iSonto #29

This week we are thankful for . . .

* Two tiny people eager to help with the vacuuming.

 

* Picking a flower with Nate helped him not to be upset after a fall. These events are precious little reminders of God's care for us as expressed in the beauty around us, and how this helps us get through the troubles in our daily lives.

* Dave's presentation of his work in QLD went well.

* Frozen meals to help with the workload while he was away.

* Beautiful tomatoes to make into sauce.

Elnathan was happy with the gift his Daddy brought him from QLD, and has hardly parted with it since he received it. It is a van with a surf board on top.

 Natey's memory verse was Luke 6:31, "And just as you would have men do to you, you also do to them likewise".

Mercy was happy to have Daddy back again. She is saying Daddy now and often looked for him while he was away. Mercy has also begun to say 'Hi, Hi, Hi" and "Amen".

 

From garden to tummies . . .  

We are still enjoying the apples we harvested last month. It brings joy to be able to feed the children our own apples.

Encouragement, ideas and inspiration came from What the Duggars Can Teach You About Going With the Flow, as patience and flexibility are sorely needed around here! It was also helpful to read tips for keeping children in worship and reasons why this is beneficial.

 One funny moment was when I asked Nate what type of pet he had (in the context of a book we were reading). He replied "Mercy".

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Education to the glory of God

Now that I'm a Mum to an unborn child, I plan to pay some attention to defining and understanding what our family's vision for Christian education is. My friend John Dekker once stated that he believed this was essential for excellence in home schooling, and I think he has a point. In the past, through my studies at Wesley Institute, I had the opportunity to define my beliefs in an assignment. I'll be using some of the ideas in this to build further understanding. Those of you who are interested in the topic of Christian education may also find these thoughts of interest. Here is the first part of "My personal philosophy of Christian education".

“To glorify God and enjoy Him forever” is the way Augustine described the goal of the Christian life. The education of children is part of this broader aim. Education is inescapably religious. It transfers information about what is meaningful in life, how we should live, and whom we should serve. Even when these ideas are not explicitly spoken, they form the basis of what is excluded or included in the curriculum. Secular education is not neutral. God cannot be glorified where he is not praised. Students do not have a full opportunity to enjoy God when he is not acknowledged. Christians who desire to glorify and enjoy God in education can look to the Bible for encouragement and guidance. The central biblical commands found in the Creation Mandate (Genesis 1: 26 – 28), the Great Commandment (Mark 12: 29 – 31), and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:20) provide insights into what truly Christian education should look like.

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God and people

It dawned on me last week that I do have a blogging plan :). Holidays have a way of pushing these things out of my brain. So this week I'll attempt to return to the plan. It is week three of the month, so this week I'll be focusing on loving people. I've decided to split loving God and loving people into two separate categories, as the "Great Commandment" topic category is getting very fat!

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Skin colour

Pictures like this show us that there is very little genetic difference between people of different skin colours.


This couple, who could be described as "middle brown" had twins who are very different in skin colour! Creation Ministries International explains some of the reasons for this in the article The genetics of skin colour in people.

Indeed, the same main substance—a dark brown pigment called melanin—colours the skin of all humans.³ Individuals that have a lot of it appear to have ‘black’ skin; people that have little appear ‘white’. Melanin is produced by organelles called melanosomes, contained in special cells called melanocytes. Melanocytes are located in the bottom layer of the skin, and produce melanin with the aid of tyrosinase and other enzymes. People with lighter-coloured skin have smaller, fewer and less dense melanosomes than darker-skinned people.

I've also read that there can be greater genetic variance between two people with white skin than between a white and a black person. The gospel is God's answer to racism, so we should never use skin colour as an excuse not to extend love and hospitality to others. It is awful that people have been segregated, enslaved, poorly treated, and even killed on the basis of skin colour. Christians need to live out the opposite spirit of love, acceptance, and truth. As Christians, our love for people who are different to us is one way we can represent Jesus in this world of racial division and hostility.

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Back next week

In order to better fulfil my responsibilities this week in regard to hospitality, purchasing a home, and submitting assignments, I will be having a break from my regular blogging schedule. Instead of blogging about loving God, I'll just be trying to do it! This quote has been a particular encouragement and challenge recently:

Life is likely to continue to hold many forms of torture and dismay . . . for all who refuse to receive with thanks giving instead of complaint the place in life God has chosen for them. The torture is self-inflicted, for God has not rejected their prayers. He knows better than any of us do what furthers our salvation. Our true happiness is to be realised precisely through his refusals, which are always mercies. His choice is flawlessly contrived to give the deepest kind of joy as soon as it is embraced. Elizabeth Elliot.

For encouragement this week in your quest to love God why not drop by the websites of a couple of women who are much wiser than I am.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss at Revive our Hearts.

Carolyn Mahaney at Girltalk.

Or alternatively, read Matthew’s gospel and grow in your love for Jesus! You’re sure to be blessed!

I’ll be back next week with more musings about the journey of seeking to loving others deeply.

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Knowing Jesus

The Jesus we meet in the gospels is a dynamic figure. He speaks words that are sometimes hard to understand and often hard to accept, heals multitudes, casts out demons, and walks on water. Who is this man? Sometimes I feel like I don’t know.

As Evangelical Christians we can loose sight of the mystifying God-become-man we find in the gospels. We remember the Jesus who died on the cross for our sins, but what about Jesus who told us not to store up our treasures on earth? What about the Jesus who said that parables are meant to conceal, not to reveal? Do we remember His stories, His power?

The less devout also often forget the Jesus of the gospels. The One who claimed to be the Son of God, the Christ, indeed God himself, turns into a nice guy who helped people. Forgotten are His radical claims that believers must give up all that they are placing above him in their affections. Father, mother, husband, houses . . . are they more important to you? That is the question Jesus kept asking. Is this the One our society remembers as gentle Jesus meek and mild?

My answer to this Jesus-amnesia is to re-read the gospels, and write down summaries of what Jesus said and did. Maybe you’d like to join me. Jesus is the One who has turned the lives of multitudes upside down, and He’s still at it. He does so through His words, His Holy Spirit, and His victory over sin. To love the true God, we must know this Jesus.

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Humble hospitality

If you often have soup for dinner, why not pop over to Deb's post about the effect just a bowl of soup can have. Humble hospitality allows people to welcome others even when they don't have much. Dave has often said that it is better to joyfully serve someone a peanut butter sandwich than to fuss and stress about an elaborate dinner. I don't think I've served guests just soup and bread for dinner yet, but maybe it is time to do so! Hospitality is not about entertaining or impressing, it is about extending love to others and welcoming them into our lives. Read Deb's post and be inspired!

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Who will care for the orphans?

God tells us in the book of James that pure religion cares for orphans and widows. Since marrying Dave and realising the enormous orphan problem in South Africa, I've grown increasingly determined to do anything I can to help orphans. Dave has also become increasingly passionate about this part of God's word. It is as though marriage has helped us to more deeply understand what God has called us to as Christ's followers.

We would love to adopt as many orphans as we could care for, but currently all doors toward doing that are firmly slammed shut. They will be for at least another three years, and maybe even after that. We recognise that only God can open these doors, and if he chooses not to we will never adopt any children. This grieves us deeply, and has brought me to tears several times, but we can't give up on caring about orphans simply because we cannot make adoption happen.

This afternoon I have been researching two organisations that help orphans, which we could perhaps support through our prayers and donations.

I'm excited about Izulu Orphan Projects in South Africa, where we could perhaps even visit orphan households we were supporting. We may be able to further investigate the work of this organisation when we next travel to SA.

I've also been investigating the blog of Paul Myhill, who is based in the USA and has a focus on orphans across the world.

You may also be interested in Ithemba Lethu, an amazing organisation that Dave's former church began. Ithemba Lethu runs a transition home, from which they aim to return children to their former communities or place them in foster or adoptive homes. The babies there are fed with donated breast milk, the best possible food for them!

Please pray for us as we seek out ways to care for orphans. We would love to do more than "just" give or pray, but right now that seems to be the maximum we can do. Pray that God will lead us to more opportunities to live out his command.

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I hope she doesn't yell at us . . .

When I was in church one night a couple of weeks ago, I started to think about doing something for the neighbours who had just moved in directly across from us. God tells us to "love our neighbours", and I was suddenly determined to do so in a very literal sense! I toyed with making a cake and taking it over. After all, who can be grumpy with someone bearing a cake? Dave suggested that cookies might be better, so I made some and placed them in a jar for our new neighbours.


As we walked across, I said to Dave " I hope she doesn't yell at us". Neighbourliness is so rare these days that it is sometimes viewed with suspicion. The last time I'd dropped by this house, the former resident looked at me through a crack in the door as though reproaching me for ever knocking upon it. Our reception this time couldn't have been more different. Our new neighbour invited us in and we chatted inside the door for about 10 minutes. It was a real blessing to us and, it seemed, to her. This was an encouragement to continue to be counter-cultural and take the time to find ways to love our neighbours.

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Loving God When Life Hurts

Every second week of the month, I aim to blog about loving God. This week I was struggling to think of something to share. Then I thought about loving God when you're in the midst of fighting sin and sadness. In the last couple of weeks I've been experiencing sadness about quite a number of things. It is easy to respond with sin, as well, when I face various challenges or circumstances that I don't like. This is a path that I, like most people, have been down many times before. What I try to do at these times is to . . .

Remember what God has done in past circumstances. I might not understand what God is going to do in these circumstances right now, but I do know what he has done in the past. I can remember the way he has revealed his character in countless ways, and the way he has blessed us. Often we can't see what God has done until months or years afterwards.

Remember that God is transforming us into his image, even (0r perhaps especially) through things we find hard. When it seems like certain personal faults or challenges are not changing, it is helpful to remember that God has transformed me a lot already and he is continuing that good work.

Avoid thinking that any form of sin or self indulgence will improve things. No, spending whatever I feel like will not make me feel better. Hitting the wall will not make me feel better. Being nasty to others will not improve things. Following God's ways in the long term does result in joy and peace, and "good fruit" in our lives. Sin or carelessness cannot bring lasting peace or joy, and will result in "bad fruit".

Cry out to God. One of the main ways we can express our loving trust in God is to tell him about anything and everything, and believe that he is involved in our lives. Even when it feels like God is not answering specific prayers, we love God when we continue to trust him enough to seek his face and his will in the situation.

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Loving the church

Maybe like me you've struggled at times to love the church. People disappoint you. The preacher says things you disagree with, or even hate. The music is bad, or non-existent. The Bible studies seem pointless. Why should you bother?

Many people give their answer: I won't bother.

Maybe you have seen some of these people loose their love for the church. They recount stories of hypocrisy and confusion. They have grown bitter about slights and disappointments that happened years ago. They no longer care what the Bible says, and they live according to what "seems right".

Maybe you are one of those people.

Or maybe you have seen people who think they are too good for the church. They have a better way of "doing church", and until they find a group of like-minded people they are not going to go. They can see how the church will affect them, or their children, badly if they do go.

Maybe you are one of those people.

Perhaps you go to church, but you remain disengaged. You are afraid of being hurt or making mistakes. I've been there, and often I still am.

In our consumer orientated, fragmented society, it is hard to commit to a community of imperfect people. It is hard to open yourself up to deep relationships when you're used to superficiality. It is hard to stick with something when the dominant attitude is "If you don't like it go somewhere else" - or perhaps, don't go at all.

I'm so grateful that the Bible is not unclear when it comes to our responsibilities to love God's people. We are to love all people, but we have a particular responsiblity to commit to the church. As I've chosen to obey God's word, very imperfectly, I have been blessed through the teaching and relationships at my church.

To read more about loving the church, why not read Joshua Harris' book "Stop Dating the Church" . . .



You can read an interview with Josh about the book at Boundless Webzine. You can also read Tim Challies' review.

I'd also love to hear about your experiences of church, positive or negative, and how you are dealing with them. I'm always encouraged by Faith's positive comments about her church!

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Idolatry is promoted on talk shows

Oprah Winfrey has become a guru to many. I even know some Christians who live nearby who receive her magazine, and I believe they have been influenced for the worse. Today I read a post titled Are You Attending the "Oprah Church"?. This post revealed the false religion that Oprah promotes. Those who are willing to listen to this false gospel deserve the same rebuke that Paul gave to the Corinthians . . .

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted - you may well put up with it! 2 Corinthians 11: 3 - 4.

Idolatry is alive and well in our culture. How can we respond? How can we avoid being like the Corinthinas? We can simply loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength, as the Great Commandment tells us to do.

Image from Bible Truth.

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God's character is revealed in Exodus

I've just finished reading the book of Exodus. This book has some great verses which reveal God's character and help us to love the true God, not a creation of our imaginations or preferences. God says of himself . . .

I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Exodus 33: 19b.

And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation. Exodus 34: 6 - 7.

The picture is from Michael Bogdanow Paintings.

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God will provide for our children

I recently received a newsletter from Open Doors Counselling and Educational Services. This service offers pregnancy and post-abortion counselling. The newsletter included the story of “Geoff” and “Lyn” (the names had been changed), who discovered they were expecting triplets. Here is their story.

Initially they were overjoyed as they had waited a long time for a baby in their lives. However, as the pregnancy proceeded and Lyn battled morning sickness, she became overcome with anxiety about trying to manage 3 babies at once. Family supports were few as all family members were interstate. In her debilitated state she became quite distressed. Initially, Geoff tried to encourage Lyn to take it one step at a time. However, she became even more distraught.

Geoff just didn’t know what to do to relieve Lyn’s distress and then he started to panic as well. He felt totally at a loss and suggested that they seek the opinion of their doctor, hoping that he would be able to assure Lyn about the pregnancy. When the doctor spoke to them about having what is termed a ‘selective reduction’ of the number of fetuses, both were horrified and became even more conflict.

How could they choose one baby over the other two? Things spiralled downwards even more and, in the end, it became an “all or nothing” situation. The fact that Geoff felt overwhelmed further exacerbated Lyn’s panic. Anxiety and fear took over any attempt to be rational, and the pregnancy was terminated. What followed for them both was immense sorrow and anguish over the decision they made.

After reading this story for the first time, you may feel as sad and sickened as I was. You may even be angry. Angry at “Geoff” and “Lyn” for making such a devastating choice, at their doctor for recommending a selective reduction, or with him for agreeing to abort all three babies when the parents were clearly not making a rational choice. If you know that the Australian government offers a lot of support to parents of triplets, particularly in the first year, you may be horrified that the couple were not informed of this.

When I read this story, though, I think of God. The God who will provide for our children, no matter how many we have and no matter what their needs are. It is tragic that so many people do not have the support of faith in God. Instead, when confronted with a pregnancy involving difficulties, they are encouraged to think about whether “they can cope”. How many of us would total confidence in our ability to parent 3 babies at once, or a disabled child?

When we know God’s character, and have a deep love for Him, we can face the prospect of parenthood even when there are difficulties. We can have faith in His character as our provider, defender, comforter, shepherd and friend. God never encourages us to consider our own resources before we choose to bring a child (or three) into this world. None of us know what our resources will be next month, or next year. Yet God has promised us our daily bread, and he will also feed our children. Only God can give us the strength and faith we need to welcome children with hope, even when we cannot hope in our own resources.

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Modelling humility

When many of us think about parenthood, we are tempted to despair at our weaknesses and sins. How will these affect a child? Others may be on the opposite end of the spectrum, and assume they'll be wonderful parents!

I really enjoyed stumbling across the blog post A legacy worth having recently, as Perry posted about the benefits of living under sinful but humble parents.

None of us will suddenly become perfectly saintly when we conceive or adopt a child! There is no hope of that. So we have to learn to repent before our children. In doing so we can model this essential part of living the Christian life.

As Perry said . . .

My parents were very self-conscious about asking each other for forgiveness in front of the kids AND asking the kids to forgive them, when relationships went a bit awry (as they are apt to do when you have a WHOLE family descended from Adam and Eve

Humility and asking forgiveness are vital to expressing love, and living out the gospel.

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The priority of love

Last week I appreciated reading the post Blessings or burdens at Your Sacred Calling. This post focused upon the tendancy some of us have to assume sin in others. We repent of certain attitudes and actions in our own lives, and then jump to conclusions about what others should be doing. As Stacy says . . .

. . . it’s no wonder that as we come out of the fog of our illusory me-managed life, that we become passionate about certain things. Life becomes precious. Children become a blessing. Marriage becomes a feast. Family becomes important. But in our zeal do we go beyond examining our own sin—assuming sin in others and ascribing motives to those of whom we know virtually nothing?

I also strongly identified with Stacy's words about people taking on the convictions of others without proper consideration . . .

Many times, rather than study for themselves and stand firm in what they believe, I've seen folks blindly embrace someone else’s convictions. Then, since the convictions weren't their own to begin with, they waver and eventually they give up in despair; because really, they weren't truly obeying God, they were just going through the motions. The result is that they blame the one they've been blindly "following."

As Christians we must learn to seek out what God has said for ourselves and then to apply it to ourselves first and foremost, always assuming the best of others and treating them with love. I also wrote about convictions last year. I took issue with the idea that those who adopt the most common or popular viewpoints in the church are more loving and humble. In reality, every Christian must learn to bear with others in love. It takes God's grace at work in our lives to enable us to always prioritise love in every relationship. Yet this is our calling.

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Beyond Greed

Yesterday afternoon I developed an ear ache as well, and spent some more time in bed! Thus I have more reading to report!

Beyond Greed is another book that provides a challenge to love God, not money. I have not yet finished the book, but have read Rosner's explanation of the way greed can be idolatrous. He explains the church's historic attitude to greed, and the way this understanding has weakened in our time.

Rosner also makes many cogent critiques of Western society. I found this quote particularly relevant just now . . .

The meaning of a person's life is found in full participation in the economy, as both a producer and a consumer. The purpose of life involves the full development of the individual's economic potential and the pursuit of material progress for the good of all.

I sometimes struggle with guilt or worry about the fact that I'm not "earning any money" and I can't really explain what I "do all day". Even though I work hard all day, every day except Sunday, I feel guilty because my work earns nothing. I have to continually refresh my mind about what God says. Loving Him and loving others are life's goals, not the endless pursuit of material things through paid employment.

You can read more about the book at Matthias Media.

Oh, and praise God that my ear ache has cleared up :)!

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The Treasure Principle

I have been sick recently, and in bed a lot, so I've read far more than usual. There are blessings in almost any situation! One of the books I've completed is The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving, which I bought back in early January.

The Treasure Principle . . .

• Challenges readers to take seriously Jesus' teaching on money
• Teaches that God owns everything, and we are just his managers
• Argues that even though the tithe of 10% in the Old Testmanent may not be a requirement for Christians today, it is a great place to start and it should be a minimum that we aim for
• Applies the Bible's teaching to both rich and poor
• Points out that in world and historical terms almost all people in first world countries are very rich
• Argues that Christians should tell each other about their giving, in order to exhort one another to be more generous
• Exhorts Christians to consider the fact that all material things are temporary, and we should invest in eternal things

I am not sure that I agree with all Randy Alcorn's perspectives and applications, and would need to do further study to make final judgments. However, I do recommend this book. Reading it is one way to learn more about how to love God through using His money for His kingdom. Giving is one important way we can express our love and faith in God. It is exciting and liberating! Don't miss out!

You can read more about The Treasure Principle, including numerous articles and quotes, here at Eternal Perspectives Ministries.

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Avoiding slander in the church

Ungodly speech can lead to terrible things, including murder and physical attacks. It more commonly leads to strife within the church. One form of ungodly speech that is common in the church is the tendency to misrepresent the beliefs of others. Paul was slanderously reported as saying things that he had not said (Romans 3:8). We need to be careful of being like Paul’s attackers. I am commonly guilty of this sin. I am trying to summarise the beliefs of another group of Christians, and instead I distort them. I oppose a particular viewpoint without even understanding what it is. I often hear others committing this sin as well. We need to stop. Lets ask each other “Are you sure that is what person x believes?”

Another way we can slander other Christians is to stick the unclear label “legalist” on anyone who disapproves of something that we think is fine. I think it is fine to wear trousers. This does not give me the right to call those who wear skirts all the time “legalistic”. You may believe it is consistent with biblical thinking to use birth control for reasons of preference. I don’t. That does not give you the right to call me a legalist. To be legalistic is to claim a better standing before God due to personal actions or positions. As C.J. Mahaney wrote in Living the Cross Centered Life, “Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and justification from God through obedience to God”. If the label “legalistic” drops easily from your tongue, you may be slandering those who are trying to live a biblically consistent and gospel centred life. Please stop.

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Understanding slander

In the past couple of weeks I have been studying ungodly speech. I’ve followed through the McArthur Study Bible’s references regarding slander, and written them out. An important part of learning to love one another is learning to control our tongues. The first steps toward doing this are prayer and the study of God’s word. The Bible forbids many kinds of ungodly and/or unwise speech.

Whispering and backbiting are listed amongst the sins that characterise the ungodly
(Romans 1:29 – 30)

Gossip is condemned in 1 Timothy 5:13.

Defamation is described in Jeremiah 20:10, as mockers are attacking the prophet.

False Witnesses are condemned in many biblical passages, including Exodus 20:16.

Judging uncharitably is described in James 1:11 – 12, and McArthur argues that this passage particularly condemns careless, critical, slanderous accusations.

Evil suspicions are condemned in 1 Timothy 6:4, indicating that we should not pass on our “evil suspicions” regarding the conduct of others.

Repeating matters relating to the transgressions of others is not loving, and actually separates friends (Proverbs 17:9).

My motivation for studying these and many other scriptures was the tendency for the Internet to foster and promote slander. God's rules for loving one another don't cease here. When we don't know people it is so much easier to slander them. When we have personal contact with individuals we know what we disagree with them on, but we also know their good points and the things we love about them. On the Internet it is easy to see people as a particular viewpoint we don't agree with, and to stop treating them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

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