One Night Stands With Jesus

I tend to talk a lot of rubbish at times> Those who know me well would understand that at times I put my brain into neutral and just let whatever come into my head flow out my mouth.

I was almost having one of those moments yesterday. Although I was thinking about what I was saying, I was just going with the flow of the conversation when I may possibly have coined a new phrase. I was talking with a friend about evangelism and the different ways that people communicate the gospel to others. I was saying how important it is that we help people to be discipled and become disciples after they have made the initial choice to follow Jesus as their saviour.

As we talked about the pro's and con's of various evangelistic strategies, we started talking about how Christianity is meant to be a relationship with God and how the first commitment for some people in their relationship with God is about as far as things go. It was here I likened it to a one night stand.

I'm sure you know what a one night stand is, even if you have never had one, you may know someone who has or have at least seen it on T.V. One night stands are brief (usually lasting only one night - hence the name), are emotional but at the same time not exactly intimate, and rarely ever lead to a significant relationship. Like real life one night stands, after a one night stand with Jesus, there is the possibility that you may catch something that will change your life, but maybe you can see someone about that.

Our lives shouldn't just be a series of one night stands with Jesus, where we hook up with him at some big event when our emotions are running high, but then forget all about Him the next day. I think God wants to be closer to us than that. I think God desires to know us intimately ( Check out Psalm 139) and to spend quality time with us, even when we aren't in an emotionally hyped state, perhaps especially when we aren't in an emotionally hyped state. Have a look at Genesis 3, we can see here that God, is walking in the Garden of Eden, searching for Adam and Eve, wanting to spend time with them. God desires to be in relationship with us, not an emotional, yet un-intimate (possibly another new word) relationship, but the kind of relationship that grows closer and more intimate as you travel through life together, through the good times and the bad times.

What sort of relationship do you have with Jesus, is it emotional, physical, intimate, consistent or a combination of all of the above?

INTERESTING CONVERSATIONS

For those of you who have been following this blog over the last week or so, you would be aware that my last post, initially about bullying and the responsibility we have to care for others, not oppress them, sparked quite an interesting debate.

This debate, centred much around the divinity/deity of Jesus; as in, is Jesus God or was he just a human servant of God. I love a good discussion as much as the next bloke, so was happy to enter into the debate with this person for a while. As the debate went on though, it became apparent to me that neither of us were likely to change our minds, and so discussing it further would really prove to be of little value on this blog. I have since received an email from the blogger to which I will respond once I have some time.

This discussion got me thinking though. I thought of all of the places that I have had the opportunity to speak to people about matters of faith and God and religion. One I distinctly remember was while on holidays on the Gold Coast a couple of years ago. I was staying at a backpackers near the beach, and on my last night there a group of people that I had met while I was there had decided to go out to a night club and invited me. being a sociable sort of person and always up for a night out, I tagged along. At some stage during the night I found myself in a deep conversation about grace and God's forgiveness in the middle of the night club with one of the bloke I had met at the backpackers, it was an awesome privilege to be a part of that conversation!!

I have had long conversations with people in Pubs about what it means to talk with God and to hear His voice, and many other places you would not normally associate with talking about God. Although I have never had the conversation that nearly every pastor/minister/preacher seems to have had on a plane where they talk matters of God and faith, I hope that the conversations I have had with people have planted seeds in peoples lives that one day will bear fruit.

"He's living the dream... he didnt even know what the dream was until I told him."

I went to help at a Fusion Breakfast Club held at one of the Ballarat highschools this morning. After Breakfast club finished I went home again to change out of the jeans and hoodie I was wearing into my 'corporate attire' that is more appropriate for someone who works at DHQ.

When I got home I swithced on the TV to add a bit of noise while I had a drink and began to get ready. As I flicked through the channels I caught the end of an Ellen show segment and she was talking about what was coming up. When I heard the words 'Superbowl Ad', I decided not to switch channels and waited the ads out. When the show returned I saw the video clip above.

The ad shows how one American footballer recognised the potential ability in a grocery bag packer at his local supermarket and encouraged him to try out for the team. This young man, Chester Pitts, who previously played only the oboe, a member of the woodwind family, now is a highly paid NFL player.

All of this happened because another footballer, Ephraim Salaam, recognised his potential and encouraged him to become the best he could be.

This got me thinking, how many people are there in our world who are metaphorically packing groceries and playing the oboe when they should be playing in the NFL?

As I thought about this I wondered where the people are who are like Ephraim Salaam who are recognising the potential of others and calling them to a better thing?

Do you see the potential in people you meet and encourage them to reach out and achieve it?

I love the line in this clip: "He's living the dream... he didnt even know what the dream was until I told him."

Who are you telling about the dream, and who is missing out on the dream because you havent told them?

Do you know what the dream is?

Do you have a dream at all?

I think we all have dreams, or at least we had them at one stage or another.

My dream is that I will see the Kingdom of God come on earth. I dream that people will be in passionate, vibrant relationship with their God. I dream that people will fight for the poor and oppressed and bring freedom to those captives held captive by sin and circumstance. I dream that one day there will be peace and love and forgiveness in abundace and that hate and greed and evil will be gone. Thats my dream.

Today I want to encourage to share your dream with someone else. You never know what the outcome might be. But, more importantly, share God's dream, because the outcome of that can be revoloutionary.

Planting Caring Harvesting

I've done a fair bit of travelling over the last few weeks, and as I have travelled i have noticed that there a a few crops approaching readiness for harvest. It doesn't seem to be all that long ago that i saw news reports of farmers working day and night after some good rain trying to get the ground prepared and seeds sown in the hope of a good crop and some more rain.

Now as i am travelling around is can see fields of what i think is barley, wheat and canola all approaching readiness for harvest. Now I am certainly no farmer, and i don't really know how long is left until these crops will be harvested, but i do know that when the time comes, the farmers will be flat out getting that crop in, this is what they have been waiting for.

As I was doing my devotions last night i re-read the story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. It is the latter part of this passage in John chapter 4 that got me thinking about these paddocks again.

As i look back over my life i can see people who have planted seeds in my life, i can see people who have watered those seeds and tended the new shoots as they have grown from a seed. I can also see that there were people who recognised my readiness and harvested the product of those seeds. I also hope that i am now watering, tending and harvesting the results of seed planted in my life and in the life of others.

While it took people to plant tend and harvest, it is God that has really done much of the work; prompting, challenging and helping me to grow and much of the credit of who I have become today goes to Him.

John 4: 35 - 38 says:
Jesus said, "The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn't you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I'm telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what's right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It's harvest time!

"The Harvester isn't waiting. He's taking his pay, gathering in this grain that's ripe for eternal life. Now the Sower is arm in arm with the Harvester, triumphant. That's the truth of the saying, 'This one sows, that one harvests.' I sent you to harvest a field you never worked. Without lifting a finger, you have walked in on a field worked long and hard by others."

The same is true today, lets get out there, plant the seeds of the good news of Jesus Christ in peoples lives, lets care for those who are growing in their faith and lets harvest that which is ready and put it to use for the Kingdom of God.

It is my prayer that there will always be seeds being sown, growth being tended to, and harvests being yielded. Is this your prayer? And if so, what are you doing about it?

Deep Wells

I cleaned up my office on Monday!!!

Now this might not seem like much, but my office was a complete mess!! It took the best part of the mornings work to clean up more than 5 weeks worth of clutter, a clutter that seemed to grow through my infrequent visits to the office interspersed with periods of more than a week away from aforementioned office.

Upon cleaning my office i discovered that i had no less than half a dozen books sitting on my desk that needed my attention. Some of these books should have been read sooner, some will wait longer before needing any serious attention, but none the less there were 6 books on my desk that needed to be at least glanced at.

So yesterday afternoon i picked up on book, and decided to start reading it.

The author used this story to illustrate a point:

A tourist takes a holiday to a working Sheep Station in out-back Australia, while in this holiday he follows the farmer around on his rounds one day as he checks the sheep. As they drive around the station the tourist notices that there are no fences in sight. Perplexed by this realisation the tourist eventually asks the farmer "Where are your fences, aren't you worried that the sheep will wander away and get lost?" The farmer, a laid back sort of bloke, points towards the windmill over the way and says "I find that if you dig a decent well that produces good water, the sheep don't wander too far."

As i read this story i was reminded of a story in the bible. The Message version puts it like this:

A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, "Would you give me a drink of water?" (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.)

The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, "How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" (Jews in those days wouldn't be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)

Jesus answered, "If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water."

The woman said, "Sir, you don't even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this 'living water'? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?"

Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."

The woman said, "Sir, give me this water so I won't ever get thirsty, won't ever have to come back to this well again!"

As i read these stories i began to think about the well of living water in my life and the wells that i am helping God to plant as i travel around the division.

If i invest in my life, plant a deep well of living water in my life, full of 'God water' then as i follow in Jesus' footsteps i will not wander too far from His path. In the same way, if i can clearly communicate the gospel to others, to share with them what God is doing in my life and what He is capable of doing in their lives, then a deep well with good water will be sunk into their lives and will sustain them as they try to follow in Jesus footsteps.

And if this well is good and deep then when we lose sight of God and wander away, we will not wander too far for the well and will return once again to drink of the life giving waters.

The other thing that occurred to me is that where there is water there is abundant life. When the well is producing a good supply of good water, life is abundant. Think of an oasis in the desert, there are trees and plants, there are animals, and people come by the oasis to refresh their supplies of water and to relax. Life happens at an oasis.

If our well is deep and producing plenty of living water in our own lives, then this will be visible to others and they will want to get some of this water too. Initially we can share some of this living water with them, but the real blessing would be to help people dig their own well, where they can have their own supply of living water.


Here are a few questions for you to ponder:

How deep is your well today?

What is the quality of water that is being produced from it?

Have you drank from the well recently?

Are you being generous with the water that springs from the well of living water, or are you restricting or rationing your living water?

The Full Gospel Of Jesus Christ

Almost every week (those that i'm actually around for) i write a segment for the Divisional Newsletter that goes out to all of the Salvation Army officers and to some other people in the division and around the territory. In this article i talk about what is going on in Youth and Childrens Ministry and also cover any relevant Candidates info that i feel needs to be passed on.

This week i revealed the name of this years Youth Event; Offensive Christianity (see my previous blog). To be honest, part of the reason i liked this name was because it was a little controversial, the plan was to get people talking. But in my little speil in the newsletter i refferred to offensive Christianity as, and i quote myself here for contextual reasons:

"...not the sort of offensive you think of when you see those obnoxious street preachers in Melbourne."

Now i have had conversations, discussions and slightly heated debates with various friends and acquiantances in the past over this issue, but i still think my position is justified.

First of all, let me say how much i admire the courage of these people who are willing to go out there and speak the gospel, irrespective of what others think. My issue is not that thye are presenting the gospel, in the street or otherwise, but my issue is in the way that it is done.

The Salvation Army has a long history of presenting the gosple to the lost, least and last in public places, and i think that that is great!! I personally would love to hold an event in the public space where i could share the FULL gospel to those gathered around. The key here is the 'FULL' word.

Jesus taught that we should speak the truth. Jesus said the He is the Truth, the Way and the Life. Jesus also taught that we should act with grace and compassion. In fact, i believe that most of Jesus' harshest criticism was reserved for the Pharrisees, Sadducees and Scribes, those that already considdered themselves 'saved'. As i recall, Jesus spoke forgiveness and compassion to the outcast of society. When the Jewish leaders dragged a woman caught in adultery before Jesus asking Him to pronounce judgement over her, Jesus' response was "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." And when they all left because they were not able to condemn her, Jesus, the only one to have never sinned, didn't pick up a stone, but told her the He didn't condemn her but encouraged her to "Go and sin no more."

Maybe in this post-modern, post-Christian world people aren't aware that they have sinned, perhaps people dont care about sin, but i still believe that each person is aware, at least on some level, that they have made decisions that they wish they hadn't. We don't need to be convinced of our unworthiness in most situations, most of us are all to keenly aware of that, we just don't want anyone else to find it out.

My argument continues that instead of preaching the wrath of God and condemning people as i have seen at least once on the street in melbourne on a Friday night for example: the one million dollar note with the $1,000,000 question; where will you go when you die? with the tag line, and i almost quote verbatim; "Basically you're a lying, cheating, theiving, murderous adulterer at heart." Let us preach the love of God, that Jesus died for us irrespective of whether we love him, that God loves us irrespective of what we have don or what we will do, that eternal life isn't just about going to heaven when we die, but about seeing God's Kingdom here on earth now as we live and breathe. Let's try preaching acceptance, not exclusion; love, not hatred; let's return good for bad. instead of being one of those 'fundamental' Christians that hate homosexuals, abortionists, etc, lets be one of those fundamentally Christ-like people who love the sinner, hate the sin and do what we can for these people.

By all means, go into the world and preach the gospel, just make sure it is the full gospel!!!

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!!