#WordsOfWisdom

Photo by Heather Mount on Unsplash

"When someone is pregnant, she is not 'expecting a child' -- she already has one. She is not 'going to be a mother' -- she already is a mother. The baby is not 'on the way', the baby has already arrived. If we are going to change the way society treats unborn children, we have to change the way we talk about them."

~Frank Pavone

Florals

#MusicMonday

"Many things about tomorrow 

I don't seem to understand 

But I know who holds tomorrow 

And I know who holds my hand"

Humanly speaking, so much of life is uncertain. We make plans and set goals, but so often they get altered or entirely canceled by events beyond our control. We schedule a trip to the beach, and then the day dawns dark and rainy. We plan to roast the butternut so it doesn't go to waste, and then the oven stops working (lol). We plan a holiday and then a family member gets sick or travel gets banned. We don't know for sure what tomorrow holds. Of course, none of these things render God any less powerful or good. I'm grateful that despite so much uncertainty, I know who holds tomorrow.

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow by The Petersons

The Side of Jesus We Don't Hear About

Each one of us has different strengths, weaknesses, and insecurities. We have different personalities. We've studied and experienced different things. We've mixed with different people and been members of groups with differing cultures, expectations, and focuses. These things combine to form the worldview by which we operate and process new information. 

Our worldview is like a lens through which we see the world around us. If you've switched lenses on a camera, you know that the same scene can look very different from one lens to the next! Or think of cellophane. Looking through different colour pieces provides some pretty drastic differences in appearance. Perhaps you've noticed that a single remark made in a group can elicit a great variety of responses around the room. The speaker gives the remark based on his worldview, and each hearer listens to it through his own worldview. It is probably worth noting that our communication skills also have an impact. Sometimes it's incredible how much gets lost in translation. On occasion I've witnessed a listener repeat back what he heard the speaker say, and been absolutely dumbfounded how he came to such a conclusion because the two statements were worlds apart!

Sometimes I ponder how we can effectively communicate our point so that everybody is on the same page. It can be hard when we all perceive things so differently. And the bigger the topic, the harder it gets. I feel for authors and pastors and anyone trying to impart knowledge on massive and complex subjects. 

I remember reading material by some of the famous theologians of old when I was younger and complaining that they were too depressing and seemed to have missed the joy that the Bible said Christians would have. (1 Peter 1:8, Romans 14:17, Nehemiah 8:10) When I tried recent publications they seemed to be happier, but had compromised on both power and holiness. Could it be that each of us discovers gaps in our own understanding and focuses on filling those, and others from different backgrounds (and with different gaps) are unintentionally misled?

Although declining numbers of people identify as Christian, most of society still has some opinions about Jesus, and they are quick to remind us of those anytime we say or do something they don't like. Of course, society isn't a very reliable source of theology. 

It's true that Jesus was (and is) perfectly loving. Children came to Him during His earthly ministry and He made time for some of the outcasts and most obviously sinful people in the society of those days. But He never compromised His holiness or truth while doing so. He walked this earth in sinless perfection, 100% God and 100% man at once. 

"And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”" ~Matthew 21:12-13

Can you imagine if He did the same thing in today's times? This doesn't quite sound like the Jesus of storybooks, but it is what God saw fit to record for us in His Holy Word. We must not pick and choose the bits we like and just leave the rest. If we want to know all we can of Jesus we must take into account all of the information available to us. We can't exclude awkward passages like Matthew 10:34-39, and Matthew 23. They might not align with society's opinions but that's okay. We aren't following society, we're following Jesus.

Jesus never commanded us to go forth into all the world and twist Scripture so no one would be offended, and I suggest we probably shouldn't do so, since He didn't either and we're supposed to become increasingly more like Him. 

"Jesus was angry enough to purge the temple, hungry enough to eat raw grain, distraught enough to weep in public, fun loving enough to be called a drunkard, winsome enough to attract kids, weary enough to sleep in a storm-bounced boat, poor enough to sleep on dirt and borrow a coin for a sermon illustration, radical enough to get kicked out of town, responsible enough to care for his mother, tempted enough to know the smell of Satan, and fearful enough to sweat blood" ~Max Lucado

Of course, I haven't given a full picture of the Saviour here; that wasn't my intention. I only wanted to highlight some of the passages I don't recall hearing mentioned all that often, but are still important for truly understanding who Jesus really is. As I was saying earlier about lenses, if you've had different experiences and had these passages drummed into you at the expense of other ones, this might not be the most useful article you've ever read. Let's dig into our Bibles and search out the full story. I don't want a counterfeit "Jesus" of my own construction. I want to know and follow the Jesus of the Bible, who sits at the right hand of God.

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." ~Colossians 3:1

#MusicMonday

"Freedom ain't something we got free

Somebody paid a price for life and liberty

So you always stand and fight for what you believe

'Cause boy, freedom sure ain't free"

It's easy to take freedom for granted when that's all we've ever known. Not everyone in history has been so blessed though. Plenty of people throughout time have fought for freedom and even paid the ultimate price for it. It is to some of them that we owe the freedom we've enjoyed for much of our lifetimes. I expect the day is fast approaching (if not already here) when we will have to decide what freedom is worth to us, and either give it up or pay the price to keep it. What kind of future do we want for ourselves and generations to come? Let's stand and fight for what we believe, cause freedom don't come free.

Freedom Sure Ain't Free by Lawson Bates

April Memories

Church and The Bible

Although I discussed this very thing with several people when level 3 and 4 restrictions were first announced, I held back from publishing anything here because I had other commitments I felt obligated to fulfill first. I now wonder if that was a bad idea and if I perhaps should've given up a meal or a couple hours sleep to scrape together enough time to publish something here.

Throughout most of my lifetime New Zealand Christians have experienced a great deal of freedom to worship. We could attend church services whenever and wherever we wanted. We had free access to Bibles, books, and other publications--both online and from our local Christian bookstore. We could study our Bibles at a cafe or public park without fear of serious repercussions.

I fear we allowed our liberty to become opportunity for the flesh. We allowed ourselves to be captivated by the world's entertainments, choosing it's frivolities over strengthening our spiritual lives. For how many years have we neglected prayer and left our Bibles untouched on the shelf, or unopened on our phones?

When laws were passed that directly attacked the God we claim to serve, we looked the other way and screamed "SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE!!" if anyone questioned our inaction. Yet, when the government instructed every church in the country to close its doors, we forgot all thought of separation and rushed to obey, cheering the decision as we did.

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." ~Hebrews 10:24-25

Doesn't the Bible also say to obey the government though? It does -- an important point -- but let's not forgot to check what else it says, or we risk running into problems. As my pastor has preached recently, it's important we learn Scripture in context and truly study it. Learning a single verse here and there leaves the door wide open for misinterpretation. In fact, right within its pages we learn that Satan tempted Jesus with Scripture by misapplying it.

"But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men." ~Acts 5:29

Modern Christians are quick to remind us that we can worship without a building. "Churches are empty, but so is the tomb," they say. At face value that seems like cute encouragement, but I'm not one to settle for face value. I got thinking about Bible heroes and wondered how their reasoning compared with ours today.

Remember Daniel? The one who got thrown into the lion's den and had plenty of books and Sunday School lessons written about him? The high officials of his day didn't like him and looked for ways to get him in trouble. They knew he prayed by a window three times a day, so they got the king to make a rule forbidding this for thirty days. I can just imagine today's Christians giving Daniel advice after he heard the news:

"Close the curtains before you pray!"

"Just pray in a closet or your bed or the bathroom! You can pray anywhere, it doesn't HAVE to be at the window!"

"Daniel, we're told to obey our authorities! And God can see your heart without you needing to say anything. And besides, it's only for thirty days! Just DO AS YOU'RE TOLD!"

But Daniel didn't do any of those things. Far from it. Daniel 6:10 tells us: "When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously." (Emphasis added.) Had Daniel behaved otherwise our Bible today may have been an entire book shorter, and we never would've had one of our favourite and heroic stories.

Paul, one of the most well-known New Testament writers was tortured and imprisoned for the faith. Just the other day I read how one group of people he visited begged him not to go to Jerusalem, but to stay with them instead so he could avoid imprisonment. If he had agreed not to preach, or at least not controversial things, he could've lived an easier life. And our New Testament would be a whole lot smaller. 

Moving forward, I'm curious to see how pastors will preach on many of these passages in Scripture. "These are cool stories but we should treat them as simply that. They don't really have anything to do with our lives today. Although the heroes of the faith risked their lives and reputations for Christ, that stuff was just for the past and has no relevance to us today. We should sit quietly in our homes and do exactly as we're told without ever questioning how legal, moral, or biblical the rules imposed on us are." (2 Timothy 3:16)

If we have reached a point where churches are inessential and merely social gatherings, then we're doing something wrong. Maybe we just need to repent of our rebellion and acknowledge that God's ways are truly higher than ours, or maybe we need to reconsider what church is even supposed to look like and how it should operate.

#MusicMonday

You can find a better way

And be more than just OK

There is so much more in life than this

You can leave your past behind

The clouds are always silver lined

There is love and joy and peace you'll live

When all you do is give give give give give

It's easy to feel like we need things and spend all our focus on ourselves and acquiring our desires. I need to eat better, I need to exercise more, I need skin products, I need someone to give me encouragement. And society is quick to agree with us. Self-care. Self-love. Self-worth. Self-help. Self-motivation. "You're worth it!" "You deserve it!" "Do what YOU want." "Follow your heart."We're told these things at every turn, and we like having our feelings validated and our egos stroked. 

But what if our preoccupation with self is actually counter-productive? What if the solution to our insecurities and fears is to turn our focus outward, away from ourselves and towards those around us? What if paying someone else a compliment encourages us? What if there is love and joy and peace we'll find only by giving? 

I've certainly found it to be true in my own life. 

Give by The Willis Clan

Jarrod

Happy 21st Birthday, Jarrod!

10 on 10

Theme: Juliana

~~~~~~

10 on 10 is a collection of 10 images posted on the 10th of the month, captured the day before. No "special" session, just taking my camera with me as I go about my day and capturing art in everyday life, training my creative eye.

#1

: : So lovely to see sunlight on these leaves : :

 #2

: : FINALLY finished this project : :

 #3

: : We must've been taking to long to assemble at the table! : :
Little Missy climbed up and started serving plates #tooclever

 #4

: : But, she was hungry . . . so this happened : :

 #5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#MusicMonday

"O Church, arise, and put your armour on;

Hear the call of Christ our captain.

For now the weak can say that they are strong,

In the strength that God has given.

With shield of faith and belt of truth,

We'll stand against the devil's lies.

An army bold, whose battle cry is love,

Reaching out to those in darkness."

I love the way this song mixes a great message with a fun, upbeat tune. In Christ the weak are made strong. In Christ we can withstand the devil and his lies. We fight a battle, but we don't have to wonder who will win. The outcome is securely in the hands of our Heavenly King.

We do need to put our armour on though. We need to put on faith and truth. We need to listen for our Captain's call and get out into the battle. The darkness is deepening all around us. We are being called to battle. Are we listening? Arise, O church, arise!

O Church Arise by Keith and Kristyn Getty