies that exploit their workers, and people who do not treat others fairly;

On reflection of this idea of ‘quiet quitting’ I am not sure it is a completely new idea either. I have often heard the idea of Christians who ‘moonlight’ in their paid employment, so that they can devote themselves to other ministries. In fact, Saint Paul, perhaps one of the greatest missionaries and preachers of all time, was also an itinerant worker. He was also perhaps the first person to ‘quiet quit’ in his tent making employment. Of course, Saint Paul had his own reasons for tent making, but would anyone say to Saint Paul, “It’s a shame Saul of Tarsus, didn’t go above and beyond in his tent making skills, as he could have used his ambition to become the best tent maker in all of Asia Minor”.

What do you think? Have you heard of ‘quiet quitting’? Do you lean towards it being a good idea or not a good idea? Should Christians engage in the practice?

We would love to hear your thoughts on the topic, if you have any.

I have been greatly blessed by the ministry of Paul Tripp over the years. His faithfulness in preaching and writing has helped thousands all over the globe, including me.

One of the themes of his ministry is connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life. He also seems to help people find their own need for Jesus Christ rather than focussing on the way in which other people need to change.

An article he wrote called “In need of prayer“, includes the following:

“Lord, I‘m a person in desperate need of help today.”

“Lord, won’t you, in your grace, send your helpers my way?”

“Lord, please give me the humility to receive the help when it comes.”

Which leads to me to my reflection for today …

Have you ever experience ‘pity prayers’? And what do you do when you receive them, either actual pity prayers, or other people’s prayers that feel like pity.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love people praying for me. As the prayer above suggests, I am a person in desperate need of it. Of prayer, and help, and helpers. And I am sadly quite often not humble enough to receive it.

But I have also experienced pity. I have felt it, and experienced it. Pity is different from compassion, or empathy or genuine prayer. It is often accompanied by judgment or self-righteousness, in that another person is praying for you and your situation, but doing so from an elevated position.

“How did you ever get yourself in this mess?”

“I am so glad I am not like this desperate sinner in need of grace”

“I will pray for you to sort out your own situation”

This could be similar to the Pharisee’s prayer in Luke 18:11. But I know this type of prayer, because I have received it, and sadly, I have given it. Neither feels real or genuine or pleasant. I am trying to resolve this issue in my own heart at the moment. Perhaps you have some ideas.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of pity? Or even worse, pity prayers?

How do you cope? What is the right response?

An era has come to an end. 70 years on the throne. And what better way to remember Her Majesty’s reign. A few funny, but respectful, cartoons about Queen Elizabeth II.

Please enjoy!

Well, here is a good start

Covid-19 has been with us for a while now. We all hope and pray it would go away. But it hasn’t. It has brought great change, great sadness, great doubt, and great division.

But some churches have still been putting put clever and funny church signs.

Here are a few of them. Enjoy!