You've Been Robbed!

There I was, walking along listening to my favorite podcasts on a beautiful late summer morning walk when all of a sudden I hear a voice from behind me. I turned to find a man in his mid 30's with a deeply concerned look on his face. As he spoke I immediately knew he was from South Africa by his accent and that he was not too happy about his current state of affairs. It seems that for whatever reason he had left his van unlocked during the night and for whatever reason he had left his wallet in there as well. In his hand he held his driver’s license and he was asking me if I had seen the rest of his wallet long the path I had taken for my walk. Apparently, what had happened is that when he went to hop into his van to go to work he noticed the door was ajar. He immediate made a search only to discover that his wallet was missing. He looked around, walked into a little park area where he noticed his driver’s license in the grass. He went a little further and discovered another piece of ID from his wallet. Evidently the thief had decided to chuck whatever he didn’t want from the wallet as he fled the scene of his crime. He told me his name and asked that if I see his wallet that I return it to him and I assured him that I would. We parted ways and i never saw his wallet along the rest of my journey home.
Theft is such a violation. Someone else invades your space and takes what belongs to you when you are not looking and makes it their own. The worst part about it is that they do this when you least expect it! You lock your vehicle 6 nights in a row and the 7th night you forget and that is the night someone decides to break in and steal from you.
Jesus used the image of a thief to describe what life is like. He stated that it is like a thief bent only on stealing from us, killing us and destroying us. But he said that he was the exact opposite of that. He claimed that he had come to give us life and that this life was not like anything that we’ve experienced before in this world. It is real life, more and better life than we could ever have dreamed of. He seems to be saying that anything less than what he was offering is a thief come to rip you off!
That is quite a claim. In fact the more you investigate Jesus the more you find him making these outlandish claims. As someone else has said, either Jesus was a lunatic, a liar or he was indeed telling us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!
Perhaps this week you could check into a local church near you and examine for yourself these claims.
I know you won’t feel like you just got robbed!

Breaking up the Fallow Ground

Our church moved it worship service from the traditional Sunday morning time slot to not so traditional (for us anyway) Saturday evening. As a family we really like this and are enjoying the change very much. So far my Sunday mornings have been relaxing and enjoyable and slow paced which is such a huge change of pace for me. I have preached on Sunday mornings for the past 17 years and so I have to admit a fleeting bit of uneasy guilt that comes over me every once in a while. Fortunately I can easily dismiss it as I take another sip from my coffee cup.

This morning however, I took advantage of a Sunday morning off to visit another church. Something I have wanted to do but just never got around to it until this morning. It was great to just go, relax, and take in the worship and hear a good message from the bible without having to give oversight to anything at all.

The message was just right for me. It comes from an ancient prophet named Hosea. He was writing to inspire the people back then (as well as us today) that it takes preparation from us as we understand and anticipate that God is desirous of birthing a new thing in us. The passage is found in Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

This struck a chord in my heart this morning. Fallow ground is just ground that has not been used for a while. It is good ground; it is just not ready for seed to be dropped into it. This can be like our lives. God is asking us to prepare ourselves, make ourselves ready to receive his new and often amazing plans for us. I see it as prayer, fasting, meditating on the passages of the Bible with a renewed sense of urgency.

I must begin anew to prepare myself for what it is the Lord is about to do in my life and the lives of those around me. I am excited to see where this will take me.

A Meandering Chat

Today I had a lunch date with my girlfriend. It has been a while since we just sat and enjoyed a nice sub sandwich and chatted about whatever jumped into our heads. I like how our conversation snaked its way along heading in one direction then another, then back the other way. There is something relaxing about a meandering chat. It was interrupted easily by whatever came along, a mouthful of sub or a cute little olive skinned girl or a slurp from the straw to wash down the food. I thoroughly enjoy the generally easy going nature of our relationship.

Cheryl and I will have been married 21 years in June this year and from where I am sitting it seems like just a few! Age has been very kind to her as she is even more beautiful than the first day we met.... now you know where my girls get it from!

The Legend of St. Valentine dates back as far as the mid third century AD. He was a priest who opposed the emperor Claudius II when he made a law that young men should remain single in order to build his army. Claudius thought that married men were not good soldiers so the order came down. But Valentine refused this order and secretly performed many marriages for the young men. Of course he was caught, arrested jailed and eventually martyred for his efforts. However, as legend would have it, he apparently performed a miracle and healed the daughter of the Roman Jailor at some point before he met his end. It was to this young woman that he scribbled one of his last notes addressing her as his beloved and then signing as "from your Valentine”.

Whether this story is the whole truth or part truth or just legend were not certain. The only thing we know for sure from the records is that there were several St. Valentines who suffered martyrdom for their faith during those early church years. This story comes from St. Valentine of Rome and is the one that most credit with the tradition of St. Valentine’s Day.

Whatever the case may be, I hope you have taken some time lately just to enjoy the special other person in your life. Somehow, I believe in our rush around world we forget to show appreciation to the ones we love most. Even if you missed Valentine’s Day don’t worry about it, just get out there and enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee or something of that nature and have a meandering chat.

Happy belated Valentine’s Day Sweetie!

FIRE & BLAME!

I'm asking the Lord for rain for our neighbours across the ditch (Tasman Sea) who are continuing to battle not just the fires but the aftermath and destruction that follows those blazing hillsides. Whole town’s swallowed up as folks scramble to get out while they can... some overtaken by flames while fleeing in their cars! As the death toll climbs our hearts continue to go out to the families of those who are suffering the loss of family and friends. Not to mention the total sense of despair of those who have lost it all on top of the loss of human life. No words can say enough to bring any sort of relief. I suppose it does bring some measure of comfort just knowing that much of the rest of humanity is standing behind them to do what they can to help.
They say that South-eastern Australia becomes like a tinder box every 10-20 years as a cycle of weather patterns brings about the extremely dry conditions that make such an inferno possible. Now we are learning that this particular fire appears to have been the work of people, whether intended or not, and not a natural cause such as lightening. So now a massive hunt is on to bring some sense of justice if indeed it was set by someone. We need to hold somebody responsible for this mess either God or some person.
It seems human beings need to be able to sooth themselves through finding someone or something to blame. Don’t get me wrong; if there has been foul play then justice must be meted out. But I am speaking in simple generalities. Finding someone to blame for problems, pain, suffering, tragedy or just the trouble we find ourselves in is like a finely tuned craft that each of us is exceptionally gifted at. NOT taking responsibility for something we’ve done is as common as Marmite on toast!
Why are we like this? Why is my first reaction to flee the scene of a minor fender bender in a car park if no one is watching! Why not just take the blame, accept responsibility and the consequences for my actions?
The bible says that this type of attitude is the direct result of sin. A kind of proof if you like that each of us can act out like this even on our best days! It is proof as well that we need outside help with this problem as no amount of positive thinking or therapy can get us to abandon this stubborn streak within.
There is so much more that could be said but why not check it out for yourself by picking up a bible and giving it a read. If understanding it is what you’re looking for then perhaps connect with a church near you for some assistance. I wouldn’t blame you!

How do you see the world?

This past weekend we took a step back in pace and made our way over to the Island of Waiheke (why-he-key). A short 35 minute ferry ride full of scenery that defies description. (http://www.waihekenz.com/index.html> if you want to check out some of this beauty) By 'we' I mean my family and a friend who is visiting with us from Canada. We went over to enjoy the beauty, the people, an outdoor sculpture walk and annual horse races held on Onetangi (Owe-knee-tan-gee) Beach. The day was without a single disappointment!

The island reminds me of home back in Canada so much. It is like taking a drive from Kelowna to Osoyoos with brown rolling hills scorched from the hot summer sun with many patches of deep green from well watered vineyards. The pace of the island is like slamming the brakes on compared to the rush rush of Auckland and for that reason alone it is most enjoyable.

The place was full of people from all walks of life and from many of the nations of the world. It seems like the local population must at least double from the sleepy 8000 or so island inhabitants during the peak tourist season. That means the place is buzzing with packed, hot, sticky busses running late, shuttles services and taxi’s taking people to the various bays and beaches to enjoy the activates.

Finding a shady spot on Onetangi beach with its limited tree coverage was a challenge but we did manage. The water was turquoise and warm and the big waves coming in added an extra bonus of fun for the girls as they enjoyed their time there. We got there only to witness a couple of horse races down the beach but the girls were not too disappointed as they got to do a little beach shopping in the booths provided as a part of race day.

The sculpture walk was really terrific. It is 2 kilometers of hills along the shore line. Some very creative works were on display and everyone seemed to enjoy it. The heat was a bit much at times but ice cold water in our water bottles helped sooth us and kept us hydrated.

Along the way an interesting conversation was struck about how differently we all view the world. Our guest saw the world through words, she likes to write, and she sees the world through a written description. My daughter and my wife see the world through pictures, photographs to be exact. They look at each thing as through a lens. I see the world as people. I love people watching (something there was no shortage of during our trip to Waiheke and back).

Having said this I must hasten to add that I also see the world as a bull horn; a loud speaker shouting in every tongue, in every nook and granny of the globe, the glory of the divine. The absolute majesty, brilliance and wisdom that could only come from an intelligent designer created all this wonder. It is well past even what our most creative minds could imagine. The sculptures were good but compared to the natural beauty of the setting around them, not even close.

Perhaps today, you could ask a friend how they see the world and enjoy the conversation over a meal or cup of tea or coffee.