Go Fetch

I'm wondering how much we can really accomplish accidentally. This is the dilemma that crops up in mid-life crisis - suddenly you're 35 and all the great things that were going to happen never happened. In clear contrast to this we have a guy like Joshua saying to the Israelites that the land is ready to be taken and conquered. That wasn't a natural consequence of what they were presently doing, but a deliberate step out into the realm of possibility rather than inevitability. I also remember Paul's challenge to Timothy not to be timid but to have the spirit of power, love and self-discipline. These three define a fantastic approach to life: to have the Joshua type of boldness, but not without the sensitivity of love and the self-discipline of sticking to the line despite your determination being challenged.

Walking on Air

Hebrews 10 closes with an exhortation to step out in faith and not to shrink back. It's like we're being asked to step off the plane and to walk on the clouds. When you're looking out the plane window at those big chunks of cotton wool floating in the sky, you can easily be forgiven for wanting to jump off the plane and land on them. In some ways faith is like that. You can conceptualise what it might be like to walk the life that's promised, but there's something in you that wants more concrete evidence. Unlike clouds which we know are not walkable, here the Bible is talking about a walk on something which does really hold you up. Your mind asks: can it be done? But here God is urging us to go for it.

What is Greatness?

I guess greatness is tied in with success, and the many definitions of success vary widely. Some see success as an absolute, such as winning the Olympic sprints, while others see success as relative, such as a paralysed man walking the same distance. What is more difficult for Christians is that sometimes what we regard as success needs to be laid on the altar, so that God can do through our lives what He has in mind. That right now is my juggle. I long to do great things and achieve "greatness", but I feel the ever-present need to lay my life down and say like Jesus, "Not my will but Your will be done". What I expect in faith is this: as I conform to God's image, my ideas of greatness will change and I will do things for God that are indeed great, but not in the way I had originally imagined.

The New Wisdom

I've been thinking about my future and all the "great" things I want to do with my life, but I've got one Scripture just gnawing away at all the dreams, wriggling its way in and making itself heard: he who wins souls is wise. It's an incredible command, because it carries no value if you think naturalistically. It doesn't seem to bring anything to the economy, it doesn't seem to feed people or heal them of diseases. Of course, it does if you argue that lifestyles change and miracles happen when people become Christians, but from a naturalist mind, it doesn't seem obvious. It's an incredible leap of faith to be obedient in that way, to give up dreams and just preach God. And even more frightening is that you often won't even see the fruit of what you're doing. Can I do anything else though? God is sovereign and what He chooses for me supercedes everything else, because it actually is the best thing for me.

Did You Know?

What a promise in Hebrews 8:11, that with the new covenant ushered in by Jesus, we can know God, rather than needing to teach each other. Imagine the pre-Jesus time when you were just living according to a written law and your life was laid out for you in straight lines by the laws of the sacrifices, the procedures of the tabernacle and the ten commandments. Suddenly all of that is washed away and we have a new kind of walk with God where our walk is governed internally. We now have God's Spirit in us, guiding us each step of the way, rather than some external tradition. An incredible privilege and a far more natural way to live. Just as amazing is that a new-born believer can know God's way just by the inner conviction of the Holy Spirit, without even having to learn a rule.

Feeding the Five Billion

I've been pondering my efforts to tell my work colleagues about God and I was encouraged by the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. The essence of this example is that the disciples could only make a small contribution of five loaves and two fish and Jesus multiplied it. My prayer is that God will do the same for me, that as I give the little bit that I can, God will multiply that and do amazing things at my workplace.

Just to Love

In wanting to share Jesus with people, it can become perplexing for me to figure out how to act. What do I say? How do I act? What side of me should I show, the visionary, the chilled sloth or the flexiglass? In all of this I suddenly realise what the real objective is: just to love people. Isn't it amazing how even in trying to help people we could become more concerned with how we come across and what we need to do? Loving people is an advanced concept, meaning that simply being kind without actually sharing the Gospel is not always good enough, but at least we can lay a platform of just valueing somebody and wanting to bless them. That seed of sincerity opens the way for everything else.

An Anchor for the Soul

I was just captivated by that statement in Hebrews 6:19, "an anchor for the soul". What an incredible statement! I'm sure you can empathise with me when I say that some mornings I can hardly get out of bed, and some days are just tedious. Then other days am running like a rushing river and the clouds could burst into colourful confetti at any moment. There's one constant that ties it all together, that gives me direction, provides reasons for the seasons and method in the madness. I can face the weather because I have an anchor, an anchor for the soul. And it's a strong anchor!

Solid Food

I enjoy the description in Hebrews 5:14 about solid food. It says: solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. That's another way of describing wisdom. The ability to tell the difference between a foolish action that will lead into sin and a wise action that will bring long term good is not always immediately obvious. Even when we are faced with what seems to be an obvious choice, in our short-term thinking we'll go for the easier option. "Easier" is the important word here, because the more you exercise making wise choices by sheer discipline, the more clear the basic choices become.

Dive Without Reason

Christianity presents an incredible conundrum: to believe when we don't have absolute, scientifically-proven, formulaic reason. I know there's been a big move in recent years to challenge the convention that Christianity can't be reasoned out, but I still find myself leaning toward the idea that there are gaps that are not easily filled out. It seems an incredible indictment against our religion, and my usual answer is to say that you can't prove scientifically what doesn't fall into the realm of science. In other words, science deals with the natural world, whereas the spiritual realm is like another dimension in which we're dealing. Unfortunately, that's not always comforting to a mind seemingly born in a natural world - it equates to a big washover. But here I am again reading in Hebrews 4:2 that the message was of no value to some hearers because they didn't mix it with faith. Faith is of course redundant when reason alone is used. Maybe faith can be stirred by reason, but at some stage you just take the dive, and the beauty of it all is when your dive takes you into a world you may never have imagined in your process of reasoning.

Some Things Must Die

Some time in 2005 as I was counting up all the songs I had written and guarded and nourished over the years, I finally faced up to the realisation that many of my songs were never going to be used beyond the bedroom where I had created them. All that time I had been fiddling with them, dreaming about them, hearing the bands playing them. I accepted that many would just die a quiet death. It was such a pointed realisation that I decided to write another song about it! I called it "Some things must die". I guess that's a little haunting as a song title, and I'm pretty sure that song will also never get out of the bedroom where it was written! Nevertheless, it's true. I've learnt more and more in my last few months that in so many situations you just have to learn to "die". It comes when you're being treated unfairly and there is no reasonable action against it. It comes as the best means to solve many arguments. It comes as you learn to prioritise your life and go for max. And as importantly it comes when you learn to fight sin and to deny the flesh. In no example do we see it more clearly than in Jesus' death on the cross, and in Paul's motto: to live is Christ, to die is gain.

A Question of Attraction

It's tricky making sense of our attraction to the opposite sex while being showered by a mass of media. If you watch enough Hollywood movies you begin to assume that what is projected is the norm. Even then, different movies emphasize different types of romantic relationships, ranging from the lewdness of Basic Instinct to the healthy depth of The Family Man. The Bible does have some good advice on relationships, but it leaves a lot of space for personal interpretation. Subsequently, some Christians feel no guilt in a little bit of flirting or appreciating bodily beauty. With some contemplation, I've come to the conclusion that it mirrors the question of drinking alcohol. The Bible doesn't seem to forbid drinking altogether, but definitely discourages drunkenness. In the same way, gazing at very attractive people can lead to lust and adultery, but not always. However, just as I'd rather steer far away from the debauched life that is often attached to alcohol, I'd rather just keep things clean and pure in what I think and watch. Maybe I'm missing something I could legitimately enjoy, but in light of the difficulty in knowing where to draw the line, maybe that small price will end up saving me a lot.

The Complete Misconception

It was funny how an atheist taught me something about Christianity that I hadn't really realised. As I was speaking to her, I realised that her understanding reflected a general concept that Christianity is about doing good things to get into heaven or doing bad things and going to hell. This of course is a complete misfocus. The central theme of Christianity is actually the intervention of Jesus to make it possible for anyone to go to heaven. There's a place for doing good things, but that's not the central theme. Jesus walks this path again in Luke 7 with the story of the sinful woman who anointed him with alabaster oil. The pharisees were at pains to point out how sinful she was, and Jesus corrected them by placing the emphasis not on the size of sin but on the beauty of forgiveness. How often do we forget this is as Christians and stumble into our performance mindsets!

Switching Poles

I stumbled across a strange contrast today. I've been reading Case For a Creator by Lee Strobel, highlighting the arguments that point toward the design of our universe by a personal God. One of the key features of the argument is to prove that earth and its setup in our solar system is unique. The opposite is to argue that there are many other situations just like ours which could breed life. Funny then that a cynical view of Christianity is that it puts people down with all the focus on law and do's-and-don'ts. Here the opposite is to argue that people are actually great and beautiful in themselves and capable of greatness in and of themselves. Two seemingly opposite arguments. The truth about Christianity is this, though: that we have been made unique and although we have sinned and fallen short of God, it was for our very uniqueness and importance that God maintained His love for us and died for us.

Expensive Love

Much is said of love that costs you something, but there is one love that will probably cost you more than anything else, and that is a love for God. The Bible says if you love God you will obey His commandments, and any of you who has chased purity and perfection will know just how tall a command that is. It's easy to talk about a oozy-floozy kind of feel-good love, but a love that determinedly obeys in the fiercest circumstances is a deeper measure of your bond to God. It comes as no surprise that the first of the ten commandments is to love God. Everything spins off it, because to love God is to obey, is to do what's right, is to love your neighbour, is to obey all the other commandments. In fact to love God is the biggest challenge you'll ever face. Period.

Enjoying the Journey

This is a lesson I'm learning, dealing with a particular weakness I sometimes show of thinking about where I want to be or need to be and not enjoying the moment. Simple example: you're walking to buy groceries at the supermarket, but you don't think of enjoying the walk on the way. Aha! Now you know what I'm talking about. It seems so trivial, but so true. How much of your life is spent in transition as you think towards what is ahead? In fact, we do the same with our jobs - our thoughts are on the evening fun or the weekend and we wait for the seven or eight hours of work to pass by so we can get to the fun part. If you add it all up, you'll find that an incredibly large amount of your life is spent in transition to something else. We've heard sayings like "life's a journey, enjoy the ride", but have we really grasped just how far that can be followed through? My simple desire is to begin to enjoy the journey more. In some cases that's the literal journey, sitting on a bus, walking down the pavement, but in other cases that includes enjoying things I would never have thought of as enjoyment before, like sweeping the floor or washing the dishes. What a thought!

One More Time

I find it incredible reading at the end of 2 Timothy how Paul keeps pressing Timothy to go yet another mile. What hit home was how Paul was challenging him to be more of an evangelist and to preach the word more. I am challenged because in all my efforts to witness to my colleagues, I still see more place for just being direct and swinging hard. I am pressed to go further than I have ever before, to reach more people than before and to be more daring in taking on and reaching out to more people that could be touched by Jesus. I am constantly being dared to set a higher level of purity and draw new lines in my level of obedience to the Spirit's promptings. It's relentless, but can it be any other way. Can I remain where I am? I have just go to be stronger, wiser, faster, taller and closer to God. Just one extra mile at a time, at least.

Living Unnaturally

Job's response to his troubles makes for an interesting backlash against modern trends in thinking, both in secular and in Christian circles. The "reality TV" movement born on the back of the emergence of Generation X placed a heavy emphasis on being who you are and living "naturally". Contemporary Christian thinking has followed this trend and modern Christian musicians have written a plethora of songs about how messed up they are and how low they're feeling. And in all of this I can witness with the desire to be real and the comfort of operating with what comes intuitively and naturally to you. Truth is, the more we walk that path, the more languid, introspective and stagnant we become. It becomes interesting then to hear Job speaking after all his losses and say: though He slay me, yet will I praise Him. Now this is not a natural response. Why then does this please God? Because we have to face up to the fact that our natural state is of the flesh and is sinful. The command to actively "rejoice always" in Philippians 4 is a step out of the natural and a deliberate choice to reach up in the kind of faith without which we cannot please God. Yes, we can be "natural", but when we realise what "natural" actually is, who would want it?

Trapped in Middle-ocrity

Mid-age crisis is something I can identify with already, and I'm only 28. The first shock to the system comes as you're going through university, sheltered in the system and financed by seemingly infinite resources. You walk through a family neighbourhood and it makes your stomach turn to see "normal" people living out this awful routine: wake up, work, eat, sleep. Family is a small distraction and a bit of TV or golf or shopping is about the sum of variety. Ok, I'm washing over the details, but it still is a bit of shock. Where's life? Where's the real deal, the thing it's all about? And next thing you know, you're trying to get your career going and your mid-30's hit you and for the first time the ship has steadied enough for you to take stock, and you suddenly realise how far you feel from the extravagant dreams of your youth. The message here is simple: what were you doing when you were 28? Or 24? Or 32? The adventure is usually for those who chase it and today is the right day, just like any other. I'm frightened by the prospect of life running away, and although I don't have the energy to change the world in a day, I can do a little each day to make today special.

Put it to Rest

What a conundram spiritual rest is. On one hand, we have this need to rest in God, to just let go of all that tension and striving and put ourselves at God's mercy. And then we have this constant battle against the flesh and that pressure to go out and preach the Gospel and get lost souls into the Kingdom. And what adds to the pressure even more is when you fall into sin and carry the burden of conviction and the extra fight of making up lost ground. It's at times of weariness like that where you just want to let go and fall into God's arms, but the fight doesn't stop, because fresh temptation awaits you. Truth is, the more you engage in the fight, the more realise you can't do it. The fight just cannot be won, because the rule of sin wins when we fight alone. We've lost the battle before we are born and it has taken a proud man like me a long time to learn. There is only one place of constant sustenance and consistency, and that's in God. Even an excessive focus on the method of staying in God's presence can rob us of the very joy of being in His presence. Letting go is an act of trust and act of acknowledgment both of our limitations and of his unlimited provision.

Standing in the Gap

It was touching to read in 2 Timothy 1 of Timothy's heritage. His grandmother and mother were both renowned for their sincere faith and growing up in such an environment, it came as a natural consequence that Timothy had such a faith too. In fact, he became something of a leader among the churches, despite his youth. We're left in little doubt about the value of a sound upbringing, but at the same time we're left to wonder about those that haven't had access to that kind of purity and warmth. And this is where we step into the breach and become at least a small part of what somebody may have. It is true that the older you get, the harder it becomes to change, but people of all ages do have some capacity to change; they just need a motive and a new mold to conform to. Let's be just that. We're challenged to be the mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters with a sincere faith like Timothy's family, influencing those around us and pulling them not closer to us so much as closer to Christ in us.

Bull's Eye

I was hit square on the jaw by truth's sucker punch again today. For a while I've been aware that my "music career" has lacked a real spiritual vision and my efforts to "spiritualise" it more haven't born a great deal of fruit. I was reminded why, and it's a truth I guess I keep having to relearn. It's simply this: it's about focus. I can't make my music more God-centred by focusing on the music, but rather it's me who needs to be more God-centred. What you think is what you become. If I worship God with my whole heart, then my music will too. I also use this truth when dealing with sin. It's amazing how some sins keep us tangled despite our best efforts, but the cure to fixing the problem is not so much to focus on the problem but more to focus on God. You'll hit what you aim for.

That Name

I was listening to a singer-songwriter showcase at a pub in my town this evening. Amazingly, "God" and "Jesus" just kept cropping up the whole evening. What a thought: the very civilisation that would do away with Jesus just can't stop saying His name! First we sang a rip-off of Kumbaya My Lord and then Jesus would be a swear word, God would make another song entry somewhere and then someone would sing about how he wouldn't need his own Jesus Christ because he had a girl. I thought to myself how hard it is to run away from God.