Be the Example

Have you ever felt too young, to do something of significance? Or possibly even too old, to do something important? Regardless of your age maybe you feel too small for that all-important big job?

Maybe you get a sense that you are too inexperienced to contribute something meaningful? Or possibly even too underqualified to make a real difference?

In the book of 1 Timothy, which is a God-inspired letter from Paul to his “son in the faith,” Timothy, Paul equips and encourages Timothy in things like doctrine, leadership, and living out the ways of God.

He writes: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” ‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭(New International V‬‬ersion)

If you’ve ever felt too young, remember that God has purposefully put you where you are, at this specific time in history. He desires to use your passion, drive, vision, energy, and ideas to magnify His glory. You see things from a unique vantage point, and that is a great thing.

If you’ve ever felt too old, remember that God has purposefully put you where you are, at this specific time in history. You have grit, wisdom, leadership, and the gift of life experience. You see things from a unique vantage point, and that is a great thing.

The thing is, you and I are never too young, or too old, to be used by God.

Victor Biennoury, Samuel Anointing David
French, 1842
Paris, Ecole nationale superieure
des Beaux-Arts

For those of you who feel that you are too young – Maybe you need to be reminded that God used a young shepherd boy called David, to greatly impact the world. He was the youngest of his brothers and was not even included in a special sacrificial observance arranged by Samuel in Bethlehem. Nevertheless, he was the one that God had chosen to be king, a man after God’s own heart, and so he was summoned from the field where he was tending the families flock to be anointed king. (Refer to 1 Samuel 16:1-13). 

And for those of you that feel as if you are too old – Maybe you need to be reminded that God used a person who, by today’s reckoning, would have been a tad too old. At the age of 80, God appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush and commands him to go to Egypt to tell Pharaoh to let his people go (Refer to Exodus 3, Exodus 7:6-7, and Acts 7:30-34). He then leads the Hebrew people for another 40 years through the desert towards the promised land.

The thing is, no matter our age, God has empowered each and every one of us to live a life that points people to know Him, and to love Him.

So, how can you do that?

You can set an example – in the way you talk, in the way you act, in the way you work, in the way that you love, in the way you live out your faith.

For Colossians 3:17 reminds us that “whatever we do or say, (we are to) do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”
(New Living Translation)

You and I have been given an awesome privilege and responsibility to represent God. He chose you and I, as sons and daughters, to represent Him well. To be an example of what it means to love Him and love others. To follow His ways and teach them to those that follow us. We are to be an example!

So, what kind of example are you being?

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The Power of our Words

A while ago, I posted about the power of our words, as they have the ability to either tear down or build up others, and while going through my devotions the other day I came across the following:

Have you ever been a representative for someone or something?

When you belong to a group of people, or you represent someone, what you say and how you say it matters.

You see, anything you say is a reflection of the person or thing you’re representing.

As Christians, we are representatives for Jesus and the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20, that we are ambassadors or representatives of Christ because He is no longer physically here on earth ministering to people in person. Instead Jesus is working through us, His people, to accomplish what He wants done here on earth.

Therefore, since everything we say and do is a representation of Jesus, we need to choose our words wisely.

When we use words to gossip and slander, hurt or damage—we don’t represent Jesus’ heart and character.

But when our words are used to encourage someone, what we say has a lot of potential for good.

Paul reminds the church of Colossae in Colossians 3:17 that “whatever we do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (New International Version)   

This theme is repeated numerous times throughout this letter and is also contained in many other letters to Christians the world over, and I reckon is something that we need to take heed of in this day and age especially.

You see, I’m sure that we are all familiar with the power words can have – Yet today we tend to be so flippant with them, tearing people down without a moment’s thought. Barely even thinking how they could be construed by those that we are talking too.

As Christians we should be an example for others on how to communicate and converse with others – but all too often this is sadly not the case.

Has someone ever said something to you that was painful?

Or can you remember the last time someone complimented you?

You might still remember how each of those situations made you feel.

The thing is, you might not have been able to control what was said to you, but you can control what you say to others.

So take a few moments to think about the things you’ve said recently.

Is there anything you’ve said that you need to seek forgiveness for?

If there is, why not prayerfully consider giving the other person a call, or flick them a text and apologise?

Choose today to represent Christ and His character by intentionally speaking words that are good and helpful. Be an encourager and let your conversations be gracious and attractive!

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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Grace: A gift that we don’t deserve

As I’ve shared previously, over the past month or so as part of my daily devotions in the YouVersion Bible App I’ve been journeying through the Book of Psalms, drawing inspiration and encouragement for my own life from the writings authors.

Although I am still not even ⅔rds of the way through them, I’ve come to appreciate that the Psalms are in essence an intricately designed collection of poetry that recounts Israel’s history and God’s covenant promises, and poetically retells the entire biblical story.

A few weeks ago I was reading Psalm 44 in the Passion translation and was struck by the way that they have framed and then formatted the psalm:

frame – Wake Up, Lord, We’re in Trouble.
format – The Past, The Present, The Future.

This Psalm touches on the importance of God’s grace and His mercy and although these two aspects of His persona are often used interchangeably throughout the Bible, they differ in many ways. They are intrinsically linked in essence much like two sides of the same coin. Grace being the gift that we don’t deserve, while mercy is not getting the punishment we deserve.

Sounds a little confusing right! But the thing is as we read in Romans 3:23-24a;

“everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight.”

(New Living Translation)

We will all be judged on how we live this life that we are gifted with, one way or another (in spite of our religious beliefs). And none of us regardless what we have done or what we are going to do will ever measure up to His standard – We will have to give an account for our past, our present and those things that we do in the future.

Yet through it all God through His grace will make us right in His sight 🙂

You see, grace is the gift we don’t deserve and the one which we couldn’t earn by your own merit. It’s like a lotion that smooths cracked skin, or a deep rain after a long dry season. It’s the comfort of a warm beverage, a best friend when you’re lonely, or a soul healing hug when you feel sad.

Grace fills in all the rough parts of our lives and makes us whole and God sees you through a lens of grace. When you see yourself as less, God sees you as more. When you don’t feel like you are enough, God wraps you in grace and sees you as worthy.

Ephesians 4:7 says that “to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
(New International Version)

He loved you and I so much that Jesus was willing to cover our sins in the grace of His blood and gave us each a seat at His table. When we struggle with identity, we can be confident that God’s grace will catch us.

We are all recipients of God’s grace despite having sinned over and over again, He has shown us kindness and compassion. He even sent his only son so all of us can be saved – an act of grace that we do not deserve.

You see, there is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you less. This undeserved gift, God’s grace, is simply yours if you choose to believe in His Son who loves you!

He doesn’t see you and I through the lens of our sin, He sees us through the lens of His grace, and when we accept His grace, we begin to grow in His love.

“So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive his mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need.”

Hebrews 4:16 (The Living Bible)

As I’ve spent some time thinking through my own past, present and future over the past few weeks – I’ve recognised some things that have happened in my life in the past that I’m ashamed of, and other things that I am extremely grateful for.

There are even some things that have happened where all I can put them down to is that God miraculously intervened, even if and when I didn’t want to know or acknowledge His leading in my life.

There are times in my present that even though I have a reasonably strong faith (or so I’d like to believe) I cast it aside from time to time and try to work things out on my own and in my own way, rather than seeking His love and guidance, His mercy and grace.

And no doubt unfortunately there will be times in the future where that will remain to be the case, because I am merely human and tend to fall back into what is the known rather than relying on the unknown.

I pray though that those times will become less and less as I learn to rely on Him and trust in His mercy and grace.

So, what about you? What would trusting in His grace and mercy look like in your life? Where do you notice God’s grace in action? Have you noticed His mercy? When you fully consider the magnitude of this gift, how do you respond?

Maybe you’d like to pray the following prayer: “God of grace, thank You that when I was lost, You found me and when I was ashamed You forgave me, nailing the accusations against me to the cross.” Referencing Colossians 2:13-14
(New International Version)

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Health Update #4

As I shared last month, this year has certainly been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Annette & I due to my autoimmune disease diagnosis (Scleroderma & Raynaud’s) approximately two years ago, and the subsequent tests, medications and treatments to date.

On top of the Scleroderma and Raynaud’s I have also got some permanent lung damage. This is something that the specialists are wanting to ensure doesn’t get any worse by giving me a dose of Cyclophosphamide (Chemo) once every four weeks over a period of 6 months. This’ll also help with controlling the Scleroderma to some degree 🙂

At this stage I am still tapering off of the steroids that I am on, although at a much slower rate than was initially planned as I had some complications just prior to my last appointment at the Medical Day Stay at Hutt Hospital. The respiratory specialist doesn’t want me on them long term however as they can have significant side effects.

All in all I think I am coming right, and thankfully I haven’t had any adverse reactions to the medications to date. Although I will never be 100%, as the lung damage will limit some of my physical abilities.

Every now and again I have days when I feel as if I’ve been hit by a bus and can’t even make it out of bed.

The frustrating part of this is that there appears to be no sight nor reason why or when this happens. Sometimes I can be beavering away doing nothing of significance and still feel as if all I can muster is a trip to the loo and back to bed.

While other times I can be just as busy as the next person and the next day I’m ready to take on the world all over again. Or there will be days when I know that I’ve crammed way to much into the day and it’ll take at last a couple of days to get over it.

For years we’ve been told to “find balance in life“, I feel a Tui Ad coming on 🙂

Now, if you’re from New Zealand and of a certain age you’ll probably understand that aside, but I digress.

“Balance in Life” you know get things in order and you’ll be right – I think the reality is anything but and it would appear that some of the life coaches and wellness specialists are finally realizing that life is more about rhythms, stages or seasons.

Victor Hugo writer of the 1862 book Les Misérables which has been turned into a musical and numerous films once said; “To put everything in balance is good, to put everything in harmony is better.“

There are of course certain things where we can create a balance, but so many other things we just have to deal with the best we can. We have to experience the ups and downs of life so that we can be of benefit to others that are going through similar struggles and or challenges in life so that we can help them on life’s journey.

We have to learn to be content as the Apostle Paul teaches in Philippians 4:11-13 and we need to live harmonious lives – We were created by a loving Triune God “three harmonious characteristics of God living in One” who longs for us to live harmonious lives; firsty with Him and secondly with others.

This is at the heart of the Great Commandment; “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40 (New International Version)

Am I content that I have this disease? On the one hand absolutely not! I’d be lying if I said otherwise, maybe that’s why it is called a dis-ease. Is my life in balance? How can it be when I don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

However, on the other hand if I can use this experience for His glory and show others that you can remain relatively happy in the face of whatever we have to deal with and look on the bright side of life; living for the most part harmoniously with God and others, knowing that ultimately God is in control and that is all that matters – All we have to worry about is facing the various rhythms, stages and seasons with our faith in tact, relying on a God that has never let us down.

2020 may have been a roller coaster for many and I’m sure that 2021 will have its ups and downs – But we will get through this for God is on our side

You can read previous health updates by clicking on the relevant link; Health Update, Health Update #2, Health Update #3

To find out more about Scleroderma & Raynaud’s check out this page as it has a number of links to groups and organisations that are raising awareness of this rare disease.

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Viewing Church as Family

As I referenced the other day I have a lot on my mind at the moment – be it consciously, or unconsciously. Some of which I’m sure, is compounded due to my health situation.

But then again maybe, just maybe it has more to do with the age old question “where to from here?”

A question many people are asking around the world in these unprecedented times. Where do we go to from here?

Covid-19 has changed so much in our days in the space of six months it has literally brought the world to a standstill and even though some countries are seeing some success along the way in combating the coronavirus pandemic. It has the propensity to bring us to our knees again if and when another wave of the virus hits our shores.

As we here in New Zealand head back to some form of normalcy we are yet again reminded of the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic that is sweeping the world has the potential to wreak havoc on our way of life in Aotearoa.

It can have a significant impact not only on our health but on every aspect of our lives.

We have recently had a small number of people return to New Zealand with the virus in their system, some unknowingly asymptomatic. And it got me to thinking; How many people are asymptomatic when it comes to their faith?

Asymptomatic: (of a condition or a person) producing or showing no symptoms.

I read the following excerpt from an article on Premier Christianity the other day and it resonated with me. “One night a dad and his young sons sat down with a bowl of popcorn to watch a movie. They turned on Netflix and began scrolling through the seemingly infinite library of films to decide upon their viewing for the evening. After a while the dad landed on Die Hard and, being an irresponsible father, said: “Die Hard! Son, have you ever seen Die Hard? There’s Bruce Willis. He’s wearing a vest. It’s incredible!” And the son replied: “Maybe Dad, but let’s see what else there is.” So they continued to scroll, and that’s when they saw The Lion King. And the son said (for the 100th time): “Dad! Let’s watch The Lion King.”

Which movie did they watch that night? They watched The Lion King, of course. Why? Because in a family, the older generations are always willing to make personal sacrifices in order to include and engage the younger. This principle is foundational for healthy, loving and functional families.”

It was from an article looking at “What every Christian needs to know about Generation Z” and raises some interesting pointers that we as church leaders need to concern ourselves with, if we are to reach a generation that “is the first truly post-Christian generation, having been raised by non-Christians” that have little or no knowledge about the Good News let alone God’s provision.

Which raises another interesting quandary. How many Christians are asymptomatic?

That is to say that they are producing or showing no symptoms or signs of their faith, or at least don’t know or haven’t been able to clearly articulate what it is that they believe, and how they do mission and ministry today – apart from out of a sense of duty.

Colossians 1:10 says that we are “to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

(English Standard Version)

In all of this I am reminded of the fact that church is a family and this is where the article drew to its conclusion.

The thing is, we we need to be reaching out to the next generation; explaining what faith is all about and then guiding, encouraging and helping them to move forward in the faith.

We may not all see eye to eye and often times we may not like the direction that some of our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters are taking, let alone accepting what our parents or grandparents are wanting us to do. We constantly live in this struggle and we need to navigate it in such a way that we can continue doing life together and move forward, agreeing to disagree. But remaining faithful regardless.

Maybe the issue has come about because we have not passed on certain things to our children and their children in a way that they understand.

Joel 1:3 says that we are to “tell your children about it in the years to come, and let your children tell their children. Pass the story down from generation to generation.”

(New Living Translation)

“The challenges for the Church at such a time are profound. A generation that finds itself at the crux of such change has a significant responsibility for shaping the new ways of thinking that will define its own age but also the coming era.

When Christians get it right at such times, adapting themselves to the changing culture and finding new language for timeless truths, the Gospel spreads more easily for years to come because it makes sense to people. However, when the church gets it wrong by resisting change and enshrining nostalgia, we risk apparent irrelevance and an upward struggle… The challenge is the same: To reinvent the Church without changing the message, to reach this generation for the sake of the age to come.” Emery White

Maybe we have not been able to demonstrate and model new and innovative ways of doing mission and ministry because we have been taught to follow a particular model that served our grandparents and their parents really well over the years. And so when their children started to, or wanted to change things within the church (maybe here I’m talking about mainstream denominational churches at least) they were limited, or not able to bring about change because of the pressures of the elder statesmen and women who did not want change, and this train of thought has permeated down to today with catastrophic effect.

A missing generation (25-55 year olds) in many churches and even where they are present they are the ones that are now holding things in balance and revert to a similar mindset inherently embedded within their own psych.

This is often confused with power and control and has shifted from the entrepreneurial and visionary leaders to the administrators as it becomes more about sustainability and financial accountability, rather than truly being led by the Holy Spirit.

Propensity: an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way.

The thing is maybe the word propensity is not the right word to use in relation to the virus, as it is adapting and masking itself in some way so that it can have more of an effect on the population (at least that is what some experts are surmising). It is not behaving in a particular way, as it appears to lay dormant in some people and they are asymptomatic, while in others it can have a more far reaching effect, and become life threatening. Disrupting the very fabric of our lives in the process and turning many things into chaos.

Are we in the church community going to be able to adapt and change to the changing dynamics of our day? Or are we going to be held back by those that now truly have the power and control, and make decisions on our behalf (often times to protect us or the organisation – at least that is the rhetoric).

I believe that God is calling us to adapt and change, to morph, to pivot, to unite and do things differently – not based on if we can afford it or not.

But rather on the premise that we can’t afford not to, or else we will die and become even less significant in bringing about His Kingdom. We will stop bearing fruit and He will cut us off.

Throughout the scriptures God reminds us time and time again that it is He who makes all things new.

The Holy Spirit brings new beginnings, new life and new hope and through stepping out in faith and just doing something we can impact our world for the better if we trust in Him.

This post is a tad longer that most that I have written of late – maybe that is because of the importance and the need to remind ourselves that we are family and that we need to be raising up the next generation of leaders in a way that releases them to do God’s will – Therefore, I would be very interested in your take on what has been shared.

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A Word of Encouragement

Today we turn our attention to Paul’s prayer for the church of Colossea, found in Colossians 1:3-6.

“Every time we pray for you our hearts overflow with thanksgiving to Father God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your devoted lives of faith in Christ Jesus and your tender love toward all his holy believers. Your faith and love rise within you as you access all the treasures of your inheritance stored up in the heavenly realm.

For the revelation of the true gospel is as real today as the day you first heard of our glorious hope, now that you have believed in the truth of the gospel.

This is the wonderful message that is being spread everywhere, powerfully changing hearts throughout the earth, just like it has changed you! Every believer of this good news bears the fruit of eternal life as they experience the reality of God’s grace.” Colossians 1:3‭-‬6 (The Passion Translation)

The thing is praying and learning from Paul’s prayers can help us deepen and strengthen our own prayer lives. As we gaze deeply into the soul of the passionate apostle who said, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

I too, count everything as loss compared to knowing the Love of God which is evident in the life of His Son, Jesus.

This morning I pray that you will find comfort in the knowledge that Christ is Lord and everything that we are facing in our world today is nothing compared to what He faced on the cross, for our sakes!

May we each bare fruit in our lives as we experience the grace of God, for His message of Hope & Life is as real today as it was over 2000 years ago.

May you be an encourager, be a witness, be salt & light to people in your community, because of the love of Christ in your hearts.

May the links to the following songs lift your spirits today:

In Christ Alone – International Staff Band, Euphonium Solo: Derick Kane

Nothing Compares – Third Day

Reckless Love – Cory Asbury

 

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