Resistance Training

a verse or two

“Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine.” 1 Peter 1: 6—7a

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Resistance Training.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned how on a walk with Gypsy I started musing if it is harder to have faith today than in past generations? In the end I concluded that it is not harder for any generation. Maybe what I should have said is for every generation it has always been hard. It’s hard to have faith — we have to work at it (or as someone at the pastoral care meeting said this week — we just have to toughen up). So, it seems to me that in matters of faith—we have to train. We have to develop faith, care for it, build it up, train it, and grow it.

When walking Gypsy up over the switchbacks on Paton Road (or is it Gypsy pulling me). I start to puff a bit more than when walking along the flat. The two small hills provide resistance and I have to work a bit harder — which in reality helps me get fitter. The resistance is good for me. Good athletes use resistance training often to help them get better at their sport. Could it be that in faith in God we need to do some resistance training to help us be better followers of Christ?

So what does faith in God resistance training look like? Here are a couple of ideas. When things go wrong in our lives, when things don’t happen the way we wish — maybe that is a form of resistance training for our faith. The suffering tests our faith and helps it to grow (see the Bible reading above). Another form of faith in God resistance training could be to practice sharing your testimony (life story and why Jesus is important to you) to a Christian friend so when you share your testimony to a non-Christian neighbour or friend — you know what to do.
God Bless, Jon.

Something to do: Do some ‘faith in God’ resistance training.

This week write your own testimony. Write how you came to know Jesus as Lord. Write why this is important to you. Write why you think it’s important for other people to ask Jesus to be Lord. Also write how one asks Jesus to be Lord. Then choose a Christian friend whom you can practice sharing your testimony with. Together practice several times helping each other get really good at it so you become natural at sharing your testimony. Then you will be ready to share it with some non Christian friends.

To Ponder and Pray: We ask for fitness oh Lord.

Dear Lord,
as we ponder the words to use,
and what to say,
guide our thinking.
and as we train to be better
‘fishers of people’ and ‘tellers of the Good News’,
help us to get fit spiritually.
And Dearest Lord...
this Good News is so good.
Let us share it.
Let us share it in love
and let us love those we share it with.
Amen.

Is it harder to have faith today?

a verse or two

“You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely”. Psalm 139: 1—4

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Is it harder to have faith today?

This past week on the early morning walks with Gypsy, Vivienne and I have been able to see the alignment of several planets. In fact, it’s looked quite impressive during these recent clear mornings in the minutes before the birdsong begins their pleasant tune. Apparently this month the planets of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Earth, Venus, and Mercury are all fairly lined up in a row. Well, looking up at the planets got me thinking. I wonder what the people back in the Bible times thought when they saw such things. Back then the astrologers would predict the future by searching the stars and what not; back then it would have been considered a rather learned way of thinking – kind of scientific. And so I wonder if back then people who had faith in the unseen God were considered a bunch of nincompoops.

So I muse – perhaps for each generation there have been plenty of things and voices to draw one away from placing faith in the unseen God, and therefore it’s no harder for any particular generation to have faith than any other. There are always things to cause deception and always things to test one’s faith. So even though we might think it’s harder to have faith in God today than back then – the reality is for each generation there has been plenty of competition and voices saying faith in God is stupid, eccentric or unwise.

Think to some of the Bible characters. The so called wise people of the day might have said people are dumb trusting an unseen God, but at the end of the day the ones with faith in God were proven correct. Daniel mentioned he would rather trust God than deny God – he wasn’t eaten by the lions. David said he would rather place his faith in God than fear a giant with a sword and a spear – who won?

Can I encourage you in your faith in God. In the end Christianity comes down to faith in an unseen God. There are many voices that say Christianity is stupid and this week we have seen some stupid things done in the name of Christianity—like saying the world is going to end – yeah right! But whether Christians do stupid things or not – it does not change what God is like. If I believe in God or not; it does not change if God is or is not. It’s a bit like the wind, I can say I don’t believe there is such a thing as the wind (because I can’t see it), but the reality is there is such a thing as the wind. My own belief does not change what is already true.

And ponder this: at times we can all see the effects of the wind; likewise when someone places faith in God, if we know them before and after they place their faith in God, often we can see the effects of God in them, just like we often see the effect of the unseen wind.

So is it harder to have faith today? I don’t think so. Yet in the end – it comes down to faith in an God who died on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Be encouraged to place continual faith in Him.

Something to do: Look at the stars and planets and talk to the Creator.

Why not wrap up warm, take a hot coffee or warm mulled wine and sit outside in the dark to observe the heavens (the planets in alignment are just visible before first light in the morning). Count some shooting stars. Ponder the great distances. The number of them is more than the sand particles on every beach and the creator knows about everyone of them and not only that, the creator knows the numbers of hairs on your head, the thoughts on your mind, and the words you speak before you speak them.

To Ponder and Pray: Psalm 139.

Read Psalm 139. Read it again and ponder its meaning. Then read it in a different translation and ponder it some more. Then read it again in another translation as a prayer to the creator God – Father Son and Holy Spirit.

If your enemy is hungry, feed them – part two.

a verse or two

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11

Spiritual Walk and Musings: If your enemy is hungry, feed them – part two.

Following on from last week musings on the killing of Osama bin Laden. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to know repaying evil for evil does not work – but let’s face it, it comes so naturally – we all want to get even, have the last word, to win the argument.

In 1992 Vivienne and I were helping the Kurdish people after the first gulf war on a project to help provide clean water to some villages in the mountains of North Iraq. I remember our translator telling us “there was a person killed in that village today…someone from another village shot him”. He explained that meant in a week or two the brother or relative of the dead man will kill the person who shot the dead man. And it just goes on and on and the cycle is never broken.

And so I am musing, that perhaps the only way to break the cycle of evil is to not retaliate, perhaps even back down, to lose. Perhaps the only way to break the cycle of evil is to die on a bloodied cross – hands spread wide saying “I will not retaliate to your bullying”. Saying words like “honey – let’s not argue, let’s talk instead”.

Perhaps a way to break the cycle of evil is to use the words I am sorry.

Something to do: Feeding the enemy in Richmond if they are hungry.

What does feeding one’s enemy in Richmond look like?

Maybe feeding the enemy is deciding to follow Jesus’ weird example of being friends with losers. And so our attitude towards that person, that farmer, that worker, that neighbour, that employee – that person who is considered a weirdo, our attitude is to decide to be their friend and no longer think of them as weird.

Maybe feeding the hungry enemy is taking the weird person to a café which means being seen in town with a drop out (shock horror – the respectful elder is sitting with a hooker). And while seen in public, feeding the hungry enemy means transferring some of the dropout’s low respect onto oneself and publicly transferring some of one’s own healthy respect onto the dropout – lifting them higher in the eye of all.

Maybe feeding the enemy is befriending that person who is always rude, looking past their rudeness realising that maybe they are lonely and have lost the art of mixing socially. And so what they need is a friend who looks past their mannerisms and instead calls them by their name, has them around for a meal, invites them to church so they can learn God loves them heaps—because look at the other strange people in church and ‘if God loves them, surely He can love me’.

Maybe feeding the enemy means really listening to the other side of the story – not just pretending to hear. Maybe it means to not win the argument; instead realising that winning is not that important because often wining at all cost is not about truth, but about the pride and arrogance of the winner.

May we learn to feed our enemy if they are hungry.

God Bless
Jon

To Ponder and Pray: To love the unlovable.

Lord – it is in you and in you alone that I have status or worth.
Help me not cling to status if it means I hold back from loving someone of nil status.
Let me be interested in those thought to be uninteresting.
And may I love the unlovable.
Amen

If your enemy is hungry, feed them.

a verse or two

“What a week! For a start it’s been pretty wet. There was the big wedding, the big killing and the passing away of a dearly loved one from our own church. Below are some thoughts from that mix of events.”

Mothers Day

On this Mothers Day I wonder if mums ought to be awarded some kind of management CEO type of award after successfully managing to dry all the washing even though it rained every day. Even more kudos ought to be heaped on mums who don’t own a clothes dryer and still managed their taxi service, to feed everyone, kept things ticking along and dried the clothes. God bless all mums.

Spiritual Walk and Musings: If your enemy is hungry, feed them.

It was a sad memorial service on Thursday as we said good bye to our dearly loved Kath – peace filled Kath. In a way it was good she didn’t have to hear the news of the US vengeance. For surely it wasn’t justice, there was no trial, instead the US acted as judge, jury, and executioner. Oh, if only world government leaders would listen to the Bible reading beamed out to over 2.5 billion people during the Royal Wedding. The verses were from Romans chapter 12 (my favourite chapter of the Bible), although sadly not all the verses were read aloud. One thing to muse on is that it’s important we read even the verses we don’t like; so we can understand the verses we do we like.

Back to Romans 12. Verses 17 & 18 were read out “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Why do militaristic types not listen to such words? When spoken at the wedding I wondered if there was a message of peace trying to be made clear to the world and powers that be. Perhaps they also needed to hear the remaining verses which can seem harsh but possibly offer a why of not needing to repay anyone evil with evil.

Romans 12 verse 19ff “19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

It is not our job to seek revenge. If we felt sickened by television images on September 11th 2001 when we saw certain people in the Middle East celebrating the destruction of the twin towers, I hope we were just as sickened this week by the sights of people celebrating the killing of another person. Osama bin Laden was evil, as Jim Wallis writes “he was truly an apostle of hate, a dedicated purveyor of violence in response to every grievance, a manipulator and distorter of religion for political purposes, and a man responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.” But Wallis rightfully reminds us as followers of Christ, “it is never a Christian response to celebrate the death of any human being, even one so given over to the face of evil. Violence is always an indication of our failure to resolve our conflicts by peaceful means, and is always an occasion for deeper reflection.”

The apostle Paul said “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Ro 12:21). May we do what Paul says in our homes (as it is a form of spiritual warfare, it is a coming against an evil spirit with an opposite spirit). May we teach this to our family and friends, and we may pray that world leaders might see the folly of vengeance.

God bless you all, Jon.

Something to do: Pray for peace.

Please pray that the world will seek ways for every event to be an occasion for further growth of peace and not of hatred as the following from the Vatican suggests:

“Osama bin Laden, as we all know, bore the most serious responsibility for spreading divisions and hatred among populations, causing the deaths of innumerable people, and manipulating religions to this end…[yet]…in the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred.” [Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman]

To Ponder and Pray: a quote from Martin Luther King Jnr

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that."

A prayer:

O God of justice and mercy,
we have heard the news that Osama bin Laden is dead.
For many this has brought relief and the hope that hate and violence will cease.
For many this event has stirred feelings of hatred and revenge in the celebration of his death.
Forgive us where we have turned from relief and hope to hate.
Your love knows no bounds.
Your love calls us to face up to ourselves.
Your love confronts the hatred and violence in us and in our world.
Your justice sets us right, challenging our wrongdoing,
restoring our humanity, offering us hope of forgiveness and change.
Your mercy knows no hate, knows no limits, knows no end.
Grant that as we share relief at the end of Osama's leadership
we may be strong to embrace your mercy and your justice in our world
that love may replace hatred, justice, injustice, hope, hopelessness,
and healing and peace take root where there is alienation and pain,
In the name of him who is full of grace and truth.
Amen [by Revd William R. G. Loader Emeritus Professor (New Testament)]

Lowly or Triumphant?

a verse or two

“The Lord says, I will remove the war chariots from Israel and take the horses from Jerusalem; the bows used in battle will be destroyed. Your king will make peace among the nations; he will rule from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.” Zechariah 9:10

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Lowly or Triumphant?

This week I came across two different interpretations of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. These give a glimpse of two different kinds of Christianity in the world today.

One interpretation is of a king arriving in a manner never seen before. Unlike when Caesar entered Rome on his glorious war horse, Christ entered Jerusalem on a lowly donkey, arriving in the simple clothes of a peasant, legs dangling at the sides almost touching the ground, looking almost like some form of comedy theatre. Could it be Jesus knew how weak and ridiculous he looked making his “triumphal” entry? And was it really a triumphal entry or was he bringing something else into the world?

The other interpretation I came across suggested he rode a mule and explained the mule is a high value animal. Mules are a cross between a mare and a male donkey, and because crossbreeding was prohibited in Israel (Lev 19:19), mules were likely imported, making them highly valued. So Christ arrives on a prized animal. This idea combined with the thought of Jesus arriving on a mule to establish himself as the heir to the throne of David (because David declared Solomon his successor by seating Solomon on his own mule, giving a sign to the people that Solomon was the legitimate heir to the throne), suggests that Jesus entry is triumphant and glorious. He is now the new king, the heir.

One interpretation is very triumphant…the other…lowly.

Something to do: Think.

So was Jesus’ entry lowly or triumphant? Which interpretation do you go with? Spend time thinking on this. What are the subtle differences?

Of the second one, I can handle the symbolism of Jesus establishing himself as the heir to the throne of David. But when saying mules were highly valued – I think that idea misses the very point Jesus was trying to make. To me it smells of the kind of triumphalism that Christ was against. Yes he was heir to the throne of David but his reign as king would be different. His aim was peace and not war.

My opinion is Jesus did not enter on a highly valued mule but rather upon a common farm donkey looking a tad un-triumphant to say the least.

To Ponder and Pray: Different kinds of Christianity.

Jesus arriving on a lowly donkey, his dying on the cross – these actions were not of retaliation but suffering and humility. His act of love was not by keeping control but by letting go. The scary thing about “triumphalism” Christianity is it can lead to Christians being unloving. A kind of altitude ‘we are in and you are out’… ‘We are right and you are wrong’. But Christ’s way seems to say “be sad that the other is wrong” and instead of gloating, it is to love the one who is wrong, to not fight them, to offer the other cheek and not retaliate but to surrender. One cannot love without suffering.

Ponder the different kinds of Christianity in the world today. Some are elitist – almost snobbish (which includes reverse snobbishness by those who think they are not snobbish and that other is). Other Christians have a form of humility which my heart aches for and yet my pride seems to keep at bay.

My prayer is that we choose the way of humility, of suffering and of love; instead of egocentric triumphalism which say’s look at us, we won, we’re right.

God Bless you this holy week. Jon.

Love is what conquers

a verse or two

“[Love] does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Cor. 13 v 5-7

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Love is what conquers – not expressions of hate.

An expression of hate was committed this week when a pastor in the US burned a copy of the Koran. It was foolish and bigoted. It was totally wrong and it did cause deaths in Afghanistan no matter what the pastor claims. Did he not know how Muslims revere their holy book – so much so that it’s never to be placed below their knees? Do Christians have the same reverence for the Word of God when Bibles collect dust, or they use a translation with 1611 English where the words are so out of date they have different meanings and parts no longer make sense?

This Lent, consider Christ’s journey to the cross. After Palm Sunday he cleared out the temple. What would he do today – would he burn a Koran? No! But he might enter a church and burn some Bibles. Why? Because people have used the Bible to justify harm and wrong actions. Because some people have made a lot of money out of selling Bibles (and in turn sometimes made the Bible more complicated than it needs to be). Because too often people have nice looking Bibles and all they do is collect dust – and so the living word becomes dead. Because some people carry their Bible around to look ‘spiritual’ yet don’t connect with the author.

When we read the Bible, it’s not to just read it and so do the ‘right thing’ or look religious and all that. It’s to connect to the author of life, it’s to have The Father wrap his loving arms around us and say he loves us. It’s to sit at the feet of Jesus – the word become flesh / the living word – and let him disciple us.

Back to the sin of expressions of hate. When at university I had a Muslim friend. On matters of faith, we both agreed that each other was deceived, so therefore correctly we did not patronise each other by suggesting that the two religions were the same. But in saying to each other ‘I believe you are deceived’, we also respected each other’s differences. There was no animosity and we could sit down together and share a meal together. I hope in the way I conducted myself, he saw a little bit of Christ.

Love is the conqueror – not expressions of hate. When Christ died on the cross, he wasn’t arguing that he was the truth. Instead knowing he was the truth he surrendered and cried Father forgive. It would have been much better if that US pastor had said to the Muslim community that he loved them, and instead of burning their holy book, tell them plainly and kindly he believed they were deceived and yet make an offer of practical help from his church to their community.

Something to do: Be Christ to someone.

Befriend someone of a different faith (that is easy because most people are not Christian). Don’t preach to them but rather show them you love them by what you do rather than what you say.

To Ponder and Pray: A prayer by Teresa of Avila (1515 - 1582)

Lord, I am not yet ready for you to have your way with me -
but I am willing to be made willing.

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Taking that wall out continued.

a verse or two

“"Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, LORD, do I seek.” Psalm 27:8

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Taking that wall out continued.

Last week I mused on the idea of renovation work. Umm … there is a problem when doing renovation work. It makes life difficult, it hurts. Studies on stress levels within marriage and family life suggest the stress levels caused by kitchen renovation are as high as a when family goes through the death of a loved one or shifting house to live in a new town. One reason is because the kitchen is the centre / hub of the house and if the kitchen is not working, the whole household comes under pressure and strain.

So last week when I suggested letting the objective Jesus wander along and see if any heart renovation needs to be done, what I didn’t mention is this can be uncomfortable. It takes effort and intentionality. On the other hand we know that stress is a good thing, it keeps us on our toes. Think of the high stress that the organisers of our Wedding Dress Extravaganza went through … but look at the result. (From a healthy mind, body, and soul point of view, the big thing is to not be stressed all the time – have gaps in between the high stress moments. And therefore allow stress to be an ally, let it be a tool so we are on the ball and do things well. Fill the heart with good things in-between the stress. Make time to restore your soul.)

We all work hard, in our gardens, at hobbies, our jobs and for church and we get results. So why do we sometimes sidestep the important work of working on and caring for our heart? Possibly because it’s unseen, possibly because our soul / heart is the very hub of who we are and when it’s having renovations, it affects the whole of our life (not just one part), and that can be uncomfortable. Or perhaps it’s because unlike hammering in a kitchen with lots of noise and sawdust, soul work can often be quiet, taking time out in silence, in prayer. Or could it be to us good ole Presbyterians with our good ole work ethic, spending idle time restoring our inner-being just doesn’t seem right – we should be doing something productive. Could it be that kneeling is the most productive thing a person can do?
Something to do: Kneel.

Kneeling is totally out of fashion. Even in the most traditional churches the usual position that people adopt to pray is either sitting, standing, or a strange posture that is only comfortable if one is about to shampoo their hair.

This lent, why not do something today that our grandparents may have done every day - find a quiet place and kneel down in order to say the prayer below.

To Ponder and Pray: a prayer by Edward Perronet (1726 - 1792)

All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall;
bring forth the royal diadem
and crown him, crown him, crown him Lord of all.
O, that with every tribe and tongue we at his feet may fall,
lift high the universal song
and crown him, crown him, crown him Lord of all.