promised land

Top Five - Kid's party foods

2009-08-03T21:13:00.002+10:00

My son Joel had a combined 2nd birthday party today. It got me thinking... how much I loved party food as a kid. Here's my top five;

1. Fairy bread - who's idea was this stuff? Calling it fairy bread was pure genius. All kid's love the idea of a bit of magic.

2. Jelly - We had it at home sometimes, but it was always better at a party. Wibble wobble, wibble wobble, jelly on a plate.

3. Frankfurts - What is really in these things? I probably don't want to know, but dipped in sauce they tasted sensational.

4. Sausage rolls - What is really in these things? I probably don't want to know. Just add sauce (Is there a theme here?). Party size of course.

5. Cake - It was all in the design (cricket bats, footballs, guitars, tigers...) and the icing... oh so sweet!

Beatitudes IV

2009-07-24T17:27:00.007+10:00

Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

"Blessed..."
Isn't this what we all need and crave? To be recognised as living rightly; to know that despite difficulty, hardship and suffering we are known by God and he approves of us.

"...are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..."
We all know what it is to hunger and thirst. It is a deep desire born out of the necessity for sustenance. We have these needs as physical beings. And we know that the craving can be intense, all-consuming(pardon the pun), demanding.
We know this physical desire... but hunger and thirst for righteousness? It must be said at this point that the text does not clearly place any boundaries around the righteousness so desired. It is personal right-living in relationship with God. It is a world transformed by a right-living humanity, reconciled to it's maker.
"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." This is the visceral prayer of the hungry and thirsty in the words of this beatitude.
"Purify my heart, cleanse me from my sin and make me holy..." This is the craving of the blessed ones.

"..for they shall be satisfied."
The satisfaction of having thirst quenched, of having hunger satiated is something we can all identify with. And what a declaration this is! For those who deeply long to see the world and their hearts oriented to God rightly to be assured this will happen is simply thrilling.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Groans

2009-07-02T11:48:00.000+10:00

Sometimes I can fly.
The spirit gives me wings and I soar.
The truth on my lips,
a transcendent joy.
And I sing.
But not with my voice.
It is my soul.
A glorious symphony;
the harmony weaving a tapistry with the melody.
The notes lift me higher and higher.
There is no fear.

Sometimes I cry;
Wallowing in the pit.
A world full of lies,
a temporal despair.
I weep.
But not with tears.
It is my soul.
A potion of rejection, brokeness,
loneliness, failure and loss.
The cup that I cannot bear.
There is only fear.

What is this life?
Must I come down if I go up?
Reaching the mountaintop
only to fall down... down.
When will I run and not grow tired?
When will these wings carry me to rest?
When will I stand in the Son and know only happiness?
Please. I want to go home.

Beatitudes III

2009-06-30T12:08:00.004+10:00

Matthew 5:5

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

"Blessed..."
We have come to understand that this declaration of blessing from God is a source of great encouragement and hope in this age; the age in which we experience daily the imperfections of our own falleness and the falleness of other people and the whole of creation. There is salvation happening; a reversal of this falleness.

"...are the meek..."
The meek are the humble, the gentle, the considerate, those who do not think too highly of themselves. They are the people who refuse to subsume the humanity of another under the ambitions of the self.
We see it in Jesus as he welcomes children, eats with 'sinners', interracts with women and teaches his disciples.
Meekness is the attitude of Jesus as he suffers the cruelty and violence of his passion and death.
The meek are those who see in the needs of the poor, the homeless, the naked, the weak an opportunity to serve Jesus.
The meek are those who have seen the glory of God in creation and humanity and interract with them filled with appropriate reverence and fear.

"...for they shall inherit the earth."
When one considers human history one cannot help but be convinced that those who have 'received' an inheritance are those who take it for themselves, deceive and coerce, overpower and oppress. Meekness does not to meet the criterion for this type of heir.
Psalm 37 provides us with the great contrast of those who seem to inherit ('the wicked man') and those who God declares will inherit.
But in contrast to the way things seem the inheiritance of the meek will be total. The earth, the dwelling place of all humanity will be rendered to them. This is the blessedness of Jesus Kingdom.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Top five - aussie beers

2009-06-22T20:21:00.006+10:00

Beer is one of the great joys in life. The variety produced by Australian brewers has never been better. Unfortunately australians and their beer have historically been famous only in terms of quantity consumed, but I'm happy to say that for me and these brewers quality is the main focus. Here is my top five.

1. Barons - Wattle seed ale.
The 'brave boys at barons' produce this outstanding dark ale as part of their native range. Caramel, coffee, wholesome.

2. Moo Brew - Wheat beer.
This boutique Tasmanian brewery produces this fantastic cloudy wheat beer. Smooth, creamy with a hint of citrus.

3. Outback Brewery - Pale Ale.
There are plenty of great aussie pale ales. I'm not suggesting that this is the best, but it is a little known Gem. Fruity, fragrant, sharp.

4. Coopers - Sparkling Ale.
The first aussie beer that really made me lick my lips. It sparkles in flavour, but the beer itself is cloudy. Hoppy, bitey, refreshing.

5. Gage Roads - Premium Lager.
Again, how to choose 1 Premium Lager from all those on offer (and some would call me un-Australian for not choosing Crown), but this is something special. Tight, a hint of sweetness, cool and clean.

Others that could easily have made it:
James Squires - Amber Ale.
Little Creatures - Pale Ale.
McClaren Vale brewing Co - Vale Ale.
Barons - Lager.

Beatitudes II

2009-06-18T14:55:00.003+10:00

Matthew 5:4

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

"Blessed..."
Already, as a result of the previous beatitude, we have come to expect that this 'blessedness' is peculiar. It is the ironic declaration of God; an insight into the reality of things not seen; the great reversal of fortune that inclusion in the Kingdom entails. It is not necessarily an experience of blessedness now.

"...are those who mourn,..."
Mourning is what a person does in the face of great loss, usually the loss of a loved one to death. I think the mourning described here speaks directly into that sort of situation, but also contains hints of a broader, more cosmic, existential mourning. It is sorrow, deep sorrow, over my responsibility as a sinner for sin and death and suffering. It is seeing the organic connection between my falleness as an individual and the falleness of all of creation. It is seeing in death - of a loved one, or of anyone - a great judgement falling on us all.

"...for they shall be comforted."
This is the blessedness. A great declaration that comfort (of God himself, of the kingdom) will be extended to those beaten and bruised by the fall. The future can be bright for those who see only through tears. It is God himself who will wipe their tears away.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Beatitudes I

2009-06-10T10:29:00.006+10:00

Our home group/biblestudy group/growth group/cell group... is studying the Beatitudes. We started last night. I thought I'd give some reflections each week. I am of course indebted to the group for the content of these posts.

Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed..."
I think it is clear that though some translations render this word as 'Happy', this is not what is meant. 'Happy' implies a subjective state, but blessed implies an objective state; a gift bestowed from outside. It may or may not be associated with 'Happiness'.

"...poor in spirit..."
I think what is described here is the knowledge of the poverty of being a fallen human; the limitations; the faultiness; the powerlessness; the sinfulness... It is the experience of lack and dependency an all things that arises from the clear view (afforded by the illumination of the Spirit) that;
"There is no-one righteous, no-one who seeks God, all have turned away";
"O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?".
It is the picture of the pleading sinner before God as opposed to the proud Pharisee in Jesus parable.
It is the contrast between the 2 criminals crucified on either side of Jesus.
It is the place to which Jesus leads the Samaritan women at the well.
It is the experience of Peter who denied Jesus 3 times.

"...for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."
This is the blessedness bestowed upon those who are poor in Spirit. It is a life furnished with the capacity to live within the Kingdom.
Now is a good time to clarify - I don't think poverty of spirit is an end in itself. No, it is simply to place to which fallen human beings must go in order to be rightly oriented towards God. It is a clearing away of the old, worn furniture of pride and self-righteousness, and independance which we have become accustomed to. It is the spring clean needed in order that a new creation makeover can be worked in our lives, and so the Kingdom be manifest in us. Like any cleaning process it will be at times uncomfortable even painful.

When we (in Adam and Eve and in ourselves) have pursued/pursue our own way of living it has been/is an act of defiance against the God who is there and has spoken. The reversal of this (Kingdom of heaven) begins and continues in the Christian life and it requires a humbling, a turning, an acknowledgement of fault and weakness, a certain sorrow... a poverty of Spirit. It will be the ongoing experience of the Christian in these 'in between' times.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Top Five - Reasons to be a Christian

2009-06-04T12:42:00.000+10:00

The top 5 reasons to be a Christian.

1. Jesus.
In the words of Philip Yancey,

"God is, in a word, Christlike. Jesus presents a God with skin on whom we can take or leave, love or ignore. In this visible, scaled-down model we can discern God's features more clearly.
I must admit that Jesus has revised in flesh many of my harsh and unpalable notions about God. Why am i a christian? I sometimes ask myself, and to be pefectly honest the reasons reduce to two: (1) the lack of good alternatives, and (2) Jesus. Brilliant, untamed, tender, creative, slippery, irreducible, paradoxically humble - Jesus stands up to scrutiny. He is who I want my God to be."*

2. Adoption.
In the words of J.I.Packer,

"In adoption, God takes us into his family and fellowship, and establishes us as his children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is a greater."**

3. Meaning and purpose that death does not destroy.
In the words of N.T.Wright,

"...when Jesus rose again God's whole new creation emerged from the tomb, introducing a world full of new potential and possibility. Indeed, precisely because part of that new possibility is for human beings themselves to be revived and renewed, the ressurrection of Jesus does not leave us passive, helpless spectators. We find ourselves lifted up, set on our feet, given new breath in our lungs, and commissioned to go and make new creation happen in the world."***

4. A multicultural, multiethnic, multilingual joining of people.
In the words of John Piper,

"I infer from this that the beauty and power of praise that will come to the Lord from the diversity of the nations are greater than the beauty and power that would come to him if the chorus of the redeemed were culturally uniform. The reason for this can be seen in the analogy of a choir. More depth of beauty is felt from a choir that sings in parts than from a choir that sings only in unison. Unity in diveristy is more beautiful and more powerful than unity of uniformity. This carries over to the untold differences that exist between the peoples of the world. When their diversity unites in worship to God, the beauty of their praise will echo the depth and greatness of God's beauty far more than if the redeemed were from only a few different people groups."****

5. The local church.
In the words of Eugene Peterson,

"Men and women are not admitted to the community by presenting credentials of love skills, nor do we maintain our place in the community by passing periodic peer reviews on love. We are here to be formed over our lifetimes into a community of the beloved, God's beloved who are being formed into a people who love God and one another in the way and on the terms in which God loves us. It's slow work. We are slow learners. And though God is unendingly patient with us, we are not very patient with one another. Outsiders, observing our embarrissingly slow and erratic progress in love, wonder why we bother. Well, we bother because God is love: he created us in love; he saved us in an act of love; he commanded us to love one another. Love is the ocean in which we swim. So what if many of us can only wade in the shallows, and others of us can barely dog paddle for short distances? We are learning and we see the possibility of one day taking long, relaxed, easy strokes into the deep."*****

*The Jesus I never knew. p265. Zondervan, Michegan (1995).
**Knowing God. p233. Hodder and Stoughton, London (1993).
***Simply Christian. p99. SPCK, London (2006).
****Let the Nations be glad; the supremacy of God in missions. p.199. Baker Academic, Michegan (2004).
*****Christ plays in ten thousand places. p.312. Hodder and Stoughton, London (2005).

Lady wisdom

2009-05-30T19:30:00.007+10:00

At 9:13am on the 30th of May, 2009, Sophie Olive Britton was born.

Sophie is the french form of the name Sophia which is the Greek word meaning wisdom.

In the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament, wisdom in personified as a woman.
Proverbs 4:5-9;

"Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown."

Then in Proverbs 31, there is an extensive description of a wise and virtuous women. The description climaxes in verse 30;

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."

It is our prayer that little Sophie Britton will become a woman who so prizes wisdom, and so displays wisdom that the Glory and Grace of the Lord will shine forth for all to see.

Superman

2009-05-07T16:56:00.004+10:00

They'll say there is a Superman;
You may see him flying high.
They'll invite you to their wonderland;
you'll feel comfortable inside.

You'll stand and watch the evergreens
believing summer's come.
You may hug and kiss their beauty queen
believing age undone.

As our vanity twists and turns
They rise up across the world
Whilst they fire of pride still burns...

You'll hear the voice on MTV;
say reach up for the stars.
But there's no time to guage reality
when your eyes are fixed on Mars.

As our vanity twists and turns
They rise up across the world
Whilst they fire of pride still burns...

But I know he's coming.
'Cause I've seen the empty tomb.
Yes, I know he's coming...

I know he's coming.
'Cause I've seen the empty tomb.
Yes, I know he's coming.
'Cause I've seen those graveclothes.
I know he's coming...

Top Five - reasons to like McDonald's

2009-05-07T16:45:00.003+10:00

I know, I know... There a plenty of reasons to dislike Macca's.
It is fat laden, sugar boosted, calorie dense food that promotes obesity (especially amongst children to whom they advertise most aggressively).

But here are a few guitly reasons to love Macca's;

1. 24hr service - A quick cheeseburger meal at 1am after finishing a shift at work hits the spot perfectly.

2. Drive thru - what would a road trip be without one stop under the golden arches?

3. Free WiFi - staying connected shouldn't be this cheap!

4. The big Mac - special sauce is so special.

5. The controversies - is soft serve ice cream really made from pig fat? Is it really apple or choko in the pie? Can you really become fat, depressed, develop liver dysfunction and heart disease from just 1 month of eating?

New Life

2009-01-28T12:49:00.002+11:00

Woke up this morning, and I got myself out of bed.
I put this shirt on, then I went downstairs.
I made a coffee. I made some toast and vegemite.
Read the paper, and then I closed the front door.

I got to work and sat down at my desk.
I made a phonecall; she said that she was depressed.
I made a coffee and looked at my pile of work.
I thought to myself, what the hell is all this worth.

I saw my boss and he said, "Phil you are a drag."
He said, "This company will not tolerate your crap."
I made a coffee as I gathered up my stuff,
then walked out of the office to get me a new life.

He walked the dusty roads; He led a band of lowly men;
Washed their feet and told them stories of the King.
He died a brutal death; they say He'd done to wrong.
Then He came back again, it was to give me a new life.

Death

2008-08-23T16:22:00.001+10:00

Death comes;
it's dark spectre rising
swooping, diving
creeping, writhing.
The end is near.
We wait in fear.
A fog
closes in around us.
Final breaths.
3...2......1........
Silence screams.

Wait upon the Lord

2008-08-21T19:40:00.000+10:00

Psalm 147:10-11

He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.
The LORD favors those who fear Him,
Those who wait for His lovingkindness.

My hairy, scrawny legs could never be conceived of as attractive by anyone, so it is with some relief that I find this passage in scripture.
Less flippant, of course, is the meaning of these verses. Here we have the powerful emphasis that God delights not in the independence, but the dependence of man; God takes pleasure in the way we acknowledge our poverty when we receive from His riches; God favors those who realise the awesome majesty of his power by fearing Him and who trust in His mercy by waiting for his kindness.
These verses are so offensive because they assume that humankind's greatest achievements are unimpressive before God (cf. Isaiah 40), that any attempts at self-glorification on humankind's behalf are idolatrous and that God rightly thwarts them (cf. Genesis 11).
This is the God-centredness of God that demands God-centredness from His creation.

Top Five - reasons to love coffee

2008-08-16T09:46:00.000+10:00

Coffee is one of the oldest and most important world commodities. It is mysterious and powerful.

Reasons to love it...

1. The smell - earthy, rich and pervasive. Wafting enticingly from cool coffee houses.

2. The kick - invigorating, energising and kinetic. Just what is required on these winter mornings.

3. The taste - bittersweet, bold and smooth. Always different; evolving, elusive.

4. The fellowship - warm, stimulating and intriguing. Minds come together over the dark brew.

5. The commodity - grown in some of the world's poorest places. When a fair price is paid, much good can be achieved.

A return to Blogging

2008-08-02T12:57:00.001+10:00

Why bother with blogging?

As you can tell, I've not written a post for months and it may have seemed this blog was never to be revived (the way of most non-serious blogger types I'm told).

Should one blog for the sake of dialogue? Sure, and there are many great examples of this cyber discourse, debate and interraction.
Should one blog for the sake of ones readers? Sure, if you have something creative and/or important to say and people have demonstrated a desire to hear.

I have a sense that neither of these reasons apply to me and my blog.

So what bother with blogging? (I ask myself, since as I have already admitted, there may be no readers out there!)

My answer is that I found, when I was blogging, that my reading was more thoughtful, and my roaming daily thoughts were forced to develop with greater clarity. So... the blogging goes on.

Yancey on Easter

2008-03-20T11:39:00.002+11:00

I've been reading (somewhat haphazardly) with a mate from church Philip Yancey's The Jesus I Never Knew. I really think that, in terms of accessibility, clarity and comprehensiveness [is that a word?], it is the best book about Jesus I have read. Here are some of Yancey's thoughts on this most magnificent 3 days we are about celebrate.

On the crucifixion:

The balance of power shifted more than slightly that day on calvary because of who it was that absorbed the evil. If Jesus of Nazareth had been one more innocent victim, like King, Mandela, Havel, and Solzhenitsyn, he would have made his mark in history and faded from the scene. No religion would have sprung up around him. What changed history was the disciples dawning awareness (it took the Resurrection to convince them) that God himself had chosen the way of weakness. The cross redefines God as One who was willing to relinquish power for the sake of love. Jesus became, in Dorothy Solle's phrase, "God's unilateral disarmament."
Power, no matter how well intentioned, tends to cause suffering. Love, being vulnerable, absorbs it. In a point of convergence on a hill called Calvary, God renounced the one for the sake of the other.*

On the resurrection:

There are two ways to look at human history, I have concluded. One way is to focus on the wars and violence, the squalor, the pain and tragedy and death. From such a point of view, Easter seems a fairy-tale exception, a stunning contradiction in the name of God. That gives some solace, although I confess that when my friends died, grief was so overpowering that any hope in an afterlife seemed somehow thin and insubstantial.
There is another way to look at the world. If I take Easter as the starting point, the one incontrovertible fact about how God treats those he loves, then human history becomes the contradiction and Easter a preview of ultimate reality. Hope then flows like lava beneath the crust of daily life.
This, perhaps, describes the change in the disciples' perspective as they sat in locked rooms discussing the incomprehensible events of Easter Sunday. In one sense nothing had changed: Rome still occupied Palestine, religious authorities still had a bounty on their heads, death and evil still reigned outside. Gradually, however, the shock of recognition gave way to a long slow undertow of joy. If God could do that...**

*Philip Yancey. The Jesus I Never Knew. pp. 205-205. Zondervan, Michigan, USA (1995).
**Philip Yancey. The Jesus I Never Knew. pp. 219-220. Zondervan, Michigan, USA (1995).

Precious

2008-03-17T11:02:00.000+11:00

Isaiah 43:4

Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.

This verse comes in a sequence of prophecies regarding God's overwhelming faithfulness to his people, and His promise of restoration. Clearly God is speaking of His people Israel, but those who have inherited the promise in Christ, who was given 'in exchange' for us, are equally the object of this verse.
The reality that we are (I am) precious, honoured and loved by God is of extraordinary importance in providing context to all I have been and will be in the future.
In a world in which people are abused, rejected and made little of, the Gospel of this God carries massive healing power.

Top Five - Opening songlines...

2008-03-16T12:02:00.000+11:00

I love listening to song lyrics. The first lines of a song can be poignant, witty or funny. They can instantly create a scene or tone. Here are some of my favourites.

1. Dave Matthews Band, Dreamgirl:

I would dig a hole all the way to China
unless of course I was there
Then I'd dig my way home
If by diggin I could steal... the wind from the sails
Of the greedy men who rule the world

2. Counting Crows, Round Here:

Step out the front door like a ghost into a fog
Where no one notices the contrast of white on white
And in between the moon and you the angels get a better view
Of the crumbling difference between wrong and right

3. Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA:

Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up

4. Eagles, Take it easy:

Well, I'm running down the road
Tryin to loosen my load
Ive got seven women on
My mind,
Four that wanna own me,
Two that wanna stone me,
One says shes a friend of mine

5. Bryan Adams, Summer of '69:

I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the five-and-dime
Played 'til my fingers bled
It was summer of '69

Other worthy contenders:
U2, Where the streets have no name.
Pearl Jam, Daughter.
Jon Bon Jovi, Blaze of Glory.
Bruce Springsteen, Thunder Road.
Cold Chisel, Khe Sanh.

Top five - smells

2008-02-22T20:49:00.001+11:00

The sense of smell is a powerful thing indeed. Some smells bring pure joy, others connect you with past experiences, and still others build anticipation of good things to come.
These are my top 5 smells:

1. The smell of the dirt as the first heavy drops of rain from a thunderstorm beat down.
2. The smell of sizzling garlic in a wok.
3. The smell of freshly cut grass on a summers day.
4. The smell of freshly ground coffee.
5. The smell of jasmine flowers.

Oh there could have been so many others...

The River

2008-01-29T20:42:00.001+11:00

I come from down in the valley
where mister when you're young
They bring you up to do like your daddy done
Me and Mary we met in high school
when she was just seventeen
We'd ride out of that valley down to where the fields were green

We'd go down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride

Then I got Mary pregnant
and man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
and the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles no walk down the aisle
No flowers no wedding dress

That night we went down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we did ride

I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don't remember
Mary acts like she don't care

But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take
Now those memories come back to haunt me
they haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse
that sends me down to the river
though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight
Down to the river
my baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride

This is a more haunting exposition of the slavery to nostalgia that is present in so many lives than the satire of Glory Days. Here the protagonist is trapped in the present by the memories of his youth (things which seemed to important), but ironically it is the very choices of his youth that have reaped his present disappointment. All he has are his dreams which are but empty shells of true fulfillment. The hopelessness is profound (is there a faint allusion to suicidal thoughts? - "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, Or is it something worse that sends me down to the river"). The apparent nightmare of his current life nearly overwhelms him.
How can this slavery to the past be overcome? Can our dreams of a real fulfillment become true?

Green on Baptism - III

2008-01-25T10:12:00.000+11:00

Green surveys the baptisms of John and Jesus in the Gospels as to their relevance to Christian baptism. He summarises:

"The baptism of Jesus, then, while being unique, has much to teach us about Christian baptism. It is the pledge of the Spirit. It is the mark of Sonship. It is the call to the path of the servant. It is commissioning for ministry.
These are all aspects in Christian baptism, but Christian baptism takes us farther still. It catches us up into the baptism of Jesus, no less. And this baptism has three mighty strands woven into it.
First, there was the 'baptism' of repentance in Jordan, administered by John, with which Jesus willingly identified himself on our behalf.
Second, there was the 'baptism' of the cross, where he dealt with the sin of the world and made possible the justification of the ungodly.
Third, there was the 'baptism' of the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit came powerfully on him and equipped him for ministry.
And we are caught up by baptism into all of this. We go down with Jesus into the water of repentance. We claim for ourselves the justification he won on Calvary. And we look to the Holy Spirit to fill us and equip us for ministry."

-Baptism; It's purpose, practice and power. Michael Green. pp27-28. Paternoster, USA (2006).

wines worth trying

2008-01-23T11:53:00.000+11:00

It has been a few months, but this selection for January is a good summer taster!

Four Sisters Wines - Grapes blended from multiple areas.
2006 - Pinot Noir-Chardonnay NV

This is a crisp, refreshing sparkling white. It has a tasty balance of sweet and sour fruit which makes it oh so easy to drink. Enjoy!

Green on Baptism - II

2008-01-11T17:14:00.000+11:00

Green takes time to examine the significance of the old testament rite of circumcision to baptism and comes to the following conclusions;

"All of this is very instructive, if indeed we Christians are Abraham's offspring. It tells me that the Christian life is response in faith and obedience to the God who takes the initiative and comes in sheer grace to seek me out. It tells me that God generously gives a physical mark of belonging to seal that unseen contract between His undeserved love and our wobbly faith. Baptism is obviously the mark of initiation into the New Covenant, just as circumcision was into the Old. Indeed, Paul brings the two of these sacramental acts together and links them with the dying and rising of Christ in his letter to the Colossians. 'In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.' (Col 2:11-12)
Baptism, then, corresponds to circumcision under the Old Covenant. It is the mark of the covenant between God's grace and our response. Not just His grace, nor just our response. It is the seal both in His initiative and our response... The other point to note at this stage is that if we see baptism as the fulfillment under the New Covenant of what circumcision was under the Old, then, like circumcision, it cannot be treated as automatically effective. If the inner attitude of response does not grasp hold of God's loving initiative, then the baptised person in Christian society no more tastes the reality of salvation than did the nominal, circumcised Jew who did not share Abraham's faith."

-Baptism; It's purpose, practice and power. Michael Green. pp13-14. Paternoster, USA (2006).

Wade

2008-01-10T15:00:00.000+11:00

And the silence screams
into the velvet beauty of the desert night.
It's the broken dreams
of sex and money, power and fame that leave us dry.

I need release
I need refreshment, reviving as another day passes by.
'Cause the silence feeds
my heart's investment in things that slowly die.

Help me wade
Help me wade
Help me wade into the waters of your love.
Help me wade
Help me wade into your love.

And the silence screams
into the restless hours of my sleepless nights.
'Cause this empty house
is filled with hollow dreams built on whispered lies.

I will wade
I will wade
I will wade into the waters of your love.
I will wade
I will wade into your love.

River

2008-01-09T20:33:00.000+11:00

Ezekiel 47:1-2

The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side.

As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. He asked me, "Son of man, do you see this?"
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. He said to me,
"This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the Great Sea. But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing."

I love this vision. It was first opened up to me by my minister Barry Dudding in a great series on Ezekiel. It speaks of the abundance of God's restorative power. Is this not the gospel! I recall vividly Barry exhorting the congregation to walk deeply into the water of God's healing love, and to hope and trust in his healing of this world. I love the picture of water overflowing as a way of describing the inexhaustible fountain of God's glory. The truth that He is the great giver who loves it when, out of a recognition of our need, we receive from his hand with joy is the bedrock of my faith.

Top Five - swimming experiences

2008-01-07T16:02:00.000+11:00

I love to swim. Pools, lakes, rivers, ocean... all can be spectacular in there own way. Over the last few weeks I've had the opportunity to dive deep into cool water several times.
It got me thinking... what are my most memorable swimming experiences.

1. Coffs Harbour, Baombee Beach, April 2006. Clear blue/green water; clean 2 foot swell; long body surf rides onto the sand; solitary; peaceful.
2. Thailand, Krabi, January 2002. Brilliant sunny, hot day; Clear, shallow water; towering limestone mountains; joking around with a good mate.
3. Dorrigo, Dangar Falls, January 1999. Icy cold, clear water; sitting beneath the falls on slimy, mossy rocks; activity for our beach mission group.
4. Malaysia, Perhentian Islands, August 2006. Swimming over a shallow coral reef; diving down to swim within metres of green sea turtles; a great holiday with my wife.
5. Forster, 1 mile beach, January 1995. Outstanding 2-3 metre waves; awesome power; body surfing across the face; a great swim with dad.

Green on Baptism - I

2008-01-07T15:47:00.000+11:00

"So, as we turn from the confusion of the modern partial answers and search in the New Testament, three strands are evident in christian beginnings. Baptism is meant to denote all three. There is a human side, repentance and faith. There is the churchly side, baptism into the visible family of Christian people. And there is the divine side, forgiveness of sins and the reception of the Holy Spirit. All three are necessary parts of Christian initiation. We have become so impoverished in our understanding, and so distanced from one another through our denomination emphases, that we often fail to perceive the need for all three strands in the rope of Christian beginnings. Baptism brings us into the church. Baptism embodies our response to the grace of God. But if we are baptised in water only, and not in the Holy Spirit, we have missed out on the gift of God and content ourselves with the wrapping paper. All three are necessary... The 'one baptism' has all these strands to it. Don't be satisfied with less. Don't write off those who stress a different strand from you. A real Christian is a believer in Jesus Christ who has received God's Holy Spirit and has been baptised into his church."

Baptism; It's purpose, practice and power. Michael Green. pp8-9. Paternoster, USA (2006).

I long ago left Egypt for the promised land

2008-01-03T21:25:00.000+11:00

I long ago left Egypt for the promised land,
I trusted in my Savior, and to His guiding hand;
He led me out to vict’ry through the great Red Sea,
I sang a song of triumph, and shouted, I am free!

Refrain:
You need not look for me, down in Egypt’s sand,
For I have pitched my tent far up in Beulah land;
You need not look for me, down in Egypt’s sand,
For I have pitched my tent far up in Beulah land.

I followed close beside Him, and the land soon found,
I did not halt or tremble, for Canaan I was bound;
My Guide I fully trusted, and He led me in,
I shouted, Hallelujah! my heart is free from sin!

Refrain

I started for the highlands where the fruits abound,
I pitched my tent near Hebron, there grapes of Eschol found,
With milk and honey flowing, and new wine so free;
I have no love for Egypt, it has no charms for me.

Refrain

My heart is so enraptured as I press along,
Each day I find new blessings which fill my heart with song;
I’m ever marching onward to that land on high,
Some day I’ll reach my mansion that’s builded in the sky.

Refrain

This Revival song was written by Margaret Jenkins (1865-1919). She was a member of the Iowa Holiness Association. She and her husband, John Harris, were active in holiness revivals and camp meetings throughout the mid-west of the USA.

My city of Ruins

2007-12-31T10:34:00.000+11:00

There is a blood red circle
On the cold dark ground
And the rain is falling down
The church door's thrown open
I can hear the organ's song
But the congregation's gone
My city of ruins
My city of ruins

Now the sweet bells of mercy
Drift through the evening trees
Young men on the corner
Like scattered leaves,
The boarded up windows,
The empty streets
While my brother's down on his knees
My city of ruins
My city of ruins

Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up!

Now's there's tears on the pillow
Darlin' where we slept
And you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kiss
My soul is lost, my friend
Tell me how do I begin again?
My city's in ruins
My city's in ruins

Now with these hands,
With these hands,
With these hands,
I pray Lord
With these hands,
With these hands,
I pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands,
With these hands,
I pray for the faith, Lord
We pray for your love, Lord
We pray for the lost, Lord
We pray for this world, Lord
We pray for the strength, Lord
We pray for the strength, Lord

Come on
Come on
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up

For those who would say the boss hasn't produced anything great since the 80's (they're talking rubbish!), this song stands as a great challenge. I say if the boss had only recorded this song since the 80's that would be enough.
It is the final track from the album 'The rising' which, except for this track interestingly, was written after september 11, 2001. The album is one of the most moving and nuanced commentaries on that event that has been produced.
This track is outstanding, and for our purposes is a perplexing testimony to the need for resurrection (It is almost a modern exposition of Ezekiel 37). The reality of death and desolation; the need for renewal and new birth; the powerlessness of man and the prayers for divine intervention are all beautifully witnessed. When connected to the september 11 attacks and the experience of New York as a city, the impact of the poetry is amplified.
We need a new land; a new place free from the evil, destruction and desolation of this world. How can we possibly get there?
"With these hands, I pray for the strength, Lord. With these hands, I pray for the faith, Lord. We pray for your love, Lord. We pray for the lost, Lord. We pray for this world, Lord."

Deep Water

2007-12-31T10:27:00.000+11:00

Deep water
soothes;
it cools.
I float effortlessly.
The current moves me where it wills,
and I wait.
Depth disarms,
and can alarm.
What lies beneath?
Unknowable,
untameable,
deep water.

Top Five - Christmas Carols (in order)

2007-12-22T16:49:00.000+11:00

Christmas carols are an indispensable part of Christmas. Here are my top five:

1. O Holy Night - performance appended.
2. Joy to the World.
3. Hark the Herald angels sing.
4. O come all ye faithful.
5. God rest ye merry, gentlemen.

Broken

2007-12-20T21:45:00.000+11:00

I am broken
It goes unspoken
I'm not a local
In this world of pain and grief.

And I'm an outcast
This world moves so fast
each day just won't last
and I feel so weak and small.

I'm a winner
and I'm a sinner
sometimes a grinner
but I am in between today.

But there's a man upon a cross
his love just won't be stopped
so I'm gonna give it all I've got
and somehow he'll pull me through...

through all this sadness
to a place of gladness
to a place of no tears
where I don't have to fear.

Movember - III

2007-11-19T16:55:00.000+11:00

The end of the matter

2007-11-14T16:03:00.000+11:00

Ecclesiates is one of my favourite books of the bible. I find that it clears away much of the dross that can confuse my perspective on life. I call it biblical existentialism; it reminds me that there can be pleasure in simple things; that there are rhythms to life that should be expected and accepted; that there are things I will never fully comprehend, and ultimately that I am accountable to God.

Here is the teacher's final words.

Ecclesiates 12:13-14.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Top Five - Sandwichs

2007-11-13T21:35:00.000+11:00

I love a good sandwich. There are many types. Here are a few of my fav's.

Top Five Sandwichs.

1. Cream cheese, Roma Tomato, Salami on crusty italian loaf.
2. Subway Meatball sub with the lot (yes, that includes jalapenos).
3. White slice, beef sausage, sauce oozing onto the hand...
4. The great aussie bacon and egg roll (BBQ or tomato sauce depending on the mood).
5. Chicken schnitzel, lettuce, mayo, salt and pepper on wholemeal.

Because He Lives

2007-11-13T21:27:00.000+11:00

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives.
But greater still the calm assurance,
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone!
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives!

This great song was written by Bill and Gloria Gaither in 1971. This couple from the southern states of the USA have been writing gospel choruses for over 40 years. This is their best known.

Movember - II

2007-11-13T21:26:00.000+11:00

Slipping

2007-11-05T21:41:00.000+11:00

At sixteen I knew who I was;
I'd figured out the world and God;
Counted all my costs;
I was in control, yeah.
I was in control of my life.

But now at last I've lost my way,
I'm slipping through another day.
I've wandered from the narrow way,
I'm slipping through another day.

I'm afraid they'll be disappointed;
she already feels neglect.
Everybody wants a piece of my,
but I've nothing to invest, yeah.
I've nothing to invest anymore.

Now at last I've lost my way,
I'm slipping through another day.
It's hard to stand on feet of clay
when you're slipping through another day.

Now all I've got's this piece of wood;
a hand; a nail; some blood; my food.
One man; an act; a death; some grace.
There I find my only place.
Yes all I've got's this piece of wood;
a hand; a nail; some blood; my food.
One man; an act; a death; some grace.
There I find my only place.

Otherwise I'm blown astray;
Slipping through another day.
Slipping through another day.
Oh Lord, don't let me slide away.
Oh Lord, don't let me slide away.

Movember - It begins

2007-11-03T12:34:00.000+11:00

I've joined a team to celebrate Movember (check out the website for information). This is the first instalment of a short photo diary of my experience.
I've decided to grow my Mo in homage to Errol Flynn.

A Holy Meal

2007-10-31T20:54:00.000+11:00

Just finished this marvelous little book, A Holy Meal: The Lord's Supper in the Life of the Church.
It is a brilliantly constructed, brief, insightful, holistic discussion of the significance of, what we at my church call, Holy Communion.
I think anyone would be hard pressed to find such an accessible and thorough treatment of the topic.
Smith takes time to explain the importance of the sacraments as symbols in the life of the church.

"Like a sign a sacrament points to another reality without necessarily looking like that reality. A sacrament is an external symbol that is visual an sensory, but its primary significance is that it is a gesture, a communal act, or a ritual that points to and enables a community to join together in something of spiritual significance. What is noteworthy is the close connection between the symbol and what is symbolized, so close, indeed, that in human speech they are identical, as with a photograph. I can hold up a picture of my grandsons and say, "These are my grandsons," and no one wonders whether I am confused by a little piece of coloured paper. We understand this kind of language; it is customary in our common life to use photographs and speak of symbols in this way. To take this kind of language literally would miss the point and would rob us of both the capacity to use language well and the wonderful gift of symbols. Without symbols our lives would be flat and one-dimensional. Symbols and sacraments enrich our lives, enabling us to engage spiritual reality with heart and mind, indeed, with our whole selves."*

He then proceeds to celebrate the meaning of this sacrament of the Lord's supper using 7 words; Memorial, Communion, Forgiveness, Covenant, Nourishment, Anticipation and Eucharist. Here is one of his lovely summary statements;

"When we celebrate the Lord's supper, the ascended Lord Jesus Christ himself is in our midst as one who will ultimately host us at the marriage supper of the Lamb. We believe in the "Real Presence," one might say. But as Jesus himself stresses, he is among us as one who serves. This is the wonder of this table. Jesus meets us and hosts a meal; he forgives us and feeds us. Through intimate communion and fellowship with him and with our sisters and brothers, we look back (in remembrance), but we also look ahead to the kingdom that is yet to come. We renew our baptismal identity and vows as people of the new covenant. And with hope we identify with the Lord himself, who is the servant of all."**

Excellent read.

* Gordon T. Smith. A Holy Meal: The Lord's Supper in the Life of the Church. pp24. Baker Academic, Michigan USA (2005).
**Gordon T. Smith. A Holy Meal: The Lord's Supper in the Life of the Church. pp98. Baker Academic, Michigan USA (2005).

Home

2007-10-25T21:52:00.000+10:00

Isn't it great to feel comfortable somewhere; to feel secure and relaxed; to be grounded in a place and know your surroundings; to be familiar with the smell, colour, sounds.
I've been at home for a couple of days recently.
I know that on a sunny day I can lie on the bed and read in the afternoon and watch the trees sway in the breeze, see a couple of rosella's fly by and doze off for 20 minutes or more.

It's challenging to feel out of place; to be not at home; to be surrounded by the unfamiliar. You find yourself hyper-alert, forced to make uncomfortable decisions out of necessity.
I just started a new job this week; working with new people; in new places; with new expectations placed upon me.

It must be strange to be at home, but not at home at the same time.

Here's some thoughts from the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10.

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."

This reminds me of, tunes me into, the discordance that is part of our experience as Christians. Somedays I feel it intensely. Other days, I need to be encouraged not to forget it.

Top Five - Music Albums

2007-10-21T15:27:00.000+10:00

I love music. There a great songs, there are great artists, and there are great albums; when all the songs combined create a tone, a shape, a feel that surpasses the achievement of each individual song.

Top five music albums I own.

1. U2 - The Joshua Tree.
2. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run.
3. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue.
4. Norah Jones - Come Away with Me.
5. Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet.

[I know this is cheating, but some others that could have made the list...
Oasis - What's the Story Morning Glory.
Pearl Jam - Verses.
Radiohead - The Bends.
Texas - White on Blonde.
Sting - Brand New Day.
Counting Crows - August and Everything After...]

Idol worship?

2007-10-21T11:08:00.000+10:00

Check out this article - 'Ten slaps gag on Idol worship' - in the herald today. Most of you would be familiar with the 'Today/Tonight' segments exposing the so-called AOG church affiliations of the Australia idol finalists.
I quote from the article;

"After television reports suggested some finalists were being supported by a huge Christian voting audience, the makers of the show have tried to distance themselves from the issue.
Although no wrongdoing has been proved (most Idol contestants have huge communities supporting them, whether it be a country town or a church community) television chiefs are concerned about the effect of the stories on the "street cred" of the show."

Is it just me, or is this so typical of our secular-materialist society. Vocal community support of individuals in sport, music, the arts is widely praised unless it comes from a religious organisation. Then it is weird, subversive, conspiratorial. People have been taught to be paranoid about organised spirituality. Thoughts?

Underground

2007-10-12T12:44:00.000+10:00

Big night last night.
I can't remember her name,
but her face lingers in my mind.
Another piece of me wrapped up
in our selfish history.
Another scar burned deep in my soul.

Big night last night.
I can't remember the place,
but the beat lingers in my mind
Another piece of me wrapped up
in the laserlight ecstasy.
Another scar formed deep in my soul.

We go round and round and round and round;
we're twisting through this underground.
Where it stops nobody knows,
and all the while destruction grows.
Round and round and round and round and...

Big night last night.
I can't remember the reasons,
but the pain lingers in my mind.
Another piece of me wrapped up
in our brokendown dependency.
Another scar burnt deep in my soul.

We go round and round and round and round;
we're twisting through this underground.
Where it stops nobody knows,
and all the while destruction grows.

Round and round and round and round;
we're ducking, weaving through this underground.
Where it stops nobody knows,
and all the while destruction grows

Ugly death

2007-10-09T13:55:00.000+10:00

I write this post having just been involved in the care of an adolescent that died soon after coming to hospital. The experience is raw.

Having watched the life of a person extinguished before my eyes despite our attempts to save that life, I cry with the Psalmist,
"My heart pounds in my chest.
The terror of death assaults me."*

Having watched a family overwhelmed with grief clinging to the lifeless body of their loved one, I weep;
"...you have crushed us in the jackal’s desert home.
You have covered us with darkness and death."**

With the teacher, I am perplexed;
"I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people."***

With the apostle, I exclaim,
"Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?"
With sober joy, and sympathy for the lost, I trust;
"Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord."****

Like creation, I groan,
"...with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."*****

And I wait;
"Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ."******

*Psalm 55:4.
**Psalm 44:19.
***Ecclesiates 7:15.
****Romans 7:24-25.
*****Romans 8:21-22.
******1 Corinthians 15:54-57.

To the last Ridge - IV

2007-10-08T17:48:00.000+10:00

At the battle of Villers-Bretonneux. April, 1918.

"Several men arrived at a chateau on the outskirts of the town. It had belonged to a millionaire, and was regally furnished. There was an aviary in the grounds where birds from all parts of the world were kept. They were all dead - killed by the gas that the Germans had poured into the town before their attack. The men entered the chateau, found a billiard table, and with a typical gaiety began to play while bullets smacked through the window above their heads. They sniped the enemy through a hole in the wall between shots. One of them was pounding ragtime choruses on a grand piano."

To the Last Ridge, W.H Downing. p 123. Duffy and Snellgrove, Sydney (1998).

Top Five - Sydney Tourist Activities.

2007-10-06T09:39:00.000+10:00

As a bit of light relief (and because I think it's fun) I'm going to start a new series called 'Top Fives'. It will be a broad ranging tour of things I think are good and will hopefully get you thinking about things you like (things to be thankful for?).

To Begin...

The Top Five Activities for tourists/visitors in Sydney.

1. Bronte to Bondi Walk.
2. Circular Quay to Manly Ferry.
3. Fish and Chips at Balmoral Beach.
4. Picnic in the Royal National Park at Wattmolla Beach.
5. Dinner then whatever's on at the Opera House.

You can see I have a bias for beaches...

Jerusalem, my happy home!

2007-10-04T17:58:00.000+10:00

Jerusalem, my happy home!
Name ever dear to me;
When shall my labors have an end,
In joy, and peace, and thee?

When shall these eyes thy heaven built walls
And pearly gates behold?
Thy bulwarks, with salvation strong,
And streets of shining gold?

There happier bowers than Eden’s bloom,
Nor sin nor sorrow know:
Blest seats, through rude and stormy scenes,
I onward press to you.

Why should I shrink at pain and woe?
Or feel at death dismay?
I’ve Canaan’s goodly land in view,
And realms of endless day.

Apostles, martyrs, prophets there
Around my Savior stand;
And soon my friends in Christ below
Will join the glorious band.

Jerusalem, my happy home!
My soul still pants for thee;
Then shall my labors have an end,
When I thy joys shall see.

O Christ do Thou my soul prepare
For that bright home of love;
That I may see Thee and adore,
With all Thy saints above.

This hymn by Joseph Bromhead and was published in 'Psalms and Hymns for Public or Private Devotion' ( Brittania Press, Sheffield, 1795). Bromhead is thought to have been a Catholic priest who reportedly based the hymn on the writings of St. Augustine.

To the last Ridge - III

2007-10-03T17:20:00.000+10:00

Of being shelled at Polygon Wood, the third battle of Ypres. September, 1917;

"By the red and flickering light of the sheelbursts men could be seen running and staggering, bent low. They dropped into what had been a trench, into shellholes, enduring, enduring with tautened faces, lying close to the ground, crouching as they burrowed for dear life with their entrenching tools, while the storm of steel wreaked its fury on tortured earth and tortured flesh. There were on all sides the groans and the waling of mangled men. A seargent ran around his platoon. He saw by the flashes bodies twisted and doubled and still, and dying men with eyeballs protruding and slightly wavering, blowing bubbles of blood from their lips as they breathed. Then the top of his skull was lifted from his forehead by a bullet, as on a hinge, and his body fell on two crouching men, washing them with his blood and brains. We were in the front line, but did not immediately know it. The din was frightful. A man with a blackened face and shattered arm ran bleeding towards the rear. A officer was seen in flashlights yelling in a corporal's ear. The answer was unheard. The corporal moved hither and thither, found what men he could, and motioned them forward. We stumbled from shellhole to shellhole by ones and twos with panting breath and shiny faces. One fell writhing. They disappeared in the flickering luminous smoke. The smell of burnt explosive was thick and pungent. Bodies, living and dead, were buried, tossed up and the torn fragments buried again."

To the Last Ridge, W.H Downing. p 76-77. Duffy and Snellgrove, Sydney (1998).

John Piper Friday

2007-09-28T15:18:00.001+10:00

I'll let John Piper speak for himself this week on Nominalism in the Church.

Phews 14: Monday, July 16, 2001.

2007-09-28T14:55:00.000+10:00

MEANINGLESS RELIGION:
I preached yesterday (15/7/01) from Ecclesiastes 5:1-7. I had 4 points that I wanted to share with you all.

1) Religion can only be meaningful if it is directed towards the true God. This is implicit in verse 1.

2) Religion that comes to God to give rather than receive is meaningless. This is what is meant by the sacrifice of fools in verse 1. God does not need us, we need God this is foundational to the gospel, and yet so many christians live their lives with a mindset of giving back to God (attempting to repay the debt). We should always come to God seeking to be healed, and strengthened by Him. It is we who are impoverished.

3) Religion that makes false promises is meaningless (the vow of fools). Making promises to God that either we cannot keep, or do not intend to keep trivialises God. It treats Him like a man, and raises our intentions above His.

4) Meaningful religion arises only out of awe for who God is. Proverbs phrases it (multiple times) like this. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". Only if we perceive God as infinitely greater, more powerful, more significant, more wise, more pure, more righteous... than us can we begin to have a meaningful religion. Everthing else is like chasing after the wind.

To the last Ridge - II

2007-09-27T18:10:00.000+10:00

Of being in the mud at Montauban, France, 1916.

"The dead lay everywhere. The deeper one dug, the more bodies one exhumed. Hands and faces protruded from the slimy, toppling walls of the trenches. Knees, shoulders, and buttocks poked from the foul morass, as many as the pebbles of a brook. Here had been a heavy slaughter of English lads four days before; so great had been the price in blood and sweat and tears of those few acres. There were also German dead, but it was hard to tell them from the resr, for khaki is grey when soaked and muddy.
Our clothes, our very underclothing, were ponderous with the weight of half and inch of mud on the outer surface, and nearly as much on the inner. Casualties were heavy in the sixty hours we were in that place. The days were bad, but sixteen hours of a cold, pitchy night was a burden not easily borne. We were shot at from three sides, and it was torment. There was no hot food and no prospect of it. We drank shellhole water, as it was too cold for the corpses to rot. We were soaked from head to feet (the feet that were never dry all that winter) with sweat and icy mud"

To the Last Ridge, W.H Downing. p 17. Duffy and Snellgrove, Sydney (1998).

Strong Man

2007-09-27T18:03:00.000+10:00

Jeremiah 9:23-24.

This is what the LORD says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,

but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD.

Devils and Dust

2007-09-21T17:09:00.000+10:00

I got my finger on the trigger
But I don't know who to trust
When I look into your eyes
There's just devils and dust
We're a long, long way from home, Bobbie
Home's a long, long way from us
I feel a dirty wind blowing
Devils and dust

I got God on my side
I'm just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear's a powerful thing
It can turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
And fill it with devils and dust

Well I dreamed of you last night
In a field of blood and stone
The blood began to dry
The smell began to rise
Well I dreamed of you last night
In a field of mud and bone
Your blood began to dry
The smell began to rise

We've got God on our side
We're just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear's a powerful thing
It'll turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust

Now every woman and every man
They want to take a righteous stand
Find the love that God wills
And the faith that He commands
I've got my finger on the trigger
And tonight faith just ain't enough
When I look inside my heart
There's just devils and dust

Well I've got God on my side
And I'm just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear's a dangerous thing
It can turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust

It'll take your God filled soul

Fill it with devils and dust

This brilliant song by the Boss is written to express the devastating experience of young American soldiers in the Iraq war. It is a painful, stark and honest description of the way in which violence and fear can corrupt the soul. This is certainly the road away from the promised land; it is hope destroyed, love undone and faith exhausted.

John Piper Friday

2007-09-21T10:16:00.000+10:00

If you didn't catch it in Sunday night's sermon:

"God’s holiness is his infinite value as the absolutely unique, morally perfect, permanent person that he is and who by grace has made himself accessible in Jesus Christ."

Wines worth trying

2007-09-21T09:53:00.001+10:00

For September's tasting:

Nepenthe Wines, Adelaide Hills, South Australia.
2006 - Pinot Gris.

Pinot Gris as an unblended varietal is coming into vogue, especially coming out of regions known for great white wines - Adelaide Hills, Margaret River, Clare Valley. I was fortunate enough to visit Nepenthe on a recent trip to SA. They are best known for their Sauvignon Blanc, but I prefer this. Almost translucent, peach in colour, and very light in texture. It is herbaceous and sharp with a hint of orange zest.
We had it with a baby spinach, chorizo, roasted tomato and brie salad. Beautiful!

Emergency Sex

2007-09-10T15:40:00.000+10:00

About 3 weeks ago I finished reading a book with this provocative title, 'Emergency Sex (and other desperate measures)'. It is the short recollections of 3 young people who worked for the United Nations in the ninety's spliced together chronologically. Their work spanned 4 continents; the conflict zones of Cambodia (where they all met), Somalia, Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia and Liberia. Each person - Ken Cain, Heidi Postlewait and Andrew Thompson - became involved with the UN for very different reasons and brought very different skills, motivations and expectations to their tasks. It is the convergence and divergence of these three's relationship that shapes the narrative, but it is their 'unedited' experiences of field work that forms the content of the book.
This is a raw, funny, confronting and troubling insight into the reality of international diplomatic work; It is an open window on the lives of the very ordinary people who work in extraordinary circumstances; it is an expose of the paradox that is the United Nations.
If you don't believe that human beings are capable of both great good and terrifying evil, this book is convincing evidence. It is also convincing evidence that this world is not a happy place for massive numbers of our fellow men, women and children.
I thoroughly recommend it. Thanks to my colleague on the clubbe ward at the Children's Hospital who lent it to me.

Here are some excerpts:

Andrew, Rwanda
"This is an average massacre by Rwandan standards, unremarkable in scale or circumstance. Several thousand civilians had gathered in the church grounds, promised protection by th Hutu governor. Hutu militias went methodically through the crowd instructing other Hutus to leave, and government soldiers cut off the escape routes. Then the governor fired his weapon in the air as a kill-the-tutsis signal and the young men drunk on banana beer hacked them all to pieces. It's hard work killing that many people in a confined space with only machetes and clubs, so the killers returned home to their families each night to rest and drink before the next days work. It took three days and so far we know of only two survivors...
What's difficult now, five weeks and four hundred bodies into the dig, is the pile of entwined corpses several yards down in the grave. There's just no way to find the bottom, no matter how often the backhoe goes in. It's a wicked game of pick-up-sticks, whrer I grab a leg or arm of what looks to be the easiest corpse to lift off, only to find that another part of the same bofy is buried under half a dozen others, all of which have the same problem. Sometimes I get obsessed over one that won't release and spend hours on it with a pick and trowel. This annoys my team, because they have to heave off other bodies just so I can extract mine, but I can't face the same body two days in a row."

Ken, Liberia
"We estimate that a third of the women in displaced persons camps have been raped. Half the population of the country was displaced during the war, so if we're right, that means one in six women has been raped. We give questionnaires to demobilized fighters and ten percent of the fighters admit to having raped more than ten times during the war. Not a single prosecution, investigation, UN report, press expose, nothing. It's as if 100,000 rapes never happened.
I shake Mr. Ignatius Peabody's hand. We shake our heads. He's going back out there, through the gates, through the checkpoints. I have to go to a morning staff meeting.
'Thankyou Mr. Ignatius. I can't promise that anything will happen with these reports, but I will pass them on to New York.'
'Ah say, ma people, what we have done-oh'
'Godspeed Ignatius'
'Tank Gawd for life, Mr. Ken.'"

Emergency Sex (and other desperate measures). Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait and Andrew Thompson. Erbury Press, London (2004).

Lost

2007-09-10T15:32:00.000+10:00

I walk along these streets at night,
my path is lit by all these bright lights.
The rapper tells my to "walk this way,"
His homeboy replies, "talk this way."

Coke tells me to "drink always,"
but Pepsi is the "choice of my generation."
By this shirt and you'll be cool.
Don't listen to others, live by your own rules.

But I don't know where to go.
And I don't know what to do.
I don't know where to go,
because I am lost without you.
I am...

Don't touch this. Please take that.
My head is spinning, can't find the track.
Everyone says that they have the truth,
but at the same time they ask, "what is truth?"

And I don't know where to go.
I don't know what to do.
Yes I don't know where to go,
because I am lost without you.
I am lost without you.
Yes I am...

John Piper Friday

2007-09-07T10:07:00.000+10:00

"If God exists, then He is the measure of all things, and what He thinks about all things is the measure of what we should think. Not to care about truth is not to care about God. To love God passionately is to love truth passionately. Being God centered in life means being truth-driven in ministry. What is not true is not of God. What is false is anti-God. Indifference to the truth is indifference to the mind of God. Pretense is rebellion against reality, and what makes reality reality is God. Our concern with truth is simply an echo of our concern with God. And all this is rooted in God's concern with God, or God's passion for the glory of God."

-Sorry I can't find the exact reference for this, though I think it is somewhere in The Pleasures of God.

To the last Ridge - I

2007-09-03T11:53:00.000+10:00

Reading the first world war memoirs of W.H Downing* (see current reading menu). I was given the book by my father with the recommendation that this was 'the best' Australian war memoir.
It is a deeply emotional experience to read this book.
I feel sympathy for the young men whose lives were shattered. I feel revulsion at the horror of war. I feel pride for their incredible courage. I feel fondness for their larrikin humour. I feel shame and anger over the reality of evil. I feel unworthy of their sacrifice. I feel challenged by their persistance and perseverance...

Here are some excerpts. Tell me how they make you feel.

Scores of stammering German machine-guns spluttered violently, drowning the noise of the cannonade. The air was thick with bullets, swishing in a flat lattice of death. There were gaps in the lines of men - wide ones, small ones. The survivors spread across the front, keeping the line straight. There was no hesitation, no recoil, no dropping of the unwounded into shellholes. The bullets skimmed low, from knee to groin, riddling the tumbling bodies before they touched the ground. Still the line kept on.

Hundreds were mown down in the flicker of an eyelid, like great rows of teeth knocked from a comb, but still the line went on, thinning and stretching. Wounded riggled into shellholes or were hit again. Men were cut in two by streams of bullets. And still the line went on.

*To the Last Ridge, W.H Downing. Duffy and Snellgrove, Sydney (1998).

Chaff

2007-09-03T11:48:00.000+10:00

This picture sent in by Jill W.

Psalm 1:4-6

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

A further reminder that is is an open series to anyone who has a photo that adds texture/colour/shape to a part of scripture. Email phil_and_al@yahoo.com.au

125th

2007-09-02T20:25:00.000+10:00

Today at my church we held services for the 125th anniversary of ministry on the church property in Croydon. I was asked to pray in the evening service with thanks for the history of the church. I chose to modify David's prayer in 2 Samuel 7. Here is the text of my prayer.

Who are We, O Sovereign LORD, and what is this church, that you have brought us this far?
And now, Sovereign LORD, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving us a future, of your desire to see us prosper and not to harm us!
Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign LORD? What more can we say?
You know what we are really like, Sovereign LORD. For the sake of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have shown them to us.
How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you--there is no other God. We have never even heard of another god like you!
What other people on earth are like your people? What other people, O God, have you redeemed from slavery to sin to be your own people? You have made a great name for yourself when you rescued your people from Sin and Death.
You have performed awesome miracles of salvation in your Son Jesus, and amongst us by the Holy Spirit. You have made us your people forever, and you, O LORD, have become our God.
And now, O LORD God, do as you have promised concerning your Son Jesus. May His name be honored forever so that all the world will say, 'The LORD Almighty is God’. And may your people, the church, prosper as they declare His praises.
O LORD Almighty, God and Father of our Lord Jesus, I have been bold enough to pray this prayer because you have revealed that you will build your church, and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it! For you are God, O Sovereign LORD. Your words are truth, and you have promised these good things us.
And now, may it please you to bless this church, St James, our family and your people here. For when you grant a blessing to your servants, O Sovereign LORD, it is an eternal blessing!

Choked

2007-08-28T13:05:00.000+10:00

Luke 8:7

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.

up your nose

2007-08-26T14:35:00.001+10:00

When one blows one's nose,
no one knows
What one holds
In one's hands.
Can one plan
what comes out,
when one blows one's snout?
When one sees
what has grown
in the depth of one's nose,
Can one fathom what is there?
Does one dare
choose to share?
Together, might we become aware?

As I ponder these my queries,
and develop an obscure theory,
within my nose there is an itch,
feel my face begin to twitch,
and I reach towards my pocket,
for my hanky, to quell this rocket,
that is ready for the launch,
300km up my......
AAAAAAAAAAAAAchew!!!

Is it meant to be green?

Phews 16: Tue, 31 Jul 2001.

2007-08-23T22:14:00.000+10:00

WHAT A MESS:
I led church on Sunday night. The sermon was from Ezekiel 33 talking about our responsibility to warn the lost. I closed the service with Philippians 2:14-16a. When I got home, on quite a high after the joy of worship with God's people, I was confronted by this headline in the Sunday paper, '70 girls attacked by rape gangs'. With horror I read about the violent attacks on these young girls. The words of Philippians rang in my head, "...a crooked and depraved generation..."
In an instant I stood face to face with the ugliness of our world. I realised again how much I hate what this place has become, I hate man and his sin. I felt nauseas knowing that the ugliness before me was less about what was outside as about what lay within. I cried for those girls and their families, I cried for those evil boys, and I cried for me. May God come quickly and consume our unrighteousness... come make me anew.

Created

2007-08-21T17:20:00.000+10:00

Psalm 139:13

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Peterson on The Holy

2007-08-21T16:27:00.000+10:00

"The Holy, as a name for God, emphsises that God is other, above, majestic. God cannot be understood from below. God cannot be accounted for by what we imagine God might be. God cannot be argued into belief by philosophical reasoning. God cannot be explained or interpreted by notions we have aquired by assembling feelings of reverence from sunsets, spiked with a few stories of miracles, and then legitimated with some comments that we pick up from celebrity interviews. God cannot be subsumed under the categories that we use to classify and order our experience. Holy alerts us to an awareness that God "is different, that in his way he is himself, though not far away, but rather near at hand, in the sphere of the present, inflaming and assuaging convention." God reveals himself. Because of who God is, The Holy, we have to let God tell us who he is. If we insist on using our ideas to form our image of God, we will get it all wrong."

- Eugene H. Peterson, The Jesus Way. p141. Hodder and Stoughton, London (2007).
Quote from K.H Miskotte, When the Gods are silent, p. 183. Collins, London (1967)

wines worth trying

2007-08-20T16:14:00.000+10:00

For August I have chosen a wine that was a bargain find for a friend of mine.

Jim Barry Wines, Clare Valley, South Australia.
2003 - Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon.

Bold and full from the Shiraz and with Cabernet tartness. This is Aussie Red, made for barbecued meat. What else can say!

On Jordan's stormy banks

2007-08-18T17:27:00.000+10:00

Jordan's stormy banks I stand, and cast a wishful eye
to Canaan's fair and happy land where my possessions lie.

Refrain:
I'm bound for the promised land,
I'm bound for the promised land.
Oh, who will come and go with me?
I'm bound for the promised land.

There gen'rous fruits that never fail, on trees immortal grow.
There rocks and hills and brooks and vales with milk and honey flow.

 Refrain

All o'er those wide-extended plains shines one eternal day;
there God the Son forever reigns and scatters night away. 

Refrain

No chilling wind nor pois'nous breath can reach that healthful shore;
sickness and sorrow pain and death are felt and feared no more.

 Refrain

When shall I reach that happy place and be forever blest?
When shall I see my Father's face and in his bosom rest?

 Refrain

The hymn was written by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Stennett (17271795). It first appeared in 'Selection of Hymns', a celebrated hymnal compiled by the Baptist editor John Rippon. Samuel Stennett was born in Exeter, but spent his childhood in London where his father served a Baptist church as pastor. In 1758, he succeeded his father in the pastorate of the Baptist church in Little Wild Street, London, where he served until his death. Stennett authored 39 hymns. This hymn is also known by the title Stennett gave it, "Promised Land."
More than any other of Stennett's hymns, "Promised Land" found enormous popularity in 19th-century America. The hymn has appeared in each American Methodist hymnal since Francis Asbury included it in his Supplement to the Pocket Hymn Book (1808). Stennett's eight stanzas are generally reduced to three or four, and several of these may be slightly altered. At some times in American history, evangelicals have reinterpreted Stennett's biblical metaphors with a this-worldly eye toward the promised land just over the horizon on the western frontier.

Peterson on Biblical Worship

2007-08-17T16:55:00.000+10:00

"A frequently used phrase by some contemporary Western Christians symptomatic of Baalistic tendencies in worship is "lets have a worship experience". It is the Baalistic perversion of "let us worship God". It is the difference between cultivating something that makes sense to an individual, and acting in response to what makes sense to God. In a "worship experience," a person sees something that excites him or her and goes about putting spiritual wrappings around it. A person experiences something in the realm of dependency, anxiety, love, loss or joy and a connection is made with the ultimate. Worship becomes a movement from what I see or experience or hear, to prayer or celebration or discussion in a religious setting. Individual feelings trump the word of God.
Biblically formed people of God do not use the term "worship" as a description of an experience, such as "I can have a worship experience with God on the golf course." What that means is, "I can have religious feelings reminding me of good things, awesome things, beautiful things nearly any place." Which is true enough. The only thing wrong with the statement is its ignorance, thinking that such experience makes up what the Christian church calls worship.
The biblical usage is very different. It talks of worship as a response to God's word in the context of the community of God's people. Worship in the biblical sources and in liturgical history is not something a person experiences, it is something we do, regardless of how we feel about it, or whether we feel anything about it at all. The experience develops out of the worship, not the other way around. Isaiah saw, heard, and felt on the day he received his prophetic call while at worship in the temple - but he didn't go there in order to have a "seraphim experience."

- Eugene H. Peterson, The Jesus Way. p111. Hodder and Stoughton, London (2007).

Living out Scripture Meme

2007-08-15T10:48:00.000+10:00

I was tagged by Andrew (See will-god-keep-gumtrees? in the blog list) with this meme* (I'm not sure I even want to use a word coined by Richard Dawkins) - the focus of which is to identify "that verse or story from scripture which is important to you, which you find yourself re-visiting time after time."

It accords well with my 'Shaped by Scripture' series, so I should direct you to the previous posts in this series that would all be appropriate contributions to this meme, but I will add another in direct response.

Isaiah 40:21-31.

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

"To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God"?

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

These verses ( I could've quoted the entire chapter) represent to me the tip of the iceberg of the massive biblical vision of the Holiness and Majesty of Almighty God - in Creation and in Salvation. These verses remind me of the strength, authority and infinite worth of God that are the hope of weak and powerless people.

I now tag Jason Au, Jacko, Laura T, Jill W and Scotty M.

*meme - unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. [Origin: 1976; < Gk mīmeǐsthai to imitate, copy; coined by R. Dawkins, Brit. biologist]Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

Peterson on Sin and Forgiveness

2007-08-14T21:46:00.000+10:00

"Praying with David, who knew a good deal about sin, we soon learn that the remedy for sin is not the extermination of sin, not long training in not-sinning, not a rigorous program conditioning us in a pavlovian revulsion to sin. The only effective remedy for sin is the forgiveness of sin - and only God can forgive sin. If we refuse to deal with God, we are left dealing with sin by means of punishment or moral education or concocting some strategy of denial.None seem to make much of a dent in the sin business. No. The way, the only way, is to get in on God's forgiveness. And we do that by confession. No excuses, no rationalizations, no denial, no New Year's resolutions, only 'I will confess...' "

- Eugene H. Peterson, The Jesus Way. p91-92. Hodder and Stoughton, London (2007).

The Lord, He is God

2007-08-12T08:24:00.001+10:00

At 00:15 hrs on the 10th of August, 2007, Joel Philip Britton was born.

Joel is an old hebrew name which really is a combination of two of the words used to speak about God in the old testament - Jehovah - the exclusively Jewish name for God based upon the revelation to Moses at the burning bush - and El - a more general term for God.

The prophet Joel is most likely to have prophesied to the southern Jewsish kingdom of Judah before the babylonian exile. His prophecy consists of the declaration of God's certain judgement upon Judah, and a call for repentance in the light of this. After this mighty judgement there will be a restoration.
Chapter 2:28-32 contains a prophecy of God pouring out His Spirit on His people, one of the passages Peter declares to be fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. Verse 32, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved," is also used by the apostle Paul in Romans 10 to explain the Gospel's universal call.

The writings of the prophet Joel contain (in 3 short chapters) the clear biblical message that all people will face God's judgement. It is in this context that the call to repentance makes sense, because in the face of the terrifying, powerful holiness and wrath of God, there is nowhere to hide. Only God himself can provide any protection, so we must seek it by turning to him. The magnificent truth is that God promises to respond to repentance with unmerited favour.

It is our prayer that young Joel Britton might hear the Word of the Lord, turn to Him, be saved, and receive the Holy Spirit.

Peterson on the Holiness of Words.

2007-08-08T10:21:00.000+10:00

"Everywhere and always as Christians follow Jesus we use words that were first used by God in bringing us and the world around us into being. Our language is derivative (as everything about us is!) from the language of God. Our common speech is in continuity with the language of God. Words are essential and words are holy wherever and whenever we use them. Words are inherently holy regardless of their employment, whether we are making a shopping list, making conversation with an acquaintance on a street corner, praying in the name of Jesus, asking for directions to the bus station, reading the prophet Isaiah, or writing a letter to our MP. We do well to reverence them, to be careful in our use of them, to be alarmed at their desecration, to take responsibility for using them accurately and prayerfully. Christian followers of Jesus have an urgent mandate to care for language - spoken, heard or written - as a means by which God reveals himself to us, by which we express the truth and allegiance of our lives, and by which we give witness to the word made flesh."

- Eugene H. Peterson, The Jesus Way. p66-67. Hodder and Stoughton, London (2007).

Non-Existent Gods

2007-08-07T14:08:00.000+10:00

He's the kind of guy, you see,
who trusts his own ability;
never really thinking that he needs a helping hand.
He's living life the worldly way;
making choices everyday,
but God is non-existent in his narrow life.

She's the kind of girl you meet,
who knows it all but just can't see
how serious it is to turn her back on God.
She only ever wants to play;
living life the worldly way,
but God is non-existent in her narrow life.

Non-existent Gods... all around us.
Non-existent Gods... all around us.

He's the kind of guy who feels
that only what he sees it real;
trying to fit it all into his little head.
He's thinking 'nothing can be grey';
making choices everyday,
but God is non-existent in his narrow mind.

Non-existent Gods... all around us.
Non-existent Gods... all around us.

He's the kind of man you meet
who's richer than he needs to be.
He never broke a law he can identify.
We're talking satisfaction guarenteed;
'A set of steak knives yours for free',
but God is non-existent in his business life.

Non-existent Gods... all around us.
Non-existent Gods... all around us.

Peterson on Sacrifice and Faith.

2007-08-04T08:08:00.000+10:00

"Sacrifice is to faith what eating is to nutrition; it is the action that we engage in that is transformed within ourselves invisibly and unobserved into a life lived in responsive obedience to the living God who gives himself to and for us, sacrifices himself for us. Faith, of which Abraham is our father, can never be understood by means of explanation or definition, only in the practice of sacrifice. Only in the act of obedience do we realise that sacrifice is not diminishment, not a stoical "This is the cross I bear" nonsense. It does not result in less joy, less satisfaction, less fulfillment, but in more - but rarely in the ways we expect."

- Eugene H. Peterson, The Jesus Way. p51. Hodder and Stoughton, London (2007).

The Promised Land

2007-08-03T17:24:00.000+10:00

On a rattlesnake speedway in the Utah desert
I pick up my money and head back into town
Driving cross the Waynesboro county line
I got the radio on and I'm just killing time
Working all day in my daddy's garage
Driving all night chasing some mirage
Pretty soon little girl I'm gonna take charge

CHORUS
The dogs on Main Street howl
'cause they understand
If I could take one moment into my hands
Mister I ain't a boy, no I'm a man
And I believe in a promised land

I've done my best to live the right way
I get up every morning and go to work each day
But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold
Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode
Explode and tear this whole town apart
Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart
Find somebody itching for something to start

CHORUS

There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor
I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm
Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain't got the faith to stand its ground
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted

CHORUS
I believe in a promised land...

Its impossible to know eaxctly what 'the promised land' that the narrator believes in is like.
We know he feels entitled to it is some way ("I've done my best to live the right way; I get up every morning and go to work each day").
We know he feels a need for it ("But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold. Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode...").
He knows there will be some sort of testing he will have to endure ("Gonna be a twister to blow everything down, That ain't got the faith to stand its ground...")
This is faith in the goodness of the future, and hope in the self. It is psychologically sustaining faith and hope, but is it true and ultimately substantial faith and hope? How do we judge that?

Ark and Tabernacle

2007-08-02T17:09:00.000+10:00

Tabernacle - Johann Christoph Weigel, 1695 (left).

Ark - unknown German Artist, ~1400 (right).

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah

2007-07-30T16:50:00.000+10:00

Some great old hymns capture the 'promised land' metaphor fantastically. I thought I'd use a few.

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more;
feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer,
be thou still my strength and shield;
be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside;
death of death and hell's destruction,
land me safe on Canaan's side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee;
I will ever give to thee.

Written originally in Welsh by William Williams (1717-1791) then translated into English with the assistance of his brother, Peter Williams. Williams was a deacon in the Established Church of Wales, and though he served as a curate in two parishes, was never Priested. He became involved in the Revivalist movement as an itinerant preacher throughout Wales for 35 years. He wrote a number of Hymns. 'Guide Me' is famous for being sung by Welsh rugby fans to urge the national team on.

stones

2007-07-30T16:38:00.000+10:00

Another picture of mine.

Matthew 3:9

"And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. "

Restored

2007-07-29T10:50:00.000+10:00

One of my photos.

Psalm 23:2b-3a.

"he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul."

Remainder

2007-07-27T11:44:00.000+10:00

I recently finished this novel given to me by a friend in the publishing industry. It is written by Tom McCarthy who, amoung other things, is the General secretary of the International Necronautical Society (INS). On its website the society's 'Manifesto' contains the following;

"We, the First Committee of the International Necronautical Society, declare the following:-

1.That death is a type of space, which we intend to map, enter, colonise and, eventually, inhabit.

2. That there is no beauty without death, its immanence. We shall sing death's beauty - that is, beauty."*

These declarations already give you an insight into the themes of this interesting novel. It is really a study in existentialism; an absurd insight into the life of a character who becomes obsessed with recreating ("re-enacting") his memories(...are they his?). It is, however, disarming in its capacity to draw you (the reader) into the mind of this character. This inclusion is achieved by first person narration of such simple, honest charm that as a reader one is in the place of a special confidant.

Here are the opening paragraphs;

"About the accident itself I can say very little. Almost nothing. It involved something falling from the sky. Technology. Parts, bits. That's it, really: all I can divulge. Not much, I know.
It's not that I'm being shy. It's just that - well, for one, I don't even remember the event. it's a blank: a white slate, a black hole. I have vague images, half-impressions: of being, or having been - or, more precisely, being about to be - hit; blue light; railings; lights of other colours; being held above some kind of tray or bed. But who's to say these are genuine memories? Who's to say my traumatized mind didn't just make them up, or pull them out from somewhere else, some other slot, and stick them there to plug the gap - the crater - that the accident had blown? Minds are versatile and wily things. Real chancers."**

As a christian (ie. having a vastly different perspective on death to that of the INS), I found myself feeling a great sense of pathos for this (fictitious) person who becomes consumed with creating an eternal present out of his (imagined?) past, such that in so doing the world, and in particular other people, are collapsed into nothing more than props in his narcissitic drama. Is this the essence of sin?
As well as pathos, there was empathy. How often I have wanted other people to do things my way; to fit into my agenda; to control all the things around me so as to make the world perfect for myself.

It reminds me of these words by Iris Murdoch;
“Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.”

*http://www.necronauts.org/manifesto1.htm
**Tom McCarthy, Remainder. p3. Alma Books, Surrey, UK (2006).

John Piper Friday

2007-07-27T11:33:00.000+10:00

"...to put it most simply and starkly: the ultimate reason that suffering exists in the universe is so that Christ might display the greatness of the glory of the grace of God by suffering in himself to overcome our suffering. The suffering of the utterly innocent and infinitely holy Son of God in the place of utterly undeserving sinners to bring us to everlasting joy is the greatest display of the glory of God’s grace that ever was, or ever could be.
In conceiving a universe in which to display the glory of his grace, God did not choose plan b. This was the moment—Good Friday—for which everything in the universe was planned. There could be no greater display of the glory of the grace of God than what happened at Calvary. Everything leading to it and everything flowing from it is explained by it, including all the suffering in the world."*

This assertion by Piper (based upon Revelation 13:8, 2 Timothy 1:9, Ephesians 1:4 and Revelation 5:9-12) leads him to the following challenging conclusion;

"Do you see what this implies about sin and suffering in the universe? According to this divine plan, God permits sin to enter the world. God ordains that what he hates will come to pass. It is not sinful in God to will that there be sin. We do not need to fathom this mystery. We may content ourselves by saying over the sin of Adam and Eve what Joseph said over the sin of his brothers, when they sold him into slavery: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20)."*

Is this true?

*The Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God, 2005 Desiring God National Conference. October 9, 2005.

Phews 11: Wed, 30 May 2001.

2007-07-25T17:53:00.000+10:00

THE PRIORITY TO REST>

The sabbath is a difficult concept under the new covenant. Clearly Jesus rebuked the legalism of the pharisees regarding the 'holy day', but it cannot be said that He removed the sabbath concept. In fact, He upheld the importance of the sabbath by claiming that it was made for man, and that He as the Son of Man was Lord of the sabbath.
So where does this leave us? I think it leaves us with christians with a priority to uphold the spirit of the sabbath as it is made for our good, as part of our appropriate operating system, so to speak.
So we return to the creation narrative in Genesis, when God rested on the seventh day. Was God tired? It would be hard to sustain such an argument in the light of the power he has just exercised. No, it seems that His 'rest' - when He reflects on the goodness of His action and rejoices in the work of His hands - is in fact the consummation of His act. The seventh day completes the creation narrative, it is not post-narrative. God rejoices and is satisfied. It is somewhat like a siesta after a great meal... it completes that which is good making it very good.
May we make it a priority to seek joy and satisfaction in the work of God in us by resting and reflecting. How you apply that is your responsibility before God, but I would note that one of the historical applications of this is the church service.

Christs Grace and Your Sufferings

2007-07-25T17:45:00.000+10:00

This is the best talk on suffering I think I have heard. It is by a guy called David Powlison. He is involved in christian counselling. It was delivered at the 2005 Desiring God conference and can be downloaded from the desiring God resource library (see below). The other talks from the conference are worth a listen also.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByDate/1672_Christs_Grace_and_Your_Sufferings/

Seek first

2007-07-21T16:14:00.000+10:00

Matthew 6:31-34.

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

These verses have been so central in my life. In particular during my university years, they were like my compass in navigating decisions and choices. I don't necessarily live up to the challenge (see previous 'shaped by scripture' post), but my guide and standard they remain.

Marriage

2007-07-18T16:08:00.000+10:00

My younger brother got married a few weeks ago. It was a wonderful day; as perfect as these days can get.

It was a reminder of the great blessings of God bestowed upon us; the blessings of companionship, complementarity and commitment between a man and a woman; the blessings that the two combined (as God's image) impart into the world through wise stewardship of creation, hospitality and concern for neighbour and loving parenthood.
It was also a reminder of the blessing of God bestowed upon fallen humanity in the reconciling work of Jesus. For as a man commits to a woman in love giving sacrificially of himself, so Jesus Christ has committed himself to his people in love by giving his life as a sacrifice for our sin. As a woman responds to a man in love, so we as Jesus people respond to him in love.

We eagerly await the final consummation of Jesus love affair with his people, when the saints from every time and every place are joined with their Lord in perfect union forever.

wines worth trying

2007-07-17T21:28:00.000+10:00

For July I have chosen:

Elliot Rocke Estate, Mudgee, NSW.
2005 - Premium Unwooded Chardonnay.

From a great little boutique winery in Mudgee, this fresh, vibrant, sharp unwooded chardonnay is a lovely wine. Unwooded chardonnays, unlike their bigger oaked brothers (which I like, though many avoid), are accessible, and complement a wide variety of foods. I'd try this one with a non-cream based indian curry like Balti.

Sinai

2007-07-15T11:18:00.000+10:00

Rembrandt - Moses Smashing the Tablets of the Law, 1659 (left).

Poussin - The adoration of the golden calf, 1634 (right).

Exclusion and Embrace – V

2007-07-14T15:00:00.000+10:00

Volf carefully teases out the challenges of seeking justice in this age, and in so doing establishes the necessary injustice of all human attempts at justice. However, he does not deny the necessity of this 'unjust justice' in a world of violence and evil, but argues that, "There can be no justice without the will to embrace".

"... to agree on justice you need to make space in yourself for the perspective of the other, and in order to make space, you need to want to embrace the other. If you insist that others do not belong to you and you to them, that their perspective should not muddle yours, you will have your justice and they will have theirs; your justices will clash and there will be no justice between you. The knowledge of justice depends on the will to embrace. The relationship between justice and embrace goes deeper, however. Embrace is part and parcel of the very definition of justice. I am not talking about soft mercy tampering harsh justice, but about love shaping the very content of justice."*

Volf goes on to emphasise that practicing this kind of justice is grounded in the salvation activities of God in which evil is named, restrained and judged but within the context of gracious forgiveness and the eschatological reality of perfect justice in which the justice of this age will be transcended by freedom and love.

*Miroslav Volf. Exclusion and Embrace: A theological exploration of Identity, Otherness and Reconciliation. p220. Abingdon Press, Nashville (1996).

John Piper Friday (...on saturday)

2007-07-14T11:01:00.000+10:00

"Prayer pursues joy in fellowship with Jesus and in the power to share his life with others. And prayer pursues God's glory by treating him as the inexhaustible resevoir of hope and help. In prayer we admit our poverty and God's prosperity, our bankruptcy and his bounty, our misery and his mercy. Therefore, prayer highly exalts and glorifies God precisely by pursuing everything we long for in him and not in ourselves."

Desiring God. p150. Multnomah Press (1989).

Mute

2007-07-11T17:46:00.000+10:00

These provocative words sent in by Jill W.
Psalm 115: 2-7

Why do the nations say,
"Where is their God?"
Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
But their idols are silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.
They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see;
they have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but they cannot smell;
they have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but they cannot walk;
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

Exclusion and Embrace – IV

2007-07-10T21:06:00.000+10:00

Volf expounds the self-sacrifice involved in the new covenant, and so challenges our thinking on the way of seeking reconciliation in relationships.

"The 'blood' in which the new covenant was made is not simply the blood that holds up the threat of breaking the covenant or that portrays common belonging; it is the blood but of self-giving, even self-sacrifice. The one party has broken the covenant, and the other suffers the breach because it will not let the covenant be undone. If such suffering of the innocent party strikes us as unjust, in an important sense it is unjust. Yet the 'injustice' is precisely what it takes to renew the covenant. One of the biggest obstacles to repairing broken covenants is that they invariably entail deep disagreements over what constitutes a breach and who is responsible for it. Partly because of the desire to shirk the responsibilities that acceptance of guilt involves those who break the covenant do not (or will not) recognize that they have broken it. In a world of clashing perspectives and strenuous self-justifications, of crumbling commitments and strong animosities, covenants are kept and renewed because those who, from their perspective, have not broken the covenant are willing to do the hard work of repairing it. Such work is self-sacrificial; something of the individual or communal self dies in performing it. Yet the self by no means perishes, but is renewed in the truly communal self, fashioned in the image of the triune God who will not be without the other."*

*Miroslav Volf. Exclusion and Embrace: A theological exploration of Identity, Otherness and Reconciliation. p155. Abingdon Press, Nashville (1996).

Teenage affluenza is spreading fast.

2007-07-09T21:43:00.000+10:00

Well worth a view, just in case you forgot about the rest of the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFZz6ICzpjI

Don't think too much...?

2007-07-08T14:39:00.000+10:00

Check out this 'opinion' article in the herald by Lisa Pryor. Is it just me, or is the gist of her opinion that no-one should (or does) think too much about what they believe, which is why we all have equally valid beliefs. I would note, however, her bitterness about her previous church experience and her pleasure in the publishing success of the militant atheists Dawkins and Hitchings. This is, in my opinion, simply space filler for the Herald. Surely there is more quality writing out there than this?

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/ah-the-fervour-in-returning-to-my-flock/2007/07/06/1183351452264.html

Grace

2007-07-08T14:15:00.000+10:00

Who am I?
What have I done?
Is this just a game?
Then I've got nowhere to run.

The blood cries out.
My bones dried out.
Where is my good?
Judgement pronounced.

Then it's your grace when you come to me.
You pick me out and bring me in.
You lift me up and draw me near.
You talk to me and you walk with me.
You hold my hand I find relief.
I love you... Lord.

The blood cries out.
My bones dried out.
Where is my good?
Judgement pronounced.

Then it's your grace when you come to me.
You pick me out and bring me in.
You lift me up and draw me near.
You talk to me and you walk with me.
You hold my hand I find relief.
I love you... Lord.

Exclusion and Embrace – III

2007-07-07T11:04:00.000+10:00

Volf emphasises the centrality of the crucified Christ in his reflections on the way to reconciliation between enemies.

“At the heart of the cross is Christ’s stance of not letting the other remain an enemy and creating space in himself for the offender to come in. Read as the culmination of the larger narrative of God’s dealing with humanity, the cross says that despite its manifest enmity toward God humanity belongs to God; God will not be God without humanity. “While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son,” writes the Apostle Paul (Romans 5:10). The cross is the giving up of God’s self in order to not give up on humanity; it is the consequence of God’s desire to break the power of human enmity without violence and receive human beings into divine communion. The goal of the cross is the dwelling of human beings “in the Spirit”, “in Christ”, and “in God”. Forgiveness is therefore not the culmination of Christ’s relation to the offending other; it is the passage leading to embrace. The arms of the crucified are open – a sign of a space in God’s self and an invitation for the enemy to come in.”*

*Miroslav Volf. Exclusion and Embrace: A theological exploration of Identity, Otherness and Reconciliation. p126. Abingdon Press, Nashville (1996).

John Piper Friday

2007-07-06T18:56:00.000+10:00

When commenting on Galations 2:10, Piper concludes;

"The point is: the apostles were agreed on the importance of ministry to the poor because it flows from the center of the gospel—the cross—and because Jesus lived it out. The apostles were eager to bless the poor. It was part of their foundational ministry. I assume therefore it should be a crucial commitment in the church today—in missions and in the ongoing ministry of the church."

Sermon - Gospel to the Nations, Generosity to the Poor. October 23, 2005.

Oil - security - war?

2007-07-05T09:45:00.000+10:00

It is reported in the herald that the government is open about the fact that oil supply is a factor in Australia's involvement in Iraq.

What concerns me is the connection drawn between economic security and the role of the defence force. Particularly in the context of a pre-emtive action like that taken by the 'coalition of the willing' in Iraq.