Windows On The Soul

Whilst thousands of books have been written about the key to success, there is only one sure-fire recipe for failure, and that is simply to " make no attempt ". Could you imagine the Adelaide 'Crows' football club saying "It’s too much trouble to fly to Melbourne. Lets not go", or the Collingwood 'Magpies' club saying "We're a bit tired this week; we can't be bothered playing the Grand Final". No, I couldn't imagine it either. Yet so many people treat Christianity this way, claiming it is useless without even trying it. Of all the religions and philosophies in the world, Christianity is The Way for triers, battlers and seekers ( Mt.5:3-11 ). The Bible is full of promises to faithful workers ( Lk.19:17 , Ps.132:15 , Lk.6:38 ) and warnings to slothful sluggards ( Pr.19:15 , 20:4 ). But the promised blessings are not dependant on the quantity of the work performed, for we are all blessed with differing abilities responsibilities an...

In 2 Corinthians , Paul explains that “ In Christ, old things are passed away and all things are made new” ( 5:17 ). On becoming a Christian, we must understand that our commitment to the gospel affects every aspect of our lives. Becoming a Christian means that things change. In Christian terms, renewal is never a ‘state’ at which we have arrived. In New Testament times, ‘Christians’ were known as ‘ Followers of The Way ’. The use of ‘Christian’ and ‘non-Christian’ labels are too often used to feed our natural desire for status. The number one thing in our lives that must change, are the values that drive us and that we use to judge, assess and measure our own and others success or failure. We are called to live by different standards: " Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. " ( Col.3:2 ), to put to death all those natural desires, to be the servant of all. Every day we must refocus our eyes on ‘things above’, and at the end of every day, if review...

Over the last few years, a certain retailer has adopted furry bears as their symbol of Christmas. Despite their obvious marketing mercenary intent, Christmas is a good time to remind us of Gal.6:2 , " ...to bear one-another's burdens, and thus fulfil the law of Christ ". However, as we read further, Gal.6:5 gives an almost contradictory directive to " bear our own burdens ". As we read Paul's letters elsewhere, we discover the reason - certain Christians at that time, in anticipation of Christ's imminent return, gave up working themselves, and essentially lived off the charity of their fellow Christians. But this is not the "law of Christ" - we have no 'right' to take, but we all have the responsibility to Bear and Share . The 'socialist' says " What's yours is mine ", but the Christian says " What's mine is yours ". To the economic rationalist, the outcome might be the same in either case, but t...

" Live creatively "; thus starts Peterson's paraphrase of Gal.6:1 . The traditional translations start with the situation of a Christian succumbing to sin. But the important focus of this verse is on the response of the spiritually mature members of the church. We are called to gently, humbly and forgivingly restore such people to the full fellowship, because one day we may be the one needing forgiveness. The concepts of creativity and restoration, suggest bringing something beautiful to life out of something that was dead. Further, the creation of something beautiful is not something that the 'dead' object or person can achieve by themselves, but only as the hands of the creator lovingly moulds and shapes. Of course it is God through Jesus who is the master craftsman who can turn sinful men into 'children of God'. But it is the church who is called to the curators job of constant tending and restoration of one-another.

As the old saying goes, "There are none so blind as those that don't want to see!". In the words of Jesus, " Blessed are those that know their need of God (poor in spirit), for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven " ( Mt.5:3 ), and again, " Blessed are those that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled " ( Mt.5:6 ) . The life of a disciple of Christ should be continually "open for renovations" - in Paul's words, " transformed by the renewing of your minds " ( Rom.12:2 ). " Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people ", writes Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline. Too often "discipleship" is seen as being primarily for new Christians in baptism classes. Surely it should be the heartfelt desire of every Christ...

Two common traps Christians fall into are either thinking that God is easily pleased, or that God is so Holy that He can never be satisfied. Like most deep spiritual concepts, the truth is that God is BOTH easily pleased AND hard to satisfy. Jesus said both " My yoke is easy, my burden is light " ( Mt.11:30 ) and " It is easier for a rich man to pass through the eye of a needle then to enter the Kingdom of God " ( Mt.19:24 ). The key is that Christianity is not simply a state, a label or a destination (and categorising people as simply as either "Christian" or "non-Christian" exacerbates this fallacy). Early Christians were known as " Followers of The Way ". " Disciples " are students enrolled in a period of learning. Whether "Taking up our cross" ( Mt.16:24 ) or putting on "His yoke", we are called to follow Him on a "journey", a journey of growth - the Christian life. Yes, signing up is easy...

Two of the more difficult tasks at work are trying to hire the right people, and laying off the wrong people. Apart from the basic technical skills for a job, the factors that make the difference between hiring and firing, relate to character. High on the list comes co-operability, being a good team member, adaptable to the group, teachable and manageable. Then of course there is honesty, not just in dealing with customers and the company, but honesty about oneself - to me, a danger sign is when a person has a too high (dishonest) opinion about themselves. When Jesus calls followers, we are called to discipleship (students/apprentices) [ Mt.18:3 ], to an honest, sober opinion of our sinful standing under God's judgement [ 1 Jn.1:9 ]. Accepting Jesus as Lord, means submitting our life to His management [ Jas.4:7 ] - totally, no divided loyalties [ Mt.6:24 ]. And of course we are called to membership of His "body", the church, to be a team member [ Rom.12:5 ], fulfilling ou...

In Romans 8:31-39 , Paul writes about being " more than conquerors " - " supra-conquerors " is the word. It means to go above and beyond mere conquest. It is not necessarily deliverance from famine and slaughter that demonstrates divine victory. The true battle against the situations and forces Paul describes is not simply against the specific tribulations and distresses, but against their tendency to separate us from the love of God. Paul does not say that the conquest consists in escaping these things, nor in their removal. To Paul, the conquest is that even the most horrible of powers and events ' cannot separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus ' ( Rom.8:39 ). What is the greatest exhibition of the power of God? Not to remove pain or take away the slaughter, but to keep us in the love of God through it all. The despair of the sufferer is not caused by the depth of the suffering but by the depth of the sense of separation from God. When y...

A few weeks ago I was lead to look-up Malachi .  The relevance of this chapter came to light last weekend as the leadership discussed the "values" underlying our mission and purpose.  Malachi is pointing out the importance of whole-hearted, total commitment. This seemed to reiterate the message some weeks back from John's Revelation, about the "luke warm" church at Laodicea ( Rev.3:15 ). Mala c hi points out that God is angry when we do not honour and respect him ( 1:6 ). When our offerings are second rate, we cheat God ( 1:14 ) - " Try giving a gift like that to the governor! Would he be pleased? " ( 1:8 ). God has already put a curse on those who do not take His commands seriously ( 2:4 ). Malachi calls us to whole-hearted commitment, " bringing the full tithe " sacrificially: by stepping out in faith, we " put God to the test, then we will see that He will open the windows of heaven and pour out in abundance " ( 3:10 ). Then ...

" Where there is no vision, the people perish " wrote King Solomon ( Pr.29:18 ). To this day, the secular world of management consultants and football coaches are saying the same thing. The factor that differentiates the winner between equally skillful teams or athletes, is the one with the 'hunger', with a 'vision' of their goal. Sadly, lethargy has become an epidemic. Lack of vision is responsible for the diminished energy in people. Worse, generally, the youth of today are not being given anything to live for - no vision for the world of tomorrow. Is it any wonder that "sloth" is listed among the "seven deadly sins". People are as young as their dreams and as old as their cynicism. Perhaps some of these people should change their prayers from "If I should die before I wake", to "If I should wake before I die". Thoughts from Tony Campolo, " Everything you Heard is Wrong " ----xxxXxxx---- Is.4...

Was forgiveness of your sins something that happened at your conversion, or something you seek and thank God for day by day? Did you realise that your view of God's forgiveness colours your attitude to forgiving others? Jesus puts it even more strongly - God forgives us in the same way we forgive others. A right view of forgiveness begins with a correct understanding of our sinful state - nothing we can do can add one speck to God's gift of forgiveness - we stand convicted on "death row". God's forgiveness is not a reward for our attempts to make "good", but a gift from the depths of His boundless love. In the same way then, our forgiveness of others must be unconditional. Yes, it isn't easy, it requires sacrifice of pride, but then didn't God's forgiveness only come about through sacrifice? (Some précised thoughts from " Practicing Peace " by W.Glyn Evans) Mt.6:15 "If you do not forgive men their sins, your Father w...

Rejoicing is different from simply being happy. The "re" prefix indicates that it is repeated - be joyful again! Unlike happiness or simple joy, rejoicing is not an emotional response to a stimulus. Among the dictionary definitions for rejoicing, are "festivities" and "celebration" in commemoration. Christian rejoicing is rooted and grounded in the basis of our faith - the historical facts of what God has done toward us in redemption, blessings and gifting. So much so that rejoicing is written as an imperative, not so much as a command, but rather because of what God has done, the redeemed cannot help themselves but rejoice. So it is that Christian joy is listed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit - a "(super)natural" response of living and growing in the Spirit. ----xxxXxxx---- Ph.4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always; I repeat. Rejoice!" Act.4:51 "They departed rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer"...

This was one of those verses that stopped me in my tracks. Surely Christ's suffering was completed at Calvary, the redemptive death for the sins of all mankind? But no: Paul writes to the Colossians, that through his own suffering, he is helping to finish the remainder of Christ's suffering. When we are called to take up our cross and follow Jesus, the suffering of cross carrying is not just some unfortunate side-effect. We are called as partners in Christ's redemptive plan of love to the world. Suffering is the work . We are to hunger and thirst after righteousness, and face persecution. To comfort mourners requires feeling with them. To be a peacemaker requires stepping between warring factions. This is citizenship of the Kingdom. ---xxxXxxx--- Col.1:24 "Part of my work is to suffer for you ... for I am helping to finish up the remainder of Christ's suffering for His body, the Church" Rom.8:17 "Joint heirs with Christ...that we suffer wit...

"The longer I live, the more I realise the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude" Dr.Charles Swindoll, "Strengthening Your Grip" ----xxxXxxx---- Matt.5:3,5 "Blessed are those who have a humble and meek attitude, for the Kingdom of God is given them" Pr.16:19 "It is better to be humble and stay poor, than to be one of the ...

A ffective - our personal relationship with God the Father, involving feelings and emotions in worship. Often the starting point of our discipleship as we recognise our need of God as prodigal children. B ehavioural - faith without works is dead. The relationship is also two way - God's works in history and our works in stewardship, compassion and justice. This aspect is the domain of the Holy Spirit - the dynamic of the trinity. C ognitive - the traditional strong point of evangelicals. God expressed Himself and communicated with His creation: the word became flesh. Jesus the teacher addresses our reason. Whilst we can never understand God, we are (generally) rational beings and have a need to communicate and comprehend. ----xxxXxxx---- Jhn.1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God" Jhn.1:14 "and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" Matt.5:2-3 "and He opened His mouth and taught them. Bless...