It’s been interesting reading some of the old entries on the blog. I’ve now been in the US for almost 2 years. Things have certainly turned out a little different to what we had thought they would be like. Not neccessarily worse or better, just different.
Actually, there are some blessings that we have now that we had not anticipated which kind of make things better in some respect. Being able to buy a house for instance would be an example of this, and of course being given the opportunity to get started on a vision that, at least on my part, has been 15 years or so in the making (namely planting a church). So, in a lot of respects things are better than what we planned – God is good.
But what I was more referring to was being happy – like Paul says in Phil 4:11 that he has learnt to be content whatever the circumstances. If it had been God’s will that what we had a orginally planned had actually materialized then I’m confident I would still be happy. This is not say I don’t think there are things that could be better, for instance my work situation is a little more stressful then I would like, but although we tend to think of life as a journey we often forget what the eventual destination is and we get hung up on reaching or not reaching certain milestones and in doing so we miss out on the joy. For me, I believe my destination has already been set and is secure, not because of my own merit but because of what Christ has done. What I don’t know is the road God will take me to get to its eventual end, in the meantime I would do well to keep taking each step as my path is lit and to pay attention to the scenery as we go along.
Gorgeous and I put on a farewell concert for our friends and family over the weekend. It was great to have everyone together and have a chance to speak words of appreciation and encouragement. Among others, we sung some that I have written over the years that have been used in various churches including our current fellowship.
This one was written about 10 years ago. I don’t recall the circumstances surrounding how it was written but the sentiment ten years on hasn’t changed. All sorts of things can befall us in life, good things and bad things, some as a result of our own actions, some because the sun and the rain fall on everyone (Matthew 5:45). All these different experiences can be used as an excuse to move away from God OR to come before once again and put Him in His rightful place and offers ourselves to Him (Romans 12:1).
We’re in the final stages of leaving now so that involves a lot of saying good bye to various people. We had our last Sunday at our church this weekend and in the afternoon we put on a bit of a concert for our friends and family. At one point during the day I was talking to some more senior members of the church and one thing they said, “well I guess we might not see you again” meaning if and when we return they might no longer be living. The wife quickly corrected herself saying, but of course we will see each other again.
What a wonderful hope we have, it makes me wonder whether we truly live with the hope or do we at times slip into “grieving like the heathen”. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 And I mean that no just in the sense of people dying but also in our attitude towards the things of this world.
I think it’s a bit a stretch to accuse 6 month old children of lying and some of the comments take the fuzziness of the science to task but here’s an interesting link that gets you thinking just what might be going on in that little tikes brain.
As a worship (as in music) leader in my church I often think about what is “true worship” and also the context in which it occurs and how to foster it. It’s likely to be something I come back to frequently, so since this blog is kind of a big mind map for me (which you get to peek into) I thought I’d better get a starting point.
This is what I wrote recently in a letter expressing interest in some church jobs in California that might be available and just sharing a little bit about my attitude / approach to ministry.
One of the local news web sites I visit is NZ Herald. They’ve recently started some blogs as part of their site. Just a variation on the old opinion columns really. Anyway, this morning one of their headings caught my eye. The blog it was part of is called “Blonde At The Bar” and is obviously one person’s take on relationships and the singles scene in Auckland. Most definitely not coming from a Christian perspective, but having browsed through some of the old posts provides some interesting insight into the mind of the “modern woman” (well, at least one of them).
At the end of 2006 in faith we started a process that, Lord willing, will soon be completed. Well, at least the first stage of it anyhow. Those of you who also follow Gorgeous’s blog will be aware that we have been preparing to move to the US in order for me to begin working towards a Masters degree at a seminary in San Francisco.
Notice (maybe) that when you hover over Scripture passages on this blog it displays the verses in a little box? Just in case, you haven’t noticed try it now with this reference : John 3:16.
In the last post I quoted 1 Thessalonians 5:17. It made me remember something a worked out one time. If I remember correctly I was sitting on a ferry going from Shenzhen to Zhuhai (near Hong Kong). I was thinking about 2 Peter 3:8.
We’re currently in the final stages (hopefully) of shifting to the US. It means a lot of things but because we are only planning to take what we can fit in our 9 pieces of luggage we take on the plane (plus a three drawer filing cabinet that will be shipped over) we’re having to sort through all our stuff and see what makes the cut. We’re also emphatic that my parents only get lumbered with the minimum of things that they need to store on our behalf (mostly it’s financial records that have to be kept for seven years for tax purposes at which point they can be thrown out) which means anything that isn’t coming with us needs to be either sold, given away or disposed of in some fashion.
The light is often ridiculed. The name “Christian” was actually originally intended as an insult – it meant “little Christ”. I guess the best contemporary example we might have might someone being called a “goody two shoes”. The ironic thing about this is for a believer such a comment (being called a little Christ) might be considered the highest of praise! To be known as someone who mirrors Christ, wow that’s something to aspire to!
Some people “shine”. And I don’t mean in a show off “look at me” fashion. I’m talking about people that just by hanging around with them you can feel one of two things or indeed sometimes both simultaneously. The first feeling is often one of immense encouragement and/or peace. This is a person who is simply a pleasure to be with, you’re comfortable being yourself and somehow they invariably bring out the best in you. However, often simultaneously, you also somehow feel that unwittingly they are pointing out your obvious failings and you can either be annoyed by it or convicted by it or both.
Jesus was like this. He perfectly balanced the line between showing grace and loving people as they were without ignoring how far they fell short of God’s standard and exhorting them to make changes in their life. It is this light that the world doesn’t understand and indeed can be threatened by it. Many stand as self righteous islands of legalism unprepared to allow anyone a second chance and paint grace as namby pambyism OR stand as self righteous islands of relativistic pursuit of pleasure railing against judgementalist, narrow minded thinking.
The light of Christ falls on both camps and neither stands up to scrutiny because the self righteousness is revealed to be without substance.
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