Oct 24, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word
It is often the case that when I am waiting for something to happen, for example, if we are trusting God for the finances we need, I want to know how it is going to come about. I even pray specifically, let it be that… a gift shows up today, or this happens or that happens. And sometimes I am reminded who I am…and that I am not the great I AM.
When Moses was being called by the Lord to deliver the people from Egypt, he had a lot of fears, and a lot of questions. He didn’t understand how he could be used to deliver the Israelites who were enslaved to the Egyptians, because he wasn’t a very good speaker, in his own opinion. (See the first few chapters of Exodus for more.) But God didn’t answer him by saying, “Okay so first I’m gonna sort out your speech impediment. Step 2, I’m gonna harden Pharoah’s heart. Step 3, we’ll do some miraculous stuff…†You get the idea.
Instead of giving Moses the play by play, the Lord answered by reminding Moses, “I am the Lord.†Similar to his first encounter at the burning bush, when the Lord told Moses. “I AM WHO I AM.†The possibility of deliverance for the Israelites had nothing to do with Moses’ resume or skill set — it had everything to do with God, being the Lord, Who intended to keep His covenant and redeem His people. And all that is necessary for something to become possible is for the Lord to set His heart to do it.
We are often afraid of stepping out to do something we know we ought to do, even something we sense the Lord telling us to do, because we fear we don’t have the skills and abilities to do it. It is not our skills and abilities, but the work of God in us and through us, that will make anything possible.
I wonder if things would have been different if Moses had been more willing to trust God. The Lord conceded to give Moses a ‘spokesman’ in Aaron, which meant that God would speak His will and words to Moses, Moses would share them with Aaron, and Aaron would speak to Pharaoh and to the Israelites on his behalf. Perhaps Aaron got “too big for his britches†in taking such a role in fulfilling a part of the call that Moses was supposed to answer. Not too much later, the story finds the Israelites delivered from the Egyptians, Moses on the mountaintop with God, and Aaron down with the people, making idols for them. I digress on that point, really.
The Sermon in a Nutshell: Don’t be afraid to step out and do what I AM has called you to do. The Lord is the Lord, and when He is at work, though you may not see how, anything is possible.
Oct 23, 2009 | South Africa, Stories
While Mark and I were back visiting his parents in Bloemfontein, we visited a big church there called CRC (Christian Revival Church). The place was packing out as we arrived for the mid-morning service, and we slotted in sort of to the left of centre in this big building with a huge stage and big TV screens and lights and effects and cameramen. The worship started off similar to what we’re used to in non-denominational churches in most parts of the world – the charismatic, joyful, powerful voices and drums and keys and guitars so on, and then there was a transition, for just a single song, where we were singing in a language which was … I think Ndebele or Tsonga. I obviously had absolutely no clue what the heck we were singing about, other than I was fairly sure we were singing about the Lord.
The Words were on the screen and I just followed along and did my best with:
WA NYAMALALA NGANA
UMTHWALO WAWA SIZE
Or something of that sort. But then the joy broke loose! The rest of the congregation began getting into it, doing dance movements associated with the lyrics, singing with such joy and passion (and an occasionally what I would call a Latino tongue trill, which I had to join in on). I was overjoyed to join in wholeheartedly, although I still had absolutely no clue what we were singing about. Mark and I did our best at our white-folk-can’t-dance version of the dance movements, I was adding in a Latino trill or two, and we were just singing and smiling and joyful to worship God with a couple thousand complete strangers in a language we didn’t understand.
Afterwards I asked Mark if it was perhaps Zulu we were singing in, but his best guess was that it was Sesotho. (Googling the lyrics I remembered didn’t bring about much success. Shame! But we think we’ve concluded it was probably Ndebele or Tsonga.) The guest speaker for the morning was, funny enough, from Seattle, Washington, and we were encouraged by his message. I occasionally felt like I might be one of the only ones there who got the jokes, but everybody laughed. It was altogether such a special and delightful experience, and I hope the next time we’re in Bloemfontein, we can enjoy the fellowship at CRC again. It is a blessing to know that if you are in Christ, wherever you are, if there are believers there, you can feel right at home.
Sing it with me now…
WA NYAMALALA NGANA
UMTHWALO WAWA SIZE!
Oct 22, 2009 | South Africa, Stories, The Good Word
After arriving in the country, Mark and I began the difficult task of trying to find a church to call home. It’s really really strange to suddenly feel like you’re “church-hopping” when two months ago we staff members at a church back in Scotland. During our explorations so far, we had a good experience at one church but weren’t sure if it was the right one. (We were bummed they didn’t have a creche/nursery).
I cried as we left another church because I was overwhelmingly bummed that NO ONE talked to us or welcomed us the whole time. And then we visited a third church this Sunday, and the theology and message being preached was so stinking dodgy Mark wanted to stand up in the middle of the service and say, “You’re wrong! That’s not what the Scripture says!”
That is a long long story that probably deserves its own blog post, but for now, the short of it is, it was not a church that was faithfully preaching the Word of God. I don’t really know what exactly they’re preaching. Something from the Book of Second Opinions I guess. It is funny that one of my recent posts discussed how God’s Word can be misconstrued to say what people want it to say if they come to it with an agenda, and and not with the desire to understand the Truth. Anyway, we left the whole ordeal with a rather yucky taste in our mouths, so to speak. And then we had some realisations.
One simple commandment that is easy to forget is “Seek first the kingdom of God.” As Mark and I left the service and began to talk about the experience we’d just had, we realised we should’ve first asked the Lord… “Where do you want us?” And then listened for His leading. How simple is that? Seek His kingdom first. Seek His will first. Seek His way first.
Instead, we just started floating around visiting churches on the recommendations of others and on personal whims. We were just looking at things based on our own opinions. This church doesn’t have a nursery. Nobody spoke to me at this one and it made me cry. (Mind you guys — moving to a new country might give you a few tough moments here and there!) This one is preaching heresy. Ugh…great.
We probably could’ve saved ourselves a lot of hassle and heartache if instead we’d first said, “Jesus, please direct our steps. By Your Holy Spirit, please lead us to the church where You would have us added.”
While I don’t think the Lord will be leading us to settle in at the church that is preaching heresy, I do think He has a way better idea than we do of the right way, and the best way, which is His will. If we’re not listening to Him, then we’re just choosing based on our own measuring sticks. We might as well be asking, Do I feel comfortable in the seats at this church? Does their carpet match most of my church clothes?
It is GOOD to be reminded that His ways are higher than our ways… So now instead of using our own measuring devices to figure out what we think is best, we have asked God to forgive us for not seeking Him first, and we are going to actively seek Him, and ask Him where He would have us put down our roots. I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂
Oct 17, 2009 | South Africa, Stories, The Good Word
How do you feel about gun control? Or having weapons in the home in case someone breaks in? Mark and I had some interesting conversations about these issues with some friends while we were home in the States. (Thanks, Frank & Sharon!)
Mark was pondering the idea of needing a weapon in the home since break-ins are rumoured to be a bit more common in South Africa. ahem. Although we didn’t come to any definitive conclusions, one issue that we discussed, which always comes up, is the safety of having a weapon in the home, especially when there are going to be children present.
The thing about weapons is, they can often be used for good purposes, but also for evil ones. They can be useful, and they can be destructive. And it is interesting that the Word of God is often spoken of in the Scriptures as a weapon – as a sword.
Like any other object, the sword can be wielded as a weapon for good – for one’s protection or self-defence, or for evil. I don’t think examples are needed for that. But for the Word of God to be called the Sword – what does it mean, if a sword can be used for good or for evil?
Image by rbeforee @ flickr
We find one answer in Luke 4. Jesus has just headed on this seriously long spiritual retreat. He has fasted for 40 days in the wilderness – I think it was some serious ‘man’ time. And at the end of it, He was hungry. No surprise there, He was human after all. The enemy shows up on the scene with a fairly simple suggestion: “If you have all these supernatural skills, why not turn a stone into some bread and then you can eat something.â€
But Jesus has His Sword with Him – and He is aware that this is not God’s will. So He speaks to the enemy from Scripture: “Man doesn’t live just on bread. We live by God’s Word.†Which I think is basically saying, “It’s more important for us to live by God’s Word than to have something to eat.â€
The battle of intellects continues with the suggestion that Jesus worship the devil, and in return be given the kingdoms of the earth. Jesus wields the Sword again – “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.†Pretty straightforward there.
Then it gets really interesting. Satan suggests Jesus jump off the top of the temple, if He is the Son of God, because “He will tell His angels to take care of you†and “They’ll catch you, so that you don’t even stub your toe.†Slight paraphrase. Wait – what just happened? Yes, you might’ve picked up on it – the devil just wielded the Sword. He quoted Scripture, at Jesus. That was pretty bold.
Jesus’ response (wielding the Sword again): “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.â€Â Plain and simple.
The interesting thing about this last section of the conversation is an actual demonstration that the Sword – the Word of God can be wielded correctly, and incorrectly. God’s Word can be used for good, or for evil. It can be used to heal, and it can be used to kill. It can justify slavery or polygamy, and instruct us to love and forgive one another.
So Scripture, on its own, is just words on a page. We need the revelation of the Holy Spirit to rightly discern and understand Scripture, and as Jesus demonstrated, we need to let Scripture clarify Scripture for us. Satan could’ve justified Jesus’ attempted suicide with the Scripture he quoted, but Jesus rightly discerned God’s will. God tells us not to test Him. And that’s that.
While I’m still not sure what all the answers are regarding gun control or having weapons in the home, I am certain that the Word of God is true. If we are willing to rightly receive it – not to justify our own preferences, but with the intent of truly understanding the will of God – then we can rightly wield the Sword God has given us and fight the good fight we’re here to fight.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12: 2)
Oct 9, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word
One of my professors at the University of Edinburgh talked a lot about the significance of the narrative of the salmon. He thought it was sad that farm-raised salmon never get the chance to experience the narrative of the wild salmon — the true story of their destiny. Whether or not you would like to call it a narrative, the story of the salmon is really cool. There is actually a spot in Scotland where you can see them jumping up a waterfall and trying to make it upstream to spawn. While the story might be a complete nightmare if you have a lisp…it’s still a great stowy! You see, while most fish tend to go with the flow, the salmon start making their move upriver in the fall of the year, and when they feel they’ve found a good spot, they’ll lay their eggs. Often, they’ve gotten themselves so far upstream that by the time they’ve finished spawning, they’re in a high eddy where they can’t exactly get back downstream again. So they die there, but as their bodies decompose, they make the water extra-nourishing for the little eggy salmon waiting to be hatched. Their eggs are (hopefully mostly) safely kept there until it’s time to hatch, when they instinctively will begin the journey downstream to some more spacious waters, and the cycle will start over again.
There’s a beautiful spot at the Hermitage in Dunkeld where you can watch the salmon jump, and Mark took me there once a few years ago. It was amazing to see the fish trying to make it up this gushing waterfall, where they would honestly have to do a triple jump to make it to the top. Â I don’t think I ever saw one make it, but it was really entertaining to watch them try! Ooooh he almost made it! Ouch that one just faceplanted into a rock! But the fact that they have that amazing story, which as far as I know is unlike any other, makes them unique and special, and maybe even extra tasty.
The story of the Woman at the Well is similar — and yesterday’s blog (heck, a thousand blogs) couldn’t fully cover it. Something else that was really significant about the story was that Jesus was totally swimming upstream throughout His interactions with the Samaritan woman. In His day, it was not common for Jews to speak to Samaritans — they didn’t even want to go near them. Instead of treating the Samaritans like fellow human beings, they treated them like the red-headed stepchildren of the faith — they thought they needed to be treated like rubbish and totally ostracized. The Jews and Samaritans were constantly squabbling and bickering. Many a Jew in Jesus’ day would rather die of thirst than ask a Samaritan … especially a woman .. and one of questionable character at that, to draw a drink of water.
There’s probably not a lot to be surprised about in her response — “Um…like…aren’t you a Jew? So…ugh…why are you asking me for water? You guys don’t normally even want to be seen on the same hillside as us.” Jesus told her that if she knew with whom she was speaking, she would be asking Him for a drink of living water. She liked that idea, until Jesus suggested that she bring her husband and come back. She tries to skirt her ‘issues’ by simply saying she doesn’t have a husband. Jesus reads her mail and says, “Yeah…you’ve already had five, and you’re not even married to the guy you’re with now.”
Instead of outright telling Jesus to get our of her sauce, she just changes the subject, by bringing up part of the argument that has been going on between the Jews and Samaritans for ages. But once again, Jesus is not caught up in the cultural dilemmas of the day. Here’s how Matthew Henry puts it:
Jesus did not try to convince her of her schismatical belief system’s faults, but her conversion came about because He showed her her own ignorance and immoralities, and her need of a Saviour.
Although there are a thousand sermons to be preached on this simple interaction, here’s the place I’m headed: Jesus was not caught up in the cultural customs of His day. And that meant He was free to engage anyone He wanted, anywhere He wanted — Jew or Samaritan, Mute or Leper, Tax Collector or Prostitute. What does that say for us? It says to me — pay attention to where the customs of your culture might take you. Those customs might lead you in a different direction, and on a different path from the one the Lord would have you take. Has your culture made you think the best place for a woman is in the home? Has your culture made you believe that people of a different ethnicity are incapable or intellectually inferior? Have the common customs of your locale made you think there are places you shouldn’t go or people you shouldn’t help? And more significant, has your culture perhaps convinced you that you don’t actually have to make Jesus your Lord, and you can still call yourself a Christian?
We should constantly challenge our ways of thinking in light of the Truth of the Gospel. The Truth is, we could perhaps consider ourselves salmon. And our true destiny is to live, contrary to our nature, in the call of God. Our true destiny is to swim upstream, and live, not according to our sinful nature, but according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, in obedience to God. And a life lived to God is a life lived upstream. If you are living in obedience to God, it is not likely that you will be doing the same thing as everyone around you. It is likely that the walk God has for you will be more of a challenge than a lazy afternoon ride on a raft headed with the current of the little stream He’s placed you in.
The cross is a heavy object. Carrying it is likely to bring you to places of resistance — places where it is difficult to lift this heavy object and bring it with you — places where it would be easier to turn back, to put it down, or to keep walking without it. Â If you should decide to put it down, to go with the current, and to keep on as you always were, you might still be swimming, but you’ll be swimming in nets on the farm…and you’ll never brave the open waters to live out the story God has for you.
Take an opportunity to swim upstream today. And please let me know how it goes.
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