Επέτειος του "'Οχι" - Anniversary of the "No"

Today is Οχι (no) day! It is a national holiday to commemorate the rejection by Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas (in power from August 4, 1936, until January 29, 1941) of the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on October 28, 1940. It is a day filled with street parades, lots of Greek flags and of course, it provides a good opportunity to enjoy a day off work. This morning I enjoyed a walk towards Syntagma square to watch one of the parades in action. Nearby, the site of the Acropolis was too good to resist a closer look. I do love walking around that part of Athens, there are so many little streets to explore.

View of Athens taken near the Acropolis.  

This weekend has probably been one of the best since arriving in Athens just over two months ago. I really enjoyed visiting Mount Parnitha on Saturday with some friends. It was a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and also a really fun time.

I was also thankful for another blessed time with my church family, and the sermon was a crystal clear presentation of the gospel, something I needed (and still need) to hear. It really was like a treasure had once again been discovered and made me realise just how quickly we turn the gospel into a boring piece of cardboard when it truly is a nugget of pure gold! And then today I have enjoyed a wander around Athens, a glimpse at Οχι day celebrations, but will need to make time for my Greek homework at some point this afternoon. 

The Panathinaiko Stadium.
 Hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896

A view of Lykavittos.

After just over two months of being in Athens there is so much to be thankful to God for. I am learning much from the experience and know that there are still many more experiences to come.

A few prayer pointers:
1. Give thanks that I am feeling more settled in my job and life in general.
2. Give thanks for some great friends who have been very supportive as I adjust to life in Athens.
3. Pray that I would grow in my love for Jesus and make the most of opportunities to witness for him.      

I believe in a God who _______.

I don't know what word you would use to fill in the blank, maybe you don't even believe in a God. For me, there are so many words to choose from but sitting here, feeling inspired by the sermon this morning, I'll pick only six - 'saved us from ALL our sins'. Two words are key amongst these six and they are 'saved' (past simple - Jesus has died and has risen and is alive now) and 'ALL' (in capitals because it means every single one, 100%, past, present and future sins). Grasp the true meaning of this and it should completely transform our view of God, ourselves and other people. Sometimes I think we live as though we believe in a God who saved us from SOME of our sins. OK Jesus died for me on the cross, but I still have to work my way to heaven. I still live as though my good deeds will count. The truth of the gospel is so far removed from this it is mind-blowingly offensive yet staggeringly beautiful news. Before I share a verse from the Bible that helps explain this (one of many), I wanted to share something that I reflected on earlier this morning.

Over the last eight years I have been receiving emails through my Hotmail account, and during this time have only deleted junk or unwanted emails (don't ask me why). This means that I have a stored inbox of emails dating back to late 2005. Why do I mention this? It is because pre-June (approx) 2006, I would not have called myself a Christian and certainly would have been unable to fill in the blank on this blog-post. An email I sent to my Christianity Explored leaders reveals something of what was going on in my mind (and heart) at this time:

Hello! How are you? Its Jon here from your Christianity explored group.
Thank you once again for all the advice and help that you have given me over
the last few weeks on the course. I am very thankful to you and Laura. My
main questions are all based around the same theme and are partly to do with
my lack of knowledge over the Bible. I have spent alot of my time studying
science and evolution (particularly human evolution) and I have always been
used to looking at physical evidence e.g. fossils, and base a lot of my
beliefs on what I can see and touch.

Although I have been brought up around Christianity I have never thought
about what that actually means. I used to go to church and didn't really
think about what I was singing or reading off the sheet. I've only recently
had the opportunity to learn about Christianity. I hope you don't mind me
giving you this background info. Here are some of my main questions. I feel
like I am getting closer to some answers and realise that I can never know
everything.

Who wrote Genesis and when was it written?

Did the people in Genesis 5 really live for hundreds of years?

Can a Christian believe that evolution was a tool used by God?

Some of the oldest Homo sapien fossils have been dated to over 150,000
years, could Adam and Eve have been part of that small group in Africa?

Can we trust Matthew, Mark, Luke and John's words?

Why did Jesus command people not to tell others of his miracles? e.g. Mark
5:43, 7:36. wouldn't it have strengthened peoples belief in him?

 I hope that you don't mind looking at these questions, I understand that
some of them are very difficult to answer. I don't want to put any pressure
on you. I'm sure I could think of some more. Thanks for taking the time to
read this e-mail. I might see you on Sunday, however I am viewing a house in
Gloucester at 14:30 so might not make it back in time. If I don't see you
Sunday have a good weekend and I will see you next Tuesday. Thanks again!

Regards,
Jon  

What strikes me most about this email is that I have completely missed the point of Christianity. Not to say that questions are irrelevant. It is important to think and ask 'why?' questions (I still do). Also not to say that you have to dismiss science in order to be a Christian. But what I mean, is that I had very much a 'doing things to know God' version of Christianity in mind.  Yet, after hearing the gospel, the news that I am a sinner (I push God out of my life and live as though he's not there), the consequence, I deserve his anger and punishment (death), yet God still loves me, so much so that he would send a saviour into the world, his only Son to die for me. Suddenly the song of my heart is fixed upon a different tune. There is a God - who saved me - from ALL my sins. Looking back, I can now see that it is realising this truth and believing in Jesus that makes the above email seem so far removed from my current experience. It is not that my questions are unimportant, it is that I have found someone vastly more important. The BIG IF that underlines everything is - IF Jesus is who he says he is, why do you still not believe?

There are many Bible verses to choose from but I think Paul says it just right in his letter to the Colossians when he said:

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.

Speaking to believers Paul says 'you were' alienated - but now 'he has' reconciled you - and how? By my effort? By my good works? By my achievements? No, 'by Christ's physical body'.

There is nothing I need to do, there is nothing I can do except believe in God's one and only Son. The one who saved us from ALL our sins. I now know that on the 19th May 2005 when I sent the above email, this was the truth that I was missing. I always assumed that if there was a God, knowing him was all about my performance, and that one day he would weigh up the good and bad and say either yep your in, or no go to hell. This however is not the Christian message! Even if I did try, try and try again, I would never be able to reach God's standards, he is perfect and holy. Yet there was one person who did, Jesus. It was Jesus, who in his perfection and sinlessness, took my sin (ALL of it) and suffered the consequence of it, death. And to prove that the debt I owed was paid in full, he rose from the dead. He did all this to present me holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. 

The wonderful news of knowing that I have been saved from ALL my sin, is that there is now nothing left for me to do to be saved, I am free to love God, serve God and love and serve others. Ever so slowly, by God's grace, I am seeing that because I have nothing to prove to God I also have nothing to prove to other people, and what a remarkable remedy this is. God knows me completely and yet he still accepts me in Christ Jesus. He has freed me up to live for him alone and with this glorious news I should be truly thankful! 

Cable car fun!

 



More cable car fun!

   

'The chocolate is liked by me'...

I am now nearing the two month mark of life in Athens (4 days time). Each new day brings fresh challenges but equally fresh opportunities to trust God and learn more from what that day brings forth. So far I am beginning to feel more settled in my teaching job and I do have some really fantastic students. Yesterday one of my children (12yrs old I think) told me that he wasn't having a good day but he was looking forward to my lesson because they are fun. It is always a real pleasure to teach when those you are teaching are keen and enthusiastic (makes my job a lot easier!). However sadly, this is not always the case and I'm starting to see my job as a kind of learning facilitator. Enter my classroom and dare to think you are not going to learn! I might be annoying but you'll thank me in a years time. I would value your prayers as I will be giving my students some tests to see how they are doing (in some ways this will also show how I am doing) - please pray on that I continue to work well with each class and just do what I can to help them learn English.

It was another good time at the 'helping hands' ministry and I enjoyed talking with a younger boy today who is planning on going to Germany with his family next month. Give thanks that God is raising up Christians in Germany with a heart for refugees. It has been great to get to know some German volunteers who have come to Athens to serve with the ministry and it looks as though fruitful connections are being made. It still amazes how many times I meet people who have some connection with people I know in Oxford.

My local bakery of delights...

I will be helping with the feeding ministry at my church on Thursday and I'm particularly praying for a family from Syria who I'm getting to know a bit. It is hard to have deep conversations due to language barriers but please pray that as I show an interest in their lives, out of friendship might come an interest, on their part, about why I'm involved with the church. When talking with refugees it certainly reminds you how much we can take for granted. I think last week, after witnessing the younger brother of this family put on shoes that were far too small, I left realising just how much I should be thankful with what I already have. Sometimes maybe we're too quick to want the next thing and then the next thing.

Greek lessons are going well and I'm starting to feel a bit more confident when in conversations. Still a long way to go but the grammar is slowly making sense although I discovered recently that when saying 'I like' about something, the noun (thing that you are talking about) becomes the subject of the sentence so literally you are saying for example - 'the chocolate is liked by me' - which in English would be 'I like chocolate'. It's all Greek to me - literally! Still I was asked on the metro for directions by two people so must be starting to blend in some how. Still have my obvious British moments though!

In other news I am thankful for the purchase of an armchair and a small table for my living room. Everyday I walk past this shop on the way to work and so decided to go in and talk to the owner. He was very friendly and in the end after discussing what I wanted, gave me 20euros off the total price. I kind of wanted more but there is an economic crisis happening so it didn't seem fair to haggle too much. It should be ready in a weeks time to collect.

One more thing, please pray for a man who I met in a nearby off-licence. After helping me choose some wine we had a good conversation and ended talking about spiritual things. I said I would give him a book to read (which he clearly didn't want) however tonight (as promised) I stopped by on my way home to give him a copy of Luke's gospel. If you have a moment please pray that he would read it and by God's grace see the real Jesus. As the Bible says - faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ. He now holds the word of Christ in his hands and so let's prayer that by God's power he comes to repentance and faith.

T-shirt disagreement...

It was another great time at the 'helping hands' ministry, serving a meal to over 100 refugees from Afghanistan. Although it is hard to hold conversations due to limited English, I did have a good chat with one of the refugees who is hoping to travel to Italy next week before finally making the journey to Germany. As you may have seen on the news recently, these journeys are treacherous and also cost a great deal of money. We pray each week that the refugees will come to know Jesus the only name under heaven by which we must be saved!

At school, it was a much better Tuesday in comparison to last week. One of my classes which are somewhat challenging were much better today praise God. This week I was ready for them and my classroom management strategies seemed to work. The other class I have on Tuesday are a delight to teach and I rewarded them with some post-lesson Haribo. Using sweets with school children is something of an art I am finding. If you get it wrong then it can back fire when all your class are saying 'haribo, haribo!'. But get it right and the results can be very positive indeed.

Post-lesson reward...
6 children + Haribo + 30 seconds =

On my way back from the 'helping hands' ministry, I spotted something on the metro which made me cry out with a big noooooo inside. It was something which in many ways sums up the growing thought about what life is all about. What was it? It was a T-shirt. A big T-shirt, with big writing saying - 'Life is all about creating yourself'. I disagree with this because I think it creates two problems. 1. Life becomes all about me. And when it becomes all about me, not only do I lose sight of God (the true creator), other people become obstacles in my way, competitors rather then people to serve and love. In Ecclesiastes 7:29 - the writer puts it like this - God created mankind upright,
    but they have gone in search of many schemes.
 
2. It doesn't work. What happens if I fail? What happens if the thing I've been creating (job, family, money etc) doesn't go as planned or worse is taken from me? Only when I start to see material things, my life and the lives of those around me as good gifts from God the creator, will I have my life in correct perspective. We were created to worship the creator not his creations - yet we exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen (Romans 1:25). And so, I don't normally have disagreements with items of fashion but I thought this one needed consideration. Life isn't about creating myself, it's about knowing God, the one who created me and gave me life, not so I could serve myself, but so I could serve him and others. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).      

Να' σαι καλά...

It was a good weekend with lots of things to be thankful for. There isn't time to mention everything (of course) but here is a short glimpse at two things. Saturday evening I attended the 'unite to impact' event, an evening with the purpose of bringing a wide variety of churches across Athens together for a night or worship and prayer. The evening did just that and it was great to see around 300 (I think) people, from different nationalities and church traditions, all joining together to sing praise to God and pray for many nations across the globe. I was able to help with stewarding people as they arrived, which also proved a good opportunity to get to know fellow stewards / brothers and sisters in Christ. Overall it was a good evening and I think it achieved what it set out to do.    

Unite for Impact - worship & prayer night

On Sunday, after the church service, many people made the journey to an area of Athens in the south for an afternoon of fellowship together. We were blessed with some amazing weather and the whole afternoon was a really fun and enjoyable time. To begin with we played some football, and then enjoyed some amazing home made Greek food!

I sat with some of the older members of the congregation over lunch which I think they thought was a bit odd. Anyhow, I tried to talk to them and get to know them a bit which I think they appreciated. A second football match commenced post-lunch where I played in goal and kept a clean sheet! OK so the opposition didn't have a shot on target but it still counts. There was then a time to pray and finally enjoy some Greek dessert and coffee!

Sunday evening marked the start of a 'small group' style Bible group that I'm a part of. This was a really great time and we are planning to listen to and discuss some sermons on 1 Peter and then pray for each other.
Give thanks for this as I'm sure it will be a really valuable part of my week helping me to grow spiritually and also get to know friends along the way.

And so, it is the start of another week! Monday's are always my busiest day but thankfully today went much better than last week praise God. I'm beginning to learn more about what certain classes need when it comes to delivering the lessons. It is quite interesting how two classes, who are supposedly having exactly the same lesson, are completely different. Some children are very pro active whilst others expect you to do all the work for them (sorry not going to happen).       

(new phrase alert)
Να' σαι καλά.
Na' sai kalá.
Take care / be well

Two paths, one destination...

At the feeding ministry today, I was thankful for being able to get to know one of the Syrian refugees. His story is one of hardship and pain, and his journey, has been a long one to say the least. The man I spoke to is 28 and was born in the same year as me, only 3 days apart. It's staggering to think of how our two paths have weaved and turned over the years until finally meeting at this point earlier today. One thing I know is that although we may not share the same path, we do share the same destination, for we will all stand before God's judgement seat (Romans 14:10). He is not a believer and so please pray that he might hear and receive the good news of salvation in Christ!

Syrian refugees face a hard and life threatening decision. Flee their country and seek refuge in a new country with the possibility of death, or stay in their native land and suffer the terrors of war and the possibility of death. It's not much of a choice really is it? My friend, his brother and mother made the decision to flee and after a day, they had made it via a smuggler to Turkey. They then waited until they could sail from Turkey to Kos, and then endured the journey from Kos to Athens. After a year in Athens they are hoping to finally live in Norway where the father of the family is living after seeking asylum at an earlier date. In the end it always seems to come down to three things - money, paperwork and timing. Many refugees seeking to enter Europe don't have the greatest of prospects when it comes to either of these three things.

An optimistic outlook for
the week ahead!

Please pray that I would continue to have good opportunities speaking to people both Greek and non-Greek. I asked my Syrian friend what he believes when it comes to God and his answer was one that I expected to hear. 'I am a Muslim, you are Christian. Our two religions are different but I respect you.' Please pray that he comes to see who Jesus is and why he is the only Lord and Saviour.

The weather in Athens appears to be improving although we did have a spot of rain today. I was just getting myself ready for the cold temperatures, when all of a sudden I see this weather report in the Metro (right). Never mind!

Give thanks that today was another good day at the school. Both my classes were a delight and the lessons went well and to plan! One of my students even left the classroom saying 'thanks for a great lesson'. I've started putting some 'relaxing' classical music on when I get them to do work - it seems to help create a calming atmosphere but if anything it makes me feel more relaxed! I can't believe that another week has gone by. This weekend is going to be busy as I'm helping with a prayer and worship night in one of Athens stadiums. It is an exciting event as a large number of churches across Athens will be meeting to sing praise to God and pray for the city. I am helping set up and steward on the night which should be fun and another great way to get to know people from church. I will leave you with the news that my clock from England after one month of doing nothing has started working! It is a radio clock and so 'tunes itself' - hence why it's two hours slow! Anyway nice to have a little piece of England in my living room.

English clock, English time...

A catch up...

but more to come tomorrow. The week so far has been another rollercoaster ride with very contrasting days. For example my thoughts at the end of this day couldn't be more different then how I was feeling after yesterday. It really does only take one or two 'difficult' children to change your view of the day. On a more positive slant however, it at least helps me to keep learning what works and what doesn't work when it comes to all the different classes. I really enjoyed my classes today and all the lessons pretty much seemed to go as planned. I imagine this will be a repeated pattern but things are starting to come together as I learn names (Greek names can be tricky) and discover how to teach 8 year olds one moment and 12 year olds the next. All good fun!

On Tuesday we had a really good time at the 'helping hands' ministry and it was a pleasure to get to know some Germans who were visiting Athens for the week. I am also very thankful for being able to see the same faces each week which is helping with getting to know some of the refugees. The majority of them do not speak any English but we trust that our welcome and provision of a meal will show them that we care and also point them to God's love for them in Christ. Tomorrow I will be at the feeding ministry for the 2nd church so will look forward to sharing more news about that.

Give thanks that my Greek lessons are going well and although it is slow going I do feel that I am making progress. It will be interesting when I can understand what my children say in class when they speak in Greek. It's fun when you say something in Greek when they least expect it because they think you don't know anything - they love it! Most of my classes are a real joy to teach - please pray that I continue to get to know my students and in all my work, I do everything as serving the Lord.

Over the years I've noticed how it can be very easy to measure yourself against how well you perform during the day. Praise God that our value and identity doesn't come from our performance or effort but 100% in what Jesus has done on the cross. This is so important because it allows us to serve, work and do all things with complete freedom and joy. Why? Because we know that it is not my work that defines me but Jesus Christ! I forget this a lot - note to self... 'good day' God loves you and is faithful. 'bad day' God loves you and is faithful.         

His ways are not mine...

The view from Mount Imitos is breaktaking! Saturday evening, I was invited by some friends to ascend the mountain and it truly is a remarkable place. Not only do you get incredible views overlooking the city, but it is also a welcome retreat from the noise that accompanies urban life. Being someone who grew up on a farm, any opportunity to venture out into the 'sticks' is much appreciated. It's not that I don't like city living, it's just that when it comes down to it, I'm still rural at heart. One of the exciting things about moving to Athens was the opportunity to experience living in a big city, and what an experience it is proving to be! As mentioned in an earlier post, this week has been one in which I have felt the most settled since arriving in Greece. Please give thanks for this and pray on for the forthcoming week. As mentioned in an even earlier post, I know that there will still be many bumps to come as I journey forth, but I know that God is using all these experiences for my good.

I've been thinking more recently about God's ultimate purpose for his people, a purpose to be conformed to the image of his son (Romans 8:29). This means that it is God's desire that all those who repent and turn from sin to Christ for salvation are to undergo a work of transformation, a process of being changed more and more into the likeness of the Saviour himself. This change project will last a life time and the methods used to bring about such change are only known by the one who owns the canvas and holds the brush. I might be able to look back and see moments where God's hidden hand was at work, yet it will be only in eternity when I will be able to see the brushstrokes in their entirety and finally behold the bigger picture! Until then, all I can do is trust, obey and know that God is faithful and good (Romans 8:28; Hebrews 10:23). There is mystery in the thought of a loving God who has pre-determined my life at his good pleasure, why he allows some things I cannot know, yet there is also wonder and a responsibility on my part, as this same God uses and relates my every daily decisions to bring about his desired end result. How can this be? All I know is His ways are not mine (Isaiah 55:9). 

Wandering through the market...

Mount. Imitos

Being organised...

Not something that many people would think of when it comes to me! But believe or not, my teaching position at the school has brought out the organiser within and I now have created a teaching schedule (times of my 14 classes), a teaching calendar (showing 3 months worth of blocks for each class) where I colour in a block after completing a lesson, this helps me know which classes I've taught during the week because I often duplicate my lesson plans, and finally I bought 7 brightly coloured folders to store all my lesson plans for each level. Still lots to think about but it's a good start! Thank you for all your prayers and please continue to pray for my times at the school. I'm known as 'Mr Jonathan' by all the children which is quite fun! The majority of my classes are a delight to teach and I think at times they're not quite sure how to react to this strange Englishman up-front. One of my students today said how her school was boring so hopefully I can bring a bit life into their learning experience!

Ooooo... brightly coloured folders

    
It was the feeding ministry today at the 2nd Church and give thanks to God for a really good time. I'm very much enjoying getting to know the team and we had lots of fun today preparing for the arrival of our guests. I went over to talk to a group of men today and discovered that they are all from Syria. Praise God that during our conversations two of the men asked me if I could help them with their English. I'm going to meet with one tomorrow morning and another before church on Sunday. In other news, the last few days I've been feeling much more settled. There are of course still the 'what am I doing - I miss England' moments, but these are causing me to draw nearer to God, through whom I can say with the Psalmist 'The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace' (Psalm 29:11). I will close with the shocking news that temperatures in Athens are at an all time low (for me that is) - 16°C! I walked out this morning wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt to the delight of my neighbours. 'You're crazy!' - my response - 'in England this is like summer!'       

Choose what is better...

I've been thinking recently about the dangers of being 'busy'. Not to say that there isn't a time to be busy, God has of course made us for work. Yet what happens when life gets so busy that we squeeze out time with the Lord? I think two things. 1. We begin to worry. I have stopped and noticed a pattern at the times when I've become busy and instead of stopping and coming before Jesus, I instead run to-and-fro in the hedge maze of my mind (finding the centre seems impossible). What did Jesus say to Martha when he popped by their house for some lunch and Mary decided to spend time at Jesus feet listening to him whilst Martha frantically put the kettle on, Jesus said:

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42 

 

Mary chose what was better - making time with Jesus. You see Jesus says 'few things are needed' - 'or indeed only one'. Maybe we over complicate things some times. Jesus also warns us of the 'thorns of the worries of life' making the seed of the word unfruitful in the believers heart (Matthew 13:22). I said there were two things so a bit more briefly. 1. We begin to worry. 2. We look elsewhere. I've noticed that in my own life too, when life is getting busy, busy, busy, instead of first looking to the resources of the living God I look to my own resources.

Helping Hands team preparing lunch
for the refugees

 

Maybe it's that book that promises all the answers, or that person who is always available to talk, both things which are good, but both things which can never, and should never replace time with God. For he is wiser then any book, he is always available to talk, but more astoundingly he made us, and knows us better than we know ourselves. From our breath to our being he is the only God.

 

And yet why do I look elsewhere? Probably because I'm all too quick to forget about God. I don't speak from experience, but I know that one of the most dangerous places people often look for guidance is through mediums or spiritists. Yet there is clear warning in the Bible about the consequences of being involved in this (Leviticus 19:31; Leviticus 20:6, 1 Chronicles 10:13; Isaiah 8:19). In Luke 16:19-31, after experiencing the torment of hell, the rich man begs that Lazarus (who is in Heaven) would be sent to his sons (on earth) to warn them. The reply comes - 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' At the end of Luke's gospel, Jesus speaking to his disciples says '...everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.' - and so, how much more do we have in Jesus!           

 

And so if busyness takes hold, why begin to worry, why look elsewhere! Let's be like Mary and take a moment to kneel before the Lord who is in and above every situation. Choose what is better. Something I am hoping to put into action over the rest of this week (and lifetime).

 

Please give thanks that I am starting to feel more like I know what I'm doing at school. So far my schedule is going well and I'm sure after a month I'll be into a good rhythm with the various classes. I had a good meeting today to make sure that I'm all clear on what's expected. Also, yesterday was a great time serving with the 'helping hands' team. As you can see from the picture above there are a lot of mouths to feed. It was a real joy serving with the team and also being able to talk with some of the refugees. Pray for the on-going work of this ministry and that many of the refugees come to salvation in Jesus and come to know the joy and freedom found in the gospel of Christ.    

Essential classroom resources