Living for the king

In only four weeks, 1200+ staff, students and visitors from around Australia and the South Pacific will descend on Canberra for NTE09, to be taught from the Bible, challenged to live radically and self-sacrificially for Jesus, equipped with ministry skills and sent out to preach the gospel throughout the country. It's going to be unique, exciting, and exhausting!

Yet this conference is nothing without the blessing and power of God. For only God gives growth through the preaching of his word (1 Cor 3:7). So please pray - in the words of H.G. Nelson - "hard, early and often"!

(You can find specific prayer points for NTE here.)

Review: God's Big Picture

I have a love-hate relationship with jigsaw puzzles. When all the pieces neatly fit together to form the picture on the top of the box, it can be a thing of joy and wonder. But when you’ve lost the box lid, or you've got a few hundred pieces of blue sky staring at you from the table, the whole thing seems like a frightening, confusing mess.

Most people approach the Bible with this same sense of fear and confusion. They may have a vague recollection of some of the famous Sunday school stories contained within: Adam and Eve, Noah and the ark, David and Goliath, Moses and the Ten Commandments. But they have little idea of how the whole Bible actually hangs together, and what it ultimately means. So, like the neglected puzzle, the Bible sits idly on many people's shelf, left to simply gather dust.

That's where Vaughan Roberts' book, God's Big Picture, comes to the rescue. ....

More here >

The world, the flesh, and the devil?

In our second WTDWS study, we’ll look at unholy triumvirate of “the world, the flesh, and the devil”. What exactly is meant by this phrase? How do these three entities actually work together in terms of tempting humans to sin? How has Jesus defeated each of them? And how can this victory become a reality in our lives?

Historical origin?

But, firstly, what is the exact origin of this phrase?! This has puzzled me over the last couple of days. The most famous English formulation is in Litany of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (1662):

From fornication, and all other deadly sin; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil, Good Lord, deliver us.

But before that, it’s hard to track the first use of the exact phrase. Luther and Calvin both employed it in the 16th C, Abelard and the scholastics rolled it out in the 12th C, but before then my limited resources (and time) have come up with nothing. Nada. Zilch. Surely the early church fathers used it (in Latin presumably)? But I have no leads! Any thoughts?

Biblical origin?

More importantly, though, is the biblical origin of the phrase. Is it a blend of verses or can it be pinpointed to a single passage? A few online commentators cite 1 John 2:15-17, which kind of works if you include the previous verses as well. But it seems to me that the only passage that explicitly draws the three entities together is Ephesians 2:1-3, where we see the world, the flesh and the devil working in unison to bring about spiritual death in humanity:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air [i.e. the devil], the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

But I’m happy to be proved wrong. Are there other passages that support the use of this phrase? Again, any help, would be much appreciated.

Micah 5

In revising the strand material for NTE yesterday, I had one last foray into Micah 5. It is a little gem of a passage (probably the best-known passage of the book?): God will ultimately deliver his people through the birth of his Messiah in the town of Bethlehem (cf. Is 7:14).

This is the third picture of God’s deliverance for Zion in this section of hope (4:1 – 5:15; cf. 4:9, 11). God will reverse Israel’s hopeless situation, including the siege of Zion and the humiliation of her king (v1), by bringing forth a new king from the politically insignificant town of David (v2). This ruler will come in the future, but his origin is ancient, from the Davidic dynasty and from the eternal God (v2). Through this one, God will fulfil his promises made to David (2 Sam 7:12-16) and re-establish his rule over his people. So, though Israel will be abandoned to her enemies and exile, to suffering and oppression, God’s people will be reunited together, in the future, under a shepherd of divine strength and majesty (v3-4; cf. Ezek 37:22). Therefore, God’s people will enjoy true security and peace, because their king will rule over all creation (v4-5).

We see this prophecy ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. He is the majestic king born in lowly Bethlehem (Mt 2:6), whose ‘origins are from old’ (Jn 8:58), and who is given divine power and glory. He alone is the shepherd (Jn 7; 10:16), who has delivered his people from their enemies (Eph 2:1ff), and unites them together in true peace through the gracious redemption of his blood (Eph 1:7; 2:14, 21). Awesome.

photo (Bethlehem and Banksy) by luxerta

Review: the Scree

I found this book on the new acquisitions display at the library and I read it tonight to the boy: The Scree, by Paul McDermott (yep, he of Good News Week).* There’s a handful of reasons why this book shouldn’t work for a 7-year old:

• Its illustrations consist entirely of black and white, ink drawings, with nary a colour picture in sight.
• The story opens with the news that the Scree will eat four of the crew by the books’ end!
• The language is verbose and at times quite antiquated, e.g. “verdant copper plaque … leafless arbour … knotted fetlocks … filthy cleg”.

Yet, my son loved it. It’s a dark, edgier version of Where the Wild Things Are, with a hint of Roald Dahl and an air of The Series of Unfortunate Events about it too (at least in the “I dare you to keep reading” sense).

It’s an odd thing that even from a young age, we’re instinctively drawn to scary stuff, yet with one key proviso: we remain in complete control of the situation (e.g. reading a book we can put down or watching a movie we can walk out off). I guess it’s a way of dealing in miniature with the greater fears that plague our lives. In other words, if we can survive this literary/cinematic ordeal, it gives us some hope for survival in the grander ordeal of life.

Or something like that …



* Weirdly though, it was written in 2001. Go figure.

Christians & social justice?

We spent last week’s Bible study working through some 20-odd passages to answer the question, what responsibility do Christians have to help those facing poverty and oppression? In the second part of the study this week, we’ll try to draw out some conclusions from this thinking, in order to not only answer the question, but reflect on how we as individuals and a church have failed in the past, to contemplate how our lives and ministries should be shaped in response to God's word, and consider what we as Christians have to say to our society about social justice.

One of the questions we’re also going to grapple with this week is the old chestnut: what is the relationship between evangelism and social action? (Interestingly, Peter Jensen was asked this very question on Compass last week in reference to Connect spending). Here’s the four approaches I left the group with to contemplate this week (all of which I have heard or read at sometime):

1. Enemies - Social action will always absorb and detract from the work of evangelism.
2. Collaborators – Both should be done in conjunction, however evangelism is more valuable and should take priority; social action is a means to the end of evangelism.
3. Collaborators - Both should be done in conjunction, however social action is more valuable and should take priority; evangelism is a by-product of social action.
4. Friends – Both should be done in equal measure; both have equal intrinsic value.

(For the record, I don’t like any of these descriptions!)

photo by felix42

What's the deal with stuff?

After working through the book of Hebrews,* focusing on the place of the emotions in the Christian life, and racing through the book of Micah in our home group this year, we’re planning on closing out the year with a series affectionately known as "whatsthedealwithstuff?". The idea originated in one of my first groups, where we finished each year exploring the ethical issues or theological topics which had perplexed or intrigued members of the group in the preceding studies. (Kind of like a parking lot for unresolved questions. In fact, this blog actually grew out of that idea some years ago, though has taken some weird and wonderful turns since.)

In past years, we boldly investigated such diverse topics as hell & annihilation, the existence of the devil, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, gender & ministry, hedonism & pleasure, divorce & remarriage, and the environment & Christian responsibility. This term, it looks like we'll be exploring: Christians & social justice, the world, the flesh & the devil, the shape of evangelism, as well as suffering, evil & God.

Admittedly, in the past, these studies have been the most passionately and actively engaging studies I’ve ever had the pleasure to lead, and I’m praying the same would be true this time round too, i.e. that the group wouldn’t shy away from the hard work of wrestling together with God’s word on difficult and potentially divisive topics.

Stay tuned.
_____

* Or more appropriately, being worked over by God's word (Hebrews 4:12).

photo by hypertypos

Review: Anglicans Sydney Style

Just watched "Anglicans: Sydney Style" on Compass (ABC 1) and was surprised how positive a light it shone on Sydney evangelicals. Despite some barbed questions and statements, I thought Peter Jensen, Neil Macken and others did a superb job in explaining the heart of the diocesan mission: to be Christian before Anglican, to be guided by the Word of God, before tradition, experience and rationality and to be focused on the gracious gospel of Jesus and its preaching, before any other task or mission.

I thought it was particularly interesting to see the contrast between the two types of congregations depicted in the doco. On the one hand we had a theologically progressive though liturgically “heavy” church, with a small handful of almost exclusively elderly, anglo people. On the other we had a theologically conservative though liturgically “light” church, packed with a diverse gathering of adults, teenagers and kids, brimming with life, and actively engaging people in their community.

Though the rector of the first church spoke emphatically about being welcoming and all-embracing (the gay-friendly rainbow on the pulpit was given special mention), the reality seemed anything but. No matter how much spin you put on it, the pictures simply told a different story. The progressive church looked insular, archaic and (dare I say it) obsolete, and, in contrast, the conservative church looked positively engaging, fresh and vital. But then again, I am biased!

photo by saturnino

Blogfast

Even at the best of times, this blog has been a bit of a half-hearted project for me. It’s the last thing on the list each day, and the first thing to be jettisoned in seasons of busyness and stress. The last month has certainly been one of those more harried seasons. In case you don’t know, my wife has been pretty unwell of late (= severe understatement) and so my time and energy has been almost entirely focused on her, caring for the kids, and not falling too far behind in my work. Hence, the blogfast: the lack of posts and comments in the last three weeks.

My apologies, particularly, for the unanswered questions about God, evil and suffering. Answering these theoretical questions has well and truly taken a back seat to dealing with the real suffering in our own lives and loving my family faithfully in its midst. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back on the blogging horse again soon, but no promises as to when that might actually be!

In the mean time, if you're the praying type, I'd love your prayers.

photo by thorinside

My own vine and fig tree

There are many rich phrases in Micah 4 that describe what life will be like in the perfected kingdom of God. It will be like a mountaintop city, a beacon to the world, with people (including the lame) coming in, and God’s word going out, and with plowshares and pruning hooks refashioned from swords and spears. But my favourite (at the moment) is the simple image of serene existence in verse 4:

They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid,* for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

I know you can’t read too literally into the imagery, but the words paint a soothing picture of the future. This life can seem so stressful, fragile, scary, so “shakeable” at times: deadlines, dysfunction, depression, disease, decay, death. But in Jesus, we have been given a “kingdom that cannot be shaken”, namely “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb 12:22-29). We will be able to enjoy the blessings of God’s renewed creation in complete peace, security and prosperity, free of fear, free of enemies, like a man sitting serenely under his vine and fig tree. Because God has spoken … in the sprinkled blood of his son (Heb 12:24).

Glorious.

* ‘Afraid’ (maharid) = literally to shake with fear.

photo by seanosullivan

Take a long, hard look at yourself

Thought-provoking column from Richard Glover's yesterday about the necessity of self-delusion ('Myopia is not exclusive to the overweight', SMH, 19/9/09). Starting with the observation that “it’s in the nature of human existence that we don’t see our flaws as others do” (e.g. being annoying, loud talking, bad driving), Glover argues that it’s actually healthy for us to have an inaccurate image of ourselves. We convince ourselves we’re thinner, smarter, less annoying, more successful and in control, because otherwise, “Life would become intolerable if we saw our situation with any clarity.” Self-delusion lies at the heart of self-preservation, it is “life’s necessary consolation.”

To a point I think this is true. We lie to ourselves because the truth does hurt. We’re fatter, dumber, more annoying, less successful and less in control than we ever want to admit even to ourselves! It’s easier to live the lie.

But self-delusion isn’t absolutely necessary, is it?

Christians are called, in view of God’s mercy, to think of themselves with "sober judgement", not thinking of themselves more highly than they ought (Rom 12:3). Candid assessment of our selves is one of the many by-products of experiencing God's grace. God has loved us despite our spiritual affliction - “weak ... ungodly ... sinners ... enemies” (Rom 5:6-10) - so we now have the spiritual and emotional freedom to be brutally honest with ourselves, in every facet of life. More than this, grace sets us free to own our failures and actually grow as people, guided by God’s word and empowered by the Spirit. Self-awareness (self in light of God), rather than self-delusion is key.

Of course, it’s one thing to merely say this, and another to put it into practice. Failure and public exposure are personally amongst my greatest fears. I don’t want anyone to see the cracks in my godliness, gifts, marriage and family. Yet in the safety of God’s grace, I can be liberated from the compulsion to hide my flaws and failings. That’s what it means to live in the light of the gospel; being real, open and honest with God, others and our own selves. In other words, being exposed.

photo by oberazzi