Windows On The Soul

“ What the Church needs are more ‘deep’ Christians ” (Richard Foster, “Celebration of Discipline”).  The Apostle Paul wrote, “ Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!!” ( Rom.11:33 ) How does one become a ‘deeper’ Christian? It takes ‘Time’ and ‘Experience’. To know the depth of something, one must have ‘plumbed’ the depth, that is attempted some sort of measure. To have some knowledge of the depth of God, one must explore the consequences and implications of Christian faith on one’s life and society, and thus to start to see the vast possibilities. Such exploration, takes time in God’s word, time with Him in prayer, and time in constructive, exploratory fellowship together. But most of all, depth of understanding and knowledge of the wisdom, grace and ways of God, come from experience. We learn only a small amount from what we hear, a larger amount from what we read and s...

One of the special aspects of Christianity, is that we have a personal God who desires to have a personal relationship with us. One of the ways that this is conveyed in the Bible, is the expression of “walking with God”. In 19 different passages, we read of people walking with God or of God walking among His people. For most of history, walking has been common to nearly every aspect of mankind’s life, whether for travel, work, socialising, holidaying, going to synagogue or simply to draw water. Walking with God represents sharing in life at an all-pervasive level. But more than simply walking with God, on at least 62 occasions, the Bible talks about the quality of our walk. Foremost, we are called to walk in His ways, paths, statutes, ordinances, light and judgments. Our walk is to be pleasing to God, by faith, in the spirit, circumspectly and honestly, in the new life of love, liberty, truth, integrity, wisdom and uprightness, worthily in the fear of God. We are called to wa...

Our family’s most prized piece of family history would have to be my great-great-grandfather’s apprenticeship indenture certificate from the 1860’s. To modern eyes, the terms and conditions border on slave labour. The young teenage George had to leave home to live and work with his ‘master’, who in turn had to teach him the mysteries and secrets of the trade of clothier, as well as house, clothe and feed him, and pay him the princely sum of two shillings at Christmas. When the Bible talks about Jesus’ disciples, the concept of Disciple is very similar to that of Apprentice. The disciples lived, traveled and worked with Jesus, learning ‘on-the-job’. The commitment, to which they were called, included leaving their homes and jobs. As we celebrate with the young people being baptised tonight, lets encourage them in their commitment. For the commitment of ‘becoming a Christian’ is not like joining an organisation, but rather the commitment of entering into a life-long relatio...

The Bible uses a number of different analogies to describe The Church, such as a ‘body’ ( 1 Cor.12 ), a ‘garden’ ( Isa.61:3 , Jn.15:5 ), a ‘family’ ( Jn.3:29 , Rev.21:9 ), or a ‘building’ ( 2 Cor.5:1 , Eph.2:21 ). All of these images illustrate multi-faceted growth, extension and adaptation, and all apply equally to The Church, any individual congregation or individual Christians. I’ve always liked the slogan, “ Please be patient. God hasn’t finished with me yet ”. When a ‘lost soul’ finds Christ, there is a sense of completeness in that a void has been filled. But as we grow in Christ, there is another sort of sense of incompleteness, not like an emptiness that needs to be filled, but rather being called onward in constant improvement. As God is constantly revealing areas of our lives that are not ‘up to scratch’, we are challenged to renewal. As our lives encounter new experiences and situations, we are challenged to meet them like Christ, with love. We are called to st...

In our years of “coffee shop” youth out-reach work, we put up with being sworn at, occasionally spat upon, and personal property damage. But I can’t think of any time when we felt in bodily danger. However, a week ago, such an incident did arise. In our 26 years of fund-raising for the Royal Children’s Hospital, we have volunteered our services to sell the Herald-Sun ‘WEG’ Premiership posters. Unfortunately, this year, the ‘out-of-towners’, Adelaide, won, and we were faced with trying to sell Adelaide premiership posters in the face of a rather angry, parochial crowd. Football crowds have always been a noisy fickle lot, but this was the worst I have ever endured. A boozed load-mouth slew our stock off the table, and as I turned, a swinging fist caught my cheek. I must confess, that my immediate thoughts did not include offering him my other one. Fortunately, his cohorts dragged him away and the incident was over as quickly as at started, but leaving my onlooking...

“In spring, blossom decorates the land and transforms familiar sites (and sights) into fairytale settings. Sedentary souls stir from winter’s long sleep and awake into spell-bound romantics. Hope comes alive - In Spring”. The tragedy of this past week has seen another young woman cut down in the prime of life, like our first spring flowers crushed by the hail storm. Not even a Shakespearian tragedy comes close to portraying the intrigue, manipulations, jealousies, bigotry, adulation, etc. that has surrounded this kindergarten teacher come princess. Yet it will be her charitable and humanitarian work that the world will remember, at least in the short term. How history records these events remains to be seen - history’s record is not good in remembering good works. It is these later works that remind us of another young man, in another place and time, cut down in the prime of his life. A man tempted in every manner possible, yet free of sin. A man who dared to touch l...

We're all familiar with the standard chant of protest marches - "What do we want? .....", "When do we want it? Now!".  The peace movement in Israel is no exception, with their slogan of "Peace Now!". But it is King David in Psalm 118:25 that points us to God's priority, " Salvation Now " (Petersen's paraphrase). In His "Sermon on the Mount", Jesus tells us that all these worldly concerns are secondary to " Seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness " ( Mt.6:33 ). Whether they be clothing or shelter, food or drink, health and healing, security or peace - all our needs God will meet - our striving, concern or 'worry' must first and foremost be to establish our right relationship with God. And that relationship is only found in salvation through the sacrificial love of Jesus, available by faith when we put off the old "I-centric" attitudes and in humble repentance put on "Christ-centredn...

C.S.Lewis suggests that Satan does not tempt us with repulsive things, but rather temptation offers the subtle choices between what we want to do and what we ought to do (" The Screwtape Letters "). When God created the world, He saw that it was good. The devil, being less than God, does not create; rather his work is of pale imitations and distortions of God's good works. God's will is for our proper, moderated care, use and enjoyment of His creation. But as our natural wills are not fully aligned with God's, we are constantly tempted toward improper, immoderate, uncaring misuse of His good gifts. Self-respect, necessary for our growth as children of God, when used as an 'end' instead of a 'means', becomes pride. Self-love, the model of our love of others, misguided, becomes selfishness. Appreciation of beauty, immoderately, becomes lust and avarice. Natural appetites excessively fed, become greed and gluttony. William Booth knew that temptation...

In 2 Tim.3:1-5 , Paul warns of the perils of the last days, including “ greed, boastfulness, pride, blasphemy, disobedience, unthankfulness, unholiness, unloving, unforgiving, slander, anarchy, brutality, treachery, head-strongness, haughtiness, decadence and spiritual impotence (having forms of godliness but denying its power) ”. The Christian gospel is a message of power, but a Godly power, and we are promised that we will receive power from Holy Spirit ( Acts 1:8 ). We are warned that the Kingdom of God is not in words, but in power ( Mt.6:13 , 1 Cor.4:20, 1 Thes.1:5 ). The spirit of Christ is the power unto salvation ( Rom.1:16 ) which impacts the church’s procreation. The power we have available by Holy Spirit is the power to heal ( Lk.5:17 ), for wonders and demonstrations ( Rom.15:9 , 1 Cor.2:4 ) and against spirits ( Mt.10:1 , Mk.3:15 , Lk.9:1 ). More importantly, Holy Spirit gives us power in our personal lives - over the temptations of all flesh ( Jn.17:2 ), the p...

A dozen years ago, my wife and I were asked to counsel a young couple who had a young child with a minor congenital deformity. They had spent tens of thousands of dollars travelling to every major paediatric hospital in the world. The consistent answer was “Why come to us when you have the world’s best back in Melbourne”. But the saddest part of the situation was the father’s family’s almost complete rejection of the child - they simply couldn’t accept that any descendant of theirs could possibly be anything less than perfect. This is not an uncommon attitude in our ‘post-Christian’ society, and even some western Christians have great difficulty coming to terms with illness. It is soon forgotten that the wonderful life-style we can have, educational opportunities, justice, health care, ‘human rights’, the status of women, etc. are nearly all due to the work and influence of Christians. And yet society wants to keep the gifts and ignore the giver. The ‘world’ is not a natu...

“ I ask... that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ” ( John 17:20,21 ). The squabbles in the church must sadden our Lord who prayed that his followers may be one. If the church worldwide were united (in spirit, not necessarily in one organisation), the world would take notice. As it is, critics of the church are constantly mocking us for our sectarian divisiveness. The church is both human and divine. It comprises fallible humans, and has yet to be perfectly redeemed. It is divine - the Body of Christ. So we need to be patient with an imperfect church. Henry Scott Holland put it this way in 1914 when the Bishop of Zanzibar wrote a pamphlet asking where the church stood. Scott Holland said that it did not stand at all, but 'moves and pushes and slides and staggers and falls and gets up again, and stumbles on and presses forward and falls into the right positi...

One of the more common deep spiritual questions I hear, is “ How do I know God’s will for my life? ”. Whilst meditation and study of His Word will reveal general guide-lines, the application to any person’s specific situation is in the realm of the dynamic of Holy Spirit. We are not given a map showing every bend and hill on the road of life ahead, but rather the bends are revealed only as and when we need to know about them as we walk by faith. Its' no use whingeing about not achieving some high personal aspirations, when Jesus’ general command is to “ start washing feet (dishes, floors, tables, bed-pans, etc.) ”. Then as we show our faithfulness in the small things, God can start putting situations across our path, or using our words, or people start to seek us out - then we start to see God ‘nudging’ us around a bend, or challenging us to climb a hill. It can be quite surprising, humbling, even scary, when someone says to me, “ How did you know I needed to read/hear th...

“Reconciliation” is very much in the news at the moment, particularly with regard to Australia’s ‘Anglo’ and aboriginal peoples. This is a subject that Christians should be seriously thinking and speaking about. Firstly, because it was often through “Christian missions” that past government policies of removing aboriginal children from their parents, was implemented. Though done with the ‘best intentions’ of wanting to provide a ‘better environment’ for the children, emotional needs of the children and parents, and differing cultural understanding of what a ‘better  environment’ is, were ignored. The wisdom required of missionaries in cross-cultural work is indeed that of Solomon. Secondly, Christians have something to say about “Reconciliation” because this is the very basis of our standing with God. Reconciliation with Him is necessary because of our sinful nature. We have said “Sorry!” (repented), but that is not enough. For some sin (like theft), restitution can ...

One of the greatest inhibitors to personal and church growth is the FUD factor (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt). After the horror of Christ’s crucifixion, the incredulity then ecstasy of His resurrection and His times of sharing with His disciples, Jesus ascended to heaven. What did the disciples feel then? I’m sure they must have felt very “flat” after their mountain-top experiences, and probably uncertainty and doubts crept in - “ What do we do now?” , “ Why has He left us like this?” . In many ways, these phases in the birth of The Church mirror the phases in the birth and growth of our children. The teenage years are times of much questioning, of moving out from under the sheltering presence of parents, to discover one’s directions and goals in the ‘real’ world - these are the “Why?” years. Then the young adult blossoms, the world is at their feet and they are prepared to take on anything, with courage and determination. Just as parents must hold back in order to release thei...

From now on, Australians will have more reason than ever before to associate the month of April with grief and suffering. With ANZAC day, the anniversary of the Port Arthur tragedy, and overseas, Dunblaine and Okalahoma City, the fact and impact of evil in the world are very much to the fore in our minds and hearts. Yet April is usually also the month of Easter. In the crucifixion, God is telling us that evil, pain and suffering are the reality and result of a world in rebellion with God. Then in the next breath of life after death, we are shown that evil is not ultimately omnipotent, but rather impotent, for through His resurrection, Christ has over-come sin and death. ( Mt.26:28 , Jn.16:33 ) “That’s all very well on the spiritual battleground” you might say, “but what about those of us grieving or suffering here and now?” Jesus had two things to say to all of us. Firstly, that He has come to bring good news, comfort and healing to the poor, destitute, homeless, sick and...

In Paul’s letter of guidance to the young new minister, Timothy, he warns him of what sort of things he can expect to see happening in his congregation in “later times” ( 1 Tim.4 ). Apart from some things we normally see as being evil, such as people being led astray by “ lying spirits ” and the “ teachings of demons ” ( v.1 ), Paul also mentions some things that we might not normally consider as being wrong. He warns against various obsessions, such as physical exercise ( v.8 ) - we saw the newspaper article just last week about people becoming “hooked” on work-outs. He warns about an obsession of celibacy ( v.3 ), and obsessions of what to eat or not to eat ( v.3 ). Whilst we don’t see much of the former (although the opposite addiction to sex is now recognised), the later obsessions about foods, diets and ‘health’ regimes are rampant. Whilst our physical ‘needs’ are important, it is more important that our spiritual needs are nurtured. The spiritual ‘food’ to take in ...

What a sad pair of words they are - “If only...”. Often expressed as a matter of ‘fact’, they really express an attitude . It can be an attitude about the past , expressing regret about some-thing that did or did not happen. It can also express an attitude about the future - an attitude of not being able to progress in the here-and-now until some perceived future “need” has been met. Both attitudes run counter to the Bible’s teaching. Our failings and omissions of the past are covered, dead, buried and forgiven through Christ. In the present we are called to live by faith, not worrying about tomorrow ( Mt.6:25-34 ) . We are called to be good stewards of what we do have , even though we are all given different talents, opportunities and challenges (obstacles?). When we are good stewards in the use of the talents we do have (instead of whingeing about what we don’t have), then we will be blessed with further talents, opportunities and challenges ( Mt.25:15-29 ). If ...

A seventeenth century German pastor is said to have buried five thousand (5,000) of his parishioners in one year, an average of nearly fifteen a day. Yet, although his parish was ravaged by war, pestilence and an invader’s economic oppression, he wrote this table grace for his children: Now thank we all our God With hearts and hands and voices; Who wondrous things hath done, In whom the world rejoices. Who from our mother’s arms, Hath led us on our way With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today. In 1636, amid the darkness of the Thirty Years War, Martin Rinkart drew spiritual strength from a spirit of thanksgiving for God’s past and present goodness. Richard D.Dinwiddie, ‘The Sacrifice of Praise’, Christianity Today, 20th November 1981, p.40

Many years ago when going for my driving licence (Victoria, Australia), the testing police officer quizzed me on the law concerning two cars at an intersection. I responded that “ the car on the right has the right of way ”. The officer re-asked the question, to which I quizzically gave the same answer. The officer patiently asked me the same question again, to which I still gave the same answer. He then pointed out that the correct answer was that “ any driver approaching the intersection, has the responsibility to ‘give way’ to the car on his/her right ”. (Australian's drive on the left-hand side of the road) It's a lesson I have never forgotten - “ rights ” are not inalienable for the taking. A “right” is really a “ responsibility ” on another to give. In the Bible, God does not promise “ freedom of speech ”, “ freedom of assembly ”, “ pursuit of happiness” , etc. Rather, we are warned that the Christian’s lot could include persecution and imprisonment. The only ...

A major recurrent theme in my work is reconciliation , balancing what was thought should be with what was actually received. Computer systems should always be designed to allow for the imperfect environment in which they will have to work. Whether it be checking that all records sent from one place to another arrived intact, or checking the sales records with the cash banked. In the later cases, often thousands of dollars can be spent tracking down discrepancies of a few dollars. Then in the end, if a shortage or surplus remains, it might be “written off” or “recovered” from an employee's pay. Christians individually and corporately should be accountable to each other as well as to God. We have been reconciled with God, in that our lives have come up short of the mark, and having repented, God has “written off” (forgiven) our sin. But the other component of repentance, is promising, with God’s help, to ‘ sin no more ’. An important part of this sanctification process is r...