The Big Q: Apocalypt Now?

Here's something fun. Each week I'm going to put up a question for you to discuss. Love to hear what you think! Here's the first one....

On a global scale, it's been a devastating start to the year. We've had earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, bush fires, terrible political unrest.. To name a few. A couple of weeks ago the Sunday Mail published an article which stated that churches and ministers are saying these are all signs that the world is going to end soon.

Q. What are your thoughts? Are we in the last days?

(If you're a Christian, don't feel you have to give the stock answer. There are theologians on both sides of it!)

Outlive Your Life

I love the idea behind this book, that we can live our lives in such a way to make a difference beyond our years on earth. "What if we rocked the world with hope?" Max Lucado asks. "Infiltrated all corners with God's love and life?"


I love this perspective, and I think it's a much more worthy way to live than the usual selfish, get-more style chosen by many people (and shouted at us by the advertisers - "Go on. You deserve it...").

Having said this though, something about this book didn't really win me over. I'm not sure exactly how, but the writing seemed somehow a little fake. It's probably just me. I don't usually go for these inspirational types of books.

I know Max Lucado is certainly living what he preaches. He's living his own life to make a difference, especially through his partnership with World Vision.

I'd be interested to hear what other people thought of the book, if you've read it...?

Things I've Learned About Community from Postman Pat

1. Get outside
2. Every problem is everybody's problem - everybody gets involved to help
3. Everyone has different skills - Oh no! Pat's slid down a hill! We need farmer Bob and his tractor! (and the Policeman comes too of course)
4. Children are just as important and needed - "Quick Lucy! Ride to the post office and get farmer Bob! Well done Lucy"
5. Once you've fixed the problem, celebrate together too!
6. Small communities grow better community
7. It takes a village to raise a child - all the adults look after all the kids
8. Enjoy your work, enjoy your community - "Pat thinks he's a really lucky man..."
9. Smile and be friendly to people - "Everybody smiles when he calls to greet them"
10. Deliver things personally - Pat doesn't have to knock on the door or ring the bell, but he does. You get the feeling email doesn't play a huge part in this community

Your Money God's Way

This is the best book on money I've read. Admittedly, that doesn't say a lot, seeing as I've only read probably one other book on the topic. Still, if you're interested in seeing what a Godly, spiritual way of dealing with money might be, Your Money God's Way would be a great place to start.

What I liked about it most was the way it used the Bible. The other book on money that I've read stole quotes from the Bible to back up the author's points (e.g. "You need to tithe, because as it says in Deuteronomy chapter 11 verse..."), but the author of this book, Amie Streater, has got a much better handle on the big ideas that the Bible - and Jesus - are trying to get across. This one has a more practical, real-life feel to it, which I loved.

God cares about real people, and how real people live through the everyday challenges and celebrations of their lives, and this come across wonderfully in the way Amie writes. She's a pastor herself, and you can tell she's spent many hours, days, years, praying and crying with people as they work through these challenges and come out the other end more content and more generous - more like God.

Couple of other things that I found helpful...

At the start of the book, Amie goes through some of the myths about money that have sadly been preached many times in churches. If you've ever been to church, you've probably heard some of these myths, and they're really quite damaging, and not at all what God has in mind.

Also, there are some very helpful chapters on different money "personalities." Everybody deals with money in a different way, and Amie goes through each style, celebrates the positive points, but also
points out some possible pitfalls in each way of living. I found these chapters helped me to understand myself and the other people around me a lot better.

It's well worth a read, for anyone who has a wallet or bank account (whether they have money in them or not). Everybody deals with money, and it's my belief that the way you use money in your life is one of the best signs of what kind of person you are.

Leaving the Church

Just read a great article written by Micah Smith for Relevant Magazine, commenting on the many many young people who are walking away from church. Read the whole article here if you want to. Here are some of his thoughts...

"There is no shortage of examples in which relationships are critical to the way of Jesus. What happens though, is that when we’re burned by the Church, or when we get exhausted or bored, we flip through scripture and determine that God never endorses a Sunday morning worship service, anyway. “Great,” we think. “I’m off the hook. I can quit this thing and not technically be in any trouble.”

"The problem comes when walking away from the Sunday morning service means walking away from people. From God’s people. From the endless beauty of a common knowledge of a greater good. From people who will serve with you, pray with you, believe in you and fight for you. At the end of the day, the mystery of the Church isn’t a worship song or a sermon. If it is, then sure, walk out of the building, load up your iPod with church podcasts and worship bands, and never look back. But the reality is that sermons and songs aren’t all that you give up when you walk away. You also sacrifice a community of believers.

Work & Grace

"It is the nature of work to provide a material form for the invisibilities of grace."

- Eugene H. Peterson, from his book, Practise Resurrection: A Conversation in Growing Up in Christ

Rain Rain Go Away

It's really quite uncanny. It seems every time we have a community BBQ it rains. The idea is to put on a free BBQ for the community, to make friends and help people get to know some others in their area. We've been trying to do it on the first Sunday of every month, but the current score is three BBQs from about seven attempts. Not a very good average.

It's bizarre. We'll have three perfectly fine weekends in a row, and then the weekend of our BBQ will be wet wet wet. Same thing has happened this month. The last few weekends haven't been too bad, but then I look at the radar for tomorrow and it looks pretty certain that we'll be rained out again.

Haven't we had enough rain now God? It doesn't bother me so much. I mean, it only affects our little BBQ. No great loss. But the colossal amount of water you've sent in our country so far this year has produced devastation and heartache for some of the other people around us.

Not to mention the unbelievable amount of other major tragedies that have already occurred in the few weeks we've had so far this year. As well as the widespread flooding, there've been powerful tropical cyclones, earthquakes in Christchurch, bushfires, intense political turmoil in Libya and Egypt. What are you doing, God? Where are you? What's going on? We've had enough tragedy now for the next 10 years. Enough now, please. Father, let your kingdom of peace come to our broken earth.

And let it be today.

White Ribbon Day

How can it be that God is love?
When blood rolls down upon our land
And fathers lose their only son
Where is the hope?
Oh God we pray for white ribbon day

How can it be that you could love?
When blood ran down that wooden cross
Your father gave his only son
You came for peace
You came to die for white ribbon day

And we pray for peace
To flood our hearts again
Only God can save our nation now
And we long for joy to fill our streets again
Only God can save our nation now

How can it be that God is just?
When flesh is torn from young and old
And children run in bloody fields
Where is the hope?
Oh God we pray for white ribbon day

And we pray for peace
To flood our hearts again
Only God can save our nation now
And we long for joy to fill our streets again
Only God can save our nation now

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah for white ribbon day

And can it be that You are just
When flesh was torn for young and old?
And here we stand saved by Your blood
We'll stand with courage
We'll live and die for white ribbon day

Hallelujah, hallelujah,
Hallelujah for white ribbon day

- Delirious?

God's New Project

"Jesus' resurrection is the beginning of God's new project, not to snatch people away from earth to heaven, but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord's Prayer is about."

- from Surprised by Hope, by Tom Wright

Brisbane Floods, and Where is God?

A couple of weeks ago there was major flooding in my city and the surrounding areas, and in fact in an unbelievably large portion of the eastern states of Australia. Some towns are still waiting to see if their river banks will hold. The sheer amount of water is inconceivable, and the effects have been devastating. Many people have lost loved ones, and many more have lost their homes and businesses. And as if that wasn't enough, in the last few weeks a great number of these have since found out that their insurance doesn't cover this kind of flood.

If you entertain the notion of God (whether you believe there is one or not), it doesn't take long before the questions start rolling in...

If there is a God, why didn't he do something? Is he really all that powerful? And if he is powerful, is he really all that good? What kind of person would allow people to suffer like this?

I do believe that God is good and that he loves us immensely, and thankfully the Bible does have some answers for these questions.

First, the sad reality is that there is suffering in this world. Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, bush fires, AIDS, SIDS and cancer are all part of the world we live in. Unfortunately, that's just how this world is. And it affects all of us, whether you believe in God or not.

This would be utterly demoralizing if that was the end of the story. But thankfully it isn't.

The incredible hope of the Bible is that one day God will restore this world. One day God will rebuild it and transform it into a more beautiful, more amazing, more life-giving universe. The Bible promises that in this new world there will be no more crying or pain, no more anguish, no more suffering, because the old world will have passed away. Not only that, but our own bodies (of those who belong to God) will also be restored and transformed - no longer subject to sickness, decay, cancer, or even death itself. One of the writers in the New Testament, Paul, describes this transformation as being something like that of a caterpillar to a butterfly. And those who have already died will be resurrected and given new life and a new body too. I can't wait for this new world, and new way to experience the depths and greatness of it. This is hope.

And what about in the meantime? Do we just wait it out, suck it up, and suffer through this world? Absolutely not. There's hope for right now too. Jesus' life and message when he was on earth was that this new world - which he called the kingdom of heaven - is even now breaking into our world. While the complete restoration is still in the future, the process has already started. It started with Jesus. Practically, he lived it out, and showed others how to live it. Things like love, grace, forgiveness, beauty, joy, mercy, compassion - heaven breaking in. And when we live like this, we're bringing light into the darkness.

But even more than that, Jesus' resurrection was the inauguration of this new kingdom of light. Easter Sunday was the start of an entirely new week. Yes, Jesus died, like we all do. But he then defeated death, and God resurrected him, wonderfully transformed. Now death means nothing to Jesus - it has no power whatsoever. He was the first to be resurrected - and all who believe and live this truth will follow later - and right now he is the reigning king of this world. Just think for a second about the implications.

And right now we can build for this kingdom, helping it break into this world. Jesus told us to pray for God's kingdom to come, on earth as it is in heaven, and now we can join with God to be the answer to that prayer. The restoration has begun. Yes, there is still darkness, tragedy and pain, but that's not all there is. Heaven is breaking in.

Many people who've lost homes in the last couple weeks have said while they were shocked by the damage, they were absolutely stunned by the generosity, compassion and selfless hearts of the thousands of people who came to help them get back on their feet again. Over 22,000 people flooded into Brisbane with mops, buckets and spades, from all over Australia and New Zealand - to help out their neighbours and friends - but more often to help complete strangers. Thousands of volunteers had to be turned away because there were just too many.

In the midst of pain, there can be breathtaking beauty, overwhelming love, inconceivable generosity. God is not absent, and he is not uncaring. He is building a new world, and it's already begun. Look for it, pray for it, see it breaking in, be a part of bringing heaven more fully into earth. And live in hope for that day when God will completely restore everything.