God on Our Side

 

1. In my life

When I've faced the hardest things

Though my faith was wavering

You were always there with me.

 

Your great love

Carried me on eagles wings

Giving me an inward peace

When I’ve faced the hardest things.

 

Help me to know the wonder of your majesty.

You’ve held me strong and safely through the fiercest storms life can bring.

 

Nothing

Can separate us

Ever from Jesus 

Or from the great love of God

 

No-one

Who is against us

Can stand against us

When we have God on our side

 

2. In our lives

Though we suffer many things

God gives us the grace we need

To continue patiently

 

One day soon

He will wipe away our tears

We will know that we are his

When our precious Lord appears

 

 

Bridge

Help me to know the wonder of your majesty

It’s your enduring love that conquers all my fears.

You turn my times of turmoil into desert springs

You’ve held me strong and safely through the fiercest storms life can bring.

Dichotomy

As insecure Christians, we are somewhat prone to enforcing our own separation between things that are not actually separate. A simple example is the “laity” and the “clergy”.

 (I have a lot of quote marks in this  passage, my use of them denotes that I don't necessarily agree with the terms within them)

I do understand the difference that is being highlighted in this distinction, but I do want to emphasize that my understanding of the new testament is that we are all saints, believers, a combined priesthood, all are called and gifted, and given to different tasks and responsibilities, yet all are one in our devotion to our Lord Jesus.

In this “division” of laity and clergy, we set up a system where, on the one hand, teaching, prayer and Christian “ministry” (and many other things) are handed over to certain people to "take care of" (the clergy) while the rest get on with their “practical” lives. A bit like being too busy to garden, or cook, or care for your children, so these tasks are handed over, or at least shared with others, who are paid for their involvement. It is a practical arrangement, but also man made.

Yes, God did set aside the Levites for the priestly duties amongst the Israelites, but it is interesting that Jesus was not a Levite, yet he is the true high priest, above all other priests.

The new testament church, on the other hand, was given its apostles by Christ, and then their leadership was handed on to elders at each geographical region of Christian gathering.

 

But leadership did not mean that the leader was responsible for all the “religious duties".

 

The gathering of Christians was actually a family gathering, with all given to all the tasks of God's purposes in our world.

 

So every believer, saint, Christian, has a personal relationship with Jesus, and is responsible to follow him in all that he has for each us, both as individuals and as members of a gathered cooperating group of Christians. (I am deliberately substituting for that well known “c” word)

 

It is interesting that some denominations, eg, the one I belong to, does “ordain” “ministers” yet accepts that the local group continues to meet and function for months and years without an “ordained minister” when none is available for geographic, financial, or other reasons.

 

So the division of laity and clergy in this situation, seems unnecessary.

 

Yes, there are some members that are less likely to attend on Sundays when no “officially ordained” minister is present. And others will only approach the minister, when a funeral or wedding is needed, so that the “religious” necessities of life are taken care of “professionally". These are examples of what I believe are sad outcomes of the presence of an unnecessary dichotomy.

 

But surely “ordination” is biblical?

 

As far as I can see, all people were prayed over, as they were sent to perform any task that was required. This is what Christians do.

Of course, with ordination, those that are in the roles of “ordained minister” are able to be financially cared for, for their role, which is only right, as per the “ox treading the grain”, yet Paul was able to support himself, and never claimed any of what was rightfully his.

 

This is not the dichotomy I intended to discuss.

 

I realised on Sunday, as we alluded to the old testament “heroes” that we are prone to hold on to images of people we think would glow in the dark with holiness. Yet these people were simply people of faith, like us. (James 5:17)

 

In saying this, I do not wish to remove any of the honour and respect we owe to these people, yet we are to honour each other in the same way.

 

Finally, I want to mention the “altar”, or “stage”, or “raised platform” or whatever “special area” we keep for the “specially gifted people”.

Often that is the place where the division of laity and clergy is clearly marked.

 

I am not suggesting we ignore the importance of acoustics, Jesus used a fishing boat to allow his teaching to reach as many as possible, but he was also pressed upon by crowds and children, and when the disciples tried to prevent them, he set them straight.

 

We are not all called to be preachers or teachers, yet we are all prepared to give an account of the hope that is in us, whenever the opportunity arises.

 

Are you laity or clergy? If you are laity, then what gift are you not using to benefit your fellow believers? If you are clergy, then are you willing to serve others without recognition? In humility, not “lording it” over others?

 

Matthew 19:6 (NIV) So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Did you know?

Did you know Lord, when you became man, you would be born on a dirt floor?

Did you know as a child, growing, your father Joseph would not be there for your ministry years?

Did you know when you were baptised by John, that he would one day doubt your calling?

Did you know when you chose Peter that he would one day deny you?

Did you know when you chose Judas, that one day he would betray you?

Did you know that Jerusalem, who killed the prophets, but welcomed you like a king, would also kill you?

Did you know that your church who is devoted to you, would quarrel, split and even kill one another?

Did you know your church would struggle to honour your word of truth?

Did you know I would struggle and fail miserably in my walk with you?

Do you still accept me as your child?

The Deep Goodness of God

I’m not sure what started this train of thought. We know Jesus statement to the rich young ruler, no-one is good but God alone, and we know the verse from James 1:17, every good and perfect gift is from above. But I think it was as I considered simply the beauty of a single lawn flower as I walked to my car after work.

 

Why is such beauty to be seen, even on an ordinary day of lockdown, on the humble grass that we walk over?

 

I was reminded me of the verse from Ecclesiastes, that God makes everything beautiful in it’s time.

 

So here is a small simple yellow flower, with its circle of petals glistening on a moist cool, early spring day. Beauty even in the lawn. Something I would normally walk over.

 

But then I thought of the multitude of blades of grass beneath the flower, all forming a green carpet, insignificant compared to the dazzling yellow of the little flower.

 

Yes, God cares also for the grass, and the dirt beneath the grass and the worms beneath the dirt and so-on. At every layer there is creation, God’s good creation, bursting with tiny details of God’s genius. And not simply his genius, but his goodness, because  his creation is both functional and beautiful.

 

And this goodness and functionality are simply a reflection of God’s deep goodness.

 

But to appreciate God’s goodness, we must be rescued from our guilty anger.

 

I have watched my children behave (as I have also) in anger, eating a beautiful meal without an ounce of gratitude, for those who prepared and provided it.

 

That is how it can be with us when we have no desire for God himself.

 

We can experience the benefits of creation without gratitude.

 

I think I am quoting from Romans when I say that.

 

 (NIV) For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him.

 

Yet God cares for all of us, saint and sinner alike, making his rain fall on all who have need, believers, and non-believers.

 

You see, to start to appreciate God’s goodness, we need to be in a positive relationship with him.

 

But our sinfulness puts a barrier up. We do not want to relate to someone whom we have failed, time and again. Someone whom we have potentially offended, someone, who we possibly offend repeatedly, although we have tried not to, or someone we blame for all the problems in our lives, or someone we quietly think is punishing us continually, and unfairly for all the “tiny” things we did some time ago.

 

Even as believers, how often do we fall back into old sins?

 

But if we are somehow removed from our sins, separated from them in such a way that they no longer have moral consequences for us, freedom without bounds, freedom to try and live a godly life, (which is what Jesus did for us on the cross), then, with our lives comforted by the wonderful grace of God, we see God in a new light. We see his goodness on so many levels.

In fact the deeper we look, the more goodness we find, in every detail that he has planned in our lives, our family, our friends, our spouses, our children, our place to live, the jobs he provides, the opportunity to express our gifts, and the wonderful creation he surrounds us with, in front, behind, above , below, we are hemmed in by his goodness.

 

Psalms 139:5-6 (NIV) 5 You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

 

And his goodness is worthy of our praise.

 

God does not need our praise. He is not a like a fearful, insecure dictator needing his subjects to lavish continual lip service in order to prevent the reality of fallen ugliness from taking hold.

 

God is independently good at every level, and all who behold him can only cry ‘Holy, Holy, Holy.” Because truly, that is how he is.

 

But he is also truly good, in the moral and kind and loving way.

 

He is so good that he does not overlook his fallen creation, but rather subjects it to necessary temporary frustration, as his plan for full restoration is fulfilled.

 

And his plan is to send his most precious son, Jesus, as a propitiation.

No one is special?

Looking into myself I realise that there is an in built positive bias. 

Immediately I know that some may say, hang on, I despise myself, I wish I were dead.

Even that I interpret as a reaction to the disappointment that we are not special, or the breaking of the bubble of self love.

It's not wrong to self love, it's simply wrong to assume we deserve it. Self love is our normal setting as humans, I think.

As a Christian, I believe in the depravity of man, that all of us are inherently evil, or rebellious. 

Given a situation of "me verses someone else", if my life depended on it, I will most often choose me. I don't want to put this to the test, but even as a relatively mature Christian, I see more than glimpses of this at work in me, even now.

So back to my point,

none of us are special. Yes we all have different gifts and abilities and interests and personalities, which are wonderful snd purposeful and right to share with each other, but these gifts, though they may, from time to time, reach a certain favour with people, or the media, and receive a certain honour (which lifts certain people with those gifts to a higher level, so to speak) before God, those gifts do not bring favour, in my opinion. 

For example, athleticism, musical ability, a beautiful voice, beauty in appearance, intelligence, strength, and many other characteristics and abilities, from time to time, receive praise and popularity. It makes the person with those attributes special, with both positive and negative consequences.

Positive advantages is what we expect our special abilities to bring, as some of these gifts are valued in many ways, but with popularity and fame and money come other effects which are actually negative.

But putting aside the more extreme examples of these gifts, the less famous amongst us still are prone to carrying our particular gifts as medals which we might display to our advantage at particular times. If nothing else, it gives us a reason to feel good about ourselves.

I say that because, as I said before, I believe that we are all born sinners, rebels, fist shakers at God, deluded self directors (by that I mean that we think we have the ability to rule our own lives, when in fact self rule is actually rule by idols, demons and ultimately, satan. Again, not everyone would see it this way).

So being born with original sin we are prone to a deep insecurity which, in my opinion, is the seed of all insecurity and drives a lot of our self-bettering attempts.

We use our gifts and abilities to help reassure ourselves that we are not that bad and certainly better than most.

And when our gifts are not appreciated as we think they ought, we can take it very personally and become angry, sometimes very angry. Our anger unmasks our insecurity. Again I see this in myself.

But if we accepted that we are not that special, we would possibly find life less stressful. Certainly we would be a bit more humble and easier to deal with. 

But how can we be satisfied with ordinary, even bland existence? Surely the answer relates to our being loved. If we are loved, and we love others, then we are special, gifts or no gifts, success or failure, pretty or ugly, young or old, strong or weak, etc etc.

Being loved implies being part of a family. Gods family. If God loves us, then when books are opened, and the book of life is revealed, then we are secure in the ordinary lives we have led, despite the sin and rebellion that Satan will bring up before our God.

If God is for us, who can be against us? That truth is more than sufficient for every circumstance now, and into the future. Praise be to our God and Saviour the Lord Jesus.

What can we do to get our church going?

This is an interesting but confronting question.
There are so many assumptions and presumptions potentially implied, even if asked honestly and relatively innocently. I write this as a member of a small rural congregation in decline.

Firstly there is the assumption that a small and elderly church is clearly in need of a boost. And the opposite being that a large and diverse congregation with many young people present is necessarily healthy.

Is this a normal and safe assumption?

Are there examples of small churches being healthy and large ones being very unhealthy?

Do we always equate large and numerically successful as blessed by God (and doctrinally safe)?

Do good churches age, dwindle and then die never to be heard from again? Or do good  churches simply keep on going because God blesses "good" churches with perpetuity? (The fact that most of the geographic churches written to in the letters of the new testament no longer exist as congregations or denominations is interesting. It does not disqualify the letters.)

Does a denomination have to continue on perpetually to be proved as bone-fide (no pun intended)? Does the death of a congregation or a denomination prove its error or inadequacy?

Might God allow a whole movement to be wiped out by means of disaster, or simple ageing? Might he also allow relatively poor theologically based movements to thrive?

And what of a particular gathering in a particular building?

Does legitimate faith mean that a congregation must continue to thrive in a particular building?

Does the loss of congregation and an empty church building signify failure of the church, or the denomination, the community, or the truth of Christianity?

And does a new building and a growing congregation imply true teaching and true service of God?

And what actually grows a congregation in postmodern Australia, or anywhere else?

The desirable answer is unconverted people coming to faith and then making Sunday worship at a church building with a particular congregation a regular habit.

But truly, in Australia, how much of that is the true reason for church growth?

What of christian people marrying and having children who carry on the faith as they grow up within a church? Sadly many church kids leave christian habits. Many families have few children, which is a western norm, somewhat dictated to by culture and economy(this is a whole topic in itself). And some couples choose not to have children at all.

And what of the many people who have a Christian heritage, some becoming more convinced of the importance of practicing their faith and then simply deciding to attend church? Is this conversion or confirmation?
 

And what of the simple movement of people of faith from one congregation to another?

Surely this is the major reason for changes in congregation size in Australia?

And whatever factors come into it, people of faith can be swayed to change congregation.
The reasons may include a change of geography for job opportunities. In smaller rural communities, children grow up and often leave permanently, for reasons of employment.

But other factors like style of worship, being child friendly, theology, inclusivity, exclusivity, etc may come into play.

Of course people become deeply hurt by perceived lack of love or failure in expected behaviours within a congregation. Scandals may alienate people as can progressive or fundamental teaching. Changes in all of these things test the loyalty of a congregation. People do become hurt, and do express this through a cessation of attending or a move to a different congregation.

People also die. Sometimes they are even martyred.

But an important question is, who is a congregation or an individual actually loyal to?

The minister?
The other congregants?
The denomination?
The building?
The accumulated funds?

To God? 

Does that imply attendance at one specific building?

Have we ever asked the simple question as to why a particular individual attends a particular congregation, and especially, why they continue attending a particular congregation? The answers I have heard include "My parents were married here, my wife was buried here, my father built the pews, etc. While I'm alive I will never leave this building!

These are all interesting questions.

It is easy to visit an old, small congregation and pick out the problems, just like it is easy to physically push over an elderly person.

But being elderly and frail as a congregation does not logically equate with failure in Gods eyes. And pushing over an elderly person may be easy, but it certainly is not acceptable.

Jobs' suffering (in the old testament) was not due to his moral failure.

Is it an important goal to keep a congregations numbers above a certain threshold? And what determines that threshold?

To whose advantage is that status quo?

Does a small and ageing congregation imply a failure in the witness of that congregation?

What of the effect of major denominational shifts in teaching? And of the continual change in ministers appointments? Forcing people to move on within 3-5 years even when things are going well?

Is it a fair assumption or expectation that a healthy congregation will thrive in spite of changes in leadership?

Is it notable that the most populous christian denomination has, until recently, kept its leader, once chosen, in place for life?

Yes, I am a member of a small rural congregation of the uniting church. Yes, I have become somewhat wounded at people coming to our congregation and implying that somehow the smallness of numbers and lack of children is our responsibility. Yes, I am saddened and distressed by the progressive theology our denomination embraces, testing the loyalty of people like myself to my local congregation and denomination.

As Christians, we all need to be be ready, even eager to share the reason for the hope that is in us. But let us not put burdens on each other that are not godly. (Like the Israelites being given larger quotas for bricks by the Egyptians)

Rather let us continue to meet and worship our wonderful God and ask him to direct our steps as individuals and congregations within our community.

And let us trust God, that he births, builds and maintains his church, and that the gates of hell will not prevail against her.












 

Giving Praise

 Giving praise to God does not need music. Turning up on Sunday, no matter how we feel, humbly identifying as a sinner who has been forgiven by God through the sacrifice of Jesus, and honouring this gift of grace by identifying with other believers, not as those in any way better than them, but as those connected permanently and lovingly by our shared Lord and faith, as well as being willing to hear Gods word, knowing the Holy Spirit is present amongst us corporately, as well as individually, but especially corporately, this is praise.
Being a willing member of the gathered community, doing whatever we are asked by God, which might include not being active, but simply being still and listening, re-aligning our lives, attitudes and goals to Gods quiet but persistent voice. Giving up personal ambition, giving up self justification, embracing Gods faithfulness, and his good and perfect will for our lives, this is praise and worship of the God who has done everything that we need, even giving up his own precious Son, and who is bringing all creation including us, to His glorious and wonderful goal.

“The earth was a formless void”

This early verse from Genesis chapter 1, should not be interpreted within the framework of our own creativity.

 

Yes, we as humans are creative, being in the image of our creator God. Yes, we can picture a “formless” lump of clay that a potter carefully and meticulously shapes into a beautiful bowl. Or we might picture a stark and barren moonscape without life. But I don’t believe we can simply apply these images to the “formless void” of the creation account.

God speaks and from nothing, creation takes place.

But pre-creation (pre-time) nothingness, and “step one” unformed earth are concepts that are beyond our understanding.

 

The human pottery artist did not begin by making, out of nothing, a formless lump of clay. That is clearly beyond us as humans. And young, aspiring potters, need to practice and develop their artistic abilities, to bring out mature works of art from the formless lumps of clay.

 

God, on the other hand, did not need to practice his creative abilities. His first and only attempt (and that word “attempt” is clearly irreverent) at creation was perfect and flawless.

The image of a stark, lifeless, cratered moonscape, implies a history to the moon. But this formless void of Genesis 1:2 has no history outside of God's intention of creation. It may be empty at this point of creation, but it is in God's active sphere of creation and therefore not lifeless, as in him is all life.

 

Some might argue that the fact of the fall of mankind is evidence that creation was flawed.

 

I disagree.

 

God saw that creation was “good”.

 

But I ask you to please continue with my thought process.

 

If God did not need “practice” in creating, then his first step of earth as a “formless void” should not necessarily be interpreted as a chaotic soup of undifferentiated building blocks, awaiting a master’s touch, or a dusty landscape, long neglected, awaiting the eye of an expert restorer. 

Each step of creation was perfect, including the formless void of earth step 1.

 

The formless void was exactly the step that was required. It was as brilliant and incomparable as every other step of creation. Though formless, it was not purposeless. Though formless, it was not ugly. Though formless, it was not waste matter. It was not an immense piece of ore that required refinement and the discarding of waste in order to purify the golden nugget, so to speak.

 

If I could compare it to anything, it would be the fertilized human ovum, the single cell with a complete set of chromosomal DNA, and the energy and environment to develop into a perfectly formed human being. The initial cell could be considered the formless void of the developing fetus.

 

God was not a space traveller who happened upon a formless void and out of it, created the earth and all of creation. Space, stars, sun, moon were created after the formless void of the earth, on day four. Of course, I am speaking from a very literal interpretation of creation. Not everyone will agree with me. I accept this disagreement.

But if we do take a very literal understanding, then the formless void of earth precedes light, and precedes the first day and night. Which may mean that the formless earth preceded the creation of time.

One day we will understand more fully the incomparable glory of our creator God.

Precious Jesus

In the middle of the night

keeping me awake

I see visions of my life,

scenes I can't forget,

Someone raging like a fool

Proud, for all to see,

How I wish it wasn’t true,

That it wasn't me.

O I need Jesus, precious Jesus

Only Jesus heals my soul,

So give me Jesus, precious Jesus

help me Jesus, make me whole.

I've believed for many years

in the grace of God,

all the blessings that he gives

and his kingdom come.

Still I lay awake at night

'cause I really need him,

no one else can make things right;

only Jesus heals.

And I see Jesus, precious Jesus

Only Jesus makes me whole,

O I see Jesus, precious Jesus

Help me Jesus, to go on.

 

So I call his name

and he gives me peace

only he can save

me from my distress.

Every hour, every day

still, I need his grace

the great gift he gave

when he took my place.

 

O, I need Jesus, precious Jesus

Only Jesus heals my soul

So give me Jesus, precious Jesus

Help me, Jesus, to go on,

Precious Jesus, bring me home.