Chuffed Fox (2025)

09/09/2021

"According to most philosophers, God in making the world enslaved it. According to Christianity, in making it, He set it free. God had written, not so much a poem, but rather a play; a play he had planned as perfect, but which had necessarily been left to human actors and stage-managers, who had since made a great mess of it." - GK Chesterton

The aspect of acting out our part in life, playing our role as a human being, is often misconstrued with earning or finding our place in this world - as if we were finding our way instead of simply being that which we were created to be - namely, God's children.

God placed us, as His created beings, those which He saw as very good, into this world to flourish and grow, multiply and love, work and play. That is our role. While we often break out of these beautiful boundaries and find ourselves in the midst of a broken story, it is God who calls us home, calls us back, calls us to His original design and narrative for our benefit and His glory. God's original design is that which brings the greatest joy and peace in a life we so often break.

Our role in this life has been set by the original designer, original author, original maker and His roles, His ways, His story, is the greatest of them all.

Be who God has called you to be. Walk in His ways.

04/09/2021

"By two at the latest I would be on the road. Not, except at rare intervals, with a friend. Walking and talking are two very great pleasures, but it is a mistake to combine them. Our own noise blots out the sounds and silences of the outdoor world; and talking leads almost inevitably to smoking, and then farewell to nature as far as one of our senses is concerned. The only friend to walk with is one … who so exactly shares your taste for each mood of the countryside that a glance, a halt, or at most a nudge, is enough to assure us that the pleasure is shared." - C.S. Lewis

I always loved this quote - the idea of walking, in silence, to simply not miss the sounds of nature is truly a fascinating concept. To enjoy it with someone who also understands that silence, even better.

I am also fascinated by the premise of "smoking" - not because it harbors some sense of ci******es, but because it harkens the notion of a pipe - and the shared stories around an old hearth.

24/08/2021

There is a truly unique balance to be found in the thought process of doubting. In one corner, one can doubt simply because they love truth. Think about that for a moment. Let it permeate your thoughts. One may doubt simply because they love truth.

In the other corner, one may doubt simply because they refuse to accept the answer provided. So much depends on the soul, and mind, of the one doing the thinking.

Context also plays an invaluable role. One may doubt because they are tired of being lied to - as a natural reaction to real-life experiences. Others may doubt simply because of their naturally inquisitive mind - as they love the idea of asking the, "why" over and over again.

In a world that often denies truth never be surprised when you come across a culture that doubts as its default. Much of it may be coming from a simple weariness - a weariness brought about by lies and deception. Don't miss this. Don't think lowly of people when they have questions or simply desire more information.

If I could encourage you today in anything, it is this - doubting is not inherently wrong if your love is for the truth. So when you come across someone who doubts, seek to know why - lean into their discomfort and questions....you just may find a person who truly values and desires truth over all things.

And, should you find the other person, the one who is weary and tired of a world filled with lies, lift them up. Guide them. Respect their journey. It is hard to lift someone up when all you do is look down on them.

02/08/2021

"I thought I could describe a state; make a map of sorrow. Sorrow, however, turns out to not be a state but a process." C.S. Lewis

In moments of great despair, a deep breath, a good cup of tea, and a wandering novel often help pass the time that causes so much pain. But it is the moments in between - while making the tea, sitting down in the armchair, choosing the book, that often transports a man back to his painful reality.

And the breathing, oh the breathing! That is often the hardest part of the whole process. For losing a loved one, a friend, a companion, is not just a loss, it is often felt like an amputation.

But, alas, the day draws nigh and my God has granted me another day filled with the power to love even in the depths of pain. So, I shall breathe again and thank God for the ability. I shall sip my tea, dive into the depths of a good book, and learn to wait for tomorrow.

For tomorrow has the ability to provide new adventures and to change my sorrow into fond memories - and in these memories, our loved ones live yet again.

22/05/2020

"I feel..."
"It made me feel..."
"It felt like it to me..."

This new reality, how so many conversations seem to go in this modern age, seems to be solely based on how things make one feel. If it makes me feel bad, uncomfortable, or I disagree with it, it must be wrong. Feelings, far too often, drive our reality.

And herein lies the problem.

Feelings are not reality. They are not truth. Feelings can, in fact, be liars. Feelings lie all the time to us. Feelings, like waves, can come over us, overwhelm us, bury us, and deny us truth. Feelings can be fleeting, ever-changing, and fickle. All you need to do is hang out with a few teenagers at a youth rally for a weekend to be reminded of how often feelings change. :)

In the same light, feelings, a gift from God, are to be viewed in light of truth, not as the standard for truth. Feelings do not define that which is true - that which is true should define how we feel.

There is a great danger in basing your every interaction in this world on how things make you feel or how the things others do make you feel. What a dangerous world we would all live in if reality and truth were based solely on how it made people feel individual! What a narcissistic world that would be.

Could I encourage us all to do the following as we deal with life's situations and peoples? Ask yourself the following questions:

Is this true?
Is what I am feeling valid in light of truth?
Is there grace to be given to the one who does not even know he offended me, angered me, saddened me, etc.?

May we all base our reality on that which is true no matter how we feel about it at that moment. May truth always win out the day.

22/05/2020

Some people have become so comfortable in their spiritual lives that they basically exist as functional deists. Their entire faith is based on outward action but no inward faith. Their faith is found in attendance and not presence. Its body but no heart and soul.

In the end, they are simply well-dressed corpses - dead to the real-life bringing joy found in true faith.

They have become their own salvation and god. And they make terrible gods - mainly because no one else actually realizes that they are one.

It's time to step on some toes, sweet Christian. Not in anger or resentment - but in the power of the life-bringing gospel of Jesus Christ!

It's time to admit that there are many who are currently struggling with faking their way through Christianity - as if anyone could actually fool God - and call these found in their own "comforts" to repentance and the newness of life found in a true relationship with Jesus.

We must love those who "attend" each week enough to say, "Enough is enough. It's time to dive into the deep end of faith."

22/05/2020

“Mis-information is rampant in this great age of mass-information. While we have more access to learning than ever before in the history of the world, we’re actually getting dumber it seems. The amount of (mis)information at everyone's fingertips has lured us into a false sense of knowing. Whether it be information about science, politics, or theology, our society is suffering from an inability to research, process, filter, and apply. At the same time we seem entirely oblivious to the zeitgeist (spirit of the age) that is nihilistic and libertine, making everything relative and subjective. And Satan himself rushes to blur our vision, stirring up the dust of confusion. The church must respond by teaching the critical faculties of logic and spiritual discernment, embedded in a cohesive framework of fides quaerens intellectum (faith seeking understanding). We must obtain a reasonable faith that is consistent with historic Christianity and relevant for our post-modern age. Otherwise, those rejecting the blatant errors of religious fundamentalism will be susceptible to every wind of false doctrine and repackaged heresy imaginable. They will leave the orthodox faith and accept something that vaguely resembles Christianity, but in reality is a vile concoction of demonic lies.” - David Flowers

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Study. Read. All points of view. All things. Then spend more time contemplating the information gleaned against the unchanging Word of Truth - the Word of God.

22/05/2020

"Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man." - C.S. Lewis

In a world fascinated with the new way, interpretation, expectation, or translation, we often forget to ask the most important question - is it true? Does this thought I am having, this road I am traveling, this existence I am experiencing, stand the test of truth and the test of time?

It is easy to pursue a road filled with the wonders of innovation and modernity without realizing that the most progressive thing one could do is stay firmly rooted in truth in a world that finds truth relative. That's true progressiveness.

In the same vein, living in a world that often falls back on tradition as its guide, more so than truth, one must also realize that being progressive is not a bad word when it is couched in truth, bathed in the light of the Word of God, and redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb.

Progress does not demand innovation or new translations. Progress, in a world devoid of truth, need only stand on the bedrock that is Jesus Christ and speak the Truth in love.

22/05/2020

When a year finally comes to an end we are all given a gift - the gift of retrospection tied with a beautiful bow of dreams for the future.

We stop and think upon the past - both the good and the bad.
We think upon the beautiful moments of joy and the shocking moments of woe - the lovely times wrapped in the arms of a loved one and the painful tears that swept down our cheeks when saying goodbye to the same.

To live life to its fullest often means that we experience both the highs and the lows of the emotional spectrum - joy, love, pain, sorrow.

In this new year, no matter what it may bring, may I encourage you to think upon these things -

Love deeply. Fully. Sacrificially. You won't regret it.

Live fully. Take risks. Breathe deeply and smile often.

Feel. Allow yourself to feel - both the good and the bad. Allow yourself to understand that feelings are visitors and the ones that dwell too long can be evicted. Never be afraid to evict the feelings that overstay their welcome.

Finally, smile often, laugh heartily, love sacrificially, breathe deeply, sit silently, move inspirationally, and meditate daily.

You've got this. Keep going, dear friend.

22/05/2020

“The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost.” -

There are a lot of people in this world today who are attempting to bear unbearable sorrow and despair on their own - they sit across from us at the table, they worship with us, and they work with us.

The greatest thing you can offer someone today is a simple question - "How are you doing?" Not the typical, "Hey, how are you?" fly-by sentiment, but a true, honest, "How are you doing? Are you ok? What's going on in your life?"

You will be shocked by the depth of life's troubles when you take the time to ask and listen.

Today, ask the simplest of questions and be ready and willing to listen to the deepest of pains. In doing so, you may just help a wandering soul find its way home.

22/05/2020

You will never be able to out sin, out party, outlive, out money, outspend, or outdo Solomon as to life and ways. You may try, but you will fail. You will not be able to out-experience Solomon in this world and find anything beyond what he found - meaninglessness.

Not that that will stop many from trying - in fact, many will spend their lives doing everything they can to disprove this reality - some will even go as far as trying to give meaning to this meaninglessness.

That, in its own terrible way, is the meaninglessness - the vanity - that Solomon speaks of throughout Ecclesiastes. All of it, every bit of it, is meaningless in the end - outside of the hope found in God.

The only thing that brings meaning to a life filled with entirely meaningless things is God, Jesus, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit. It is a life filled with the one true purpose for all mankind - to give glory to God in all things.

Chuffed Fox

09/09/2021

04/09/2021

24/08/2021

02/08/2021

22/05/2020

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