the nature of God

"It turns out God is not some predictable, domesticated, passionless deity preoccupied with our personal theology, morality and happiness - an unfortunate impression left by much modern spirituality. He is the untamed, ferocious lover of our souls." (AliveMagazine, Oct/Nov 04, p.23)
We seem to want to make God into a god who meets our needs and fits into our little boxes. When will we allow ourselves to see God as who he is - the magnificent creator of this immense universe and the astounding one who died on the cross for you and me?
One of the first steps to allowing God to be God is to resolve in our own hearts that we don't have to have it him all sorted out, to allow mystery to have a part in our journey of faith.

marriage - what the research says

Go to the link for this very interesting discussion of the value of marriage to society.

the shoes

I actually own a pair of shoes that have done a marathon. (see last blog) They are the shoes of my brother that died last year. (He was 38.)
My brother Chris was a fantastic runner and after he died I got a number of pairs of his shoes. I hope that one day I'll be inspired enough to use them to do what they were brought for.
But at the moment they remind me that knowledge and knowing really are fundamentally different things. I have knowledge about running but I don't really know about running in the way that a daily runner knows about running.
Perhaps tonight I might begin the journey.

i have a dream

I have a dream that one day I will run a marathon, it's on my list of a 100 things I want to do in my life time, but the problem is that I don't train. I'd also love to do a parachute jump but I'm terrified of heights.
I reckon the parachute jump might happen because I just have to get the guts together to go to a weekend training. The marathon however needs a year of daily discipline. Running needs to become a part of my life if that dream is ever to happen.
Knowing Jesus is like that marathon. If I really want to know him as more than an aquaintance on the street he has to become part of my daily life. I need to practise the daily discipline of sitting in his presence and "be still and know that I am God."

trust v expertise

“Most of us look for someone who has a marginal advantage over us in information. I tend to opt for trust over expertise, and I ask my brother.” (Lovemarks, p.173)
Hence the reason why the average follower of Jesus who is exhibiting real love for their friend is much better placed than the 'paid Christian' to share the message of Jesus.
As I'm fond of saying, "I'm paid to be good, you are good for nothing." And it is precisely because you are not paid to toe the party line, not paid to be good, that your voice has much more weight with those you work and play with, than the professional Christian.

the cross

"There is a place where all our Christianity has to come. There is a place where all our ambition has to be laid. There is a place where our human heart has to break. And that place is Calvary. Too often we parade our Christianity, relish our ambitions and rejoice in our heart for things, which is our capacity to shine and our will to survive.
But everything must come to the Cross. Nothing should pass. What escapes the Cross and refuses to let itself be dealt with by the Cross becomes a rogue and rampant element in our life.
The centrality of the Cross reveals itself in the Christian phrase 'the crucified believer'. Everything is us has be dealt with by the Cross. Nothing in us can exalt itself above the Cross. That which is in us that cannot tolerate the Cross cannot be tolerated."
(Quote from AliveMagazine, October/November 04, p.19)

knowing

If you had to define what 'knowing' means what would you say?
I am of the belief that a primary problem with Western Christianity is that we have too much knowledge and not enough knowing.
Knowledge is head stuff while knowing is living stuff. Knowledge often leads to intellectual arrogance while knowing leads to empathy. Knowledge can come from books, while knowing comes through relationship.
Satan has knowledge of God, knowledge of Jesus, knowledge of the ressurrection but he doesn't having knowing of God. He doesn't have the intimacy of relationship that is knowing.
With all the resources at our hands we can easily have knowledge about God, about the bible, about how to do amazing things, but do we know Jesus in an intimate, personal, life changing way?

love your customers

Now here's a challenging thought.
When a customer comes in we have a choice to treat them as a nuisance, treat them with respect or to honour them with superior service.
Treating customers with honour is both good for the person, good for the business and actually really good for us as well.
Personally I hate asking for directions in shops, but when I do I always appreciate the person who not only tells me the answer to my question, but actually takes me to where I need to go.
I wonder if today we might treat our customers with honour and make the world a better place.

happiness II

"After all, there is surely no more important issue in our lives than our happiness." (Better than Chocolate, introduction)
What about feeding the poor? Or caring for the abused? Or healing the sick? Or visiting prisoners? Are we meant to put these lower down the scale than our own happiness?
Hitler was about being happy! Sadam Hussain thought happiness was a great idea! Stalin liked the idea as well!
Happiness is not unimportant, but it is far from being the most important thing in our lives.
When happiness because our primary measure then God help us!
People lets reject this happiness tripe and begin to discover the joy of life found in a life selflessly given away rather than selfishly lived.

monday morning blues

They say that ministers should never resign on a Monday. Others say you should never make major life decisions when you are on a high or a low. All good advice - so instead I think I'll eat some chocolate and see if that helps.

better than chocolate

I've picked up a new book. A little book called "Better Than Chocolate" by Siimon Reynolds. (A$16.95 at Dymocks.)
A flick through has already provoked me to disagree, but that's okay as there is no learning and growing without tension and disagreement. I'll let you know how I go.

happiness

"The secret to happiness is to find something more important than you are, and then dedicate your life to it." (Lovemarks, p.206)
Zig Ziglar says somewhere in one of his books. "The secret to getting whatever you want is to help other people get whatever they want."
Success, fame and fortune. These seem to be things our culture think are the routes to a happiness. But it seems to me that happy people are happy not because of success, fame or fortune, but because they are focused on something beyond themselves.
When I become the center of my universe I am less satisfied than when others are. Just ask Mother Theresa where she found her joy. She found it in serving the dying poor.
Today's question is ... What can you do today to place someone else in the center?

great relationships

"Great relationships thrive on learning, anticipation, and surprise. When you know everything there is to know, there is nothing left to discover. No more wonder, no more opportunities." (Lovemarks, p82)

Recently I was in my office having a chat with someone I had pegged as an average ordinary older conservative Christian BUT then I heard her story and was blown away by how God had been active in her life. Her story paralleled some of my own story but at points went much deeper than mine. Her story has reminded me that God is an amazing God doing extraordinary things in the lives of otherwise ordinary people.
The more I listen the more I discover the incredible ways that God is active in and through the lives of seemingly average people.
"Lord help me listen more so that I can hear and be inspired by the ways you are actively and significantly at work in the lives of those around me."

the solid foundation of science?

"The essence of the scientific method is what is called empiricism (the acquisition of knowledge through the experiences of our senses). Science, then, does not begin with what is definitely known. Instead, it allows evidence, which must be interpreted, to lead the inquirer where it will. Our scientific laws are simply the result of observed uniformities. If I let go of my car keys, they fall to the ground. This happens each time I drop them; so we theorize and construct the Law of Gravity. Although we accept this as a fact, it is not proved as such. Instead, we have reached a conclusion (or proposed a theory) by induction, not deduction. Induction is a philosophical term given to the process of using evidence to reach a wider conclusion: The evidence infers that your conclusion is the best explanation. "
"In science there is no certainty, only high or low probability. Any scientific hypothesis only requires one contrary instance to pull the whole thing down. For several hundred years Newton's theories seemed to be proven, and then along came Einstein. Who knows what will be next? Molecular biologist Dr. Andrew Miller says, "It is certainly not a scientific matter to decide whether or not there is a God."
Quotes from the linked article.

does God exist?

Either God exists or he does not. There is no middle ground. Both cannot be true. No amount of philosophical trickery can hide from the greatest antithesis of them all. Either God is or he is not. We cannot leave this question for the intellectuals, scientists, philosophers, and theologians alone; we must answer it as well. We must answer it for ourselves.
(Click on link for the full article.)

emotion v reason

"The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions." (Lovemarks, p42)
I think we mostly make decisions by emotion and then justify them by reason. I think that's why I struggle to support Aussie teams - my heart is still a Kiwi. My citizenship says Australian and my reason tells me I ought to support the Aussie teams, but my heart is still Kiwi through and through.
But for some immigrants coming to Aussie was an emotional experience. It was the chance for a new beginning, a leaving of trouble and a coming into a safe prosperous place. I think that emotional experience makes it more natural to become a passionate Aussie and get emotionally involved in supporting the Aussies as they compete.
Perhaps one day the green and gold will tug at my heart strings. But for now give me Black'n'White anyday.

it really is simple

Every once in a while God has to kick my bum and remind me of the simplicity of it all. It really is just about LOVE. About loving God, loving others and loving self.
Lord help me today to love others in a way that reflects your immense love for each of us. And Lord thanks for reminding me once again of the simplicity of it all.

lovemarks quote 2

"Stop racing after every new fad and focus on making consistent, emotional connections with consumers. If you stand for nothing, your fall for everything."
Lovemarks, p.36.

two extremes

It seems to me there are two extremes when determining if something is true.
There is the gullible extreme where a person accepts everything. Or there is the other extreme of scepticism whereby nothing is believed without a high level of evidence.
The problem with the first is that it switches the brain off. It doesn't use the gifts of intellect we have all been given and encouraged to use.
The problem with the second is that it is founded on a false premise. The sceptic says that I won't believe it unless there is lots of evidence. But how does one determine what evidence is credible. In the end the sceptic makes an assumption that for example 'seeing is believing'. But where is the evidence for this?
In the end I believe we should seek to avoid both extremes. We should seek to believe those things that seem reasonable while we continue to probe and challenge and test.
I like that idea that Francis Schaeffer puts forward. That we need to test our beliefs against the experience of how we live life. For example we believe in gravity because it matches our everyday of experience.
I personally believe in that Jesus is God and follow him as such because my reading of the bible makes sense of my everyday life.
I find it hard to understand the how a person who believes we are just the result of chance can get upset when they find themselves lonely, because surely if we are merely an accident then truly we are alone in the universe.

makes me think

Just got back from Blackstump which is a huge Christian Festival where I heard Tony Campolo. Tony makes me laugh and at the same time slips a knife through my heart and changes me.
The thing that got me this time is when he talked about Jesus healing. He made the point the even the healing Jesus performed was transitory. For example he raised Lazarus from the dead, but Lazarus died again.
Tony's point was as amazing as the healings were, the primary point was that healing was always an expression of his profound love. He loved therefore he acted in power. His love is the primary issue, the act of power in healing is important but secondary to his love.
Though I may never raise someone from the dead I can at the very least be motivated to act out of love to do all I can.
The question for me today is whether I am prepared to love others no matter the cost - because that is the example Jesus calls me to follow.