It would seem that recently God has indeed been speaking to me about my time management habits and more than that the noise I make in this time. Its seems evident to me that I would rather turn up the music (whether it be Christian artist or not) than lie on my bed in absolute silence and prayer waiting on the whisper of God’s voice. Even as I type now I have the music playing.
So what is it about us that makes us so uneasy when we are silent, we all have had that time with someone where something was said and then it was followed by a long awkward silence but I have to ask, is it awkward because of the silence or silent because of the awkward statement made? It could well be both.
Its very hard to obtain true silence today, try it right now, turn of all music and close all doors, you will hear the buzzing of your computer or the sound of a sander outside, or the sound of cicadas. It seems that as hard as we try it is very hard to obtain true silence in today’s world but my other objection is if we were to obtain it what would we do with it? Would we start talking to fill it? Or start thinking weird thought’s?
Silence truly is a valuable thing and in 1 Kings 19:11ff we read
“The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Here we see that God was not in the things that would make the most sound, but in this instance of Elijahs personal connection with God, God is in the ‘gentle whisper’ I may be taking this out of context and please notify me if you think I am but I belive that this means that for us and our personal times with God we need to learn how to “Be still” and know that he is God. (Psalm 46:10) after a while we begin to notice how everything is so loud but we seem to prefer this noise over the pure silence. I do not think many of us are able to sustain such silence very easily and if we do it would seem that our impatience gets to us before we get to the silence
So often we all get caught up in the rush of life and in the noise of worship and praise and rarely do we make the effort to have quiet times, to simply take a break from life, to separate ourselves from our present sufferings and sins and to clear our head from all devious thoughts. I truly take my head off to those that meditate properly because it is the art of clearing ones head from all thoughts. I challenge you right now to try lean back in your chair and do absolutely nothing for 30 seconds, no movements, no thoughts.
Its hard isn’t it? And that is why I commend those that meditate not because of what it represents but because they are able to obtain a silence that so few of us get to experience, a silence that is soothing to the soul, a silence that in itself seems to speak volumes to us.
May God give you this soothing silence, may you be able to hear his whispering voice in the outrageous noise of everyday and may we all teach our ears to hear the things that truly matter, that is.
God’s voice.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Purposeful Prayers
Prayer. its always been a difficult are for me, not only because I have to make an effort to actually do it but also because of the (what would seem to us) pointlessness of it. I often think, why bother God knows all our thoughts and choses our words before we even speak them.
but recently I have been getting too many answered prayers to ignore this matter any longer. its not that I don't understand the importance of it or the theology behind it its more to do with the fallibility of my own thought train and my infinite stupidity with comparism to his all-knowing intelligence.
some prayers that have been answered recently for me.
a friend of whom I was praying for, specifically praying that God would make her more interested in my faith so I would have an opportunity to share with her. text me asking 'what made you believe in god'
a person (extreme atheist) that I used to debate with online and prayed a few times that my words would plant seeds into his heart to see him living for Jesus. recently declared his faith for god
the car issues I seem to never escape from I prayed that god would deal with them, rather than me myself trying to fix the problems myself. a Christian brother text me about getting rid of the car for me and only because he saw my parachute bumper sticker and knew I was a fellow brother.
I have had a constant struggle with the idea of leaving god in control of my life, it is only human to want some degree of control in our life because otherwise we feel unsafe, its that degree of uncertainty that scares us. its the thought of what will go wrong that intimidates us, and yet when we think that we are saying to god that we don't trust him to look after us. we are saying that we know better than him and yet it seems every time we take these things into our hands things go wrong, whether it be the small mundane things that irritate us, or the big problems that leave us emotionally burned up again.
I want to share with you a blog thought of the friend online (and now fellow brother)
“Penetrating Perplexity For The Unrequited Dream
Our inner desires inoculated in an elaborate scheme
For the time being it's merely initial sanity evolving into a dream
I've found myself going off the deep end, building everything on a rigid frame
With no self-assurance, I am completely drained
Is it wise to sit around lost?
Is it foolish to redefine cost?
I've stared fearfully for far too long
I have been so weary for so long
and now it is time to penetrate that hazy fog
that fog that has kept me in check for so long”
it would seem that at this point this ex-atheist is drained by the arguments and probably inquiring as to why we are so persistent. It appears at this point that he is unsure of his previous beliefs and wants to ‘penetrate the hazy fog’ the hazy fog that is Christianity in all its complexities.
And now the second blog of his.
“A Seemingly Infinite Road To Bliss
Sometimes I feel just like a gerbil, running around and around in his wheel. Not acknowledging the reality of everything, I'm trapped in this infinite facade of yet another false sense of security on this endless carousel. The characterless vessel of that insensitive, unimaginably uncaring, malevolent, sinister succubus has me paralyzed from the familiar fear of an inevitable, unbearable fall. Her nonsensicalness was obvious, palpable even, but my adolescent, wishful ways have me doomed to attempt to penetrate the obvious reality which imprisons us all.
I don't usually hit the ground running, but then again, it is seldom that I am exuberant with my movements. In random fits of rage I express great vigor, but in dangerous ways. I may sporadically find myself unconsciously putting on a smile as a facade covering up a long history, as well as a recent one, of dreaded memories that I look dispiritedly back upon, but the sad truth still remains. This equation is lacking a certain variable. The substance requires a solvent, or else it is worthless, meaningless. I've admitted defeat to an imaginary antagonizer, asking, begging for a place back home. "Home", being an establishment of a comfortable setting, but anything other than a place of origin. The past is incorrigible, and the future is that of total chaos unless something is done "now". "Now" is a gift, that is why it is called "the present". If I cannot break the barrier of my own disease then I will do anything I can to offer whatever I can to society. If I can't help myself, then that is just the way the cookie crumbles.”
I feel unworthy of ‘analysing’ this as it is his testimony and deserves to be unchanged and not tampered with. All I can say is that it is evident that he has now come to a certain realisation and has humbled himself to be willing to serve others (his last line)
I praise God for his testimony and pray that God continues to work in his life in conforming him to Christ
Already he is facing persecution from his ‘friends’ and I feel in my heart that he will be a great man of God.
Back to the prayer thing… it seems evident that out of the genuine motives God will answer your prayers, whether it takes him 40 years (the case of Abraham) or a mere week (my case this last week)
I believe we need to check our faith if we place any doubt in God, he is the God that created the heavens and the earth, placed every star in its place and calls it by name, knows us inside out and every hair on our head, moulded the mountains so his waters could flow into the depths of his shaped oceans which evaporate and freeze into millions of snowflakes that he designs and then fall again into our civilisation that we have very much tainted.
That goes for me just as much as it does for any reading. We need to place God in total control of our life and let go of our pride, our selfish ambitions, our sense of security that we falsely attain from being in control and I say falsely because we are never secure in our own strength. We never shall be.
but recently I have been getting too many answered prayers to ignore this matter any longer. its not that I don't understand the importance of it or the theology behind it its more to do with the fallibility of my own thought train and my infinite stupidity with comparism to his all-knowing intelligence.
some prayers that have been answered recently for me.
a friend of whom I was praying for, specifically praying that God would make her more interested in my faith so I would have an opportunity to share with her. text me asking 'what made you believe in god'
a person (extreme atheist) that I used to debate with online and prayed a few times that my words would plant seeds into his heart to see him living for Jesus. recently declared his faith for god
the car issues I seem to never escape from I prayed that god would deal with them, rather than me myself trying to fix the problems myself. a Christian brother text me about getting rid of the car for me and only because he saw my parachute bumper sticker and knew I was a fellow brother.
I have had a constant struggle with the idea of leaving god in control of my life, it is only human to want some degree of control in our life because otherwise we feel unsafe, its that degree of uncertainty that scares us. its the thought of what will go wrong that intimidates us, and yet when we think that we are saying to god that we don't trust him to look after us. we are saying that we know better than him and yet it seems every time we take these things into our hands things go wrong, whether it be the small mundane things that irritate us, or the big problems that leave us emotionally burned up again.
I want to share with you a blog thought of the friend online (and now fellow brother)
“Penetrating Perplexity For The Unrequited Dream
Our inner desires inoculated in an elaborate scheme
For the time being it's merely initial sanity evolving into a dream
I've found myself going off the deep end, building everything on a rigid frame
With no self-assurance, I am completely drained
Is it wise to sit around lost?
Is it foolish to redefine cost?
I've stared fearfully for far too long
I have been so weary for so long
and now it is time to penetrate that hazy fog
that fog that has kept me in check for so long”
it would seem that at this point this ex-atheist is drained by the arguments and probably inquiring as to why we are so persistent. It appears at this point that he is unsure of his previous beliefs and wants to ‘penetrate the hazy fog’ the hazy fog that is Christianity in all its complexities.
And now the second blog of his.
“A Seemingly Infinite Road To Bliss
Sometimes I feel just like a gerbil, running around and around in his wheel. Not acknowledging the reality of everything, I'm trapped in this infinite facade of yet another false sense of security on this endless carousel. The characterless vessel of that insensitive, unimaginably uncaring, malevolent, sinister succubus has me paralyzed from the familiar fear of an inevitable, unbearable fall. Her nonsensicalness was obvious, palpable even, but my adolescent, wishful ways have me doomed to attempt to penetrate the obvious reality which imprisons us all.
I don't usually hit the ground running, but then again, it is seldom that I am exuberant with my movements. In random fits of rage I express great vigor, but in dangerous ways. I may sporadically find myself unconsciously putting on a smile as a facade covering up a long history, as well as a recent one, of dreaded memories that I look dispiritedly back upon, but the sad truth still remains. This equation is lacking a certain variable. The substance requires a solvent, or else it is worthless, meaningless. I've admitted defeat to an imaginary antagonizer, asking, begging for a place back home. "Home", being an establishment of a comfortable setting, but anything other than a place of origin. The past is incorrigible, and the future is that of total chaos unless something is done "now". "Now" is a gift, that is why it is called "the present". If I cannot break the barrier of my own disease then I will do anything I can to offer whatever I can to society. If I can't help myself, then that is just the way the cookie crumbles.”
I feel unworthy of ‘analysing’ this as it is his testimony and deserves to be unchanged and not tampered with. All I can say is that it is evident that he has now come to a certain realisation and has humbled himself to be willing to serve others (his last line)
I praise God for his testimony and pray that God continues to work in his life in conforming him to Christ
Already he is facing persecution from his ‘friends’ and I feel in my heart that he will be a great man of God.
Back to the prayer thing… it seems evident that out of the genuine motives God will answer your prayers, whether it takes him 40 years (the case of Abraham) or a mere week (my case this last week)
I believe we need to check our faith if we place any doubt in God, he is the God that created the heavens and the earth, placed every star in its place and calls it by name, knows us inside out and every hair on our head, moulded the mountains so his waters could flow into the depths of his shaped oceans which evaporate and freeze into millions of snowflakes that he designs and then fall again into our civilisation that we have very much tainted.
That goes for me just as much as it does for any reading. We need to place God in total control of our life and let go of our pride, our selfish ambitions, our sense of security that we falsely attain from being in control and I say falsely because we are never secure in our own strength. We never shall be.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
What is your Parachute?
Well its been a fair period since I wrote, but I think due to my title you understand where I may go with today’s post. \\
Let me start with this, I recently went to a music festival called Parachute which is held every year at Mystery Creek in Hamilton New Zealand and I simple loved it, just like last year it was a great kick start for the new year and I left refreshed and motivated to get closer to God, not long after however I needed a new car, in the purchase of a car I was familiar with for a very decent price I felt great. However it is evident now that I began to lose my focus on God. Just last night I managed to crash this car, the same way as last time by taking my eyes off the road for 2 maybe even 1 second and then not braking whilst doing so. You do the math.
I’ll be frank and honest, it was a massive shock to my system and I felt like a complete failure, after the financial hole the last incident burnt in me I promised myself I wouldn’t do it again but in all of this I am trying to keep in mind Romans 8;28 in knowing that I love God and therefore all things that happen to me or around me work for good. It was hard and to be blunt I was doubting God that he would work this for good and in actuality its only been one day I do not know how he is going to work this whole situation for my good but I know this. God wants me to simplify my life, my life that is cluttered with so much media, so much materialisation, so much technology, so much money, so much anger all around me. Just so much added things that do nothing but kill time and this I believe is the initial reason for my second crash. I’m not going to lie I'm still very gutted and feel like a failure but I’m doing my utmost to leave it at God’s feet and ‘take on the yolk of Jesus, for his burden is light’ (can someone remind me what scripture that is? Its been in my head but no idea where to look for it in the NT)
During Parachute I began to get a glimpse of why it was named so, all the bands there, all the staff and crew that make this event happen all have one parachute that is their saving grace, that is Jesus. And as I offload on my notes on my Ipod I begin to think about what our parachutes are in life? I saw a sunrise for the first time in a long time while at parachute and it was stunning and after worship on Sunday night I could not help but think of the song ‘this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine’ because I came to a firmer realisation of my light that I carry. As well as the depth of darkness that some people live in and I began to think of how I need to let my own light shine into their darkness so that they can share my parachute that is Jesus and land safely.
I know what its like to not land safely, the crash and fall in life and emotionally it hurts probably as much as literally falling of a roof (not to mention that happened to me yesterday also, came far too close to breaking my neck) I can relate to people when they talk of how life is crap, how no matter how hard they try they always seem to end up sad and alone at the end of the day. I can understand the pain people feel when they feel like every relationship they get into they have their heart broken. I know the emptiness that comes along with drug abuse (including alcohol) the sad sad need for a temporary fix only to see your whole life falling, with no Parachute. I have had the parachute of alcohol, I have had the parachute of following the crowd, I have had the parachute of depression in hope of people loving me, I have had the parachute of relationships. They all had holes and didn’t break my fall at the end of the day.
My question to you today is what is your Parachute in life? I seem to be ending these things a lot recently with challenges and questions to the reader but hey change is good. So take this seriously, observe your own life personally and ask yourself, what parachutes have I tried? Which have failed? Which have worked? I can tell you with complete confidence the only reason I’m not dwelling in self pity and depression the very day after my second crash is because I have the parachute of Jesus.
I pray that God will continue to simplify my life and that he may give you the same parachute I now carry.
Grace and Peace be with you.
Let me start with this, I recently went to a music festival called Parachute which is held every year at Mystery Creek in Hamilton New Zealand and I simple loved it, just like last year it was a great kick start for the new year and I left refreshed and motivated to get closer to God, not long after however I needed a new car, in the purchase of a car I was familiar with for a very decent price I felt great. However it is evident now that I began to lose my focus on God. Just last night I managed to crash this car, the same way as last time by taking my eyes off the road for 2 maybe even 1 second and then not braking whilst doing so. You do the math.
I’ll be frank and honest, it was a massive shock to my system and I felt like a complete failure, after the financial hole the last incident burnt in me I promised myself I wouldn’t do it again but in all of this I am trying to keep in mind Romans 8;28 in knowing that I love God and therefore all things that happen to me or around me work for good. It was hard and to be blunt I was doubting God that he would work this for good and in actuality its only been one day I do not know how he is going to work this whole situation for my good but I know this. God wants me to simplify my life, my life that is cluttered with so much media, so much materialisation, so much technology, so much money, so much anger all around me. Just so much added things that do nothing but kill time and this I believe is the initial reason for my second crash. I’m not going to lie I'm still very gutted and feel like a failure but I’m doing my utmost to leave it at God’s feet and ‘take on the yolk of Jesus, for his burden is light’ (can someone remind me what scripture that is? Its been in my head but no idea where to look for it in the NT)
During Parachute I began to get a glimpse of why it was named so, all the bands there, all the staff and crew that make this event happen all have one parachute that is their saving grace, that is Jesus. And as I offload on my notes on my Ipod I begin to think about what our parachutes are in life? I saw a sunrise for the first time in a long time while at parachute and it was stunning and after worship on Sunday night I could not help but think of the song ‘this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine’ because I came to a firmer realisation of my light that I carry. As well as the depth of darkness that some people live in and I began to think of how I need to let my own light shine into their darkness so that they can share my parachute that is Jesus and land safely.
I know what its like to not land safely, the crash and fall in life and emotionally it hurts probably as much as literally falling of a roof (not to mention that happened to me yesterday also, came far too close to breaking my neck) I can relate to people when they talk of how life is crap, how no matter how hard they try they always seem to end up sad and alone at the end of the day. I can understand the pain people feel when they feel like every relationship they get into they have their heart broken. I know the emptiness that comes along with drug abuse (including alcohol) the sad sad need for a temporary fix only to see your whole life falling, with no Parachute. I have had the parachute of alcohol, I have had the parachute of following the crowd, I have had the parachute of depression in hope of people loving me, I have had the parachute of relationships. They all had holes and didn’t break my fall at the end of the day.
My question to you today is what is your Parachute in life? I seem to be ending these things a lot recently with challenges and questions to the reader but hey change is good. So take this seriously, observe your own life personally and ask yourself, what parachutes have I tried? Which have failed? Which have worked? I can tell you with complete confidence the only reason I’m not dwelling in self pity and depression the very day after my second crash is because I have the parachute of Jesus.
I pray that God will continue to simplify my life and that he may give you the same parachute I now carry.
Grace and Peace be with you.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Thoughts
Hmm I must get out of the mindset of setting high standards for what I post up here.
I seem to lose way too many (precious) thoughts from those high standards, so here is one of those 'thoughts' I have had today.
Romans 8:28 says
'And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them that are called according to his purpose' (KJV)
As I was upset this morning I went to have a bath as very often it is very good thinking space for me. This scripture popped into my head as I struggled with one small issue of life.
My thought's on this scripture is as follows; the first dilemma we face is once again our limited human understanding, it's extremely hard for me to fathom that ALL things work TOGETHER for good, if I love God and my friend commits suicide what do I gain from that? that’s a more easily answered one but what about the family who lost a husband in the 9/11 attacks, if they genuinely love God how what do they gain from that? Not only that but this scripture states that they work TOGETHER for good, the implication I get from this is that my misfortune and the misfortune of another individual that loves God both work together for both our benefit. Moreover we must consider the extremity of the word 'all' this means that EVERYTHING I do works for the good of God, whether it be feeding the dog or sharing a friends burden, they both work equally for the good of God. in fact looking at the verse again, I see that it says 'things' now what on earth does it means by things? as in the clothes on my body, or the works of my hand? or the thoughts of my mind? or the direction of my heart? or what? that just an added factor to looking at this verse.
I must stop to acknowledge that I’m not exactly doing an accurate exegesis here, but in all honesty verses 27-29 I could probably write an essay on and still not get the right view of it however if you want to look at it in context feel free to read those three verses.
now as for the latter part of the verse 'to them that are called according to God's purpose' now I think for me the major standing issue of this is do we actually know God's purpose? we get glimpse of his purpose in his word but that is only his purpose for me, you, for planet earth. our finitely small understanding of our God and of our universe leaves me aghas every time and I must take into factor about what will be gods purpose after the second coming? was his purpose the same before creation? was it the same during king David? king Solomon? Jesus' death and resurrection?
I was recently listening to a sermon by Brian Houston who noted that we are given so many talents and abilities from God but it is only when we focus in on one that we do it well, and that what is in your hand (eg your passions and talents) will be your callings from God. so my simple question is how do we discern what gift is right for a certain time? prayer is one answer but I do not think God ever wanted us to be puppets who call on their master for everything, there is to a certain extent our own decision our own free will that we must deal with and carefully go about.
so in a quick sum up
Romans 8:28 says
'And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them that are called according to his purpose'
I think the first question we need to ask ourselves is do we love God?
then we can go on to ask, what are the things in your life that will work for the good of God? What are your callings? and what is God's purpose?
for me the answers are as follows.
Yes, all things, poverty, youth, discipling and I can only guess that Gods purpose is to love the ones I will reach and conform myself and others to Christ.
I seem to lose way too many (precious) thoughts from those high standards, so here is one of those 'thoughts' I have had today.
Romans 8:28 says
'And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them that are called according to his purpose' (KJV)
As I was upset this morning I went to have a bath as very often it is very good thinking space for me. This scripture popped into my head as I struggled with one small issue of life.
My thought's on this scripture is as follows; the first dilemma we face is once again our limited human understanding, it's extremely hard for me to fathom that ALL things work TOGETHER for good, if I love God and my friend commits suicide what do I gain from that? that’s a more easily answered one but what about the family who lost a husband in the 9/11 attacks, if they genuinely love God how what do they gain from that? Not only that but this scripture states that they work TOGETHER for good, the implication I get from this is that my misfortune and the misfortune of another individual that loves God both work together for both our benefit. Moreover we must consider the extremity of the word 'all' this means that EVERYTHING I do works for the good of God, whether it be feeding the dog or sharing a friends burden, they both work equally for the good of God. in fact looking at the verse again, I see that it says 'things' now what on earth does it means by things? as in the clothes on my body, or the works of my hand? or the thoughts of my mind? or the direction of my heart? or what? that just an added factor to looking at this verse.
I must stop to acknowledge that I’m not exactly doing an accurate exegesis here, but in all honesty verses 27-29 I could probably write an essay on and still not get the right view of it however if you want to look at it in context feel free to read those three verses.
now as for the latter part of the verse 'to them that are called according to God's purpose' now I think for me the major standing issue of this is do we actually know God's purpose? we get glimpse of his purpose in his word but that is only his purpose for me, you, for planet earth. our finitely small understanding of our God and of our universe leaves me aghas every time and I must take into factor about what will be gods purpose after the second coming? was his purpose the same before creation? was it the same during king David? king Solomon? Jesus' death and resurrection?
I was recently listening to a sermon by Brian Houston who noted that we are given so many talents and abilities from God but it is only when we focus in on one that we do it well, and that what is in your hand (eg your passions and talents) will be your callings from God. so my simple question is how do we discern what gift is right for a certain time? prayer is one answer but I do not think God ever wanted us to be puppets who call on their master for everything, there is to a certain extent our own decision our own free will that we must deal with and carefully go about.
so in a quick sum up
Romans 8:28 says
'And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them that are called according to his purpose'
I think the first question we need to ask ourselves is do we love God?
then we can go on to ask, what are the things in your life that will work for the good of God? What are your callings? and what is God's purpose?
for me the answers are as follows.
Yes, all things, poverty, youth, discipling and I can only guess that Gods purpose is to love the ones I will reach and conform myself and others to Christ.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The Alcoholic Pandemic
This will be more like an essay on the consumption and culture of the alcoholic society we seem to live in. that is a generalisation I acknowledge the minority of us who either don't drink or know how to have a 'social drink' recent news reports show New Zealand's leading alcohol experts calling it a pandemic hence the title for this post.
I always tend to find myself puzzled as to where to begin with any essay I tend to write, so how about that for an ice breaker. I hope that this piece of writing will open the eyes of those “drinkers” who refuse to call themselves “alcoholics” and my desire is for it to address not only the culture of drinking in New Zealand but also the results of such drinking whilst offering Personal and Professional opinions on the matter itself.
I Personally have been ‘sober’ for over a year and can remember the vivid night that literally scared me into temperance. The night started off as any other would, casual drinking by the bonfire with friends, amongst story swapping of the last time we were drinking. The night went on and we all began to feel a little happier as you do after consuming “a few cold ones” a few hours too fast. To cut a potentially very long story short my last memory from that night is running down the road after smashing a friends bottle of beer yelling “why are you drinking that (insert expletive here)” the next moment I was waking up. My friends however tell me that I was awake and running around for a good 40 minutes after that instance and that was one of the scariest realisations of my short lifetime. The thought that my body could literally be possessed by alcohol even though I myself recall no conscious moments during that time. I do look back on that and say to people that I was possessed, This story would be all too familiar for too many people tonight who even on a Sunday feel the urge to drink.
For myself personally my view now is that It is purely a waste of time and money if you are going to use your alcohol as I did that night, now for some professional opinion on the matter. Dr Doug Sellman, director of New Zealand’s National Addiction Centre and professor of psychiatry and addiction medicine at the university of Otago says “Alcohol stimulates opioid receptors in the brain to produce an opioid effect along the lines of ‘being a wonderful person living in a wonderful world’, not too dissimilar to taking heroin or morphine.” I think it is fair to say that any educated person would acknowledge the fact that alcohol is a drug and as we can see here it has the obvious effects of a drug in having some symptoms similar to the drug Heroin. The obvious inclination and objection from “those who refuse to call themselves alcoholics” is that this drug is not as bad as the others. This may not be the case though, I did fail to find a comparism of drug related deaths to alcohol related deaths that is ignoring the obvious mistake of not classing alcohol as a drug however the police website has informed me that “The misuse of alcohol imposes huge costs on New Zealand, conservatively estimated in the billions of dollars each year” said Assistant Commissioner Howard Broad. Lets not overlook the use of the word conservatively in that segment, Billions meaning more than one or two billion it may be fair to say that the reason for not disclosing the actual amount is because of their own personal disgust, that or they simply can’t accurately state it. Now that is in comaparism to the misuse of drugs, which I would say in all cases would be a misuse. The police website informs me that “Illicit drug use in 2006 caused an estimated $1.3 billion worth of social costs.” Now to clarify any discrepancies, the quote from Howard Broad stated each year, and this states in 2006, so lets go on the assumption of using 2006 as our common denominator. It is clearly evident that the cost to our nation for alcohol is more than that of all other drugs in use. The news report of 11th Jan 09 stated that there are now more than 1000 alcohol related deaths every year, whether this be a drunk driver (a) killing an innocent motorist (b) both ‘a’ and ‘b’ fall under the category of ‘alcohol related.’ Recent studies show that of the 25,000 offenders omitted for drink driving in New Zealand a mere 5% of those were remanded for alcoholic counselling and in light of Australia’s, Britains and Canada’s sentencing of 12 months disqualification New Zealand law only dishes out a 6 month disqualification from driving. some say this is a result of the accessibility of alcohol and the 18 year old restriction.
I suppose that paragraph was indeed long enough to sustain itself, the next issue to approach is the effect to our health that alcohol has on us. We must first look at what alcohol is made of and what general effects it has on us, many of us are aware of the taste of alcohol itself but I think less of us are aware that “alcohol contains a lot of calories. In fact, Alcohol is closer to fat than carbohydrate, in terms of calories per gram” so for those wanting to maintain that “summer slim body” I recommend a fruit smoothie rather than a cold beer next time. Dr Sellman is also aware of the common fact that the symptoms that one may feel in the midst of his or her hangover such as shakiness, dysphoria, sweating or a headache are symptoms mirroring that of a alcoholic in withdrawal. So if you’re looking for a 100% effective way of avoiding the ‘headache in the morning’ try avoiding alcohol. It works every time. For those of you thinking of the age old “glass of red wine a day” road to good health I am privileged to be the messenger in that you are being sold a false message. In a 2005 report on the ‘Burden of Alcohol’ Professor Rod Jackson and Dr Jennie Connor reported that “alcohol contributed to 1037 deaths but prevented 981 deaths in 2000, leading to a net loss of about 56 lives” not too bad in light of my earlier comment on 1000 deaths a year, but conveniently Connor and Jackson have converted that to years of life so “17,200 years of life were lost as a result of alcohol related deaths and only 5300 years were saved, leading to a net loss of 12,000 years of life due to alcohol in one year.” I believe the common objection on peoples minds right now would be “yeah but surely lots of that is due to injuries and drink driving right?” well yes you are right, but despite that “a staggering 24% were from cancer” and now you’re thinking “alcohol… cancer?.... do explain.” Heres how Jennifer Bowden explains it; “The ethanol in alcoholic drinks is a human carcinogenic, according to the International Agency for Cancer Research, so irrespective of the type of alcohol consumed, there is an increased risk of several different cancers. The risk of breast cancer, colorectal (in men), oesophageal, mouth, pharynx and larynx cancer all increase with alcohol consumption.” Wellington hospital physician Geoffrey Robinson says “some women have developed cirrhosis after a relatively moderate intake of three to four glasses of alcohol a day” so it is evident that there are quintessentially no positive health effects of drinking alcohol. To be blunt about it Jackson who is a university of Auckland cardiovascular disease expert says “there probably isn’t a level of alcohol consumption where you get health benefits without harm. Its pretty unlikely that people who have up to a couple of drinks a day are going to get any substantial harm, but its very unlikely they’re getting any benefits” so next time you pick up that glass of red wine make the toast to good health rather than thinking that same glass is good for your health.
A few years ago a world renowned physician said this of alcohol “If alcohol were invented today it would be available only on prescription, and then only from hospital pharmacies” he added that alcohol remained the safest and most readily available and cheapest tranquilliser known to mankind. Garth George states that “therein lies the enigma of alcohol: on the one hand the cup that cheers and relaxes the almost indispensable to social intercourse (and often sexual intercourse too), and on the other a mind-altering chemical, a brain poison and a highly addictive drug” the truth of that statement is pretty self explanatory but now may be an appropriate time to add the issue of sexual intercourse whilst drunk, lets be honest, we would rather not think of it. Gone are the days of our forefathers were sex was a pure act only to be had with your life partners, the term one night stand amongst our youth of today (not discluding myself) is purely known as, going to a club and after a few drinks finding a complete stranger and taking him of her home to “indulge with” and dispensing the relationship the next morning. Being a Christian myself my main dilemma with this is the oblivious and complete disregard for any moral standards whatsoever. George also states that “excessive drinking, particularly among young people, has always been with us, but as outlets have proliferated and the legal drinking age has been progressively lowered, the problem has become exponentially greater.” In 1999 the National Government lowered the drinking age to 18 George wrote that he “hoped those who promoted it would be prepared to meet the social and economic costs that would surely follow.” – “yet no government has been prepared to follow the lead of other governments around the world which have faced the same dilemma and made sensible moves, such as returning the legal age to 21 and, in France, closing tens of thousands of outlets.” George also touches on the advertising of alcohol saying that “there is supposed to be some self-regulation about the advertising of booze, but it surely is a sham. Some of that advertising is utterly reprehensible, inhumanly aimed as it is at young men who want to be seen as macho ad at young women who want to be seen as sexy.” And on that note I would like to mention some recent findings of experts from around the world. Binge drinking for men can reduce testosterone levels which can lead to man breasts, so next time a mate says ‘man up and finish that beer’ think about the size of his chest, or yours. As for the proliferated advertising targeting women I think we have just about covered the issue of weight gain due to high calorific quantities in alcohol, in fact women overseas research has shown that “women are more likely to become alcoholics than men” and this is due to you having less dehydrogenase – the enzyme in the lining of the stomach which helps break down the ethanol – and less body water then men. Which is parallel to the common thought that women are easily intoxicated due to their smaller body and muscle size.
George wants a call for a realignment in the advertising of alcohol asking the nauseating question “why are the products of the booze barons not required to carry warning labels on the bottles as cigarette packets have been required to do for years? Such as: Alcohol can kill. Alcohol can cause you to stop breathing. Alcohol can stop your heart. Alcohol can rot your brain. Alcohol can destroy your liver. Alcohol during pregnancy can damage your baby. Alcohol can make you vulnerable to predators. Alcohol causes road accidents. Alcohol can drive you to suicide.” Personally I cannot agree more, Alcohol is just another drug that has indeed been taken by those that would like a cheap “hit” or “high”. But the news is not all bad, Simon Collins reports that “the National Government will look again at raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 20 this year. New Justice Minister Simon Power, who voted to keep the age at 18 when it last came up in 2006, said it would be considered again in the local context of a bill to give local councils more control of liquor outlets. The Sale and Supply of Liquor and Liquor Enforcement Bill was introduced by the former Labour Government last August and has been picked up without change by the new government. It is due to have its first reading when Parliament resumes and will then go to a select committee for public submissions.” So the dawn of 2009 is looking promising for those of us who have ‘been there done that’ and realise that alcohol has no circumstantial benefits. On the note of warning labels on bottles I read an article also by Simon Collins about a young women who said “I drank right through my pregnancy, I didn’t know. There had been no warnings whatsoever” the long story short is that her child has been diagnosed with ADHD and has short attention span amongst a paediatrician at Waikato Hospital who confirmed that the child “had mild physical markers of the fetal alcoholic syndrome based on the gap between the eyes.”
She is happy to be an object lesson for other women but says that “the government has a lot to answer for because they don’t have labels on bottles.” All alcoholic drinks in the United States have carried warnings since 1989. “the Alcoholic Advisory Council wants similar warning labels here but they need to be agreed on by Food Standards Australia NZ”
I can only pray that you come to see the outweighing of the negatives to the positives in this case, but more than that we as a people need to act our opinion and take into action the phrase “people should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people” so my simple challenge to you today is how much do you drink? And is it worth it? So I hope that we can object to the absurdity of labelling and advertising standards to our new government, I mean they will listen right? You better hope so you voted them in.
Sources: The listener, Article "Hard To Swallow", Jennifer Bowden
Article "Time for more sober approach to alcohol", Garth George
Articles "Drinking age back on MP's agenda" and "Higher death
amongst girls linked to liberal liquor laws", Simon Collins
I always tend to find myself puzzled as to where to begin with any essay I tend to write, so how about that for an ice breaker. I hope that this piece of writing will open the eyes of those “drinkers” who refuse to call themselves “alcoholics” and my desire is for it to address not only the culture of drinking in New Zealand but also the results of such drinking whilst offering Personal and Professional opinions on the matter itself.
I Personally have been ‘sober’ for over a year and can remember the vivid night that literally scared me into temperance. The night started off as any other would, casual drinking by the bonfire with friends, amongst story swapping of the last time we were drinking. The night went on and we all began to feel a little happier as you do after consuming “a few cold ones” a few hours too fast. To cut a potentially very long story short my last memory from that night is running down the road after smashing a friends bottle of beer yelling “why are you drinking that (insert expletive here)” the next moment I was waking up. My friends however tell me that I was awake and running around for a good 40 minutes after that instance and that was one of the scariest realisations of my short lifetime. The thought that my body could literally be possessed by alcohol even though I myself recall no conscious moments during that time. I do look back on that and say to people that I was possessed, This story would be all too familiar for too many people tonight who even on a Sunday feel the urge to drink.
For myself personally my view now is that It is purely a waste of time and money if you are going to use your alcohol as I did that night, now for some professional opinion on the matter. Dr Doug Sellman, director of New Zealand’s National Addiction Centre and professor of psychiatry and addiction medicine at the university of Otago says “Alcohol stimulates opioid receptors in the brain to produce an opioid effect along the lines of ‘being a wonderful person living in a wonderful world’, not too dissimilar to taking heroin or morphine.” I think it is fair to say that any educated person would acknowledge the fact that alcohol is a drug and as we can see here it has the obvious effects of a drug in having some symptoms similar to the drug Heroin. The obvious inclination and objection from “those who refuse to call themselves alcoholics” is that this drug is not as bad as the others. This may not be the case though, I did fail to find a comparism of drug related deaths to alcohol related deaths that is ignoring the obvious mistake of not classing alcohol as a drug however the police website has informed me that “The misuse of alcohol imposes huge costs on New Zealand, conservatively estimated in the billions of dollars each year” said Assistant Commissioner Howard Broad. Lets not overlook the use of the word conservatively in that segment, Billions meaning more than one or two billion it may be fair to say that the reason for not disclosing the actual amount is because of their own personal disgust, that or they simply can’t accurately state it. Now that is in comaparism to the misuse of drugs, which I would say in all cases would be a misuse. The police website informs me that “Illicit drug use in 2006 caused an estimated $1.3 billion worth of social costs.” Now to clarify any discrepancies, the quote from Howard Broad stated each year, and this states in 2006, so lets go on the assumption of using 2006 as our common denominator. It is clearly evident that the cost to our nation for alcohol is more than that of all other drugs in use. The news report of 11th Jan 09 stated that there are now more than 1000 alcohol related deaths every year, whether this be a drunk driver (a) killing an innocent motorist (b) both ‘a’ and ‘b’ fall under the category of ‘alcohol related.’ Recent studies show that of the 25,000 offenders omitted for drink driving in New Zealand a mere 5% of those were remanded for alcoholic counselling and in light of Australia’s, Britains and Canada’s sentencing of 12 months disqualification New Zealand law only dishes out a 6 month disqualification from driving. some say this is a result of the accessibility of alcohol and the 18 year old restriction.
I suppose that paragraph was indeed long enough to sustain itself, the next issue to approach is the effect to our health that alcohol has on us. We must first look at what alcohol is made of and what general effects it has on us, many of us are aware of the taste of alcohol itself but I think less of us are aware that “alcohol contains a lot of calories. In fact, Alcohol is closer to fat than carbohydrate, in terms of calories per gram” so for those wanting to maintain that “summer slim body” I recommend a fruit smoothie rather than a cold beer next time. Dr Sellman is also aware of the common fact that the symptoms that one may feel in the midst of his or her hangover such as shakiness, dysphoria, sweating or a headache are symptoms mirroring that of a alcoholic in withdrawal. So if you’re looking for a 100% effective way of avoiding the ‘headache in the morning’ try avoiding alcohol. It works every time. For those of you thinking of the age old “glass of red wine a day” road to good health I am privileged to be the messenger in that you are being sold a false message. In a 2005 report on the ‘Burden of Alcohol’ Professor Rod Jackson and Dr Jennie Connor reported that “alcohol contributed to 1037 deaths but prevented 981 deaths in 2000, leading to a net loss of about 56 lives” not too bad in light of my earlier comment on 1000 deaths a year, but conveniently Connor and Jackson have converted that to years of life so “17,200 years of life were lost as a result of alcohol related deaths and only 5300 years were saved, leading to a net loss of 12,000 years of life due to alcohol in one year.” I believe the common objection on peoples minds right now would be “yeah but surely lots of that is due to injuries and drink driving right?” well yes you are right, but despite that “a staggering 24% were from cancer” and now you’re thinking “alcohol… cancer?.... do explain.” Heres how Jennifer Bowden explains it; “The ethanol in alcoholic drinks is a human carcinogenic, according to the International Agency for Cancer Research, so irrespective of the type of alcohol consumed, there is an increased risk of several different cancers. The risk of breast cancer, colorectal (in men), oesophageal, mouth, pharynx and larynx cancer all increase with alcohol consumption.” Wellington hospital physician Geoffrey Robinson says “some women have developed cirrhosis after a relatively moderate intake of three to four glasses of alcohol a day” so it is evident that there are quintessentially no positive health effects of drinking alcohol. To be blunt about it Jackson who is a university of Auckland cardiovascular disease expert says “there probably isn’t a level of alcohol consumption where you get health benefits without harm. Its pretty unlikely that people who have up to a couple of drinks a day are going to get any substantial harm, but its very unlikely they’re getting any benefits” so next time you pick up that glass of red wine make the toast to good health rather than thinking that same glass is good for your health.
A few years ago a world renowned physician said this of alcohol “If alcohol were invented today it would be available only on prescription, and then only from hospital pharmacies” he added that alcohol remained the safest and most readily available and cheapest tranquilliser known to mankind. Garth George states that “therein lies the enigma of alcohol: on the one hand the cup that cheers and relaxes the almost indispensable to social intercourse (and often sexual intercourse too), and on the other a mind-altering chemical, a brain poison and a highly addictive drug” the truth of that statement is pretty self explanatory but now may be an appropriate time to add the issue of sexual intercourse whilst drunk, lets be honest, we would rather not think of it. Gone are the days of our forefathers were sex was a pure act only to be had with your life partners, the term one night stand amongst our youth of today (not discluding myself) is purely known as, going to a club and after a few drinks finding a complete stranger and taking him of her home to “indulge with” and dispensing the relationship the next morning. Being a Christian myself my main dilemma with this is the oblivious and complete disregard for any moral standards whatsoever. George also states that “excessive drinking, particularly among young people, has always been with us, but as outlets have proliferated and the legal drinking age has been progressively lowered, the problem has become exponentially greater.” In 1999 the National Government lowered the drinking age to 18 George wrote that he “hoped those who promoted it would be prepared to meet the social and economic costs that would surely follow.” – “yet no government has been prepared to follow the lead of other governments around the world which have faced the same dilemma and made sensible moves, such as returning the legal age to 21 and, in France, closing tens of thousands of outlets.” George also touches on the advertising of alcohol saying that “there is supposed to be some self-regulation about the advertising of booze, but it surely is a sham. Some of that advertising is utterly reprehensible, inhumanly aimed as it is at young men who want to be seen as macho ad at young women who want to be seen as sexy.” And on that note I would like to mention some recent findings of experts from around the world. Binge drinking for men can reduce testosterone levels which can lead to man breasts, so next time a mate says ‘man up and finish that beer’ think about the size of his chest, or yours. As for the proliferated advertising targeting women I think we have just about covered the issue of weight gain due to high calorific quantities in alcohol, in fact women overseas research has shown that “women are more likely to become alcoholics than men” and this is due to you having less dehydrogenase – the enzyme in the lining of the stomach which helps break down the ethanol – and less body water then men. Which is parallel to the common thought that women are easily intoxicated due to their smaller body and muscle size.
George wants a call for a realignment in the advertising of alcohol asking the nauseating question “why are the products of the booze barons not required to carry warning labels on the bottles as cigarette packets have been required to do for years? Such as: Alcohol can kill. Alcohol can cause you to stop breathing. Alcohol can stop your heart. Alcohol can rot your brain. Alcohol can destroy your liver. Alcohol during pregnancy can damage your baby. Alcohol can make you vulnerable to predators. Alcohol causes road accidents. Alcohol can drive you to suicide.” Personally I cannot agree more, Alcohol is just another drug that has indeed been taken by those that would like a cheap “hit” or “high”. But the news is not all bad, Simon Collins reports that “the National Government will look again at raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 20 this year. New Justice Minister Simon Power, who voted to keep the age at 18 when it last came up in 2006, said it would be considered again in the local context of a bill to give local councils more control of liquor outlets. The Sale and Supply of Liquor and Liquor Enforcement Bill was introduced by the former Labour Government last August and has been picked up without change by the new government. It is due to have its first reading when Parliament resumes and will then go to a select committee for public submissions.” So the dawn of 2009 is looking promising for those of us who have ‘been there done that’ and realise that alcohol has no circumstantial benefits. On the note of warning labels on bottles I read an article also by Simon Collins about a young women who said “I drank right through my pregnancy, I didn’t know. There had been no warnings whatsoever” the long story short is that her child has been diagnosed with ADHD and has short attention span amongst a paediatrician at Waikato Hospital who confirmed that the child “had mild physical markers of the fetal alcoholic syndrome based on the gap between the eyes.”
She is happy to be an object lesson for other women but says that “the government has a lot to answer for because they don’t have labels on bottles.” All alcoholic drinks in the United States have carried warnings since 1989. “the Alcoholic Advisory Council wants similar warning labels here but they need to be agreed on by Food Standards Australia NZ”
I can only pray that you come to see the outweighing of the negatives to the positives in this case, but more than that we as a people need to act our opinion and take into action the phrase “people should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people” so my simple challenge to you today is how much do you drink? And is it worth it? So I hope that we can object to the absurdity of labelling and advertising standards to our new government, I mean they will listen right? You better hope so you voted them in.
Sources: The listener, Article "Hard To Swallow", Jennifer Bowden
Article "Time for more sober approach to alcohol", Garth George
Articles "Drinking age back on MP's agenda" and "Higher death
amongst girls linked to liberal liquor laws", Simon Collins
Sunday, January 4, 2009
09 Oh No!
Well happy new year to you all.
that phrase in itself has a funny mentality doesn't it? the common implication is "well this year was crap lets hope next year is better" then once that "next year" is over we say the same thing. I don't particularly make new years resolutions because I believe that we are all changing so much every day and that we need to make resolutions as often as we find something to resolve.
However as Christmas came round and I bought small gifts of appreciation for some, and many cards for many. As I came to write something nice and loving in the cards I realised that out of the many people I loved I still held grudges against some of them and in all honesty it scared me because I am a loving person and do all I can to show that love to others. So when I can't find words to uplift someone its a scary thought. So my simple (if only it was) resolution is to work on my forgiveness, of myself and of others, and in terms of not hurting others so as to cut down on others forgiving me.
As I watch the news tonight I firstly think "ah so this is why I don't watch the news" because in all honesty it a load of crap, there are far too many discrepancies in details to deem anything they say as reliable. The majority of the time it is all fabricated by the reporter and the company of which the station is run in. And my second thought as I watched a 10 minute long report on the apparent loss of who they described as a "league superstar" is why? not only why do they play favourites with someone who is good at sports in comparism to someone who serves in community service, but also why is he so remembered? The answer to the former is pretty obvious and it could lead me on a whole other rant on how our society is messed up. its plain materialism and commercialism again. Adorning someone because they look good or play a sport well, and apparently that's all you have to do today to be remembered and favoured upon society. The answer to the latter question is where my rant begins this evening and funnily enough relates to the first question. This man is remembered because of his sporting achievements nothing more than that. He is not described as a saint or a saviour or even as a solver our societies problems. But he is described as a League Superstar and it makes me seriously think about who Jesus was, what he did, what he taught and why he did it.
I'm sure some of you are now thinking "aw come on don't spoil some nice philosophy with that Christian crap" well fair enough stop reading if you want but Jesus has been to answer for millions of people in our world to which philosophers have never been able to answer. As we mourn the loss of such a great league player where is our mourning for the one man of whom this world is based on. Jesus. it is no coincidence that just as the 7 day creation we have 7 days in our week. It is not by chance that just as god gave us Ten Commandments he gave us ten fingers. It is by no means luck that just as God named Human male and female we still call them by that today. And is by no means sceptical to think that just as time in BC was counting down that Jesus was born as they discovered it was Before Christ, and we live in AD which is the result of his life. Every government and justice system today is based on biblical terms, it is based on the fair retribution of giving people what they deserved, as God will do for us. Of course Because of Jesus' death and ressurection the justice part of life is obscured and we need to take in grace and mercy, two godlike attribtutes that man could never comfortably fit in to our justice system. So it is evident that our world is very much based on Jesus himself. so my question is this; Where is his ten minute news report and how are we personally remembering him today? More so why should we remember him?
Our world truly is so lost in the adornments of our own selfish desires, we feed on knowing what celebrity cheated on who, what teenage superstar is pregnant. What super sports man has died, who made the record for fattest man and so many other self-serving gratitudes that are all the result of one of two things. That is Pride and Greed. I'll save you the massive rant on these things but I will say this, they are purely self-serving attributes to ourselves. So once our bodies pass on, once we ourselves leave this world, where is your money then? Where is your delicious food then? Why can you not take with you your flash car or stereo system. Because they have no worth. I am not trying to be too critical here, don't get me wrong everybody needs a little indulgence once in a while but I want this question to be causing you a headache as you finish reading. "What in my life right now will last?" and by that I mean from a biblical view, there is an old poem that I will finish this blog off with, but now I want to get back to the topic of Jesus.
Here is a man that literally flipped the world upside down, over and out within 3 years! And he chose 12 men to follow him who would, in their lifetimes, continue to completely change the world we live in today. These men and Jesus himself are the very reason we have churches today, they are the reason most countries have the freedom of expression, whether it be expression of belief or simply of opinion, you have that freedom thanks to these men. I myself in typing this acknowledge that I'm no saint and that I need to practice what I preach so to speak because my challenge to us all today, and I do mean "us", is what are we doing with our resources which will make us remembered? And for what reasons will we be remembered? Here we have a man who has died and is remembered for the sports he played. On the other hand we have a man, who is god in the flesh, a man who is remembered today for his love, his mercy, his compassion, his forgiveness, his willingness to serve, his miracles, his morals and more than anything his ultimate sacrifice of laying down his life for those who do not deserve it. The bible speaks simple truth when it talks of the fact that often a bad man will lay down his life for a good man, rarely will a good man die for a good man. And never (except for Jesus) will a good man die for a bad man. The bible talks of that as being love, that laying our lives down for our fellow brothers and sisters is what love truly is. The way in which we serve and love one another defines us as a person and marks what we will be remembered for. This poem here talks of what’s done for Christ, the bible talks of accomadating and serving strangers and that when we do that we are doing that to and for Jesus, he says "I was that stranger" so let us ask ourselves with boldness and a willingness to change
"What in my life will last?"
"Only one life, t'will soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last"
that phrase in itself has a funny mentality doesn't it? the common implication is "well this year was crap lets hope next year is better" then once that "next year" is over we say the same thing. I don't particularly make new years resolutions because I believe that we are all changing so much every day and that we need to make resolutions as often as we find something to resolve.
However as Christmas came round and I bought small gifts of appreciation for some, and many cards for many. As I came to write something nice and loving in the cards I realised that out of the many people I loved I still held grudges against some of them and in all honesty it scared me because I am a loving person and do all I can to show that love to others. So when I can't find words to uplift someone its a scary thought. So my simple (if only it was) resolution is to work on my forgiveness, of myself and of others, and in terms of not hurting others so as to cut down on others forgiving me.
As I watch the news tonight I firstly think "ah so this is why I don't watch the news" because in all honesty it a load of crap, there are far too many discrepancies in details to deem anything they say as reliable. The majority of the time it is all fabricated by the reporter and the company of which the station is run in. And my second thought as I watched a 10 minute long report on the apparent loss of who they described as a "league superstar" is why? not only why do they play favourites with someone who is good at sports in comparism to someone who serves in community service, but also why is he so remembered? The answer to the former is pretty obvious and it could lead me on a whole other rant on how our society is messed up. its plain materialism and commercialism again. Adorning someone because they look good or play a sport well, and apparently that's all you have to do today to be remembered and favoured upon society. The answer to the latter question is where my rant begins this evening and funnily enough relates to the first question. This man is remembered because of his sporting achievements nothing more than that. He is not described as a saint or a saviour or even as a solver our societies problems. But he is described as a League Superstar and it makes me seriously think about who Jesus was, what he did, what he taught and why he did it.
I'm sure some of you are now thinking "aw come on don't spoil some nice philosophy with that Christian crap" well fair enough stop reading if you want but Jesus has been to answer for millions of people in our world to which philosophers have never been able to answer. As we mourn the loss of such a great league player where is our mourning for the one man of whom this world is based on. Jesus. it is no coincidence that just as the 7 day creation we have 7 days in our week. It is not by chance that just as god gave us Ten Commandments he gave us ten fingers. It is by no means luck that just as God named Human male and female we still call them by that today. And is by no means sceptical to think that just as time in BC was counting down that Jesus was born as they discovered it was Before Christ, and we live in AD which is the result of his life. Every government and justice system today is based on biblical terms, it is based on the fair retribution of giving people what they deserved, as God will do for us. Of course Because of Jesus' death and ressurection the justice part of life is obscured and we need to take in grace and mercy, two godlike attribtutes that man could never comfortably fit in to our justice system. So it is evident that our world is very much based on Jesus himself. so my question is this; Where is his ten minute news report and how are we personally remembering him today? More so why should we remember him?
Our world truly is so lost in the adornments of our own selfish desires, we feed on knowing what celebrity cheated on who, what teenage superstar is pregnant. What super sports man has died, who made the record for fattest man and so many other self-serving gratitudes that are all the result of one of two things. That is Pride and Greed. I'll save you the massive rant on these things but I will say this, they are purely self-serving attributes to ourselves. So once our bodies pass on, once we ourselves leave this world, where is your money then? Where is your delicious food then? Why can you not take with you your flash car or stereo system. Because they have no worth. I am not trying to be too critical here, don't get me wrong everybody needs a little indulgence once in a while but I want this question to be causing you a headache as you finish reading. "What in my life right now will last?" and by that I mean from a biblical view, there is an old poem that I will finish this blog off with, but now I want to get back to the topic of Jesus.
Here is a man that literally flipped the world upside down, over and out within 3 years! And he chose 12 men to follow him who would, in their lifetimes, continue to completely change the world we live in today. These men and Jesus himself are the very reason we have churches today, they are the reason most countries have the freedom of expression, whether it be expression of belief or simply of opinion, you have that freedom thanks to these men. I myself in typing this acknowledge that I'm no saint and that I need to practice what I preach so to speak because my challenge to us all today, and I do mean "us", is what are we doing with our resources which will make us remembered? And for what reasons will we be remembered? Here we have a man who has died and is remembered for the sports he played. On the other hand we have a man, who is god in the flesh, a man who is remembered today for his love, his mercy, his compassion, his forgiveness, his willingness to serve, his miracles, his morals and more than anything his ultimate sacrifice of laying down his life for those who do not deserve it. The bible speaks simple truth when it talks of the fact that often a bad man will lay down his life for a good man, rarely will a good man die for a good man. And never (except for Jesus) will a good man die for a bad man. The bible talks of that as being love, that laying our lives down for our fellow brothers and sisters is what love truly is. The way in which we serve and love one another defines us as a person and marks what we will be remembered for. This poem here talks of what’s done for Christ, the bible talks of accomadating and serving strangers and that when we do that we are doing that to and for Jesus, he says "I was that stranger" so let us ask ourselves with boldness and a willingness to change
"What in my life will last?"
"Only one life, t'will soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last"
Monday, December 22, 2008
Christs - Mass
Now the moment I have been looking forward to, ripping what we call "a happy holiday" to shreds (well for the Christians reading it will be)
So Christmas which we recognise as a Christian holiday is still the one day that stops the earth still, as far as I'm aware the only people still on the job will be the cops, ambulances and fire fighters. which may as well be my first point, isn't it funny that even though the remembrance of Jesus can still stop the world that we still need humans to control our society, on the one day when its actually suppose to be about family and Jesus we still fail to 'be good'
Now as for Christ being the 'reason for the season', The origins of Christmas are described as follows on Wikipedia
"Christmas Day or Christmastide, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that marks and honours the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The birth of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini system of dating, is thought to have occurred between 7 and 2 BC. December 25 is not thought to be Jesus' actual date of birth, and the date may have been chosen to correspond with the Roman Festival."
I'm sure the majority of us are aware of the falsehood of the 25th being Jesus actual date, I personally have found two dates given by leading scholars is August 14th and July 17th. Now the simple fact is that we will never TRULY know the date of his birth but I'm also sure very few of us knew that our Christ mass was ripped off from a pagan celebration. This Roman festival in December was called Saturnalia, this was the feast that celebrated the mythological God "Saturn" this was originally on the 17th and eventually expanded to a whole week lasting until the 23rd. One form of celebration was a school holiday and the making and giving of small presents. This resembles closely the sole focus of our Christmas celebration today. For Saturnalia The customary greeting for the occasion is a "Io, Saturnalia!" — Io (pronounced "yo") being a Latin interjection related to "ho" (as in "Ho, praise to Saturn"). now I'm sure you are all thinking of the correlation between Santa and his jolly "ho ho ho" being a direct symbol of the pagan worship and celebration that still exists today.
Now for this next paragraph I will probably recieve a bit of "you're such a conspiricist" because it does sound crazy and in all reality when I first had this revelation I was taken aback. But here goes, Santa is a direct anagram for someone that is commonly known in Christianity and in the Bible. If you didn't catch that its Satan. feel free to call me crazy, I simply couldn't care but let me give a reasonable explanation to this. Christmas has indeed become materialised, I see too many Christians get lost in this materialism and I can't help but shake my head in disgrace. People sometimes even expect gifts and if they are not given to them they feel disappointed and even disrespected. Today its all about what we can get. Its all purely Greed. in 2006 I went all out for Christmas and I did it not in hope of what I got in return but in the pure joy that I receive when I give without strings attached.
this year I have done cards and a small knick nack from Trade aid. which leads me to another small yet significant thing, think for a moment where you bought most of your presents this year, and then ask yourself this "what chance is there that that shop bought from china or India?" why would you ask that? because a significant number of Chinese manufacturers are in the business of slave labour. I'm sure I need not elaborate on that idea but my point is this, whilst you buy your gifts and give them and recieve them at the same time kids in slave labour are getting paid less that 1US dollar a day and usually and extra 20 cents if they sleep over night at the factory.
now I must move on to the point of Christmas trees, don't get me wrong I love pine trees and some of my fond memories are of the smell of pine on Christmas morning in the living room. However n ancient times the winter solstice was celebrated in Babylon as the birth day of Tammuz, the god of vegetation. According to the pagans, the god Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts upon it. This festival became known as the Saturnalia, and friends and family would exchange gifts. Jeremiah 10 verses 2-4 states
2 This is what the LORD says:
"Do not learn the ways of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the sky,
though the nations are terrified by them.
3 For the customs of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
4 They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.
so what can we take from this? the decoration of trees is tradition of Saturnalia which is a pagan festival and is detestable by God. ok so can we have Christmas without trees? of course you can, but what of the exchanging of gifts that is also part of that pagan celebration. Ok so no gifts either. so what's left? well a day off work and the word Christmas. so my simple obligation is this, why do we not celebrate it in this way? a day off and the focus on Christ mass. despite the rip off of Saturnalia's dates we SHOULD be able to focus on Christ. Another question I would have to pose is why oh why do we need a specified date to remember Jesus? the ideal would be for us to remember him everyday and I do pray that for us all. But I simply ask this of you this Christmas. Who are you doing it for? for yourself to get gifts? for others to serve and show them you care? or for Jesus?
so Who are you buying the gifts for? who are you decorating that tree for? who are you singing the carols to? what are you thinking when you recieve your gifts? think about it.
Seriously.
So Christmas which we recognise as a Christian holiday is still the one day that stops the earth still, as far as I'm aware the only people still on the job will be the cops, ambulances and fire fighters. which may as well be my first point, isn't it funny that even though the remembrance of Jesus can still stop the world that we still need humans to control our society, on the one day when its actually suppose to be about family and Jesus we still fail to 'be good'
Now as for Christ being the 'reason for the season', The origins of Christmas are described as follows on Wikipedia
"Christmas Day or Christmastide, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that marks and honours the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The birth of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini system of dating, is thought to have occurred between 7 and 2 BC. December 25 is not thought to be Jesus' actual date of birth, and the date may have been chosen to correspond with the Roman Festival."
I'm sure the majority of us are aware of the falsehood of the 25th being Jesus actual date, I personally have found two dates given by leading scholars is August 14th and July 17th. Now the simple fact is that we will never TRULY know the date of his birth but I'm also sure very few of us knew that our Christ mass was ripped off from a pagan celebration. This Roman festival in December was called Saturnalia, this was the feast that celebrated the mythological God "Saturn" this was originally on the 17th and eventually expanded to a whole week lasting until the 23rd. One form of celebration was a school holiday and the making and giving of small presents. This resembles closely the sole focus of our Christmas celebration today. For Saturnalia The customary greeting for the occasion is a "Io, Saturnalia!" — Io (pronounced "yo") being a Latin interjection related to "ho" (as in "Ho, praise to Saturn"). now I'm sure you are all thinking of the correlation between Santa and his jolly "ho ho ho" being a direct symbol of the pagan worship and celebration that still exists today.
Now for this next paragraph I will probably recieve a bit of "you're such a conspiricist" because it does sound crazy and in all reality when I first had this revelation I was taken aback. But here goes, Santa is a direct anagram for someone that is commonly known in Christianity and in the Bible. If you didn't catch that its Satan. feel free to call me crazy, I simply couldn't care but let me give a reasonable explanation to this. Christmas has indeed become materialised, I see too many Christians get lost in this materialism and I can't help but shake my head in disgrace. People sometimes even expect gifts and if they are not given to them they feel disappointed and even disrespected. Today its all about what we can get. Its all purely Greed. in 2006 I went all out for Christmas and I did it not in hope of what I got in return but in the pure joy that I receive when I give without strings attached.
this year I have done cards and a small knick nack from Trade aid. which leads me to another small yet significant thing, think for a moment where you bought most of your presents this year, and then ask yourself this "what chance is there that that shop bought from china or India?" why would you ask that? because a significant number of Chinese manufacturers are in the business of slave labour. I'm sure I need not elaborate on that idea but my point is this, whilst you buy your gifts and give them and recieve them at the same time kids in slave labour are getting paid less that 1US dollar a day and usually and extra 20 cents if they sleep over night at the factory.
now I must move on to the point of Christmas trees, don't get me wrong I love pine trees and some of my fond memories are of the smell of pine on Christmas morning in the living room. However n ancient times the winter solstice was celebrated in Babylon as the birth day of Tammuz, the god of vegetation. According to the pagans, the god Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts upon it. This festival became known as the Saturnalia, and friends and family would exchange gifts. Jeremiah 10 verses 2-4 states
2 This is what the LORD says:
"Do not learn the ways of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the sky,
though the nations are terrified by them.
3 For the customs of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
4 They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.
so what can we take from this? the decoration of trees is tradition of Saturnalia which is a pagan festival and is detestable by God. ok so can we have Christmas without trees? of course you can, but what of the exchanging of gifts that is also part of that pagan celebration. Ok so no gifts either. so what's left? well a day off work and the word Christmas. so my simple obligation is this, why do we not celebrate it in this way? a day off and the focus on Christ mass. despite the rip off of Saturnalia's dates we SHOULD be able to focus on Christ. Another question I would have to pose is why oh why do we need a specified date to remember Jesus? the ideal would be for us to remember him everyday and I do pray that for us all. But I simply ask this of you this Christmas. Who are you doing it for? for yourself to get gifts? for others to serve and show them you care? or for Jesus?
so Who are you buying the gifts for? who are you decorating that tree for? who are you singing the carols to? what are you thinking when you recieve your gifts? think about it.
Seriously.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Submisiveness
Well it’s almost Christmas (you'll get a blog on that soon don't worry)
But as I wind down from my trip to Australia I begin to understand the simplicity of taking action upon what I have learnt.
I have begun another discussion with my friends online about God, which at one point involved a Jew a Muslim and an Atheist yet for some reason I was not overwhelmed or intimidated. I thought I would be but I had complete peace, my mind was still and uncluttered to argue one point at a time. I have learnt to use the bible more in my arguments which can only come across one way, that I have complete faith in the word of God and to some that would seem foolish but I can only pray that it will make them ask "why is he so confident in that silly book" their words not mine!
A family acquaintance came to our house just yesterday to catch up with us, She noted to me "wow man you're happy, you just seem at peace with yourself" and I could only agree and pray that she makes that connection to my faith. It made me aware of how much God has worked in me this year almost gone, it truly has been an amazing year, words cannot comply but God has left me awestricken uncountable times.
I have now decided on my plan of action for next year, after much prayer and thought to it I will be doing a course in Pathways College so its crackdown time now in terms of a new job and in time management this coming year. I cannot truly express in any words how much God has blessed me and made me aware of his working in my life, I literally sit here with nothing to write because I cannot put into mere words.
Who are we to try a describe the majestic lord who created the earth and heavens, names the stars one by one, placed them in their place.
Who am I that the same God that sees my sin, looks on me with love?
Who am I that the god of justice and wrath would have a plan and purpose for my life?
It saddens me to see Christians who are so complacent with their circumstances, ones who have no further passion for the God of love and wrath that we serve. It upsets me that they are constantly reminded of this and motivated by their peers yet do not act on a word of advice. Of course this is from the little I see of their lives. But oh lord do I pray for inspiration for them, I yearn to see their fire burn brighter and catch other people alight with the same joy.
Our lives truly are but a breath, God breathed life into us and can just as easily take it from us, we are in service of such a gracious God, may we all see his power and wrath for what it truly is understand what it is to fear God, a fear that means you want to love him with all your heart mind and soul.
But as I wind down from my trip to Australia I begin to understand the simplicity of taking action upon what I have learnt.
I have begun another discussion with my friends online about God, which at one point involved a Jew a Muslim and an Atheist yet for some reason I was not overwhelmed or intimidated. I thought I would be but I had complete peace, my mind was still and uncluttered to argue one point at a time. I have learnt to use the bible more in my arguments which can only come across one way, that I have complete faith in the word of God and to some that would seem foolish but I can only pray that it will make them ask "why is he so confident in that silly book" their words not mine!
A family acquaintance came to our house just yesterday to catch up with us, She noted to me "wow man you're happy, you just seem at peace with yourself" and I could only agree and pray that she makes that connection to my faith. It made me aware of how much God has worked in me this year almost gone, it truly has been an amazing year, words cannot comply but God has left me awestricken uncountable times.
I have now decided on my plan of action for next year, after much prayer and thought to it I will be doing a course in Pathways College so its crackdown time now in terms of a new job and in time management this coming year. I cannot truly express in any words how much God has blessed me and made me aware of his working in my life, I literally sit here with nothing to write because I cannot put into mere words.
Who are we to try a describe the majestic lord who created the earth and heavens, names the stars one by one, placed them in their place.
Who am I that the same God that sees my sin, looks on me with love?
Who am I that the god of justice and wrath would have a plan and purpose for my life?
It saddens me to see Christians who are so complacent with their circumstances, ones who have no further passion for the God of love and wrath that we serve. It upsets me that they are constantly reminded of this and motivated by their peers yet do not act on a word of advice. Of course this is from the little I see of their lives. But oh lord do I pray for inspiration for them, I yearn to see their fire burn brighter and catch other people alight with the same joy.
Our lives truly are but a breath, God breathed life into us and can just as easily take it from us, we are in service of such a gracious God, may we all see his power and wrath for what it truly is understand what it is to fear God, a fear that means you want to love him with all your heart mind and soul.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Insignificance.
Well it has been a pretty full on week and a bit (9 days)
Arriving in Sydney to go down to Canberra a few days later for what I like to call SPRTE or what will be referred to by me as 'sprite.' This involved in depth bible study of the passage Romans 3:21-26 which my sum up is "its one of those passages that you think are self explanatory yet once one door of insight opens regarding it seems the door leads down and endless path of theological, philosophical densely packed information, with a cross breed of cross references." Swell as amazing talks (once again theologically packed and completely biblical based) then add a handful of a thousand or more brothers and sisters in Christ with which to meet and befriend, stir well. Leave you "wanting a break, not from physical tiresome but mental overload of information" and serve with hot Canberra sun, with a side of flies everywhere you go. This was closely followed by a mission trip to the central coast which meant involvement with the 'Lakes Evangelical Church' which with a heafty dessert course of serving leaves you set and ready to hit the sack.
That’s the short way of explaining it; my general more understandable version is that it was Theoretical followed by Practical in regards to serving and beginning ministry.
Now as for my title, I have had a few small 'God moments' throughout this 9-day period but one of the most vivid is precisely about our insignificance. There came a moment to where I mentally removed myself from the context I was in, the surroundings and specific details are irrelevant however I was very much still physically present. I felt as if I was somehow seeing everything around me from a third person perspective, now you're probably thinking, "well of course you were!" but I mean from a different standing point than the obvious. It came to me that all we do, the people we meet, the person we are becoming everyday, all that we live for and all that we think we know. Is insignificant. I would usually go on to explain that with God in your life however it is significant but you merely need to take a look at Ecclesiastes in the bible to argue otherwise. Now to most reading right now this will be very upsetting, maybe even (hopefully) a little bit daunting, because what this means is that all are efforts are for nothing and that is completely true. Even living a Christian life we (the thinkers of our generation) are constantly faced with "well even if I pray, every word is predestined by God, Even though I am called to 'go out into all the nations' it is still God that saves, even though we strive to be better person, God has already seen all our failings and all our success." This Revelation given to me was not one of a depressing state but more of a complete humbling of my soul, for amongst all these thoughts we can very much lose ourselves in despair and loss of motivation but for me it was finally the reverse, I felt more of a refreshing inspiration as God gently humbled to me just how Uncontainable he really is. This is reiterated to us in the DVD "Indescribable" from Louie Giglio which shows us a fleeting glimpse of how the small knowledge we have our infinitely puzzling universe we are but a spec of dust on the very fingertip of God himself, in fact to scale that spec would be our planet in fact we are so small in scale to the size of God that we truly are insignificant.
The amazing thing truly is that despite our complete worthlessness, despite how little we actually mean, despite our insignificance of which we could never truly understand God still wants to be with us, I feel absolutely privileged that a God so big would care to show me but a glimpse of his wonder by giving me a personal revelation from the him, the creator of all. One way in which I can begin to glimpse his power and wonder is that scientists guess that in our universe (of which we know no limits to yet) a new star is born every second, and in the bible it states that God knows each star by name, that alone alongside the beauty of creation, and alongside the personal relationship he establishes with each and every one of us makes me feel so incredibly humbled that it truly in indescribable, Words are but a spec of floating dust in the desert of what he is worthy of. I say it all the time and even these words that are carefully strung into a sentence do not come but a fraction close (in my understanding) in describing the absolute awe that God leaves me with every single time I try to understand who he is.
"A lifetime of worship and study into your character could barely give us a glimpse of your magnitude, of your limitless expanse and wonder"
That has been my prayer many a time, and I can only add to that prayer that it may be yours also.
"Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling"
We serve an incredible God.
May he soften your heart, and open your eyes and ears as he humbles your soul to his absolute sovereignty.
Arriving in Sydney to go down to Canberra a few days later for what I like to call SPRTE or what will be referred to by me as 'sprite.' This involved in depth bible study of the passage Romans 3:21-26 which my sum up is "its one of those passages that you think are self explanatory yet once one door of insight opens regarding it seems the door leads down and endless path of theological, philosophical densely packed information, with a cross breed of cross references." Swell as amazing talks (once again theologically packed and completely biblical based) then add a handful of a thousand or more brothers and sisters in Christ with which to meet and befriend, stir well. Leave you "wanting a break, not from physical tiresome but mental overload of information" and serve with hot Canberra sun, with a side of flies everywhere you go. This was closely followed by a mission trip to the central coast which meant involvement with the 'Lakes Evangelical Church' which with a heafty dessert course of serving leaves you set and ready to hit the sack.
That’s the short way of explaining it; my general more understandable version is that it was Theoretical followed by Practical in regards to serving and beginning ministry.
Now as for my title, I have had a few small 'God moments' throughout this 9-day period but one of the most vivid is precisely about our insignificance. There came a moment to where I mentally removed myself from the context I was in, the surroundings and specific details are irrelevant however I was very much still physically present. I felt as if I was somehow seeing everything around me from a third person perspective, now you're probably thinking, "well of course you were!" but I mean from a different standing point than the obvious. It came to me that all we do, the people we meet, the person we are becoming everyday, all that we live for and all that we think we know. Is insignificant. I would usually go on to explain that with God in your life however it is significant but you merely need to take a look at Ecclesiastes in the bible to argue otherwise. Now to most reading right now this will be very upsetting, maybe even (hopefully) a little bit daunting, because what this means is that all are efforts are for nothing and that is completely true. Even living a Christian life we (the thinkers of our generation) are constantly faced with "well even if I pray, every word is predestined by God, Even though I am called to 'go out into all the nations' it is still God that saves, even though we strive to be better person, God has already seen all our failings and all our success." This Revelation given to me was not one of a depressing state but more of a complete humbling of my soul, for amongst all these thoughts we can very much lose ourselves in despair and loss of motivation but for me it was finally the reverse, I felt more of a refreshing inspiration as God gently humbled to me just how Uncontainable he really is. This is reiterated to us in the DVD "Indescribable" from Louie Giglio which shows us a fleeting glimpse of how the small knowledge we have our infinitely puzzling universe we are but a spec of dust on the very fingertip of God himself, in fact to scale that spec would be our planet in fact we are so small in scale to the size of God that we truly are insignificant.
The amazing thing truly is that despite our complete worthlessness, despite how little we actually mean, despite our insignificance of which we could never truly understand God still wants to be with us, I feel absolutely privileged that a God so big would care to show me but a glimpse of his wonder by giving me a personal revelation from the him, the creator of all. One way in which I can begin to glimpse his power and wonder is that scientists guess that in our universe (of which we know no limits to yet) a new star is born every second, and in the bible it states that God knows each star by name, that alone alongside the beauty of creation, and alongside the personal relationship he establishes with each and every one of us makes me feel so incredibly humbled that it truly in indescribable, Words are but a spec of floating dust in the desert of what he is worthy of. I say it all the time and even these words that are carefully strung into a sentence do not come but a fraction close (in my understanding) in describing the absolute awe that God leaves me with every single time I try to understand who he is.
"A lifetime of worship and study into your character could barely give us a glimpse of your magnitude, of your limitless expanse and wonder"
That has been my prayer many a time, and I can only add to that prayer that it may be yours also.
"Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling"
We serve an incredible God.
May he soften your heart, and open your eyes and ears as he humbles your soul to his absolute sovereignty.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
World of Wonders
As I have now finished my exams and sit here in Sydney in my brothers apartment I can't help but remember the flight over, and the vivid feeling I got whilst looking out the plane window at the vast oceans and lands in the distance. I began to think "Jesus walked this earth, As did every other historical figure in history" as I came to this great thought my thoughts trailed on as they usually do and I started to think that maybe if for one day ever "Christian" that identifies with that title were to understand the cross, the significance of it, the sheer beautiful love and mercy that was poured out on that day, then maybe, just maybe we may see our world begin to shake of the wonders and works of God.
I thought that the land we live on today is the same land that Jesus himself lived on, so my great question of the night is simply. What’s changed?
Sure one could argue the masses of civilisations that have sprung up; the development of morals, economy's, societies, nations, infrastructure, transport, telecommunications... and the list goes on. I do not wish to regard all that as irrelevant but my simple thought is that the same land Jesus once walked on is the same land today. Why do we find it so difficult to put our trust and faith in the Lord when we have the living word of God as proof of the great wonders he performed thousands of years ago? Surely 'every knee shall bow and every tongue confess' but my thought is simply; what are we waiting for?
Some days we like to think that it would be nice if God could just sneeze and save every living person, and sometimes we question God's authority on that with the ever nagging "Well your all powerful, why don't you do it?" but to me I see the bible as God using man to reach man. Ever since the fall we have been riddled with sin and today is certainly no exception, I hear news of people torturing two month old babies, putting them in freezers and throwing them against walls and I can't help but think "Why can't God just stop this insanity" but at the same time I feel conviction.
Conviction that I have not done all I can to spread my testimony and my faith. Conviction that I have not discipled as many followers as possible. Conviction that we as a body are not the remedy for a world that is so sick. I think we all just need to sit back at one point in our lives and begin to understand that this same world we live on today is the same world that Jesus lived on, the same world on which he died the most gruesome possible death imaginable to simply make our lives better.
It is a conviction for each of us personally and we need not do things out of guilt, God is not here to guilt trip you by saying "well now I sent my son to die for you, you better give in that offering" and yet that is the view of so many. They either feel obliged to do something or don't want to do it because they think that God is too good for them. God loves us beyond our comprehension and he wants an A class life for each of us, that was true in the time of Adam and Eve. In the time of Abraham. In the time of Moses. In the time of Jesus and is still true today. What makes us think that anything has changed at all? Sure its an effort sometimes, and I do not wish to belittle that effort but so easily we can think "aw maybe I’ll do it tomorrow" but a friend recently told me of a moment like that she had and she automatically felt the spirit say to her "well maybe I didn't feel like dying on the cross" and I believe that should be our conviction. Mark 16:15 states to go into ALL the world and preach the good news, and I do not think that we should say "maybe tomorrow" to that. When it comes down to it it merely comes down to us opening our mouths and our hearts at the same time, sharing with strangers and friends why we have a smile on our face today, or simply sharing why life is so Good with God, sharing parts of our testimony.
One man changed the face of history; He loved life, Loved God, Loved people, and preached his good news to all the world that he encountered in his life. And he gave his life to see you follow in his footsteps. We all know that Jesus call's us to follow him, but are we taking it as seriously as a disciple? Or are we just part of the crowd?
Hmm rant over..
As usual thoughts are welcome :)
I thought that the land we live on today is the same land that Jesus himself lived on, so my great question of the night is simply. What’s changed?
Sure one could argue the masses of civilisations that have sprung up; the development of morals, economy's, societies, nations, infrastructure, transport, telecommunications... and the list goes on. I do not wish to regard all that as irrelevant but my simple thought is that the same land Jesus once walked on is the same land today. Why do we find it so difficult to put our trust and faith in the Lord when we have the living word of God as proof of the great wonders he performed thousands of years ago? Surely 'every knee shall bow and every tongue confess' but my thought is simply; what are we waiting for?
Some days we like to think that it would be nice if God could just sneeze and save every living person, and sometimes we question God's authority on that with the ever nagging "Well your all powerful, why don't you do it?" but to me I see the bible as God using man to reach man. Ever since the fall we have been riddled with sin and today is certainly no exception, I hear news of people torturing two month old babies, putting them in freezers and throwing them against walls and I can't help but think "Why can't God just stop this insanity" but at the same time I feel conviction.
Conviction that I have not done all I can to spread my testimony and my faith. Conviction that I have not discipled as many followers as possible. Conviction that we as a body are not the remedy for a world that is so sick. I think we all just need to sit back at one point in our lives and begin to understand that this same world we live on today is the same world that Jesus lived on, the same world on which he died the most gruesome possible death imaginable to simply make our lives better.
It is a conviction for each of us personally and we need not do things out of guilt, God is not here to guilt trip you by saying "well now I sent my son to die for you, you better give in that offering" and yet that is the view of so many. They either feel obliged to do something or don't want to do it because they think that God is too good for them. God loves us beyond our comprehension and he wants an A class life for each of us, that was true in the time of Adam and Eve. In the time of Abraham. In the time of Moses. In the time of Jesus and is still true today. What makes us think that anything has changed at all? Sure its an effort sometimes, and I do not wish to belittle that effort but so easily we can think "aw maybe I’ll do it tomorrow" but a friend recently told me of a moment like that she had and she automatically felt the spirit say to her "well maybe I didn't feel like dying on the cross" and I believe that should be our conviction. Mark 16:15 states to go into ALL the world and preach the good news, and I do not think that we should say "maybe tomorrow" to that. When it comes down to it it merely comes down to us opening our mouths and our hearts at the same time, sharing with strangers and friends why we have a smile on our face today, or simply sharing why life is so Good with God, sharing parts of our testimony.
One man changed the face of history; He loved life, Loved God, Loved people, and preached his good news to all the world that he encountered in his life. And he gave his life to see you follow in his footsteps. We all know that Jesus call's us to follow him, but are we taking it as seriously as a disciple? Or are we just part of the crowd?
Hmm rant over..
As usual thoughts are welcome :)
Monday, November 10, 2008
Boiling Frog
Well due to the post title, I must explain that just like that theory the reality of finishing school did not hit me until the beginning of the end (to make it sound from a movie) and by that I mean the beginning of the last day.
Now I've been all over the place with my years at high school, but 2008 has without a doubt been my best year since. This final day at school has wrapped it up so perfectly that not even tears could express my.. Joy. because i'm not sad, yet not particularly elated once again God is simply blessing me with the simple acceptance of where I stand in my current circumstances.
there really are no words to describe it, yet following trend of everyone else who has said "it left me speechless" I’ll keep writing anyway :) I feel God answering my prayers more and more recently, maybe it’s just that I haven't noticed in the past? but regardless I look back on my years of school and realise how heartfelt it was when all the adults lectured me about "I wish I was back in school! make the most of it" School really is the beginning of any life, the building of oneself, the learning. Be it practically, spiritually, relationally, friendly, physically, mentally and lets not forget academically! When you find yourself stepping out of childhood and into the adult world as the illustration may be regardless of whether or not we were ready for it at different points in our lives, the end of this beginning is the puss off the ledge that makes you finally realise "it's all over." As a friend of mine wrote in her song, 'we have all been waiting for this day to come, now we cant believe its here'
But rather than moan, mourn or have regret I find myself celebrating, firstly that I made it through with all my other dilemmas life has thrown at me and secondly because it truly has been an establishment of my life, my personality, my friendships and ultimately my purpose in life. I can now finally be on the alternate end of the lecture and tell you that I would rather stay at school, I can now lecture anyone (from my heart) and tell them 'you truly have no idea how these years of your life are the best'
And as I sit here, reminiscing and playing what would literally be a movie of my time in school, with my minds eye and memory in overdrive trying to piece all the good times together I cannot help but cry tears, tears of joy and complete satisfaction.
I have always felt sorry for drop outs, not only because the majority of them are simply drop kick losers in life but now also because they miss out on so much, so much opportunity, so many tears, so much laughter, so many friends, so many memories.
there really is nothing I can say to wrap this up nicely except.
Long live Class of 2008, Hutt Valley High School.
Now I've been all over the place with my years at high school, but 2008 has without a doubt been my best year since. This final day at school has wrapped it up so perfectly that not even tears could express my.. Joy. because i'm not sad, yet not particularly elated once again God is simply blessing me with the simple acceptance of where I stand in my current circumstances.
there really are no words to describe it, yet following trend of everyone else who has said "it left me speechless" I’ll keep writing anyway :) I feel God answering my prayers more and more recently, maybe it’s just that I haven't noticed in the past? but regardless I look back on my years of school and realise how heartfelt it was when all the adults lectured me about "I wish I was back in school! make the most of it" School really is the beginning of any life, the building of oneself, the learning. Be it practically, spiritually, relationally, friendly, physically, mentally and lets not forget academically! When you find yourself stepping out of childhood and into the adult world as the illustration may be regardless of whether or not we were ready for it at different points in our lives, the end of this beginning is the puss off the ledge that makes you finally realise "it's all over." As a friend of mine wrote in her song, 'we have all been waiting for this day to come, now we cant believe its here'
But rather than moan, mourn or have regret I find myself celebrating, firstly that I made it through with all my other dilemmas life has thrown at me and secondly because it truly has been an establishment of my life, my personality, my friendships and ultimately my purpose in life. I can now finally be on the alternate end of the lecture and tell you that I would rather stay at school, I can now lecture anyone (from my heart) and tell them 'you truly have no idea how these years of your life are the best'
And as I sit here, reminiscing and playing what would literally be a movie of my time in school, with my minds eye and memory in overdrive trying to piece all the good times together I cannot help but cry tears, tears of joy and complete satisfaction.
I have always felt sorry for drop outs, not only because the majority of them are simply drop kick losers in life but now also because they miss out on so much, so much opportunity, so many tears, so much laughter, so many friends, so many memories.
there really is nothing I can say to wrap this up nicely except.
Long live Class of 2008, Hutt Valley High School.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Numb3er5
Before I start (fully recovered since last blog, God has been answering a few prayers :D )
------------
There are currently 4,283,179 people living in NZ, our most recent unemployment figure is 3.9%, one of the lowest in the world, if not the lowest. Every year we as a nation consume up to 470 million litres of alcohol, the proportion of that figure in which we consume spirits has almost double since the new millennium. Our average weekly income * was $537, up 3.5 percent from the June 2007 quarter
* Was up 5.3 percent for females (to $413) and up 2.3 percent for males (to $690) from the June 2007 quarter
*Was highest for those in the 30–34, 45–49 and 50–54 year age groups at $767.
Yet despite this there are over 420,000 crime offences reported every year (on a slow and steady decline I may add) with only 48% of these being resolved. Just recently our national annual suicide rate passed that of our own road toll, there are more people intentionally hurting themselves in NZ then there are accidentally doing it. In 2007 we had 759,906 students attending school 33% of which left school before reaching year 13. In our country over two million people call themself Christian. The main Christian denominations are Anglican (584,793 or 17 percent of people), Catholic (486,012 or 14 percent) and the Presbyterian group (417,453 or 11 percent).
Yet there were 18,380 abortions in 2007 with Women aged 20–24 years having the highest abortion rate (37 abortions per 1,000 women aged 20–24 years) in 2007. There were 317 resident civil unions in 2007 80% of which were same-sex unions. There were 11.3 divorces for every 1000 married couple in 2007, putting it at just above 1 in 10 marriages being unsuccessful. But more than all of this, there were a recorded 28,690 deaths recorded in 2007.
So that is the cross section of our society today, my biggest question is, how many of these people that call themselves Christian actually are living and acting out their faith everyday? I’m not one to point the finger and that’s certainly not what i'm here to do my biggest burden is thinking about those 28,690 deaths. These numbers all represent a proportion of events within the given time but they are more than numbers, we are more than numbers and statistics, you are more than a statistic. These numbers represent people’s lives, their actions, their beliefs and their social background. These are people with mothers and fathers, and family's. People with everyday problems, with love mishaps and people just like you and me, obviously we are all unique and not like anyone else we will find and yet we are a mere proportion of the world, compared to the 6.3 billion people everywhere else in the world we are but a spec. Isn’t it amazing that we are all different in some respect, we will find others with similarities but there is not one person like me, like you? Its particularly sad a distressing to see our suicide rate climbing and climbing.
My burden is with the number of deaths because although I can assume the majority of them were natural death's how many were murders? How many were suicides? And more than anything, how many were people calling themselves Christian? And how many weren't? I’m not trying to condemn anyone at all, only god can know how many of that number made it into his kingdom, but looking at all these other numbers I can only assume the percentage was small indeed. There must more to this life right? More than living than dying, more than the money we work so hard to dispose of, more than the cars we drive to destroy, more than the relationships we go through so fast. One question we must all ask ourselves is this, "what numbers will I fill?" at the end of the day we can't prevent being part of a statistic but like I have said these statistics show the makeup of our lives.
I remember vividly when that woman at the airport leant on the wall next to me and said "ah its the cross section of society huh?" The bible talks of our lives being like a breath of wind, moving swiftly from our birth to our death. We are but dust floating into the oblivion that is our future and we are as fragile as dust. Anyone who has lost a loved one or witnessed a horrific accident resulting in death will tell you how much it rips your insides apart, feeling as if a bombs gone off inside of you.
As Christmas approaches I can't help but think again 'this feels familiar' it seems like only a short period of time that it was Christmas last year, yet despite this we still clutter our lives with the meaningless material junk, the stuff we consume, the stuff we decorate ourselves with, the dresses we wear once or suits we wear once. For what may I ask? It will all mean nothing when you die, of course you can say "live it while you can" but its a chasing of the wind, its something that is merely chewing your time. Recently I attended a worship conference in Wellington city and in the back of my notebook I stumbled across a quote that opened my eyes once again
"There are no clocks to measure time except the beating of our singing heart"
No with no idea on earth who said this it made it feel more like God telling me to stop cluttering myself with all this nonsense and just sit back and relax, to simplify things and essentially have less of me more of God. In the famous words of "fight Club's" Tyler Durden
"Warning: If you are reading this then this warning is for you. Every word you read of this useless fine print is another second off your life. Don't you have other things to do? Is your life so empty that you honestly can't think of a better way to spend these moments? Or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all that claim it? Do you read everything you're supposed to read? Do you think every thing you're supposed to think? Buy what you're told to want? Get out of your apartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the excessive shopping. Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you're alive. If you don't claim your humanity you will become a statistic. You have been warned- Tyler."
"This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time. "
Stop wasting your life.
Daniel
------------
There are currently 4,283,179 people living in NZ, our most recent unemployment figure is 3.9%, one of the lowest in the world, if not the lowest. Every year we as a nation consume up to 470 million litres of alcohol, the proportion of that figure in which we consume spirits has almost double since the new millennium. Our average weekly income * was $537, up 3.5 percent from the June 2007 quarter
* Was up 5.3 percent for females (to $413) and up 2.3 percent for males (to $690) from the June 2007 quarter
*Was highest for those in the 30–34, 45–49 and 50–54 year age groups at $767.
Yet despite this there are over 420,000 crime offences reported every year (on a slow and steady decline I may add) with only 48% of these being resolved. Just recently our national annual suicide rate passed that of our own road toll, there are more people intentionally hurting themselves in NZ then there are accidentally doing it. In 2007 we had 759,906 students attending school 33% of which left school before reaching year 13. In our country over two million people call themself Christian. The main Christian denominations are Anglican (584,793 or 17 percent of people), Catholic (486,012 or 14 percent) and the Presbyterian group (417,453 or 11 percent).
Yet there were 18,380 abortions in 2007 with Women aged 20–24 years having the highest abortion rate (37 abortions per 1,000 women aged 20–24 years) in 2007. There were 317 resident civil unions in 2007 80% of which were same-sex unions. There were 11.3 divorces for every 1000 married couple in 2007, putting it at just above 1 in 10 marriages being unsuccessful. But more than all of this, there were a recorded 28,690 deaths recorded in 2007.
So that is the cross section of our society today, my biggest question is, how many of these people that call themselves Christian actually are living and acting out their faith everyday? I’m not one to point the finger and that’s certainly not what i'm here to do my biggest burden is thinking about those 28,690 deaths. These numbers all represent a proportion of events within the given time but they are more than numbers, we are more than numbers and statistics, you are more than a statistic. These numbers represent people’s lives, their actions, their beliefs and their social background. These are people with mothers and fathers, and family's. People with everyday problems, with love mishaps and people just like you and me, obviously we are all unique and not like anyone else we will find and yet we are a mere proportion of the world, compared to the 6.3 billion people everywhere else in the world we are but a spec. Isn’t it amazing that we are all different in some respect, we will find others with similarities but there is not one person like me, like you? Its particularly sad a distressing to see our suicide rate climbing and climbing.
My burden is with the number of deaths because although I can assume the majority of them were natural death's how many were murders? How many were suicides? And more than anything, how many were people calling themselves Christian? And how many weren't? I’m not trying to condemn anyone at all, only god can know how many of that number made it into his kingdom, but looking at all these other numbers I can only assume the percentage was small indeed. There must more to this life right? More than living than dying, more than the money we work so hard to dispose of, more than the cars we drive to destroy, more than the relationships we go through so fast. One question we must all ask ourselves is this, "what numbers will I fill?" at the end of the day we can't prevent being part of a statistic but like I have said these statistics show the makeup of our lives.
I remember vividly when that woman at the airport leant on the wall next to me and said "ah its the cross section of society huh?" The bible talks of our lives being like a breath of wind, moving swiftly from our birth to our death. We are but dust floating into the oblivion that is our future and we are as fragile as dust. Anyone who has lost a loved one or witnessed a horrific accident resulting in death will tell you how much it rips your insides apart, feeling as if a bombs gone off inside of you.
As Christmas approaches I can't help but think again 'this feels familiar' it seems like only a short period of time that it was Christmas last year, yet despite this we still clutter our lives with the meaningless material junk, the stuff we consume, the stuff we decorate ourselves with, the dresses we wear once or suits we wear once. For what may I ask? It will all mean nothing when you die, of course you can say "live it while you can" but its a chasing of the wind, its something that is merely chewing your time. Recently I attended a worship conference in Wellington city and in the back of my notebook I stumbled across a quote that opened my eyes once again
"There are no clocks to measure time except the beating of our singing heart"
No with no idea on earth who said this it made it feel more like God telling me to stop cluttering myself with all this nonsense and just sit back and relax, to simplify things and essentially have less of me more of God. In the famous words of "fight Club's" Tyler Durden
"Warning: If you are reading this then this warning is for you. Every word you read of this useless fine print is another second off your life. Don't you have other things to do? Is your life so empty that you honestly can't think of a better way to spend these moments? Or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all that claim it? Do you read everything you're supposed to read? Do you think every thing you're supposed to think? Buy what you're told to want? Get out of your apartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the excessive shopping. Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you're alive. If you don't claim your humanity you will become a statistic. You have been warned- Tyler."
"This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time. "
Stop wasting your life.
Daniel
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Familiarities
Its sad when you have familiarities invovled with debt, anger and general dissapointment in life.
i sit here, once again in debt, i need not go into details but its 1100 this time.
It all feel's so familiar and I wander how on earth I got back to this depressive state. With all do respect its not my fault this time, and I say that in honesty, not in a way that is trying to pass on the blame from myself. It would appear that I do indeed love to serve others, I love to love others. In the state I'm in, which is all to familiar for my liking I wander why I bother anymore. It would seem I get nothing back physically or spiritually and its this caring, loving and serving side of myself that has seemed to have gotten me into this scenario and all I can think is. Why?
I hear so many stories of God Blessing people, Healing them, Restoring them. And needless to say I have had revelations from God, in fact one just last thursday but I begin to wander, when am I truly going to get something back? I have given up so much for the 'Jesus Way of Life' and what have I got to show for it? Whilst I write I think of what one preacher once said, and that is that if i'm wandering when my next blessing or revelation is I need to put my trust in God, look back to the last one he gave me and live on that promise. My last revelation was when I was breaking down, because I came to the realisation that I have no idea what I'm doing next year and i just cried out to God, trusting in him. I opened my bible and there stood the words "Go in peace, Your journey has been approved by the Lord." I am trying with all I have to keep that as my foundation right now but after giving up so much of my life to God I sadly have to say I'm beggining to doubt him.
My journey to the Lord has been one of complete logic as that is how i function and God is aware of that, so in that aspect I have no doubt that the Judea Christian God exists. My doubt lies in the favour-itism. I put that dash there for a reason. God doesn't play favourites but he does have favour for some rather than others, And that is biblical. As I came to face the facts of my situation I had to clearly write out my priorities. And for me that is money, the money that I don't have. 400 of it being fines that will get me a police record if not paid. So this means I'm not going to finish the duration of my schooling which to me is a major dissapointment, not because I like school but because it means i have wasted my whole year, its gone. thats time i could have spent working. whether it be for the kingdom of God or the numerical currency we strive to attain.
tommorow I will be working all day, I'm hoping this will help prepare me for working full time, or whatever it is I end up doing next year. As I have said the sad part is that this all came to happen through my kindness towards others, my willingness to help and let them have a fun time. I can't help but feel utmost hatred at this. If this is what I get for being kind and loving then maybe I should never bother ever again, I even begin to feel my thoughts that say "if I died right now i wouldn't have these problems." however I know I've overcome this before and I'm better than that.
but will anyone notice me this time? will anyone thank me? will anyone help me for a change? will they be grateful for the sacrifices i make to make them happy?
I can only hope to get over myself in this time, in the sense that I need to focus on God, and trust that my problems are but a dust particle to him, they are no problem for him to handle, but will I be able to really surrender myself to him? it's one thing for me to pray this, to sing it in the songs. But I simply don't know how to open myself up to him. for this I begin to think "when will he open me up and operate?" because if I can't willingly do it then I can only pray that he will force it upon me.
I wish i could go in peace, knowing that my journey is approved by the Lord himself but I.. I just can't.
i sit here, once again in debt, i need not go into details but its 1100 this time.
It all feel's so familiar and I wander how on earth I got back to this depressive state. With all do respect its not my fault this time, and I say that in honesty, not in a way that is trying to pass on the blame from myself. It would appear that I do indeed love to serve others, I love to love others. In the state I'm in, which is all to familiar for my liking I wander why I bother anymore. It would seem I get nothing back physically or spiritually and its this caring, loving and serving side of myself that has seemed to have gotten me into this scenario and all I can think is. Why?
I hear so many stories of God Blessing people, Healing them, Restoring them. And needless to say I have had revelations from God, in fact one just last thursday but I begin to wander, when am I truly going to get something back? I have given up so much for the 'Jesus Way of Life' and what have I got to show for it? Whilst I write I think of what one preacher once said, and that is that if i'm wandering when my next blessing or revelation is I need to put my trust in God, look back to the last one he gave me and live on that promise. My last revelation was when I was breaking down, because I came to the realisation that I have no idea what I'm doing next year and i just cried out to God, trusting in him. I opened my bible and there stood the words "Go in peace, Your journey has been approved by the Lord." I am trying with all I have to keep that as my foundation right now but after giving up so much of my life to God I sadly have to say I'm beggining to doubt him.
My journey to the Lord has been one of complete logic as that is how i function and God is aware of that, so in that aspect I have no doubt that the Judea Christian God exists. My doubt lies in the favour-itism. I put that dash there for a reason. God doesn't play favourites but he does have favour for some rather than others, And that is biblical. As I came to face the facts of my situation I had to clearly write out my priorities. And for me that is money, the money that I don't have. 400 of it being fines that will get me a police record if not paid. So this means I'm not going to finish the duration of my schooling which to me is a major dissapointment, not because I like school but because it means i have wasted my whole year, its gone. thats time i could have spent working. whether it be for the kingdom of God or the numerical currency we strive to attain.
tommorow I will be working all day, I'm hoping this will help prepare me for working full time, or whatever it is I end up doing next year. As I have said the sad part is that this all came to happen through my kindness towards others, my willingness to help and let them have a fun time. I can't help but feel utmost hatred at this. If this is what I get for being kind and loving then maybe I should never bother ever again, I even begin to feel my thoughts that say "if I died right now i wouldn't have these problems." however I know I've overcome this before and I'm better than that.
but will anyone notice me this time? will anyone thank me? will anyone help me for a change? will they be grateful for the sacrifices i make to make them happy?
I can only hope to get over myself in this time, in the sense that I need to focus on God, and trust that my problems are but a dust particle to him, they are no problem for him to handle, but will I be able to really surrender myself to him? it's one thing for me to pray this, to sing it in the songs. But I simply don't know how to open myself up to him. for this I begin to think "when will he open me up and operate?" because if I can't willingly do it then I can only pray that he will force it upon me.
I wish i could go in peace, knowing that my journey is approved by the Lord himself but I.. I just can't.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Adulthood.
What is adulthood?
ok no I'm not going to go down that rant.
but I will say what I have been saying to most when I could be bothered explaining.
18 is merely a number to me, and recently I have wandered what our lives would be like if we didn't attach numbers to our birthdays, the only reason we feel old, or young, is because of that number. so its just another number to me, one which bears no real significance to me, for i feel alive, not young neither old.
It has been a while since i wrote and i suppose i'll just explain whats been happening.
exams, what a big bundle of joy huh? i finished them last friday, but something was different this year when i sat them, i bore no real stress upon them because the simple fact is i just don't care anymore. not in the sense that i would simply not attend, as i attended all. but i just feel at ease with my results. the only reason they feel stressful to people is because their whole future lies in those results, how sad that must be to be audited your whole life by others, ending up only where your own knowledge leads you. this year was different for me, i've been continually growing in the lord this year, reminding myself that i need to be refreshed in his spirit everyday. and the reason i simply didn't care this year is because i know that God has everything safe and secure in his hands. why should i worry when i have the creator of all the universe looking after me? my future bears no relationship to these results, not anymore. and i feel confident in knowing that God will take me where he wants, and i guess this is just another step to not living for myself but living for God. just giving him more and more of my life to him for him to do with as he pleases, i've never felt more alive in life, i've never felt more content with nature, with the world, with the people around me. sure i still feel disgust at how human beings have polluted God's beautiful creation, polluted with more than just atmosphere, polluted with violence, hate, famine, war, prostitution and basically with everything that God never intended. yet at the same time i feel content in knowing that we are all part of his divine, complex plan. in knowing that he knows all and see's all. he can see our struggle now yet he also see's the point in the future when its resolved, he's watching the second coming as we speak.
as i reach 'adulthood' i feel no different, but i do feel a sense of change. a sense that now because i am no more 'wordly' confined that God is beginning to lift the same confinements off me spiritually. of course it only comes down to my own will power and passion for him, and life is beautiful, no matter how much we go up and down like waves on the sea, i live on the foundation of Jesus that will never fail. I am beginning to see the beauty in the everyday things, the simple joy's of life that, for the masses, we all just run by, so occupied in our own issues that we never stop to look and realise that amongst everything, amongst the war, the crime, the economy's, the pollution of everything. If we are to simply stop and take a breath for a moment we can see that beauty, we merely have to open our eyes, and our hearts to the raw beauty of life.
i am really unsure of what my point in tonights post is. it seems, as per usual, that i am ranting (its fun you should try it sometime), but none of this worry's me, in my puberty years, in the years that i was trying to discover what life was all about i obviously began thinking of girls. my mind still today wanders off into 'what my future could look like with her' yet allthough it troubles me i don't feel confined by it, God provides me with what i need at the appropriate times i need it, he is my one true love, and Jesus the bride that awaits me in the place he has prepared for me. i feel it neccesary to copy and paste something of which i wrote a few years back. something that i thought, at the time, was a stepping stone in my life.
"i finally feel like i have lived life because i almost passed out while being the host to a new years piss up i have a mad collection of music on my dell 17.5 gigs to be exact and i feel like my life career is pointing towards photography and being in a nz band i am no longer worried about what people think of me and have confidence when meeting new people
(mainly chicks) i feel like 2005 to 2006 new years piss up will forever be a milestone in my life and i have my 42 below bottle to remember it all"
now this is just a part of what i wrote, and as you can see i was placing my hope in the wrong places, i had no mention of God or spirituality, and of all the thing i was proud of it was all wordly, all temporary and 'a chasing after the wind'. i had no idea what i was talking about and this life lead me to destruction.
i look back at that and simply laugh at my own stupidity, but also rejoice in knowing that i will never have to go down that road again. i still feel that passion for photography but merely as a hobbie, the reason is simple. seeing God's beauty with our own eyes is beautiful but when we capture that on paper, on film, only then does it become absolutely priceless, like decorations which truly glorify God's creation. i know also that music is still a passion of mine, and whilst at parachute i was more clear on the reason why. music can be used for one of two things. to reach an audience with the truths in the band's lives. lessons they've learnt and things they've endured, things that they are able to communicate to us through their lyrics and music. in this first part also fits in the crucial part of glorifying God, because for most of these truth's that they want to communicate none shine as bright as the truth of Jesus Christ, his suffering and our life in him. the second is probably just as common as the first, to communicate false truth's, to send a message of hate to the listener's because the song writer has endured something but not found the truth in it.
i believe this is also the choice we have in life. to live one of truth, or of false truth and false hope. there is no doubt in my mind that my future lies in the hands of God, so i merely ask you today, where does your future lie? is it in the results of the next coming test, is it in the false hope of mediocre life that the media portray's. or are you sick of conforming, of going along with the crowd and pretending like everything's ok when you know that there isn't much right about your life.
99% of all thought processes are eliminated before they even reach our subconcious, how this works i do not know, but i know that the thoughts that reach your mind are shaped by your expectations, by where you have placed your hope in life and specifically where your passion lies.
think about it (really cruel pun/paradox huh?)
ok no I'm not going to go down that rant.
but I will say what I have been saying to most when I could be bothered explaining.
18 is merely a number to me, and recently I have wandered what our lives would be like if we didn't attach numbers to our birthdays, the only reason we feel old, or young, is because of that number. so its just another number to me, one which bears no real significance to me, for i feel alive, not young neither old.
It has been a while since i wrote and i suppose i'll just explain whats been happening.
exams, what a big bundle of joy huh? i finished them last friday, but something was different this year when i sat them, i bore no real stress upon them because the simple fact is i just don't care anymore. not in the sense that i would simply not attend, as i attended all. but i just feel at ease with my results. the only reason they feel stressful to people is because their whole future lies in those results, how sad that must be to be audited your whole life by others, ending up only where your own knowledge leads you. this year was different for me, i've been continually growing in the lord this year, reminding myself that i need to be refreshed in his spirit everyday. and the reason i simply didn't care this year is because i know that God has everything safe and secure in his hands. why should i worry when i have the creator of all the universe looking after me? my future bears no relationship to these results, not anymore. and i feel confident in knowing that God will take me where he wants, and i guess this is just another step to not living for myself but living for God. just giving him more and more of my life to him for him to do with as he pleases, i've never felt more alive in life, i've never felt more content with nature, with the world, with the people around me. sure i still feel disgust at how human beings have polluted God's beautiful creation, polluted with more than just atmosphere, polluted with violence, hate, famine, war, prostitution and basically with everything that God never intended. yet at the same time i feel content in knowing that we are all part of his divine, complex plan. in knowing that he knows all and see's all. he can see our struggle now yet he also see's the point in the future when its resolved, he's watching the second coming as we speak.
as i reach 'adulthood' i feel no different, but i do feel a sense of change. a sense that now because i am no more 'wordly' confined that God is beginning to lift the same confinements off me spiritually. of course it only comes down to my own will power and passion for him, and life is beautiful, no matter how much we go up and down like waves on the sea, i live on the foundation of Jesus that will never fail. I am beginning to see the beauty in the everyday things, the simple joy's of life that, for the masses, we all just run by, so occupied in our own issues that we never stop to look and realise that amongst everything, amongst the war, the crime, the economy's, the pollution of everything. If we are to simply stop and take a breath for a moment we can see that beauty, we merely have to open our eyes, and our hearts to the raw beauty of life.
i am really unsure of what my point in tonights post is. it seems, as per usual, that i am ranting (its fun you should try it sometime), but none of this worry's me, in my puberty years, in the years that i was trying to discover what life was all about i obviously began thinking of girls. my mind still today wanders off into 'what my future could look like with her' yet allthough it troubles me i don't feel confined by it, God provides me with what i need at the appropriate times i need it, he is my one true love, and Jesus the bride that awaits me in the place he has prepared for me. i feel it neccesary to copy and paste something of which i wrote a few years back. something that i thought, at the time, was a stepping stone in my life.
"i finally feel like i have lived life because i almost passed out while being the host to a new years piss up i have a mad collection of music on my dell 17.5 gigs to be exact and i feel like my life career is pointing towards photography and being in a nz band i am no longer worried about what people think of me and have confidence when meeting new people
(mainly chicks) i feel like 2005 to 2006 new years piss up will forever be a milestone in my life and i have my 42 below bottle to remember it all"
now this is just a part of what i wrote, and as you can see i was placing my hope in the wrong places, i had no mention of God or spirituality, and of all the thing i was proud of it was all wordly, all temporary and 'a chasing after the wind'. i had no idea what i was talking about and this life lead me to destruction.
i look back at that and simply laugh at my own stupidity, but also rejoice in knowing that i will never have to go down that road again. i still feel that passion for photography but merely as a hobbie, the reason is simple. seeing God's beauty with our own eyes is beautiful but when we capture that on paper, on film, only then does it become absolutely priceless, like decorations which truly glorify God's creation. i know also that music is still a passion of mine, and whilst at parachute i was more clear on the reason why. music can be used for one of two things. to reach an audience with the truths in the band's lives. lessons they've learnt and things they've endured, things that they are able to communicate to us through their lyrics and music. in this first part also fits in the crucial part of glorifying God, because for most of these truth's that they want to communicate none shine as bright as the truth of Jesus Christ, his suffering and our life in him. the second is probably just as common as the first, to communicate false truth's, to send a message of hate to the listener's because the song writer has endured something but not found the truth in it.
i believe this is also the choice we have in life. to live one of truth, or of false truth and false hope. there is no doubt in my mind that my future lies in the hands of God, so i merely ask you today, where does your future lie? is it in the results of the next coming test, is it in the false hope of mediocre life that the media portray's. or are you sick of conforming, of going along with the crowd and pretending like everything's ok when you know that there isn't much right about your life.
99% of all thought processes are eliminated before they even reach our subconcious, how this works i do not know, but i know that the thoughts that reach your mind are shaped by your expectations, by where you have placed your hope in life and specifically where your passion lies.
think about it (really cruel pun/paradox huh?)
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Healer
Now those of us who are well informed in the music scene of worship, from hillsong to hymns will have heard about the unfortunate events surrounding Michael Guglielmucci's Terminal Illness and his song about his struggles called "healer", It is my misfortune to announce (if you hadn't already known) that this was all a fabrication. Now below is an article i have found that tackles the issue with great wisdom and biblical background and if there's anything more i can add that the Article doesn't say it's that we should all be keeping Romans 2:1 in mind in this time of confusion and probable anger.
___________________________________
Dear Worship Community,
I write this article today from my home office and studio. Looking outside my windows I can see the rain and wind increasing from Tropical Storm Fay. Although she is located several hours south of our home I can see and feel her presence. As the sky grows darker and more ominous I can’t help but think of the storm we’ve encountered over the last twenty four hours in the world’s worshiping communities.
Breaking across the news, forums, blogs, and twitter we all became aware of a great disappointment involving Mike Guglielmucci, author of the smashing hit song, “Healer”. Many who are familiar with this song and Mike’s story would read this and immediately think “Mike has passed away. He lost his battle with cancer”.
Sadly, that is not the disappointment and sorrow that we embraced yesterday. On the contrary, we learned the terrible news that Mike Guglielmucci’s story of his terminal disease, his battle with cancer, and who knows what else …. was a lie. One of the original stories was published in this Australian news site.
So as worshipers, many of whom have promoted this song, the now-famous video testimony, and the recordings, we find ourselves tossing back and forth with waves of emotion including anger, grief, frustration, bitterness, pity … and the list goes on and on. Many of us have shown the video of this false testimony to our churches, our friends, and even our sick loved ones.
This comes on the heels of continued announcements of sin and moral failure from other well-known ministers including Todd Bentley of the “Lakeland Revival”.
Events like these invoke such incredible emotions and questions. With today’s technology it’s not uncommon for a person, a song, a ministry, or an event to become world-famous within a few weeks. How do we handle the fame?
How do we address the elevation of people and songs into the world’s view? More importantly - how do we handle it when these “vessels” break?
The news came pouring into my inbox yesterday morning. I was scheduled to lead an hour of worship and prayer at my home church, St. Simons Community Church. I arrived for prayer, sat down at the keyboard, and looked across the congregation. With authentic disclosure I leaned into the mic and said, “I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to worship. I don’t want to sing. I’m frustrated. I’m disappointed and disillusioned”. Jumping into a super-spiritual time of worship would have been fake and fabricated - just as much as the story Mike Guglielmucci has told us. I gave a quick, 2-3 minute recap of the morning’s events and just sat back for prayer.
One of the men in the congregation spoke out and brought forth a reading from God’s Word that I believe is incredibly relevant to this situation.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.
18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, …
Philippians 1:15-18 (NIV)
I love how “The Message” translation covers verses 18-19:
18 So how am I to respond? I’ve decided that I really don’t care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on! And I’m going to keep that celebration going 19 because I know how it’s going to turn out.
Men and women of God, we must remember this truth. God has given us His light. We are to be His glory here in the earth. However, the all-wise God of the Universe chose to put Himself in us, a people who despite all the wonderful glory of God are “prone to wander” as the hymn writer of “Come Thou Fount” so poetically puts it.
Paul speaks to this in 2 Corinthians:
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all‑surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Cor. 4:7)
We are these earthen, clay vessels. The thing about earthen, clay vessels is that they are fragile. They can break. So when vessels break, how do we respond? Biblical discipline should be exercised through the local church. I’m grateful to see this is happening. The position of influence and honor should be removed. Restoration should begin. Healing should be sought. Prayer should be offered.
As I have pondered these events, I’m somewhat at peace by the reminder that none of this surprised God. He wasn’t caught off guard. As much as this sin and failure grieves Him and His Church, He is still in control.
We do not know the heart or motives of Mike Guglielmucci, Todd Bentley, or other ministers who have had their sins exposed on a worldwide level. We certainly must confess that we’re all capable of such sin. We must ask ourselves how the Church would respond if all of our secret sins, thoughts, motives, and selfish ambitions were exposed for the world to see.
With this in mind, we have to ask ourselves this question - does the breaking of the vessel disqualify what the vessel produced? Is the song tainted? Honestly, the true motive behind the creation of these lyrics and this beautiful, anthemic melody is still unknown. We cannot (and should not) accurately judge that at this time with our limited information. Still, aren’t these lyrics still true? Do they not express God’s redemption and healing grace? Do they not uplift and edify the sick, the weak and the weary?
Lastly, could it be that God will use any vessel (weak, strong, broken, tainted) to accomplish His will? I believe we can go to Scripture and see God using the weak to confound the wise. He uses wicked Kings and rulers to further His plan. He uses prostitutes and yes, even donkeys. He uses you and me.
These actions, like Tropical Storm Fay, are sending out their effects. The rock has been thrown into the water, and the ripples are racing across time. How will we, the Church, respond? Despite our frustration, let’s allow the local church and those in authority over these “broken vessels” their freedom to exercise discipline. For the rest of us, let us pray. Pray earnestly for those affected. Pray that God will be glorified in the midst of failure. Pray that “in our weakness, He will be strong”. Pray for wisdom to those involved in the music industry that have supported this song. Pray for Planetshakers, Hillsongs, and for Integrity Music. Pray for the tens of thousands of Believers that will be discouraged by high profile, public failure.
I believe You’re my Healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You’re my Portion
I believe You’re more than enough for me
Jesus You’re all I need
My Healer, You’re my Healer
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hands
As for me ….
I STILL BELIEVE.
_________________________________
To see the actual article please go to
http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/when-vessels-break/
Full credit to Fred McKinnon
"Fred McKinnon is the Founder and Publisher of TheWorshipCommunity.Com. He's also the Worship Director for St. Simons Community Church, a husband, father of 4 wonderful kids, an e-biz owner, and a self-professed web2.0 addict, blogging at www.fredmckinnon.com."
So will you still believe after this?
I will, and i also believe strongly that nothing we can do will ever hinder God's Power, whether that is the power to heal or to simply answer your prayers.
___________________________________
Dear Worship Community,
I write this article today from my home office and studio. Looking outside my windows I can see the rain and wind increasing from Tropical Storm Fay. Although she is located several hours south of our home I can see and feel her presence. As the sky grows darker and more ominous I can’t help but think of the storm we’ve encountered over the last twenty four hours in the world’s worshiping communities.
Breaking across the news, forums, blogs, and twitter we all became aware of a great disappointment involving Mike Guglielmucci, author of the smashing hit song, “Healer”. Many who are familiar with this song and Mike’s story would read this and immediately think “Mike has passed away. He lost his battle with cancer”.
Sadly, that is not the disappointment and sorrow that we embraced yesterday. On the contrary, we learned the terrible news that Mike Guglielmucci’s story of his terminal disease, his battle with cancer, and who knows what else …. was a lie. One of the original stories was published in this Australian news site.
So as worshipers, many of whom have promoted this song, the now-famous video testimony, and the recordings, we find ourselves tossing back and forth with waves of emotion including anger, grief, frustration, bitterness, pity … and the list goes on and on. Many of us have shown the video of this false testimony to our churches, our friends, and even our sick loved ones.
This comes on the heels of continued announcements of sin and moral failure from other well-known ministers including Todd Bentley of the “Lakeland Revival”.
Events like these invoke such incredible emotions and questions. With today’s technology it’s not uncommon for a person, a song, a ministry, or an event to become world-famous within a few weeks. How do we handle the fame?
How do we address the elevation of people and songs into the world’s view? More importantly - how do we handle it when these “vessels” break?
The news came pouring into my inbox yesterday morning. I was scheduled to lead an hour of worship and prayer at my home church, St. Simons Community Church. I arrived for prayer, sat down at the keyboard, and looked across the congregation. With authentic disclosure I leaned into the mic and said, “I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to worship. I don’t want to sing. I’m frustrated. I’m disappointed and disillusioned”. Jumping into a super-spiritual time of worship would have been fake and fabricated - just as much as the story Mike Guglielmucci has told us. I gave a quick, 2-3 minute recap of the morning’s events and just sat back for prayer.
One of the men in the congregation spoke out and brought forth a reading from God’s Word that I believe is incredibly relevant to this situation.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.
18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, …
Philippians 1:15-18 (NIV)
I love how “The Message” translation covers verses 18-19:
18 So how am I to respond? I’ve decided that I really don’t care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on! And I’m going to keep that celebration going 19 because I know how it’s going to turn out.
Men and women of God, we must remember this truth. God has given us His light. We are to be His glory here in the earth. However, the all-wise God of the Universe chose to put Himself in us, a people who despite all the wonderful glory of God are “prone to wander” as the hymn writer of “Come Thou Fount” so poetically puts it.
Paul speaks to this in 2 Corinthians:
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all‑surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Cor. 4:7)
We are these earthen, clay vessels. The thing about earthen, clay vessels is that they are fragile. They can break. So when vessels break, how do we respond? Biblical discipline should be exercised through the local church. I’m grateful to see this is happening. The position of influence and honor should be removed. Restoration should begin. Healing should be sought. Prayer should be offered.
As I have pondered these events, I’m somewhat at peace by the reminder that none of this surprised God. He wasn’t caught off guard. As much as this sin and failure grieves Him and His Church, He is still in control.
We do not know the heart or motives of Mike Guglielmucci, Todd Bentley, or other ministers who have had their sins exposed on a worldwide level. We certainly must confess that we’re all capable of such sin. We must ask ourselves how the Church would respond if all of our secret sins, thoughts, motives, and selfish ambitions were exposed for the world to see.
With this in mind, we have to ask ourselves this question - does the breaking of the vessel disqualify what the vessel produced? Is the song tainted? Honestly, the true motive behind the creation of these lyrics and this beautiful, anthemic melody is still unknown. We cannot (and should not) accurately judge that at this time with our limited information. Still, aren’t these lyrics still true? Do they not express God’s redemption and healing grace? Do they not uplift and edify the sick, the weak and the weary?
Lastly, could it be that God will use any vessel (weak, strong, broken, tainted) to accomplish His will? I believe we can go to Scripture and see God using the weak to confound the wise. He uses wicked Kings and rulers to further His plan. He uses prostitutes and yes, even donkeys. He uses you and me.
These actions, like Tropical Storm Fay, are sending out their effects. The rock has been thrown into the water, and the ripples are racing across time. How will we, the Church, respond? Despite our frustration, let’s allow the local church and those in authority over these “broken vessels” their freedom to exercise discipline. For the rest of us, let us pray. Pray earnestly for those affected. Pray that God will be glorified in the midst of failure. Pray that “in our weakness, He will be strong”. Pray for wisdom to those involved in the music industry that have supported this song. Pray for Planetshakers, Hillsongs, and for Integrity Music. Pray for the tens of thousands of Believers that will be discouraged by high profile, public failure.
I believe You’re my Healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You’re my Portion
I believe You’re more than enough for me
Jesus You’re all I need
My Healer, You’re my Healer
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hands
As for me ….
I STILL BELIEVE.
_________________________________
To see the actual article please go to
http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/when-vessels-break/
Full credit to Fred McKinnon
"Fred McKinnon is the Founder and Publisher of TheWorshipCommunity.Com. He's also the Worship Director for St. Simons Community Church, a husband, father of 4 wonderful kids, an e-biz owner, and a self-professed web2.0 addict, blogging at www.fredmckinnon.com."
So will you still believe after this?
I will, and i also believe strongly that nothing we can do will ever hinder God's Power, whether that is the power to heal or to simply answer your prayers.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Struggles
It has been a few weeks since my last post and I thought I better update this thing.
After Get Smart I was on fire for God, and I need say that it has died a bit but it’s been good that mostly the fire has continued in its strength. It’s difficult for me to have such strong faith at times, especially when I continually argue with atheists who (for my rational and thinking mind) pose a good argument from time to time. I believe that that same thinking ability of mine is in need of a balance, its one of the reasons I walked away from God, yet at the same time it’s been pretty much the sole factor for my strengthening in faith for God. After Get Smart I found out that I had scoliosis and I felt deprived of the fact that I could have gotten healed, but with my thinking mind I reminded myself that with God there is no plan B, everything is according to his plan. However my physical condition has not improved much.
This year I haven't been exercising much and although I’m not one who actually cares what others think about my body and looks, I am one who (for the sake of the fact that my body is God's temple) wants to respect my body and be healthy and fit. I have never liked exercise much but have kept up with soccer and general walking around, its not as if I have much time this year to be active and going to a gym or anything as my schedule is choka block already and I can only hope that not having school next year will free things up a lot for me. Whilst I am aware that for every struggle God will provide us with Blessings and/or a rejoicing time, it’s hard when I'm going all out for God and I seem to not get much in return. In saying that I am preaching next week at our Christian group at school and I am prayerfully jumping into that task with all I can give it.
This weekend coming up is going to be amazing, with youth group on Friday night, the school ball on Saturday night and church Sunday morning, followed by a worship service that night also. Amongst all my struggles and stress I see evidently that God is up to something great, I talk to friends who all say that their church needs to find a bigger venue. I see more ad's on TV about Sunday services, and TV programmes which broadcast some of these. I know that whilst God has a plan for my life I have to see past that and think broader, think about the huge revivals he is doing worldwide and in my own city. I see on the news the constant troubles and misfortune of war, poverty, famine, pollution and all the rest of it so I’m now making another stand against news. Not because I want to be ignorant about it but merely because it pains me to watch sometimes, when I’m doing all I can for God where he has put me but begin to wonder "where are the people that he has called for these regions?" and more importantly why are we a generation that ignores such calls, we all want to make a change and do something great with our life’s but God it just seems we're all talk and no walk when you actually call us to do great things.
Father in heaven I thank you for what you are doing, but Jesus I pray that we begin to be a generation who won't back down from your call at the first sign of struggle and persecution, you took the ultimate punishment and what we endure is mere bee stings in comparism.
God give us a heart of Passion, a heart that serves. No matter what the cost.
After Get Smart I was on fire for God, and I need say that it has died a bit but it’s been good that mostly the fire has continued in its strength. It’s difficult for me to have such strong faith at times, especially when I continually argue with atheists who (for my rational and thinking mind) pose a good argument from time to time. I believe that that same thinking ability of mine is in need of a balance, its one of the reasons I walked away from God, yet at the same time it’s been pretty much the sole factor for my strengthening in faith for God. After Get Smart I found out that I had scoliosis and I felt deprived of the fact that I could have gotten healed, but with my thinking mind I reminded myself that with God there is no plan B, everything is according to his plan. However my physical condition has not improved much.
This year I haven't been exercising much and although I’m not one who actually cares what others think about my body and looks, I am one who (for the sake of the fact that my body is God's temple) wants to respect my body and be healthy and fit. I have never liked exercise much but have kept up with soccer and general walking around, its not as if I have much time this year to be active and going to a gym or anything as my schedule is choka block already and I can only hope that not having school next year will free things up a lot for me. Whilst I am aware that for every struggle God will provide us with Blessings and/or a rejoicing time, it’s hard when I'm going all out for God and I seem to not get much in return. In saying that I am preaching next week at our Christian group at school and I am prayerfully jumping into that task with all I can give it.
This weekend coming up is going to be amazing, with youth group on Friday night, the school ball on Saturday night and church Sunday morning, followed by a worship service that night also. Amongst all my struggles and stress I see evidently that God is up to something great, I talk to friends who all say that their church needs to find a bigger venue. I see more ad's on TV about Sunday services, and TV programmes which broadcast some of these. I know that whilst God has a plan for my life I have to see past that and think broader, think about the huge revivals he is doing worldwide and in my own city. I see on the news the constant troubles and misfortune of war, poverty, famine, pollution and all the rest of it so I’m now making another stand against news. Not because I want to be ignorant about it but merely because it pains me to watch sometimes, when I’m doing all I can for God where he has put me but begin to wonder "where are the people that he has called for these regions?" and more importantly why are we a generation that ignores such calls, we all want to make a change and do something great with our life’s but God it just seems we're all talk and no walk when you actually call us to do great things.
Father in heaven I thank you for what you are doing, but Jesus I pray that we begin to be a generation who won't back down from your call at the first sign of struggle and persecution, you took the ultimate punishment and what we endure is mere bee stings in comparism.
God give us a heart of Passion, a heart that serves. No matter what the cost.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Go Dream
It as indeed been a while since I have written.
Things became busy and sick for me during the last week of school.
managed to get the famine 'to do' list done, raising a massive 9800 dollars, a very gratifying feeling indeed, every minute of stress was well worth it, still more to come though.
During these holidays I attended my first ever Get Smart youth conference, entitled "Dream". And indeed they focused on dreams, the dreams we have and how to align them with the plans that God has for us.
we all know of the lines people get in for days, whether it is to get the new Iphone, or to see a international band, or for a new book release - but I was blown down and completely awe stricken to hear that young people from all across the south island were queuing from 7am till 9am to get in, queuing to praise God, to learn about him and to have their lives changed. The atmosphere was electric, and several times, the building filled with a warmth that I felt to be un-natural and could only be explained by the presence of God. And be assured that God did move, he did touch people, he broke down barriers, he healed lives and found hundreds more in his kingdom by the end of the conference.
It was an event full of brilliant international speakers, unforgettable worship and an atmosphere that will remain vivid in my mind for decades to come. I could fairly say that half my praise time was spent looking around, soaking up the fact that hundreds of teenagers were gathering to lay their lives down at the feet of the Lord and serve him, it does indeed feel like God is building up an army. And I pray with all my heart that the young people who attended do not lose heart, but study their notes, listen to their resources and read the books they bought, to grow and rest on God in these hectic days where it feels as if hell is right outside the gates of church. But as a speaker reminded us it is just the opposite, the Church (the body) is set up right outside the gates of Hell.
The two most memorable scenes in my mind were as follows.
1. the healings, and I talk of this in the broad sense of hundreds of lives being healed clean of sin by accepting Jesus as their saviour (and indeed my heart still rejoices.) but also in the direct meaning, the healing of the injured, right in front of me I saw people being healed of scoliosis (only to my surprise to find out I have it, as the symptom is that one leg is slightly longer than they other) and to see a person I know, walk up the stage on crutches, and then to walk off the stage without the assistance of the crutches, here is a young man who accidentally cut himself with a chainsaw, breaking bones. To be drastically taken under the power of God, and being healed, for hundreds to testify Gods Glory. For this I thank and praise thee oh wonderful God. Amen.
2. The speakers, in specific Reggie Dabbs, Andi Andrews, Brian Houston and Jurgen Mathesius. Reggie is one of those lively black Americans who have the ability to make people laugh, yet pierce their heart with Gods truth at the very same time. Reggie, during his first sermon asked for all the mothers in the crowd to come to the altar, and then asked anyone with addictions, with conditions of which the doctor said there was no hope to come forward, the aisles filled with hundreds of people in need for a mothers love, the love that is so unique and powerful that all Reggie asked them to do is to move amongst the crowd, looking them in the eyes, saying they love them and giving them a hug, lo and behold that was all that needed be done for the love of God to come to every person in that auditorium. Andi preached whilst pregnant, that alone to me shows the true heart of a Christian, to put aside your own needs and circumstances and to give it all you’ve got to bring people to Christ, my notes and undoubtedly the longest on her sermon, she spoke with challenging and convicting authority of how we as Christians need to get over what other people think, and to stop settling for second best, she hit the very important issue of relationship on the head by stating that so often young men and women settle for second best to suit their temporary needs of comfort in one another. She spoke informatively on how even today we still praise other Gods by giving into such things as, loss of our God given identity, loss of generations and most importantly our persistent ability to make ourselves sexually immoral. Brian talked about living on the edge, and touched on the fact that Jesus himself said ‘let your yes be yes and your no be no’ he talked with wisdom on not being indecisive, and that if we live our lives sensibly were not living what God wants for us, simply because sometimes what God requires of us doesn’t make sense! Finally Jurgen talked about living with a complaint, and not accepting the unacceptable. Living with a complaint does not mean we waste our time on our complaints but it means do not live with complacency, because it’s then that we lose our passion for the lost. And don’t accept that your friends and family members go on life condemned to Hell! because that’s unacceptable, He spoke with great passion and carelessness about the use of the word ‘Hell’ and ‘Devil’ which I think made him stand out for me.
There is simply too much to talk about, so for your sake I will wrap it up. But I must say that I see Get Smart being the beginning of something great, being the point in young peoples lives where they can say to their friends looking back, “that is the reason you are saved today, that is the reason I love God like I do and that is the reason you are seeing an uprising In followers of Jesus Christ”
God is doing something in my School, he is doing something in Wellington and he is doing something in our country, I am forever thankful that I am part of all three, any Christian living here today is part of his plans, and it constantly leaves me in awe that he would choose me to do his good works in life.
Amen to that.
Things became busy and sick for me during the last week of school.
managed to get the famine 'to do' list done, raising a massive 9800 dollars, a very gratifying feeling indeed, every minute of stress was well worth it, still more to come though.
During these holidays I attended my first ever Get Smart youth conference, entitled "Dream". And indeed they focused on dreams, the dreams we have and how to align them with the plans that God has for us.
we all know of the lines people get in for days, whether it is to get the new Iphone, or to see a international band, or for a new book release - but I was blown down and completely awe stricken to hear that young people from all across the south island were queuing from 7am till 9am to get in, queuing to praise God, to learn about him and to have their lives changed. The atmosphere was electric, and several times, the building filled with a warmth that I felt to be un-natural and could only be explained by the presence of God. And be assured that God did move, he did touch people, he broke down barriers, he healed lives and found hundreds more in his kingdom by the end of the conference.
It was an event full of brilliant international speakers, unforgettable worship and an atmosphere that will remain vivid in my mind for decades to come. I could fairly say that half my praise time was spent looking around, soaking up the fact that hundreds of teenagers were gathering to lay their lives down at the feet of the Lord and serve him, it does indeed feel like God is building up an army. And I pray with all my heart that the young people who attended do not lose heart, but study their notes, listen to their resources and read the books they bought, to grow and rest on God in these hectic days where it feels as if hell is right outside the gates of church. But as a speaker reminded us it is just the opposite, the Church (the body) is set up right outside the gates of Hell.
The two most memorable scenes in my mind were as follows.
1. the healings, and I talk of this in the broad sense of hundreds of lives being healed clean of sin by accepting Jesus as their saviour (and indeed my heart still rejoices.) but also in the direct meaning, the healing of the injured, right in front of me I saw people being healed of scoliosis (only to my surprise to find out I have it, as the symptom is that one leg is slightly longer than they other) and to see a person I know, walk up the stage on crutches, and then to walk off the stage without the assistance of the crutches, here is a young man who accidentally cut himself with a chainsaw, breaking bones. To be drastically taken under the power of God, and being healed, for hundreds to testify Gods Glory. For this I thank and praise thee oh wonderful God. Amen.
2. The speakers, in specific Reggie Dabbs, Andi Andrews, Brian Houston and Jurgen Mathesius. Reggie is one of those lively black Americans who have the ability to make people laugh, yet pierce their heart with Gods truth at the very same time. Reggie, during his first sermon asked for all the mothers in the crowd to come to the altar, and then asked anyone with addictions, with conditions of which the doctor said there was no hope to come forward, the aisles filled with hundreds of people in need for a mothers love, the love that is so unique and powerful that all Reggie asked them to do is to move amongst the crowd, looking them in the eyes, saying they love them and giving them a hug, lo and behold that was all that needed be done for the love of God to come to every person in that auditorium. Andi preached whilst pregnant, that alone to me shows the true heart of a Christian, to put aside your own needs and circumstances and to give it all you’ve got to bring people to Christ, my notes and undoubtedly the longest on her sermon, she spoke with challenging and convicting authority of how we as Christians need to get over what other people think, and to stop settling for second best, she hit the very important issue of relationship on the head by stating that so often young men and women settle for second best to suit their temporary needs of comfort in one another. She spoke informatively on how even today we still praise other Gods by giving into such things as, loss of our God given identity, loss of generations and most importantly our persistent ability to make ourselves sexually immoral. Brian talked about living on the edge, and touched on the fact that Jesus himself said ‘let your yes be yes and your no be no’ he talked with wisdom on not being indecisive, and that if we live our lives sensibly were not living what God wants for us, simply because sometimes what God requires of us doesn’t make sense! Finally Jurgen talked about living with a complaint, and not accepting the unacceptable. Living with a complaint does not mean we waste our time on our complaints but it means do not live with complacency, because it’s then that we lose our passion for the lost. And don’t accept that your friends and family members go on life condemned to Hell! because that’s unacceptable, He spoke with great passion and carelessness about the use of the word ‘Hell’ and ‘Devil’ which I think made him stand out for me.
There is simply too much to talk about, so for your sake I will wrap it up. But I must say that I see Get Smart being the beginning of something great, being the point in young peoples lives where they can say to their friends looking back, “that is the reason you are saved today, that is the reason I love God like I do and that is the reason you are seeing an uprising In followers of Jesus Christ”
God is doing something in my School, he is doing something in Wellington and he is doing something in our country, I am forever thankful that I am part of all three, any Christian living here today is part of his plans, and it constantly leaves me in awe that he would choose me to do his good works in life.
Amen to that.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Dependance
“We are dependant on God, God is independent of us”
As this thought occurred to me I realised just how much it was God himself that put it into my mind. It makes perfect sense, however let me elaborate and go into depth for this.
The Basis of God is that he created all and governs all, he is outside all laws we could conjure up because, and fact is. He created those laws. He is all powerful, all knowing, and present everywhere you go. Why did God create us if he knew we would betray him? Because it pleased him, he would get satisfaction out of us finding him through our own choice, the choice which is free will. However we seem to forget that God is unaffected by our decisions, by what we say and what we do, in fact although it pleases him it could not bother him one bit what we get up, he created us, left us with his word and his son, what more does he need to do? God is fully independent of us, which goes to say that whatever we say will not effect his existence, what we say and do will also have no effect on him as C.S Lewis once said ‘a man can so much defy God’s existence as a man can scribble ‘light’ on the walls is a hope to escape the darkness.’ It goes to show that whatever we say or do, no matter how smart we think we are the fact is God is real (cff ‘the case for Christ’.) a further analogy of this is Shakespeare, a once living man, created plays did he not? Othello and Romeo (as we see them in the play) do not talk of Shakespeare, in this role Shakespeare is the creator and they are the characters, as much as they want to they would never be able to find proof of Shakespeare because Shakespeare could make and laws he wants to govern them in his play and he would still be unaffected by them. However the characters are dependant on Shakespeare’s laws to survive, in fact without Shakespeare they would not exist. Did Shakespeare gain anything out of creating this play? Not anything personally as far as we know however it satisfied him to do so. So here the characters are fully dependant on Shakespeare for existence and a fulfilling life, yet Shakespeare in completely independent of them in the sense that what they say and do in the play will not change him at all.
Do you see the dilemma? We can continue to try and disprove God yet all we have in dependant of God, ironic isn’t it? That some of us use God’s given gifts to try and disprove God, it makes me smile at times because we are a generation that has lost our meaning, our purpose and our one true love. Sure you can try and debate what I say, or what Lee Strobel says, just as I could debate what Charles Darwin said or what Richard Dawkins chooses to say, fact is neither of us will be right, and anything we say or type will not even come close to what God knows, in fact it’s a lost cause on either side to prove or disprove God. At the end of the day all we have is the Bible and it is the only thing we can research to truly find what God thinks and who he is as our creator. It’s become such a common thing these days to just state ‘there is no God’ or on the flipside ‘God exists’
Yet what do we have to back up what we say? Nothing of our own knowledge, every piece of information we have today is thanks to the generations before us who, if you trace it back far enough, derive from thoughts and ideas around Jesus’ day. I do not think however that you can deny the importance of these things, our dating system is thanks to Bible, our naming of male and female is thanks to the Bible, the very governorship we have is thanks to the Bible, if you take things literally, everything and everyone we see today is thanks to the Bible (or God) so why are we so ignorant, why do we feel such hate to try and disprove our very own heavenly father. I used to be like this, blaming all my bad misfortune on God, hating him for the suffering in the world, the poverty, the war and the blatant evil and violence. It was not until I took a chance, accepted God’s free gift of salvation and stepped into the realm of the unknown, where Jesus is. That my life became blessed, it’s almost a year now since I did this and I can assure you that everything has gotten better, I have been so blessed that it makes me guilty, it makes me hate myself for how much time I wasted despising God, yet still he accepted me with open arms. The name God is very fitting and I cannot begin to describe to you how great he is, every song we sing, every prayer we pray and every little thing we do in his name will never fulfil what we owe Jesus for his suffering, the suffering we caused. Yet we are so lost.
‘Some want to set up stall under the safety of the bell
I would prefer to set up near the gates of hell’
I pray peace over everyone who reads this, I pray for a curiosity for you to contact your local church and i pray he pours his love into you.
May He guide you
Daniel
As this thought occurred to me I realised just how much it was God himself that put it into my mind. It makes perfect sense, however let me elaborate and go into depth for this.
The Basis of God is that he created all and governs all, he is outside all laws we could conjure up because, and fact is. He created those laws. He is all powerful, all knowing, and present everywhere you go. Why did God create us if he knew we would betray him? Because it pleased him, he would get satisfaction out of us finding him through our own choice, the choice which is free will. However we seem to forget that God is unaffected by our decisions, by what we say and what we do, in fact although it pleases him it could not bother him one bit what we get up, he created us, left us with his word and his son, what more does he need to do? God is fully independent of us, which goes to say that whatever we say will not effect his existence, what we say and do will also have no effect on him as C.S Lewis once said ‘a man can so much defy God’s existence as a man can scribble ‘light’ on the walls is a hope to escape the darkness.’ It goes to show that whatever we say or do, no matter how smart we think we are the fact is God is real (cff ‘the case for Christ’.) a further analogy of this is Shakespeare, a once living man, created plays did he not? Othello and Romeo (as we see them in the play) do not talk of Shakespeare, in this role Shakespeare is the creator and they are the characters, as much as they want to they would never be able to find proof of Shakespeare because Shakespeare could make and laws he wants to govern them in his play and he would still be unaffected by them. However the characters are dependant on Shakespeare’s laws to survive, in fact without Shakespeare they would not exist. Did Shakespeare gain anything out of creating this play? Not anything personally as far as we know however it satisfied him to do so. So here the characters are fully dependant on Shakespeare for existence and a fulfilling life, yet Shakespeare in completely independent of them in the sense that what they say and do in the play will not change him at all.
Do you see the dilemma? We can continue to try and disprove God yet all we have in dependant of God, ironic isn’t it? That some of us use God’s given gifts to try and disprove God, it makes me smile at times because we are a generation that has lost our meaning, our purpose and our one true love. Sure you can try and debate what I say, or what Lee Strobel says, just as I could debate what Charles Darwin said or what Richard Dawkins chooses to say, fact is neither of us will be right, and anything we say or type will not even come close to what God knows, in fact it’s a lost cause on either side to prove or disprove God. At the end of the day all we have is the Bible and it is the only thing we can research to truly find what God thinks and who he is as our creator. It’s become such a common thing these days to just state ‘there is no God’ or on the flipside ‘God exists’
Yet what do we have to back up what we say? Nothing of our own knowledge, every piece of information we have today is thanks to the generations before us who, if you trace it back far enough, derive from thoughts and ideas around Jesus’ day. I do not think however that you can deny the importance of these things, our dating system is thanks to Bible, our naming of male and female is thanks to the Bible, the very governorship we have is thanks to the Bible, if you take things literally, everything and everyone we see today is thanks to the Bible (or God) so why are we so ignorant, why do we feel such hate to try and disprove our very own heavenly father. I used to be like this, blaming all my bad misfortune on God, hating him for the suffering in the world, the poverty, the war and the blatant evil and violence. It was not until I took a chance, accepted God’s free gift of salvation and stepped into the realm of the unknown, where Jesus is. That my life became blessed, it’s almost a year now since I did this and I can assure you that everything has gotten better, I have been so blessed that it makes me guilty, it makes me hate myself for how much time I wasted despising God, yet still he accepted me with open arms. The name God is very fitting and I cannot begin to describe to you how great he is, every song we sing, every prayer we pray and every little thing we do in his name will never fulfil what we owe Jesus for his suffering, the suffering we caused. Yet we are so lost.
‘Some want to set up stall under the safety of the bell
I would prefer to set up near the gates of hell’
I pray peace over everyone who reads this, I pray for a curiosity for you to contact your local church and i pray he pours his love into you.
May He guide you
Daniel
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