Distractions

It has been sometime since I have written a blog.  There have been many reasons for that really which to be honest have been most frustrating.  I guess the main reason really is just shear lack of motivation.  Only 104 days until commissioning and I must admit I am feeling extremely overwhelmed and not for the reasons one would think.  Its hard to believe that in just a matter of days it is going to be September and for many in this building the excitement of commissioning and what next year will hold is just too much.

 For me however, I am finding this time extremely frustrating, tiring, anxiety generating and many other words that I could throw into the mix.  To be honest I havent even thought about commissioning or next year.  At the moment my thoughts are focussed on now and all the assessments that need to be done over the next month.  As expected I have even been questioning my calling and reconfirming in my heart that yes I have heard correctly from God.  As I wrestle with all that is going on inside of this head of mine I am reminded that what I am feeling is real, and that these thoughts and doubts are natural responses to what is goingto soon be a life changing experience.

As I think about what can only be explained as spiritual attacks over the past few weeks, I have come to realise, and I have been reminded on many an occasion that whenever we take a stand for Jesus the devil gets worried.  When I think about going in to ministry within the next few months it makes sense that the enemy would be quaking in his boots.  Why?  Well it's got nothing to do with my ability and my talents that is for sure, rather it is to do with the message I take with me.  The message and hope of Jesus and the free gift of salvation that He offers.  Now that is a message the devil should be scared of.  Why?  Because when people hear the good news and receive it the enemy loses ground.  The deception of this world loses its power and people are released and receive a freedom that this world can never offer or fulfil.

This emotional rollercoaster, this lonliness that I have been feeling over the past few months is nothing more than a distraction.  A distraction that has been trying for a long time to derail me from the path that my God has planned for me.  I can only imagine that full time ministry will not get any easier and that these attacks will increase.  I know that this is not just a thorn in my side but rather a message of encouragement as God reminds me that I am certainly on the right track.

May God's grace and favour continue to keep me in good stride.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

Lean not on your own understanding

But in ALL your ways acknowledge Him

And He WILL make your paths straight.

(Proverbs 3:5-6)

inclusively exclusive.

In my varied dvd collection I have a movie called Time Changer.  It's about a writer who tries to get his book published and he feels that in order to receive more credit he seeks the approval of his seminary professors.  All pass the book but one who questions the authority of the book.  You see the writer writes about life, how we should live etc.  However, within the writings he forgets the most important thing of all, the acknowledgement of God as the ultimate authority.  He struggles with this issue and tries to persuade his peers that the book is sound.  The man who objected (who is also an inventor) invites him to his house where he has a time machine.  The writer is sent one hundred years into the future to see what will happen if what is written in his book occurs without the authority of God.  In one of the scenes later in the film the writer is ordering a hot dog.  He puts it on a bench while he settles himself and a young girl steals his food and runs off.  When he eventually catches her he tells her off and asks her if she knows that stealing is wrong to which she responds "who says?" 

So why do I share about this movie?  Well other than poor acting this film contains a very serious message that we can actually see being played out in todays world.  In a world of political correctness and the doctrine of inclusiveness we find that God is being removed from everything we do.  We wonder why the world is going mad and why people seem to have a total disregard for the law of the land and the church.  Many tell us that the church is no longer relevant and that we live in an era of Post Christendom where the church is no longer the centre of society.  I think what this really means is that God is not considered the center of society, we then wonder why crime, violence and societal and relational issues are on the increase.  Like the writer mentioned above as soon as we take the authority out of society (God) people will do what they like.    They will do what bests suits them and they will do what they believe hurts no one else and exercises their rights.  Interestingly people want lots of rights they just dont want the responsibility. We say that things are wrong but we don't say why they are wrong.  We want to be so inclusive that we are afraid of telling it the way it is.  Was Jesus inclusive?? I don't know.  I don't think he was.  He loved all people (as we are all called to do) but He certainly did not accept everything.  He challenged the status quo and certainly did not accept the issues on the grounds that He may offend someone.

As Christians we are called to preach the good news, we are called to preach Jesus.  We are called to stand up and represent God acknowledging His authority in all things.  This for the most part will certainly be counter cultural and will generate much opposition.  It may even generate words like exclusion and intolerance.  The reality is however, that pretty much all of the laws of the land come from Christian influence and have been in place (placed by God) for thousands of years.  Maybe we should abolish our entire legal system so as to be more inclusive??

The reality is regardless of what the world says (and a majority is not always right) that God is the ultimate authority and it is to Him that we are all accountable.  How do I know this? because the bible says so.

A Time To Retreat.

I recently got the privilege to spend a couple of days away on a silent retreat.  I must admit at first I was a little unsure of what I was in for but I knew deep in my spirit that it was going to be an amazing time.  The location of the retreat was on the coast and for me there was an almost immediate connection with the place.  There was an amazing peace that quite simply surpassed all understanding and the feeling of God being present was strong.   As we entered a time of silence on the evening of the first night there was an immediate shift within me.
For the first time in who knows how long I felt as though there was nothing but me, God and the creation.  The things of the college and of life were far removed and there was no need to be anywhere, no schedule to keep and no people to please.  It was just a time for me to sit with God, wherever He wanted me to be, and to simply reflect and contemplate.

As a Salvo, the thought of doing nothing I guess can be quite hard to grasp.  We are a movement that always seems to be busy doing something.  As I spent the next few days in silence and simply just being with God I was reminded of my past blogs and lessons learned.  The first was about Mary and Martha.  In the business of life (Martha) we can get so busy that we actually forget to spend time with God.  Mary chose to remove herself from the busyiness of life and simply bask in His presence.  The second lesson is like it:  To simply be rather than do.  Over the past few months I have been constantly reminded through many different forms about these two simple ideas.  Even today God reminded me of the importance of intentionally spending time with Him.  In Revelation 2:4 Jesus told the church of Ephesus that they had forgotten their first love.  Everything else they had done didn't matter if Jesus was neglected.

Friends, we are not only living in a busy world we are also living in the times that the bible says are the toughest of all.  The opposition against the church is truly amazing and the enemy is throwing everything he can at us in order to distract and destroy us.  Did I have time to go away on a retreat for a few days??  Probably not (even though it was scheduled) but the time I spent alone with God, away from the distractions was priceless.  I urge you all, make time for Jesus and rekindle that first love.  This time I speak of is more than a simple quiet time, it is intentionally setting an extended time of reflection and contemplation in order to draw closer to God.  Instead of praying that God will provide for our lists of wants (and the things we think we need) maybe we should be praying that God would change us.  That our desire would be for nothing else other than God Himself because really when you think about it, the rest is just distraction.  I heard a quote recently that said that there are lots of christians, just not saved ones - Michael Youseff.  Being saved is more than insuring our eternal destiny, it's about an intimacy with God.   Living, eating breathing Jesus in everything.

The only way to do that, is by physically removing ourselves from the distraction and focussing completely on Him.  Try it, I dare you.

Love Your Neighbour

Over the past few months the Salvation Army has been gearing up for its yearly Red Shield Appeal. While I was collecting at Chadstone shopping centre this week I started thinking about why people give of their hard earned money to an organisation that will give it to people they don’t even know. Have you ever thought about it?? Have you ever wondered why people would do it?

But I wonder, how would the world look, how would our communities look, if people chose to give in the same way regardless of whether there was an actual need? What if people gave to others just because they could? What if all people were treated with the same level of respect and kindness regardless of their gender, ethnicity or community status? What if we chose to show kindness to people simply because we wanted to? Over the past few months a Melbourne Christian radio station Light Fm has been running a challenge that encourages its listeners to perform acts of kindness. I also heard just recently that the Salvation Army has teamed up with many other organisations including channel 10 to start an online challenge called 1million acts of kindness. Their purpose is to encourage us to perform acts of kindness in order to create a happier and healthier community.

But what does the bible and Jesus say about random acts of kindness? Well to be honest it doesn’t say much about random acts of kindness but it does talk about intentional ones. Jesus through His teachings clearly sets the benchmark and lays a foundation for how Christians and the community should treat others. In Matthew 22:34-40 Jesus is approached by some of the religious teachers of his time and is questioned about what he believes is the greatest and most important commandment. Jesus responds by quoting two scriptures from the law. Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “To love your neighbour as yourself.” Everything else in scripture is bound by these two commandments. The priests of the day believed that their relationship with God was the only important thing and they felt that the only people that should be looked after were God's people. Luke’s gospel in chapter 10 has this same event but he takes it further by giving an illustration of what loving our neighbours might look like when he shares the story of the good Samaritan. These particular verses when you look at them closely are actually talking about how we respond to those who are excluded by society, unloved, our enemies. But the call to love our neighbour is not restricted to certain people or locations. God calls each of us to live in such a way that we are a blessing to all people.

The first statement to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind is not about a simple emotional attachment. When Jesus commands us to Love God this way He is saying that we are to offer our entire being before God. Every part of our lives and being are to be given in service and worship to God. He then continues with the second commandment taken from Leviticus. “To love your neighbour as yourself.” Why does he put these two together? Jesus is basically saying that just as you give yourselves completely to God, so to we should give ourselves completely to serving others and to look after them in the same way that we take care of ourselves. When Jesus tells us to love our neighbour he is saying that we have a responsibility to be useful and beneficial to our neighbours, the very people we interact with every day regardless of who they are, where they come from or how wealthy they are.

Genesis tells us that every person is made in God’s image and so God values each and every one of us. St Francis was once quoted as saying, “Preach the gospel and if necessary use words.” What did he mean by this? Our faith is expressed not only through words, it is expressed through our actions. Everything we do needs to be an out working of our faith. You see being a Christian is not defined by what church we go to or what programs we are involved in. Being a true believer is when we love God with our minds (that is our thoughts), Our souls (that is our being) and our hearts and then outworking this same idea to our neighbours that is, our parents, our friends, our workmates and those who live in our communities and cities. When God created humans, he created them to live in community, to live in such a way that we would take care of each other, to edify and encourage and to bring joy to those we interact with.

As the people around us see our faith through our unconditional action, they see Jesus at work in us. Henry Blackaby once said that “God is at work every day and all around us.” God calls us to open our eyes, see where he is working and then join Him in what He is doing. Loving our neighbour is more than just helping the poor and giving to appeals like the red shield for supporting our social programs, it’s about appreciation for people, understanding that God loves them and created them in His image, even the ones we feel are the worst, and then blessing them through acts of kindness regardless of their financial or physical situation. As we draw closer to God in faith, who we are will begin to be transformed and our thinking and our attitudes will begin to change as we imitate him by loving others.

So how does all this fit into that idea of performing acts of kindness? Well this scripture is more than just performing acts of kindness. But as I look around at the world and the goings on in our communities, one could be forgiven for believing that we are in a troubled world. Life is getting harder in many ways and people just don’t seem to be smiling. People are working harder and longer, the cost of living is getting more expensive, life is moving faster and it just feels like everyone is out for themselves. We live in a world that tells us that it is all about us and it appears to forget about others. And then you get initiatives like 1million acts of kindness and you think, hey can it really work? Can it really make a difference? I want to tell you that Kind acts produce happy people. Not only does it make others happy and cause them to smile, it makes the giver happy as well.

When Jesus commanded us to love our neighbour as ourselves I really believe that he believed that one person could make a difference and change the world. You see changing the world starts with us. Our attitudes need to change and we are called to outwork our faith in Christ by loving those around us. Performing an act of kindness is but one way we can do this. As God’s people we can change the world, one act of kindness and one life at a time. But it starts with us. Who knows, someone might even ask you why you are doing it? What a great opportunity to share the reason; because God loves them and so do we.

Too busy for Jesus?

As my studies continue along with my church placement I can't help but think about my life and my walk with God.  In preparing for a recent sermon about Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42) God has been challenging me about the things in my life that quite frankly just keep me busy.  We live in a world that is just so chaotic and our days are filled with a constant busyness.  Surrounded by modern technology we are told that we need to buy these gadgets because they will make life so much easier and that they will save us time.  Microwaves, cars, internet, email, mobile phones, blu ray players and the list goes on.  In a world where we run flat out all the time and where time is so precious I find myself asking the question is it all worth it?  Did God ever create us to be running flat out all the time?  Is our busyness helping us to grow closer to God or is it a distraction that is simply keeping us from spending time with Him?  I fear that the answer to this question leans more to the latter than the former.

As I read the story of Mary and Martha I can't help but notice that my attention is drawn toward the busyness of Martha in the scripture.  It's interesting isn't it that even in scripture we can be distracted by busyness.  In this story (which is only located in the gospel of Luke) the action is between Jesus and Martha.  The point however, that Luke is trying to get across is found in Mary.  She is the example of what true discipleship really is.  Culturally it was the women that were to serve the meal in the home when guests arrived but Mary made a choice to break tradition in order to fall at the masters feet.  Wow what a concept.  That one would choose to go against everything that society expects in order to spend time in worship.  Did this cause resentment? absolutely.  Martha was not happy.  But Jesus in speaking to Martha helps her to understand that Mary chose what was best.  What Mary chose was of a spiritual and eternal benefit.

Things need to be done.  Life is going to be busy.  The world will tell us that in order to be productive we need to be busy.  Yes things need to be done and life on occasion will be chaotic however, in the middle of it all is Jesus and He says:  "Come to me all who are wearied and burdened and I will give you rest."  Want to be Mary in a Martha world?  Sometimes we need to do the opposite to what the world would say is right and sometimes it may even cause resentment.  So which one are you Mary or Martha?
Life is chaotic but with Jesus all things become clear.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of earth 

Will grow strangely dim

In the light of his glory and grace. 

(©Helen H. Lemmel, 1922)

To preach or not to preach? that is the question

It was St Francis of Assisi that said "Go out and preach the gospel and if necessary use words."
Interesting quote.  As I spent the morning having coffee with a client today I recalled this sentence as I bore witness to this very idea plays out.

While sipping on my mocha the young waitress came to our table and started a conversation.  She had obviously seen me over recent weeks with clients and this particular coffee shop is a regular visit on the salvo entertainment list for the local chaplain.  She asked who I was and after introducing myself I explained that I was on placement and in training to be a minister.  This opened up a whole conversation and she spent the next few minutes explaining how even though she was not a christian per se she did believe in God.  She had been watching the chaplain ministering to these men from the hostel for quite a while.  She also seemed unaware (as most people are) that the Salvation Army is actually a church and not just a welfare organisation.  She proceeded to tell me that she had a great appreciation for the Army and was impressed by how unlike many other churches, we dont push the religion card and that we work in a way that is non-threatening. I explained to her that the way that the Salvation Army works is simply just an outworking of our faith.

It did get me thinking though.  If people are obviously being influenced by what we do (even when we think we are not being an influence at all), does it really matter if we don't go around driving home the point that we need to go to church.  Who is the church anyway??  Quite simply the church is people.

When I think of what Jesus did in his lifetime he simply made time for people.  Yes He spoke the truth when it was needed, he rebuked and disciplined those who needed it, but for the most part Jesus just spent time taking an interest in people.  It was this interest in a person, this availability that transformed lives. (oh and the Holy Spirit did his bit too :-) )  Once people knew how much he cared, that his interest in them was genuine, it was then that they listened to what he had to say.

So to for us.  It seems to me that sometimes we can get so caught up in trying to teach and preach that we forget that more importantly we need to just simply be.  My prayer is that God will give us the wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent and just be.  May he grant us each wisdom to know the difference.

Being rather than doing

So placement has started in the past week and what a truly amazing week it has been.  My social placement is at The Salvation Army men's hostel called the Anchorage.  Wow what an eye opener.

One of the difficulties for me on this placement is simply just being rather than doing.  During the day I have felt that I am not doing anything (I am such a 'J').  It feels as though I am just taking up space but over the past few days I have discovered that I don't actually have to DO anything to be affective.  Isn't it interesting that we always have to feel that in order to be doing anything worthwhile we need to be busy?

When I think of Jesus' ministry I am reminded that He didn't always do anything.  Rather, He interacted with people, just being available and listening to their stories.  I am finding that as I spend time with the guys at the Anchorage I notice that I am actually making a difference in their day.  Lately for some they seem to come alive as they interact with someone who just wants to hear their stories.  I am learning so much about people and God.  I think if Jesus was here He wouldn't be trying to fix a problem per se but rather, He would be just sitting with them; listening to the people He was with.

Being Jesus to another person does not mean that you necessarily need to do anything other than just be yourself and just being available.  So am I doing anything during my day?  Absolutely!!  Investing time in another human beings life is probably the best thing you can ever do.  I think in many circumstances it is that availability and genuine interest in a person (even the ones who annoy you to no end) that makes the biggest difference in a life.  The things you can learn about another when you just give them some time is truly life changing.  It is the ones that society would generally brush aside that can teach us the most amazing things about life and about our God.

Wanna be Jesus?  Be available.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.  So that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but would receive eternal life. - John 3:16