Luke 8:7
Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.
Tuesday 28 August 2007
Sunday 26 August 2007
up your nose
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?
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?
Thursday 23 August 2007
Phews 16: Tue, 31 Jul 2001.
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.
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.
Tuesday 21 August 2007
Peterson on The Holy
"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)
- 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)
Monday 20 August 2007
wines worth trying
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!
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!
Saturday 18 August 2007
On Jordan's stormy banks
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.
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.
Friday 17 August 2007
Peterson on Biblical Worship
"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).
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).
Wednesday 15 August 2007
Living out Scripture Meme
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)
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)
Tuesday 14 August 2007
Peterson on Sin and Forgiveness
"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).
- Eugene H. Peterson, The Jesus Way. p91-92. Hodder and Stoughton, London (2007).
Sunday 12 August 2007
The Lord, He is God
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.
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.
Wednesday 8 August 2007
Peterson on the Holiness of Words.
"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).
- Eugene H. Peterson, The Jesus Way. p66-67. Hodder and Stoughton, London (2007).
Tuesday 7 August 2007
Non-Existent Gods
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.
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.
Saturday 4 August 2007
Peterson on Sacrifice and Faith.
"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).
- Eugene H. Peterson, The Jesus Way. p51. Hodder and Stoughton, London (2007).
Friday 3 August 2007
The Promised Land
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?
Thursday 2 August 2007
Ark and Tabernacle
Tabernacle - Johann Christoph Weigel, 1695 (left).
Ark - unknown German Artist, ~1400 (right).
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