It is that time again

As I sit here enjoying the final days of a much needed holiday I can't help but think about the weeks that lie before me.  Those that know me well would be well aware that the Christmas period is a difficult time for me.  I have to be honest that this time of year creates much anxiety and it is not a time that enjoy very much.  Some may question these thoughts saying you're a minster of the church, how can you dislike Christmas?   This would be a fair question I guess.  The fact is I do dislike this time of year but only because it seems that more and more the world is losing the real meaning of Christmas.

It frustrates me year in and year out that the season of Christmas gets earlier and earlier.  I couldn't believe it this year when I began to see Christmas merchandise appearing on the shelves of the local supermarket in August.  You see it is the consumerism and the materialism that drives me nuts to be honest.  Christmas has become a huge cash cow that many seem to buy into.  I remember a few years ago I did an experiment in my local shopping center.  Armed with a video camera and several questions I wanted to see how the people in my local community interpreted the Christmas season.  I must have interviewed at least ten or so people and each time I received the same sort of answers.  Some said Christmas was about the gifts; others told me that it was about spending time with our families, good food, chocolate, children and Santa (an anagram of satan by the way).  Out of all the people I spoke to not one person told me that Christmas was about Jesus.  

I recollect another story I heard several years ago about a christian friend who was shopping at a local shopping center.  As they went up the escalator to the next level they looked down and noticed a local church sharing the good news of Jesus and singing Christmas carols.  As they continued up the escalator they overheard a conversation of two others behind them.  One of the shoppers turned to their friend with this comment.  "Typical it's Christmas and the church has to bring Jesus into it..."

I don't know about you but those sort of statements concern me.  Christmas is about family and yes it is about good food and gifts, but the reality is that the true meaning of Christmas is about Jesus.  It is about the hope that is available to all people through the most precious gift; the gift of Jesus.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.  That whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but will receive eternal life."( John 3:16)  What an amazing message.  Jesus really is the reason for the season and although the world is trying to remove Him from this time of celebration we each as Christians have a responsibility to share the good news of what Christmas is really about.

Our world desperately needs to hear about Christmas and it needs to hear about the real reason for our hope and love and family and yes even the gifts. As much as I hate the consumerism at this time of year I also love this time of year because I am reminded of what it truly represents.  This worldly view of what the season is only fuels my desire to share the gospel with a lost world. 

I challenge you this year not to get caught up in the hype and the false Christmas gospel but rather share the good news with those around you about the true and real meaning of this festive season.  You can't take Christ out of Christmas else you are simply left with a 'mas.'

 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. - Jesus

John 3:16-18

Life was so much simpler once

Today I had a great opportunity to visit the museum at the old Port Pirie Railway Station.  It was awesome to step back in time and see how life used to be.  As I have reflected on this it has begun to bother me by how much more complicated life has become since technology has taken over our lives.  They say that technology is supposed to make life easier.  Mobile phones, social media, ipads and laptops are all supposed to create a life that is simple, quick and easy.  It seems to me however that this so called technological advancement has in fact created the opposite effect.

When our technology fails to work or even if we try to contact someone and they fail to respond we seem to go into meltdown as we stress and ask why haven't they responded?  I wonder what would happen if we decided to remove technology from our lives altogether?  I think it would probably have an effect on others more than it would have an effect on me.  Technology is everywhere to the point that we literally cannot do anything without it.  As humans in the world today we are basically railroaded into compliance with the world even if we don't want to do it.  It shows how easy it is for an individual to be forced into doing something a certain way as we simply cannot function in the world if we don't do it.

I don't know about you but this really frustrates me.  People have forgotten how to communicate anymore.  We wonder why society is falling apart and I think for the most part it is because we don't know how to communicate any more.  Take away computers, phones and facebook and lets face it, we are helpless.

Back in the good old days life may have had it's issues but at least people talked to each other.  They weren't surrounded by the constant buzzing of phones and facebook messages, rather they communicated the old fashioned way.  We can't even 'time out' from work anymore because we are now easier to get hold of.  Even when on holidays the temptation to log on and check facebook and email is so great that we are just constantly connected to technology.

It is interesting to note that for me to even convey these thoughts I am having to use a social media site.  I don't know, some call it progress, some say that it needs to happen but does it really??  It doesn't have to happen it just needs too as we create more and more needs that rely on this technology.  It also frustrates me that in an attempt to save time things like self serve registers in supermarkets has now reduced the amount of jobs available,  pay wave systems on EFT and no pin required for purchases under certain amounts has now actually reduced the security on credit cards.  All this so called easy of access has in fact created many other problems that we never had before.

So I come back to my earlier question:  What would happen if we just got rid of the technology and reverted to a simpler and less complicated lifestyle?  I think we would be a lot happier to be honest.  I think our days off really would be our day off.  I think people would certainly learn to communicate in a way that creates good strong relationships.


How do you suck a world in to buying into technology?  make them think they have to have it.  When the Y2K hoax took place 13 years ago it was interesting to see the reaction.  Why did this all take place in the first place?  easy to answer.  The panic caused everyone to upgrade their systems which in turn literally put everyone on the same page.  All of a sudden the world  was able to be controlled from a central point because everyone's hardware and software was now able to communicate.  I had an old 286 computer that functioned no different in the year 2000 than it did in 1999.  The whole thing literally forced the hand of business and the general public.

I don't know, maybe I am way off here but it is interesting to think about.

The antichrist is coming

Over the past few days I must admit I have been extremely frustrated and angered by some of the comments made by those who claim to be Christians.  I heard it said once that if the devil wants to destroy a Christian then all he needs to do is convince them that what they believed in the first place is wrong.  Or at the least pose doubt in their minds.

It also frustrates me that people take God's word and twist it to promote their argument and even, discredit the church.  Jesus tells us to “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.  ⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰ At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:4-14)

We are in the last days certainly and there are many who will attempt to destroy and discredit both the Christian and the church.  This is what the devil does; he comes to discredit and destroy.  Be careful what you believe, for it is not all fact and truth.   We are told that Australia is no longer a Christian nation and we believe and embrace it.  Then we wonder why other faiths move in and try to control our country.  Friends you can't have it all your own way.  Jesus warns that when we reject Him and push him out, the devil will have his way and attempt to set up his kingdom. I think he is doing a great job at doing that as Australia plunges into becoming a Godless nation.  The enemy brings confusion and disunity as he slowly destroys us. You only have to look at our nation today to see that there is certainly disunity and confusion.  We don't know who we are as a country anymore.  Our leadership are fighting and are confused as the devil silently slips in the back door.  

People will always try and remove or push out that which does not agree with them.  Our liberal theologians move in and tell us how the bible really is as it supports political correctness.  Our fear of upsetting the status quo is the very thing leading us into a downward spiral.  Our preaching becomes lame as we try to preach a certain way to keep everyone happy.  We are told that it is not theologically correct and therefore is not right.  

In my brief life I have experienced amazing moves of God and seen amazing things.  People healed physically and spiritually.  People blessed in ways you couldn't even imagine and yet many say that this is not right.  We have been so caught up in our so called wisdom and intelligence that we have exegeted God right out of scripture and our experience.  People are failing to see God at work because they are now unable to see God working in their own lives.   People are not transformed by theology; they are transformed and renewed by an encounter with the living God. 

As our country moves further and further away from God, the false prophets move in to deceive and confuse. IF you are going to whinge and complain about the state of our country then maybe, just maybe the question we need to ask is how is my relationship with God??  It has been said garbage in garbage out.  If we fill our lives with half truths and deceptive arguments then what we will produce is garbage.  The apostle Paul said to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we will know the perfect will of God. - Romans 12:1-2

Friends be careful what and who you are listening to.  The devil comes and poses as an angel of light but in the midst of this is deception, chaos and ultimate destruction.  Jesus tells us that even the elect will be deceived.  

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.- Matthew 24:24

The bible is accurate and its truth has survived thousands of years and will survive thousands more.  God's church will never be crushed.  My prayer is that the veil of deceit will be removed and that those things that are in the dark will be revealed.  Trust God not man.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord    than to trust in humans. - Psalm 118:8

A man who said so little can teach us so much.

There is a well known saying that says 'actions speak louder than words.'  I am sure we are all familiar with it?  Tomorrow is fathers day and over the past week I have been reflecting on the many men in the bible who have made a huge impact not only on their families but on the world.  One man however has really caught my attention in recent days.  His name is Joseph, the earthly father of the most influential man who has ever lived, Jesus.

Out of all the key people within the texts of the bible Joseph is given the least amount of time and his story is very short. It is interesting to note that out of all the characters in the early chapters of Matthews Gospel, Joseph is the one that remains silent. He never says anything within the narrative, and yet his actions say more about who he was as a person, a father and a role model, than anything he could have said.

As we celebrate father’s day this year I have really been reflecting on Josephs brief story as I believe that it gives important insight into who he was not only as a father but also as a man in society. His life and actions are key to Godly living and is a reflection of who God calls us to be not only in our families but also as men within our church and within our communities in which we live.

Joseph was considered a just man. He was a man of high values and standards and in the nativity story he was faced with a moral dilemma that he had to work through.

In the gospel of Luke we are told that Mary went to stay with her sister for several months and it wasn’t until she returned that she told Joseph she was pregnant. I want you to consider for a moment how you would feel if your wife had been away for a while, came home, and then declared that she was expecting a child. Just to top it off she would have also told him that the child was from God. I am sure Joseph was quite confused and distressed and would have known that this declaration, in the eyes of the Hebrew law would have labeled Mary as an adulterous woman. As a man of high moral standing he would have known what was now expected from him from a legal perspective. Matthew tells us that before God even intervened in the situation that Joseph chose to divorce her quietly and send her away. His response was not aggressive and he responded to the situation with kindness and mercy. Joseph would have been well within his rights to question her actions and have her stoned but the bible records no such response.

Dr James Dobson once said that, “One of the best things a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” That’s what Joseph did. He loved Mary, even when he thought she didn’t love him. Our children are watching us men and they are watching how we respond to the issues within our relationships. If we want our children to grow up and treat their wives and partners well then we need to be modelling this behaviour in our own relationships. A behaviour of gentleness, love and forgiveness.

As God opened his eyes Joseph clearly understood his responsibility to his future wife. This would have been a tough choice because Joseph would have been setting himself up for possible ridicule and humiliation. As fathers and protectors of our families we are called to sometimes face difficult situations as we own our family responsibilities. Joseph understood clearly what God expected of him, and was ready to obey! He would take Mary to be his wife and suffer the cutting remarks from others, of a child conceived prior to their wedding. He would obey God in spite of the fact that this child of divine promise would be born under a cloud of adultery. Joseph believed God, obeyed God, and accepted the responsibility that God had given him.

Austin L. Sorensen once said, “A child is not likely to find a father in God unless he finds something of God in his father.” That is a deep thought. Seeing God in their father is a child’s best way to come to know God as their heavenly Father. Men, we have such an influence in our children’s lives. They look up to us for protection, for teaching and for spiritual leadership and guidance. What an awesome privilege and responsibility this is for us.

You know Joseph was a man who didn’t say much. But although his words were not recorded in the verses of the bible his actions were. His example teaches us some invaluable lessons not only in fatherhood but also as men in a society that is seriously lacking in good Male leadership —a lesson in righteousness, a lesson in responsibility, and a lesson in religion and faith. Joseph had many strengths that encourage us and teach us. He was firstly a man of integrity. He never compromised who he was and what he believed. He was also a man who was sensitive to God’s guidance and he was willing to do what God required of him no matter what consequences may have followed. From his life we learn that God honours that integrity. We learn that our position in our communities is of little importance when God chooses to use us. We learn that being obedient to the guidance of God results in more guidance from God. Finally we learn that how we feel when faced with a situation is not an accurate measure of the rightness or wrongness of our action. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul highlights for us what true love, integrity and good modelling looks like when he says that:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

  “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” - James 1:27

Whose plan is it?

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
    but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. - Proverbs 19:21

This scripture has come to mind this afternoon as I reflect on all that God has done not only in my own life but also in many other ministries within the church.  It continues to remind me that very often we can get so caught up in our own stuff; we can get so caught up in making our own plans, that we forget that it is only the purposes and the will of God that prevails.  

As I think about my own ministry I am reminded that it can be so easy (and dangerous) to get so focused on where I want to go that I forget that God is in control.  In fact I think I can confidently say that if God is not driving then I don't want to be in the car.  How foolish to even consider that we, mere humans, know the best way to carry out Gods plans.  I have been reminded in recent days of how important it is not only to be reading the word of God but also to be committed to daily prayer.  I don't know about you but I certainly don't want to be walking in my own plans and thoughts when it comes to leading God's church.  Even the distraction of the many voices around us can be used by the devil himself to try and thwart the plans of the Lord.

If we as a church are to truly be able to satisfactorily carry out God's plan for the local church then we need to be in tune with what God is saying.  We need to be spending time in his presence and we certainly need to be praying.  God is at work around us and we need to join him in what he is doing.  However, in the middle of this we need to be so careful that we do not try to overlay our own plans over that of God.  

As humans we have many ideas and plans of where we think we should be going or how something should be done but we must be very careful that they fall in line with God's will and purpose.  Too often Christians, the church and even the social arm of our ministries claim to be carrying out the plans of the Lord when in actual fact we are so focused on our own plans that we have pushed God out altogether.  If we are to be truly successful at building God's church and ushering in the kingdom of God then God needs to be at the center of it all, our focus and ultimate goal is to bring others into a relationship with Christ.  If it is anything other than that then there is no point.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
    but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. - Proverbs 19:21

Priorities

In recent days God has been pressing on my heart a message from the book of Haggai and I have been reminded of and even rebuked as to how relevant his message is for the Church today. Although directed to God’s people some 2,500 years ago and intended to address a specific situation at that time, Haggai’s message is nevertheless timeless in its relevance because the spiritual issues and problems that he had to deal with in his day tend to reoccur in every generation of the Church.

When we look at the lives of the people around us and possibly even in our own lives we see that pressures, demands and expectations are pushing into our lives from all sides. Our schedules are filled to overflowing as we try to sort through what is required of us by others. It seems that everyday somebody wants something from us. Our friends, families, employers, school, church, the numerous clubs we belong to; all of them are pressuring us to give more and more of ourselves. Life runs flat out as we try to attend to the necessary, the immediate and the urgent. Our lives seem to be chaotic and just full of stuff but our problem has got nothing to do with how many demands are on us or our inability to exercise good scheduling skills. The real problem lies in our values – that is the things that are truly important to us. You see people’s values and priorities are always worked out in their actions. Our values and priorities are always reflected in how we use the resources available to us. Our money, our talents, our time, our strengths and our spiritual gifts. People will always invest their resources in the things that they consider important. For many Christians we may claim that God is a priority, God is number one; but then he may often take last place on our ‘to do’ list.


We see in the book of Haggai that the people of Israel were not experiencing the blessings of God because they chose to pursue their own interests rather than doing what God had called them to. God was not a priority in their lives and as a result he with-held the blessings that he wanted to pour out on them.


In Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (that is food, shelter, clothing, blessing) shall be added to you.” Now we know that Haggai’s congregation never heard the words of Jesus but we know that this principle was already known to them through the law. In Leviticus and Deuteronomy God tells the people to “Honour the Lord with your possessions, and with the first-fruits of all your increase; so that your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” Friends when we put God first in all that we do he promises to bless us. If we want to experience the moving of the Holy Spirit and experience this move in a tangible way then we need to keep God as the focus and priority of our lives. If we want to see numerical and spiritual growth in our churches then we need to have God at the top of our priority list. It is obvious as we read Haggai that the people had confused their priorities but I wonder: are God’s people today any different from the ancient Jews?


The local church around the world can’t expand their budgets for local and international evangelism because the money isn’t there, and yet many church members don’t believe Matthew 6:33 and put God first in their giving. You know pastors can tell the spiritual condition of their church simply by how much is in the offering. You see as God takes a back-step in the priorities of the people the first thing that changes is usually their giving. But, as a person grows closer to God and begins to trust and experience him, giving and service becomes a natural response to God’s goodness. When we put God first and give Him what’s rightfully His, we open the door to spiritual enrichment.  More than a hundred years after Haggai’s message the prophet Malachi accused the people of robbing God and therefore missing out on the blessings that he had for them. How are your priorities looking? God told Israel that he would free them and return to them through the rebuilding of the temple. Jesus tells us also that one day he will return. We don’t know when that will be but I want to tell you today that we are certainly in the last days. Jesus is coming back and he calls us to make him and his mission our first priority. Vince Lombardi once said: “Your God, Your family, and the green bay packers, in that order.”

I want to encourage you to never compromise God’s will and purpose for our lives for our own desires and wants. What is God calling you to today? Is God your first priority? Do you need to refocus you spiritual compass?

 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. - Matthew 6:33 (NRSV)