Galatians two twenty

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

I memorised this verse as part of the Navigators’ Topical Memory System, which is a collection of Bible verses put together by Dawson Trotman who believes that when we memorise Scripture we internalise it in a way that “opens up” another channel by which God can speak to us. Through the last few years, Trotman has been right; in different situations God has brought this verse from my long term memory storage to the forefront of my mind and, though its truth never changes, it has come alive in different ways at particular times. I hope in sharing some of the ways it has been particularly poignant you might be encouraged to make memorising Scripture a priority (maybe the Navigators’ Topical Memory System) and to see how God uses internalised Scripture in your own life.

One way Galatians 2:20 has really shaped me has been in how I share my life with and care for other people. I am selfish and there are times when I like spending time with others but there are also times when I just want to be alone. There have been times when someone has called out to me or when I said I would be there for someone and have felt very unmotivated. In times like this Galatians 2:20 has been the Spirit’s words to me. It is both a comfort and an urge to action. It reminds me that Jesus loves me with an amazing love, that he would give himself up to make me enter peace and life with God. It reminds me that Jesus did not consider his comfort more important than mine. It reminds me that Jesus left what he knew was already his to give to those in need before him. And when my life is crucified with him, it means his gift of life is given for a purpose – taking me from my old self of selfishness, greed and comfort to a self that is compelled (or rather “controlled”, as rendered in the English Standard Version of the Bible in 2 Corinthians 5:14) by this love of Christ. And so while I live, I live in a way shaped not by my own perceptions of what I am capable of doing and what I am willing to do by my own strength and desire, but by faith that it is Christ’s love and power that embodies me. It should be Christ’s love and power that should give life to and motivate my thoughts and actions. There was one time when I had a difficult and tiring day at work (six periods of school with teenage boys…) and I had arranged to meet with a friend to read the Bible, something that is a privilege. I really didn’t feel too keen after school but God brought this particular verse to my mind and I realised that when I entered life with Christ I made a promise to live by faith and not by sight because the God of the universe loves me and is on my side. It was my privilege to share this with someone! So many other times when I’ve just wanted to curl up on the couch and read Jane Eyre God has used this verse to remind me of my life’s life – Christ. Sometimes I have listened to that beckoning call and abandoned self; other times I have not. But I find my comfort in the reality that I have put my trust in Jesus once and just as he died once I don’t have to doubt what he has done for me. He doesn’t go back and change his mind.

Another way that Galatians 2:20 has shaped me of late has been in my depression. A good friend of mine who memorised some of the Navigators’ Topical Memory System with me reminded me one day when I was starting to have some unhelpful suicidal thoughts that I cannot take my life because it isn’t mine to take. Remember Galatians 2:20, she said. And since that conversation, I have clung tightly to this verse every time similar thoughts crawl into my mind. I know my life is crucified already, I have died to myself. My life is Christ’s now and I have no power to take it, no matter how badly I want to.

God’s word is indeed, as the writer of Hebrews says, living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword; it judges the thoughts of the heart. It speaks into us by His Spirit, bringing comfort and challenge, promise and fulfillment, assurance and a call to act differently, think differently and believe differently. I hope you would treasure it and soak it up with eagerness and joy.

Silence is golden…?

A lot of things recently have made me think more about this age old proverb that has been battered around over time. I confess that at times I have used it to justify my lack of speech out of cowardice and at other times I have dismissed it vehemently in anger towards someone and biting my tongue would be the last thing on my mind. Nevertheless, I think it generally nods to God’s wisdom for our lives. Here I endeavour to share some thoughts from God’s word, what others are said, and my reflections on them. I hope you find it helpful as you think about whether you ought to make silence a rule of thumb rather than sharing your every thought. (Mind you, my tendency is to share my every thought! In fact, I think out loud! Being convicted of silence being golden has been hard for me, as you can probably imagine. It probably is harder for me than others, so by no means am I implying by what is below that I have perfected this part of wisdom!)

Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. Proverbs 25:20 NIV

What fool dares take away my garment on a cold day? The same fool who tries to sing songs to me when I’m depressed! Only recently have I learnt that I am more upset after people try to cheer me up when I’m truly heavy hearted. It might sound strange, but I think this proverb is very profoundly accurate concerning our human experience. People might have good intentions, true, but we are creatures that crave congruency. “Rejoice with those who rejoice. Mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15) Paul reminds us of this and instructs us to do well in response. If I just lost my job, don’t tell me I will find one soon because I’m perfectly capable, and anyone would be mad not to hire me, and don’t worry, your family have always looked after you so well, and you have good friends who will always be here for you, and…do you feel your heartbeat increasing with each ‘and’? In moments of opportunity for comfort, don’t fill them with cheerful words. Fill them with the same sense of loss and silent grieving as your friend’s. And whatever you do, don’t sing Bill Wither’s “Lean On Me”.

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. Proverbs 26:4-5 NIV

Of late there has been some really heated discussions on social media and in media at large concerning the whole school screening of the pro-gay-parenting film Gayby Baby. Whatever view you take on this, what has been evident is the truth of this couplet of a proverb (concerning both those who support Mark Powell’s point of view and those who oppose it). The first urges a holding back, a biting of the tongue (or fingers, if you are responding to someone or something on the internet) in that moment of passion, for what drives the fool to folly speech is passion. A wise man speaks dispassionately with carefully balanced/measured words and words that are full of grace yet truth. The second paradoxically instructs us to respond to the fool who speaks in a moment of passion, or otherwise he might think himself wise. It’s interesting that it doesn’t say “so the fool will see that you are wise”. I think it urges us to speak only if we can honestly say that our motive is to help the other person in some way. If we were motivated by a desire to force the other to see our wisdom, then it would only be our ego on the line. There is indeed a fine line between maintaining our ego and helping another see their folly. Often I think we mistake the former to be the latter. One needs to do verse 4 before they consider doing verse 5. And if they feel they ought to do verse 5, they had better ask God to assess whether a personal bruised ego is at stake.

THINK before you speak: only speak what is True, what is Helpful, what is Important, what is Necessary, what is Kind.

I have only recently heard of this, in a similar form, in a sermon at my church on James 3, where it speaks about the power of the tongue. I think this a wonderful tool to always keep at the forefront of the going ons of our frontal lobe. So often we are so hasty to utter our opinion that we don’t consider how we phrase it. I think truthfulness should always be first because God hates liars and a lie is a lie. To not speak truthful words is to be a deceiver, and a deceiver is indeed often self-deceived also. But after we have worked this out, we ought to consider how we say it, for “gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:24 NIV) Of course angry and hasty words will always seem justified in the moment of utterance because they have not been measured by grace. Truth and these other four conditions need to be held in balance.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:19-22 NIV

James wrote his letter to Christians who started to become pedantic about keeping to rules and religious codes of behaviour rather than exhibit integrity in every area of their lives as a reflection of God’s transforming work. Here, in this section, he is talking about their attitude to listening to God’s word. They were deceiving themselves because they were merely listening. In fact, verse 19 implies that they were perhaps even measuring what they heard against their own moral judgments or perhaps reacting against God’s word with “anger”. Rather they should be quick (or eager/humble) to listen, slow to speak (or make judgments on God’s word) and slow to become angry (if God’s word should convict them of some “moral filth and evil” in their hearts and lives). An attitude of humility should always precede listening to God speak (verse 21). So often people apply verse 19 directly to their character. As above, I think in context it is about our attitude to God’s word, but it can also be applied to our character and how it affects our conduct in our relationships. In the same way we ought to be humble in every encounter – quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. I know for myself that I need to constantly work on this, especially with the people I am closest to, because it is often in those relationships that I more boldly justify my actions because I know I might be more easily forgiven. How sin so easily corrupts and takes advantage of good things!

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:15-17 NIV

At the end of the day, these verses are in some ways the biggest supporters of the “silence is golden” rule. If Christ’s peace rules my heart, must I have need of knowing I have won an argument? If Christ’s peace rules my heart, must I have need of having the last word? If Christ’s peace rules my heart, then reconciliation should always be the outflow of my gratitude to what He has done for me to others in all situations. Moreover, Paul specifically uses this truth to emphasize the priority we should give to keeping peace with those in the body. That should always be our number one motivator in speech and in silence. And as discussed above, it simply is easier to do it with silence. Prevention is always better than intervention! The words we ought to speak should come from a place of thanksgiving it seems (“And be thankful…with gratitude in your hearts”). In fact, all these psalms, hymns, songs from the Spirit are ‘sandwiched’ between these two expressions of thanks. What we do speak ought to be words of God wrapped with thankfulness. So really, unless I have something thankful to God to say to another, modelling after the truths of His word, in the form of songs, I should keep my mouth shut as much as possible! Ha! Okay, that’s a little hyperbolic, but at the end of the day, my words ought to be out of giving thanks to God…can I really utter them with a clear conscience that they are being uttered in Jesus’ name? If not, well, I’d better keep it shut. That would be golden.

The secret of being content

Those oft quoted words from Paul…”…for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am…I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11, 13, HCSB)

This morning as I was reading chapter 4 of the letter by Paul to the church in Macedonia (to the Philippians), I was struck by how different these two statements look when one reads them in the context of the whole section from verses 10 to 20. I’ve definitely been guilty of just quoting these two verses (verse 11 and/or 13) by themselves to people, but the essence of what they say isn’t found in themselves alone! (I guess like all parts of the Bible!) The whole passage reads:

¹⁰ I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that once again you renewed your care for me. You were, in fact, concerned about me but lacked the opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. ¹² I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. ¹³ I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me. ¹⁴ Still, you did well by sharing with me in my hardship.

¹⁵ And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. ¹⁶ For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times.¹⁷ Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. ¹⁸ But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided—a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Paul is thanking the Philippians for their genuine love and generosity towards him. He’s been travelling around the Mediterranean region doing church planting and sharing the gospel with whoever he comes across. To this cause, he travels almost like a vagabond, without a permanent home (because his is in heaven!) but going from place to place. As a result, he works as a tent maker to order to provide funds for his journeys. It seems clear that Paul is touched by the Philippians care for him (verse 10) and their eagerness to provide for his needs also (verses 10b, 15-16, 18). What a challenge there! (Tangent: Paul encourages them in their giving because it is “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” since they were giving even when Paul had not asked for it (verse 17)!)

It is in this context that we learn about Paul’s “secret of being content”. Often we (including me!) talk about this idea of LEARNING TO BE CONTENT in things like “I just lost my job…I need to learn to be content now” or “My marriage isn’t working as I thought it would…I need to learn to be content here”. In no way do I seek to undermine these situations, but I think that Paul is not specifically talking about FEELING CONTENT. He is specifically talking about PROVISIONS. This is clear in verses 11-12 where the “circumstances” are “both how to have a little…how to have a lot” and “whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need”.  In fact, I checked up the Greek word for the word “content”, which is autarkēs, which means “self-sufficient” (there you go!). So the “secret of being content” (verse 12) is really an open secret: “I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me”. It is Paul’s confidence that as he serves God faithfully, stewarding generously and wisely the things that God has given him (his skills as a tent maker, his commission from the Lord Jesus as a good news bearer to the Gentiles, his voice, his hands, his feet…), that God will allow him to do all things by God’s strength. Let that sink in because it blew me away!

…to know Christ and to be called to serve Him was “unsearchable riches” (Ephesians 3:8). How far we know the secret of contentment and to what degree we are proving the sufficiency of Christ for all the demands of our lives are always challenging questions for us as Christians.

Carson, D.A., France, R.T., Motyer, J.A., and Wenham, G.J., New Bible Commentary (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), p. 1259.

It blew me away because what Paul is saying is that our learning to be content comes in our choosing to be faithful and bold in sharing the gospel with others in our lives. When and as we do this, we will know the contentment of being provided for in our needs. It is not about feeling content in hard circumstances, but it is about confidence in God’s sovereign provision in circumstances of need and abundance as we faithfully serve him. The outlook is for others, and not for ourselves. As we serve others by sharing Jesus with them with all of ourselves (as Paul did), we will experience contentment in the sufficiency of Christ 🙂

Is it possible for men and women to be friends?

I’ve been pondering this question more recently: is it possible for men and women to be friends?
And…
http://resurgencecdn.com/resurgence/2012/09/25/can-men-and-women-be-just-friends provides a great response with much practical wisdom!

Reflections on the life and witness of Dawson Trotman: a man of God (Part 1)

I’ve been reading this wonderful book that my friend Steve encouraged and gave to me to read, called “Daws: A man who trusted God” by Betty Lee Skinner. The book starts slowly, but as you get into this man’s mind, the man who started a global movement called The Navigators, through the thoughtfully written words of Skinner, you cannot help but yearn to be like him. It’s so challenged me in very practical ways at very timely moments over the last month or so that I’ve journeyed in reading it. Here I will share some of the things that have challenged me personally (though there are just too many things to put in this one post!). My hope and prayer is that you’ll be compelled to buy this book or ask to borrow it from me (as my friend Jayne and I have now gotten a few copies so that we can lend it to others!) and read it yourself!

1. “He fervently wished to be a useable instrument in the Lord’s work – that wonderful work of winning souls. With this goal in mind, prayer was power, not a ritual; he would discipline himself to pray, whether the inclination was there or not…he was learning that discipline insured his obedience, serving as bridge between knowing what he should do and doing it without fail.” (p. 51)

Fervent and devoted prayer and discipline. These two things are so evident throughout Dawson’s life since he became a Christian, and they increasing became so. Like the men who did great things in Jesus’ name like Hudson Taylor, Dawson became convinced that they were able to be involved in these great things because they were committed first and foremost to prayer. Throughout the book, Dawson personally pushes himself to get up at 4am, 5am to pray for a few hours before getting into the things of the day. There are instances in his journal where this is evident: “Slept till 7 o’clock (shame). Because of this I must begin the day with but a few minutes of prayer. This is sin.” It might seem legalistic but as Skinner writes, Daws saw this as anything but! He saw discipline as the key to his obedience to Jesus. As I read, I learnt of how those many hours of devoted prayer were honoured by God as He moved in Dawson’s life to make his such an effective servant in later years. He himself became the answer to many of his prayers! I was so challenged by this. I’m not someone who can sit still for a very long time. I like to constantly be moving and doing things. But so did Dawson! And yet what a man of prayer! I’ve been challenged to start my mornings in patient prayer before the Lord because of Dawson’s example.

2. “Impressed by the example of man who prayed that might lead one person to Christ each month, then one each week, and finally one a day, Dawson tried it. Lord, let me win one soul for You each month. Then one soul a week. God answered…Touch a life a day for God.” (p. 55, 67)

Dawson’s determination in prayer was backed up by his determination to see things through, and visa versa. Because of this, I’ve been challenged to be more bold in prayer that God might show me how He can do great things if I just ask Him! The incredible story that follows on p. 67 of the book was so timely for me. I read it while I was feeling a bit discouraged over a ‘missed opportunity’ that day…

Dawson had just climbed into bed when he realized he had not talked to anyone about Christ. Well, what if he spoke to two tomorrow? It wouldn’t do, he decided. Rather than fail his week’s assignment, he dressed and clattered off into his Model-T to find a listener. After several miles he saw a man with a briefcase who had just missed the train to Long Beach, and Dawson offered him a ride. “You many not believe this, ” he began after introductions, “but I got out of bed to come down here. It’s a rule of my life never to end the day without sharing with someone the most wonderful thing in life. I am a Christian.” The passenger heard the story of God’s love in Christ, then said thoughtfully, “Son, twenty years ago I started to search for God. I’ve gone to church nearly every Sunday for twenty years. Tonight you have told me about what I’ve been looking for.” If going out to witness that night instead of the next day merely to check off his daily chart was legalistic, it was legalism in the providence of God, for the next day he would not likely have crossed the path of the man who that night ended his long search for peace with God.

I don’t know how you’re feeling but when I read this my heart was surprisingly at peace and filled with joy! I was at peace because I was encouraged by the sovereignty of God in this hitchhiker’s life, and I was filled with joy because the burden of that missed opportunity became a privilege for the future of opportunities. One thing I picked up which I want to practise more is Dawson’s frankness about his ‘agenda’ (for lack of a better word) – he did not hide the fact that he was seeking to evangelise this man! In fact, God used it for the conversation to become about spiritual things! Dawson’s openness to being used by God in witnessing was honoured by the Lord.

3. Dawson’s trust in God to allow him to give generously was met by God’s provision

This was something that deeply shaped the rest of Dawson’s life (as is evidenced throughout the rest of the book) in how he spent money and looked to the Lord for its provision. He used to be a chronic gambler before he became a Christian. The following shows how his relationship with Jesus changed his views on money…

A monthly subsidy from Miss Mills helped finance Dawson’s schooling and gave him extra time for ministry. For his occasional need when funds ran short, he determined to follow the example of George Muller and Hudson Taylor [read their biographies!!], trusting God to supply through prayer.

Two days later the decision was tested. Due to lead a boys club in Torrance, he needed carfare – forty cents for the train and ten cents for the connecting bus. He prayed, sticking to his resolve rather than asking one of his schoolmates for a quick loan. Eleven minutes before train departure time he started walking to the station. Dashing around the corner of the building, he met Mr. Hale, the superintendent of men, who tossed something into his coat pocket. Dawson dared not look until he was a block away. Then he reached into his pocket and there it was – a half-dollar engraved with the words “In God We Trust”!

He was overjoyed with the precision and timing of such answers, for they proved that the communication lines to an omnipotent God were both ways. At Biola [the bible college he was attending] and the adjoining Church of the Open Door, offerings were taken regularly for visiting missionary speakers. With just six dollars in his pocket and five dollars rent due at Biola next morning, Dawson reach into his pocket for the one-dollar bill. Or should he give the five and trust the Lord would provide for the missionary and Dawson should keep his five. After a brief struggle he gave it. Next morning before daylight he was up on the roof where he usually went to spend time with the Lord, and there lay a five-dollar bill He has caused someone to drop in Dawson’s path. His pre-Christian gambling held no thrill to match this. (pp. 57-58)

Skinner so thoughtfully captures these two anecdotes for our reflection! Wow! I felt very cut to the heart when I read this because at the time I give monthly direct debit donations to a few different causes and I saw the ever decreasing figures in my bank account as I had not gotten any work for a while. This led me to consider perhaps pulling back on my offerings in this way. However, when I read these pages, I was led to pray “Lord, if you want me to keep giving and to be generously doing so rather than thinking of myself first, please provide whatever you think I need.” And sure enough, soon rolled in my tax returns!

There are so many more things that I’d like to share, but will have to leave that for Part 2! I hope the above encourages or challenges you in some way to respond in faith as Dawson Trotman did! Would love to hear your thoughts 🙂

Created (to be) in God’s image

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the ratty and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
– Genesis 1:26-27

I had an interesting (and very specific!) conversation with someone today about what it means to be created in God’s image and whether that in fact implies that we’re all God’s children, since we’re told in Genesis that we’re created (as mankind universally) in God’s image. I say ‘yes’ to this latter fact, but ‘no’ to the implication that we’re all God’s children and loved by him. It might seem harsh, but read on!

On the surface it might seem like being made in God’s image is about possessing certain characteristics of ‘God-likeness’ in our being as humans, e.g., ability to have emotions, think, etc. But in the context of Genesis chapters 1-2, I don’t think it’s saying that at all. And if you read the above verses carefully, the word ‘our’ is used by God: “in our image”, “after our likeness”. This indicates that there is something unique within the personhood of God himself that denotes this ‘image-bearing’ nature of humans.

Sarah Young puts it nicely and very clearly:

At the very least [At the core] it must mean that we can relate to him in a very unique way, unlike the rest of creation. God exists in loving relationship between the three persons of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)—the way he has made us to relate to one another reflects this. Also God is a ruler – we reflect his image in that we we created to rule this earth in his behalf, taking responsibility for its care.

Young here makes a few interesting and important points about what it means to be made in the image of God:
1. We were made to be in loving relationship with the three persons of God, as he is in perfect loving relationship with himself.
2. We were made to be relational with each other.
3. We were made to reflect his authority on earth as stewards of his creation, taking care of it on his behalf.

The implications of what these three things mean are wide, but I just want to focus on the first point. In other words, we’re hard-wired for relationship with our Creator. That is the fundamental point, the cornerstone, the be all end all, whatever expression you can add on to this, of what it means to be created in God’s image. But our sin—our rejection of God as the Creator, and as the king of our lives—means we don’t choose to fulfill our purpose! We choose to run our lives our own way, doing what we deem best, but all the time, we don’t gain the satisfaction that we seek and yearn for because we’re just not hard-wired to function that way. Call me dogmatic, but this is what God has to say about why we have screwed up as human beings, though there are facets of things that we are and do that are beautiful; don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the physical world is evil because it isn’t. God created it and said it is good! But it is also tainted. Hopefully you’re getting the drift of this logic. All that remains to be said is: how can we be counted as God’s children if we reject to be so? How are we bearing God’s image if we’re severing all aspects of relating to him properly as our Creator and manager? Maybe you’re thinking ‘how have I said I’ve rejected him?’ Whether conscious or not, if we’re not letting the boss be our boss, but rather being our own bosses then it’s clear what we think about God’s place in our lives.

Being hard-wired a certain way doesn’t mean we’re robots. It means we would be optimally functioning if we lived in a way in line with the way we are hard-wired, but that means it is a choice. What do you choose? To be an image-bearer, as you were created to be, or to continue to seek to bear a self-made image?

On being a community church (Part 1)

I visited a church, with the intention of joining them long-term, on Sunday. It was quite a unique church with a beautiful vision that I believe is from God and aligns beautifully with his plans and purposes. You can visit their blog/site at cantrburychurchplant.wordpress.com. I was encouraged to read their vision statement to get a better sense of the bigger picture for why they exist as a church, and that definitely got lots of gears in my brain turning, and my heart pumping with excitement! (See their vision statement at: http://www.canterburychurchplant.com/our-vision.) I will explain why below.

I was very graciously invited to join them for lunch at Jonathan’s (the minister) home where I was greeted with lots of love and welcoming faces. There I met nearly almost the whole church, about 15 people, so it’s still early days for these brothers and sisters, but it seems like it’s started off with God’s behind it!

What makes this church so unique in my eyes is the fact that when they call themselves ‘Canterbury Community Church’, they really seek to be that! Unlike most community churches which have their beginnings in being a body of Christians who meet up on Sundays and live what can sometimes seem like separate lives during the week wherever they’re at, except for weekly bible studies, socials, etc., this church seeks to make the community their meeting point – instead of seeking to draw people to church, they seek to go to the people! And they really do! After lunch, they go door knocking and house visiting, seeking to establish relationships with neighbours. I got to visit an old couple with one of the team with whom they’ve been spending time with since establishing an initial relationship. I was surprised by how much this person knew about this couple’s life and their daily happenings, as we conversed. The conversations we had were generally ordinary, but I felt like we were having a relaxed catch up with old friend. In other words, it was a genuine relationship! I guess it was great for me to come in as a new guest, as it gave me an opportunity toshare a bit about my story and ask some intentional questions that would enable me to share some gospel bites. The beauty of it was that because there was an already established relationship with this couple, they didn’t shut the door in my face when I brought up something about Jesus. One of the guys on the team, Christian, said to me that he had always had negative experiences with door knocking, but since he joined this church, it has been very different. And I really got to see that for myself. It really made me think…do we as Sydney suburban Christians see our local neighbours as part of our personal community? As the community in which we seek to be a light for—and this is the important bit—as a church? If so, then how are we making them part of our personal community? I think Canterbury Community Church is seeking to answer this question by the way they have prioritised getting to know people and building relationships based on love for them.

More thoughts to come 🙂

Being a good steward = being generous?

This post is dedicated to Jayne Ling, who has been helping me think through how to live out these thoughts.

I haven’t blogged for so long that I feel like I never blogged before!  That’s not very good, is it?  Well, life does happen, and continues to do so…and there have been many times where I’ve had a ‘oooo I think this is something worth blogging about!’ moment, but then I reflect on it and can’t think of putting it into something substantial.  Anyway, I’ve been thinking about, hearing about, discussing with people and praying about something that people take for granted (at least I do).  If you’re a follower of Jesus, I encourage you to keep reading and am keen to hear what you think!  If you’re not, I hope you will keep reading too and that this will cause you to be thankful to the God who holds all things and to whom belongs all things.

Psalm number 24 verse 1 says: ‘The earth belongs to God and so does everything in it; the world belongs to God and so does all its people’.  This was the verse that we learnt in the children’s talk at Church today, and it’s been something that has very nicely summed up what I’ve been thinking about these last few weeks.  See, I started working again, helping a family home school their boy a few hours a week, and so a bit of cash is rolling into my bank account.  It suddenly became so ‘easy’ to spend money!  When you’ve got more of it, you’ve got more ‘freedom’ with how you spend it.  But I think there’s something much more profound in that than at first glance.  If everything does belong to God, then I have great cause to give thanks to Him that He gives me what I have right now!  What a great cause for celebration: God’s huge generosity in providing for me!  But there’s also a great challenge in that: if every does belong to God, then they don’t really belong to me.  They are His and I’m His steward of these things.

What does it mean for me to be a steward of things that belong to another?  Well, if you were an investor for a company, then your job is to work out how to use someone else’s money/possessions to gain them even more money/possessions that have the best ‘potential’ for more!  I don’t think this is far from what being a steward means, actually.  In fact, I think this is exactly what makes a good steward.  ‘Earning’ money has this weird effect – it makes me feel that I really did earn it and I’m therefore free to spend it however I want.  But following the king who ‘though he was rich, yet for [our] sake he became poor, so that [we] by his poverty might become rich’ (2 Corinthians 8:9) means my freedom really is freedom to spend in the service and way of my king!  Romans 8:17 says that we are heirs with Jesus (Imagine that!  I dare you!  To share in the glory that Jesus receives in his resurrection and ascension to the Father’s right hand…!) if we choose to suffer with him – to sacrifice all.  That could mean not buying your lunch everyday, but rather, bring it to uni or work or school.  That could mean not buying an upgrade for your laptop or ipod, but being content with what you have.  That could mean not buying the latest CD of an artist you like.  But I have to be careful here – it’s not about denial of pleasures, but realising that it costs to be generous, and more so, it’s about seeking pleasure in Jesus and not in these things (which really is the key to finding joy in generosity).  It would be pointless to do the above if the money we save from doing them stays in that ‘savings’ account.

I think when we get paid we get excited by seeing the numbers increase in our ‘savings’ accounts.  (I should really explain why I keep quotation-marking ‘savings’ – I think it’s more of a hoarding account.)  But what use is seeing growing numbers in our savings accounts when we compare it with what it could be?  Comparing the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) with Jesus’ description of what the kingdom of God is like (Mark 4:30-34), I’m blown away by what could happen if we invested our ‘talents’ (our possession, money, time, skills, energy) in this kingdom!  It would obviously look like Mark 4:30-34!  I think it’s an image that really excites me, more and more as I learn about and grow to understand what God is trying to achieve through Jesus, not in what He did on the cross, but what he continues to do now as initiated by what happened then.  He’s saving people from the dead to full life!  There can’t be anything else more worthy of spending on.

This all doesn’t mean anything if they’re just thoughts – it’s got to show in my life if this really means anything.  I think I won’t do anything unless there’s some external thing to keeps me accountable, like a monthly deduction from my ‘savings’ account.  I’m wired that way, but you might not be.  No matter how you’re wired though, I hope and pray that I might encourage you and you will encourage me to give generously to see Mark4:30-34 happen through us!  Another idea I had was selling everything I don’t need on Ebay and giving the money that comes from that to someone in need or an organisation that someone has thoughtfully set up to do that.  William Wilberforce once said that generosity must hurt the giver in order for it to be generosity.  I think him a wise and very practical man for saying so.  And I hope and pray that we would be both, not just in our stewardship of God’s money, but in everything.

So let your creativity flow into proactive practicality!

Trusting in God’s providence

I’ve started up trying to do the One Year Bible again this year.  If you don’t know, the One Year Bible is basically a ‘reading plan’ put together in such a way that you will read the whole Bible in one year.  There’s a passage from the Old Testament, a passage from the New Testament, a psalm (or part of a psalm) from the book of Psalms in the Bible (which is a collection of songs and poems written by various Israelites, mainly King David), and a proverb from the book of Proverbs (which is a collection of wise sayings written by David’s son, King Solomon).  If you’d like to give it a try (and I recommend it!) you can find the reading plan at http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan.asp.

Anyway, some wise people have told me that it’s a good idea to try to do it every year, as you’ll come to get remember things you learn the previous year when you read the same passages again at the same time of year as you did previously!  I have to admit, I’m a bit pedantic when it comes to trying to stick to plans.  I can get easily discouraged if I’m behind, but I’ve been encouraged to not worry too much if I miss a day, but to just persevere and skip on ahead because you’ll always get to read what you miss the next year round!  Anyway, the reading a couple of days ago really challenged me.  And what’s more, the four different passages all kind of pointed to the one thing!

Genesis 28-31 is about this guy Jacob, who isn’t the best husband or son, to say the least, but through whom God shows amazing grace, which perfectly makes sense because grace is not based on our merit but solely on God’s goodness!  God speaks to Jacob and tells him ‘I will be with you, and I will protect you wherever you go.  I will someday bring you safely back to this land.  I will be with you constantly until I have finished giving you everything I have promised.’ (Genesis 28:15)  The promises God speaks about here are some really big promises!  He promised Jacob’s grandfather that He would give him lots of descendants, too numerous to count, a land they can call their own, blessings and all because God is with them.  Again, as I was saying, Jacob isn’t that great a guy – he practises polygamy, deceives his dad in order to get the blessings due to the first born son (and he’s the second), and doesn’t love his first wife well.  But what’s amazing is God’s amazing grace and his faithfulness to his promises!  God always protects Jacob and his family, and others are led to see that – they see the connection between Jacob’s protection and God being with him.  Jacob knows this and despite all his shortcomings, he trusts God to provide for him and his family.

The reading from the New Testament was from Matthew 10:5-23.  Here, Jesus sends his twelve disciples out to tell people that ‘the Kingdom of Heaven is near’ with some instructions: they are not to carry any money or clothing or even shoes with them.  They are to accept the hospitality of those who provide it when they go into the towns.  And even if they’re arrested for what they are doing, they should not worry about how to defend themselves because they will be given the right words at the right time!  I’ve read this before, but seeing it in light of what it means for God to be with us, I was really challenged to believe this and not just fear it!  I’ve always been half-hearted about this passage and the response it demands.  I think to myself: ‘I’m sure that’s true but Jesus probably meant it specifically for his twelve disciples at the time…surely it’s different now.’  Ashamedly, I had not really understood what Jesus was saying and is saying still.  Jesus’ instructions reflect the same principles as that in Genesis.  If God is with us, then who can be against us!  The psalm for that same day’s reading really just sums it up: ‘I trust in the LORD for protection.  So why do you say to me, “Fly to the mountains for safety!”‘ (Psalm 11:1)  If God really is a God who keeps his word and is as powerful as he shows himself to be, then we can go anywhere and be anywhere He puts us without carrying ‘a traveler’s bag’ (Matthew 10:10) with us, so to speak.  In other words, I can trust Him fully to look after me, whatever I really need, without worrying about them.  I might sound somewhat irresponsible here – there definitely is a place for being active in gathering and pulling together the resources that God puts in our lives, but I think at the same time, Jesus is actually calling us to something quite radical here.  Jesus didn’t mean these things metaphorically, he meant them literally.  We’re not to acquire things but to ‘give as freely as you have received’ (Matthew 10:8), knowing God is with us.  I wonder if this is the mindset when we’re or others are ‘sent out’.  But mostly, I think it’s a challenge for me not to be anxious about worldly things, or even horde or collect them, but to be focused on the ‘work’ God has prepared in advance for me to do and to believe God’s with me, wherever he might send me.

Nuggets of wisdom

I’ve been reading this book by Elisabeth Elliot called Passion and Purity, which has been a very interesting read so far.  It’s interesting because Elliot never seems to say exactly what she means, but that makes it all the more helpful having to think through what she’s trying to get at.  Often I’m not really sure why she mentions something until a day or two later!  Two such ‘nuggets of wisdom’ I’d like to share:

1. There’s a chapter in the book where Elliot shares a diary entry she wrote just after Jim Elliot (who was her first husband, who died whilst sharing the good news about Jesus in Ecuador) told her that he liked her.  She struggles with this because even though she greatly admires and love Jim, Jim told her that he felt convicted to lead a life of singleness (which is also puzzling in itself, as I wonder why Jim told her how he felt about her even though he felt convicted in this way).  Anyway, her journal entry for that day is a list of different verses that ‘represent warnings and aspirations that shaped [her] thinking’.  She says:

I was very cautious about what I put in the journals.  I don’t think it was because I feared someone else would discover my secrets.  I think I was afraid to articulate, even for myself, feelings I might have to get rid of.  Better to stick with what God was saying to me than what my heart was saying.  It seemed the safer course.  I do not repudiate it now.  The only way to build a house on the rock is to hear the Word (I couldn’t have heard it if all I listened to was my feelings) and then to try to do it.

What wisdom!  My journal entries are always full of lots of babbling thoughts and I don’t think I’ve considered that mulling over my thoughts could be dangerous.  But more so, it seems there is much wisdom to not just not mulling over my thoughts/feelings, but actually making sure I ‘mull’ over God’s thoughts instead of the former.

2. In another chapter, Elliot recounts a time when a girl who was staying with her told her about a dilemma: she was eager to marry a handsome and wealthy man but she was going out with someone who was a Christian, handsome, and interesting, but ‘poor and homely’.  Here’s the excerpt:

Elliot: What do you want more than anything else in life?  God’s choices or your own?

Jane: God’s, of course.

Elliot: What if He should choose for you a man who was poor and homely?

Jane: Oh, but He wouldn’t!

Elliot: Why not?

Jane: Because He loves me.

…

Jane: …I’ve prayed for His will, and I’ve prayed for a rich, handsome husband, and that’s what I’m going to get, because Jesus loves me and Jesus wants me to be happy.

Elliot: So if you don’t get him, will that prove God doesn’t love you?

Jane: Doesn’t He want me to be happy?

Elliot: He wants you most to be holy.

Jane: Miserable and long faced, then.  Is that what God wants?  Is that what holiness has to mean?

Elliot: Has to?  No.  Not only doesn’t have to, but can’t.  Real holiness can’t possibly be miserable and long faced, Jane.  Holiness means ‘wholeness’.  Comes from the same root as hale–you know, hale and hearty.  Healthy.  Fulfilled.

Jane: Well, that has to mean happy.

Elliot: That’s what it means for sure.  The problem starts when we make up our own minds what will give us happiness and then decide, if we don’t get exactly that, that God doesn’t love us.  We slither into a slough of God-hates-me self-pity.

Jane: But you just said He wants us to be happy.  He must want to give us what we want, doesn’t He?  I mean, within reason.

Elliot: He wanted Adam and Eve to be happy, but He didn’t give them everything they wanted.  He knew it would be the death of them.  So they got made and decided He didn’t love them and was being stingy when He told them not to touch the fruit.  How could He love them if He didn’t let them have it?  They put more stock in the snake’s reasoning than in God’s.

That is pure gold, right there.  I have to admit, though Elliot’s voice is in my head, Jane’s voice is sometimes a truer reflection of my thoughts on a wide range of issues.  I know God wants me to be holy, to be the person He created me to be (before sin entered the world) and to be the person He has saved me to be (in Jesus), and His desire for that is pure goodness, but sometimes the circumstances he uses to do that are certainly not desirable, at least not initially.  But Elliot is right, ‘the problem starts when we make up our own minds what will give us happiness and then decide, if we don’t get exactly that, that God doesn’t love us.  We slither into a slough of God-hates-me self-pity.’  I need to heed the wisdom of point 1 and let God’s thoughts fill my mind, and not those of my sinful nature.