How I became a Christian...

I remember the day like it was yesterday. It was June 2006, and I was in Pathos, Cyprus, semi-enjoying a two week holiday with a friend. I say semi enjoying because it wasn't long before I discovered that our idea of how to spend a two week holiday were somewhat different. I must add however that it wasn't all bad, we did have some fantastic times together. The reason this holiday remains firmly fixed in my memory, is because I believe it is part of the process God used to bring me to a saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was in Cyprus where I was confronted face to face with the reality of my sin and the greater reality of the one who alone can rescue me from sin. How did this happen you ask? Part of the story I'm about to tell is often edited out of my testimony, mostly due to embarrassment, but I've come praise God to a place now where I can confidently say that even in our most shameful moments God is working. This was indeed the case for me back in the summer of 2006.

We were now back in the hotel room after another night on 'bar street', this time however there were two girls with us who we had met in one of the bars. Before you worry, nothing happened, but I can still remember the sense of shame, even being in such a situation, especially as someone who generally considered himself a good person. It wasn't long before they left to go back to their hotel. In order to pay for the taxi they needed to borrow some money and so I reached for my Bible case where I had stored all my holiday cash only to hear the words "You're a Christian, I thought there was something different about you". At that moment in time I would not have called myself a Christian, and considering the number of cocktails I'd drunk, would have thought myself the least likely person to be a Christian. The next morning I distinctly remember a feeling of shame, guilt and a pressing sense that I had offended someone, but the question was who? Had I offended my friend? No. The girls who we met at the bar? No. Myself? No.

We spent that day by the swimming pool. Jumping in and out, I accompanied this time with reading the Gospel of Mark. It was another beautiful sunny day in Cyprus, remarkably contrasting to the dark events of the previous evening. Whilst on holiday, I had decided to continue reading through the coursebook for 'Christianity Explored' and was now entering the final chapters of Mark's Gospel. It was during this afternoon when it hit me. I had offended someone last night - God. My actions that night were yet another entry on the list of sins that I had committed, a list that I had been blinded to due to my delusion of an inherent goodness. That night had lifted the veil that had covered my eyes over how offended God is at sin. The Holy Spirit was convicting me that I was not good, far from it, I was a sinner separated from God, and in my current state deserving of the coming wrath of God. God took that one event and like a surgeons knife, with sharpness and accuracy cut into my heart revealing the person I truly was. The words I read from my coursebook at the moment were as follows:

We can't make ourselves acceptable to God by doing "good things." These things may be wonderful in themselves, but they can't solve the problem of our sin.

As I read these words it was as if a switch was flicked on in my heart as I heard for the first time in my life, it's not about being good. Being a Christian is not about being good. This was so opposite to what I thought made someone a Christian. I thought, you lived a good life, doing good things for God, and then because of this you got to heaven. If you lived a bad life, and did not do good things for God, you went to hell. That was my Christianity and I realised there and then it was a false Christianity. My standing before God has absolutely nothing, 0% nada to do with me. And so as I read the closing chapter of Mark's Gospel it all began to make sense. This is why Jesus came, this is why Jesus died on the cross, this is why the gospel is good news. Yes, I have offended God, yes I deserve his rightful punishment for living in his world without reference to him, yes the punishment for sin is death, but God has done something about this, God has sent a saviour and he is calling me to repentance and faith in him so that I might know peace and a restored relationship with God. The next verse I read from the coursebook said:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no-one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

 



I vividly remember that moment when I believed this to be true. When I confessed before God my need for Jesus and asked him for forgiveness, and thanked him for sending Jesus to die for me. The peace that flowed through my soul in that moment is unexplainable, and unknowingly at the time, as a fitting declaration to my new life in Christ, I dived into the swimming pool being only able to think thoughts about Christ. In the space of five weeks I had moved from unbelief to belief in God, from rejecting Christianity to accepting Christianity, from discounting the claims of Christ to embracing the claims of Christ. After eight years, I can look back on that holiday knowing that the hidden hand of God was at work, and I thank God for his mercy and grace, for if it were not for him I would still be dead in sin, living in the delusion of my own 'goodness'.

Since that time, I testify to his continuing work of grace, how I have come to see that the gospel is not just a one-off, believe it and then do nothing gospel, it is a gospel we need every day if we are to live out the calling of being a redeemed child of God. God was willing to die for me, he sacrificed his only Son to give me life, the only proper response as I see it is to be willing to sacrifice everything for him, to be even willing to die to the world, knowing that what he has given me is not simply a ticket into heaven as some might want you to think, but the glorious, unmatchable treasure of knowing him for all eternity.

If you are yet to come to know God in this way, it is not too late to surrender your life to Jesus Christ, and know the forgiveness of your sin, and the acceptance of the God who loved you so much that he died for you. One day we will all stand before him and the question will not be - are you good enough? but - did you believe in and know Jesus the one I sent?

Looking back...

Almost a year has past since I arrived in Athens. It seems however like only yesterday that I climbed out of my taxi, setting foot in this new city that would soon become my home. The memories of arriving in Greece are still vivid. It was the heat of summer and although I had visited Athens once before, the area I was living in was unknown territory. It didn't take me too long to navigate my way around and I'm thankful that over this whole period I found great comfort in the knowledge of the Lord's presence with me. What could have been a shaky time, was actually a time where I felt upheld and deeply protected. You may recall that in my first few weeks I had large amounts of documents to be sign and stamps to be collected. I hadn't anticipated how long this process would take, but eventually all that was needed to be done was done. I was thankful that during this time I had friends who were helping me and especially providing me with much needed assistance with all the Greek.

The road where I lived for the year

One of the things that I had been praying for was that I would get to know some of my neighbours. In no time at all, God opened up a number of opportunities for me to speak to those either in or around my building. It wasn't easy because I knew little to no Greek and so there was no chance of long conversations. Yet I was made to feel very welcome and even plucked up the courage to ask my neighbour to make me a Greek coffee, she was delighted.

When I look back, one of the hardest things about living in a foreign country is definitely the language barrier. Although my Greek improved over the year I still found it challenging to live somewhere where your language is not the dominant language. I hadn't quite realised just how important clear communication is when it comes to building relationships with people. Living in a different country and culture for that matter, highlighted that lack of communication can lead to feelings of isolation. Even certain body gestures are different in Greece and so at times I did feel like I was in another world. To give you a somewhat humorous example there is a hand gesture which is considered very rude. You show your palm to someone with an outstretched arm. I kept forgetting this and so when I wanted to make some of my classes aware that they only had five minutes left, well, you can guess the rest. Thankfully we all saw the funny side, and I learnt to use the back of my hand instead.  

View from my favourite place in Athens

Whilst in Greece I was hoping to get involved in a church where I could belong and serve. I had pictured in my mind how this might look but as is so often the case, what God has in mind is nearly always different to what we envisaged. And as we all know, it is his purposes that will stand. Due to my commitments in the language school, I found myself getting involved with a refugee centre on a Tuesday and with a feeding programme at my church on a Thursday. Both of these ministries enabled me to help in very practical ways which was a real source of joy.

I think in my mind I had been quick to put myself in a position where I might be teaching the Bible, giving talks, you could say more 'visible' forms of ministry. Yet, in Greece God was showing me that serving him and his people in less visible ways is also of great value. As I helped prepare the food, serve the food, and when possible engage people in conversations, I was myself deeply encouraged by what God was doing all around me. I feel the truth which God has been etching ever clearer on my heart is that it is truly all about him.

2nd Greek Evangelical Church

We served around 130 people
hot food each week

I am very thankful for all the friendships that I made over my year in Greece. It was one of the best things about my time in Athens. I already had a few friends before arriving last August but I could not have imagined how these friendships would deepen and how many new friendships would be found. I really believe that nothing is left to chance and that all the people I met were given to me by God. I discovered even more how those closest to us often unknowingly teach us a vast amount about who we are. This was certainly the case for me. I know it all sounds a bit dramatic, but as I look back on Athens, I did learn many things about myself, things I already knew about my character but also things that were made even clearer. It felt as if I was being given a new perspective on my life. I remember someone once illustrating cross cultural experiences with a gardening metaphor.

Mixing the salad

If you have lived somewhere for an extended period of time, you inevitably begin to lay down roots. Although not a gardening expert, most plants level of rootage (made up word), i.e. depth and length of roots, is dependent on the size of the plant pot. If it's a small pot, there's only so much space the plant can occupy, there is a limited level of rootage and therefore a limited level of growth.

Moving to a foreign country feels a bit like being pulled out of one plant pot and plonked into another. Almost always the new pot is one which is of a different size and shape. Consequently more soil is needed, but the plant suddenly finds itself with more space to grow. As a result, over time there is new growth and perhaps even extended rootage.

If any of that made any sense, I can say with a degree of certainty that over this past year there has been growth in my life, spiritually speaking but also emotionally as well. Albeit small growth but the experience of living overseas has been a good one.

Looking back there are countless things I would love to share about my time in Greece. Teaching in the school, serving in the church and simply living in Athens has been an amazing experience. I'm thankful to God and all my friends and family who have shown their support and encouragement.

Paros Summer Team - 2014

One of the highlights of my time in Greece has to be the mission trip to Paros. Twenty-nine of us made the four hour boat journey from Athens to Paros, an island that is one of those hidden gems in the treasure chest of Greek islands. Although tourism abounds, I am told it has remained fairly resistant to any dramatic change over the years and so still retains its Greekness. In the past, I've visited islands that have been overtaken by holiday makers which sadly can spoil an islands natural charms. Paros did not disappoint as we entered the port receiving a warm welcome from the scattered white houses that so typically define a Greek island. And so after a few days of orientation in Athens, we arrived ready to tell people about the Lord Jesus. There were of course many challenges ahead, but one of the joys of the trip was seeing such a diverse team team pull together. We had people from France, Malta, Peru, the Netherlands, Greece, Northern Ireland and not forgetting England.

In many ways our task was simple, meet people on the beach, have fun, strike up conversations, ask people questions about what they think about religion and Christianity, invite people to BBQs, to sum up you could say we hoped to make friends and tell people about the good news of Jesus. Praise God that we not only did this, but were blessed with many conversations that led people to hear the gospel, some for the first time. Many seeds were planted during our ten days on the island and who knows what fruit will bear in the coming years. For me this was my first experience of 'cold contact evangelism' i.e. talking to people about Jesus who you have never met before. It is really hard! Yet at the same time I was constantly being reminded that God is faithful and he is the one who works. In other words when you leave a conversation thinking 'I wish I'd said this' or 'That didn't seem to go very well', how good it is to know that it is not my words that save.

As well as speaking to people about Jesus, there was much going on in my own heart as I learnt once again about God's unending determination to change me, and show me that only He is to receive my worship. One of the joys of being in a large team is that you see a whole variety of people with a whole variety of gifts. It can be tempted to think 'I wish I was like ...' or 'I wish I had this gift'. Yet, time and time again I was reminded that:

..."God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 

                                                                                                  1 Corinthians 12:18-20

It was great to see many parts working together as one body as we hosted BBQs, spoke to people on the beach, and played with people in the sea. As the apostle Paul says, the body needs different members, without them it wouldn't be a body. I suppose the point is never think that you are not needed when it comes to belonging to the body of the church of Christ.

A highlight of the Paros trip for me was when I got talking to a group of Germans who were staying on our campsite. We ended up playing a game of 'Dutch Blitz' which is a brilliant card game (for someone who doesn't really like card games this game was a welcome revelation). Towards the end I got talking with one of the guys and had the most open conversation about the war and eventually the gospel. He was around my age and spoke of the shame that many Germans feel over the war, especially people his age, and also shared his experiences of growing up in a Protestant church. His experience was very much one of 'doing things' to be a Christian, e.g. being baptized, confirmed etc. Knowing the Bible stories but nothing more. Yet as we explored the gospel further it was clear that for all his church involvement, he had never considered the wonder of knowing a restored relationship with the living God. As we opened up the gospel of Mark, and looked at Jesus willingness to die on the cross for us, his death that brings us life, his resurrection that brings hope, his claim to be God that leave us with a decision to either reject him of follow him wholeheartedly, it truly was a special moment.

There were many more things to give thanks for after our ten days on Paros, many things to be encouraged by yet also many things that brought feelings of sadness. At the end of this trip, I learnt even more that God is working, to fulfill his purpose in our lives, and he will use us to work out his purposes in the lives of those around us. Who knows where all the people we spoke to will be in a years time. Who knows, maybe even they will be used by God as instruments to share the gospel of his redeeming love in Christ.

The Areopagus

One of the great things about Greece is that it is home to vast amounts of sites that can be located in the Bible. It really does make the Biblical narrative come alive as you imagine the Apostle Paul, and others walking in and around where you are standing. Below is a picture that shows the Areopagus. Many will know it is where Paul delivered his famous speech to the Athenians as recorded by Luke in the book of Acts. For your viewing and reading pleasure, here is both the picture and the speech. 

Acts 17:22-34

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said,

“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said,“We will hear you again about this.” So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.                                                                                                          

Exploring Athens...

 

I had the pleasure of welcoming my sister to the city of Athens. It was a short visit, but in such a short space of time, we managed to see a vast amount of the capital of Greece. I think that in the last four days, I have seen more of Athens than in the last ten months! With many days spent walking round the numerous archaeological sites, visiting the tightly packed gift shops of Plaka, eating in many tasty tavernas, and even going to a ballet in the Panathenaic stadium, all in all it was a fun time. It's always great when people come to visit you but it's even more special when it's one of your family members. For me, as I draw nearer to my departure from Greece, it provided me with time to reflect on some of the past ten or so months, a time I know has been deeply transformational.

As my sister and I set out to explore Athens, it was notably going to be a day requiring lots of water and lots of sun-cream! Over the past few days, the temperatures have risen quite significantly, and now they are reaching the mid to late thirties. This is something I've been told will continue to happen as we enter into the month of July. The good thing is that water is very cheap in Greece, and you can buy a bottle for 50cent at one of the many kiosks that litter the roads.

I'm pleased to report that as well as seeing many of the archaeological sites, I also had the privilege of introducing my sister to some of the many foods which I've encountered whilst being in Athens. It is one of the things Greeks do very well and one of the things I will miss upon my return to the UK.

Our final evening was spent at the Panathenaic stadium where we witnessed for the first time a performance being shown in the venue. It is a fantastic stadium and is full of history. It is the location where the first modern Olympic games were held. If you ever get a chance to visit the city, it is definitely worth the 3euros ticket price.

As we parted company at the airport this morning, I couldn't help but be sad at how quickly the time went. I was extremely thankful however to have been able to share not only the city with my sister, but also people, places and memories of my time in Greece, memories no doubt that will stay with me for a long time. Thank you Emma for a great time!

Everyone has a story to tell...

Asylum-seekers see Greece as a gateway to Europe,
but the reality is quite different.

Another Tuesday, another day serving at the refugee centre. I had the pleasure today of once again meeting various people who had given up their time to volunteer with 'Helping Hands'. One of these people is a man who works for an international missions organisation. We spent a good deal of time chatting about various things, and in one brief sentence as we leaned back on the wall looking out at the vast numbers of refugees, he said "Just imagine how many stories there are in this room". This is something I'm often quick to forget, that the people we serve each week are people. So often we can speak of refugees as statistics on a page, or just merge them all into one big category, but the truth is each of the people who walk through the door has a story to tell. Each of the people who walk through the door, have reached this point in their life probably having experienced more in one year than I have in my twenty-nine. It was a poignant moment and one I hope will not escape my attention any time soon.

After the gospel message, I got chatting with a refugee who thankfully was able to speak some English. He shared with me his story. It was a story filled with much sadness as he explained to me how both his parents were killed when he was 16 causing him to flee his country. Six years on and he is still searching for a place where he can settle and move on with his life. I was encouraged to hear of how over that time he had come to hear of Jesus Christ, and although not a believer, could see that there was something different about this man who lived 2000 years ago. I invited him to consider reading more about Jesus in one of the gospels and will be praying that he comes to see that Jesus is not just a good man, but that he would see that there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

The 'Helping Hands' centre welcomes over 130 refugees
from Afghanistan every Tuesday. 

Albanian fellowship...

Now my teaching job at the school is finished, I've been thankful to have more free time in the evenings. As well as seeing friends, and taking things a little easier, it has allowed me to spend more time with some of the ministries I've become involved with in Greece. On Tuesday, I was able to stay at 'Helping Hands' for the entire refugee program. It was great to be a part of the whole time and to serve in different ways. There are many practical tasks to be done over the day, in addition to talking with the refugees when possible. Over the next two weeks, the team from 'Helping Hands' are away on the annual summer camp, but I hope to have similar opportunities to serve once they're back in Athens.

Over the past months, I've had the pleasure of getting to know a group of Albanians who attend a new church in Athens. It has been a real delight and it is always a special treat to have the opportunity to play in the music band, and help serve in other ways when needed. On Wednesday evening, a group from the church gather at the pastors house for a time of singing, Bible study and prayer.

Now that my classes are finished, I was able to come along, and also be introduced to this amazing Albanian dessert called 'milky'. It's kind of like a Crème brûlée without the blow torched sugar on top. All in all, it was a fun time, and I was thankful for a friend who translated in English. Please do pray for this church as they meet together to worship God, grow in their love for the Lord Jesus, and seek to make him known.