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The PASSION Blog

The PASSION Blog is the place where I share quick thoughts on life, faith, the Bible and things I have learnt in my studies at Tabor Christian College. From time to time I will also include great quotes I have heard, updates to our ministry and links to useful resources.

Creative Living (14 May 2008)

One of my favourite units I am doing at college this time around is "Creative Living". It is a pre-requisite for all students at Tabor no matter what level you are studying at. The unit touches on who God is, who He says we are and how we live our lives in light of that.

I am at lecture 11 of 16 and so far I have really enjoyed it. I feel a lot freer in myself and I have a deeper understanding of who I am in Christ. As a result of this I have found that I am striving less and just "being" more. It is really amazing when you take an in depth look at Ephesians chapters one and two and how much you can really get out of it!

The funny thing is last time I did Bible College back in the 90s my favourite unit was "Understanding God and Ourselves". It was very similar in content and required a lot of reflection. I guess I am just a glutton for punishment...the good kind that leads to growth that is!

God's acceptance (13 May 2008)

Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking that we need to get our lives perfectly right before God will accept us. We think we need to repent to a certain level, straighten out all we have done wrong before we can have even have an "audience" with Him. The reality is that God accepts us first wherever we are at, no matter what we have done.

In Luke chapter 19 we read about Zacheus the tax collector. Zacheus was despised by the locals because he worked for the Romans collecting the high taxes they placed on the people. Tax collectors in those days would quite often take over the amount required and keep it for themselves. They lived very well at the expense of the people they lived amongst.

In the Luke 19 passage we see that when Jesus was passing by He called out to Zacheus and invited Himself to lunch at his home. This was unheard of as a Rabbi (as some people called Jesus) would never eat at a tax collectors house. They were social outcastes and considered unclean. Yet we see that Jesus wanted to be His friend! As we read on we see that the result of this lunch was that Zacheus repented of all the things he had done, gave half his money to the poor and promised to repay four times over all the people he had cheated. Jesus then said, "That salvation has come to this house today".

The key message of this passage is that we see that Jesus accepted Zacheus before he had even repented or promised to make amends. Jesus even approached Zacheus right where he was at. He didn't have a list of things that he had to do first, Jesus just accepted Zacheus when not many other people did.

If you feel like you would never be accepted by God because of some of the things you have done, I would encourage you to come to Him today. He loves you and accepts you exactly where you are and He just wants to be in relationship with you. If you would like to experience the love and acceptance of God I would encourage you to visit my Peace with God page right now.

Off the treadmill (10 May 2008)

It has been 10 months since we moved from Perth to Merredin. It is hard to believe it is that long already. In many ways the time has flown by. In other ways it has felt like we have been here forever.

One of the things I love about the country is the feeling that we have jumped off the treadmill. Life is certainly a lot slower and more relaxed up here. When we lived in Perth it always seemed we were busy working to pay the mortgage, the endless bills, the loans and rushing from one thing to another. Up here we feel we have stopped and can smell the roses.

Not having a big mortgage hanging over you is also very freeing. Most of us at times dream of what it would be like to have no mortgage and to be to do more of what we want or what we feel God wants us to do. I used to be one of them! Now we have a lot more time to relax, more time for family and I had the freedom to return back to study full time. This is something I could not have done in our previous situation.

If you feel like you are on a treadmill and you are just running from one thing to another, you might like to prayerfully consider the country move. For us as a family it is by far one of the best things we have ever done!

Homeschooling questions answered (9 May 2008)

In my last entry I mentioned we are a homeschooling family. A regular reader emailed me asked about our experience. As homeschooling is not the norm in Australia, I thought I would share a few things we have experienced. I have tried to answer most of the questions we have been asked.

If you would like to check out the article you can click here.

House Churches (5 May 2008)

One of the things I feel I have been drawn to over the last 12-18 months is the idea of a house church. House churches are small congregations of people who meet each week in a house rather than a church building. Many of the same things that happen in a traditional church happen in a house church, but it is just in a smaller space with less people. Typically you might find it is about 5-20 people that meet and share lives of faith together.

So why am I drawn to the idea of house churches? I guess I like the idea of being a part of a small group of people who share lives of faith together. I like the idea of being part of a large church with its resources, but I find the closeness and intimacy of relationship happens better in a small group. For me personally I have always enjoyed the small home group meeting during the week more than the hustle and bustle of Sunday mornings. I have found most of my breakthroughs have come during this smaller group.

The other thing is that a house church seems like a natural progression for us as a family. We are a home school family and we spend lots of time together in our small "clan". We are not naturally drawn to big meetings with lots of people. Getting together with a couple of other families (or singles) each week and spending some time in fellowship, prayer, worship and learning together from the Bible sounds appealing.

If you are interested in finding out more about house churches, two of the resources that have really helped me learn about house churches are "Starting a House Church" by Kreider and McClung (link is to their website about the book) and "The church in the house - a return to simplicity" by Robert Fitts (links to the book itself in html).

If you live in Merredin or the surrounding areas and are interested in being part of a house church, you can contact me here.

Glasses of Scripture (1 May 2008)

I was just on Koorong's website and I noticed Philip Jensen has brought out a new book called, "By God's Word". I haven't actually read the book, but I thought the blurb was quite good. It made a lot of sense. Here it is...

"The Scriptures are the glasses by which we bring the world into focus. When we look through the glasses of Scripture, we see God and his world and his people and ourselves more clearly. There are some things, especially about God, that we would never see at all without the Scriptures. There are many things about the world, others and ourselves that we would see in a completely distorted fashion without the glasses. The word of God changes our perspective".

I can say a big Amen to this. This is what I found when I began to read and study the Bible. My life started to make sense and I started to see myself and others more clearly. It also helped me to see the part I can play in God's eternal plan.

How about you? Has the Bible helped you see life and yourself more clearly? If you haven't read the Bible, you can access one online at BibleGateway.com

True servants (30 April 2008)

I picked up a book this morning I read a number of years ago and quite enjoyed. It is titled, "On being a servant of God" and is by Warren Wiersbe. I came across a great quote that sparked something in me. I thought I would share it.

"True servants of God help others whether they themselves get anything out of it or not. Their only concern is that God be glorified and people trust Christ".

Website updates (28 April 2008)

I am currently going through and reviewing the articles and other pages on our PASSION website. I felt it was time to update some of the pages and cull some of the older articles. One of the pages I have had a look at was our evangelism tips page. It lists our top five tips that have helped us in sharing our faith. I thought I pass it on as it might give you some suggestions that would help you in your efforts. Here's the link to our "evangelism tips" page.

Why did I go back to the books (20 April 2008)

Someone asked me why I have returned to full time study after working and being in "ministry" for a number of years. It was an interesting question and one that is being answered more and more as I go along. Here are a few of the reasons so far...

1. To learn and grow - I think we need to keep growing and learning in our faith and in our lives in general. I believe life is about constant learning and growth. When we stop and think we know it all, we actually start going backwards. Going back to Bible studies was part of my continued growth cycle.

2. To expose myself to others teaching - I felt it was important to learn from others that are outside of my usual circle. This is why I deliberately chose Tabor Adelaide. Not only is it in another state, but I like that it is a bit different to the other places I have studied.

3. To take some time out - Prior to going back to study I had worked in the same job for about 12 years. For most of that time I got out of bed and sat in the same chair, at the same desk and had the same window. I just needed some time out from the daily, weekly and monthly grind.

4. To prepare for the next things - I had felt that I had nearly achieved all I could with what I knew. It was time to prepare and get ready for the next part of my call. I believe the call of God always includes preparation time. In fact over our lives it might include a number of those times. For me this is one of those times.

5. To refresh my vision - I feel that when we have a vision for our lives and we have a fair idea of what God wants us to do, we need to take time out to refresh our vision. Sometimes this can only take place when we step back from most of the things we do. Much like a missionary going on a furlough after years of service on the mission field. Time and space can clarify our vision for the future.

All works for good (18 April 2008)

The Bible says in Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them". This verse is a reminder that as we love and serve God, bad things can happen to us, but we see that God is bigger than the "bad" and He can bring good through it.

As I reflect back over my life I have had a lot of bad things happen that made me wonder how God could let this happen. Things like being diagnosed with and living with crippling Rheumatoid Arthritis since the age of 12, when a routine x-ray found a large growth in my wife's pelvis, losing loved ones and a host of other painful situations. Each of these things in themselves were very difficult times and to be honest I wondered if I could get through some of them.

Looking back though, I can trace God's fingerprints through them. After some time and some space from the situations, I now know that God really can bring good results from bad situations. Each of these have helped me in some way. I have grown as a person, I have an understanding of peoples suffering and a desire to comfort them, and my wife an I are very close due to her illness. These times have also taught me to rely on God when I don't understand why things are happening.

I think the key is to trust God and run towards Him in times of trouble. Trust that He is a God of His Word and know that He will work everything out for good in time. He has always been there for me. I am sure He will always be there for you too.

The God of the Old Testament (15 April 2008)

One of the traps we can fall into sometimes is thinking that the God in the Old Testament (From creation to just before Jesus) was a harsh and judgemental God and the God of the New Testament (From Jesus and the early church period) was a loving and gracious God. The reality is it is both the same God and they are both loving and gracious.

Recently I was looking at the Covenant relationships God made with the people of the Old Testament. In particular I looked at the Covenants that God made with Abraham and Moses. It was interesting to study these and follow them over time. One thing that really stood out was that these Covenants were God's idea and that no matter what the people did to break them and walk away from Him, He was always ready to bring them back to Himself. Yes at times He brought judgement, but this happened after sending prophets and great leaders to warn and correct the people over a long period of time. God's correction was always out of His great love for His chosen people.

Looking at these Covenants reminded me of the great love God has for us and how He relates to us. First and foremost He is loving and caring towards us and wants what is best for us. Then secondly, when we stumble and do the wrong things or completely turn away from Him, He is always looking at ways He can restore our relationship. He never wants to let us go. As Jeremiah 30:22 tells us that He just wants to be our God and He wants us to be His people.

Thankful for water (14 April 2008)

One of the things I have been really thankful for lately is water. It is such a simple thing for us in the western world and something that we can often take for granted. Just the other day I thought I would count how many water sources I have on my property. I walked around the house and around the yard. I counted nine places where I can go to a tap and turn on fresh clean running water. How blessed is that!

As a result of this thankfulness, one of the things I am trying to do is support organisations that help people to have access to clean drinking water. Here are a few that I know of personally.

As I type this I can't help but remember the words of Jesus from Matthew 25:35. "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink".

Finished first term (11 April 2008)

I have officially finished my first term as a student. As I have mentioned before I have done previous Bible studies (in full time and part time stints), but I felt it was time to take some time out and study full time. So after 4800 minutes of lectures; 9 assignments that included essays, book reports and discussion papers; and countless readings from text books for six subjects, I am done. Now I can have too weeks off.

I feel I have learned a lot and been stretched, but more importantly I feel I have learned more about God and our relationship. It has been very hard, but very rewarding. Hopefully over the next few weeks some of the things I have studied will flow through to the PASSION Blog and website. That is after they have been absorbed and reflected on a bit more deeply!

Made in God's image (3 April 2008)

One of the things I have been reflecting on lately is how that as humans we are made in the image of God. Genesis 1:26 tells us that as male and female we are made in our (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) image and likeness.

There are several schools of thought as to what this means. One is that we look somewhat like God and possess attributes of God. Another is that the way we relate to God and each other is "like" God in the Trinity relationship. Lastly some believe that is a functional meaning, that is the way we work and have the ability to create. In truth it is probably all three together that somewhat capture the meaning of being made in God's image.

As I have dwelt upon this another question has arisen. Why did God create us in His image? He didn't need to do this as He could have made us any other way. As with most of my theological reflections I returned to the person of Jesus. When we look at the life of Jesus we see three things.

He related perfectly to the Father in heaven - Many times He drew aside to spend time alone in prayer to the Father.
He perfectly fulfilled the Father's will - None more so than is the Garden when He said, "Not My will, but Yours be done".
He loved humanity perfectly - Wherever He went He loved, encouraged and served people. He even went to the point of death to show His love.

So why were we made in the image of God? My belief is that we were made that way so we could relate to the Father in the same way Jesus did while He was on earth, so we could do His will and so we could love and serve those people around us. God made us in His image and then Jesus came and modelled three things not only to show us what God is like, but so we could also follow His example.

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