What Are You Hiding Behind???

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you wake up Monday morning and instantly wish that a) you were still asleep and b) it was Friday night?

I've had one of those weeks.

The problem is, even when the proverbial hits the fan and all you want to do is crawl back into bed, pull the covers over your head and pretend that the rest of the world doesn't exist, life continues to go on around you.

As a result of this many of us have to take a deep breath, pull ourselves together and move on. But how?

Many of us put on a mask, or veneer of normality on the outside when we are around others, while on the inside we are a mess, with so many thoughts and emotions rolling around just wanting to escape.

And so we feel exhausted at the end of the day when we finally get home and can take that mask off and be exactly how we are feeling.

Masks can be good. In Ice Hockey people wear masks to protect their face from serious injury/disfigurement. Superheroes wear masks to protect their identity and those they care about.

Sometimes masks are fun, they allow us to pretend we are someone or something different and we can let our hair down without fear of what people think of us.

But masks can be bad. Sometimes we wear a mask (figuratively speaking) so that people don't see who we really are or what we are really thinking.

This week, as i have struggled to deal with the stuff going on in my own life, i have found myself reaching for a mask to cover my inner feelings and maintain the character i usually portray to those around me, strong, confident, energetic, joyful.

The thing is, even though this is what i am trying to look like, there are some people that still noticed that things weren't right and asked me if i was ok; to which if i was honest, the answer was no!

As i was thinking about this stuff last night on the way home from a meeting in Melbourne, i began to wonder if this is what we sometimes do when it comes to God stuff.

We pretend that we are ok, we keep doing things on the outside, hoping that no one will notice that things are not ok inside.

But the thing is, that even though people may only see what is on the outside, God can see whats going on on the inside. God knows our deepest thoughts, dreams, hopes, desires, fears and failings. And He loves us anyway.

While i struggled to deal with all that has been going on over the last week, God has been there. When i've screamed out WHY? He was there. When all i wanted to do was get away from everyone around me and retreat to the safety of solitude, and couldn't, God gave me the strength i needed to push on.

Now, my problems, while hugely significant in my life, didn't rally rate on the scale of the world around me. This week countless people have died in wars and from famine, I heard this morning of over 100 babies in Kazakhstan that were infected with HIV because doctors, nurses, and hospital officials were negligent in their jobs. We have global warming, floods, droughts and countless other problems that occur around us every day. But it is so easy to get caught up in our own problems that the rest of the world seems to fade away.

Sometimes we need to take off our mask, admit that things are not ok (some people call this confession), make the necessary changes (sometimes this is called repentance) and walk towards our future, trusting God to go ahead of us and prepare the way, one step at a time.

As I overheard someone say yesterday; "Life sucks, and it's not funny."

Bad stuff happens, even to good people, but God is faithful. Even when we don't know why stuff happens, we need to trust that God will work all things for the good of those who love Him, and follow Him into our future!!

As my old high school motto says: "In Faith and Hope and Love."

I say: "Amen"

Tell The World

In the final chapter of the Matthew's Gospel Jesus tells the disciple to: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Mt. 28: 19 - 20)

So we know what Jesus said, but how we do it is still the subject of much conjecture.

Some say that it is best to take time to get to know someone, build a relationship, and then to share the gospel. Others prefer the smack 'em in the face with the gospel message every chance you get approach. And many others sit somewhere in between the two.

I recently purchased a book from Word titled; How To Talk About Jesus Without Freaking Out. It is described as a practical, challenging and compelling read.

While i have only just started reading this the book makes some good points. Like that the danger we in western countries fear when we talk about God or Jesus is mostly imagined, because in reality, if we present the gospel message clearly, concisely and without prejudice, most people will respect our thoughts.

I love the clip above, it speaks of an upside down world. Just like the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed. Lets: Aim Lower; Think Smaller; Give Up and Go Have A Cup Of Coffee.

Lets build relationships with people, and show them the gospel in our lives, BUT, never stop telling the gospel. Take every opportunity to share the message of Jesus and the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom where to be first, we must put ourselves last, where the least are the greatest, where you love those who hate you and bless those who persecute you. Let's give up our "Empires" and do what is needed for the kingdom, not what is needed for the health of our own egos.

I say: To God be the Glory, not anyone else!!

Kids Camp Promo, & other stuff

Well, I've finally done it, the Kids Camp Promo is on You Tube, Expect more videos to follow.

Things have been pretty busy lately, the division has a few events coming up; the 2 Love G.P. and launch is a little over a week away, I'm really looking forward to that, it's going to be lots of fun!! I mean, who doesn't love Go Karting?? Also Kids Camp is just over a fortnight away. This camp is going to be soo much fun, I wish I was a Kid and not a leader so that I could get in on all of the fun!! And basketball carnival isn't far away either, I'm really looking forward to that. It's going to be great to play sport full on and also see a bit of Adelaide when we get the time!! We have had a few cancellations from the Mens B Team, so in you're interested in playing, or know someone else who might be, let me know and we will get them registered.

I was sitting at home last night, before i went to basketball, and i saw a bit of Heroes, and the time travelling thing got me to thinking...

Bad stuff happens to good people; we all know that. Why is a bit harder to figure out. My thoughts are that much of this is a consequence of God's gift of Free Will and the laws of physics, you know; "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." I also know that "...all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8: 28. So God works his plan in the good and the bad times, and even though Satan might mean something for his evil purposes, God can take that and use it for His good purposes. BUT. What if we had the capacity to go back and change the past, not that I think we ever will (unlike TV, reality has no reset button) but what if we did. Would changing the bad stuff in the past really affect the future in a serious way??

Maybe it all comes down to how powerful we really think God is. If God is All Powerful, All Knowing and Ever Present, surely He can adapt his plans to what ever we may do. Alternatively, where and when does our responsibility come in to actually do something in order to see the world changed??

I know what I think, what about you??

I leave you with the words of Chuck Holton, a former U.S Army Ranger, author and Christian: "Whatever happens in my life is either God's plan or my mistake." -or something to that effect

Whose God Is He Anyway??

Recently I have been working through the minor prophets of the bible during my devotional time. For those who don't know, the minor prophets are the shorter prophetic books of the Old Testament like Micah, Habakuk, Hosea, Zechariah, etc. Now, despite their funny names, these minor (because they're small books, not 'cos they were under 18) prophets aren't afraid to tell people what God thinks. And it's not all good news.

One of the biggest themes in these books is the problem of Idolatry.

At that time the people of Israel weren't worshipping God, they were following after other gods that were images that someone had carved into wood or stone. And, to make matters worse, some of the few that claimed to actually follow Yahweh (what the Israelites called God) were only using it as a cover for some even shadier business stuff than the idolaters!!!

Reading these prophets words set me to thinking.

I have just finished Hosea (I'm not reading them in the exact order that they are in the Bible) and the last few chapters have gotten me to thinking.

Typically an idol is an image of an animal, person or mythical/supernatural being that has been drawn, painted, carved or sculpted by another person and then worshipped.

Sometimes these idols are big and hard to move, but they can also be small and easy to carry around with you. In bible times each house had their own idols and people would often carry them around with them.

Hosea 14: 3 says: "Assyria shall save us; we will not ride upon horses; we will say no more 'Our God' to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy." (Italics and bold mine)

This set me to thinking.

When we say "Our God" what do we mean.

Do we mean that God is Our god, a thing that we carry around with us to bail us out when things get tough, to pray to like Santa to get what we want when we want it? Are we trying to control God, shrink Him down to size so that we can control and manipulate him for our own plans?

OR

Do we mean that God is the God we follow, that we are His not that he is ours? If this is the case are we willing to listen to Him when he asks us to do something? We need to remember that God is infinite. He is so much bigger than our human minds can comprehend.

Let's not try and shrink God down to our size, but open our minds to the enormity of God and allow Him to move us where we need to go.

Remember that we are a work of Gods Hands, not that God is a work of our hands.

Idol or God, you choose!!