I had a grumpy day on Tuesday. There was no apparent reason for it. I was just grumpy. I guess most of us have those days occasionally. I even have them on days when there isn't band practice!
When I am grumpy I tend to struggle with my devotions. When I just want to get away from everything and everyone I'm not really interested in reading Isaiah or any other part of scripture that addresses my behaviour.
On Wednesday I trotted off to have my haircut. My barber does the most wonderful scalp massages. The massage on its own is worth the cost of the haircut. And as Vicenzo massaged my head so the tension started to drain away.
What about a spiritual massage? I am doing reasonably well with my Bible reading at present but sometimes what I need is a deep internal spiritual massage. Something to break the tension that exists inwardly. I am not good at allocating time to sit and allow God to minister. I don't even have a wife & kids yet I still find it hard to find that space. But everytime I visit Vicenzo I am reminded that I need to find again the healing massage of God's Spirit in my life if I am to function properly.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
God's saving power
" Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?" Isaiah 53:1
God seems to specialise in achieving outcomes through ways we just don't expect. The Bible is full of examples that we are now familiar with but are actually quite outrageous when we stop and think about them. This chapter of Isaiah is a beauty!
Surely God has not done anything else quite like the Jesus story. What an extraordinary way to bring salvation. No one would have expected God to bring reconciliation by crushing his own son with pain (vs 10).
Today in the church we still try to put God in a box. We think we understand him. But he still does things that astound us. Maybe we should expect the unexpected. Maybe we should expect him to do things differently to our expectations and through different people to whom we would choose.
Maybe I still expect God to work in defined parameters in my life too. Maybe the expression of God's saving power in my life should look quite different to how I expect it to look.
God, forgive me for trying to put you in a box, for trying to make you conform to my small mind's understanding of your ways. Open my eyes to be surprised at what you are doing through your people.
God seems to specialise in achieving outcomes through ways we just don't expect. The Bible is full of examples that we are now familiar with but are actually quite outrageous when we stop and think about them. This chapter of Isaiah is a beauty!
Surely God has not done anything else quite like the Jesus story. What an extraordinary way to bring salvation. No one would have expected God to bring reconciliation by crushing his own son with pain (vs 10).
Today in the church we still try to put God in a box. We think we understand him. But he still does things that astound us. Maybe we should expect the unexpected. Maybe we should expect him to do things differently to our expectations and through different people to whom we would choose.
Maybe I still expect God to work in defined parameters in my life too. Maybe the expression of God's saving power in my life should look quite different to how I expect it to look.
God, forgive me for trying to put you in a box, for trying to make you conform to my small mind's understanding of your ways. Open my eyes to be surprised at what you are doing through your people.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
You are never too old
"They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green." Psalm 92:14 (NIV)
I can never read these words without remembering Dick Collett. 'Uncle' Dick testified many times, both publicy and to me personally about how thrilled he was that, even though he was old, God was still going to work through him.
Our world today is geared toward a retirement of lounging around, travelling, playing golf etc. It's about accumulating wealth in order to do nothing much in retirement or to spend it on trips and leisure. It's a philosophy that is at odds with Christianity. It's not that God doesn't want us to play golf or have an overseas trip, it's more that he has plans to work through us right up to the time we take our last breath. There isn't this mythical age where all of a sudden our work for God ends just because our work for an income does.
For 12 years I have worked for the same mob and at no point in time has my employment been really secure. Just at this point it is less secure than normal! At almost 50 years of age and with no qualifications, the world is likely to say "you are too old mate". But God says that I will still bear fruit, even at 50 with no qualifications!
Age is of no consequence to God. God still has important work for me to do and if I keep my focus on him he will ensure that I still produce good fruit.
I can never read these words without remembering Dick Collett. 'Uncle' Dick testified many times, both publicy and to me personally about how thrilled he was that, even though he was old, God was still going to work through him.
Our world today is geared toward a retirement of lounging around, travelling, playing golf etc. It's about accumulating wealth in order to do nothing much in retirement or to spend it on trips and leisure. It's a philosophy that is at odds with Christianity. It's not that God doesn't want us to play golf or have an overseas trip, it's more that he has plans to work through us right up to the time we take our last breath. There isn't this mythical age where all of a sudden our work for God ends just because our work for an income does.
For 12 years I have worked for the same mob and at no point in time has my employment been really secure. Just at this point it is less secure than normal! At almost 50 years of age and with no qualifications, the world is likely to say "you are too old mate". But God says that I will still bear fruit, even at 50 with no qualifications!
Age is of no consequence to God. God still has important work for me to do and if I keep my focus on him he will ensure that I still produce good fruit.
Monday, July 26, 2010
A bit more awe please
"So to whom will you compare me, the incomparable? Can you picture me without reducing me?" Isaiah 46:5. In the next chapter of Isaiah God says "I have a lot more to tell you, things you never knew existed."
It's such a temptation to shrink God to a size I can manage and fathom. I want to be able to understand God, to know which direction he will move next so that I can have some level of control over my life and to ensure I am not caught out underprepared.
Uncertainty about the future is something that bothers many of us. I think the technical term is 'worry'! But consider this - if God is incomparable; if to picture God is to reduce him; and if God has more to show and tell - things I never knew existed; Then why am I not continually excited by the God who is so huge and so pro me?
A little less worry and a lot more excitement and anticipation is probably the order of the day.
It's such a temptation to shrink God to a size I can manage and fathom. I want to be able to understand God, to know which direction he will move next so that I can have some level of control over my life and to ensure I am not caught out underprepared.
Uncertainty about the future is something that bothers many of us. I think the technical term is 'worry'! But consider this - if God is incomparable; if to picture God is to reduce him; and if God has more to show and tell - things I never knew existed; Then why am I not continually excited by the God who is so huge and so pro me?
A little less worry and a lot more excitement and anticipation is probably the order of the day.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Am I a danger to society?
"It is God's will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of fools who think you're a danger to society." 1 Peter 2:15
In this general election campaign which candidate is considered to be more of a danger to society? The Christian one of course! Tony Abbott's Catholicism is considered to be a negative, at least by those in the media.
To a degree we Christians have brought some of it on ourselves. We lack compassion in areas where there is a difference of moral values such as in same sex relationships and abortion. And now, given the advances in technology, we have to deal with fallout from the American Evangelicals too.
Nevertheless, I do get frustrated at the negative press that Christians receive. After all, stack up the church/para church social ministries contribution to society against the atheist one and see which has done more.
It is going to be a continual challenge for the church in these times to get the message of God's love out there. The media is highly unlikely to do it. As always, it will be up to individuals to change the world. And from a Christian perspective, individuals empowered by God. Continue to do good, "exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government." (vs 16-17).
Help me God.
In this general election campaign which candidate is considered to be more of a danger to society? The Christian one of course! Tony Abbott's Catholicism is considered to be a negative, at least by those in the media.
To a degree we Christians have brought some of it on ourselves. We lack compassion in areas where there is a difference of moral values such as in same sex relationships and abortion. And now, given the advances in technology, we have to deal with fallout from the American Evangelicals too.
Nevertheless, I do get frustrated at the negative press that Christians receive. After all, stack up the church/para church social ministries contribution to society against the atheist one and see which has done more.
It is going to be a continual challenge for the church in these times to get the message of God's love out there. The media is highly unlikely to do it. As always, it will be up to individuals to change the world. And from a Christian perspective, individuals empowered by God. Continue to do good, "exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government." (vs 16-17).
Help me God.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
No one is forgotten
"Not one is missing, not on forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you...."
1 Peter 1:1-2
Peter was writing to exiles as he called them, Christians in Northern Asia Minor. The first thing he tells them is that they are not forgotten, not one of them. God has his eye on each and every one of them no matter where they are, no matter how remote.
It must be very easy at times for those who live in countries hostile to Christianity or those who live in remote regions to wonder whether God remembers them and is aware of their situation. Yet here, we are reminded that God remembers them all.
In the cities we often hold similar fears. Amongst the vast numbers of faceless people, does God remember me? Can he see me amongst the vast crowd? Can he hear me above the cacophony of noise? Yes he can! Not only that but he knows me intimately.
The thoughts for this blog today are 5 years old (my journal this morning didn't quite measure up!). At the time I wrote this my father was very ill and passed away about 6 weeks later. In the challenging times of life, it's encouraging to know that God is incredibly close and loves us all passionately. No one is forgotten.
God, the reminder that you are watching me at all times isn't always a pleasant thought because I don't measure up to your holiness. But the promise of your love and protection gives such peace. Thank You.
1 Peter 1:1-2
Peter was writing to exiles as he called them, Christians in Northern Asia Minor. The first thing he tells them is that they are not forgotten, not one of them. God has his eye on each and every one of them no matter where they are, no matter how remote.
It must be very easy at times for those who live in countries hostile to Christianity or those who live in remote regions to wonder whether God remembers them and is aware of their situation. Yet here, we are reminded that God remembers them all.
In the cities we often hold similar fears. Amongst the vast numbers of faceless people, does God remember me? Can he see me amongst the vast crowd? Can he hear me above the cacophony of noise? Yes he can! Not only that but he knows me intimately.
The thoughts for this blog today are 5 years old (my journal this morning didn't quite measure up!). At the time I wrote this my father was very ill and passed away about 6 weeks later. In the challenging times of life, it's encouraging to know that God is incredibly close and loves us all passionately. No one is forgotten.
God, the reminder that you are watching me at all times isn't always a pleasant thought because I don't measure up to your holiness. But the promise of your love and protection gives such peace. Thank You.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
What price a life
I've left my journal at home today so maybe it is a day for a rant instead of journal! (and in the process I might lose my entire readership of 2 or 3!).
In Melbourne's Herald Sun this morning is a story with the headline "Mums want compo over Downs". "TWO Victorian couples are suing doctors for failing to diagnose Down syndrome in their unborn babies, denying them the chance to terminate the pregnancies."
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/two-couples-suing-doctors-for-failing-to-diagnose-down-syndrome/story-e6frf7kx-1225894768423
This comment from the father grabbed my attention "Don't get us wrong: we love our daughter. She's part of our family, and we treat her like gold," . Maybe he left out, But... if we had known we would never have allowed her to be born. Now, I have to be careful here because I don't know the couple and I do know that newspapers print only the bits that suit their agenda. And also, the little girl has quite severe disabilities. However, this stuff really challenges my values.
Is an unborn child of lesser value than a born child? Somehow, we seem to differentiate between a life dependant upon whether it is born or unborn. People who would have no qualms ending the life of an unborn child would be horrified at doing so for one that has been born.
The ethics of life and ending life, be it abortion or euthanasia are sometimes a real struggle for Christians. And what of our response to those families who choose, legally, to abort a baby or illegally, to kill a person whom they love who has a horrific terminal illness?
Is it possible to have both outrage at the ending of an innocent person's life but also compassion for those involved in the act of ending a life? The work of our chaplains in court and prison ministries suggests that we can. But, I have to admit I find it very hard to do at times.
In Melbourne's Herald Sun this morning is a story with the headline "Mums want compo over Downs". "TWO Victorian couples are suing doctors for failing to diagnose Down syndrome in their unborn babies, denying them the chance to terminate the pregnancies."
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/two-couples-suing-doctors-for-failing-to-diagnose-down-syndrome/story-e6frf7kx-1225894768423
This comment from the father grabbed my attention "Don't get us wrong: we love our daughter. She's part of our family, and we treat her like gold," . Maybe he left out, But... if we had known we would never have allowed her to be born. Now, I have to be careful here because I don't know the couple and I do know that newspapers print only the bits that suit their agenda. And also, the little girl has quite severe disabilities. However, this stuff really challenges my values.
Is an unborn child of lesser value than a born child? Somehow, we seem to differentiate between a life dependant upon whether it is born or unborn. People who would have no qualms ending the life of an unborn child would be horrified at doing so for one that has been born.
The ethics of life and ending life, be it abortion or euthanasia are sometimes a real struggle for Christians. And what of our response to those families who choose, legally, to abort a baby or illegally, to kill a person whom they love who has a horrific terminal illness?
Is it possible to have both outrage at the ending of an innocent person's life but also compassion for those involved in the act of ending a life? The work of our chaplains in court and prison ministries suggests that we can. But, I have to admit I find it very hard to do at times.
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