Month: January 2019

Mary’s heart lurched as she thought of her first-born, now a grown man. What could she do?  He wasn’t eating properly. He was working himself to the bone. He had made some powerful enemies. And she was seriously concerned for his mental health. 

“He’s out of his mind,” her younger sons had insisted. Rumour had it that some religious leaders considered him possessed by the devil. Oh yes, he may be special, this son of hers, but he was still her son and she couldn’t help but worry. 

If only he would listen to her. She would insist that he come home for a few square meals and some solid sleep. ‘Mother knows best,’ Mary would say. With her younger sons by her side for physical and moral support, she made her way to the home where Jesus was, yet again, working hard … too hard.

Encircled by admirers

Mary did, indeed, have reason to be concerned. Even as she waited outside, Jesus was inside vehemently refuting the blasphemous accusation that his power came from Satan. Yet, as he argued with those pompous teachers of the law who had come down from Jerusalem, sitting around him were people who accepted him as God-sent. They didn’t have the whole picture, but their hearts were in the right place.

A message was passed to Jesus through the crowd which was packed into this stuffy, overfilled room. “Your mother and brothers are outside. They’re looking for you.” 

Jesus looked up. “Who are my mother and brothers?”  Nobody quite knew how to answer. He turned to each of those everyday men (and women?) who were seated in a circle around him, perhaps looking deep into the eyes of each one.

“Here are my mother and brothers,” said Jesus, indicating his loyal followers. What?! Poor Mary. Surely her heart, already in knots, would fray and rip when these words were relayed to her. 

“Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother,” he continued. 

Sisters? Where did that come from? Were there women in the circle too? Certainly there were women who believed he was who he claimed to be even back then. Was he also thinking of the many who would follow him in the years to come, right down to us today?

Brought into the family

As I meditate on this scene, I identify with Mary, probably because she was likely in her mid or late forties at the time, just a few years younger than I am now. On the one hand, my heart breaks for her, standing outside, hearing Jesus apparently disown her. Yet on the other hand, I am comforted by the knowledge that Jesus would later take special notice of her in what would be his and her darkest hour both. He would entrust her to the care of his dear friend, John. Jesus hadn’t rejected her. But he had a divinely ordained role to fulfil, and Mary’s desire to smother him with mothering wasn’t appropriate.

Jesus’ point was this: Whoever does God’s will is Jesus’ brother and sister and mother. 

That includes us, his followers who live two millennia after this emotion-charged event. 

Did those people who were seated in a circle around him back then know and understand everything about the great mystery of Jesus’ work? No, of course not. But their hearts were in the right place. 

Plans for the year

At this time of year, I usually put together a ‘PMP’ (Personal Ministry Plan) for the upcoming twelve months, as well as look back on the year past. Don’t be impressed – I do it because it is ‘strongly encouraged’ (required, ideally) by the agency through which I work. I am asking God these days where he would have me focus during the year ahead.

What does it mean to ‘do God’s will’?

God’s will for us in the big things is obvious. He wants us to love him first and foremost, and then to love those around us in the same way that we love ourselves.  As for matters specific to my life, I look to him for direction and make the best plans I can. I’m encouraged from this passage that I don’t need to understand it all, but challenged that my heart needs to be in the right place. 

When I do that, Jesus calls me ‘sister’. I am his little sister. There is no way I can begin to identify with the role of ‘mother’ in this sense. ‘Baby sister’ of the Son of God is hard enough to get my head around. But understand it or not, that is what Jesus considers me … that is what he considers us … if only we do God’s will.

A warning and an encouragement 

Mary’s heart was tied in knots that evening as she worried for her son. But just a few short years later, Mary would become an integral part of the early church. It was a community which also included Mary’s other sons (Acts 1:14). Phew!

As an ordinary Christian woman who identifies with Mary in this story, I am so pleased to know that Jesus cared well for this dear lady who loved him so very much. I still feel very sad, though, when I imagine Mary being given ‘the cold shoulder’ while Jesus got on with fulfilling God’s will. I take this as a warning. It is pointless and a waste of time and energy to get so caught up in what I think is best that I miss what God wants of me.

And as an ordinary Christian woman, I’m tremendously encouraged to think that Jesus calls me ‘sister’ when I do God’s will. I still don’t have the full picture – it is too great a mystery – but I know and accept that, through faith in Jesus, we are given his spirit who indwells us and identifies us as sons and daughters of God Almighty.

And so, as I look to the year ahead, I am encouraged. Come what may, my big brother has it all in hand. 

“I will always be grateful to Australia for sending volunteers to my country. One of them changed my life.”  

Rescued

The young woman, her long hair pulled back in a pony tail, a friendly smile, and two bags of groceries, had just rescued me. She had grabbed me, pulling me out of the way of a speeding motorbike as I approached the songthaew, a share taxi of sorts common in Thailand. Let’s call my rescuer ‘Linh’. 

Linh was catching the songthaew too. She was delighted to hear that I was from Australia. And I was proud that a fellow Australian had turned this girl’s life around. 

It happened when an academic in the area of international development had volunteered for a year in Vietnam, Linh’s home country. She had helped Linh and others in her community recognise problems women faced there and mobilised them to do something about it. And then she had used her connections to get Linh a full scholarship to study international development in New Zealand.

All that is how Linh herself now works for a non-government organisation that strives to empower women.  And why she has such excellent English.

A conversation

I had caught this songtheaw to go to church. Linh’s ears almost visibly pricked up. Leaning forward, she asked, “Are you a Christian?”  I responded enthusiastically in the affirmative. “Then we have so much in common,” she gushed. “I’m a Buddhist. We all like to do good things in our communities. I work with a lot of Christians, and I see this all the time. What else do you think is similar in our religions?” 

What a question. I pointed out that she and I share a desire to do good and a general sense of peace. But as tactfully as possible, I pointed out that there are significant differences between our religions too. Christians believe in a God who created and sustains all that is. Many Buddhists have a strong sense of the spirit world but not of a creator and sustainer. Our motivations for doing good are different too, and relate to our beliefs about eternity. 

“Oh, I’m not a very devout Buddhist. I’m just a general Buddhist,” she said.  “And I like the Christians I work with. We have a lot in common.” 

I wish that there was a neat and happy end to this tale. However, there is not. The songthaew pulled up at my stop. As I clambered ungracefully out of the red vehicle, I urged Linh to find a church – either one that her Christian colleagues went to or the international church that I was headed for – and explore this question further.

A prayer

Do you know any Christians working cross-culturally? If you do, and if you pray, could you place two matters before our Creator and Sustainer right now, even as you read this little tale? 

1. Ask God to give your cross-cultural worker friends wisdom about how to balance ‘word’ and ‘deed’.  Linh has seen lots of good deeds done by Christians and knows of the faith that motivates them, but she has yet to hear and grasp the ‘Word’.
2. Give thanks for the academic who volunteered her time and expertise and, in so doing, changed the trajectory of Linh’s life. Ask that many more like her will go to communities like Linh’s, but that they will also bring with them the good news that Jesus offers – eternal life. 

May God hear and answer our prayers, and may he turn Linh’s heart to himself too.

“I am the light of the world” – religious rulers

You could have cut the air with a knife. For the onlookers, it would have been better than reality TV in the 21st century, and more significant. 

It was a Sabbath morning – a holy day for the Jews. Yet rest, Jesus did not. He arrived at the temple at dawn and began teaching. At dawn?! I value my slow, restful Sunday mornings. (And yes, I realise that Sunday is not the Jewish Sabbath.) That was a different time and place, to be sure, but I’m glad I live in 21st century suburbia. 

Can you imagine being part of the crowd which had gathered around Jesus that morning?  You strain to hear every word. You ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ at the theatrics of the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders. Little do you realise that a response will be required of you and soon. (See John 9:22)

Jesus made his main teaching point for the day. It was this: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:11). 

“By whose authority?,” demanded the religious leaders.

That led on to a complicated interchange, increasingly passionate, including accusations from both parties (Jesus and the religious leaders both) about the other party being demonic! 

It culminated in Jesus’ claim to be divine “Before Abraham was born, I am,” he announced. 

The religious leaders tried to stone him to death in response. 

“I am the light of the world” – a blind beggar

Having slipped away from the murderous crowd, Jesus and his disciples came across a blind beggar. There is no record in John of this man seeking Jesus. It was all about Jesus seeking him. 

Again, Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world.” He then proceeded with step one of the man’s healing.

Jesus made a mud mask for the blind man’s eyes from his saliva and dirt. But the second part of the miracle was up to the man. Would he obey Jesus’ instructions and go and wash in the particular pool expressly stipulated by Jesus? 

He went, he washed, and he could see. Can you imagine seeing colour for the first time? Hurrying home along familiar streets full of unfamiliar sights? Seeing your mother’s face? 

Extensive questioning by those finicky Pharisees followed. In his plain telling of truth, the formerly blind man unwittingly answered the Pharisees’ earlier questions of ‘By whose authority?’ “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing,” the young man stated simply,  culminating in him being thrown out of the synagogue. 

Jesus found him for the second time. Again, he explained who he was, this time identifying himself as the long-ago-prophesied “Son of Man”. 

The seeing young man worshipped in response. 

“I am the light of the world” – modern men and women“

The events of that Sabbath day long ago held enormous significance for the people of that time and place. But what about us? 

We also have a response to make. 

The same writer who recorded the events of that eventful Sabbath day so long ago would explain many years later to people who lived far away what this claim of Jesus meant for them. (See 1 John and particularly 1 John 1:5-2:11.) It boils down to making Jesus Lord of our everyday lives, especially impacting our relationships with one another. 

I did not go looking for Jesus. Not at the beginning. Jesus found me. Yet although he has done everything necessary for me to have spiritual sight, I still have a part to play. May I not be blinded by a sense of self-importance or culture or learning as the Pharisees in the temple grounds were that morning. May I recognise reality for what it is, my spiritual eyes keen. 

And as we ‘walk in the light’, may we ‘shine like stars in the universe as we hold out the word of life’ for the glory of God.  (1 John 1:7 and Philippians 2:15b-16a) 

Let me say this up front…….I am no poet. 

However, you can’t go wrong with haikou, a poem of only three structured lines, can you? This is the stuff of school classrooms. Five syllables – seven syllables – five syllables. That’s it.  (Though I suspect it works better in Japanese from which it originated.) 

I’m also enjoying a delightful blog post on ‘mindfulness’ written from a Protestant Christian perspective, in which haiku is recommended. And so I decided to give it a go.

Okay … the truth is that I’m procrastinating. I have a assignment due, which is partly on the practice of silence as a spiritual discipline. But first, a haiku. Drum roll, please……

The sound of silence,

Manic mind urging action,

God is God – not me. 

Does silence have a sound?  In the experience of the Biblical prophet Elijah, God was present in ‘a sound of sheer silence’ (1 Kings 19:12 NRSV). As I write these words, I hear birds, traffic and a snoring cat. I think ‘sheer silence’ could be a little unnerving, don’t you?

When I stop and try to focus on God, everything else suddenly seems so urgent. I’m inspired to clean cobwebs, jot items on my ‘to do’ list and save the world. But I persevere, drawing my attention back to God.

Although there is nothing spectacular about the experience … well, not my experiences, anyhow … a significant change of mindset comes from sitting silently in God’s presence. I recognise that I am only human. Oh yes, God gives me a role to play in his work in this freckle of time in which we live. But he is God – not me. 

I am no poet. But haiku is a fun exercise that forces you to choose your words carefully. It helped crystallise my thoughts about silence as a spiritual discipline too. 

Give it a go.

Footnote 1:  https://soulsculpting.wordpress.com/resources/ by Cheri Howard, accessed 8 January 2018 

Should Christians fast from time to time? I have always considered it an ‘optional extra’ for the very devout or utterly desperate. However, after reading a chapter from Richard Foster’s most excellent book ‘Celebration of Discipline’ on the matter, I’m having second thoughts. Am I just a soft modern westerner who fits well into our culture of indulging almost every little whim … a culture which I quite like, incidentally. 

Allow me to think through this question in the format of this blog post. It helps me and it may give you some food for thought too … though ‘food’ for thought is probably not the best analogy. This blog post may give you ‘something to chew over’ perhaps. No, that doesn’t work either. Just think about it okay?

Fasting out of desperation

“Almighty God, you MUST step in and fix this problem. We are absolutely helpless. Only you can do this. Please, please, please, please, PLEASE.”  

That was my prayer of desperation back in the year 2000, and it drove me to fasting.  Was it an attempt to manipulate God?  Perhaps, but I don’t think that was a problem. God knew my heart. My fast only lasted a few days. I was irritable and headachey and so run down that I succumbed to a nasty cold before I finished. But God stepped in and answered the prayers of many, mine included, and I will always be grateful. 

For a while, in the early days of my work in Asia, I used to regularly fast for 2/3 of the day once a week. (I had one small meal on that day). It was a good habit. Chinese is one of the hardest languages in the world to learn (see footnote 1) and I was desperate. Hence the fasting.

Many years later, I watched friends fast for forty days. I admired them tremendously even before the fast. I was somewhat concerned as I saw them fade away to very little. They drank supplements that kept them healthy, however, unlike my short but desperate fast years earlier. I also saw significant breakthroughs in their ministry about this time. They are my heroes.

Biblical examples and teaching about fasting

It surprised me to realise that fasting was a custom throughout the centuries all throughout Scripture, even though language and culture changed significantly along the way. Key figures whose fasting we read about include Moses (Exodus 34:28), King David (2 Samuel 12:16), Elijah (1 Kings 19:8),  Isaiah, who taught at length about the importance of the heart when fasting (Isaiah 58), Daniel, who did partial fasts, at least (Daniel 1:12, 10:2-3), Queen Esther and many of her peers (Esther 4:16), Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:37),  Jesus (Matthew 4:2) and the early church (Acts 13:2-3). If they all practised fasting, and presumably many more besides, shouldn’t we consider it? 

Jesus explicitly taught about fasting (Matthew 6:16-18). He preceded his discourse by the clause ‘WHEN you fast’ and not ‘IF you fast’. Having said that, he did not ask his disciples to fast during his time in public ministry, in contrast to other religious leaders at the time (Matthew 9:14). He expected them to make the most of every day that he was with him … and he also expected that they would fast once he was gone (Matthew 9:15).

Interesting asides

I knew about Ramadan, of course, but I was surprised to learn that most religions have an expectation of followers fasting from time to time, including Judaism.  This isn’t a reason for Christians to fast, but just an interesting aside. Another inspiring aside is the example of a delightful British monk who thoroughly enjoys fish’n’chips and who fasts most Wednesdays and Fridays – I read about him in a secular article about fasting (see footnote 2).

These days, there is a lot of awareness in the secular world of the health benefits of what is called ‘intermittent fasting’. Just last month, a local TV station in my area broadcast a segment on how to avoid Christmas weight gain. It involved partial fasting (see footnote 3). It’s a no-brainer, really. 

Interesting asides aside, Christian fasting isn’t primarily about healthy living. Improved health is a positive outcome though, don’t you think? 

The main point

The main point of this blog post is to raise our awareness of a particular spiritual discipline – fasting. Fasting is not a salvation issue, and I’m not suggesting that we all need to do it. But key men and women of God in the Bible, at least, sure seemed to think that it was a good idea.

Will I put my words into practice and actually start fasting occasionally, not out of desperation, but as worship? Well, if I were to tell you that I will, I’d be going against Jesus’ explicit instructions to fast in secret (Matthew 6:18). But if I were to tell you that I was not planning to fast now and then, then it would be obvious that I was like that poor fool who looks in a mirror and then goes away and forgets all about it (James 1:23-24).

So I shall tell you nothing.

(1) https://www.atlasandboots.com/foreign-service-institute-language-difficulty/ accessed 7 Jan 2018

(2) https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25592458   accessed 7 Jan 2018 

(3) https://coach.nine.com.au/2018/12/13/08/47/michael-mosley-weight-gain accessed 7 Jan 2018

Exposed. Naked. Or so it feels.  

I am trying to squeeze into my swimmers. 

It’s been years since I have swum.  It is only the possibility of getting in shape and the opportunity and accountability of swimming with somebody else that has convinced me to pull my abandoned swimwear out of the bottom drawer.  I checked to make sure that my swimmers still fit and the fabric hasn’t decayed. They’re okay … but don’t think I’m going to post photos. No way. 

This experience reminds me of how God sees us. In fact, he sees even more than a middle-aged lady clothed in lycra. His focus goes straight to the heart. 

God sees our hearts

The Bible is full of statements about God seeing our hearts. (See the list at the end of this post.) What he sees is often ugly. Despite what some people say, I don’t think that our society is getting worse, although in my country, at least, ‘tolerance’ is increasingly valued.  We’re not told much about what God saw of human hearts in Noah’s day, but we are told the it was not a pretty picture (Genesis 6:5-6). Millenia later, in the book of Romans, we read that God turns us over to the desires of our hearts when we reject him, causing our society to degenerate into disaster (Romans 1:18-32).

If anybody else were examining my heart, I’d be more than a little self-conscious. I don’t want you to see the spirit of criticism that rears its ugly head from time to time. The perfectionism that keeps me from productivity is something else I am working on even through keeping this blog. Exposing my heart to others would be worse than going to the shopping centre in my swimmers. 

The Emperor’s New Clothes

‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ is a tale by Hans Christian Anderson about an emperor who believed he was wearing magnificent clothes which were invisible to anybody unworthy of being in his presence.  Of course, nobody was willing to admit that they couldn’t see his clothes. Everybody pretended … or almost everybody … that he was magnificently attired.

I sometimes feel a bit like that emperor. Don’t you? I act like I have it all together, calm and in control of any little thing that comes up. Sometimes I even believe it myself. But do you know the truth of what is in my heart? I’m not sure that I even understand my heart’s depths. 

But God does. 

Adam and Eve

Shame. Horror. Embarrassment. 

After eating the forbidden fruit, Eve and Adam realised that they were naked. 

I wonder if they hid from one another? They certainly attempted to hide from God. Whatever did they use to sew those fig leaves together to make clothes? Vines? They must have been desperate. Big chunks of bark is what I would use were I to find myself in such a predicament in the Australian bush. Perhaps with huge tree fern leaves over the top.

Comfort 

Were it not for Jesus, I could not be comforted by the knowledge that God sees my heart. I would be like Adam and Eve, desperately grabbing anything at hand to try and cover whatever I could. But even when I was at my worst, Jesus died for me. The risen Jesus has put his Spirit in my heart, and works in me to make me more like himself. It’s a slow process. 

Because God knows the worst of it already, I don’t need to pretend to have it all together.  I can be myself  … though I’m motivated to be the best version of myself possible because I know he is watching.

Exposed. Naked. And yet not condemned nor ridiculed. In the words of the Biblical writer to the Hebrews, “…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22 NIV)

But as for being comfortable in swimwear out in public, that is a different story.

—————————————————————-

‘God sees our hearts’ – a concept seen throughout the Bible

Genesis 6:5 God knows the inclinations of the thoughts of human hearts. 

Genesis 8:21 God knows every inclination of the human heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 People look at the external appearance, but God looks at the heart. 

1 Kings 8:39 God alone knows every human heart.

1 Chronicles 28:9. The Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought.

1 Chronicles 29:17 God tests our hearts. 

Psalm 7:9 God probes hearts and minds.

Psalm 44:21 God knows the secrets of our hearts. 

Proverbs 21:2 The Lord weighs the heart. 

Jeremiah 11:20 God tests our hearts and minds. 

Jeremiah 17:10 God searches our hearts and examines our minds.

Matthew 9:4 Knowing the thoughts of his listeners, Jesus asked, “Why do you entertain such thoughts in your hearts?”

Luke 5:22 Again, Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?”

Luke 16:15   God knows our hearts. 

Acts 1;24 God knows everyone’s heart.

Acts 15:8 God knows the heart.

Romans 8:27 God searches our hearts.

1 Corinthians 4:5 God will expose the motives of our hearts.

1 Corinthians 14:15 The secrets of our hearts will be laid bare. 

Hebrews 4:12 The word of God judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 

1 John 3:20 God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything.