It is always interesting to learn what a celebrity thinks of Jesus as opposed to what he thinks of the Church. The latter always gets a bad press but not so Jesus.

Sir Elton told Sky News a short time ago: “If Jesus was alive today, I cannot see him as the Christian person he was and the great person he was, saying this [gay marriage] could not happen. He was all about love and compassion and forgiveness and trying to bring people together and that is what the church should be about.”

Apparently Sir Elton is keen to have Jesus blessing on his proposed wedding next year to his partner David Furnish. Perhaps like many, he wants the ultimate celebrity endorsement – that of the Son of God.

Whatever the reason looking at Jesus through the eyes of Sir Elton makes it difficult to recognise the one who refused to be called good by the rich ruler who wished to ingratiate himself into his company. St Luke records how Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honour your father and mother (chapter 18 v 19/20).”

In fact Jesus went further when he preached that it was not only the act but the lustful look that is sinful when it came to adultery and that losing our temper is akin to murder. By such teaching Jesus showed that God knows the thoughts and intents of all our hearts. Thus keeping the law was revealed not so much as an outward and external behavioural exercise but an inward and invisible practice which was known only by God.

But his thoughts are not ours, his standards are profoundly different from ours and his call to discipleship is much more radical than Sir Elton’s comforting thoughts.

Sir Elton would be shocked to discover that it is precisely because Jesus is loving and compassionate that he defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. The Bible uses marriage to illustrate Jesus’s intimate relationship with his church (Ephesians chapter 5 verses 29/31).

The fact is that Jesus is alive, knows our thoughts and has set his love on us sinners who fail so miserably to follow him in the many forms of “marriage” on the market today. He, the living Jesus, is able to transform – not only the marriage but the life of the repentant Eltons’ and you and me.

The church and Jesus its founder is all about this new life – abundant life which Jesus offers to all who hear his voice.

Robin Williams the American Actor and Stand-up Comedian died by his own hand on Monday. In his lifetime he has won many awards and established himself among the Hollywood greats. On Broadway in New York City, theatres dimmed their lights for one minute in his honour. 

In his life he had struggled with dependency on cocaine which he was able to give up – only to fall prey to alcoholism. His wife confirmed that he was in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease. To cap it all he suffered from depression.

There are many instances of successful comedians, people who could make the dourest of us laugh, but who in their own lives suffered from recurring bouts of depression. Solomon knew a thing or two about these things which he expresses in Proverbs Chapter 14 verse 13. “Even in laughter the heart may ache and joy may end in grief.”

Unfortunately there is nothing new about the clown who commits suicide. What is new is the public outpouring of grief via the vehicles of social media. This catharsis which was indulged in by so many this week has been called by one journalist “recreational grief”. It first came to our attention with the mountain of flowers and teddies that marked Lady Diane’s death.

It is triggered by the untimely-ness and the manner of the death, the more dramatic the bigger the impact.

Perhaps it is because we have anesthetised death from view so that the only bodies we see are those on the TV news. They are abstract, impersonal and remote from our experience so that our momentary grief soon passes. Real grief is for those unfortunate women in Burqas who almost jump down the lens of the camera recording the event.

When it comes to the death of Christ a zillion images of plastic, wood or whatever have succeeded in removing the reality of the crucifixion from the vast majority. There is little chance of that personal identification taking place whereby the sinner sees his sins laid upon his Saviour. Even less chance of understand that all the Saviour’s merits have been laid to the sinners account.

This knowledge comes from believing the promises of God, written in scripture, so that by trusting in Him we are made right in the eyes of God. As St Paul put it “For our sake God made Jesus to be sin (on the cross) who knew no sin, so that in Jesus we might become the righteousness of God”. 2 Corinthians Chapter 5 verse 21.

Grief needs to find its outlet, not in the death of a stranger, but in the recognition of our plight before a thrice holy God.

For those from whom God takes the scales from their eyes and shows them what they are really like, the reflex reaction is to turn to Jesus, and find that, in him, they have the peace which eludes so many and is not to be found in this world but comes from God.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.”

The opening words to Psalm 19 which King David penned some three millenniums ago capture something of the magnificence of our summer sunsets that light up the evening sky. This universal language which transcends spoken language speaks of order and consistency as night follows day in unbroken succession.

Into our solar system came the Rosetta Probe. It was launched from France 10 years ago and, rather like the stone in David’s sling which he used to kill Goliath, it was whirled three times round the earth in an increasing orbit then let fly for Comet 67P. It arrived this week at its destination, a lump of ice, dust and rock all frozen together and measuring 2.5 miles wide. The plans are to drop a land craft onto the surface in November to see what it is made of. In particular they want to test the water which is melting on the comet to compare it with our water on earth.

It seems a long way to go to check out water quality but, of course, the underlying quest is for origins – who made water and where did it come from?

Having left the Biblical explanation of creation behind in junior school and having decided that the order and consistency that we take for granted must have evolved they take God out of the reckoning. As St Paul puts it in Romans Chapter 1 verses 19/20, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

But there is another water that Jesus spoke about when he analysed its quality for the Samaritan woman. It is recorded in St John’s gospel chapter 4 verses 9/26. This he described as “living water” and said it would satisfy and sustain her for the rest of her life.

This gift from Jesus of the Holy Spirit can be received without a trip to Comet 67P but with a simple prayer of faith to Jesus the giver of living water.

This lethal virus, for which there is no known cure, is in West Africa – sufficiently remote from us not to cause panic. But for our school children on our “Once” programme and the Sankoh’s extended family in Freetown it is a very real fear.

The disease, which is highly contagious, started back in March in Guinea but soon crossed borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia. It has now reached Nigeria.

The outbreak has been blamed for the deaths of 729 people, according to World Health Organisation figures, and has left over 1,300 people with confirmed or suspected infections.

Ebola begins with the sudden onset of flu-like symptoms characterized by general malaise, fever with chills, sore throat and severe headache. Part of the problem is the ordinariness of the signs which lead to denial instead of people going for tests.

There have been 60 medical personnel deaths including Dr Khan who passed away on Tuesday. He had been at the forefront of those fighting the disease. Sadly it is now medics and officials who are being blamed by panicked populations for spreading the virus. They have been threatened with knives, stones and machetes and their vehicles sometimes surrounded by hostile mobs. Log barriers across narrow dirt roads block their way to the villages where the virus is suspected. Sick and dead villagers, cut off from help, are infecting others.

Many are pulling out of the danger area but help is on hand from the World Health Organisation who has launched a health plan with a budget of $100,000. It has the support of teams from organisations such as Doctors without Frontiers.

In another corner of the African continent in a previous century one called Joseph was, by God’s grace, able to turn around plans for his removal and cope with disaster which threatened the population of his day. Joseph was the only one who could save them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good…the saving of many lives” (Genesis Chapter 50 verse 20).

There is also an eternal dimension to suffering which Joseph foreshadows. The remedy to that is found in Jesus Christ of whom it was said “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah Chapter 53 verse 5).

For those with the virus eternal healing is their only hope.

There is something quaint even old fashioned about the Commonwealth Games which opened in Glasgow this week. The athletes all had their moment of glory as the familiar scene was re-enacted. They followed the established custom of marching behind their flag bearer as they entered the arena to the strains of their own national anthem.

A Scottish twist was the Scotty dog wearing a “waistcoat” with the name of the Country clearly visible and led by his owner, preceding the national flag bearer.

The high tech tricks were kept to a minimum with one side of Ibrox Stadium totally occupied by a massive electronic screen. On it we were treated to some views of the glorious Scottish countryside which were rather spoiled by the electronic attempts at reproducing tartan!

The dancers and singers did well although the scarcity of the latter was reflected in an old clip of Andy Stuart belting out “Scottish Soldier” which brought back fond memories to people of a certain age!

The host city, Glasgow, got maximum publicity with its motto “Let Glasgow flourish” writ large. What they failed to mention was that in more Christian times the motto read “Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the Word and the praising of His Name”. With the editing out of the last two clauses Glasgow is left with a motto which begs the question as to why anyone should let Glasgow flourish after they have turned their back on their Maker and Redeemer. A question for another day perhaps?

The torch had travelled around the world in true Olympic style arriving by seaplane on the river Clyde which runs alongside the arena. The Queen was there to receive it and read the message which she had placed in the torch many months previously. A moment of comic relief occurred when the Chairman of the Games could not get the message out of the torch, he and the torch-bearer wrestled with it to the amusement of the crowd. The Queen, who could have probably done the job herself, had her own copy of the text so by the time the original was obtained it was seen to be redundant!

Using their maxim, Humanity Equality Destiny the Games shone a light on the equality or rather the inequality that exists between rich and poor. We were encouraged to subscribe £5 to UNICEF using cell phones and the resultant response jammed the network!

Mind you the tactic to extract the £5’s from Scottish pockets was pictures of the all too familiar starving children, from hot countries, projected across the side of Ibrox Park.

When St Paul was fundraising in Corinth, a city which Glasgow resembles, he spoke of the grace of God in giving us Jesus and the grace of Jesus in giving Himself. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians Chapter 8 verse 9).

The Corinthians had been redeemed and their lives turned around so now they could see what equality meant. It was reciprocal. They met others needs according to their means and when poverty hit them they received from others – verses 13/14.

Generosity not based on guilt but based on Biblical values out of a knowledge of Jesus.

The latest tragedy to hit Malaysian Airlines is the shooting down of their flight MH17 as it flew over Ukraine’s war zone on its way from the Netherlands to Malaysia. It was taking the direct route, perhaps to save fuel or simply following the normal flight path feeling safe at a height of 33,000 feet.

Travelling at a speed of between 500/600mph one thing is certain it was not a bullet from a Kalashnikov rifle that brought down the jet killing all 298 people on board. It is much more likely to have been a guided missile from the Buk system which the rebels have obtained from Russia presumably to continue their practice of shooting down planes from the Pro-Western part of Ukraine.

If you give a child a loaded weapon it is unlikely that he will be able to resist using it. In the same way the rebels with their new rocket system may have not been able to resist trying it out on the commercial airliner when it appeared in their airspace. There is also the report of a Ukrainian transport plane flying in the area and it may have been the original target.

The wreckage has fallen in rebel held territory and reports confirm that they have secured the two black boxes. I would think the chances of them being sent to Malaysia are slim!

Whilst all the world powers have had something to say about the tragedy Russia’s Putin blaming Western Ukraine “as they had resumed fighting against the separatists” is particularly myopic!

Of all the soft targets that the rebels could find this must be the softest. The Boeing 777 did not stand a chance. Once the rocket locked on to it there was only going to be one result. The bodies and the wreckage were strewn over several kilometres.

Christians know what is like to be a “soft target” in many countries today. Take the case of Asia Bibi in Pakistan. More than four years ago she was the victim of persecution by some Muslim women who wanted her to confess the prophet Muhammad. Instead she asked them what had their prophet done for them – she said Jesus, her saviour, had died for her.

This unanswerable question landed her in Jail for blasphemy, convicted by the Lower Court in 2010 and now awaiting the result of her appeal to the Lahore High Court. The appeal has been postponed four times by judges who seem to have come under pressure from Islam extremists and would prefer not to get involved.

Meanwhile Asia languishes in death row in wretched conditions in Multan rather that renounce her faith. “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. James Chapter 1 verse 12.

There was once the notion the governments were to cherish all their citizens equally and respect their rights so long as they did not impinge on another’s liberty. This principle was strained in Belfast recently when Asher’s Bakery, a Christian company, was taken to task by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland for refusing to decorate a cake with the slogan “Support Gay Marriage” and feature the logo of “Queerspace”, a GLBT organisation.

The cake was to be produced for an International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia in Co Down. Asher’s refused to bake it. They got their money back and had the cake baked elsewhere.

Despite the fact that the Northern Ireland Assembly recently voted against redefining marriage for the third time in two years the Equality Commission said the bakery had breached equality laws which outlaw discrimination in the provision of goods and services.

When raised in the Westminster Parliament at Prime Minister’s question time Cameron’s response was to hide behind the flawed Equality, maintain that Gay marriage is equal and use the legislation to try to bend Christian people’s conscience.

Another piece of State Control comes in the form of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill where children from the age of 0 to18 will be assigned a State appointed guardian. This law will enable the guardian to intervene without parental consent where there is reckoned to be physical or psychological cruelty.

The guardian or named person will be appointed by the National Health Service for those from age 0 to 5 and will most likely be a teacher for those from 6 to 18. The idea is that the youngster would know who to go to for help – without their parent’s knowledge.

Family life can be tough but with secret meetings being added to the equation it will get tougher!

When you move away from Biblical principles you end up copying other Nation’s Laws and make it up as you go along without any moral compass to guide you.

In the first case, having declared unequal things to be equal – that gay marriage equals heterosexual marriage – they now have to adjust the Christian conscience to comply. No conscience clause is to be permitted!

In the second case, having dismissed the commandment, “Honour your father and your mother” (Exodus Chapter 20 verse 12) as the key to securing stability in the land the breakup of family life continues with the insertion of an officer of the State with legal powers that trump those of the parents.

St Paul’s words commissioning Timothy have a prophet resonance, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy Chapter 4 verses 2-4). That time has come!

Attention has been focussed this week on the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers where Abraham and his family and flocks once travelled and where the Garden of Eden lay, today lies conquered by ISIS.

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has hopped out of the cradle of civilisation, as the region was once called, brandishing sophisticated weapons aiming to set up a Caliphate incorporating a large part of Syria and Iraq.

Having established footholds in Syria ISIS declared the abolition of the border with Iraq and swiftly captured Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city.

This has given ISIS a launching pad for a rapid series of attacks in which its fighters have seized towns along the Tigris River heading south to Baghdad.

Their success is due to careful planning and intimidation of populations by means of public executions. This has enabled ISIS to obtain weaponry from the captured soldiers, wealth from the banks and control of the oil refineries in their path. They have made al-Qaeda look like amateurs and their methods have attracted would be Jihadists to join them from Europe.

It is estimated that up to 1,700 Westerners have been attracted to join the conflict via information circulated by Islamists and picked up on their smartphones. These young impressionable people are seen as a potential future threat as they could be used to pursue ISIS aggression against the West where they would not be easily detected and identified as Jihadists.

These would become missionaries of militant Islam bearing a message of choice -conversion to Islam or death!

When Abraham headed up the Euphrates valley be was going in the opposite direction to ISIS in more ways than one. His mission unfolded as he obeyed God’s plan to create a people who would be uniquely His own and provide a witness of His gracious love to the nations (“all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” Genesis Chapter 12 verse 3).

In fact St Paul states that when Abraham believed God’s word he was declared to be righteous. This was not on account of anything Abraham had done (he was not yet circumcised) and he was still fallible! It was sheer grace and St Paul was able to say that this act of God was an advance proclamation of the Gospel of grace (Galatians chapter 3 verses 6/9).

St Paul concludes the passage by referring to the work of the Gospel today heralding a vastly different Spirit from that of the Jihadist; so that by the authority given by Jesus Christ the blessing originally given to Abraham might flow to the nations, producing new Christians perhaps even out of the Jihadists (chapter 3 verse 14).

This subject is of universal interest. For none of us does time stand still!

Of course when we were very young time did appear to stand still. Adult conversations seemed so long and boring.

During schooldays time seemed to shorten or lengthen depending on whether we liked or disliked the subject we were supposed to be learning.

As young adults we entered a “timeless” zone where it could be stretched by “burning the midnight oil”. On these occasions sleep seemed to be an optional extra.

Adults seldom have enough hours in the day. Competing demands are juggled and compromises made as our priorities are revised again and again. Questions arise like, “how does he manage to all that he does?” And, “I don’t know how she manages to keep going with her workload” as we look at the lives of others?

Then we come to these years when calculating pension income or how to get by in its absence replace the time spent planning holidays.

We are now entering the world of Pensioners Outings when, guess what, your age becomes a major taking point! This time however it is coupled with health whereas before it was all to do with physique or beauty!

Moses, who lived for a fair old age himself, wrote in Psalm 90 that we are allotted 70 years but if health (and now pills) permits may hit 80.

However there is no cause for gloom as Caleb was 85 when he did some of his most famous exploits (Joshua Chapters 14 & 15).

The crucial thing which troubles our latter years is not how long we are here but where we are going. We may ask the doctor “how long have I got?” But the real answer is an eternity – it’s where we are to spend it that is the real issue.

When Jesus’ time had come to leave he had this to say, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” (St John Chapter 14 verse 1). He’s not simply talking about faith in a Jesus of the history books but faith in a real person who loves you enough to die in your place bearing your sins, including the monumental one of not believing his word.

We need to repent of our unbelief as well as the other stuff. My Mother used to say it was too big an ask to make of God but it’s not. This is why he died. He is the way. There is no other.

Our accomplishments in this world St Paul says are as rubbish by comparison with knowing Christ as our Saviour (Philippians Chapter 3 verses 7-10). Don’t rely on anything you have done but trust completely on what Jesus has accomplished for sinners such as us.

The name was first attributed to Pele the Brazilian football star of yesteryear but made popular by Stuart Hall in his commenting on soccer matches. When played by two evenly matched professional teams it can certainly live up to that description.

This week marks the commencement of the World Cup a tournament which brings the best sides in the world together every four years. The host country for the competition is keenly contested as enormous prestige comes with holding the event.

This time around it is the turn of Brazil. The country has been preparing the stadiums and infrastructure for a long time. This has incurred costs which have created tension as available resources have been directed away from welfare projects into sporting facilities. However Brazilians are passionate about their football (they have won the World Cup five times) and it is reckoned that the hardships endured will be forgotten as soon as their team takes to the pitch.

A global audience is ensured as over 200 national teams commence the elimination stages of the competition three years ago. This fires interest in the event till it peaks at the final when it is reckoned that one ninth of the world’s population tune in to the match.

The final 32 teams have travelled to Brazil and have been grouped into eight groups of four teams each. All teams play 3 games in this preliminary stage the winners and runners up then drawn against each other in the knockout stage to produce a winner in approximately four weeks time.

There will be plenty of football widows over the next month!

What has the Bible to say to all this?

Athletic prowess featured in Scripture and in particular in the writings of St Paul. In his advice to young Timothy he contrasted physical training which he reckoned to be of some value with training in “godliness which is of value in every way, as it holds promise for this present life and also for the life to come” (Chapter 4 verse 8).

He expanded on this by describing the Christian who has been cleansed and indwelt by the Holy Spirit as someone who knows contentment (chapter 6 verse 6). All of this stems from faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, writes St Paul, enabling us to have peace with God (Romans Chapter 5 verse 1).

The danger is, as it was then, that we train for the physical but neglect the spiritual. Getting the balance right will not just get you through the next month but will serve you well for this life and the next.