Happy Christmas

(TNIV) John 1:18
“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”

This Christmas, celebrate the wonderful and historic entry of the eternal God into our temporal, human existance. Not somehow out of nowhere, suddenly as a full grown man, but born of a woman, into humble circumstances, to grow and learn, to teach and heal, to suffer and die – and to rise again.

Jesus is the Word, the Message, the Good News.

Happy Christmas

Rest for the weary

The Message – Matthew 11:28

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Is there something heavy, ill fitting or burdensome in your life? Are you weary or burned out – possibly even burned out by expectations from well meaning religious organisations?

Spend some time with Jesus – get away with him for a real rest. He provides life, refreshment and peace, and drives out all fear.

Run in such a way as to Win the Prize

I was jogging this morning. I’m not very good at it, but I enjoy it immensely. I enjoy the distance travelled, the physical exertion, the achievement. I enjoy the solitude.

What I always enjoy most is the parable or metaphor for living – the metaphor of endurance. Life is about taking one step at a time. One day, one week, one year. It is about surviving, conquering and doing your best in the moment.

I enjoy going a few metres further each time I run. Doing better, getting a step closer to the goal, to make it the full way home one day without having to stop for a rest, or slowing for a walk.

I look forward to making it home to see my family. To rest with them.

I think my weekly run is a good metaphor for the journey I am on.

God so loved the world

One of the most frequently quoted Bible verses, here in the Message paraphrase.

Like Adrian Plass says [my paraphrase] “God likes you.”

(MSG) John 3:16
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.”

God likes you, but we are in a world in crisis. There is a decision to make – to accept or reject what God has revealed to us in Jesus.

(MSG) John 3:19
“This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”

There is a definite sense in which there can be a signifcant moment of turning to follow Jesus. There is another sense in which it is a gradual and life long journey, with many twists, turns and bumps, and the occasional dummy-spit and about face.

It’s good to be on the journey though.

Be Thankful

(MSG) 1 Thessalonians 5:16
“Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.”

It’s hard to know to reconcile this encouragement with the reality of people’s experience at times. People are not cheerful all the time, and those who are are sometimes a little difficult to take as genuine.

Nonetheless this is Paul’s encouragement to us. Being thankful to God in and through every circumstance is positive from a number of perspectives – it let’s us acknowledge that God is truly present and in charge, despite how we may feel. It shows, and helps to develop a grateful spirit on our part. If you are a parent, you know how wonderful it is to have children who actually appreciate all that you do for them. All of this can drastically affect our whole outlook too, creating a more positive outlook on our lives.

So, I don’t think Paul, the Apostle who suffered so much, or Jesus, who himself also suffered, I don’t think either of them want fake, painted on smiles. I think we are encouraged to develop a deep and firm spirit of optimism and gratitude, based on a knowledge that our Father in heaven loves us, and is working everything to His glory and for our good.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life

Had a good day today. Some important events that yesterday seemed to have a low chace of occurring came to pass. I prayed harder for these things to happen than I have prayed for anything in weeks. I worked harder in the last few days than I have worked for anything to happen for some time.

Somewhere in the mysterious connection between striving and answered prayer, the event came to pass. A significant struggle in my life has come to an end. And life can move on. A battle won.

Thanks God.

Jesus and Suffering

I keep running into people lately who are suffering financially. Hardly surprising since we are in the middle of what has been dubbed the GFC – the global financial crisis. While I have heard some economic commentators describe this as one of the smallest economic ‘”dips” this century, they have also acknowledged that it is perhaps the single most globally synchronised downturn in the history of the planet. What the dip lacks in depth, it has made up for in breadth.

At the same time we have the H1N1 virus – aka Swine Flu – seeping the planet. Like its economic counterpart,  at a global level this virus is moving at a pace unheard of in decades.

It’s no wonder the press is having a field day.

Behind both of these phenomena, however, is real human suffering. What is almost impossible to fathom on a global scale, hits home when a number of my closest friends have either lost jobs, been demoted, or are living under pressure created by the economic downturn. A relatively minor “dip” perhaps, but in the adult lifetime of me and my peers, we have not experienced anything quite like this. While we have not begun to approach the depths of poverty, powerlessness and daily suffering endured by thousands in the developing nations (and in previous eras), we have, nonetheless, had the security of our economic confidence and stability shaken, and people are hurting as a result.

So, where is God in all of this? Why does God let us suffer? People have often referred to this as “the problem of pain and suffering”. If God is loving, good and all powerful, then why does he allow it, and not put an end to, pain and suffering?

M Scott Peck, begins his book “The Road Less Travelled” with a paraphrased quote from the teachings of Bhudda:

“Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult – once we truly understand and accept it – then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”

For many years I have known this quote, and it has been helpful to me in times of struggle. I have known through this quote, and the teachings of Jesus, that suffering builds patience and endurance – noble and desirable character traits which are not easy to obtain when we are at ease in our leisure.

My own struggles this year in particular, have raised the bar on my own experience of suffering to new levels. I have had physical experiences of fear and anxiety which were previously beyond my experience. At times I have wondered if the anxiety, stress and resultant sleep deprivation and physical weakness would in some way break me. In some ways I think it probably has. I know the same circumstances have profoundly affected and hurt some of those closest to me – and in one case – in ways far beyond my own experience of pain.

So, where is Jesus in the midst of this? Where is the healer of the blind, deaf and dumb? The friend of sinners? The one who encouraged us in the following passage not to worry about anything, but to trust God to provide for all of our needs?

LK 12:22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

LK 12:27 “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

LK 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

As usual Jesus turns everything upside down. How will I control anything if I’ve sold all of my possessions? All of them? What would I do for equity to get a loan? God may have given me the kingdom – but I still feel a very strong need to have “things” to hold on to for some sense of security.

When my very survival, and that of those around me, seems to be threatened by financial instability, I still feel extremely vulnerable. I would like very much not to worry, but I do. Far from adding a single hour to my life, I expect I am losing days off my life through stress and worry.

I suspect my fear and worries are tied up in the fact that I am probably not truly seeking God’s kingdom as much as I could or should be. While I try to orient my heart in the right direction, to be generous and kind and submit myself to Jesus, I still find much of my energy – every working day – is spent in efforts to shore up my security and that of my family.

There are no easy answers. Jesus didn’t promise any. He called those who would follow him to daily pick up their cross and follow him – to take a road of suffering and death, which will ultimately and counter-intuitively, lead to life. “‘Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.’”

So in summary, what on earth does this mean for us in the midst of suffering? As Peck suggested earlier, we need to acknowledge it, embrace it, and with Jesus’ help, grow through it. It may seem unpleasant for a time, but like hard physical labour and exercise, the suffering which doesn’t kill us may well make us stronger.

Through my current experience of suffering, I have grown closer to those around me. I have learned new things about myself, both good and bad. I have become stronger through having to make hard decisions, and I have had to find and develop new strength to make those decisions. I have learned new things about others, also both good and bad. I have met new people who have provided expertise, advice and kindness. I have sought out the prayers and fellowship of others to help me through.

In some unexpected ways, my current experience has broadened and deepened my experience of God and of life.  have experienced life more deeply, and in a more raw and real way than before. I believe I prayed somewhere along the way, based on the words from a book I had been reading and studying, for “a battle to fight, a beauty to rescue, and an adventure to journey on”. As they say, be careful what you ask for – you just might get it.

Sitting in the airport miles from home…

Ever read internetMonk? If not, you really should… this post is a great example of his work – keeping the faith real through his online community of blogs and conversations with readers and commenters.

I have found great encouragement through the faith and writings of my online brethern like iMonk.

I hope you do too.

Off to fly home to my beloved family soon. Must blog some more soon – been a bit slack lately…

Market Day Stalls and The Shack …

Market Day Stalls

One of the key passages I started with, and hope to continue with this year, is the Sermon on the Mount. At the end of that passage, I found myself very challenged by Jesus’ parable of the two men who built houses – one on sand and one on rock. The challenge is that the one who built his house on the sand represents the person who listens to Jesus’ words, but who fails to put them into practice. I think I am a big theoretician when it comes to Jesus’ words most of the time – I could discuss scripture for hours (if anyone will listen to me). But act on his word? I find my actions barely distinguishable from any “good” person around me most of the time…

I wont become a certifiable saint overnight, and it is not my objective to become that in the eyes of those around me, however, I wanted to begin to do something which was purely motivated by wanting to serve Jesus – something I would not otherwise be doing. To me this was a key thing – it had to be something which I would not be doing just because I was a “good moral person” – it had to be clear at least to me that it was something uniquely related to my love for Jesus. I was also hoping to find something I could do with one or more of my kids, to help set their feet on the rock of Jesus’ words-in-action too – instead of the sand of words-only.

Well, as usual, with less prayer than I would hope for, but more than zero, I came up with the idea (or perhaps was granted the idea as a gift, who knows) of doing a bookstall at our local Sunday market. A bookstall selling new Christian books. After a number of months with some more (never enough) prayer, planning and some actual action (organising books, tables, and a market site booking), the day finally came where Katie (my second daughter) and I, and one of Katie’s friends headed off to the markets, and set up. We had a load of second hand “secular” books too – hoping to attract a good variety of people over our way (and perhaps make enough money to cover our site costs).

We had some good fun setting up, and then sat and waited for the crowds to pour in. We chatted to the people at the stall next to us – they bought two of our second hand books, and a lady from the Lion’s Club stall behind us bought one too, followed by a young lad buying a Harry Potter book . . . Not quite the spiritual revolution I might have been hoping for, but it did pretty much cover our site costs.

I was encouraged when a young lady talked her partner into buying a children’s devotional Bible, and soon after that an older lady purchased “Noah and His Boat” as a gift for a child. I was pleased we sold these books – who knows how God might use them in the lives of children they are destined for; I was happy we made enough money to cover our site; I was grateful to spend the time with Katie and her friend.

I was extraordinarily thankful that God blessed me with enough motivation, determination and focus to do something in his name, rather than only ever seeming to sit around talking about him. I’m not discounting that talking about God with others is important, but it seems somewhat empty without some sort of action to back it up. I suspect there are more and better things I can and should do, and I really pray God will continue to motivate me to step out and do things.

I am learning though, as Jesus only did the things he saw his father doing, I need to pray and observe and learn and seek to only do the things Jesus is doing, and to do them in the strength of his spirit. Do I know what I just said looks like, feels like and means? Not really. Not yet. But I pray that God will help me to keep putting one foot in front of the other in serving him . . .

Life is starting to feel more like an adventure again – as Jesus said “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” – John 10:10b.

The Shack

I have been reading “The Shack” by Wm. Paul Young the last few days. It was on my list of books to read for some time – I didn’t know anyone who had read it, but it kept featuring in lists of “must read” books in book catalogues and book reviews. Then a friend I meet for coffee told me how he was reading and enjoying it, followed by a neighbour of mine reading it on the bus. It was this neighbour who offered me his copy to read when he had finished it.

[Note: Some minor plot spoilers in the following section – beware if you haven’t already read the book]

Despite a fairly slow and, I found, overly American flavoured introduction, I pressed on. I had to put it down late one night when it was approaching the story of the tragedy which I knew was coming as a necessary part of the plot. I find myself being especially sensitive to any plot or story involving suffering and tragedy regarding small children – and I think especially young girls. Perhaps something to do with having three daughters.

While I am fully aware this is a work of fiction, it is – at an emotional level – deeply moving and I think insightful. While I don’t think anyone is suggesting it is a new work of scripture, it does however convey some deep spiritual concepts in a manner which seems to engage at a level more personal than the head knowledge which somehow seems to be the way I am used to engaging with a lot of scriptural truths.

With my growing non-institutional-religion bias, I must admit I particularly appreciated the comment attributed to the Jesus character, that he also was not really fond of religious institutions either, and that he wasn’t a Christian. Disturbing, stirring, challenging stuff.

I’m not finished yet, but do admit I am really enjoying it very much.

[Plot spoliers finished]

Questions in Exile

I struggle daily with the decision to not be attending church on a regular basis. Actually, what I struggle with more accurately is “Am I doing the best thing for me, my family, God’s people, the lost and the poor? Am I doing what Jesus wants me to be doing?”

I find myself answering along 2 different lines, depending how I phrase the question:

Am I doing my best? I sincerely doubt it – I could and should be doing better on many fronts. I could be working more in prayer and action to be seeking, creating and using opportunities to demonstrate and teach about Jesus with my kids; to demonstrate Jesus ridiculously overwhelming and self-sacrificial love to my wife, to embrace the potential for embarrassment and ridicule and reach out to those in need who society often ignores. I could do so much more, and by God’s grace, day by day he might guide me into more strength, wisdom and self-discipline to serve him better.

Will returning to regular Sunday service attendance help? Will it help me to address these concerns? For me, for my family, for now, I sincerely doubt it. I have started to think about the idea of maybe once a month getting along to a service in my local area, or perhaps even elsewhere, to make some connection with the body of Jesus’ followers who are still inside the walls on a Sunday. But I am also looking for ways to connect with others who like myself, might not be found there . . . I am looking for ways to encourage and be encouraged. To give and to receive something of Jesus’ love. I am looking for ways to better encourage and love my kids, and hopefully help them to know Jesus better.

Do I need the church – Jesus’ body? As the New Testament body illustration describes it, it’s like the little toe asking if it needs the other four toes, the foot, the leg, the arteries pumping the blood filled with oxygen from the lungs. OK – maybe I’m only a little toe – the one that seems to sit there most of the time without a purpose (until you kick it on a chair leg and double over in pain!). But I need the body of Christ, the church, like life itself!

Do I need organised religion, Sunday services, programs? Right now, in general – no. I’m not militant on this point, and I don’t think I’m being hypocritical by still attending a fortnightly men’s group with the local church who’s program I have otherwise stopped being involved in. I’m attempting to be pragmatic, and giving and receiving in the one part of the program of that particular organisation which really makes a difference in my week. Unfortunately, by not participating in what is viewed as the focal part of the program – the Sunday service – this creates a level of confusion regarding what my involvement / commitment is.

So, I’m not yet achieving the heights of what I had hoped for outside of the walls of a regular church program, but I am also still of the view that I am closer to where I should be, at least for now, than would otherwise be the case…