Jollymonk Dot Com

The other day whilst driving to a friends house, I had just finished listening to the new Best of Van Morrison CD and so turned to the radio to see what was on. All I could find on virtually every station was the dulcet tones of Richie Benaud commentating the Cricket.Now before you begin to question my patriotism or loyalty to our fair land, let me say that I have nothing against cricket…but really…on every station? Got me thinking that you can always tell it’s summer in Australia when the cricket is on 24/7. Your “seasonal” red flag may be triggered by something else? So tell me, you can tell it’s summer when… 

Recently I wrote on using Facebook as a reminder to pray. Funny thing, a few days later I stumbled across this video which has some very funny observations about Facebook and social networking sites in general. Enjoy!

Many of you will have discovered the website Facebook in the last few months. Essentially “Facebook is a social website that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.”

Many have blogged about the pros & cons of Facebook, including Josh Harris and Tim Challies, and they have many good things to say. But during this last week I was deluged by many ‘friend requests’ from old High school friends and it got me thinking how brilliant Facebook is as reminder to pray for those who have wandered in and out of our lives. I often visit Facebook when I have 5-10 minutes to kill. What if I was to pray for each of my friends that appeared on my wall, or had messaged me that day? What if I prayed for each new friend on my Facebook profile?

It got me thinking…rather than asking how many friends I have, the better question would be how many friends have I prayed for today? What about you? How can you use Facebook to more regularly pray for your friends?

What were you doing six years ago, the morning or eve of September 11?

I can still recall sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee and watching in confusion as American Airlines flight 11 slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre. At first, I thought it was the end of a movie, until I realised that all TV channels were showing the same footage. I felt physically sick to my stomach. Despair, anger, sadness - all of these emotions assaulted me at once and all I felt like doing was running to a solitary place and crying.

The following week was very strange as I found myself noticing every passing airplane, thinking it was flying too low. I remember having a very real sense of my own mortality, and reflecting upon my own inevitable date with eternity.

Six years later, I am watching the memorials on TV, taking in the countless sad faces of those who lost loves ones. I aimlessly flick through the channels, and notice a familiar face - former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He is speaking at a remembrance service, and says…

“We’ve come back to remember the valor of those we lost, those who innocently went to work that day and the brave souls who went in after them.”

How should I remember this event as a follower of the Lord Jesus? Does the Bible speak to this tragedy in any way? I recall the parable Jesus told in Luke 13 about a building accident. Apparently a Tower collapsed killing 18 people. Jesus’ response is to repent , or we too will perish! Whenever we see, hear or experience a tragedy, amidst the onslaught of emotions we will no doubt feel, Jesus’ words encourage us to turn back to God. To repent. To remember that he is God, the creator, and we are his creation.

Tragedies & disasters in this life are a constant reminder that this world is temporary and fleeting, and should warn us of the greatest disaster — facing the next life without Jesus Christ. As Jesus himself said…

“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12

Whatever you are doing today, and however you are remembering September 11, stop and thank God that he sent his precious Son to die for you and I.

Well I finally did it! I went ahead and setup a blog. Bare with me me as I move in, get unpacked and get the site up and running as I would like, but it the meantime feel free to have a look around and join in the conversation. I know there are plenty of great Christian blogs out there, but my hope in starting JollyMonk.com is that through my words, and the thoughts that get kicked around, that this would encourage people in their love for God. I think of it as a small Blog with big aims!