Anberlin - <*fin>

This song just gets me every time I listen to it. Read the words, they are so hard-hitting and challenging, they are stirring me constantly to change the way I view those around me.

Rob Bell in his book Velvet Elvis writes "Heaven is fill of people who God Loves, Hell is full of people that God loves" (paraphrase) - How do we view those people that are are around us, do we view them as evil, sinful people, or misguided people that God loves and wants to communicate with, form relationship with and spend an eternity with. God sent his son Jesus not to condemn the world, but to save the world. We were all lost causes but because of Gods love Jesus came to the world to save us .


Anberlin <*Fin>
Feels like I'm miles from here in other towns
With lesser names where lonely ghost doesn't tell
Merry old William exactly what they want to hear
You remember the house that we drew
Told you and the devil to both just leave me alone
If this is salvation I can show you the trembling
You'll just have to trust me
I'm scared
I am the patron saint of lost causes
Aren't we all to you just near lost causes
Are we all to you just lost?
Tell me you're left behind
Something you'll mean everything right before you die
But if you gain the world
You've already lost four little souls from your life
Widows and orphans are hard to find
Their home is in daddy who's saving you random tonight
Where's your drink?
And would hurry and kill you
Sympathy's better than having to tell you the truth
That you are the patron saint of lost causes
All you are to them is now a lost cause
All you are to them is now causes
Billy, don't you understand?
Timothy stood as long as he could
You made his faith disappear
More like a magician
And less like a man of the cloth
We're not questioning God
Just those he chose to carry on his cause
We'll grow better, you'll see
Just all of us, the lost causes
Aren't we all to you just lost causes?
Aren't we all to you lost?
Lost causes
Aren't we all to you
Is all we are, is all we are
What we are is all we are

Choir:
They just saved all of the lost, like you
They just saved all of the lost, like you
They just saved all of the lost, like you
He just saved all of the lost, like you
They just saved all of the lost, like you
(Lost causes, we are is all we are)
They just saved all of the lost, like you
(To you, lost causes)
They just saved all of the lost, like you
They just saved all of the lost, like you
They just saved all of the lost, like you
He just saved

Jesus said "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." (E.S.V)

What does this mean to our Friends and our neighbours, who needs the love of Christ shared into their life - how do we do this? God wants us to incarnate into the world around us. To be wholly holy prayerful worshipful people. People who live differently and show Christ is ways that are relavant to the world around us. What does this mean for you? What needs to change in your own life?

Heroes of Faith

Matt Mansell has talked about those who have left spiritual legacies for us in his blog just recently. I have a real desire when I have some time to write a series on Heroes of Faith. I think theres a biblical precedent for this. In hebrews this is set out very nicely in hebrews 11 and 12. The writer of hebrews tells to story of past heroes, echoing what they did and how they were compelled for action, then he goes on to say that we have the same challenge in our lives, to be heroes of faith to those around us. To disciple and bring people onto the journey of life.

Anyway I was wondering if anyone has some good sources on a number of individuals

Martin Luther King
Martin Luther
Dietrich Bonnhoffer
Moses
Joshua
Paul
Peter
Jesus (I have many sources here but anything else is always a pleasure)
St Francis of Assissi
St Augustine of Hippo
John Calvin
Mother Terressa

If anyone else can think of any others they think would be good that would be awesome. And if you have any good sources that you know of please tell me.

Slavery Still Exists!

One of my mates Sym was talking me about the issue of slavery in contemporary society. One area I suggested where slavery still existed was in consumerism. Many in the west are enslaved to the idea that the more we have, the more status we hold, or the more happy we are. The problem is with this is that it is a lie. The more we have doesn't mean we are more happy - in fact we are driving ourselves further and further into debt. If you look at New Zealand, we have some of the highest levels of consumer debt in the developed world, we collect more and more stuff to "keep up with the Jones." The other issue with consumerism is that it is causing/creating further enslavement around the world, particularly of poor people in developing nations.


Some stats on slavery - from Trade Aid New Zealand
1999 - It was estimated that 20 Million people were bonded into labour. The tasks of these people include brick-making, carpet weaving, domestic labour, stone quarrying, sex work industries, foot ball stitching, rubber plantations, factory work.

700,000 t0 2 million women and children are estimated by the U.S government to be trafficked across borders each year. Jobs include farming, camel jockeys, domestic labour, fishing, mail-order brides, market stall labour, restaurant labour, and the sex industry.

More than 80 Million children worldwide aged under 14 are estimated by the ILO to work in conditions hazardous to their health. Work includes domestic labour, drug trafficking, fireworks manufacturing, fishing, brick-making, carpet weaving, sex work, stone quarrying, soldiers, cocoa (where does that chocolate your eating really coming from - it makes you think!)

Anyway these are just a few examples check here for more stats on slavery and injustice, it will shock you!

There is something we can do about this.

1. There is a petition to the government to end slavery run by Trade Aid
2. You can buy fair trade products. These can be found at trade aid, in wellington there is a fair trade coffee shop call peoples coffee in Newtown that you can buy fair trade coffee from. If you got to Vic university, restoration coffee ( the coffee shop down nearest to the weir house and the cable car) sells fair trade coffee.

More on this later when I have more time, and can get some further research done!

Dreams... for Nathanael, for christians and for the church... and for the world...

I want a people with dreams, dreams beyond belief, radical out of the box dreams, dreams that set the world on fire, dreams of justice, dreams of joy, dreams of peace, dreams of salvation.


The Lord Is Wild and Untamaeble. Don’t put him in a box! He wants men and women with a passion, a creative vision for the world, a vision that brings out his character, challenging people, growing people, setting people free to live the way I intended. Its creative and fresh, a beautiful artwork, made of people, Its organic, responsive, dynamic and fiery. It will set the nation on fire, it will set the world on fire, nothing like this has been seen before, nothing like this has gone before.

God is calling for a wholly, holy passionate creative people doing Gods work, creating Gods work, being Gods work

We are a physical expression of incarnate Christ to a broken imprisoned world.

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God is calling us to be creative like kids again, to create things, to bring them to the father, to be willing to paint with our fingers, to be willing to paint with our hands something beautiful, something fresh, something that challenges perceptions, a painting of love to those around us. God wants us to hone our creativity, whether its in art, buisiness, science, music, when we go after our passions the fire that burns within us, we are worshiping our Lord and saviour.


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One person can change the world.
One person can have a dream and set the world on fire
God does not want us to lock our dreams or passions away, he wants a radical church, a radical people that will listen to the crys of those around it, challenge the empires of the world. A church that listens challenges and grows a passionate beast that cannot be stopped, a passionate untameable community of faith, firing up those around it, remaking the world, recreating the world.

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“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God
He existed before anything, was created and is supreme over all creation for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things that we can see
And the things we can’t see
Such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers and authorities in the unseen world
Everything was created through him and for him
He existed before everything else
And holds all creative together
Christ is also the head of the Church
Which is his body.
He is the beginning,
Supreme over all who rise from the dead
So he is first in everything
For God in all his fullness
Was pleased to live in Christ
And through him God reconciled everything to himself
He made peace with everything on heaven and earth
By means of Christs blood on the cross.


Christ in an affront to this world, he has called us to go against evil, injustice, violence of the world, not to sit in pews, Christ has called us to take on this worlds kingdoms and rulers – to preach against selfishness, consumerism, violence, idolatry, paganism, slavery and bondage – we are called to be shining lights to this world, we are called to bring deliverance to our neighbours, our cry is to go out into the world and proclaim the love of Christ to all.

Stir in us a holy discontent for our communities, for our friends and for our loved ones.
“Don’t put your light under a bushel” – don’t hold my love in the church – go forth into the world, multiply and be prosperous

Generous Living

These come from some scribbled notes I was writing at cell group last night - the passage we were looking at was Mathew 6: 1-6



"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.



Again in this section think its important to note the situation Jesus is commenting on - Jesus is critiquing the "hypocrites". I've written about this earlier, Hypocrites literally means those who act. These people put on the act of Holiness so that they can look good in public.



In the case of giving this was usually done very publically, there would be a box where people would put their money and the amount you gave would be a sign of your "Holiness" or your social status within the religious community.



But does this mean that we are not to give? I think the answer to that is an astounding NO! Generosity has been an essential part of the christian gospel throughout the last 2000 years. Hospitality in particular has been an essential virtue of the christian church - particularly because of the long distances people travelled from place to place - itinerant preachers such as Paul needed places to stay on their long journeys.

Going further Generosity was a defining aspect of the christian church through the first 200 years. The christian movement grew because it cared for the needy, healed the sick and proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ wherever it went, generosity and generous living were essential.

Looking through church history, renewals of the church have occurred because of the humble generous living of Christians. The Franciscan order are testament to this. Francis of Assisi was from a well to do family, but after a run in with his father after selling some of his cloth to give to the needy he decided he would break from the world and the system of the world at that time and "follow naked, the naked Christ." Francis went about to create a new movement for the Kingdom of God. The movement was important because it was radically different from how those around Francis were acting. Historian C.H Lawrence describes the thirteenth-century church as an institution in crisis, which had no response to a changing world. In this period there was a newly arising secular culture, the friars of Francis were a fresh new way of seeing the world and challenging the emerging secular society. Francis' order challenged the institutionalised christian - which was a large concrete structure that had been acquiring wealth for itself - not for the formation of Gods kingdom. Francis entered this situation as a passionate young man - and as a result led to others following him - with the creation of the Order of Friars Minor and the poor Clare's. These communities of faith were able to be a source of hope to a desperate society

So enough with my tangent. Why does Jesus want to give money in private? Does Jesus want to give in private

Luke 21:1-4
He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.’

The context of these verses is that Jesus is criticising the hypocrites. The poor widow gives all her money. In her giving she is sincere, becuase she gives every cent to God.

God wants us to be givers - generous givers - not because we will gain praise from human sources but because we want to serve God and see his kingdom established on earth.

Mathew 5:16
"In the same way let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly father"

Another Flight of the Conchords Video - Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros

Flight of the Conchords- Business Time

Saw this on saturday night at a Mystery Movies Night. These kiwis are so funny. I Hope you enjoy this.

It was Beautiful - Five Iron Frenzy

These Lyrics are a reflection of the gift of creation and beauty God has given us. All I can do when I am over whelmed by that beauty is praise my Lord and saviour.

We flew over Alaska; we saw the frozen mountains pierce the clouds. It was beautiful.
We felt the waves of New Zealand; the water shimmered beneath a moonlight shroud. It was beautiful.
Close to home in an ordinary room we felt You there.
It's my favorite memory.
You're so beautiful. The spring in Appalachia, with flowers swaying above the fields of green. It was beautiful.
Driving in New England, the road littered with bright October leaves. It was beautiful.
Close to home in an ordinary room we felt You there. It's my favorite memory. You're so beautiful to me.
Thanks for the songs, these seven friends and eight good years. It is You that made them sweet, it was beautiful.
Pictures looking back, just snapshots of the past cannot compare, to feeling what we felt, through anything that came, that You were there.
A thousand smiling faces, backlit and bouncing to the beat. It was beautiful.
As many soaring voices, forever changed by Your mercy. It was beautiful.
Far away from all the lights and noise we felt You there. It's my favorite memory. You're so beautiful to me.
Thanks for the songs, these seven friends and eight good years. It is You that made them sweet. You're so beautiful to me.

Beauty - Creation, Awe and worship

These are thoughts and meanderings from a communion service that was held at Capital Vineyard this morning. This was taken by the working title team

Isaiah 6:1-3

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were the seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet , and with two they were flying. And the were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty:
The whole earth is full of his glory”

Psalm 24:1
The earth is the LORD’s. and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.

The earth is Gods, It was created to give glory to him and in a sense, it is filled with the glory of God, it is filled with his weight, his significant. Everything that has been created has been created to bring Glory to God, our LORD and saviour. All that has been made gives praise to God.

In Revelations we see another glimpse of this.
Revelations 4
After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. At one I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashed of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass clear as crystal.
In the centre, around the throne were four living creatures, and they were covering with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God almighty
Who was, and is and is to come.”

This passage seems pretty confusing, I’m not even going to go into talking about the meaning behind the seven spirits of God etc, etc, probably because I would get it wrong. So I’m going to keep it simple before I end up looking stupid. The first part of this scripture talks about the indescribable beauty of God, and his wonderful power and glory. When prophets have written about God it always seems to turn into mish mash of words because what they have seen is so amazing and astounding, they cannot put the words together to explain what they see. Glimpses of heaven are like this, I know in my personal life, I have had these moments, moments of breathtaking beauty, some of them I have tried to take photos of or written down to try and carry a glimpse of that moment of heaven around with me always.

The most memorable occasion of this was in Russia. I was attempting to try and sing songs in Russian, and trying to learn the Cyrillic at the same time, and for the first couple of days in Russia it was really hard, the first glimpse of God I got was when I was singing Russian songs, and I realised that there were about three or four different groups of people from all corners of the world, for me that was a glimpse of heaven, I started to realise what is was going to be like, all the saints singing in unity in heaven, this added another level to praise and worship

Another moment on this trip was when me and Andre met up early in the morning and ended up having a praise and worship time together, this was just another amazing time. I can’t describe the unity, the presence of the spirit or the the realization of total communion and fellowship with one another.

Again from Russia, on the second trip, we arrived back at our base camp in Irkutsk, had dinner, and then went home. We were then invited for desert at Pavels place (I know I’ve spelt this wrong, I apologise) The table was laid out with food and it was just an amazing blessing of a time we spent together. They then told us that we were the first foreigners they had had in their house. It was a real blessing to share those moments with them, and be generously blessed by them through the food and the fellowship we shared with them.

Another Time I personally remember seeing the beauty of God in the everyday was when me and my good friend Andrew Purini on a trip up at riversdale in the Wairapa went out to see the sunrise, it was just amazing, I guess the other amazing moment was a women who was up there as well with her son came up to me and Andrew P and we got talking, found out she was a Christian and we prayed together and she prophesied over us. It was a really special God moment. We had just breathed in an amazing sight, a wonderful sunrise, which was just so special and amazing.

Many times, particularly in Pentecostal churches, we go up at the front of God, seeking a special touch from God, we get zapped, we see things differently for a while then things sometimes fizzle out. But we should seek out the abiding presence of God. God is with us in the everyday moments. As it says in the bible “The whole earth is filled with his glory”. Gods glory pervades All Creation.

Lets ask a couple of questions
Who created the world?
God

What did he say about it?
That it was Good

Who created Humanity?
God

What Did he say about it?
That it was very Good


So why do we miss these moments, what is so wrong with us that we miss the beauty and splendor in all things.

Lewis, paraphrased by John Piper in his work the “Dangerous duty of delight” states: “‘We are far too easily pleased.’ Almost all of Christs Commands are motivated by ‘the unblushing promises of reward.’ Based on ‘the staggering nature of rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our LORD finds our desires not too strong, but too weak”

In his sermon, “Beauty” Erwin McManas discussed this idea, he talks about his journey of discovery when it came to top quality coffee. When he came to the U.S. from El Salvador he would buy coffee and discover that it was too strong for his tastes. He had to train himself to accept good quality coffee, instead of the coffee which he used to drink. He also told the story of how he got a job at a steak house, he was used to eating well done steak, he asked for well done steak and was told that the restaurant did not do well done, he argued a while with the chef, who was disgusted that he would want well done steak. The chef then told him that he would make him a medium rare steak and if he didn’t enjoy it, he would cook him a well done steak. He ate the steak, and rejoiced in the occasion. The chef then said to him that he reserved the worst steak for those who ordered well done, and the best for those who ordered medium rare. He said that Erwin's taste buds had learned to accept the worst steaks rather than the best. Erwin again had to retrain himself.

As humanity we have done this as well, our desires are too week, we end up taking second best, taking phony cons rather than accepting the real deal in life. Rather than accepting the beauty and the glorious gifts that God has to offer us, we take second best.

Philippians 4:8
Finally what ever is true. Whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is love, whatever is admirable – if anything is praiseworthy – think about such things

- If I want to grow in the awareness of God all the times this is a really good guide in refocusing, training our taste buds too the good and the beautiful and praiseworthy.


Anyway, so what point am I trying to make, I guess that God is in everything, the sacred and the secular, creation and in hardship. God is in all these moments. We need to seek him out. Gods beauty is there to be discovered. We should embrace the beauty in all the times of life, and live life to the full.

In these occasions, when we see glimpses of heaven, we not only drink in Gods presence, but we come to realise that there is something bigger and better, there is more to life.

If you want to know more about this subject here are a few resources that can help you.
John Piper “The Dangerous Duty of Delight” – this is from a reformed perspective, its nice a short and pretty easy to read (saying a lot when it comes to Piper)

John Piper “Desiring God” – the unabridged version of “Dangerous Duty of Delight” – More difficult to read!

C.S Lewis “Surprised by Joy”

C.S Lewis “The Weight of Glory”

Erwin McManus “Beauty” – this is a podcast that you can pick up from http://www.mosaic.org/ –

Bob Sjogren and Gerald – “Cat and Dog Theology: Rethinking our relationship with our Master: Living Passionately for the Glory of God” – Again from a reformed position, one of the most life-changing books you will ever read on Christian theology and where our focus in our Christian faith should be. A must read!

Rob Bell – Breath – Part of his Nooma series

Rob Bell “Velvet Elvis” particularly “Tassels”

Matt Mansell

Communion - Beauty in Pain

Mathew 26:26-30
While they were eating, Jesus took the Bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them saying, “drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink anew with you in my Fathers Kingdom.”

God, we acknowledge that you are in everything, the good times and the bad times, the stunning and the mundane, creation and in pain. We thank you that you sent your only son to earth to reveal your glory to all humanity. We thank you that you came us to show us that way, and to give us a way to come into relationship with you again. Lord you used our brutality, our evil and violence in the form of the death of your son on the cross to do the most beautiful thing ever, show your love, glory and grace. In that moment where there seemed to be absolute despair, there was never-ending hope.

We are astounded by your love, that was shown by your sons brutal death on the cross, what a display of your glory, what a display of your love! We thank you Lord.

Green Day - Working Class Hero

This Video was made to support charities helping out in the genocide in Darfur. If you want to learn more about Darfur and the humanitarian efforts going on there go to www.savedarfur.org. We must stop the genocide. The world promised after the Rwandan genocide it would happen again. Well it is and something needs to be done

Question for your thoughts/discussion

Would Jesus Go to Church?





How do you think Jesus would feel in your Church?

Jesus - Who are we Following?

What is the picture of Jesus?
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant.
So which one do you want to be?
Who is this that you follow?
This picture of the Pavalova Quarter Acre Paradise?
If Jesus was here would you walk by on the other side?
Or fall down and worship at His holy feet?
Blessed are the poor in Spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land?
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sands?
Because my Jesus bled and died for my sins.
He spent His time with thieves, sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich.
So which one do you want to be?
Who is this that you follow?
This picture of the Pavalova Quarter Acre Paradise?
If Jesus was here would you walk by on the other side?
Or fall down and worship at His holy feet?
Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
is how you see Him as He dies for your sins
But the Word says he was battered and scarred or did you miss that part.
Sometimes I doubt we’d recognise Him
Because my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?
Because my Jesus would never be accepted in my Church
The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet
He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
I think He’d prefer to be with the blanket man to this stained glass crowd
And I know He can hear me if I cry out loud.
I want to be like my Jesus
I want to be like my JesusI want to be like my Jesus
I want to be like my Jesus
Not a poster child for prosperity, but like my my Jesus
You see I am tired of living for success and popularity.
I want to be like my Jesus, but I’m not sure what that means to be like You, Jesus.


The Word
Became flesh
with hands
to draw in dirt
clearing away the
stained bed sheets
stiring hearts
homeless
visiting the paralytic
through friends

-Laila Blanchard
In Sub-merge by John B.Hayes


Are we willing to accept the radical image of Jesus, or are we just serving an image of Jesus painted in an exceptable way that we can easily accept
Are we willing to accept the costs of living the life that God has called us to?
What step is God challenging us to take in our faith life – what is our next step in discipleship?

James 2:14-17
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters. If you say you have faith but you don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well” – but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does it do.
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Repainting our Image of Jesus

Who is Jesus to you? How have you painted him? Is your image of Jesus western middle class, would be comfortable singing a few songs in church on Sunday. Or is your Jesus the radical, Marxist student, who will steal from the rich to give to the poor, the man who is looking to overthrow the government because of its corruption, or is your Jesus a poor Middle Eastern Man, who accosted the Hypocrites, showing them up for who they were, would only accept those followers who would give up all to follow him, accepted the rich and the poor into his community of faith, cared for the sick, the lost the lonely, Fed the Hungry and gave his all to show that He is the way to heaven and that he is divinity in human form.

Our View of Christ matters, If we sanitise the image of Christ, we are sanitising Gods call for us. Gods call for us is to be radical Christ followers. The middle class image of Jesus doesn’t do, because Christ was not about us been comfortable pew warmers. The image of Christ as a Marxist doesn’t do, because it forgets that Jesus accepted all into his arms, including the Tax collector, the image of Crony Capitalism in the Roman Period. At the moment I believe its closest to the last image of Jesus. We are called to embrace all those who are longing for something more, something deeper. We are called to be active, showing Gods love through our lives, reaching out and touching those around us.


God wants us to be real Followers of him, not people who attend church because its good then walk away after the service, not changing anything in our lives. Its about our whole life being aligned with Gods will. I repeat, we are not made to be Sunday followers, we are to be following Christ daily, following his call on our life.

I don’t care who you reach out to in your life, be they rich, poor, black, gay, straight, man or women, but do! Reach out beyond your comfort zone, share your life with those around you. Shine your light daily. Discover what God wants for your life. Learn to follow Jesus with Your All!

We are called to follow the man of sorrows

Donating to Simple way

If You feel called to donate to Simple Way for thier rebuilding you can donate here:
https://www.tonycampolo.org/simpleway_donation_secure.php

Jesus' Teaching on Fasting in the Sermon on the Mount

These are the notes for a study I did on fasting last night, Please look at this and be free to use it, critique it or whatever.

Yoke: Matthew 11:29-30 “Take My Yoke upon you and learn from me, and I will give you rest for your souls. For my burden is easy and my burden is light”

When we this verse in Mathew 11 many of us think that Jesus is talking about an ox yoke, but in Jewish culture an tradition, according to pastor and teacher Rob Bell goes deeper than this. In Jewish culture, the Yoke was a Jewish Rabbis Teachings. It was a set of interpretations of the law. In the sermon of the mount, Jesus sets out his own Yoke, his set of teachings and interpretations of the law, he refocuses the law back on what it was intended to do, bring people in line with Gods desires.

Mathew 6:16-18
When you are fasting, do not look somber like the Hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Fasting is an act of self-denial, it is the giving up of food, or something else to devote time to seeking out God and his desire for our lives. The time that we save from denying ourselves of certain activities can be given to serving others and the money saved from not spending on say those cups of coffee can be given to the poor or to the church. It can also be done as an act of worship. Many people perform the act of lent the 40 days leading up to Easter, giving up things such as TV, Chocolate, Coffee, anything as an act of worship and a living example that they want to put God first in their life during a period of time. As we all know the Baptist churches practice this act aswell with their month of self-denial leading up to Easter.


A little history lesson for us on fasting.
In Jewish Custom, there were six public fasts a year. Pharisees and devout Jews would also fast on Thurdays and Mondays, because according to Jewish tradition Moses ascended the Mount Sinai to receive the law on the Thursday and came back down on the Monday.

The Truly “Holy” person would fast more than this, and in these acts would advertise their “holiness” to the whole community – they would do this by not washing, not anointing the body, and by shaving their head and placing ashes on their head. It was said of the Rabbi Joshua that “all the days of his life his face was black by reason of his fasting.”

But what is fasting really for, is it about showing how “holy” you are? Not so, Jesus criticises these people he calls them “Hypocrites”. In the culture of the time the term hypocrite was a theatrical term used for actors, to describe people who were playing a role that they really weren’t. These Pharisees and other devout Jews were being unmasked by Jesus, he was showing them up as actors, people who did things to gain power in prestige in society, not out of a desire to get to know better.


Jesus seems to be having a good go at hypocrites. The word for hypocrite in Greek was a term used in thetheatre and was used for actors. Jesus gives a hard time to those who act like they are good and holy, but are really just all show and don’t get their stuff sorted with God.

So what is this about, is Fasting still important, and how should we conduct it. I believe that fasting is still important, I’m not very good at practising the disciple and would like to rediscover this discipline in my own life. Jesus is concerned in this passage particularly with private fasting. As Christians we should practice this privately, it shouldn’t be broadcasted to the world but practiced in secret. It is about sorting out our own personal relationship with Jesus, not about showing how holy we are to other people. If we are doing it to broadcast our holiness to people, we are missing the point.

Procrastination is fun!

I am 71% Addicted to Coffee

I found this while I was studying, I think I might get upto 90 -100% addiction to coffee by the end of the year

Simple Ways former building

Faith Reponses

Shane Claiborne is a man of faith who lives out his faith in a radically simple way. He is part of a ministry called "Simple way" which serves the poor in carolina. I was reading Eric Bryants blog from mosaic today and read that the building that the building that he serves from was burnt down last week. Please pray for this community in this time. I personally have been challenged by his ministry to the poor and how he simple lives out his faith. His community should be encouraged for its courage and its willingness to follow that call of Jesus

PC vs MAC - Money

This is a parody of the Mac Vs PC series by Laurie Mcguiness. Hope you enjoy!

PC vs MAC - The girl

PC vs MAC - Music

PC vs MAC - At work

Graduation Photos

I had my graduation ceremony on friday night, so I know have my degree and am a graduate of Victoria University Wellington. Hope you enjoy the photos of me in Academic Dress. Anyway, I better get back and do some more study on Chinese Energy Security, or I will get stuck in a rutt of further procrastination!

I got 21/25 the average is 18/25. See How well you can do

Hat Tip: David Farrar

How Not to Communicate the Gospel

I never want to see anyone in wellington presenting the gospel like this. It made me go No! No! No! This is just Naff and crap!

How to know the price of a ticket is too much at your local soccer game!

The Consequences of Blind faith in Modernity

What happens when you put all your faith in your GPS Navigation system and fail to use a little bit of human intuition and common sense. Deep water it seems! This is what a U.K. Lady discovered when she managed to put her 300,000 Mercedes into the river scence in Leicestershire. You can read the whole story at the register

Hat Tip: Ried S Monaghan

I found this at the emergentkiwi blog. Really challenges me on a whole lot of areas as a christian. In christian community, we are there to serve and care for one another, and care for those who are lost, hungry, needy. As a great socialist writer wrote years past "no man is an island" and the disney work Highschool Musical reminds us with its great philisophical insights "we're all in this together" Reflect on this picture, think about it, are you really plugged in. Are you just in a community becuase it fulfills your needs, or are you really serving? Plug into God, ask him about where he wants to take you next, seek his will, you will find that you are challenged to go places that you never thought you were willing to go. God doesn't want some of us, he wants all of our being (Rom 12:1-3) seek him out and he will invade your life and change it.

Resurgence Remodified

If you don't know Resurgence you shoud check it out. It is a theological website run by Mars Hill Church Seattle. It runs many articles on many controversal theological issues remaining quite conservative theologically in its arguments. I went to check in out today anyway and it has had a full makeover, making it alot easier to use. Anyway, you should check it out, especially if you have an interest in theology and issues facing theology today.

Anberlin have been one of my favourite bands over the last three years. There first two albums were stunners, well crafted rock albums with hardhitting rifts and melodies. The latest album, Cities, for me sadly has failed to impress me. It isn’t the full album that I expected from this band. The album starts off very strong, but the middle of the album wanes to the point that it has very little carrying you through the momentum of the album, unlike the impressive all on action of Never Take Freindship Personal which unfolds an impressive range of musical stories of pain, relationships and addiction. The reliance on synthesised sounds and psychedelics failed to impress me at all.

So, as you can see I’m kind of critical of the latest release of one of my favourite bands.

(Debut) starts of the album, it is a typical instrumental start to an album, which pulls you into the second track of the album, Godspeed, which is highly reminiscent of the the track Never Take Freindship Personal, containing the classic hardhitting rifts and fast paced drums of the second album. The Album then continues into Adelaide, which contains the classical melody brilliance found in Anberlin, and is reminiscent of the song Foreign Language. The Album goes into its downhill patch. The song A Wisper and a Clamour misses the mark, it could be a brilliant song, but doesn’t have much to carry its energy through, it is one of my favourite songs though on the albulm. The Fourth Song The Unwinding Cable Car, this track is an acoustic number, again maybe waning in its direction. Most of the rest of the album doesn’t really deserve mention, it clamours onto the most powerful track of the album, the finale, (*fin), this track is very much a masterpiece, carrying you through a symphony of sounds and feelings and carries you with the message of the track, in many ways, the work you see put into this song you wish was reflected in the rest of the Album. It doesn’t rely on Christians voice to tell the story of the musical piece.

Most of the album is only carried by the vocals of Stephen Christian, it seems that the rest of the band has gone into hibernation on this album and they have left Christian to carry this album to completion. His vocals make the album work, but it’s a very inadequate show from a band that I expected better from. You can’t just make an album from your vocalist!

The Album has some of the most powerful lyrics I’ve heard from the band though. Some of the songs have brought me to tears and made me think a lot about my faith recently. The Song Alexithymia lyrics carry so much meaning to those who have been broken. The song (Fin*) has amazingly challenging lyrics, asking the question of Christians, are we the patron saint of lost causes? Does the way we treat those who are lost, depressed, hungry for God really reflect the love of Christ, or are we really selfrighteous hyprocrites who seek after our own interests. The Most challenging line of this song was “we’re not questioning God, just the ones he chose to carry on his will”. This again makes me ask myself ask how am I showing the love of God to those who are lost and hurting. Am I just leaving them be, while I go on my journey.

Something I’ve come to realise is that Jesus expressly challenges us on this issue. He says in the bible


Mathew 25:31-46
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

An Issue that we try to sideline, because of our own selfish desires, we forget that Gods cry for us it to care for the lost and the needy, and that we show our love for God by the way we act towards those who are lost. So God is all for the lost the needy the spiritually hungry.

I think the lyrics of the songs by this band are thoughtful and challenging. The words "I am the patron saint of lost cuases" is a mission cry of my heart at the moment.

300 Pokemon

What do you get when u cross 300 Spartans with Japanese cartoon children characters. 300 Pokemon! Watch this it with crack you up.

Soldiers of Misfortune

This was movie done for the BYM Easter Camp this year. It is quite an enjoyable 5 minute film. Hope you enjoy.

What if George Lucas restored Singin' In The Rain?

Watched this last night at a movie marathon, I thought it was pretty funny at three oclock in the morning, hope you enjoy it

Linkin Park What ive done original clip 2007

Sorry, the last post of this didn't work, hopefully it does this time

This is the latest video clip for the Band Linkin Park, the single is What I've Done. I really recommend this video, very different for linken park aswell. I think its the most powerful song lyrically that I've heard from them and the video clip flows off the power of the song.

Clustermaps

Just to let you know that I've cluttered my side menu further with a "Clustermap", this tells you where in the world people are accessing my blog from.

crashcourse in wireless internet

As you know I had to reformat my hard drive, this meant that I lost all my internet settings and all my programmes. I came up to university today with my laptop to see if I could sort out my wireless connection. It took about half an hour of trial and error, but I've finnally got it working again. Pretty proud with myself as I'm not that good at that kind of stuff. Its finnally all back up working again. Oh well, better get back to writing my seminar.

Laptops, busyness, and stress

I had one of the worst evening last night. I spent two hours trying to get my laptop to work again after I restarted it. When I turned it on again it had decided that it wanted to crash on me. It took me about an hour to decide that the best thing to do was to reformat my hard drive and start the computer back from crash. This provided me much stress as I had only one copy of my seminar on the Tupamaros and urban guerilla on the computer, usually I have a series of back ups. Anyway I recovered the file and the laptops working again, but this has meant that I didn't get a whole lot of work done that I should have last night. Now hopefully this doesn't happen again!

More 21st Photos

Sorry that these Pictures have taken so long to put up on my blog, It is a mixture of procrastination and technical difficulties which have meant that it has taken me a longer time than I desired to put these photos up. Anyways, I hope you enjoy them, I have to go back to my books to learn how to be a successful urban guerrilla.

The Baker Family, enjoying the comapany of one another and showing thier different characteristics

Mmm Cake!!!!

The Three Baker Boys posing for the camera

A very embarassing Picture of me

More Recommendations

Check out Mike Brantleys Latest Blog. Wrestle with the question "what is the gospel", and "who is Jesus". Remember your first love and become smitten with him and his saving power once again. Wrestle with how you are going to fulfill Gods call on all christians lifes, that is found in mathew 28:19-20 Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

I recommend reading the gospels in thier fullness, if you like short readers digest books go for mark, if you a theologian at heart go with the dense, spiritually fulfilling book of John, ask for a heart for the lost as you read the gospels.

Christine Caine - "Stop acting like a christian and Just be one!"

I ordered a couple of sermons from parachute which there has been aparently unpresidented demand. I would like to recommend the sermon by christine caine. It is a brilliant sumary of living missionally in the world we live in.

I would like to state a few points that I've been thinking about lately
1- Read the gospels - look into these great books, look at how Jesus related to people, compare it to the criticism he gives about the religious people in those books.
2- talk to your nextdoor nieghbours - form relationships with them and find out what stuffs going on in thier life. You will be amazed at what you find out about them, what needs they have and how you can help them. It might just be caring for your next doors nieghbours kid while they go to a meeting, it might be helping someone through a viscious breakup, just be there for those around us.
3- Being is better than doing, look into the bible, being a christian is about having a relationship with jesus and letting that permeate our every action. It is about taking on the mind of christ (look at Romans 12 - sorry my references are bad or look at phillipians 2 in the context of that epistle, you will be amazed what you will discover about how to be a christian in the context of the world we live in.)
4- Read the bible, pray, listen to the heart of Jesus - let him challenge you. He will, I know. Be willing to be angry at injustice and do something about it, be willing to preach truth to the blind, be willing to listen to peoples problems, be discomforted with the words of Jesus and challenged enough to do something with them in your own life.

I know this is all hard stuff, I went through a number of years of my life knowing the truth of the gospel but not living it out in my actions. I have been at many times a performer, looking holy, acting holy, but my life not living up to what it really should look like. For me to change to the point where I am I had to go through the most painful period of questioning in my entire life, arguing, fighting with God, trying to find out what the hell he wanted from me. I was humbled severely by God, my faith has grown, developed and changed because of this. I go through periods of discomfort in my faith and thank God for this. I want to be sold out for his will for my life. I want to show the lost the way back home to thier father, I want to show people that Jesus is the only way to salvation.

Life, Coffee and Stress

Life has taken on a change for the crazyness, I've just started my honours year in politics up at victoria and I now understand why people have no social life and look like a wreck by the end of the honours year. Its becuase there is just so much work to be done in so little time. I am starting to get used to this experience, even though for the last week, i've been wondering if i'm taking the right step. My prayer is that I will keep focused on the big picture, keep hooked into my relationship with my lord and saviour and that nothing really blows up in my face to badly in the next year. I will keep trying to write my thoughts on life, religion, faith, politics, mission etc. This year is the most exciting and scary year of my life, and seems to look like it is going to be one of the greatest tests of my faith ever. Bring it on!

The Pursuit of Happyness Review

The Pursuit of Happyness
Me and My Brother went to see The Pursuit of Happyness last Sunday evening. It was a very moving and powerful movie for me and my brother. My Brother said that he spent most of the movie with tears in his eyes. I thought it was an awesome movie myself and was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. The Movie is based around Christopher (Will Smith), a poor black man trying to make a living by selling Bone Density Scanners, which produce a picture a little bit better than a X-ray, but are twice as expensive. He is a bright man, who used to get the best grades in his class, but because of poverty and ill-fortune he is forced to attempt to sell these scanners, which most doctors see as an expensive luxury item. One day he sees that there is an internship at Dean Witter Investments. He gets the chance and through the rest of the movie we see him go through the trials of getting to his dreams. The whole movie is a pursuit of happiness!

This movie is a great exploration of healthy masculinity and the father and son relationship. The man will do everything he can do for his son so that he can have a better life than he did. At the beginning of the movie he expresses his goal in life “I was 26 years old when I first met my father, I made a promise to myself that if I had children I would never leave them or not care for them.” He wants to set wrong all that was done by his father, men all have ghosts of the failures or successes of their fathers, and spend most of their life trying to be more successful than their fathers in how they live their life. Throughout the movie Christopher aims to fulfil his promise to his son that he will never leave him and he will always care for him. The displays of affection and care shown for his child and his desire to teach him how to survive in a fast paced vicious world are amazing. The affection showed by his son for Christopher was amazing and just got me every time. The son listens to his father, and follows his every word, trusts that the decisions made by the father are in his best interest, while his father spends sleepless nights trying to improve their place in life. It got this twenty-one year old crying many times throughout the movie. It shows what a man should do for his family, fight, lay down everything and fight for his and his family’s survival. For many of course this can be an uphill battle, some can’t cope, and turn to drugs or suicide. It’s a hard up road battle for many who are down and out. Christopher is lucky, but he virtually goes through hell for his Son so that that he and his can pursue a life of happiness.

Another thing that got me were the scenes of poverty, the down and outs that live in our streets and the streets of America. Throughout the movie we see Christopher and his son survive on virtually a few dollars. They spend nights in homeless shelters as they are faced with no income from the internship, they join the lines of people waiting for a space in the homeless shelter, some nights they miss the opportunity and have to stay out on the streets, attempting to survive. The First night of their plight they spend in a subway toilet where Christopher cares for his son and gets through the night, never wanting to go back to that experience again. The hopelessness faced by many is harrowing. Again, I stress that Christopher is lucky. He’s determined, smart, proud and willing to give his all for the cease. Those characteristics help him in his pursuit of happiness, but I wonder how many like him there are who aren’t as lucky as he is, who don’t achieve through all the crap that is thrown at them. Many fall into hopelessness and just can’t get out.

This has to be the feel good movie of the year, I spent a lot of my time crying or on the edge of my seat, this man survives through all the crap so that his family can have a better future, what an amazing testament to mans will to go through all that and survive. It’s an example of this mans resolve in a cut-throat world.

MyLibraryThing

I finally figured out how to put up a widget for MyLibrarything. This is a cool website which allows you to catalog your books online and display them proudly for the rest of the world to see. Its really quite fun.

Amy Winehouse=Rehab

There is so much awesome innovative music coming out at the moment. Rehab is the first single off the Amy Winehouses second album Back and Black. She sounds like Sherley Basey, and has the sas of the likes of UK hip hop artist, Lily Allen. Listen to this song, its really really catchy!

Update: Sorry that the original post of this song didn't work, YouTube Has been causing me many hassles over the last couple of week.

RazorLight In The Morning

These Guys are one of my favourite bands at the moment. I just bought thier latest album on thursday and their songs have been stuck in my head since I bought the CD. It is such a beautiful song from a supurb Band. You can listen to their music at http://www.razorlight.co.uk/

Mika - Grace Kelly

Listen to U.K artist Mika, he sounds like Freddy Mercury from Queen and attempts to pull off some of the moves of Freddy Mercury aswell. Try Hard Freddy Mercury? You Decide. Its a very catchy song!

Political Spectrum Test

The Oz Politcs Blog has a Politics Test which tries to place you on the political spectrum. I came out most closely aligned to the Family First Party at 71%, At second Place was the Australian Democrats 69.3%, the third the Liberal Party 67.8% and then Labor at 67.6%

The Breakdown for my political leaning was that I was -12.5% which is a centrist position of this scoring system.

The Economic Policy was -4.6%. Whic again was a centrist position/

On Social Policy I score exactly 0% which means that I'm dead centre for social policy.

And on Traditional Values I'm -6.7% again a centrist position.

This is pretty close to being right, I said recently to someone asking where I stood on the political spectrum I said that I was centrist, and I have moved back towards the very centre left in my political views.

Take the test, the votes may or may not surprise you.

Hat Tip: David Farrar

Revelations from a Trash Dump

Me and mum went out to Happy Valley Landfill today. We went there to drop off our rubbish. One thing you discover at a landfill is how dirty and disgusting it is. The dust goes up your nose and you feel dirty as you work in the conditions to clean out the back of your trailer or car and you want to get out of the situation that you are in. As I was thinking over this I thought of the urban poor in many nations around the world and in particular Asian countries such as Bangladesh and the Philippines. In these countries (and in modern western countries as well) the urban poor and the untouchables live in conditions like dumps.

In reality when I think of it, the conditions of these places are even worse than those dumps we see in New Zealand. Our country is so rich and modern that all the refuse is not thrown into one pit all area, but is sorted for its usefulness. While in these poorer nations the dumps have everything thrown into them. From bags full of old food to tyres from the middle classes cars, these produce the living conditions for those who have to live there, the poor, the destitute, Deserted women and their orphaned children. They live in tiny houses, created from rusting corrugated iron, old clothes, broom sticks and tyres so they can have a means of coverage from the monsoon rains, the cold (which killed 120 or so in the city of Bangladesh in a week while some missionaries I know were there.) The conditions are dirty and disgusting and seem unliveable. Some short term missionaries who I know who went to Bangladesh talk about how the dirt, grime and pollution filling every orifice. When they arrived back in Hong Kong, they ended up filling the baths up with hot water and washing themselves clean to get rid of the grime that had covered their whole bodies. These missionaries lived in better conditions than many who lived on the street aswell. The urban live in refuse, their own sewer and face dysentery etc. They don’t live here by choice, it is seen as their proper role in society, dumped their because they are the untouchables who live in their place because of the worldview that because of their past life they have to live in that caste, poor, forced to beg and live in unliveable conditions for the rest of their rotten days on the earth. The others are forced their by the result of unfortunate circumstances such as the death of family or desertion.

Jesus in the bible used the picture of a dump to describe hell. Gehenna is the word used in the Gospels by Jesus for hell. Originally it was used by Jews to practice detestable acts for the god Molech. By the first century AD it was a big pit used to place all the refuse of the city of Jerusalem. Gehenna had continuously burning fires produced from Gas of the waste that was put into it. So in the eyes of Jewish people, a rubbish dump was an image of hell. Drawing the analogy further, those who live in the rubbish tips/slums live in a physical and spiritual hell that not many of us have never seen or heard of in the west. Many will never have the chance to hear the Gospel and receive the freedom found in this or find economic and social freedom. It saddens and angers me and forces me to look at myself, the life I live and how I react to injustice around me and around the world I live in. I’m pretty lucky. I live in the suburbs of Wellington. They are a very clean, very respectable. We live in large houses where we have luxuries that millions in other countries will only see when they are producing the items. It would take them years to be able to purchase the Item that takes us a couple of months to acquire. So how am I going to deal with this? So how are we going to deal with this? Think about it the next time you go to the rubbish tip or you throw your rubbish out in Bin.

Discover What Josh is Discovering

My very talented younger brother Joshua has set up his own blog, http://supremeedible.blogspot.com after a bit of pressure had been put on him from me and others to set it up. Go, read it, and discover a little bit more about the world around you and the universe around you.

Conversation with Mike Brantley

One of the many issues I have been wrestling with over the last year or two is the church and the shape of church in this millenium. I have a number of people who are on the journey with me showing me, enlightening me on approaches to church in the new millenium. I have the priviledge of having numerous great mentors who have helped me along the journey to figuring out the centre.

One of them is my friend Mike Brantley. Mike Brantley attended Onslow community church while I was there and provided me with some of the background, and helped me take some steps to where I am now in my faith. I learned from his style of leadership, speaking and his ability to teach the word.

As I went through the hard times in my faith over the last year and went through thinking about what is church really about? How it should be shaped, etc, etc, Mike Brantley was one of those people who was in the back of my mind to get into contact with. A few weeks I ago decided to contact him and start a dialogue. Read where we are up to in the dialogue here. Hopefully it provides you with some richness as it has me. I am wanting to become more passionate for my Lord and saviour. I want to see New Zealand changed, I want to bring people into the kingdom. I want to spread the kingdom further and wider. Not based on institutional models or systems, but based on christ. More on this later....

Faith Journeys – Part 1 - Wrestling and questioning God

This is going to be a messy, real section to my blog where I explore the bible and relate it to where I am going on my journey – at the moment it will be exploring the Old Testament and the discoveries I am finding in the Old Testament at the moment. Much of the Stuff I’ve discovered I’ve found through reading and the occasional accidental truth I’ve found on this adventure through life so far. I plan to try and be a bit provocative in this section (as that is how I feel I should be at the moment.)

Wrestling With God
At this point on my journey with God I am truly wrestling with him and trying to discover what he wants from me and where he wants me to go in this journey and the adventure with Him. I spent a lot of the past couple of years rediscovering faith and rediscovering the truth of the Gospel. I have argued, questioned God on his character, his sovereignty, doubted over the truth, then came crying in repentance for my sins with a new desire to serve him, but continually wrestling with him, asking him what to do next, why I am where I am where I am, why he allows bad things to happen to good people around me. I have prayed, petitioned and questioned. I come to this point I will make the point “its not what you know its who you know”

Faith is real, it isn’t boxed in, and God isn’t boxed in by our images of him. It has to deal with the real harsh facts of life. In the world we live in nothing is rosy. We struggle with suffering, death, pain, hardship, doubts, fears and many other things. I know this for myself. The reality of the Christian journey is that it isn’t easy. It is messy confusing and sometimes damn depressing.

Our faith journey is one of “Following knowing and seeking after [God], living a life motivated from a loving relationship with him” … which is … “much different than adhering to a code, an ideology, a worldview. That reduces the person to facts, truths, propositions and truth. (The words of Mike Brantley. A Friend, Mentor, Brother in Christ in an email recently to me). The result is faith is inherently messy and difficult. It allows for doubts and questions of God.

I will look at the Old Testament because it contains the stories of Gods relationship with People, but also the relationship of People with their God. These people are real people, dealing with real questions (Such as “How can God, who loves us, formed a covenant with us and said that he would always honour that covenant, let bad things happen to his people. Such as the enslavement and exile of our people, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and lead us into a pagan land where we cannot serve our God.) Many of the people in the Old Testament have tough testing questions that they ask of God, they wrestle in their prayers with God, they physically wrestle with God and nearly win, and they ask God for an audience with him. They shout, scream, cry, fight with God and show their disappointment with God, then on the next page they sit quietly listening to God, they dance through the streets of Jerusalem praising him for his power, showing joy which makes them look like a drunken madman, they praise and honour God in the temple and throughout the world. They have bad days with God, so so days with God, Great days with God, and sorrowful days with God. All emotions are shown in this relationship.

Faith is real, its tough, it allows us to ask the hard questions of God, to be real with him, to sit at his feet and just listen, to argue, to praise, to be who we are, true humans, dealing with the messy reality we live in. Through this, we learn, we are changed, we develop hope, perseverance, love, compassion, joy and many other qualities. Through true relationship, we come to know God more and more, and come to learn more and more about who he really is to us. Then we can share this with those around us


Job, Faith and the Ingredients of Discovering a Real Faith
I am taking some of what I write from Philip Yanceys Book “The Bible Jesus Read” as well as my own struggles through the pain of losing my father to cancer for this section. Jobhas come to relate well to many people who have faced the hardships of Life. Its one of the books that I’m amazed managed to get into the Bible because it struggles to actually answer the question that we usually apply to it “If God is Good, then why do good people suffer?” Many modern Christians have come to believe that having faith in God means that Life should be safe happy, healthy and easy going, which in my view is just crap. Prosperity preachers do this all the time, saying that if you send a “faith offering” to their ministry you will receive good health and a good life. Sometimes I wonder if it’s the total opposite to this in reality. Those who have the strong faiths are not the ones who everything are going happily and well and they are eating from the best vines, drinking the best expressos etc but those who seem to be forsaken by God, those in prison for their faith in China, those who live in poverty in India for the sake of the Gospel, those martyred for the faith in many other countries, facing scorn and ostracism from their country man. So if God is good, why does he let good people suffer? Is it because God is a sadist? Is it because God doesn’t really care? Is its God punishing us for sin?

There is actually no answer to this in the bible. As I write these words I struggle with them myself.

So what is Job about, why is this book in the bible, why do I consider this story full of depression, suffering, hardship, abandonment one of my favourite bible stories, why does it scare me, make me hopeful and change me!

The beginning of this story shows us the cosmic scene been played out in Heaven. God shows the devil his most devote follower on earth, Job. The Devil questions the reason for Jobs devout behaviour. He argues that God has given him an easy road because of his faith. He believes that Job would curse God and give up on God if it wasn’t as easy. For God, this is a risky situation; he is being challenged on his character. Does his subject love God know matter what the pains of life throw on him, or will he fall because of the pressure of what crap he goes through. God tests out his subject in an epic wager of character and faith.


Philip Yancey in his book The Bible Jesus Read profoundly suggests that the book of Job is not about suffering, but is about faith. Like the rest of the Old Testament it deals with life with “flagrants realism and a tantalizing glimpse of Hope” (Yancey, The Bible Jesus Read, p.47)

On earth, Job loses everything, goes through losing everything that he holds dear. His friends, holy, astute, learned men, assume that because God is good, righteous, and punishes those who are bad people. They come to Job, who has suffered the death of his children, his wifes abandonment, the loss of his entire income, household, etc and say that the reason this has occurred is because he has sinned and God is punishing him for this sin. For Job the facts do not add up. He’s the type of guy who will pray to God for the whole day, fast, pray and sacrifice animals for the protection of his own family and never cursed God. He probably believed that the reason he was so well off and God has blessed him because he was such a righteous man. His worldview is damaged and destroyed as he sees the destruction of all he owns. He believes that he has done nothing wrong, and argues constantly for 33 chapters with his friends on his character and the character of God. He asks why a just God allows suffering to strike those who are Righteous and the Ungodly get to live in wealth, happiness and good fortune. He questions, desires answers, and finally asks his God for an audience.

Throughout this, his friends look on, trying to convince Job that he is in the wrong, how can he question Gods righteousness, his justness, his power. The probable point for Job is that he has nothing to lose in questioning God, if he dies, he stops suffering! Anyway I digress. Job asks his friends to just plain shut up, they don’t understand, and he just wants a bit of peace and quiet. They continue to berate him, and can’t understand why he won’t confess his sin, his sinfulness can be seen by the way he talks about God, questioning Gods character, how can he do this, then the nerve of asking God for an audience. God is all powerful, all loving, all knowing, he has done right, that’s that, deal with it, they say. This just continues to make the matters worse for poor Job.

Job has the nerve to ask God for an audience, and God turns up in a whirlwind, upsetting the situation a bit further. God responds in a magnificent speech, talks about his grandness, his power. It doesn’t deal with suffering at all! God comes out and steals the show, putting Job in the dock.

And the Lord made answer to Job out of the storm-wind, and said,
Who is this who makes the purpose of God dark by words without knowledge?
Get your strength together like a man of war; I will put questions to you, and you will give me the answers. (Job 38:2-3)

The Whole tale of Hardship, suffering, questioning, throughout the book, has been about Jobs faith, and whether it can weather the storms and hardships of life. Whether when all is lost, whether Job can hold onto God, and believe in his character, Job questions much, and probably ends up believing in a much different God than he believed at the start of the Journey, but he never cursed him. Jobs response to Gods questions of him is to fall down with awe at Gods feet and give him praise. Job is overwhelmed with God and can only do one thing, give him praise.

God wins his wager with Satan, he shows that Humanity can trust in God even when it all turns to crap for those under the microscope. Gods character shines through.

So what have I learned from Job over the years as a Christian?
For me the thing I have learnt is that it is Ok to question God. I believe wholeheartedly that God is strong enough to deal with our hard messy questions that we bring him and he will listen. He won’t always provide the answers we want for our questions, but he will listen to them.

Let people question, wrestle and find God. Let people just fall to their feet and cry and seek after him, even if it is angry, hurtful, hard and messy. God wants us to be real with him. At times we miss the point, but God wants to listen to us. He wants us to be real and have real relationship with him.

It is our job to sit, listen, pray and mourn with those going through the hard times, and try to provide them with loving caring support in anyway possible. But we shouldn’t try and provide answers where there are none possible. I know from my own doubts and searching, those who sit and are wise in their listening and response are the ones who sit still and listen and don’t reply. They are just there. I hate people trying to provide answers when there are none that can be really provided.

The Faith Journey isn’t meant to be easy, I know from my own journey that the times I have grown most in my faith have been the most difficult points in my own faith. At times I haven’t really known whether I’ve been in the right scene and have had to trust in God that there is hope at the end of the tunnel. God cares about our faith. He seems to want us to be totally reliant on him and wants us to let go and have faith in him.

God will shake us up to change us. I have an image running in my head at the moment of a Tsunami, going across a piece of land changing everything, it is destructive and creative. For me it is an image of revival. The way revival of saints and change of nations happens is the shaking up of Christians. This is going to be hard, painful change in peoples of life (or I reckon it is) and causes people to be totally reliant on God and his character.

Job has provided for me hope and realism in the hard places. I thank God that He put this book in the bible so that I can come to it with my questions and wrestling’s with God, my father, friend and comforter.

Del.icio.us

I have put "My Delicious" up on my blog. This is my online library of websites, blogs, etc on different subjects that are of interest to me. Have a look and see what you can find. It needs further work, but its a start.

Also, does anyone know anything about Javascript. I have a Library thing account and I want to do some fancy stuff on my blog with a link to that. Have no Idea how to do this as I an HTML and Javascript illiterate (all the work I do with these langauges is cut and paste)

New Years Resolutions

This Is a New Year. Wow Scary! And as usual we have the New Years Resolutions that we make, but many fail to keep. I longed to keep the ones I made last year, becuase they were so important to me. I have learned alot more about my failings, about Gods grace, maybe what I want to do in the future and what God wants to use me to do in the coming years of life. I'm so young, with so much more to learn and so much to discover. I want to have Jesus on side as I live this life.

So what are my resolutions for the coming year.

1) To Love the Lord My Lord My God with all my heart my and soul

2) To love my nieghbour as I love myself. To see my heart break for those around me and go out of my way to show them the love of Christ.

3) To seek to know Jesus more and put Gods will as first priority in my life. To learn again what it is to have a faith of a child and be able to sit at the feet of my lord and saviour and just listen to him.

4) To not be a hypocryte and realise that I need Gods' grace everyday - God is my sustainer, my father, my friend. I find my Identity in Christ Jesus, not in any other thing. Christ means everything to my and I want to follow and serve him with my whole life everyday, every hour, every moment.