mmm...worth considering, a favourite author

This from N. T. Wright's commentary on Colossians 3:6...

'Part of the horror of hell, it appears, is that those who consciously and continuously choose sin instead of God become less and less human, until all that ennobles them as creatures made in God's image has, by their own choice, been altogether obliterated, beyond hope or pity. It is perhaps along these lines that the difficult doctrine of hell may be comprehensibly stated today, in opposition to the current notion that hell does not exist, or that if it does it will at the last be untenanted, or that even if some will remain there it is in bad taste to mention the fact. Unless we are to rob human beings of all meaningful responsibility for their actions, and to underplay the utter holiness of God, hell must always be at least a possibility. Those who make evil a way of life begin to lose their humanity, begin (in other words) to die, even while they are alive: witness the dead eyes of the miser, the torturer, the prostitute. ... Those who choose to live without God will one day find that they have forfeited their likeness to Him.'

The Scriptures report that there is the "power of life and death" in the tongue. As God's Word became flesh and transformed the lives of many, so our words have the power to bring life to others or simply change the very atmosphere we walk in. We create or tear down with the things we say. We shape attitudes, expectations, and situations. We foster life or we further death. Think about it for a minute; we have influence in our lives all around us. Complaining can be seen in many ways as resentment over unmet expectations. But it is an expression that serves only to affirm our "own expectations" whether they are based on a faulty reality or not. It is an expression that says, "I refuse to re-evaluate my perspective, to reposition my gaze to a higher altitude. I am right and this is all that I will see." Many can portray this in life and influence others, but the reverse is also true that people can be strongly influenced by the positive and be much happier there (I know full well that positive people are much more fun to be around). When Jesus proclaimed "I am the bread of life," the crowds had a hard time accepting his words. The Gospel of John says, "When many of his disciples heard it, they said, 'This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?' But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, 'Do you take offence at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?'" (John 6:60-62). He seems to say, "Do you realize what you are saying? Will you only see what you expect to see? If the truth itself were in front of you, would you even then refuse to believe?" As finding sunshine may be a matter of lifting our gaze, so joy is a matter of vision, and expectation. Peter writes of our certain hope in Christ, "You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place" (2 Peter 1:19). Are we gazing only at the looming darkness? Do we grumble among ourselves in the dark of failed expectation? Might there be more to see? Is there a hope beyond the veil? Is it easier to always look on the dark side of life? When all the time Christ in you is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! Hallelujah. Well they are some of my thoughts, Pastor Rob

A matter of altitude

I have had the privilege of travelling many times to other nations and valued the many people that have travelled with me. I remember one time the incredible hand of God in getting an associate not only out of Australia but into another country without a passport. It was simply amazing. But you know at the time things were pretty gloomy on the ground before we left and indeed when we arrived in the other nation reality hit again, "How do we get past customs and immigration?" But all was OK. Another time it was horribly wet and rainy on the ground but once up in the air the sun was shining and life was great. So I suppose you could say sunshine is a matter of altitude. Many times I have been challenged in my own heart to make my own sunshine, in other words to climb in altitude and attitude. This has been a life changing thought at many times.

Intimacy

(Thanks also to Jill Castilla)
I was doing some reading tonight and found out some interesting facts. The earth at the equator is spinning at 1,609 kilometres per hour. As if that is not enough we are travelling through space to make our yearly orbit around the sun at the phenomenal speed of 108,000 kilometres per hour (give or take a K). Yet here I sit at the keyboard as still as can be. I pondered this and thought about how unaware we are of our movement and the incredible speed of it. Then it dawned on me that our Spiritual life is very similar, we are travelling towards our destiny at a great rate of knots but in total unawareness (if there is such a word?) We to can be so unaware of how far we have slipped from our original launch place. That time when we were alive in God, totally aware of His grace and mercy that we had received. We then start our slow drift and in total ignorance are unaware of how far and how fast we have drifted from our first love. Our first love where nothing was too much to give or too hard to do for God. Where another opportunity to attend a meeting or go to a service was greeted with fanciful enthusiasm and not begrudging disdain. Where we had led our children to believe Church was actually great and fun and not a hard place that drains us (their reponses are reflections of our hearts). Passive faith leads to loss in the end. The close walk that you and I had with God in School or Uni or in our younger years is no guarantee of intimacy today.

If you desire to walk intimately with your God, consider what you are doing on a daily basis to foster this intimacy. The prophet Hosea, himself was painfully aware of the waywardness of human hearts, he exhorted Israel,
Hos 6:6 - " I want your constant love, not your animal sacrifices. I would rather have my people know me than burn offerings to me." (GNB)

Lifting Weights

Lifting weights once seemed to me so unnecessary--an activity for people who wanted to feel like gigantors, while the real exercisers were off somewhere running. But as it turns out, I was wrong. Incorporating weight training into your exercise routine is beneficial on many levels: raising metabolism, increasing strength, reducing the risk of injury, heart disease, and other illness. I even read recently that lifting weights can help lift depression. I have no doubt that using weights properly can build both muscle and benefit our health. With a weight in my hand recently, I found myself worrying about upcoming events, things I needed to do, things I wasn't doing well enough, and so forth. To be honest I can't remember exactly what I was worrying about that day. But I remember thinking about the weight I was physically lifting and the weight I was mentally carrying--and marvelling at the illustration. I believe it is possible to use life's resistances/problems to build character and faith. Even so, as it is in weight lifting, a weight is only beneficial to the body when it is lifted and released. Muscles grow during times of rest; to never release a weight would negate any benefits of weight lifting (not to mention look very silly). When it comes to worrying, I think I might resemble a person hauling around a barbell, stubbornly refusing to put it down.

Its only when we release the weight does any growth occur. Similarly its only when we let what has been a burden go to God, that we find a growth in our own lives. Jesus tells us, "Who by worrying can add anything to their lives?" (Paraphrase). By letting the struggle and worry go, what we are saying is that WE TRUST GOD. This is a sure sign of growth. Sure life will have its ups and downs and the downs at times will seem so low that we will never get up again. But the reality is that when I first started to exercise I thought I would never move my arms again. But slowly and surely I gained confidence and strength, and now I look forward to it (well most days).

One Body

Today as I talk with other ministers both on-line and in person the one common thing in the western church is transfer. People are transferring from one church to another, or transferring right out of the church. People all have their reasons rightly or wrongly and that is between them and God but the one factor that we can all miss from time to time is GOD. He is the one who called us in the first place, He placed us in the church and He should be the only one we move for. He died for the Church. I hear many saying "I am the Church" which is true to a degree, but its the corporate gathering of the many members that He is joining together that makes the Church.

(Rom 12:5) "So we the many are one body in Christ, and each one members of one another.
We cannot love the Head (Jesus) and not the body (people of the Church). We are , like it or not members of each other."

It's time for the new generation to arise those who are full of faith and Grace, who look beyond and build for the Kingdom. I once spoke in a church in Sydney and I said these words. "Those who bail out of Church now and do not fight to belong, will miss out on what the faithful will become". The Pastor of that Church rang me and reminded me of my exact words, and thanked me for them. It's time for me and the general body of Christ to fight for what is ours, our heritage in Christ that will come to those who are faithful. And to those who CHOOSE to walk in unity with a clean heart.

Well those are my thoughts, Pastor Rob.

Kingdom Love

A quote from Kluane Spake which I really loved;
We must move from legalism to Kingdom love. It isn't easy to love without expectation of reward. For surely, beloved, you will be disappointed again and again. Luke 21:16-19 reminds us: "You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. By standing firm you will gain life" (NIV). Jesus is coming back for a church that stands together firmly in victory and that walks together in the spirit. Let us migrate to the next level and breakthrough with new revelation and expectation. Remember: Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit -- defined as committed, trustworthy, loyal, reliable, constant, steadfastness, & sincere. Faithfulness & commitment are demonstrated through a performance of duty, or keeping ones word or promises to one to whom you are loyal. That means you keep your promises regardless of any change or disappointment that might occur.