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Tag: Jesus

  • Of Masks and Men

    stingProfessional wrestling seemed to peak in the late 90s, while I was finishing up high school. I remember nicking off from school to go watch Main Event: WrestleMania at a mate’s house, hoping to get a glimpse of Sting come down from the rafters and scare the hell out of everyone in the ring. Ah, fun times.

    Sting was one of those wrestlers that wore a mask. He wouldn’t wear a corny one that looks like a piece of lycra with some holes in it. No, Sting’s mask was painted on, a white paint with some black flowing stripes. It showed enough of his face to know who it was but also hid something behind it, enough to leave some mystery.

    Like entertaining wrestlers we too live behind masks. Probably more than one.

    A wrestler does it for entertainment, for their work, to become someone they’re not in real life. Much like an actor playing their role in a biopic. We, on the other hand, seem to hide behind masks because we’re fearful of what others might think of us.

    I wonder what masks you wear?

    In Matthew 23:25-26 Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for wearing masks. He says,

    Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

    Jesus condemns the Pharisees and scribes for their two-faced hypocritical lives. They elevate the law and commandments and self-made rules above loving God and neighbour. They wear masks as they walk around pontificating about their own righteousness, shown by their outward signs and condemnation of other ‘sinners’. Yet on the inside these Pharisees and scribes are as unrighteous, sinful and dirty as the prostitute, tax collector, and leper.

    It is hard to take our masks off. Like a woman taking off her make-up, scrubbing hard to get the foundation and blush and lippy off her face so too it is hard for us to scrub our masks off and reveal our true self to the world. If we expose our blemishes to the world we fear what people will think, we fear we will be judged, we fear we will be rejected.

    Thankfully we have one that knows our true self. Thankfully we are known by Him who accepts us, blemishes and all. As much as we turn away, hide and put Him aside, God sees all of us and accepts all of us. Despite our faults and imperfections God stands with open arms accepting us just the way we are.

    This post is a free writing exercise in response to The Daily Post topic ‘Mask‘. 

  • The Presence of God

    I’m once again attempting to read the whole Bible through in a year as part of my daily devotions. It’s a yearly goal. Sometimes it gets done, sometimes it doesn’t. This year I’ve been inspired by Melissa Kruger to take on this program which allows for the weekends off. If you’d like to join in it’s not too late!

    Today’s reading was from Genesis 28-29 and Mark 11. I found it interesting how they dovetailed each other.

    In Genesis 28 Jacob, on his way to find a wife, has a vision from the Lord while he is sleeping. This vision is essentially God promising Jacob that he will continue the line of Abraham. After this vision Jacob wakes up and realises that God is present. He wakes and says:

    “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

    As a result Jacob builds a pillar of stone in honour of the Lord and makes a vow to Him.

    In Mark 11 Jesus enters Jerusalem with much fanfare. He is praised and honoured and arrives on the back of a donkey. He makes his way around the city and heads to the Temple, the place where God is supposedly residing. Here he comes upon business activities that are unbecoming for a place of worship. He clears the Temple Courts and curses them.

    jesus-cleansing-temple.jpg

    As I read these two passages side by side this afternoon I was struck by the reality of God’s presence in the world. In one God comes through a vision to Jacob and by the time the first century rolls around there is a temple representing the presence of God among the people.

    But with the arrival of Jesus these things become redundant.

    We may still have visions and we may still have places of worship representing God’s presence but it is the presence of Jesus that brings the presence of God to us. For it is Jesus who is the True Presence, he is the one who is the reality of God in the world.

    We celebrate this every Christmas when we remember how God entered the world as a baby. We remember every Easter the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross so that we may know the presence of God in our lives. And we live each day knowing God is present with us through His Spirit.

    What a wonderful encouragement for us to know that the very presence of God is with us wherever we are in the world!

  • Our Miscarriage, Our Marriage, and Our Master

    Dear Babis,

    I know today is a tough day for you darling.

    It’s a tough day for both of us really.

    I know today is really a reminder of what could’ve been. It’s a day that should be filled with love, joy and happiness. Instead it’s become a day of sadness, possibilities and tears.

    I’m sorry it hasn’t turned out the way we would’ve hoped.

    I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge (1)

    I remember we were so excited when we found out you were pregnant again. It was a fun few weeks knowing what we knew, all on our own. Our little secret was something we talked about each night, thinking of what the future might hold for the little creature being created inside of you. For me, I was really looking forward to telling the family, and very excited for our first becoming a big sister.

    But that week in early February kind of changed everything, didn’t it?

    That happy week, where we were going to tell the family, turned sour after the scan and multiple visits to the hospital.

    When it all went down, so to speak, it was a devastating time for both of us. I know you felt it and continue to feel it more deeply than I. I just hope I can continue to love and support you in the way that you need.

    Today especially.

    I reckon the miscarriage is probably one of the tougher things we’ve been through together. It’s been a painful and difficult experience for us, but one that has helped us grow stronger and closer together. I mean, the marriage course this year has also helped us, but this really did bring things into focus.

    Having been through this I’m so thankful that the Lord provided a few glimmers of hope and encouragement in the lead up to the miscarriage, and which continue to sustain us at times.

    Surely that Sunday sermon has to be the most relevant sermon we’ve ever listened to together. I truly believe the Lord provided sustaining grace for us when we needed it most, particularly through Psalm 91:1-2, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most high will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’.” I know this passage, and the preaching of it, continues to give us a sense of His sovereign hand holding us, and a peace despite the hurt.

    I pray it gives you that grace and peace today.

    I know we feel the loss of possibility, the loss of opportunity, the loss of what would have been. I know it still hurts, and will continue to hurt, no matter how many more kids we may have. But I’m thankful that despite whatever circumstances we find ourselves in the Lord is with us and is giving us joy and comfort.

    So darling, I love you. And I’m thankful that we’ve been able to grow closer since this happened.

    I’m thankful that we’ve been able to walk through this together, and will keep walking despite its challenges.

    I know its been one of the more rotten years because of this, but despite this brokenness we cling to God, praying with more clarity and regularity for the brokenness throughout the world.

    I know you would like to know what that little creature would have turned out to be but unfortunately we can’t know that. But darl, I’m thankful we can continue to talk openly about the miscarriage and remind ourselves that despite our brokenness Jesus is the one who makes us whole and the who will bring us the comfort, peace, and healing to our situation. He did that in the first week of February and he’ll do it again today, as we remember the one that got away.

    Love,
    Jonny.

  • A DIY Discipleship Plan

    We are in the fortunate position of living in a Christian resource-rich period of time. No other generation has had such access to the teaching of the Bible and other resources that come with it. Only a few years ago it was impossible to hear any sermon other than the one you heard while attending your local church. Now, I can listen to one sermon on the way to work and another on the way home. That’s crazy.

    The amount of books, podcasts, music, articles and blog posts, devotionals, and different versions of the Bible give a plethora of options in helping us to understand and know God better. But, it can also cause a tremendous amount of confusion because there is so much choice.

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    Therefore, I find it helpful to think about how I’m going to grow in my understanding of God and develop as a follower of Jesus by having a plan. In previous years I’ve attempted to read the Bible through in a year. There are many good plans to help with this and I find committing to reading four chapters a day the most consistent method. Having said this, I haven’t been overly successful lately.

    Because I enjoy learning, particularly through reading and listening, I’ve decided to approach my discipleship development in a different way for 2015. Rather than have broad goals of reading the Bible through in a year and praying regularly I’ve sought to make them a bit more specific.

    In structuring this plan I’ve broken my development into four areas; biblical theology, historical theology, systematic theology, and practical theology. Within these four areas I then have specific resources I’d like to read or listen to at different times throughout the year. See below as an example:

    Biblical Theology

    • Read the book of Jeremiah 5 times
    • Read a commentary on Jeremiah
    • Reach the book of Hebrews 5 times
    • Read a commentary on Hebrews

    Historical Theology

    Systematic Theology

    • Read 3-4 books on the topic of ‘Salvation’ (Do you have anything to recommend in this area?)

    Practical Theology

    There are many resources to read, watch, and listen to. There are conferences to go to and church to attend. There are small groups to join and other community activities to be part of. There is no doubt that discipleship is communal. I don’t want to negate this. But on a personal level I also want to continue to grow in my knowledge of God through his Word, what He’s done in history, through the teaching of others and then seek to apply it.

    It’s at least a plan, and I like plans, even if they don’t always get achieved the way I think they should be. So next year I’m going in with a plan to develop as a disciple. What about you?

  • Inconvenient Evangelism

    A great little post from Leon Brown over at Reformation21:

    Sharing the gospel takes time, time we often do not believe we have. Sometimes we are so concerned with ensuring our plans are completed, we do not stop to consider that the Lord may have other ways he would like to utilize us. Sure, we know in theory God “establishes [our] steps,” but when the theory becomes a reality, it rattles our me-centered paradigm. That is one reason why some of us may not share the gospel very much, if at all. It is inconvenient, rattles our self-centered approached to life, and thwarts our plans.

    Read the whole thing here.

  • Better Together For Mission

    The title of this post is the title I have for the sermon I’m preaching this coming Sunday.

    It’s causing me issues.

    I’ve spent most of this morning writing and deleting words from my screen. I haven’t been able to put into words the things I need to say and so currently have very little to say.

    Part of this post is to enable me to write something that may actually trigger what I want to say come Sunday.

    Of course, I’m hoping to say what God wants me to say. As I do every time I preach. But that’s all well and good when the words flow, the passage makes sense, and the topic is an easy one.

    So far these have alluded me.

    When thinking about ‘Better Together For Mission’ there comes to mind the group or communal aspect of mission.

    Mission is not a solitary exercise between one individual to another, although it could be. But even when it seems to be this way there is usually prayers from church members or mission supporters that are being lifted up and heard by God, therefore having an impact upon the situation.

    In a local church context there are programs run by numerous people within the church, another example of community working together for mission.

    Where programs aren’t a big emphasis then the daily mission task of the average Christian is being encouraged weekly through the Sunday gathering with a reminder of what it is to be a believer during the week.

    The point is that mission is not individualistic, it is communal. And so the partnership between individuals, the church, and God is evident in each and every mission activity we do.

    But this still doesn’t resolve my problem.

    If mission is something that is part of the whole of life as a believer then mission is life. It isn’t some part of life, it is the driving force behind a purposeful life.

    The reality is this kind of focus and priority isn’t seen as regularly within the church and the Christian life as we’d like. Unfortunately it’s more like a bit part, something that comes to our minds only when we’ve been reminded that God has a mission for us here in the world.

    On one hand we could say that mission is a communal exercise, even if we find ourselves in the middle of nowhere, with a language we hardly understand, and a culture we find confusing. But it must be ingrained in us to think that mission is a natural part of living. A life focused on another mission – to earn heaps of money, to climb the corporate ladder, to write a Pulitzer prize – is one that doesn’t give God the priority. These things may come our way but they aren’t the driving force in life, they are second to the mission of follow Jesus. be more like him, and see others come to know him too.

    As I write these words my mind is cynical about what I’m writing. Is this the reality of the Bible? Is it simply simplistic to write this and how does this play out in life?

    I’m not sure right now and I’m not sure when I’ll be sure. Perhaps this speaks more of me than of what God’s mission is for the world.

    But if there is a focus on anything but Jesus then something is wrong. That I know for sure.

    Perhaps that’s the answer right there.

    We won’t be involved in what God is doing around the world, whether right next door to where we live or 4000km away, unless we have Jesus as the focus, priority, and central aspect to our whole life.

    If Jesus isn’t the centre of our life then his mission for us won’t be the centre of our thought.

    If Jesus isn’t the centre of our church then his mission won’t be the centre of our local ministry,

    If Jesus isn’t the centre then something else will be and we will lose out on being part of God’s mission.

  • A Radically Ordinary Faith

    There is much written about the radical nature of following Jesus.

    The call to come and follow Him.

    The call to take up your cross.

    The call to be a radical disciple.

    Whatever way you put it Christianity can be portrayed as some type of hyper-enthusiastic, always active, and amazingly awesome life.

    And then you have to clean the dishes currently lying in the sink, change the babies nappy, make your bed, or put the rubbish out.

    That’s not amazing.

    That’s mundane.

    That’s ordinary.

    A Radically Ordinary Faith

    And what do you do with a verse like 1 Thessalonians 4:11, “…make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you…”?

    Sounds pretty ordinary to me.

    There can be a tendency to believe we’re not ‘radical’ enough in our faith,  that we’re not doing enough radical stuff with our lives. The implication of this is that we’re not being obedient. We’re not living up to the kind of discipleship required of us as followers of Jesus.

    But when we think this way we begin to diminish the life God has given us.

    If God has created us, made us who we are, and has us in the place we currently find ourselves in, then perhaps we can trust that our faith is ‘radical’ enough.

    This isn’t to be used as an excuse for laziness, a reason to neglect serving others, and avoiding any form of growth in our faith. But, our faith must be something that relates to and be relevant to our daily lives.

    I always find it inspiring to hear of the adventures and opportunities missionaries have as they serve God overseas. It’s inspiring to see people get involved in missions, church planting, and other evangelism initiatives. Every now and then I get an email from a university worker working with international students. The stories that are shared are quite incredible, hearing of the way people are attracted to hearing more about faith and understanding the Bible for themselves. Some of these stories are very encouraging.

    And so it’s inspiring to see the work people are doing, and even more exciting to see people become interested in knowing more about Jesus. But I’m not sure they’d tell you they’re being radical in their faith because of the work they’re doing, and neither will a missionary or a pastor. The work is often very ordinary.

    And so what does a radical faith look like for freshly minted teaching graduate who is in the middle of a long first year, struggling to find time to read their Bible because the nightly preparation takes so long. Or the plumber who has been dealing with crap all day, trying to spend time with the family among the household chores. Or the mum who looks after the children, who is waiting for her partner to arrive home from work in order to help her out.

    What does ‘radical’ faith mean for them?

    It may be me in my most cynical moments, where I totally turn deaf to this call to be radical, but I’m not sure whether telling people to be more radical is helpful. To me, it adds another burden, another layer of guilt, where I end up feeling my faith isn’t good enough and I need to do more. I see the need to make the call for people to be more radical in their faith, many of us aren’t. But at the same time, what does it mean for my faith to be relevant in the mundane?

    What do you think?

  • The Eighth Sin: Apathy

    I’m inspired by today’s The Dailypost topic “The Eighth Sin”.

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    First, I’m intrigued that sin is still talked about. Outside of the church I don’t hear too many people talking about sin. It should be talked about more. I’m glad to see it on the radar here in this little exercise.

    Second, what came to mind when thinking about what might be the eighth cardinal sin was apathy.

    When reflecting on the past couple of weeks I can’t help but think we’re an apathetic people.

    This is an apathy that is best wrapped up in the saying, ‘Out of sight, out of mind’. But because of the information age we’re in there is no real excuse for being out of sight. My social media feeds are filled with people sharing articles and posts written about the persecution of Christians in Iraq and the terrible conflict in Gaza. Yet, as I reflect further I notice that it’s only a handful of people that are talking about this, or commenting or liking.

    I don’t expect everyone to have their say. For some it’s not a forum where people wish to discuss or even mention their views on anything. Yet, that is one of the main reasons we are so apathetic.

    Apathy allows us some emotional distance from what is going on for others. Apathy means we don’t make a stand when we should. Apathy means we don’t give a voice to the voiceless. We let injustice run its course.

    To be apathetic means we don’t care. And that’s sad.

    Not everyone can care about everything. That’s impossible in such a complex and issue-ridden world. But on things that aren’t ‘issues’ but are to do with the life and death of human beings, then perhaps we do need to care. Perhaps we need to shake off the comfort and ease of apathy. Perhaps we need to confess we are sinners and one sin that affects us is our apathetic nature.

    Thankfully sin is forgiven, even our apathy. Yet this doesn’t mean we don’t have to change. Just as the sin of apathy is forgiven through the person and work of Jesus Christ, the ability to change and work toward a more just world, a world where the voiceless are heard, is achieved through the continual trust in Him and His rule.

  • Jesus And My To-Do List

    tdlistWhy is it that I often walk out of church on a Sunday morning feeling more guilty and with more on my to-do list than I did walking in?

    I’ve had this occur numerous times over the last couple of years. I’m not sure if it says more about me or the church service and preacher. I can’t help wondering whether it’s my expectations of what it is to go to church and worship that leaves me wanting. Nevertheless, I occasionally walk out having that sense of needing to do more in the coming seven days.

    I’m a preacher myself, so I know I need to work hard on the application of my sermons. The explanation of the Bible and understanding of the passage can be worked through slowly or quickly but application needs to be there…somewhere. And it is within this application section that I need to know that the burdens I’ve been carrying for the last however long can be lifted. That my cares can be taken care of. That I can hope and know God is in control of all things.

    I need to be reassured that I don’t have to do anything more this week to have God love me more. 

    I know God. I know God because of my faith in Jesus and his work on the cross. Through that work he has enabled me to have my sin forgiven and be in a relationship with Him.

    I understand this will mean I will need to change. Following Jesus means growing as a disciple. This happens over time and with the Lord’s help.

    But when I am weary from a week where I know I’ve sinned throughout, where I didn’t read my Bible as much as I’d like, where things haven’t gone right, then I come to church seeking comfort, seeking encouragement, and to be reminded that God still loves me and is taking care of me.

    Of course, I may know this at a cognitive level. I may know this at an emotional level. But I need to know that this is the case again this week. Just as it was the last.

    This reminder may happen through the Scripture passage, or through the words of the preacher in explaining the text, or through the application part of the sermon.  Whatever way it may be it needs to occur in a way where the application doesn’t mean I walk out with more to-dos this week.

    Because guess what?

    When Jesus died he didn’t add a single to-do to my list. He took many, many, many to-dos away though. When Jesus died he didn’t add guilt to my burdens, he took them all and dealt with them.

    So, preacher (and I speak to myself as much as any other), preach Jesus. Preach Jesus in such a way as to articulate what he’s done without adding more to my week and my to-do list. Please.

  • A Miley Cyrus Missionary

    Miley Cyrus can help us think through what it means to be “on mission”.

    Last year was Miley’s year. She captured the world by storm with her performance with Robin Thicke at the MTV VMAs. FM radio, the Twitterverse, and every news website had something to say about her and her performance.

    A couple of weeks later she released her single, Wrecking Ball, which finds her swinging naked on top of a wrecking ball (as you do). The YouTube video broke all sorts of records and again caused another celebrity stir amongst those who care for such things.

    But believe it or not the performance and single had me thinking about mission and the church.

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    Miley Cyrus is the latest in a long line of so called celebrities who’ve moved from teenage prettiness to young adult ugliness. Miley, of course, was the lovely, sweet, little girl who played Hannah Montana a number of years ago. This earned her celebrity status among the world’s teenage girls, which has now progressed into superstardom, making herself famous for twerking, nakedness, and shock.

    The image of Miley Cyrus has changed dramatically.

    So, how is this related to mission and the church?

    The thinking and actions Miley has taken in the last 12-18 months can be the same thinking that seeps into the church and its missions endeavours.

    For some reason we fall into the celebrity trap where we believe that to stay relevant, to be on the cutting edge, to be noticed, and to have influence over others means our methods of mission need to become outrageous, attention grabbing, and over the top.

    In my experience, and in my conversations with those involved in missions in any form – local and global, as well as reflecting on Scripture, I’ve come out a firm believer in simple relationship building as being the means to making disciples.

    This type of mission is invested in the long-term where relationships can take years to build and disciples of Jesus are a brick by brick labour.

    I’m not for one moment saying that we shouldn’t have cutting edge and relevant methods but I’m wanting to suggest it requires more time, energy, and intentionality than just putting on a show.

    There are plenty of ways this can be done, plenty of methods I suppose, but the impression I have when reading about Jesus and his ministry is that it’s pretty simple. Make disciples by modelling our lives on Jesus and speaking about him to the people we come across.

    One could argue that Jesus used all sorts of outrageous ways to have people follow him, such as healings and miracles, but I think that would be a mis-reading of scripture. Jesus’ disciples were with him for three years, each day they saw how he operated and soaked in what he taught. What I see when I see Jesus is simplicity. Simply building into the disciples and teaching them everything he needed to.

    Jesus was both relevant and counter-cultural. He showed us how to be a disciple without giving into culture too much nor losing that relevant edge.