A message to politicians

 

As I listen to accolades to Mandela – the common observation is that he was humble, and worked for the good of his people.  He did not seek to make himself wealthy (unlike Mugabe), he compromised where it was good for the country (unlike extremists on both sides of the US congress), and he listened to people (unlike all US congressmen). 

 

It was not about him – and that is an unusual attitude in our culture.

So leaders of the future – is your legacy going to be like his or “They shut down government because they were stubborn and self-opinionated”?

 

Pessimism, Optimism or Panic…

A new day

Coming up today – travel to a new place, some tight connections and tighter deadlines, people letting me down, a critical presentation, my car is making funny noises, and a friend needs help.

It’s all a bit too much.

So how do we react?

The pessimist

It’s all going to go bad, life can’t get any worse, why should I even get up. I hate my life. I deserve better than this. I need a break. It’s all their fault.

The optimist

It’s all going to be fine – isn’t the sky pretty?

The “Believer”

I can do this – whether it is good or bad. If I believe in myself hard enough I will be fine. I am male, strong, smart, and handsome – we are all good (with gritted teeth).

The Bible

It is too much for me. I can do some of it, but a lot is beyond my control. Some will be wonderful, some will be terrifying. In all of it, God is with me, and it’s all part of his good, loving plan. Let’s go!

Which choice leads to joy?

The Good Things in Life

Good things

God has given us good things to enjoy including food, music, beauty, adrenalin and sex. Their purpose is to reflect him and to direct us toward him. We need Him, and Him only, while the rest is bonus.

In theory then, our highest highs are still only a fraction of Him. However, our sin nature makes it hard for us to hear him or to tap into that joy He provides.

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

We instead make the “good things” the end, not the means, and so they can become bad – addictive and distracting.

God’s Point of View

God:

• Is very concerned that we worship him alone Deut 8:19
• Is keen for us to be completely fulfilled and joyful
• Requires that we put aside the “good things” if they threaten to distract us from him

There is an element of sacrifice – we demonstrate our love and need for Him by letting go of the things we like, in order to obtain what we need.

Our Point of View

But:

• The craving for these things is strong
• They are in our faces, while God is more out of sight
• Our culture tells us that they are the be all and end all

So

What do I do, minute by minute?

• Seek Him
• Jeremiah 29:13-14 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. If anyone seeks my face, I will be found by you, declares the Lord
• James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him
• Matthew 28:20 “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
• You can’t change you – He can
• Seek joy
• Fight for it (Bible reading, prayer, repentance)
• Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
• Worship Him Psalm 21:6 .You make him glad with the joy of your presence.
• Hebrews 12:2
• Be a living sacrifice
• Put aside
• The cravings
• The “yes buts”
• The rights, “I deserve better than this…"
• Comfort
• Enjoy the good things
• In submission (to Him)
• In context (of their purpose)
• In thankfulness (to Him)
• In service (of His glory)

As I ponder this, I think I am onto something new and life changing. However, as I write it down, it simply seems to be a repeat of things I have read (Piper, White, C.S. Lewis), but obviously never grasped.

Duh

Matthew 6:³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (ESV)

The President is Following Me

I travel around the US quite a lot on business.   Part of the joys of travel are being delayed at airports – mostly by the weather or due to broken airplanes.  You try to learn to live with them.  For me a disturbingly common cause of delays is that the city or airport I am in is shut down because the President is also in town, and when Air Force One is moving or about to move – no one else does.  I reached a stage last year when I was wondering why the President was following me everywhere and I wished he would stop.  I have whined about this in a previous blog.

This week I am in a sleepy little village near the southern tip of Africa hoping to get away from it all for a few weeks.  So imagine my delight when today’s church service was cut short and we were encouraged to leave because … Marine One was due to land in the fields across the street.  There is no escaping him, even on the other side of the planet!

This thought leads to Psalm 139.

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

3 You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

5 You them me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

9 If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

12 even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

13 For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!

O omen of blood, depart from me!

20 They speak against you with malicious intent;

your enemies take your name in vain.

21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

22 I hate them with complete hatred;

I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting

 

God is there, wherever we go, and that is one of the fantastic promises made to all believers.  His presence is what sustains (as opposed to delays) us. 

Unlike the President, God does not hide behind bulletproof glass. God as the true Sovereign does not need protection, indeed He is the protector. 

Also, unlike the President, God knows each one of us, intimately – talk about name dropping!  Our response then is to worship and be thankful and to seek to know Him better.  Therein lies the path to satisfaction and salvation.

 

Christmas

The Universe

The universe is pretty big. If scientific interpretation is right, it is about 80 quintillion miles across. It’s tough to understand that, but let’s try. To drive 80 miles at the speed limit it would take just over an hour. If we were to go at 1000 times the speed limit (60,000 mph) it would take 5 seconds – even the Shuttle could not do that. We would have to do this multiplication 4 more times to make the trip across the universe in a reasonable time. Even at the speed of light the trip is 140 billion years. No-one is going to do this.

But despite its size, everything in the universe works at a sub-atomic scale. An atom is about 0.1 nanometer in diameter. There are about 1,000,000 atoms across a single hair. We do not have the tools to directly image an atom – let alone the even smaller particles that make up atoms. The degree of complexity in such a big system, that is comprised of particles so small is stunning and well beyond our ability to grasp.

Babies

Newborn babies are good at doing two things, making poop and crying, and maybe to dissolve women and make them goo. Otherwise they are completely helpless and utterly dependent on others to feed, clean and nurture them; without which they would quickly die.

The President

When the President of the USA travels it is a big deal. The airport and highways are shut down. The buildings around where he is speaking are shuttered. Hundreds of security staff invade the place glaring behind their sunglasses and muttering into their sleeves. The local people are enormously inconvenienced and business comes to a grinding halt. I have been trapped in airports for hours waiting for Air Force One to come or go. How does a single person get away with making such an impact? Because of his importance; it is considered worth the inconvenience because of the value of his being there.

So What?

How do these three seemingly disparate discussions tie together? In the Christmas story of course.

How important is God? Pretty important. He spoke the universe into being. So the big place we will never see from end to end, He made from nothing. By speaking; and a brief four-word sentence at that. Not only that, but He knows and controls the position of every one of those tiny sub-atomic particles filling that enormous space. He keeps it all going moment by moment; nothing is random or left to run on its own. So, if someone as important as God came to town, how much impact would it have? Normal life would come to a standstill with everyone out on the streets falling on their faces. Right?

How did He come then? He arrived as one of those helpless, pooping, crying babies. Consider the indignity of it. The one who shaped stars having His diaper changed.

Why did He come? To give us what we really need. Forgiveness. That we don't deserve. Despite our arrogance.

Big things often start small. That small clot in a brain that disables a parent. That call from the boss to say you are laid off. That spark of an idea that creates a new industry. The list is endless.

Jesus birth seemed small. But His impact was, and continues to be, worldwide and eternal. Best of all, heaven will be populated because of it.

Will you be there?

That is Christmas.

Addictions

I am coming to the conclusion that everyone is prone to some form of addiction or another. Some people struggle with the obvious bad ones like alcoholism, the need for drugs, sex, whatever. Other peoples “habits” or “needs” are not perceived as dangerous: chocolate, music, entertainment, video games. However – all of us crave to fill some part of our lives with something external.

This should help us in some of our decision making. Knowing your weakness should guide you away from places where that material is available (like bars for alcoholics) or will affect your walk with God. I knew one guy who very carefully avoided listening to certain music – because it had the potential to drag him back to his pre-conversion behavior. This was good. However, it did take a while for him to accept that for other people who had not lived that life, music of that style could be used to glorify God. That is another discussion.

When we try to break away from these cravings and to change our habits, we struggle. This may be because some of the products mess with the wiring in our brains. I wonder, though, if the start of these cravings is not simply an expression of our desperate need for God to fill our lives.

Therefore, if we were fully satisfied by Him, then there wouldn’t be space for those cravings, right? The trick is doing that. On the one hand, there is nothing we can do to earn/create/invoke that satisfaction; it is entirely a gift of God’s grace. Holding your breath or being nice won’t help. On the other hand, we are required to worship and love God with all of our being and to ask Him nicely for the rest of our needs. He is then likely to delight in filling us with joy – because that is what He designed us for. We worship: He satisfies. Simple. Maybe someone should tell Mick Jagger.

Figuring that out has taken me years, yet it is so clearly stated in scripture and in the old hymns. Duh!

Tendering Thanks in Tough Times

We are told in 1 Thess 5 to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

But will life always be good? Experience says not. We will all have to deal with loss at some time. Should we be thankful for that? How?

I struggle with this time of year. My extended family is on other continents. It is getting cold and dark, which is tough for a creature born and raised in the tropics. Forced gaiety and commercialized “xmas” rubs me the wrong way. Thanksgiving? Big woop. But it says we have to “give thanks in all circumstances.”

Typical culture is thankful for health, wealth, comfort and being an American. What if they go away (not unlikely in this economic time). 2.5 Trillion $ evaporated? Including many pensions. Are those American families thankful? They should be.

How do we do that, fake it? No; by considering what we are thankful for. Look at prayers of thanks in the new testament.

Luke 18:11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

Or “Thanks that I am middle class, mid western, and covered the mortgage this month. Thanks that I am not like them ‘durn furiners’.” This prayer did not sit well with Jesus. This complacency breeds contempt, leading to unloving (and so sinful) prejudice. The Bible does not promise the American dream.

1 Cor. 1:4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,

So it is not about stuff, or who we are, but about grace.

But it hurts! My life is still tough! I heard a sermon recently that said “Our troubles are designed specifically for us.” Habakkuk 3:17-18 celebrates God’s glory in the face of starvation – because it was worth it!

Why? It is what we are made for – to glorify God. Always. Look at the story of Lazarus. Why was he allowed to die? “… for the glory of God." (John 11:4.) So we are best fulfilled if we do what you were designed to do.

So we are thankful. For the blessings we have: grace, life, salvation and a relationship with the creator. The stuff like abundant food, family nearby, warm beds – those are icing on the cake.