Below: Shayne sings to a live audience.

Bottom: Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne

and Simon Cowell (left to right) give

their judgment in the live finals.

Love it or hate it, ITV’s ‘X-Factor’ talent

show attracts 40% of UK viewers,

around 9 million people, as well as those

watching on RTE. The formula is a win-

ner – this year around 75,000 hopefuls

audition for a place in the finals, to be the

one to win a £1m record deal, with the

fame and lifestyle that accompany it.

From hopeless, note-less and woeful to

brilliant, entertaining and inspiring – the

trio of judges had their work cut out.

Watching the heats was a mixture of

laughter, suspense, cringing, and feeling

guilty at being entertained by people’s

often-desperate attempts to strike fame

and fortune. The finals are better, but

each week someone has to be voted off.

Judgment and rejection is never easy, for

either the judges or the performers. The

sad thing is that so, so many hopefuls are

plainly not good enough. For many,

their self-belief, ambition, dreams and

the well-meaning advice of friends and

family blind them to the fact that they do

not have what it takes.

We may not realise it, but we find our-

selves in the same situation regularly.

We want people to have a good opinion

of us, so we put on our best performance,

not wanting to be judged negatively. We

may often want to be better than we really

are. Or, we may have been rejected so

many times, that we don’t try any more.

Or, we may simply not care about what

others think, but they think it anyway.

Yet few people seem to be bothered about

God’s opinion. Yet if they are, they hope

to be accepted by God, because they are

better than some people. Yet, we rarely

live up to our own standards, never mind

God’s. The problem is that one day he

will judge us all, to see if we have what it

takes to enter his presence forever.1

Jesus said that we must all be better than

the best, which is impossible.2 God tells

us that we can never make it.3 So, why

keep on trying to be accepted this way?

The good news is that we don’t have to

keep on trying to be good enough!

To those that were self-righteous, Jesus

told a parable about two people who

went up to pray.4 The self-righteous

man thanked God for how good he was

and for all that he did. But the other

man simply admitted his inability to be

what God required, and asked for mercy

instead. Jesus said that this man was

judged right before God, not the other.

How can this be? The answer is through

the ‘Cross-factor’. Jesus now offers us a

swap. Because he suffered and died on

the cross, he can take our sin and give us

his righteousness, as a gift.5 We just

have to stop, and accept it thankfully

with a truly sincere heart. On top of

that, we also receive the Holy Spirit so

we that ‘can’ do what God requires.

We might not have the ‘X-factor’. And

we certainly don’t have the ‘Godliness-

factor’. But Jesus offers us his right-

eousness, through the ‘Cross-factor’, if

we will only receive it.

(1) Matthew 12v36, Romans 14v10-12,

(2) Matthew 5v20, (3) Romans 3v20, (4) Luke 18v9-14,

(5) 2 Corinthians 5v21, Ephesians 2v8-9.

C o l i n G l e n C h r i s t i a n F e l l o w s h i p

Number 9, November 2005

Have you got it? 1

Deeper Than The Deep Blue Sea

2

Getting the most from the Bible

2

Every day for Jesus... 3

Floods, disasters, earthquakes!

3

Contact Details 4

Open House 4

Welcome Wolfgang 4

Faith Explored! 4

Prayer Requests 4

Have your say 4

Christmas Wordoku 4

Inside this issue:

Cross alk Have you got it?

To receive a booklet of ‘Our

Daily Bread’, post this slip to

the address on the back page.

Or, email, or send your details

through the website ‘Contact

Us’ page. There is no charge.

� Yes, I would like to receive

‘Our Daily Bread’ regularly.

Name ....................................

Address ................................

..............................................

..............................................

Postcode ..............................

“Most people are bothered by those

passages in Scripture which they cannot

understand; but as for me, I always noticed that the passages in

Scripture which trouble me most are

those that I do understand.”

Mark Twain

Page 2

Deeper Than The Deep Blue Sea

Several hundred miles off the coast of Guam is the Mariana Trench, the deepest place in the

ocean. On January 23, 1960, Jacques Piccard and Donald Walsh climbed into a submersible

vessel and were lowered into the cold, lonely darkness. Their descent into the deep, which set

the world record, has never been repeated.

The depth of the ocean is mind-boggling. The Mariana Trench is nearly 7 miles down. The

water pressure at the bottom of the trench is 15,931 pounds per square inch. Yet there is life.

Walsh saw flat fish on the ocean floor, surviving despite the pressure and the darkness.

For most of us, it's hard to fathom just how deep the Mariana Trench is. But much more diffi-

cult to comprehend is the love of God. Paul was hard-pressed to describe it, but he prayed

that his readers would be able somehow to grasp "the width and length and depth and

height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge" (Ephesians 3:18).

The reason we can never reach the depths of God's love is that it is infinite—beyond measure.

If you ever feel alone and unloved, that you've sunk to the depths of dark despair, think about

Ephesians 3:18. God's love for you is deeper than the Mariana Trench! (One of the reading from ‘Our Daily Bread’ - 25 Oct 2005, used with permission. www.rbc.org)

Getting the most from the Bible People often comment that the Bible (a.k.a.

‘God’s Word’ or ‘Scripture’) is such a com-

plex book. They’ve read it but say that they

have got little out of it. But, everyone can

understand it a lot more if we know how to

approach it better. Here is a brief summary

of tips on getting the most from the Bible.

Around 40 people wrote the Bible over about

1500 years, but the Holy Spirit inspired

them.1 While we read their words, we hear God

speaking to us. He says; “As the heavens are

higher than the earth, so are my ways higher

than your ways and my thoughts than your

thoughts.”2 Yet at the same time he wants us

to know his thoughts. This is why he gave us

the Bible. Since God’s Word is spiritual, we

need to pray for the essential help of the Holy

Spirit, in order to understand it.3

Different versions translate the original an-

cient languages and figures of speech into

current languages and idioms. A good mod-

ern translation that reads easily is best.

The Bible shouldn’t always be taken literally.

For example, Jesus said; “I am the gate; who-

ever enters through me will be saved.”4 But

he doesn’t mean that he is made of wood! He

used the metaphor of the sheepfold to teach

that he alone is the Saviour of the world.

While the Bible is primarily concerned with

matters of faith and salvation, it also contains

history, science, etc. In all of these it can be

fully relied on as accurate, and it has never

been proven wrong. Jesus certainly believed

in the whole Old Testament, quoting it often.

The 66 books of the Bible contains different

types of writing, each to be understood in its

own way: Narrative (e.g. stories/history);

Figurative (e.g. parables/metaphors); Poetry

(e.g. Psalms); Wisdom (e.g. Proverbs); God’s

Law (e.g. Deuteronomy); Prophecy (e.g. Je-

sus death, or second coming); Letters (e.g.

Paul’s letter to the Christians at Corinth).

What we say can sometimes be taken out of

context to mean something different than what

we intended. So too, Bible verses should be

considered in their immediate context, and in

the context of the Bible as a whole. Since God

revealed his mind progressively over time, the

New Testament is generally clearer than the Old

Testament and is a good place to start reading.

The Bible generally can be understood

plainly. There normally aren’t hidden meanings

in each passage. As a rule of thumb, ask:

1 - What does it say? (e.g. “For where your

treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6v21.)

2 - What does it mean? (i.e. Our heart be-

longs to those things that we treasure most.)

3 - What does it mean to us today? (Whatever

we put first in life, that is our god. It can be

the Lord God, or other things like relation-

ships, wealth, football, politics, cars, TV etc.)

By knowing God’s Word better, it comes

alive to us. We hear God speaking to us, in-

dividually, by the Holy Spirit. What an en-

couragement to read the Bible!

For more help, use a commentary, cross-references, a

concordance (index), or other books such as “Understanding

the Bible” by John Stott. References: (1) 2 Peter 1v20-21,

(2) Isaiah 55v9, (3) 1 Cor. 2v13-14, (4) John 10v9.

�

Below: Recent flooding in the UK.

Bottom: Balakot, the worst hit town in

Pakistan’s recent earthquake.

“I hit the windscreen with an incredible

force.“

Page 3

Despite being around for thousands of years,

earthquakes, tsunami, and famine all seem to

be happening so regularly now. They come

as uncomfortable reminders that life is not as

secure as we would like it to be. Without

warning, each of us could be another statistic

on the news. People are asking more and

more; Why are they happening? What does it

mean for the world? What does it mean for us?

There are no easy or comfortable answers.

We can’t blame it all on global warming, or

other man-made causes. Yet, we can become

more efficient at emergency relief and chari-

table giving. But more importantly, we can

learn about the future through them. One of

two lessons Jesus gave from a natural disaster

(2000 years ago), was that unless his listeners

turned to God, they too would all perish.1

The Lord tells us that wars, earthquakes, fam-

ines and epidemics will mark the coming of

the new earth2, where there will be no more

crying or pain or death.3 But first, there will

be the end of the world, and final judgment

for all.4 We cannot predict when – since we

are told that we won’t expect it.5 The im-

portant thing is to be ready.

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his prom-

ise, as some understand slowness. He is pa-

tient with you, not wanting anyone to perish,

but everyone to come to repentance.”6 “For

God so loved the world that he gave his one

and only Son, that whoever believes in him

shall not perish but have eternal life.”7

How can we be ready? Turn to God, thank-

ing him for his great love. Ask for his for-

giveness, and leave the burden of our sin at

the cross, to follow him each day.8

References: (1) Luke 13v4-5, (2) Luke 21v10-11, (3)

Revelation 21v1-4, (4) 2 Peter 3v7, (5) 1 Thessalonians

5v1-2, (6) 2 Peter 3v9, (7) John 3:16, (8) Acts 21v21

Floods, disasters, earthquakes!

An ‘ordinary’ day in my life... When I was younger I didn’t believe in the

Lord, or at least not in a way that changed the

way I lived. I had the blessing of being

raised in a Christian home, but like so many

others, I wasn’t very interested or passionate

about the person of Jesus Christ. The ques-

tions of purpose and meaning in this life

never seemed to grasp my attention, but that

was all before something happened.

April 22, 2002, my twin brother Jacob and I

were on our way to our school’s ‘Battle of the

Bands’ competition. Ordinary day, ordinary

life. Jake was behind the wheel as we were

discussing the songs we were going to perform.

Suddenly, to our surprise and horror, a car

had stopped in front of us, not 15 feet away.

Still travelling at 50 mph, Jake swung the steering

wheel, and we just barely missed the stopped

vehicle. Although we managed to avoid that

impact, a greater one awaited us, since we

had turned into the oncoming lane of traffic.

We crashed head on with a van that was do-

ing the same speed as we were. It was terri-

ble. My brother and I didn’t have our seat

belts on, and the air bags didn’t go off. I hit

the windscreen with an incredible force.

Waking in the ambulance, I found that there

were eight different sections of my face need-

ing stitching and removal of glass, with some

of my skull exposed. My brother Jake had

equally horrific wounds and some broken

bones. But we were alive - we were okay.

As I lay immoveable in my hospital bed over

the next few nights, life had a new focus for

me. All those questions of meaning and pur-

pose in

life now

came

rushing

to me

frantic-

ally.

I real-

ized

some key truths through that tragedy that I

had never believed before. The first thing

was the brevity of life. By all statistics nei-

ther my brother nor I should have survived

the accident. I felt as if I had just escaped

death’s grasp, or rather that God had spared

me. I was now struck with the inescapable

realization that at any time I could die. And

where would that lead me?

The biggest thing I learned, though, was that

the life God has given me is meant to be lived

the way that he intended. Now this Jesus,

that I had learned so much about before, was

asking for my whole being, and assuring me

of something that surpasses both life and

death - salvation.

And when I discovered the new life for God,

it was not through hardship or a weary heart

that I began to live it, for now I often experi-

ence the peace, joy, and fulfilment that the

Lord meant me to - the very things which I

was created for. I live passionately in the

knowledge of the giver of life and death, who

has given me a purpose and meaning that will

go on for eternity. I praise him daily for

sparing my brother and I. (Joshua Loy)

Welcome Wolfgang

The leadership of Colin Glen Christian

Fellowship has been increased as Wolfgang

Maier has recently joined John Duffy. He and

his family have moved up from Cork where

they have been living for the last eleven years.

No prizes for guessing that Wolfgang is

German. His wife is originally from Belfast,

and they are settling in well here.

He has commented that the people he has met

so far have a lot in common with those he knew

in Cork. He is looking forward to making

many new friends in the years to some. It is

great to have him on board with CGCF.

Contact

Wolfgang Maier (left) and John Duffy (right)

Christmas Wordoku Wordoku is a word-based variation of the

popular number-based Sudoku puzzle. Each

column, each row, and each set of nine

squares outlined by the heavy line contain the

letters below.

Fill in the spaces, with none of the columns,

rows or sets of nine squares containing the

same letter twice.

This is what the wise men did when they met

Jesus:

H I R S W D O E P

For the completed Wordoku, see the link on the home page of the website at www.cgcf.net

D E O R H W S

P E

D H O I R

S P D H

H R W D O

I W

R O P E S H I

Prayer Requests

If you have matters that you would like prayed

about, we would like to support you in prayer.

Ring or email (details above), or fill in the anony-

mous form on the website. All details will be kept

in strict confidence. The Lord answers prayer.

Click on the ‘Prayer Requests’ link: www.cgcf.net

The recently updated website has a dis-

cussion forum for matters of faith and cul-

ture. Post your comments on Crosstalk

there. Post questions or simply make your

point of view known. Visit the forum at: www.cgcf.net/forum

Have your say

Interested in a short course exploring faith

more deeply? We are planning to run six

week courses regularly to look at key aspects

of the Christian faith. Anyone interested should contact us (details above). Times and places

can be arranged to suit anyone.

Topics covered: What do we rely on? What does God want from us? Can we do without Jesus?

What is grace? Being a follower of Jesus - part 1 & 2.

Faith Explored!

‘Open House’ - Now every Wednesday

We meet on Wednesday evenings for Bible study and fellowship with tea,

coffee and a bite to eat. Join us as we

look into the Bible to see what we can

learn from it, and how it is relevant to

our lives today.

Everyone is welcome - just turn up, or

ring for more details. Every Wednesday

7.30-9.30 pm (except during July).

We meet at 42A Cloona Park - Just off

the Stewartstown Road roundabout.

John and Elaine Duffy 42A Cloona Park Upper Dunmurry Lane Belfast BT17 0HH Phone: (028) 90600323 Email: info@cgcf.net

Website: www.cgcf.net