I saw Santa up the street this morning along with one of his elves and a real life reindeer. It didn't have horns so maybe it was a female. I guess that makes the Preston S.A. Band a male band as we have 2 horns! (boom boom). (Actually they would be antlers rather than horns but that would ruin the story. And I think the reindeer is not a reindeer but another type of deer but that would ruin the story too.)
It's interesting watching the reaction of people to this unusual sight. It brings a smile to almost everyone's face and especially the children. There are cars pulling over to the side of the road so that the kids can get out, meet Santa and have their photo taken with him, his helper and the reindeer with no horns.
Just a metre or so away is another kind of horn. A car horn. I wonder if anyone has ever done a study on whether car horns are used more at Christmas than at other times of the year. I'm sure that you could get a government grant to do one. Just say that you are studying global warming and you will instantly get $100,000-.
In that one or two metre space between Santa & the road there is a major difference in attitude. On the footpath there are smiles and joy. On the road there is road rage.
When Jesus was walking the road he managed to extract wildly different reactions from people too. On the one hand he was swamped with people looking for healing. There must have been a lot of joy and smiles as lepers were healed, as blind people saw again. And just a couple of metres away were the religious leaders seething with rage, looking for a way of killing him.
As we play carols at Christmas we get all sorts of reactions. Some people are thrilled to hear us. Others ask us to move on!
People's reactions to Jesus today are varied too. Some will embrace him with joy. Others will react with rage and want to shoot the messengers. We need to remember that as we minister to people. Not everyone appreciates God and won't appreciate us but the message has to get out there whatever the reaction.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Asleep on the job
"Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter." Matt 26:40
I am not a great tv watcher, especially when it comes to reality tv shows. However, in recent weeks I have become interested in a show called "Great British Chef", where some of the best chefs in the UK were competing to cook one of the four courses to be served to Prince Charles and one hundred others at a banquet.
The final programme was the banquet itself and the four chefs who had previously cooked their dishes for four judges now had to replicate it for 100 people. The day proved a real problem for some for various reasons but, in the end they made it through. One of the reasons was because the four chefs who had previously been competitors worked as a team to ensure that each of them got their dishes out even though seemingly insurmountable problems came up along the way.
On their own they couldn't have achieved their goal. It would have been a disaster.
When Jesus and his disciples headed to Gethsemane it would have been fair to assume that Jesus could have expected that group of men to offer the support that he needed at that time. But, unlike the chefs who all pulled together at a time of crisis, the disciples offered Jesus nothing. They fell asleep. It must have been a real disappointment to Jesus that at his time of greatest need his most devoted followers didn't discern the gravity of the situation and fell asleep leaving Jesus to cope alone.
Being able to discern when people need help is not always easy. We don't all have the ability to see past the outward appearance to the inner core of turmoil. But sometimes it is not so much a matter of lack of ability but more a habit of not looking beyond our own circumstances to see what should be obvious to us.
God has created us to work together, to help each other when circumstances are such that individually, no matter how talented we are, we can't do it alone.
I hope that I am not found to be asleep when my friends most need me be to be alert and helping them through their problems.
I am not a great tv watcher, especially when it comes to reality tv shows. However, in recent weeks I have become interested in a show called "Great British Chef", where some of the best chefs in the UK were competing to cook one of the four courses to be served to Prince Charles and one hundred others at a banquet.
The final programme was the banquet itself and the four chefs who had previously cooked their dishes for four judges now had to replicate it for 100 people. The day proved a real problem for some for various reasons but, in the end they made it through. One of the reasons was because the four chefs who had previously been competitors worked as a team to ensure that each of them got their dishes out even though seemingly insurmountable problems came up along the way.
On their own they couldn't have achieved their goal. It would have been a disaster.
When Jesus and his disciples headed to Gethsemane it would have been fair to assume that Jesus could have expected that group of men to offer the support that he needed at that time. But, unlike the chefs who all pulled together at a time of crisis, the disciples offered Jesus nothing. They fell asleep. It must have been a real disappointment to Jesus that at his time of greatest need his most devoted followers didn't discern the gravity of the situation and fell asleep leaving Jesus to cope alone.
Being able to discern when people need help is not always easy. We don't all have the ability to see past the outward appearance to the inner core of turmoil. But sometimes it is not so much a matter of lack of ability but more a habit of not looking beyond our own circumstances to see what should be obvious to us.
God has created us to work together, to help each other when circumstances are such that individually, no matter how talented we are, we can't do it alone.
I hope that I am not found to be asleep when my friends most need me be to be alert and helping them through their problems.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Bah Humbug
I was asked yesterday if I would cancel Christmas if I had the chance. Without hesitation I said yes. That wouldn't surprise anyone that knows me! But why?
Well, it is the busiest time of the year. Everything goes up a notch. The band & to a lesser extent the songsters have a lot more commitments. Also, everyone seems to think that it is a good idea to have a Christmas breakup or that Christmas is a great time to catch up. And, for the last 21 years, 31/12 has been end of financial year at work. Being a 'beanie' it means December is busy.
This year the Amazon rainforest has been trying to reclaim the block of land on which I live. The council has given me until 13th December to clear my land or they will fine me. With no free weekends before then and having had monsoon conditions almost every weekend for a couple of months, it seems an impossible task. Another reason to cancel Christmas.
And finally, on top of everything else there is the situation at work where we may well be handing people redundancy letters. Ho Ho Merry Christmas everyone.
Surely this isn't what Christmas is all about. Contrary to popular opinon (and one that I actively promote!) I do quite like Christmas music and I do listen to it in my car on my commute. This morning I grabbed a couple of Christmas cd's as I flew out of the door and on one is a song that we sang a few year ago. The chorus says:
Let the world take the glitter and the greed,
The only Christmas presence that I need
Is you beside me like you were at the start
Then I'll know it's Christmas
Then I'll know it's Christmas in my heart.
It's not going to happen, but it would be great one year to have nothing except the celebration of Christ at Christmas.
Well, it is the busiest time of the year. Everything goes up a notch. The band & to a lesser extent the songsters have a lot more commitments. Also, everyone seems to think that it is a good idea to have a Christmas breakup or that Christmas is a great time to catch up. And, for the last 21 years, 31/12 has been end of financial year at work. Being a 'beanie' it means December is busy.
This year the Amazon rainforest has been trying to reclaim the block of land on which I live. The council has given me until 13th December to clear my land or they will fine me. With no free weekends before then and having had monsoon conditions almost every weekend for a couple of months, it seems an impossible task. Another reason to cancel Christmas.
And finally, on top of everything else there is the situation at work where we may well be handing people redundancy letters. Ho Ho Merry Christmas everyone.
Surely this isn't what Christmas is all about. Contrary to popular opinon (and one that I actively promote!) I do quite like Christmas music and I do listen to it in my car on my commute. This morning I grabbed a couple of Christmas cd's as I flew out of the door and on one is a song that we sang a few year ago. The chorus says:
Let the world take the glitter and the greed,
The only Christmas presence that I need
Is you beside me like you were at the start
Then I'll know it's Christmas
Then I'll know it's Christmas in my heart.
It's not going to happen, but it would be great one year to have nothing except the celebration of Christ at Christmas.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Nowhere is safe!
"When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. But unsuccessfully—someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick." Matthew 14: 13-14
Jesus had received the news of John's execution. His response was much the same as mine would have been, and probably that of most people. He wanted to get away to a secluded place to be alone and contemplate what had happened and try to come to grips with and deal with his emotions.
But, even in that remote place he was spotted and Jesus would have seen a large group of people heading his way. This is where his reaction differed to what mine would most likely have been in the same circumstances. I would have groaned and maybe tried to disappear before the crowd reached me. Or maybe I would have told them "Not now. I can't handle this at the moment".
Jesus' reaction? He was overcome with pity and healed the sick. Jesus was so full of love that often he would react in a way that was best for others rather than what was best for himself.
It's a challenge for me to examine how I react when people put demands on my life and when the circumstances aren't always convenient.
God, help me to be filled with love that has compassion for people even when it doesn't fit with what I want or think I need at the time.
Jesus had received the news of John's execution. His response was much the same as mine would have been, and probably that of most people. He wanted to get away to a secluded place to be alone and contemplate what had happened and try to come to grips with and deal with his emotions.
But, even in that remote place he was spotted and Jesus would have seen a large group of people heading his way. This is where his reaction differed to what mine would most likely have been in the same circumstances. I would have groaned and maybe tried to disappear before the crowd reached me. Or maybe I would have told them "Not now. I can't handle this at the moment".
Jesus' reaction? He was overcome with pity and healed the sick. Jesus was so full of love that often he would react in a way that was best for others rather than what was best for himself.
It's a challenge for me to examine how I react when people put demands on my life and when the circumstances aren't always convenient.
God, help me to be filled with love that has compassion for people even when it doesn't fit with what I want or think I need at the time.
Monday, November 22, 2010
A total absence of proof
"The only proof you're going to get is what looks like the absence of proof: Jonah-evidence. Like Jonah, three days and nights in the fish's belly, the Son of Man will be gone three days and nights in a deep grave." Matt 12:39-40
These days I guess we forget, or don't realise, the despair and hopelessness that must have been in the lives of Jesus' followers following his crucifixion. How could anything good possibly come out of the killing of Jesus, let alone proof of his divinity?
A few religion scholars and the obligatory Pharisees had asked Jesus to prove his credentials. "How about a miracle?", they said. Jesus responded that the evidence he was going to give them would appear to be an absence of proof i.e. his death.
Today, the things we look for as proof of Jesus' credentials are usually obvious and grand such as miracles, the great moving of the Holy Spirit in our church services and so on. We still tend to underestimate God's ability and desire to move in ways that seem, at the time, to look more like a complete absence of his presence rather than proof that he is God.
What might God be doing in my life, at my church, in the lives of my friends at the moment that looks more like a total absence of proof? And what does that say about my trust and faith in God?
These days I guess we forget, or don't realise, the despair and hopelessness that must have been in the lives of Jesus' followers following his crucifixion. How could anything good possibly come out of the killing of Jesus, let alone proof of his divinity?
A few religion scholars and the obligatory Pharisees had asked Jesus to prove his credentials. "How about a miracle?", they said. Jesus responded that the evidence he was going to give them would appear to be an absence of proof i.e. his death.
Today, the things we look for as proof of Jesus' credentials are usually obvious and grand such as miracles, the great moving of the Holy Spirit in our church services and so on. We still tend to underestimate God's ability and desire to move in ways that seem, at the time, to look more like a complete absence of his presence rather than proof that he is God.
What might God be doing in my life, at my church, in the lives of my friends at the moment that looks more like a total absence of proof? And what does that say about my trust and faith in God?
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
No extreme makeover required
"We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives....You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at." 2 Cor 4:7-8
In recent years there have been a plethora of extreme makeover type shows on tv where people, unhappy with their appearance, have all sorts of plastic surgery and so on in order to look more beautiful.
Sometimes, when a person has a birth defect or has been burnt, this sort of treatment is totally acceptable. But on these makeover shows all too often the people are relatively average/normal. They tend to have incredibly low self esteem as a result of taunting in their life, often by family, or are just worn down by the suffocating culture of 'beauty is important' so prevalent in the western world.
Paul, we suspect, was no oil painting. Far from it. And in 2 Cor he says "we're not much to look at". Yet Paul has gone down in history as one of the world's most important people. He recognised that he had to be an 'unadorned clay pot' so as to not get in the way of God's incomparable power.
It's all about God, not us. We don't need to have an extreme makeover to be successful for God, or to be beautiful in his eyes.
In recent years there have been a plethora of extreme makeover type shows on tv where people, unhappy with their appearance, have all sorts of plastic surgery and so on in order to look more beautiful.
Sometimes, when a person has a birth defect or has been burnt, this sort of treatment is totally acceptable. But on these makeover shows all too often the people are relatively average/normal. They tend to have incredibly low self esteem as a result of taunting in their life, often by family, or are just worn down by the suffocating culture of 'beauty is important' so prevalent in the western world.
Paul, we suspect, was no oil painting. Far from it. And in 2 Cor he says "we're not much to look at". Yet Paul has gone down in history as one of the world's most important people. He recognised that he had to be an 'unadorned clay pot' so as to not get in the way of God's incomparable power.
It's all about God, not us. We don't need to have an extreme makeover to be successful for God, or to be beautiful in his eyes.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Covenant is...
"Marriage is not a place to "stand up for your rights." Marriage is a decision to serve the other..." 1 Cor 7:4
A bit of waffle today!
In this chapter Paul is talking about whether to be married or single but I found this verse, or part thereof, interesting because it says something about covenant and made me think a bit about Salvation Army Soldiership too. There is so much in the scriptures about covenant, about serving one another in more than a superficial way, and it seems to me that we don't grasp the concept too well these days, or we choose not to grasp the concept because it doesn't fit with what we want.
I suppose it isn't a new problem and the fact that Paul had to address some of the issues, such as in 1 Cor 7, bears out that point. So much of our life revolves around commitments with one another - the marriage covenant, the soldier's covenant and the new covenant between Jesus and us.
There are many theories around as to why soldiership is not embraced by young people growing up in the Salvation Army these days. For some the idea is that it's a bit pointless. What difference does it make? Some years ago now a group of us from our church got together to draft some recommendations to our church leadership team about making our music groups 'open groups'. Traditionally, a person has needed to be a uniform wearing Salvationist to be a part of music group. We were opening up the groups as part of the change from the 'believing before belonging' to 'belonging before believing' concept. Some people would have seen it as dumbing down soldiership. But to me it was about raising the bar. When we think about it, it is quite ridiculous that the only time most of us Salvos wear uniform now is to attend church. It's hard to dumb down soldiership more than making it just a right of entry into a music group where uniform is worn one day a week inside of our church building. Somehow, soldiers needed to understand again a higher calling and the higher expectation of soldiers when discipling new members and building friendships with new members of our music groups who weren't yet Christians. It was, in my opinion anyway, a way of lifting the bar, not lowering of it.
Along the way it has had other consequences too as people choose to no longer wear uniform and, maybe take a step in the other direction. That's a subject for another 20 page blog though!
One reason given for not taking the step of commitment for soldiership would be that 'I don't have to be a soldier or wear uniform to be a Christian'. Similarly, many today say, 'I don't need to be married to have a successful relationship'. Both are true to an extent but my view on both is that there are times when it is important to demonstrate how important something is to us. The marriage commitment is a public showing of commitment by two people to each other. They say that they are so committed to each other that they publicly make vows that for the rest of their lives, in the good times and bad, they will stick with each other. And for a Christian it would be a commitment made in God's presence as well as in front of family and friends. They don't have to make those public vows but if you are really committed to your partner, why wouldn't you?
Salvation Army soldiership is something similar. We don't have to do it. But why wouldn't we? If we truly want to serve God why would we shy away from making a public declaration in front of friends, family and God? Certain things are important enough to make our declaration of commitment public.
So, my relationship with Jesus is not about standing up for my rights . It is a decision to serve him as He served me by going to the cross on my behalf. It is a decision to serve each other.
God, help me to remember, understand and value my relationship with you through my life as a believer and soldier of the Salvation Army.
A bit of waffle today!
In this chapter Paul is talking about whether to be married or single but I found this verse, or part thereof, interesting because it says something about covenant and made me think a bit about Salvation Army Soldiership too. There is so much in the scriptures about covenant, about serving one another in more than a superficial way, and it seems to me that we don't grasp the concept too well these days, or we choose not to grasp the concept because it doesn't fit with what we want.
I suppose it isn't a new problem and the fact that Paul had to address some of the issues, such as in 1 Cor 7, bears out that point. So much of our life revolves around commitments with one another - the marriage covenant, the soldier's covenant and the new covenant between Jesus and us.
There are many theories around as to why soldiership is not embraced by young people growing up in the Salvation Army these days. For some the idea is that it's a bit pointless. What difference does it make? Some years ago now a group of us from our church got together to draft some recommendations to our church leadership team about making our music groups 'open groups'. Traditionally, a person has needed to be a uniform wearing Salvationist to be a part of music group. We were opening up the groups as part of the change from the 'believing before belonging' to 'belonging before believing' concept. Some people would have seen it as dumbing down soldiership. But to me it was about raising the bar. When we think about it, it is quite ridiculous that the only time most of us Salvos wear uniform now is to attend church. It's hard to dumb down soldiership more than making it just a right of entry into a music group where uniform is worn one day a week inside of our church building. Somehow, soldiers needed to understand again a higher calling and the higher expectation of soldiers when discipling new members and building friendships with new members of our music groups who weren't yet Christians. It was, in my opinion anyway, a way of lifting the bar, not lowering of it.
Along the way it has had other consequences too as people choose to no longer wear uniform and, maybe take a step in the other direction. That's a subject for another 20 page blog though!
One reason given for not taking the step of commitment for soldiership would be that 'I don't have to be a soldier or wear uniform to be a Christian'. Similarly, many today say, 'I don't need to be married to have a successful relationship'. Both are true to an extent but my view on both is that there are times when it is important to demonstrate how important something is to us. The marriage commitment is a public showing of commitment by two people to each other. They say that they are so committed to each other that they publicly make vows that for the rest of their lives, in the good times and bad, they will stick with each other. And for a Christian it would be a commitment made in God's presence as well as in front of family and friends. They don't have to make those public vows but if you are really committed to your partner, why wouldn't you?
Salvation Army soldiership is something similar. We don't have to do it. But why wouldn't we? If we truly want to serve God why would we shy away from making a public declaration in front of friends, family and God? Certain things are important enough to make our declaration of commitment public.
So, my relationship with Jesus is not about standing up for my rights . It is a decision to serve him as He served me by going to the cross on my behalf. It is a decision to serve each other.
God, help me to remember, understand and value my relationship with you through my life as a believer and soldier of the Salvation Army.
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