Jun 1, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word
Have you ever heard this song? Â I was thinking about it this morning for some reason. It’s been remade on a David Crowder Band CD, but Alison Krauss sang it before that… not sure where it came from honestly. As I was pondering that popping into my head, I realised how incredibly true that statement is, in light of what the Lord has been speaking to me about lately. On the surface you think, yeah clearly, nobody (for the most part) really wants to die, but, if there is a heaven, the average Joe on the street would say, “count me in on that one, big man.”
At a deeper level though, honestly, we are all called to die, on this side of heaven. I’m not speaking in the sense of just kicking the bucket and pushing up daisies, I mean, the Christian call is a call to die to yourself, day after day, and to live in Christ. Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) Why is this so dang hard? Because I am selfish and I want to do what I want to do.
I’ve been reading a great book lately (finally) called The Bait of Satan, by John Bevere. It has absolutely challenged me to remember the essential elements of what Jesus was instructing His followers to do, and the type of life He was calling them to live if they wanted to be His disciples.  Here are a few of the mind-blowing statements I’ve been reviewing in the Scriptures that are deeply challenging to me:
“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. — Matthew 5:44 Sometimes I don’t even want to pray for brothers or sisters in the Lord who are getting on my nerves!!
“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Ephesians 4:29 Wow.
When Paul is discussing the lawsuits among the believers in the Corinthian church:Â “…Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?” (1 Cor. 6:7) In other words, instead of taking offense and fighting for ‘justice’ when you feel someone has wronged you — why not let it go, refuse to carry offense around with you, and trust God to be your defender?
It’s likely that many of you will read these, as I do myself, and say, yeah yeah yeah I know that. But do we know it? The greatest challenge for me has come from considering 2 Timothy 3. Paul warns us about perilous times and perilous men. He says that men will become lovers of themselves, lovers of money…unthankful, unholy, unforgiving….having a form of godliness, but denying its power…always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Did you hear that? We can study the Word and listen to podcasts all day long. We can read Christian book after Christian book, pass through a Bible course or even a seminary with flying colours, we can sit under some of the greatest teaching pastors and speakers or our time, but if we are not applying the Word of God to our lives, obeying it and doing what it says, we don’t know Jesus, and don’t have a part in Him.
Paul goes on to encourage Timothy to keep walking in godliness: “you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
Our works will never never justify us — it is through faith in Jesus that we find salvation. But if we have no works to demonstrate that we do believe, then do we really believe? James put this well: “But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” He goes on to explain how faith works together with works, and (as an example), by works, Abraham’s faith was made perfect. When we obey God, we choose to die to our own selfish desires, and in this death, friends, there is life in abundance!
The Sermon in a Nutshell:Â The conclusion of the matter seems always to be the same for me, well summed-up in a cherished old hymn: “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust AND obey.”
May 16, 2009 | Scotland, Stories
Some friends of mine from church here in Edinburgh were part of a mission trip to Nepal a few weeks ago. They helped make a very special Pastor’s Conference happen and, among other things, also began looking into the possibility of helping with the great and grave issue of human trafficking there. This is especially a problem among young Nepali women who are often lured to India with the promise of work, and tricked into forced labour in the continually burgeoning sex industry there. They also visited a wonderful native of Nepal named Nima who was a classmate of mine at the University of Edinburgh. He studying in Edinburgh, but doing field research back in his home country, because he has a heart to see the Gospel effectively spread in Nepal through church planting. Through Nima (whose family currently resides here in Edinburgh) these connections between our local church and the people of Nepal have begun to form. Exciting stuff!
A friend of mine named David was among those on the trip — some of you may remember the story of how he was my first letting agent in Edinburgh, (translation for the Americans: he rented me my first flat/apartment) and was a great blessing to me as my life started here. David shared the following story with me. It is both inspiring and challenging. I hope it touches your heart, too.
One Day a beggar woman that lived in a temple was going down to the river when she saw in the distance a man throwing a sack into the river. He noticed her and ran away. She thought he may have stolen something and so she began to walk over to investigate. The dogs beat her there and were dragging the bag and trying to open it. She arrived and scared them off. Slowly she opened the bag to find a small baby inside, only a few days old. She gathered the baby up and took her back to the temple where she lived and begged for money to survive. She cared for this child for 9 years until she died.
A woman from a church heard about the child (called Didi) and contacted Shanta (pronounced “Santa,” this woman runs the Peace Rehabilitation Centre the team visited) to ask her if she would take the child in. Shanta of course said yes. Sadly the day that the beggar woman died the gurus at the temple raped the girl. Shanta went the next day to see the little girl and asked her if she would like to come with her. She said yes and PRC would become her home and family where she would be educated, find healing and love.
Fast forward many years. Didi had many offers to marry as she grew to be a beautiful young woman, but she turned them all down. One day another man came to ask her if she would marry him. He had been stricken with tuberculosis of the spine as a child, which left him very disabled. To everyone’s surprise, Didi said yes. Shanta asked her why she would choose to marry this man, and this was her reply. “Mommy if I do not marry him who will? You took me in when no one else would, and showed me love. Jesus sacrificed his life for me when he did not have to. I will sacrifice all I have to care for and love this man.”
We had the privilege to meet this couple in our last few days in Nepal. They have two children and you can see the love in their eyes for one another.
Wow. We have so much to be thankful for. And so much work to do. Lord help us to remember, despite how much so many of us have, how BIG, how great, how amazing, and how magnificent a gift the sacrifice of Jesus is, to those of us who have received Him and for those who still need to know.
May 7, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word
Weddings are awesome! This past weekend, I celebrated my sister’s wedding. I had the privilege of serving as her matron of honour (can I say maid though? — that just sounds old!) and of organising her bachelorette party, and there were lots of other special moments, where I just rejoiced that God had answered our prayers by bringing an awesome and godly gentleman into her life. I have long long awaited this special moment, and am overjoyed that it has come to pass! Â Praise the Lord! Yay for Dodi and Andy!
The funny thing about a special weekend like this is that afterwards, as life begins to get back to normal, and you begin to remember all the little things on your plate, concerns for your future, perhaps even financial concerns, you can sort of get some post-wedding (or post-anything-you’ve-been-long-waiting-for) blues. Totally common I suppose. So by Tuesday morning, I was still happy to be in North Carolina (even though there were thunderstorms and I really wanted to enjoy some warm weather and sunshine) but at the same time, I was feeling a little “blah” considering what’s ahead for us when we return to Scotland — financial challenges, spiritual challenges, relational challenges, etc. The first thing I should do when I’m in a funk like that? Open my Bible and get out of it. Monday morning I did dwell in Psalm 91 for a bit, but I must admit it was a half-hearted effort that ended in a nap.
Tuesday, instead of Bible time, I opted for shower time. Slack! However, in the shower, I looked up and saw a Scripture I’d put on the wall some time ago — an encouragement about the goodness of God. In that moment, I was so encouraged in being reminded of the goodness and faithfulness of God — those who look to Him are radiant, and they are never put to shame. This simple reminder of God’s goodness brought a flood of encouragement, and I felt the Lord simply remind me of the principle of compound interest.
I’ve heard that Albert Einstein once said, “The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.” If you’ve studied finance at any stage, you’ll find that it is truly an incredible principle. Simple interest is only calculated on the original investment. But with compound interest, a one-time investment of £10,000 with 12% interest, compounded yearly, will amount to £299,599.22 after 30 years. If the interest is compounded quarterly, you’ll have a whopping £347,109.87 in the same amount of time!
What I felt like I was to understand from the Lord regarding that moment was that just as the solid investments we make in the natural world will generally pay off in the long term, the spiritual investments we make will definitely have long term rewards and returns — with great interest. I’d previously invested time and effort into my relationship with the Lord — in studying and thinking about His Word regularly, in prayer and fellowship with Him, and in a moment when I simply needed to be reminded of His goodness, those investments brought a return — the reminder was there, just when I needed it.
The greater picture, I think, is that investments in a relationship with God will bring exponential compound interest over time. The Scripture actually promises blessing for your children’s children if you love God and obey His commands. (Psalm 103:17) And when times are hard, the efforts you make to learn God’s Truth, and put it into your heart will pay off. God’s Word in Your heart will keep you from disobeying Him when temptation rears its ugly head in a tough moment — I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Ps. 119:11) If you make room for God (see this post for more thoughts about that) and for His Holy Spirit to dwell in your heart, He will help you find joy in times of sorrow. If you deeply endeavour to believe God is good in every circumstance, when you’re not in the middle of a battle, then it will be easier to hold on to the Truth when the battle rages all around you. If you don’t have that Truth firmly implanted in your heart, then your faith is likely to be rocked whenever your world is.
Amazing fruits will be present in your life if you allow the Holy Spirit to be present and at work in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If you walk by the Spirit, you won’t carry out the desires of the flesh. Even if the investment is as simple as deciding to begin reading a chapter or two of Scripture a day, and then committing to obey what the Word says, you can expect exponential returns on your investments with God. You’ll never out-give Him, out-bless Him, or out-do Him. His Peace, His Truth, and His Presence will mark your life in ways you never expected — and you might just think to yourself, “Wow, that investment of ten minutes a day has brought a return I never expected! I’m gonna bump it up to twenty!”
The Sermon in a Nutshell: Spend more time thinking about the investments you’re making towards eternity. It’ll put the cares in this life into perspective. Whether the economy you’re living under booms or busts in this lifetime, your investments in God’s eternal economy will always bring incredible return — in this life, and the next.
Apr 8, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word
A couple weeks ago I was reading in Matthew 11 — Â very familiar verses, where Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” These are some of those verses you’ve heard over and over again, but sometimes you stop to think a little bit more about it, and suddenly the Lord opens up a fresh revelation for you.
My first revelation came from the discovery that (far from being a farm girl, this was new for me) the yoke was a double harness in which two animals pulled together. Often, one harness was larger and meant for the stronger, more experienced animal, while the smaller was used for the animal being trained. That’ll preach. We can try to grab hold of some really big yoke and start tugging away, or we can give the big load to Jesus, and just pull the weight we’re meant to. We don’t take off every responsibility and do whatever we want — we are yoked to Jesus, working with Him, living the way He would live, doing what we see Him doing.
After this, the Lord helped me to think about comparing yokes, and gave me a few thoughts. There is a yoke that this world would like for you to burden yourself with, and then there is the easy, light yoke of Jesus. Â Examples:
1. Hospitality
- The (Southern American) worldly yoke — everything is perfectly neat and tidy, you go over and above to the point of stressing yourself out, and you work to the point of exhaustion in order to ‘entertain’ your guests — which perhaps means you never enjoy them.
- Jesus’ yoke — you welcome people into your home, with kindness and graciousness, and you take care of them.
2. Clothing
- World – you have to have the newest, latest fashions, styles, colours and trends. If you’re female, it’s a good idea to show off your assets to the best of your ability in order to make yourself as attractive as possible, no matter the cost. Spend in excess to look good.
- Jesus – Dress in moderation. Buy clothes that will last you a while, don’t spend all your money just to stay on top of the latest trends.
3. Food
- World – either starve yourself in order to be super skinny and look “good” OR cook too much at every meal and end up throwing some away, spend time going over the top on cooking extravagant meals, OR let food be your comfort when nothing else will.
- Jesus – Eat reasonably, eat sensibly, eat healthily.
Obviously, the basic principle that emerges from thinking about Jesus’ yoke is to do things in moderation, with gentleness, with humility. The list of course goes on to what car you might choose to drive, what house you might live in, and on and on. Â At this point I thought, “next subject.” But (if you remember the scene from Hitch where Albert says that after showing Hitch his dance moves), perhaps you might need to listen to the teacher a little longer before you think you’ve got it covered.
Not long before this lesson, a pastor visiting from Taiwan had spoken a word of encouragement to me. You love to serve the Lord. You love to work and carry a burden for the Lord. But you need to take the time to find out which burden you are supposed to carry. Great, I thought. Before I start committing myself to lots of new things now that I have free time after setting down my PhD, I will consult the Lord and seek His wisdom for which burdens I’m meant to pick up.
However, a week or two later, some circumstances led me to begin taking on a concern, a worry which began to burden my soul and make me feel heavy, even gloomy for a while. When I finally brought this to the Lord, and began to consider it with — not a ‘worldly’ perspective but a “what does Jesus’ yoke look like?” perspective, the Lord brought it to my attention that, far from using discernment to take on the burden of which tasks He wanted me to do, I had taken on the burden of concern, and of worry, which is perhaps even more important for me to give over to the Lord than anything else.
What you’re doing will take up your time and your talents, but what you’re worrying about will take up your heart, and your mind, and tug them away from faith, and hope, and the love of God. Cast your cares on the Lord, for He cares for you. (I Peter 5:7)
For every yoke we have, we have Jesus, the stronger of the two of us, who can pull the weight, and help us to see how to navigate the challenge. And the yokes that we place on our hearts, and perhaps the most important ones to submit to Him.
The sermon in a nutshell: Get hitched to Jesus! He’ll carry the weight, and show you how to walk it out, whatever ‘it’ may be.
xCC
Mar 27, 2009 | Scotland, Stories, The Good Word
Challenging Fact: I’ve heard that America spent roughly 20 billion dollars on ice cream in 2007 — enough to provide everyone in the world with clean water and food.
Through a variety of different means, I’ve been reminded again over the past few months about some of the basics of godly financial stewardship. Some things I’ve heard before — like the fact that the Bible talks more about money than any other subject, or the helpful reminder that you can tell where a person’s heart is if you look at their bank statements. But somewhere, I feel like a spiritual corner has been turned, and I am thinking about God’s money (the bit of it that’s in the Collie family hands) on a whole new level. I am challenged to the core to see a change in the way we live. Here’s my best attempt at describing what’s been going on in my heart.
One piece of the puzzle of what’s happening, I think, has to do with our sponsorship of a child through Compassion. I’m not sharing this to say “yay for the Collies, aren’t they great!?” but seriously, this is part of the story. For £18 each month (that’s currently about $26) we’re helping Compassion provide regular medical check-ups, hygiene training, dental care, supplemental nutrition and educational opportunities to a child in Burkina Faso. This little country in Western Africa, north of Ghana has a population of about 15 million, a life expectancy of 52 years, (some estimates are closer to 44) and a literacy level around 21%. Most adults are unemployed, but some work as seasonal labourers and earn the equivalent of £10 (yes, TEN POUNDS – less than fifteen dollars) per month.
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So, £18 – $26 used to not seem like a whole lot of money to me. It probably won’t pay for a meal at a restaurant in Scotland. I might be able to find a pair of jeans for that in America, but probably not here in Edinburgh. My food budget for a month here for our family is about twelve times that. But now, it suddenly seems like a whackload of cash. I’ve spent more than £18 on a single item of makeup before, and I’m pretty darn ashamed of that now.
The question that’s now ringing in my head at the till (cash register) was posed to me in a sermon recently — will this matter in eternity? And now I’m thinking about how I can spend LESS money on myself, because we could potentially sponsor another child. And another. Or maybe save up enough to sponsor the building of a well in an area without clean water! If we keep driving our old car, could we provide clean water for a village somewhere? Worth it!
Two weeks ago, a gentleman knocked on my door to share with me about a charity that is working for the protection of certain species of wild birds in Britain. Don’t get me wrong guys — I’m an avid recycler, I bring my own (IKEA) bags to the grocery store and don’t use plastic ones, I turn out the lights when I leave the room, and I care about the environmental impact of us crazy-consumer-humans. But I had to tell the guy, I cannot with a clear conscience pay for the stranded dogs and endangered birds of Britain when there are kids in other countries, like Burkina Faso, dying of malnutrition, malaria, meningitis, and diarrhoea. Seriously, dying of such easily treatable disease. While these kids and their families are being raised up with instruction about health, nutrition, opportunities to earn income, and so on, most important, people are sharing with them about the God who created them, loves them, and wants to spend eternity with them. Jesus cared about the poor, rejected and brokenhearted, and He instructed us to feed His sheep. Food for the body, and food for the soul — both are given in Jesus’ name.
To sum the matter up for the moment — I am thinking about things eternal. The Lord knows exactly how much money I’ve spent (or convinced my Mom to spend) on clothing, on food, on superfluous stuff, and on stuff that I actually needed. I’m afraid I would be ashamed to know some of those figures. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and feel like Oskar Schindler at the end of the Holocaust, looking at a ball point pen and thinking, I could’ve sold this to save the life of another Jew. It’s amazing that his incredible efforts have an amazing legacy — perhaps 6,000 descendants of Schindler Jews are alive today — and yet, he thought, “I could’ve done more.”
I do want to have Schindler’s attitude, for Jesus — “What more can I do?” “What else can I sell?” “How else can I serve or give to see your Kingdom come?” There are people that are hungry, there are people that are hurting, and there are people dying every day who don’t know anything about the God who loves them. How can they hear, unless someone tells them?
xCC
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