The Sign of Christmas

This Christmas we’ve heard two really good Christmas messages.  One was on-board the ship on Christmas Eve day by an Anglican Rector from Wellington who talked of our need for a Saviour to lead us out of the terrible situation we all find ourselves in.  The second was at a Christmas Day Mass at a little Catholic church in Akaroa (just south of Christchurch NZ) and was also about our need for a Saviour to save us from ourselves and our sin.  Both messages were distinctly Kiwi complete with stories from All Black rugby hero’s to beached whales trying to be rescued from off the beaches in the Bay of Islands.  Both focused our attention squarely on our need for a saviour, which I would reckon is what the Christmas narrative is, at its heart, all about.  The whole account is meant to be a sign to all humanity that God was breaking into human history in the most incredible and undeniably unique way.   The fanciful story of a young Jewish maiden named Mary who had never been with a man was found to be pregnant through a miraculous act of God the Holy Spirit.  Also, the sign of a sky filled with angels all praising God and saying ‘Glory to God in the Highest’ after announcing to a bunch of bewildered shepherds the sign of a saviour born in Bethlehem wrapped in strips of cloth normally used for embalming the dead and lying in a feed trough normally used, well, as a feed trough and not a crib. The sign that this extraordinary virgin birth was not solely for the little nation of Israel but also for the whole world was a unique star in the sky that drew wise men from the east that apparently travelled years in order to come and present their gifts to this little child and worship him as a King.  The sign of all the little Jewish boys in a little insignificant town called Bethlehem being slaughtered by an evil jealous king and all the moms and dads who wept over this outrageous violent act. This unusual nativity story was recorded for us all, not so much that we could celebrate the birth of Jesus by spending time with family and friends exchanging gifts and feasting, but rather to see the signs and read the signs of what God had promised throughout the ages as coming true.  A promise he made to Adam and Eve, a promise he continued to remind his people of throughout the ages through his priests, prophets and kings who kept this promise and its hope alive.  The Christmas story then is less for our entertainment and more about awakening faith in all who hear it, sing of it, and read it as God shows us the signs that he has been roused to activity.  The marvellous activity He began of redeeming the lost and sinful world back to himself through the only begotten pre-existent Son of God who would take on human likeness and be the saviour of the whole world.  This wonderful narrative is meant to be one giant sign that the program to set us all right and save us from our sinful condition actually had a starting moment, just as he promised it would, through a little virgin named Mary betrothed to a carpenter named Joseph.  How could they/we miss these rich and abundant signs that our saviour has come just as God had promised he would?

Relaxing can be Hard Work!

Slowing down sounds good and in most ways inviting yet there is a darker side to getting away from it all and that is the serious effort it takes to actually stay away from it all.  Often I have found that whenever I take personal retreats it takes several hours just to slow my mind and heart down enough that I could actually say that they were calm.   I hear parents on a regular basis tell their out-of-control child to “calm down” which is usually followed either a threat of some sort of punishment or some form of reassurance that things will be “OK” eventually.  Then there are the people who are built to relax by being busy doing something other than work.  Just the thought of sitting around doing nothing hangs around their necks like a death sentence!  But even these eager beavers need to learn the art of “calming down”.  Several times in the Bible God has to tell his people to “be still” or in other words “calm down”, calm your mind, calm your heart, calm your fears, calm your worries, calm you anxieties, calm your hands, calm your feet, really take a deep breath, stop looking at your watch or phone for the time, and work at calming yourself down.  I think our modern age of text messaging, emails, mobile phones, tablets, iPads, laptops and personal computers does not help the situation.  In fact, if memory serves me correct I seem to think that these gadgets originally were meant to give us more time for what is important but in the end I believe they steal more time away from what is important.  It is a never ending flow and pursuit of information and it can interrupt us at any time, even in the middle of good conversation, or alone time, when the notification goes off on the phone it just became the top priority.  All these distractions can make getting away and staying away really difficult.  When the Children of Israel were facing the Red Sea in front and mountains to the sides and the Egyptian horde racing towards them armed to the teeth God said, “Calm Down!”  When the people of God heard the Word of God taught for the first time in a long time they kept weeping to the point where God told them to “Calm Down!”  When the people were fretting because it appeared that evil people were succeeding God told them to “Calm Down!”  When war was raging all around and the people of God were fearful God said “Calm Down!”  The Psalm writer reminds us that it is not solely about calming down it is about placing your situation, the stress, the worry, the fear, the emotional rollercoaster, the enemy that attacks or the friend who betrays, the overwhelming work load, family stress, financial drain, or physical ailment, anything really, directly into God’s hands and waiting patiently for him without fretting. (Ps.37:7)  The art of calming down is really the art of trusting God.   It is this simple yet profound truth that brings our heart rate down, decreases our blood pressure and actually enables us to calm down.

Lord Help Me Be Like Job

Today I was thinking about my three daughters.  They truly are my pride and joy and I am so delighted with their launch into their 20's with a light-hearted joy, wisdom from on high and a living faith in Christ that is full of purity, grace and truth to carry them on through this often tumultuous season of life.  But I am never far away from how Job felt about his own children many thousands of years ago.   Job had 7 sons and daughters and through no fault of his own they were suddenly swept away in a tragic demonic storm while they all celebrated together.  However, prior to this happening it tells of us of the faithful practices of Job on behalf of his children.  The scripture states that Job "was the greatest man among all the people of the East.  His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.  When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. Three things I have tried to incorporate from Job's experience into my own fathering techniques.  One is that he let them live life.  He didn't interfere or corral them or shush or shun them.  Instead he embraced their youthful ways, blessed them and sought to father them through them.  The second is as important as the first.  He knew the significance of a pure heart that comes from prayer and worship.  Fun is important, especially when you are young before the days of trouble come, but faith is the bedrock of life and it is essential to remember your creator in the days of your youth.  He regularly brought them back to reality, and that reality is firmly centred around the throne of God.  Finally, and I really like this comment, this way of expressing his fatherly guidance was his regular custom.  It was his habit and I have striven to make this my habit as well.  This is my prayer for me.  That I would be like Job, one of the greatest men in the entire East who was more than a business man and more than a wealthy man, he was a great man of faith and a great father.  Lord help me be like Job.

A Loud Song in the Morning

This week as I was going for my daily walk to the local gym I had one of the most unusual experiences that I’ve had in a while.  It was a beautiful summer morning and there were several others out walking and enjoying the fresh morning air.  But there was one man in particular that was catching all of our attention.  This particular man was walking towards me waving his arms around and making a kind of dance move with his feet and hips as he glided along the pathway.  While that was noteworthy and it was at first the reason he stood out there was more.  Even though he was some distance away, and even through the sound of my own huffing and puffing up the hill, I thought I could hear him singing.  As the distance between us closed my suspicions were confirmed. Yes, this man was singing as he walked or rather danced along the walkway.  I don’t just mean mumbling at tune under his breath, he was quite literally singing at the top of his lungs.  I didn’t recognise the tune and it was not until he was much closer that I realised that he was singing in a foreign language.  It was such a shock I actually didn’t know where to look as he approached.  I thought he would tone it down a wee bit as I got closer to his airspace but he never let up even for a second.  And he had a really good voice too.  He had perfect pitch and he had obviously had some formal training, which is possibly why I could hear him at first from such a great distance. Where does one look in these kinds of moments? Should I just stare at him as he waved his arms around and sung as though he was in the deep woods with no one around to see or hear him?  I ended up just looking at his left hand and when he took a breath as he passed by I said quickly, “it’s nice to hear a man singing in the morning just because he can!”  To which he responded, “thank you!”   I kept going toward the gym and he kept going in the opposite direction singing at the top of his lungs.  Like I said it was one of the most unusual experiences I’ve had in a long while.   I thought about this man off and on throughout my day.  He was enjoying himself as he sung his happy song and I must admit, that even though I found it odd, I too was enjoying myself as he walked away continuing his song. It just so happens that recently in my regular reading of scripture I read Psalm 40:1-3, I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God…”  Now, I have no idea why this man was singing, perhaps this song was placed in his mouth as a hymn of praise to our God.  And perhaps, the song was also for my benefit, simply to bring a smile across my face and a reminder across my heart of God’s graciousness towards us.  What he has done should put a song of praise, a spontaneous, heart-felt, and passionate response that just can’t help but spill over the brim of our hearts, rush past our vocal chords, setting loose our tongues and lips in a spur of the moment song of praise sung back to God as if he were the only one listening. Think maybe I'll give that a try next time I go for a walk! 

All things Are Possible Part 2

In the last blog the challenge laid out before us in scripture is not just to believe that the audacious stories of God’s power being displayed on behalf of the prayers of his people happened but to believe that they still can happen and even more so, happen in our lives right here and right now.  This week I would like us to focus on a couple more passages to assist us in this kind of thinking and living.  This first passage sets the bar very high and pushes us to recalibrate what it is we really want God do in our lives, families and churches.  In 1 John 5:14-15 it reads, This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.  Now go back and re-read that verse, does this describe your prayer life?  Do you have confidence to ask anything in his will and know that we will have what we ask of him?  The key to this kind of confidence is not by working up your own desire to really believe but rather this confidence comes from knowing God’s will.  This tells me that I need to know the word of God, the written and revealed will of the Almighty more and more.  I need to bath my mind and heart in God’s promises and the history of his actions on behalf of his praying people.  As I soak my mind and heart in these stories my confidence will grow as I uncover and discover the kinds of things God wants me to ask him for.  This is what it means in Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.  This verse is found in a passage where Paul is explaining that we may have zeal for God but without knowledge of his will it is futile.  The word of Christ is meant to inform our faith which then increases confidence and zeal for our faith .
Therefore this second passage should be one that brings us hope which will lead to confidence.   It is found in James 5:17-18, Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.  No doubt all of us who know anything about Elijah honor him as a great prophet of God.  No doubt we believe that this kind of praying could be done by such a man.  However, did you notice the first part of the verse, he was in fact just like the rest of us!  This is meant to give us confidence when we pray.  We can pray mighty prayers just like Elijah did who even prayed that a little boy would come back to life from the dead and he did.  This is our promise.  This is our confidence.  This is for our lives today.  Go and read the entire story found in 1 Kings 18 and I know you will be inspired to pray like Elijah.  But before we leave this topic there is one more important thing to notice.   James mentioned that Elijah prayed earnestly and 1 Kings 18 fleshes this out in verses 42-44.   This kind of praying is hard work.  One simple question puts it all into perspective.  What if Elijah had stopped praying after the 6th time?  We must come to grips with this truth.  Praying confidently gives us endurance to keep praying until we see God’s will done in our midst.  Sadly, I think most of us do not see great things done through our prayers because we stop after 3 or 4 attempts and so we do not see God grant us what we have asked of him.  We need to ask the Lord the same thing his disciples did in Luke 11:1, “Lord teach us to pray!”  Amen.

All Things Are Possible Part 1

Lately I have been thinking more and more about the impossible.  I've been asking questions like, what in my life seems impossible to me.  Will I ever gain victory over this or that? Is a particular relationship ever going to change or always remain cold and extremely delicate?  What are the areas of my life that are simply in survival mode rather than full of vision and passion?  Have I stopped believing God for the impossible and would rather settle for the possible?  Am I more committed to complacency and being comfortable rather than taking risks and looking for new challenges?  Have there been things the Holy Spirit has asked me to do that I have said no to so often that He no longer asks me?  In my prayer life have I stopped asking for more or have I just settled into a routine that works for me and soothes my conscience? 

I think these questions are healthy for any Christian to ask.  If we believe that Christ is in our midst, and if we believe he wants to show us more of his greatness and reveal more of his desire for us so we can reach our full potential as his children, and if we believe that the Jesus we knew in 2013 wants us to know more of himself in 2014, if we really believe these things, then spending time asking and seeking out the answers to questions like those listed above is essential. 

Sometimes I tend to shy away from the audacious and often hard to believe situations and statements found in the scriptures.   Not that I don’t believe they happened like the Bible says they did but more like believing these types of things could happen in my life.  Like when Moses believed God for a way forward through the Red Sea when the people of Israel were trapped by mountains and the Egyptian army was coming down on them fast; or when Joshua was in a ferocious battle against five armies at one time and needed extra time in the day to gain the victory and believed God could make the sun stand still; or just like Daniel who trusted that God would take care of him and his friends choosing not to eat the kings regulated and choice foods but instead ate vegetables and water even though they knew the king could have them killed for such an action.  Or how about crazy ol’ Peter who asked permission from Jesus to step out of the boat and walk on water and then actually did! Do I really believe in what Jesus meant when he said in Matt 17:20 "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."   This challenges me.  When Jesus said nothing will be impossible for you, was he thinking of me?  Is there a level of Christian faith that is so broad and so much deeper than I currently have that actually believes that perhaps nothing could be impossible for me?  I want to get there, I want to grow in this area of my life and I want as many people as I can to come along with me.  How about you? Can we together believe God for what appears to be impossible?  I say, let’s give it a go shall we!