When I was a young boy (back when the crust of the earth was cooling :) ), I would often get a rash on my arms. My mother would take me to the doctor and he would prescribe a tube of white goo to rub on the rash to make it better. I was looking at the tube one day (didn't have anything better to do) and I noticed that it was rather imaginatively called "The Ointment". It may as well have been call "the white goo". But I digress.
I believed the ointment worked. It always worked. However it wasn't of any value until I applied it to my skin. The word of God is like that. You can believe in it, cherish it, recommend it but it doesn't do any good until it is applied to your soul. Application is what the point of the Bible is.
Reading it and studying it are an important part of the process God has planned but they are bordering on useless if the word is not applied to your heart. James 1:22 puts it this way. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
By all means, search and find the meaning of the text. Certainly teach it and proclaim it. But don't nullify all that good work by not applying it to your life and teaching the application.
Some of us love words a little too much. We enjoy the academic experience of Bible Study a little too much.
We need to ask the question when listening to God's word, "What does God want me to do?". And then go out and do it.
Applying the ointment. What a concept?
Institutional Christians
After talking with many Christians lately I have been impressed with the huge gulf there is between having an institutional connection to God and a relational one.
An institutional one is one where we see our relationship with God being through the group that we are in. We think, “I am in the church, therefore I am connected to God”. We see all our relationships with people in the church as “group” relationships and many times that means that they are not that personal. Other Christians soon become just the “people I see at church”. It doesn’t have to be this way but I am seeing it far too much in the wide range of churches I am moving amongst at the moment.
This is not the complaint of one who is looking for the perfect church. That animal doesn’t exist. Didn’t exist in the first century. It is futile to look for it in the 21st century.
No, what I am talking about here is a paradigm shift in the way we look at God and other Christians.
God has planned for his church to be a people, not an institution. “As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” and, “It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God’.”” Romans 9:25, 26. Christians are an organic body not an organization (1 Corinthians 12:13,14). We are a family not “co-habiters”. Our connection is not that we end up in the same place each week, it is the one who draws us to that place.
We are brothers and sisters, a people who belong to our Father, God. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9, 10. We are all sinners who have received mercy.
Warning Signs you are an “Institutional Christian”
- You really don’t want to hang around with Christians except at church for a brief period on Sunday.
- You only get concerned about others at church when they are not “at church”.
- Your social connection with other Christians is minimal and mostly formal.
- When Christians get in trouble, you run away from them.
- You hit the carpark 1.5 seconds after the final prayer at church. Sometimes even after the communion.
- You never hang around for lunch with the church.
- You would rather have hernia surgery than volunteer to help out with anything to do with church.
- You haven’t invited anyone to a Christian gathering of any sort in years.
Is this you? I see myself in this list and I am an evangelist. I should know better, but I fall into bad habits. What about you? Be honest. This is important. Is "this" what Jesus is about? Enter the conversation. There is life in the church.
Next blog: How to get out of the institutional Christian trap.
Who Is Left?
Think of all the people who have been in your life?
Who has hung in there with you for the long haul?
Some are with you when "things" are going well but fade when "things" turn bad.
Some are close when you live close but they disappear when you move away.
Some are your friend while it is useful for them but the friendship fades as they don't need you much any more.
After all the "fade outs", and moves who is left by your side? These are special people. They are truly friends. They choose to be with you (even if it is only Facebook from the other side of the world) despite your failures, mistakes and even successes. The wise one puts it this way. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17.
I find ministry in the church is also a good place to ask this question. Who is left?
Some shine brightly for a little time. They are the focus of excitement but just a few years later they are gone. There are the really clever ones who make a lot of sense with their strategy for change but after a while they are gone. If you have been around in churches for a few years you know what I am talking about.
Who is left? Who has given up or found it more convenient to (or even called to) move on. People may be gone for perfectly godly reasons. I am not questioning their motivations. I just have found it so sobering and encouraging to focus on the ones who stay for whole game and don't leave at half time.
Thank God for the ones who hang in there. They are here for you and your church. They may have been around so long that they blend into the background but don't let them. Praise them. Seek them. Allow God to use them. God has put them in your life for a reason. Love them. Above all, love them.
Reminds me of Paul's comment about Timothy, his long time partner in ministry. “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no-one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.”Philippians 2:19-22.
Reach out the ones who are left with you.
Who has hung in there with you for the long haul?
Some are with you when "things" are going well but fade when "things" turn bad.
Some are close when you live close but they disappear when you move away.
Some are your friend while it is useful for them but the friendship fades as they don't need you much any more.
After all the "fade outs", and moves who is left by your side? These are special people. They are truly friends. They choose to be with you (even if it is only Facebook from the other side of the world) despite your failures, mistakes and even successes. The wise one puts it this way. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17.
I find ministry in the church is also a good place to ask this question. Who is left?
Some shine brightly for a little time. They are the focus of excitement but just a few years later they are gone. There are the really clever ones who make a lot of sense with their strategy for change but after a while they are gone. If you have been around in churches for a few years you know what I am talking about.
Who is left? Who has given up or found it more convenient to (or even called to) move on. People may be gone for perfectly godly reasons. I am not questioning their motivations. I just have found it so sobering and encouraging to focus on the ones who stay for whole game and don't leave at half time.
Thank God for the ones who hang in there. They are here for you and your church. They may have been around so long that they blend into the background but don't let them. Praise them. Seek them. Allow God to use them. God has put them in your life for a reason. Love them. Above all, love them.
Reminds me of Paul's comment about Timothy, his long time partner in ministry. “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no-one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.”Philippians 2:19-22.
Reach out the ones who are left with you.
Reflections on a Weekend
Recently I participated in the Australia Christian Convention hosted by WestChurch in Sydney and it included believers from all over the Restoration Movement but mainly the Acapella Churches of Christ, Independent Christian Churches and Former International Churches of Christ.
What hit me the most was not our differences but the immensity of the similarities of our journeys. Certainly our journeys had been different but here we were standing up for the gospel of Jesus and striving to learn how better to proclaim that gospel. There were representatives from 7 church plantings currently active in the South Pacific. All quite unique in their approaches and contexts but all united in their love for Jesus and their love for people and their unswerving commitment to the truth that only Jesus provides the complete solution to the paradox of live in the 21st century. I love these brothers and sisters.
Another thing that hit me is a little bit harder to express. I know this can sound a little judgmental, so please, while reading these words, give me the benefit of the doubt. I have been working in church context for 32 years and I have noticed that there are two sorts of approaches to the work of the kingdom. There are those who seem to endlessly talk about our mission. And then there are those who not only talk about it, but actually get out there and get busy doing something about it. A lot of them fall flat on their faces but they do so while putting their lives where their mouths are. The brothers and sisters that characterized this weekend were doers. They have left family, financial security and lucrative secular careers to do what Jesus has called them to do and my admiration for them is unbounded.
I was touched deeply to an old Dire Straits song and I think it applies here.
"Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
I've witnessed all your suffering
As the battles raged higher
And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me
My brothers in arms"
Ahh. Brothers in arms. Our brotherhood is not just built on the God who died for us but in our dedication to the mission he gave us from the foot of the cross. I so glad I have brothers in arms. They lift me up. They keep me humble. They inspire me. They stand up for me. Thank God that He gave us brothers in arms.
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
What hit me the most was not our differences but the immensity of the similarities of our journeys. Certainly our journeys had been different but here we were standing up for the gospel of Jesus and striving to learn how better to proclaim that gospel. There were representatives from 7 church plantings currently active in the South Pacific. All quite unique in their approaches and contexts but all united in their love for Jesus and their love for people and their unswerving commitment to the truth that only Jesus provides the complete solution to the paradox of live in the 21st century. I love these brothers and sisters.
Another thing that hit me is a little bit harder to express. I know this can sound a little judgmental, so please, while reading these words, give me the benefit of the doubt. I have been working in church context for 32 years and I have noticed that there are two sorts of approaches to the work of the kingdom. There are those who seem to endlessly talk about our mission. And then there are those who not only talk about it, but actually get out there and get busy doing something about it. A lot of them fall flat on their faces but they do so while putting their lives where their mouths are. The brothers and sisters that characterized this weekend were doers. They have left family, financial security and lucrative secular careers to do what Jesus has called them to do and my admiration for them is unbounded.
I was touched deeply to an old Dire Straits song and I think it applies here.
"Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
I've witnessed all your suffering
As the battles raged higher
And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me
My brothers in arms"
Ahh. Brothers in arms. Our brotherhood is not just built on the God who died for us but in our dedication to the mission he gave us from the foot of the cross. I so glad I have brothers in arms. They lift me up. They keep me humble. They inspire me. They stand up for me. Thank God that He gave us brothers in arms.
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
Techno Jesus
I work for a high technology company. I work for Jesus. I use technology a lot in both of my jobs as well as in my personal life.
While I am in awe (most of the time) of the monthly advances in technology, I also am convinced that this technology is more than just ornamental gadgetry which the middle class get to play with.
On the other hand, technology is not the solution to what ails this world. The greatest lie of the past two centuries is that science will solve the world's problems. It certainly has improved the standard of living of many but people still die from starvation, wars still kill countless innocents, people still kill people, women still get raped. The list of atrocities that have been endemic in human life since there has been human life has not changed.
This doesn't mean that technology hasn't helped. I am constantly amazed at how technology has helped in patching up the human body. However, as good as it is, we still all die. It may be at an older age but are all terminal.
Yet in all this, technology can help us in the ministry of helping people. It helps particularly in the area of staying in touch. I know that in my ministry I can, and so still do, stay in touch with hundreds of people that previously I would have rarely communicated with. Email, Facebook, Twitter, Websites have all helped in this. While this is not a replacement for sitting next to someone and speaking to them and giving them a hug of encouragement, it certainly does help when either geography or time constraints prevent us from being with each other.
However, these tools of communication are only has helpful as the content that we put into them.
I can't help but feel that if Jesus were with us today He would have a Facebook page and would occasionally twitter from the mount.
Sure there are limitations with technology and there are dangers and abuses, but we have got to realize that such things are common to any attempt at communication or fellowship, even church gatherings. We just have learn how to deal with the negative side.
Paul did say, “... I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:22. Let's use "all possible means".
http://www.preachergeorge.com
While I am in awe (most of the time) of the monthly advances in technology, I also am convinced that this technology is more than just ornamental gadgetry which the middle class get to play with.
On the other hand, technology is not the solution to what ails this world. The greatest lie of the past two centuries is that science will solve the world's problems. It certainly has improved the standard of living of many but people still die from starvation, wars still kill countless innocents, people still kill people, women still get raped. The list of atrocities that have been endemic in human life since there has been human life has not changed.
This doesn't mean that technology hasn't helped. I am constantly amazed at how technology has helped in patching up the human body. However, as good as it is, we still all die. It may be at an older age but are all terminal.
Yet in all this, technology can help us in the ministry of helping people. It helps particularly in the area of staying in touch. I know that in my ministry I can, and so still do, stay in touch with hundreds of people that previously I would have rarely communicated with. Email, Facebook, Twitter, Websites have all helped in this. While this is not a replacement for sitting next to someone and speaking to them and giving them a hug of encouragement, it certainly does help when either geography or time constraints prevent us from being with each other.
However, these tools of communication are only has helpful as the content that we put into them.
I can't help but feel that if Jesus were with us today He would have a Facebook page and would occasionally twitter from the mount.
Sure there are limitations with technology and there are dangers and abuses, but we have got to realize that such things are common to any attempt at communication or fellowship, even church gatherings. We just have learn how to deal with the negative side.
Paul did say, “... I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:22. Let's use "all possible means".
http://www.preachergeorge.com
The Lull
Don't you just love that word, "lull"? Well, I don't. I have several character flaws but one of the more obvious ones is impatience. I don't like waiting. There I said it. I know I seem like an arrogant self important man but I really don't think I am. I hope I'm not because then this character flaw will have far too much depth.
Not being willing to waiting in line at a restaurant or a shop or at the bank is a problem but not as big a problem as not being willing to wait on God. I must admit I feel like my life is in a bit of a lull at the moment. There's that word again.
I am working hard and long as an evangelist with Northside and as a computer specialist with the fruit company but there is this deep sense I have that, even though there is a lot of activity in my life, there really isn't a lot of progress. I have never been good at judging situations so I am not confident in my analysis. There may be a lot of progress being made and I am just not aware of it.
Well all this rambling has led me to a question. What do you do in a lull? Here are some thoughts I have as I look at the second half of 2010.
I know I said all those things to the amorphous "you" but I was talking to "me" but I thought I would take it better if I thought this was for someone else first. I'm such a man. And I also write most of my blogs for therapy and this has been good for me.
What do you do in a lull?
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
Not being willing to waiting in line at a restaurant or a shop or at the bank is a problem but not as big a problem as not being willing to wait on God. I must admit I feel like my life is in a bit of a lull at the moment. There's that word again.
I am working hard and long as an evangelist with Northside and as a computer specialist with the fruit company but there is this deep sense I have that, even though there is a lot of activity in my life, there really isn't a lot of progress. I have never been good at judging situations so I am not confident in my analysis. There may be a lot of progress being made and I am just not aware of it.
Well all this rambling has led me to a question. What do you do in a lull? Here are some thoughts I have as I look at the second half of 2010.
Accept the times. Be content in the situation has put you in. Didn't God say something about that?
Work hard at what you have before you. Just because you can't see a significant purpose in what is before you doesn't mean that God will not use it (or has already planned to use it) for His will.Love people. Whoever is in your life, love them. Don't look at them as stepping stones to success in ministry or God's purpose for you. Just love them.
Love God. Remember this whole "living on Earth thing" is about God and you. Love Him. He says this is the most important thing so who are you to argue?Pray a lot. Talk to Him who thinks about you more than anyone else.
Read His word. Seems so trite to say this but It is the things that we think are childish that often are the most important. Just read it. Don't study it, analyze it or use it as prep for a lesson. Just read it.Got off your own back. Stop beating yourself up. You can only do what you can do. Take each day one at a time. Enjoy the ride. Otherwise God will never be able to use you as you want Him to.
I know I said all those things to the amorphous "you" but I was talking to "me" but I thought I would take it better if I thought this was for someone else first. I'm such a man. And I also write most of my blogs for therapy and this has been good for me.
What do you do in a lull?
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
What does good news look like?
Jesus calls His message for this world, good news.
As Christians we know what good news is. How do we express that? Most of us would use words like “being saved”. Now that is good news. Some would say that being justified, redeemed, added to God’s family, His church is good news. And they would be right. These words mean a lot to us and speak of the amazing gift God has given to us as we responded to His good news message.
However we didn’t always express the good news of Jesus that way. We didn’t even now how to spell “justification”, let alone spell out what it means.
When we first heard the good news we saw it as it related to us at that point in our lives. If you are a baby boomer, then you probably saw the good news in some familiar terms in relation to faith in God and faith in the Bible.
Those days are gone. We live in societies that know little of God or of the Bible. So when we speak of good news to them it looks very different to the images and ideas we have had.
If you are speaking to a person who hasn’t had a decent meal all week and you tell him you have good news, what does that look like to him? He can’t help but think of a good meal. His basic need frames his whole world for that day. Do you think that might have had something to with Jesus feeding great crowds? See Mark 6:34-44 etc.
If you are taking the good news to a person who has been discriminated against all their life, have a guess what good news looks like to them? They imagine a life where they are accepted and loved. Do you think that might have a lot to do with Jesus spending so much time with the disenfranchised of His society? See Matthew 9:10-13
Jesus often presented good news to people in terms of what the people He was speaking thought was good news.
Lost Things. To those who feel like they have lost something, or feel like they are missing something He would frame the good news with a story of someone finding something value in the ordinary run of life. See Luke 15:4-9.
Failed Relationships. For those who had lost a relationship to someone close, even family, He would tell a story of a wasteful and selfish son who returned to his father. See Like 15:11 ff.
You can seeing Jesus thinking, “What would these people think good news is?”. We spend so much time telling people of doctrinal positions and elegant frameworks of truths and what does Jesus do? He tells people stories, but not just entertaining stories. They are stories the have at the core of their message, the good news of Jesus. But why does He speak in stories? Because He doesn’t just want to state the truth, He wants to communicate it. And who determines what communicates? The speaker or the hearer? It is the hearer.
To those used the language and structure of a kingdom He presented the good news as a coming king
To those who were being ruled by an army of occupation he spoke of the kingdom being restored to Israel.
To those who were used to farming He would proclaim good news in terms of planting and harvesting.
To those who were being ruled by an army of occupation he spoke of the kingdom being restored to Israel.
To those who were used to farming He would proclaim good news in terms of planting and harvesting.
What He was actually doing was fulfilling God’s plan to bring everything together under Christ (Ephesians 1:9-10). However when He spoke of this good news He would speak in the language and aspirations of the hearers.
You and I need to look at those people that God is bringing into our lives and ask, “What does good news look like to them?”. Initially it may have nothing to do with Bible study, church or even Jesus. What will it look like?
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
Evangelism is a Process
Think about your experience of coming to faith in Christ. If you are like most people, including our friends in the New Testament, I expect it involved a process with the following involved.
- Time
- People
- The Word
Whether you are a government official returning home, a correctional officer whose prisoners have escaped or a young man with godly parents and grandparents, there was a process in you getting saved by the death of Jesus. It may have involved a decision and an immersion into Christ but there was a lot that went on before that public event.
Evangelism isn’t just a big outreach event, or that doorknocking campaign or visitor Sunday at church. It is a process that began when God began pursuing you.
When that process hit our lives it involved a lot of time, people and His Word. Here are some of the ways that God says that this process reveals itself.
SHINING
Ephesians 2:7 “in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
Did you hear what God says His plan for you was? He planned to save you and His plan was then to use YOU (and me) to show this grace to everyone in our world through US. What is the best evidence of a good doctor? Happy healthy patients. It is the same with God. What is the best evidence of God’s grace? Sinners (read in Ephesians 3:1-4 about the true ugliness of that) living forgiven lives based on God’s grace.
God needed a great preacher to take the good news to the rest of the known world (the Gentiles). Notice how that preacher, Paul, describes his qualifications for that task. “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1:16. Paul could preach (and God wanted him to preach) but His life as an expression of God’s patience and grace preached even louder and more persuasively.
Here is one of the most powerful examples that God gives of this part of the evangelism process; wives with unbelieving husbands. “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.” . 1 Peter 3:1, 2.
All this is not a reason to not speak. It is a revelation that the process of evangelism involves more than just speaking. It’s called SHINING. “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16.
Don’t do things to be a good example. That is just fake and unworthy of the gospel. Be a disciple of Jesus and you will shine into people’s lives. You may not have intended to shine. Just as a flower doesn’t decide to shine its beauty. It just does. It is the same with Christians who simply live for Jesus. They shine. They can’t help it. It is in their spiritual DNA
SPEAKING
As we shine we also speak. We can’t help ourselves. We are like a certain grandfather I know who won’t stop talking about (and showing photos of) His grandson. Ok, I confess, I speak of myself. No one forces me to speak. I didn’t take courses in it. I don’t have to psych myself up to do it. Speaking about Jesus is a lot like that. It is not the same, but it is a lot like it. Listen to what God says on this. “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20.
You and I are representatives of Jesus. We all wear a T-shirt that says “property of Jesus”. As his ambassadors we speak for Him. Seriously. God knows what He is doing, even if it sounds like a bit of a bad idea. He asks us to speak for Him, to make His appeal through us. Personally, I would have chosen someone else, but despite my misgivings, the truth still stands. He chose us to implore the world to be reconciled to God.
He doesn’t leave us on our own. He empowers and strengthens us (Ephesians 3:16). He walks with us. He brings people into our lives (Acts 18:4).
Speaking involves many things. We, too often, think it only refers to preaching the good news or studying the Bible with someone. Yes each of us can speak the Word. “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” Acts 8:4. But before we can speak the Word we have to have someone to speak that Word to.
That’s where the Andrews of the kingdom come in. I speak of the lesser-known brother of Peter, the extraordinary preacher, who spoke to thousands. We don’t hear of Andrew speaking the Word much but we do have this small sound bite from his life in John 1:41 “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).” Andrew was an inviter. He spoke what He knew (which wasn’t much) but He did introduce Peter (Simon) to Jesus and the rest is history.
You may not be a preacher or teacher but you can be an inviter and an introducer.
BECOMING
In this process of helping others to come to a saving faith in Jesus, there is a method that Paul used that I think has been overlooked by many of us. Maybe it was because in the past our culture wasn’t that different to the kingdom of God.
However, today in the once bastions of faith in Jesus like Europe, the USA and Australia, there is an increasingly secular culture. A generation has grown up that do not value Jesus, the Bible or the God of the Bible. They don’t even understand our language when we speak of the kingdom. Our world has turned into one very similar to the first century world of Paul, Peter and the early church. How did they handle this huge chasm that existed between their culture and kingdom of God? Exactly the same way Jesus did.
Listen to Paul as he explains what He did. “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:19-22.
Paul, how did you reach the Jews, whose religion you had left (because it was fulfilled in Jesus). You became like a Jew. What did that look like?
Paul, what did you do to reach the Gentiles (those without the Law)? You became like a Gentile? What did that look like?
How about the weak? How did someone so strong as you become like the weak?
Now, we need to understand that Paul wasn’t trying to trick those He was trying to reach. He was seeking to identify with them. Alan Hirsch, an Australian Christian writer I highly recommend, puts it this way. When approaching those who are so different to us we need to ask the question, “What is good news to these people?”
I will write on this more in another note, but I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Keeping on shining, speaking and becoming.
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
Taste The Difference
She insists that she can taste the difference. It made me think of that verse in 1 Peter 2:2, 3, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” Ah, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Our journey with Christ is not just one of faith. It is also one of experience. Yes, we must walk by faith, but along the way we experience God in a very real way. We taste Him and He is good.
It may sound a little silly or even a little disrespectful but here it goes. Does the Lord taste good to you? When you look back across the years of your journey with Him do you say, "This has been good. It hasn't always been an easy ride, but it He is good."
If there is an element of doubt in your heart that God is good consider the following universal truths. No interpretation or subjective views here. These are unassailable truths. Don't let Satan let one element of doubt live in the same room with you and these truths.
God loves to the extreme, shown objectively in Jesus' life and death. God has forgiven you of your sins. He has forgotten them. You may remember them but He has permanently erased them from His memo. Have you tasted that? He has added you to His family, His church, His kingdom. Have you tasted that? He has given you of His Spirit who now indwells your body with your spirit. Wow. Have you tasted that the Lord is good?
Back to my wife's original observation about peanut butter. It tastes different here. The more important question is, "Does the Lord taste the same as all the other gods (influences, people or groups) in your life?" If He does, then there is something wrong. Seriously wrong. It's like saying Kobe (LeBron, Steve Nash, etc.) is a good basketball player. Really. More like one of history's best. Jesus isn't just another person in your life. He is the Lord. He better not taste the same.
Now, back to the scripture. Now that we have tasted that He is good, what should be do? We should crave Him still more. We should crave spiritual milk (food). Don't just put in on the shopping list. Crave it. Long for it. Don't go a day without it.
Ahhh. God is so good. He's so good. He's so good to me.
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
Church
The word church come to mean many different things. What do you think of when you hear the word? What image comes to mind?
Some think of an institution, a religious entity with ancient traditions and rituals. Some think of the leadership heirarchy. Some think of a church building. Still others think of hypocrites. All of these are common ideas.
Yet, in the Bible, this not what God was thinking about when He used the word, church.
When God uses the word, church, he has something very specific in mind. The literal meaning of the word is the called out ones. It refers to a group of people who are called out for a common purpose. Up until the first century it was used of any gathering of people. It was like some of collective nouns, like mob, bunch, herd etc. It had no God connection.
Then God took this totally secular word and applied it to a specific group, His group, His group of called out people. These called out ones are known as disciples, Christians, saints etc. All these called out ones have become a group know as the called out, the church.
You see, the church, is a group of people. It isn't an organization. It is more like an organism than an organization. God would call it a body. It isn't an institution. It is a group of people. And these people, these called out ones have a common Saviour, purpose and love.
No one represents the church, not even its leaders. The called out ones, the church, represent Jesus Christ, by their testimony and their lives of love and obedience to Christ. The church is made up of sinners, saved sinners. It is full of the broken and fragile. Full of the imperfect and the inadequate. Yet, in Christ, they are the redeemed, the saved, the called out ones, the church.
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
Some think of an institution, a religious entity with ancient traditions and rituals. Some think of the leadership heirarchy. Some think of a church building. Still others think of hypocrites. All of these are common ideas.
Yet, in the Bible, this not what God was thinking about when He used the word, church.
When God uses the word, church, he has something very specific in mind. The literal meaning of the word is the called out ones. It refers to a group of people who are called out for a common purpose. Up until the first century it was used of any gathering of people. It was like some of collective nouns, like mob, bunch, herd etc. It had no God connection.
Then God took this totally secular word and applied it to a specific group, His group, His group of called out people. These called out ones are known as disciples, Christians, saints etc. All these called out ones have become a group know as the called out, the church.
You see, the church, is a group of people. It isn't an organization. It is more like an organism than an organization. God would call it a body. It isn't an institution. It is a group of people. And these people, these called out ones have a common Saviour, purpose and love.
No one represents the church, not even its leaders. The called out ones, the church, represent Jesus Christ, by their testimony and their lives of love and obedience to Christ. The church is made up of sinners, saved sinners. It is full of the broken and fragile. Full of the imperfect and the inadequate. Yet, in Christ, they are the redeemed, the saved, the called out ones, the church.
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
Motivations in Evangelism (2)
What is the message we proclaim? Evangelism is revealed by God to be literally proclaiming good news. It is spreading a special message, which is, in summarized form, known simply as good news (gospel). But what is that message?
My journey in the kingdom of Christ has revealed to me that a lot of Christians (including myself at one time) do not really understand what the good news is. To some the good news is “the church” and they preach “it” strongly. To others it is “moralism”. To others it is “spirituality”. To others it is “prosperity”. To be honest, it is quite disturbing how long this list gets.
Disturbing, because our central task is to proclaim the good news and yet so many don’t understand what that good news is. Disturbing because God went to a lot of trouble to spell out exactly what the message is. You don’t need “special knowledge” or an epiphany to find out what it is.
The bottom line is that there is only one source for an absolute answer to the question of what the good news is. It is not church councils, favourite preachers, historical traditions (whether written or verbal) or any other human source. The source of the good news is God and it is God who tells us what the good news is.
At this point you may be thinking, “Yeah, yeah, I know all this. Let’s move on.” Please let me warn you to go slowly through this analysis of what the good news is. What God will reveal will change your view of yourself, your church and your world. It is pivotal to all those aspects of your life.
One of the clearest statements in scripture, God’s very word itself, is found in a letter Paul wrote to a church to REMIND them of what the good news was. Written almost 2000 years ago it still shocks us at its simplicity and disturbs us because we have often changed it in our enthusiasm for God.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”
It appears that it was not just our brothers and sisters at Corinth who need reminding of what the good news was. See Galatians 1:6-9, 2 Timothy 4:2-3, 2 Peter 2:1-3.
God says that the good news is a story. It is the story of Jesus the Christ; His death for our sins, His burial and resurrection on the third day. Our message is the death of Jesus and his bodily resurrection. This story changes everything. This good news is not an equation. It is a story, a story of love, sacrificial divine love. It is a story because God says it is, not because I like stories or it is the communication flavour of the month. When God chose to reveal what the gospel was He revealed it as a story, the story of Jesus.
Of all the godly kingdom things God could have mentioned in reminding us of what he good news is, He only mentions three things. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. This is our message.
It is the message on the lips of the apostolic proclaimers of the first century. See Mark 1:1, Acts 2:22-24; 3:13-15; 4:2, 10, 33; 5:20-32, 42; 8:35, 10:36; 11:20 etc. etc.
How did I ever get this wrong? Why did I proclaim baptism and hardly mention Jesus? How did I get to the point where the church was the central point to my preaching and Jesus hardly got a mention? When did my “gospel” message get to be a negative message of condemnation of all who disagree with me? I really don’t know, but that is what happened. But God didn’t write me off. He kept reminding me of what the good news is and eventually my proud heart broke and I started to see the startlingly obvious. Jesus is our good news and He is our message.
That Jesus’ death and resurrection is the good news is vital to us accurately proclaiming the gospel. However, in this series we are looking at motivations in evangelism. I believe that realizing that we as Christians are called to proclaim Jesus is a powerful motivation for evangelism. Why? Here are a couple of reasons.
Because Jesus is the perfect message. When I preach the church, not matter how idealistically, the church itself discredits the message with its bad behaviour, politics etc. When I preach moralism, my own moral shortcomings (sin) shout louder than my calls to righteousness. However, when I preach Jesus, His life and teachings back up that proclamation perfectly.
Because Jesus is God telling each person that He loves them. Above all else God loves those He has created. He longs for them and He delights in them. They just don’t know it and that’s where we have the great job of informing them of God’s love for each person on this lonely planet.
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Motivations for Evangelism (1)
A friend commented to me in response to the original paper I wrote on evangelism that all the evangelism methods in the world are practically useless unless we are motivated to proclaim the good news of Jesus. I am paraphrasing him. He is right. A correct understanding of methodology matters little if you and I aren’t motivated to use such methodology.
He also went into detail as to why he doesn’t do much evangelizing. More on that in another post, but it did make me think that we really do need to talk about the motivation God’s wants us to have in evangelism. What should move us to share the good news of Jesus?
As with previous questions I am looking for biblical answers to this question.
Christ’s Love for us compels us to share that love with others
2 Corinthians 5:14-21 “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
When we learned that God has always loved us and that Jesus died FOR us we were awe struck and overwhelmed and we loved it.
We then became convinced (by the message of Jesus) that Jesus died for everyone.
This has far reaching implications in how we regard people and how we should treat them.
Let the scripture speak
2 Corinthians 5:15 “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
Through Jesus death we have been brought to life. See also Romans 6:1-18.
This spiritual resurrection has resulted in a new life with a new dynamic that precludes living for ourselves. No longer are we to motivated by selfishness. I love the way the Holy Spirit, through Paul’s mouth, puts it in Philippians 2:3-5 “3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:”
The scripture wants to speak some more.
2 Corinthians 5:16 “So from now on we regard no-one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
We now look at people differently. They are no longer just objects for our amusement or gratification. They are no longer a means to OUR ends. They are no longer just a mass of beings. They are children of God who have strayed from the family and God desperately wants them back.
As a result we have been given a ministry, a task of service, a work to do. We have received the ministry of reconciliation.
Isn’t this just amazing? God does the miraculous, sacrificial and all-powerful thing of providing for the reconciliation of all humans and then what does He do? He turns it over to you and me. Really?
The scripture still is speaking.
19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”.
What is this ministry of reconciliation? Another item in the church budget? Another programme for the church calendar? No. It is much more than that. It is also a ministry that is given to individual Christians, not a mass of them. More on that later.
God has committed to us the task of spreading the message of reconciliation, the good news of Jesus :19.
He has enlisted us as ambassadors who speak for him. And what do we speak? He has given us the message. We can’t mess with it. It is simpy, “Be reconciled to God”!
It all started in a moment of confrontation between you and love and God. The loved of God prevailed in that conflict and your motivation started to change at that very minute and has resulted in a compulsion deep within your soul to share this message of liberation.
More on this in the next post.
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Been A While
It has been a while since I have updated the old blog. Been working a lot with the church and with the fruit company. Slowly getting used to having two jobs and having family so close by. Don't get me wrong. I am loving it.
It is definitely new to me. Having a secular job part time is a great thing. Sure, it takes me away from the church work that I love but it does open my eyes up to the world as it is lived by non preachers. Preachers really need to expose themselves to that regularly. It is so easy to start to look at life through the eyes of one who can study the Bible, pray, minister etc. full time. Most of the members of our churches work 30, 40, 50 hour weeks and we need to be sensitive to their situation.
Both times in my life I have had to work in secular jobs at the same time as working with the church the Lord has guided me to computer jobs. First in Toowoomba with Hunts Computers and the Windows environment in the 80s. Second, now with Apple and the OS X environment. I am so blessed that the secular work I do is something that I am passionate about.
Meeting lots of new people. Lots of young people. I am the old guy at work, though no one treats me like the old guy. Learning lots of new skills and having my mind and heart stretched.
Looking forward to seeing what God has planned for me each day.
It is definitely new to me. Having a secular job part time is a great thing. Sure, it takes me away from the church work that I love but it does open my eyes up to the world as it is lived by non preachers. Preachers really need to expose themselves to that regularly. It is so easy to start to look at life through the eyes of one who can study the Bible, pray, minister etc. full time. Most of the members of our churches work 30, 40, 50 hour weeks and we need to be sensitive to their situation.
Both times in my life I have had to work in secular jobs at the same time as working with the church the Lord has guided me to computer jobs. First in Toowoomba with Hunts Computers and the Windows environment in the 80s. Second, now with Apple and the OS X environment. I am so blessed that the secular work I do is something that I am passionate about.
Meeting lots of new people. Lots of young people. I am the old guy at work, though no one treats me like the old guy. Learning lots of new skills and having my mind and heart stretched.
Looking forward to seeing what God has planned for me each day.
A Thought
I was thinking
I pass by
… Selfish thoughts and self-promoting ambitions
I leave behind
… Sin for the pleasure of it
I look for the point of this life
… And it all seems so
Petty
Superficial
… Small
I tried
I thought
I thought some more
… Got a headache. What a joke
… But got a God who spoke
Head started to heal
It’s all about Jesus
Without Him, nothing is real
Really?
… Who would have thought it?
… No one
“And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” Ephesians 1:9, 10, NIV.
Nothing.
… Nothing makes sense.
… The church. This world. My life. Nothing.
They don’t make any sort of sense without Jesus.
… It’s not about me. It’s Jesus.
Who would have thought?
Drill down into the meaning of life
… And you find a first century Jewish preacher
God takes the apparently irrelevant and makes him the central hub of the universe.
It was always His purpose, His plan.
Thinking
Thinking about Jesus
Thinking
Thinking about Jesus
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Truths About Baptism
Baptism came to be the overlooked stepchild in the kingdom (apologies to stepchildren out there). For so long it had been the focus of stormy arguments about salvation by grace and not works. Yet, as people have turned to scripture for the teachings of Jesus about baptism the arguments are subsiding and the beauty, majesty and power of baptism is being seen in churches, beaches and rivers all over the kingdom.
Here is my list of some truths that are becoming commonly accepted among Christians as the truths God has revealed to us. The baptism I focus on in this article is the Great Commission baptism of Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 15:15-16. There are other baptisms in the New Testament (fire, suffering, Holy Spirit) but its water baptism common to all believers in the early church that I speak of here.
Baptism in the New Testament was only ever immersion in water. There is NO reputable Greek scholar or theologian who denies that the original word for baptism in the New Testament ALWAYS referred to an immersion. The context supplies what the immersion is in. And for every new believer that immersion was in water.
Baptism is a reenactment of and participation in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Check out Romans 6:3-5 and Colossians 2:12. Isn’t it just like God to place such awesome symmetry to an apparently ridiculous dunking in water? Our lowering into the water is like Jesus dying and being entombed. Our raising out the water is like Jesus being raised from the dead. The significance doesn’t end there. The death and resurrection of Jesus is the very centre of the power of God to save us.
Baptism is closely associated with the beginning of a believer’s walk with Jesus. In the Book Acts, the Holy Spirit’s record of the history of the early church, the longest time between a person coming to faith and their baptism is 3 days. That was when God forced Paul to wait in blindness after He came to faith in Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-18).
Baptism is closely associated with the most wonderful blessings from God. Here is a quick list. Forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38, 22:16), getting into Christ (Galatians 3:26-27), salvation (Mark 16:16, 1 Peter 3:21), receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, 5:32), entering the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). As an act of faith, baptism is such a significant part of the beginning of our life in Christ.
Baptism was the common experience of Jesus, His disciples and apostles and all of the early church. When Paul wanted to refer to two experiences in Christ that every Christian is connected to, he quoted the death of Jesus and our baptism in Jesus name (1 Corinthians 1:13). His argument there was that we should be united in Jesus, not preacher loyalties, because Jesus died for us and we were all baptized in the name of Jesus.
Baptism is for adults. Baptism is to always be preceded by faith in Christ. Only adults are capable of such faith. There is no need for the baptism of infants as they are in the kingdom of God by their physical birth and innocence. Dedicate them, name them, praise God for them, but don’t call it baptism. Such is a distortion of the express purpose, point and beauty of baptism.
Baptism is about relationship not ritual. It is not a magical ritual any more than a wedding is. Baptism is an expression of a person’s desire for a close walk with Jesus. Some have called it the believer’s wedding ceremony and I like that analogy even though it is not a biblical one.
Fallacies About Baptism
No doubt about it. Baptism is an important of the process of the task Jesus has given us as well as an important part of the process of the believer’s walk with Jesus.
It is not the most important part, nor is it the pivotal part but it is an important part. Why? Because Jesus said so. Because Jesus was baptized. Because every new believer in the New Testament was baptized. You know the verses.
In a recent study I was doing on baptism I came upon a few fallacies in my own understanding of baptism of believers in Jesus. Well, for whatever value there might be in it, here they are.
You don’t need to understand everything that is going on when you are baptized for your baptism to be valid. There is no way a person can understand everything (or even most things) about baptism before they are baptized. Paul strongly indicated in Romans 6:3 that the Roman Christians were unaware of the death component of baptism. Yet, that ignorance didn’t invalidate their baptism. I have many brethren who, to this day, do not believe that they literally received the Holy Spirit when they were baptized as is promised in Acts 2:38, 5:32 etc. That ignorance on their part did not invalidate their baptism and did not stop God giving them the Holy Spirit.
From the scripture there is only one thing that a person needs to believe before they are properly baptized; belief in Jesus (Mark 16:15). That faith in Christ needs to motivate them to turn from sin (repent). There is no scripture that would indicate that anything else is needed to precede a person’s immersion in water into Christ nor are these things expected to be done perfectly. Perfect baptism is no more possible than perfect faith or perfect repentance.
If you or I add anything else, we are adding to the scripture. Many say that for a baptism to be valid, a person needs to understand what God is doing when they are being baptized. God has never made our understanding of what He IS DOING a condition of Him fulfilling His promises. He does however say that we need to understand what He HAS DONE in Jesus’ death and resurrection. You can't obey the gospel unless you know it.
It doesn’t matter what words are said over you when you are baptized. Nowhere in scripture is there even the hint that that there is a correct formula of words that is to be said over person being baptized. The phrase “in the name of” in some baptism verses refers to the authority by which a baptism is being performed, not the words that must be pronounced over the person being baptized.
It does not matter who baptizes you. The faith or position of the person baptizing you is never said in scripture to be an issue. In fact, Paul once said he was glad that he hadn’t baptized some (1 Corinthians 1:14-15). He was glad they were baptized (in fact it was central to his argument) but who baptized them was unimportant. If it did matter who baptized you, then no one could be confident of the validity of their baptism. Who can know the heart of another person. In baptism a person is making an appeal to God (1 Peter 3:21). The person doing the baptizing is an irrelevant necessity. The power in baptism comes from God not from a minister, pastor or priest or the church for that matter.
It doesn’t matter whether you are baptized in a baptistery, in a church building or any body of water. The only necessity is that there be enough water to immerse you (John 3:23 is an interesting statement of this truth). That’s what the word, baptism, refers to. An immersion. The water needs to be there in quantity, that’s all. Some in the early church believed that the water had to be moving water and so would only baptize in a river or similar body of moving water. Scripture put no such restrictions. The water is water. Not holy water. The water doesn’t do anything. 1 Peter 3:21 is clear. The physical washing of the water is not the issue. It is what is in the heart of the person being baptized that is the isse.
No one is baptized into the church. They are first baptized into Christ and THEN He adds them to His church, His family. A believer in Jesus is baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:26-27). It is a personal thing between the believer and Jesus. No one in scripture is ever described as being baptized into a local church.
Baptism is not the gospel nor is it part of the gospel. God clearly defines what the gospel is. Start with 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 and follow all the links. It is the same everywhere. The good news of Jesus is His death, burial and resurrection. Baptism is a part of obeying the gospel as is faith and repentance.
Baptism is not a work which entitles you to salvation. I find it particularly strange that the most passive thing (allowing someone else immerse you in water) that we are asked by God to submit to is regarded as a work. There is no work for you and I in baptism. God does the working. The person lowering and raising you do some work. But you don’t. You just enjoy the ride!
Baptism is not the key determining factor of whether a person is going to heaven. What is key? Faith in Jesus. You take that away and you have a bath without soap. With faith in Christ, you have a wonderful marriage of God and one of His children. The scripture again is clear on this. It is what a person teaches about Jesus that is pivotal to their being considered faithful (Galatians 1:6, 1 John 4:2 and all the rest). Baptism is an important part of the process but it is not the key. I may be overstating this but I come from a background where baptism was treated as the pivotal part of the salvation process. More often than not, I asked a person if they were baptized before I enquired if they believed in Jesus.
NOTE: the words associated with baptism are spelled differently on one side of the Pacific to the other. I have let the spell checker spell them with a "z" despite my Australian desire to use the "s".
Next: Truths About Baptism. Coming soon.
http://www.georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
Family is Messy
I had just finished preaching out of Ephesians 1 on God’s Purpose and was driving home to my sick wife. The clear statement of God that I had just preached is that His purpose has always been to adopt everyone who wanted it, into His family (Ephesians 1:5). With the message I just preached ringing in my ears (literally because of bad case of sinus and some pharmaceutical aids) a new thought occurred to me.
God knows what He is doing. He acts with all “wisdom and understanding” (Ephesians 1:7). He knew that adopting me (and you too) into his family was going to be a messy affair. He knew it before the creation of the world. Yet He still chose to adopt (not foster) every messy up, crazy, dysfunctional child of His who wanted to, into His family. He knew it was going to be messy and yet He still did it.
It then dawned on me that if God deliberately launches Himself into a messy family, then I should not be surprised if my own family (that I was born into) is messy. If you and I are honest (yes, sometimes we aren’t), we have to admit that some of the biggest messes, hurts, abuses that we have suffered have been within our family.
If someone in your family hasn’t ticked you off then you need to get ready because one day they are going to. I’m not being negative or fatalistic, just realistic. The idea of the perfect family was an invention of idealistic social engineers (generic term those that sell us all such false ideas). I have never met, seen or even heard of the perfect (or even close to perfect) family. Even God’s family is not perfect. In fact the only way you can get into His family is by admitting your imperfection.
Parents mess up. Children mess up. Cousins, in-laws, aunties and uncles mess up. It is one of the defining human experiences. Stop yearning for the perfect family. The animal doesn’t exist.
The only way we can survive and prosper in these messy families we find ourselves in is through forgiveness. That’s how God lives with us. We have got to stop holding grudges and keeping lists of offences. It’s not easy. We know that, but it is vital to a healthy family.
You have to come to grips with a life changing truth; your family is family forever. No matter what you do or what they do, they are always your family until the day you die. You may move and lose contact with neighbors. You may shift jobs and no longer even think of that person you worked alongside for months. BUT YOU WILL NEVER STOP BEING FAMILY TO YOUR FAMILY. At the point you breathe your last breath you will be someone’s child, someone’s parent, someone’s cousin, nephew, niece etc.
What’s the point? Learn to live with them. They aren’t going away. Learn to forgive. Learn to ask for forgiveness.
And then it occurred to me; is God trying to teach me something by creating me in the context of a life long family? Hmmmm. This is getting tough.
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Aliens Surprisingly Silent
Stephen Hawking, the man said to be the smartest man alive, said recently what a lot of people have been saying. It would be very strange, if not impossible, if among all the billions of stars, galaxies and planets that are said to exist, that earth was the only one with life on it. And not just life, but intelligent life.
Based on this thought many have concluded, along with Hawking, that there must be alien life forms just as intelligent, if not more so, out there who are looking for us, or who may have found us and are watching or who may be probing us as I write this.
I am a sci-fi nut job. I love these story lines. So, it is not because I think that they are weird that I also have a question that leads in a different direction. Before we get to the question, we need to face some realities.
There is no indication of any other life, let alone intelligent life in the universe similar to us. I don’t say that because of prejudice or a rush to judgment. For a whole generation now, we have been looking for and listening for signs of life.
After all, assuming the commonly accepted figures, the universe is at least 4 billion years old, give or take a few million. You would think that during that time at least a whole lot of other worlds like ours would have developed. That’s only logical. Assuming we weren’t the first (why would we be the first?), there should be abundant evidence of life.
Yet despite the determined efforts of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) and many others, for a generation now, there is only one station on the universe’s radio. It comes from a noisy planet, third from a small star in the Crab Nebula known locally as Earth.
Listen to the Earth and you get reruns of I Love Lucy and The X-Files. Listen to the rest of the universe and you get what? Static. Yet there should be hundreds of world’s out there who have been producing radio signals for at least 2 hundred years if they are parallel in their development as us, or hundreds of more years if they are more advanced than us. Yet what do we hear? Nothing but static, white noise. We are not looking for the next hit sitcom. Just a few signals that are no random. Yet, what do we get? Not a peep. Not one. Nada, zippo, the big goose egg. It is ludicrous to say that we will find it one day. The door slamming question today is, "Why isn't it present today?".
Now, here is my question. If, as the evidence indicates, that we are the only piece of orbiting rock in this universe that has life (blogging, tweeting intelligent life) on it, what does that indicate?
On this planet, there a millions of species of life, millions of stories of human life, millions of minds. Yet, you pick any place on this planet and go up 2 kilometres or so and you find not one piece of life for the next gazillion miles (and a few gazillion more) that isn’t something that we put there. What does that say?
Could it say that life is a result of creation, not natural development. Could it say that life comes from another source than that of the known universe? Could it say that life had a beginning, like the Bible has always said, and its beginning was caused by the creative act of a life outside this physical universe, God Himself? (Like 90+% of people on the planet believe). What do you think?
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
Death of an iPod
It is with much sadness that I must announce the demise of my iPod Touch. My wife included it in the wash a couple of days ago. No matter how much CPR I applied or how much I dried it out, it would not fire up. I handled it pretty well, even if I do say so myself. I have informed the family and so I thought it was time I shared with the world my loss.
My sadness soon turned to joyful anticipation when it dawned on me that it was time to get an iPhone. That silver lining proverb really is true.
My sadness soon turned to joyful anticipation when it dawned on me that it was time to get an iPhone. That silver lining proverb really is true.
Facebook Rules!
- Don't say anything that you wouldn't say publicly
- Set the security settings so only Friends can see your details and comment. Drop down the Account Menu on the far right side and you will see the section. Follow the white rabbit.
- Report Friend requests from people you have no connection with. There are links to do this on Friend requests.
- Don't be negative. Moan and whinge elsewhere. Prayer requests are OK but don't become a whiney status updater.
- Don't be overly political. I know I am fighting a losing battle here but I don't think Facebook is the place for you to tell me (repeatedly) that the communist antichrist is here and is the harbinger of the destruction of freedom and our nation. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I will keep flogging the dead horse.
- Stop trying to sell me stuff. I love recommendations of products that friends found a good buy but I am so over friends trying to sign me up for a muliti level marketing scheme. If you want to do that, set up a business page and get friends to join it who enjoy this stuff.
- Use the Hide feature to filter all those reports from Facebook games etc. unless you enjoy them.
- TMI - don't give too much mundane detail of your life. Very subjective I know but here is a list of status updates that contain Too Much Information. Bodily functions, Eating habits (unless it was a really great restaurant or recipe), Sexual habits, Boring stuff, etc.
- Stop the deliberately obscure updates. Seriously, you aren't that deep. Make a comment, not a zen like probe. Everyone knows you are cool, stop trying to prove it.
- Don't make rules for Facebook
- Feel free to ignore the Facebook nazis who make lists of things not to do on Facebook.
- Post as many photos of your grandchildren as you can. People really love it.
- Unless you have a very interesting life don't post more than twice a day.
- Make a contribution. Stop lurking and reading everyone else's posts without making a few yourself. You know who you are. I see you there. Lurker.
- Shut down the computer and get out there and talk to someone.
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
Techno Church
It's been a while since I have blogged about how technology affects ministry in the kingdom. I can only speak from my point of view. Here are some ways that my ministry has been significantly effected by the use of technology.
- Contact with people. Regular emails from me get to every member of the church on email. I get so much positive feedback about this. Church members really appreciate being kept in the loop and like the encouragement during the week.
- More Contact with People. Facebook and similar networking sites provide a great opportunity to interact with those I minister to both far and wide. It has been great way for me to keep up with friends in ministry who I don't see very often. See my blog on rules for George's Rules for Facebook.
- More productive Bible study and preaching preparation. Bible study programmes make the finding of texts so quick. That leaves more time for framing the message, illustrating and applying the message.
- Reading. I have not yet bought an electronic reader but I do use Kindle for Mac and for iPod Touch. Recently I moved to Australia from the USA and had to put my library on what turned out to be a very slow boat. 3 months later & I still have not received the shipment. However all my commentaries are on my MacBook Pro and all the books I have purchased in the past 6 months are on my Kindle software. Haven't missed a beat. It is so good to have all your library (eventually) on a device I just put in my satchel.
- Blogging as therapy. I don't think anyone reads my blogs but it is such good therapy for me. It really helps me process what is going on in my life and ministry.
- Church Websites have some effectiveness but nowhere near as much as I would like. I design and implement websites and have found them to be only effective in the following ways. A cyberspace sign post. When looking for a church in an area most people will google it. If you don't have a website you won't show up on the list. A source of recent messages preached at your church. I find people use this a lot. Also gives potential visitors a feel for your preaching. Other than that church websites can be pretty useless. Pet Peeve: if your church is going to have a website, please keep it up to date. It really sends a destructive message when you don't.
- Helps me get out of the office. When I had an office I was constantly interrupted by sales phone calls, people who thought I didn't have anything to do, door to door sales people, cleaners etc. An office was helpful as well but for those times when I need to get away from the annoyances but yet still stay in contact, my mobile phone and a laptop with a mobile broadband internet connection or a wifi hotspot made it possible.
One final thought: WARNING: Do not become a techno geek preacher. The rule for illustrations and visual aid also applies to technology ie. any technique that attracts attention to itself rather than the message is not only unhelpful, it is counter productive. Remember, ministry is a people to people thing, not a people to computer thing.
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
"Why?"
"Why?" is a very important question. In fact, it is THE important question. When we ask it we often don't realize what we are saying. We assume that there is a reason for everything. It would be little strange if we kept on asking the question when there really isn't any reason for anything. We, innately, believe that there is a reason.
Consider the idea that there is no God, no unseen mind behind this universe and its contents. To those who subscribe to this, this world we live in is a series of elements reacting with each other in a totally random way. Well not the whole world. The bit that we humans effect is definitely not random. That effect is guided by human design. (we can see design in small human activity but yet many have trouble seeing design in the big things) However, the rest of this world, the living things, the land, the sea, the air etc. is just a bunch of things randomly reacting with each other.
In this context the question, "Why?", has but one answer, "There is no reason". Why does water freeze from the bottom down and every other liquid from the bottom up. "No reason", says the atheist. It just happens. Human behaviour is just the result of chemical relationships in the human brain. It just happens and a serial killer is born.
Yet, every single one of us look at this and ourselves and are challenged with the idea that everything looks like it operates for a reason. We may try to take God out of the equation and call on Mother Nature as the great source of the apparent design of all that we see but that is just changing the name of God.
If we accept that there is God who has designed this creation for a reason then the question, "Why?" becomes answerable. Why does water freeze that way? Because God designed it that way. It wasn't an accident. There is a purpose and we might even see the purpose.
Now just because we can ask "Why?" doesn't mean that we will get an answer right now but it does give us confidence that there is an answer and there is a reason for the sudden death of my friend. Trust in the Lord. He may not tell you the reason for all those things that you ask "why?" about but He does have a reason and one day you will know.
Everyone asks "Why?". Everyone, deep down, knows there is a reason. It just needs to be discovered.
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
Consider the idea that there is no God, no unseen mind behind this universe and its contents. To those who subscribe to this, this world we live in is a series of elements reacting with each other in a totally random way. Well not the whole world. The bit that we humans effect is definitely not random. That effect is guided by human design. (we can see design in small human activity but yet many have trouble seeing design in the big things) However, the rest of this world, the living things, the land, the sea, the air etc. is just a bunch of things randomly reacting with each other.
In this context the question, "Why?", has but one answer, "There is no reason". Why does water freeze from the bottom down and every other liquid from the bottom up. "No reason", says the atheist. It just happens. Human behaviour is just the result of chemical relationships in the human brain. It just happens and a serial killer is born.
Yet, every single one of us look at this and ourselves and are challenged with the idea that everything looks like it operates for a reason. We may try to take God out of the equation and call on Mother Nature as the great source of the apparent design of all that we see but that is just changing the name of God.
If we accept that there is God who has designed this creation for a reason then the question, "Why?" becomes answerable. Why does water freeze that way? Because God designed it that way. It wasn't an accident. There is a purpose and we might even see the purpose.
Now just because we can ask "Why?" doesn't mean that we will get an answer right now but it does give us confidence that there is an answer and there is a reason for the sudden death of my friend. Trust in the Lord. He may not tell you the reason for all those things that you ask "why?" about but He does have a reason and one day you will know.
Everyone asks "Why?". Everyone, deep down, knows there is a reason. It just needs to be discovered.
http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/
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