Mundane News??

To summarise the news as I saw it today: Andrew Johns swore (how many times must we go over this story?); the murderer of JonBenet Ramsay fessed up; and we are debating whether or not to include 3 more 'planets' in our solar system (or for that matter, discussing what exactly is a planet!)

I know these are all important issues (I remember feeling quite sad about the JonBenet murder when I first heard about it in '96), but I guess that the news will always reports murders... there will always be new planets to discover...and our sporting heroes will always swear.

The news is so mundane. Last Friday the front cover of the Sydney Morning Herald reported that our Olympic champion Thorpie had become a little fat. Really people, is this the most interesting news to report on?

The news might appear mundane lately, but the reality of life is this...we will ALL stand before the judgement seat of Christ. And only those washed in the blood of the Lamb will be found holy, blameless, and free from accusation. So are you in? Is this what occupies your thinking?

So tell me what matters. News never changes. Its always the same old same old. But Judgement Day changes everything. Maybe I've been spending too much time in Ecclesiastes lately. Maybe its late. Or maybe some things just get more sharply focused late at night...

Getting Old

On Sunday I was preaching from Ecclesiastes 12 and talking about growing old. I made a confession- I don't want to grow old. Im afraid of being feeble and helpless and not being able to do the things I do now.

Afterwards a older woman came up to me and said, 'Why are you afraid of growing old?'
'Well...I suppose its having the aches and pains and all that' I said.
'So what you are telling me David is that you are just a sooky!' was her reply.

I had no comeback.

Did Jesus Commit Suicide?

Did Jesus commit suicide? This was the question I got asked in school Scripture today as I was explaining the meaning of the Passover. As I told the kids that Jesus shed his blood for us (just as the Passover lamb did in the Exodus) one of the kids put up their hands and asked ‘does that mean Jesus committed suicide’?

I was stumped at first. I’ve never been asked that before. Suicide is when you willingly choose to end your life. And Jesus’ death was certainly voluntary.

Eventually I said that Jesus didn’t commit suicide because there was a point to his death- his death is like a husband who takes a bullet for his wife. That’s not suicide, that’s a sacrifice.

And come to think of it, my definition of suicide was flawed. Suicide is when the only and central intention of the act is the death of the individual. There are no other consequences in view. Jesus certainly doesn’t die in order to merely die. He dies so that the world might be saved.

Tonight at the Moore Annual lectures, Dr Gerald Bray said that the will Jesus had to live is seen most clearly in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he prays ‘not my will, but yours be done’. It’s an unnatural thing to want to die. Jesus was not suicidal- he wanted to live. (And not face the Father’s anger- but this wasn’t really fleshed out).

So there you have it- Jesus was not suicidal. His death, although intentional, saves people, and he had a will to live. That’s love. And that’s obedience.

Speaking of obedience- something else struck me from the lecture. Dr Bray said that the Christian life doesn’t get any easier- it gets harder. But that will have to be the subject of another post.

The Lost Art of Meditation

Our recent church 'Day Away' gave me the opportunity to reflect upon our use of the Bible.

I’ve been thinking lately about how there is a lost art to meditation. I don’t really take the time to meditate upon God’s Word. I read the Bible, I pray, but then I shut my Bible and go on with my routine. I should do some more meditating! But then I got to thinking about what this actually means. Does it mean sitting on a mountain top somewhere and emptying my mind of all but God’s Word? Or mulling it over and chewing the fat? Well, I found some answers in the very first Psalm (1:2):

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

The word meditate is translated from the Hebrew word hegeh. Hegeh actually means ‘muttering, musing or whispering’. Some kind of utterance that may be heard is involved. When the Psalmist says that the blessed man ‘mediates day and night’, he is calling upon us to mutter God’s word to ourselves!

In the Psalms, hegeh can refer to audible muttering. For example, in Psalm 35:28 the Psalmist says that ‘his tongue will speak (hegeh) of your righteousness’. That is, the same word for meditate can mean speaking with your tongue. Its an audible sound.

But hegeh doesn’t have to mean an audible utterance. Another example is in Psalm 77:12:

‘I will meditate (hegeh) on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.’

Here meditating is parallel to the quiet contemplation of considering the mighty deeds of God. It doesn’t necessarily involve a muttering that is heard.

Who mutters about God? Back in Psalm 1, the blessed man who delights in the law of the Lord mutters it. But there are another group of people who mutter about God. Consider the very next Psalm (2:1):

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot (hegeh) in vain?

When you consider that Psalms 1 & 2 are supposed to be the introduction to the whole book of Psalms, the contrast couldn’t be starker. There are 2 ways to mutter about God. You can mutter to plot against God, and against his Anointed One. Or you can mutter about his divine Word. The choice is simple.

What do we mutter about? I find that the things that I mull over in my mind are the things that worry me. The things that occupy my thinking and ‘muttering’ are my own personal anxieties. But then I stop there. I don’t go on to mutter in light of God’s Word. I need to allow God’s word to speak to me in my troubles. Martin Lloyd Jones, in his book Spiritual Depression, puts it like this:
‘The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: ‘Why are you cast down’- what business have you to be disquieted? You must turn on yourself…and say to yourself: ‘Hope thou in God’- instead of muttering in this depressed unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged himself to do.’

I think he has understood the lost art of meditation.

So folks- mull over your thoughts and worries. Mutter to yourself! But DON’T stop there- take the next step of thinking about what God’s Word says to your worries. Give yourself a talking to! Mutter to yourself what God’s Word says about the things you worry about! Preach to yourself. Allow the living and active Word of God to speak to your heart. God’s Word is a provision he has given us to allow us to ‘cast all our anxiety on him’ (1 Peter 5:7).

Its Official...

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know. You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems. Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green. Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

Rainy Days in Sydney Town

At the moment Lyndell & Deb are visiting from the US and are staying in my house with the giggly Gately girl(GGG) while I'm staying at my parents' house. But today it was raining. Now what would you do if you were American and its a rainy day in Sydney?

Answer: You would go out to the mall and you would buy your host a teddy drop-bear! And you would dress it up in a Superman outfit! Then, you would take pictures of it on the escalator, sitting in a cafe and reading, and standing next to a Superman action figure. But you also have to be careful, because it might fall on you unawares and try to eat your neck, which is what drop-bears do. Especially when they have Superman outfits on. And then you would put it in situations which you think might sum up your hosts' life- preaching in the pulpit, reading theological books and Greek grammar books, posing in the local church, and casually hanging out by the fish tank. Then you would show your host when he came to visit that evening. And his face would be hurting from laughing...

So today it rained- the local farmers were pleased, 2 Americans & GGG were amused, and I was thoroughly entertained. All is good in Sydney Town.

Take a Guess...

The way it was on Sunday

Church this morning- I'm excited- a man we have been praying for came to church. Pray he'll come back. We've started a new series in Ecclesiastes. I'm going to enjoy preaching on this book! Then I had lunch with my Nan at Yum Cha. Ohh-la la! And tonight some good times were had in the rectory with Shannyn, Gheever and JT. We had pizza, and the Gheev-meister managed to down half a chocolate cake. I don't know how the big guy does it. Then we sat around the outdoor fire afterwards and chatted. About aliens and shooting stars. Some laughs were had, some quotable quotes were made, some discussions about tonight's sermon, and some pyromaniac behaviour from one of our group. Can you guess who?

Distant Thoughts of Poland

Over the last few days my thoughts have been overseas...in the land of Poland. My parents are visiting there as I type this. My Dad is meeting his cousins for the first time (he has never ever set foot in his native country). He even met his uncle the other day. They are taking him to the place of his grandfather's grave. He has been enjoying being able to speak Polish in his homeland.

My thoughts are there because for a long time it has been on my heart to go to the land of my heritage and tell them about Jesus. My deep desire is that Polish people would come and drink of a deep relationship with God.

Late last night I called my parents because I was excited about their trip and the people they are meeting. They told me that they went to a Polish Baptist church on Sunday where they met some Australian and American missionaries! Praise the Lord! AND- they got some contact details for me so I can email/ write and talk about about ministry opportunities there with them. If I start forming friendships with people over there, the thought of going wouldn't be so daunting.

My next step is I am going to start up a Polish prayer group, so that people here can start praying for Poland. That will motivate me to write to some missionaries there, and fuel the desire I have to see God's glory declared in Poland.

I know I have a lot of decisions to make before I even go there. I also know I have things to work on in my own life. But I'm very excited!!! My parent's trip has really helped me to re-focus upon the urgency for mission. Lately I feel as though I have lost the passion- the sense of urgency to declare the gospel. Call this blog entry something of a confession. But the question that I keep asking myself is 'Give me a good enough reason why I shouldn't go?'

P.S. Kid's club is on at church at the moment. There are many opportunites to share Jesus here. The sense of urgency is here too... please pray.

For his glory...not my own.

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea (Hab 2:14).

Woo-hoo!

I just conducted my first wedding.
Woo-hoo! *a jump in the air and a click of the heels*

Ode to Keppel

Disclaimer- the following blog is not intended to represent the worship of creation, but rather to celebrate its beauty.

I'm home now from Great Keppel Island, but my mind is still there. And so, dear friends, a tribute. No, more than a tribute: an ode to the island that is Great Keppel.

As the sun adorns Keppel
I will dream of thee as one dares to dream
Of a place now in the recesses of my mind.
Where time stood still
Yet eternity was witnessed in your starry expanses and vast horizons.
Where people forget
And remember that haven you offer.

Shadowy declines ease to sandy plains crowned by coral.
Renewing blue waters and calming bushlands whisper that same sweetness: 'hush!'
Commanding coastlands and unattainable depth beckons dangerously.
The wonder of your beaches alone
Do not justify their isolation.
I would embrace them in a moment!

Your distant sisters remind me
I float in a sea of isolation,
Almost like a prison.
Yet your serenity liberates me.
Nonetheless I am captivated.
You are fed from without.
You feed me from within.

I do not even hold your lighthouse against you Keppel,
For you Keppel, can do me no wrong.

You be the judge

Imagine climbing an old, historic lighthouse with breathtaking oceanic views over crashing rocks on Great Keppel Island... :D

The only problem was that to get there, its a 4 hour return trip across rocky mountains :(

But I bravely started out on my expediation *insert drumroll* and as I got there, the excitement was mounting as I saw this (notice the lighthouse) :D


Imagine my disappointment when this is what I saw...


:(

(Notice my shadow taking the picture...the whole thing is like a 2 metre tall solar powered lighthouse...for Smurfs!!! Seriously, can ships really see that????) >:[

When I got back, I justified the 4 hour trip to see a piddly little lighthouse to Dave R by saying:

1. I needed the exercise

2. The views looked like this:

:D

You be the judge.

About that Soccer Game...

Its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...its only a game...

*sigh*

Everything is meaningless.

Field Report

Day 3.

Island exploration has commenced. The landscape is rocky, with bushlands and long deserted beaches. The ocean is unlike any Sydney beach I have seen- a clear, milky blue. We are down to our last can of tuna and 3 sausages. From now on, strict rations apply. In the meantime, our appetites can be satisfied by the abundance of oysters that populate the island. Tonight, our allusions of island exploration, survivial and isolation will be temporarily interrupted while we watch Australia play Italy with the other natives and marooned visitors.

End of field report.

Good Coffee, Bad Water

Day 1.
Dave and I have landed on the Island which is known as Great Keppel. The natives are friendly, and the atmosphere is relaxed. Today we explored the island. I'd like to say that we went hunting for our lunch but that would be a lie.

Quote of the day:
Dave R "The water here makes the coffee taste bad."
Dave M (seriously) "Perhaps we should try boiling the water"
Dave R- "What do you think is in the coffee?"

OK, so Im on holidays....

Ahhh Holidays...

Steve and I at Nelson Bay


Kevin Conner, the artist once said 'I would be happy if I could draw for the rest of my life and not show anyone...'. Well, I'd be happy to draw for the rest of my life, but I'd love to show you- so here's a picture I drew of my niece, Jade. More to follow when I get back! Ahhh...holidays!

Adelaide: 17th June, 2006

Congratulations Jay and Jo!

Australia 3, Japan 1

So I did watch the soccer last night between Australia & Japan. But I am kicking myself now that I decided that it was too late to keep watching, and as a result I missed all the fun in the last 8 minutes when we won 3-1.

But people- let's get some perspective here. The Socceroos are not going to win the World Cup. This is only Round 1. One newspaper called this victory the 'greatest sporting moment in Australian history'. Wait a minute- what about Phar Lap? What about Makaby Deva? What about Cathy Freeman? Or the America's Cup? Stephen Bradford? My latest trip to the gym (my mother would be proud anyway...)

Training Days

The good thing about being an Anglican is that the diocese puts effort in training us in the years out of college. Today we had a training day in the city on hatch, match and dispatch (that's thanksgiving services, weddings and funerals in the Anglican context).

Funniest quote of the day:
Seminar leader: (about a groom at a wedding) 'He was the kind of guy who calls a spade a spade.'
Minister: (bluntly) 'Why? Did he work in a hardware store?'

CU Blues

I've got the Cedarville blues.