This week we saw the passing of Steve Jobs.  Without doubt he achieved remarkable feats in technology, business, his career and social change.   I admire much of what he did with his 56 years.   He was a man who was productive and focused.   I own several Apple products.

However, it has been fascinating to see the blogosphere’s tributes to the passing of their idol.   God-like adoration and post-humerus worship have filled our news feeds for days.   Without knowing what ‘Jobs’ believe personally, I do wonder what his thoughts are now.  The creator of Apple is now facing the Creator of the universe.    Did the accolades he earned cloud his thinking about eternity?  How does he now view his earthly achievements through the lens of his own mortality?

Personally, I don’t ever expect to reach the heights that Steve Jobs did.  However, I am SO thankful that my eternal reward is not based on my earthly outcomes.  My comfort about my mortality is Jesus’ achievements.    We can all rejoice that the path to God is not through inventing an app, but rather the application of Jesus.

Blessings

- JC

We have heard that the path to God is ‘narrow’.   In the OT, the path to salvation was restrictive.    While God laid out a path through his chosen people, the Jews created artificial restrictions which effectively eliminated many people’s hope.   They set up discriminating systems that put God in a box and elevated their own status.   In Isaiah, 56, God addresses the ‘excluded’ when He says:

v3: Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people”  And let no eunuch complain, “I am only only a dry tree”. 

God’s blessing through Abraham was though offspring which would ultimately lead to salvation through the Messiah.   However, the culture of the day was to have slaves castrated so as to make them more loyal.   This meant that slaves could not participate in God’s blessing.   To which God replies

v5: I will give them (eunuchs) within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name that is better than sons and daughters.

For the childless, who were impotent through no choice of their own, these words were given by God to be of great comfort.    Great blessing would be theirs.

v6-7: And foreigners who bind themsleves to the Lord …  these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them  joy in my house of prayer.  Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my alter for my house will be called a house of prayer.

For those who were born as gentiles (even in the OT), the promise of salvation was available.    While the Jews imposed temple restrictions based on lineage, God’s desire was for salvation to spread from His chosen people and throughout the nations.   This is one reason why Jesus was rightly angry at the money changers in the temple.

As believers we know how Acts outlines salvation spreading beyond Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.   If as to emphasis God’s heart for the discriminated, the first recorded gentile conversion to Christianity was the Ethiopian eunuch – both a foreigner and childless.

Today, it is easy to  take comfort in our homogeneous communities.   But God’s heart is still for all nations.   Red and Yellow, Black and White we are all precious in His sight.   I don’t know if skin colour or our decedents will be recognizable in heaven, but I doubt that will really matter.   When we commune face to face with our Father, those externals fade away.

Blessings

-JC

1. Baby Boomers spent their kid’s inheritence by artificially inflating house and share prices, without training their children.

2. Generation X indulged in unsustainable levels of debt to try and match their parents assets, while ignoring their children.

3. Generation Y declared a pox on preceeding generations, while railing against the corrupt system. (e.g London riots )

Generational greed has brewed a toxic cocktail. We have stolen a sustainable economic and social future from our kids and grandkids, so we can gratify our desires. While stimulating ourselves with sex and power, we have failed to live or impart wisdom. Soon, Gen Z will justify euthenasia. At one level can we blame them? Our SYSTEM has failed. As Karl Marx correctly predicted, Captitalism will implode because of itself. No form of government can solve the corruption of our hearts.

In these days, the words of Paul seem apt: Live soberly righteously in this present world?

How should we live in the present world?

1. Live Light: Avoid debt as much as possible. Our foot-print on this world will not be measured by ‘toys’ or ‘carbon impact’, it will be measured by our love for God and love for others. Value relationships more than assets. Let’s reject the greed of previous generations and be content with God’s goodness. We may have a richer life by renting, reducing expenses, working less and spending time with others.

2. Love well: The antithesis of greed is love. We do not love well. Token tax-deductible charitable donations may sooth our conscience, but they fall far short of the example of the Good Samaritan. Loving well will cause us to temper our desires and think of others. It will force us to make righteous life decisions that benefit not just our relatives, neighbours and community, but also future generations.

3. Long for the Lord: More than ever, let me encourage you. This world is not our home. Let it go and embrace the eternal wisdom that comes from Jesus Christ. As we long for the Lord, our lives will be a greater witness for Christ than any words we could ever preach. True wisdom will change our thinking. It is truely a liberating future.

Blessings

-JC

We were living in close quarters and he really got under my skin. He wasn’t likeable like the others were. He didn’t go with the flow. He wasn’t fun to be around. He had issues. And he annoyed me.

It was easy to judge him.

Then I sat next to him as he poured out his story of brokenness and abuse.

It was easy to judge him.

Until I knew him.

I saw him at his weakest moment. And it changed everything.

I knew the family well and enjoyed their company. But there were some things that bothered me. I was critical of how they approached some things. And it frustrated me.

Then I became aware of their agonising daily struggle with mental illness in the home.

It was easy to judge them.

Until I knew them.

I saw them at their weakest moment. And it changed everything.

I suspect that most of the people I judge are those I have not yet seen at their weakest moment.

It seems odd that it would be so. That weakness would lead to grace.

Perhaps it is because we see ourselves in the weaker moments of others. Perhaps it is because we’re forced to remember our own frailty. That we need mercy in our own weakness. Perhaps it is because we realise that if God showed such grace to us in our weakness, we must show grace to others.

Perhaps being real and vulnerable with those around us is more important than we think. Perhaps the grace of the gospel would be more obvious in our relationships if we were more willing to open up.

Am I the type of person who is “safe” to be real with? Am I willing to let others see me at my weakest moments? Are you?

Grace to you.

When I purchased my last car (a Mazda 6) there was a tense battle between my head and my heart. My heart wanted the luxury model with leather seats, sunroof and Bose sound system.  My head said the mid-range classic version was better economic value. In the end, my head won. The 6 is a great looking car and a pleasure to drive. However, everytime I pull up to the lights next to a luxury Mazda 6, my heart beats … ‘that could have been you’.

The heart is a curious organ. Physically, we know that the heart is central to life and the pumping of blood throughout the body. However, in spiritual terms the heart is also home to our emotions and desires. While we cannot see our heart, its passions are visibly evident. Just take an inventory of how we spend our time, what we think about, read, watch and eat. These actions give us an accurate picture of our heart.

“For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” – Mark 7:21-23

At age 11, my head came to the realisation that I need to be redeemed from penalty of my sins.  I mentally realised that Jesus was the answer and accepted Him as Saviour and Lord immediately. As I was raised in a fairly sheltered Christian home, my heart also agreed. My head and heart both knew that I must repent of sins and that God would change my desires. However, my heart’s journey toward loving Jesus as Lord has been a much rockier journey than for my head.

As I grew through puberty at around 13, I began to experience new sexual desires. Once I began to earn money at 16, I found that my heart had to deal with greed for the first time. When I left home at 18, and without the protection of parents, I found that other people were offensive and vengeful. My heart struggled with forgiveness and bitterness.  As I experienced career success, I was tempted with arrogance.  So as a young adult (who had been saved for 10+ years), my heart found itself dealing with desires that did not seem to be part of the original 1987 ‘repentance deal’. The conflicting schizophrenia between what my head genuinely wanted and what my heart was tempted with, confronted me daily.

In its early stages, this dichomtocmy had me questioning my salvation. ‘How much did I really mean it when I prayed the sinners pray?’ ‘Am I really chosen by God if I struggle with sin more now, than before I was saved?’ These questioning times were not pleasant. However, I thank the Lord for revealing to me the ‘present reality’ of the verse John 3:16. that whosoever believeth (in the ongoing sense) in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life. My salvation is not based on how well I remember my sincerity 20 years ago. I simply need to ask my head and heart, what you believe now… today…? This ongoing present tense of believing has helped dispel the lack of assurance doubts that the devil used against me.

So back to the issues of the heart. My heart must put Jesus on the throne of my life daily. While my head mentally repented many years, my heart needs to repent regularly. It is the reality of old nature, which will challenge until we enter eternity. At one level, as grow in Christ, it seems that I sin less often. However, at a different level, the older I get, I realise how much more of a sinner that I am. I can never tame my heart on my own, which is why I must pray with the Psalmist David, to Change my heart O God.

I wish I could clean up my act on my own. I can’t. So reading Mark 7 keeps me humble. Mark 7:12-23 shows me that as my heart battles with each and every sin, I can rejoice so much more in the power of God’s grace and what he has saved me from. Pray is so necessary to reconnect my heart with the truth and love that God has saved me too. The next time I face temptation at life’s traffic lights, my focus will be on the road that God has ahead for me.

What should a Bible-believing Christian do when he or she finds himself or herself attracted to a person of the same sex?

The Gay Christian movement answers, “If you have feelings for that person, go for it.  There is nothing wrong with a monogamous loving relationship regardless of sexual orientation.”

But that conclusion ignores the plain meaning of Scripture when it says, “Male and female He created them.”

Aussie Bible-Believer, who commented on my last post on this topic declares: “There is NO verse to prove that God loves Sodomites . . . give them some hell-fire preaching which they and the rest of this country needs [sic].”

However, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” clearly has no exception clauses—either for “Sodomites” or for those who hate them.  God’s love for the world covers the most obscene and the most seemingly benign of sinners.   Aussie Bible-Believer has forgotten that “fornication and lewdness” (not just the homosexual variety either!) is listed with “hatred and outbursts of wrath” in disqualifying us for the kingdom of God.  In the book of Proverbs pride is listed multiple times while homosexuality is not even mentioned.  If mere cowering at the wrath of God were enough to purge homosexual feelings, same-sex attraction wouldn’t be such a hot topic.

So what should a man do when his feelings for other men just won’t go away?  Or what should a woman do when her feelings for other women persist?

Take a look at this website:  http://www.truefreedomtrust.co.uk/

 True freedom Trust (TfT) is a confidential Christian support and teaching ministry for men and women who accept the Bible’s prohibition of same-sex practice and yet are aware of same-sex attractions, or struggle with other sexual and relational issues. We also offer support to families, friends and church leaders of those who face these issues in their lives.

 Based in the UK, TfT offers help for both homosexuals and those who want to help them.  Clearly taking the stand that “any sexual relationship outside of marriage between one man and one woman falls short of God’s plan for His creation”, TfT also questions the assumption that healing for a person with same-sex attraction means replacing it with opposite sex attraction.  TfT contends that “contentment and wholeness are found by trusting and following Jesus Christ, rather than being defined by the absence of same-sex attractions.”  The fact that the ministry was founded in 1977 by Martin Hallett, who himself lived a homosexual lifestyle until Christ radically transformed his life in 1972, lends real credibility to the message of TfT.

I don’t know of any ministries like this in Australia, but perhaps some of you do.  Please let us all know in the comments section.  Helping a brother or sister who struggles with sexuality is following the command to “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

“A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it.  People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the proving questions of a smart skeptic.  A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.  Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts – not only their own but their friends’ and neighbors’.  It is no longer sufficient to hold beliefs just because you inherited them.  Only if you struggle long and hard with objections to your faith will you be able to provide grounds for your beliefs to skeptics, including yourself, that are plausible rather than ridiculous or offensive…”

The two questions I wrote in the margin of the book were as follows: “what do I doubt” and “what is the role of doubt within the context of Christian education?”  I would like to talk through the former more personal question now and the latter question in my next post.

When I asked myself the question – what do I doubt?  The answer was not immediately apparent.  The first place I looked was at the traditional culprit – crisis.  At the time of reflection and at the time of writing there is no crisis in my life, relationships, or circumstances.  While many people seem to be living in a Dickens novel my life at this time feels more like an Asterix comic (near the inevitable banquet scene).

In the absence of identifiable doubt I started looking at the environment that could lead to doubt and this stark warning “A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.”  I thought about the following questions in the context of my own spiritual life and I believe they have wider application among believers:

Am I relying on past spiritual experiences instead of present day spiritual vitality?  Do I refer to things that God has done last year or even decades ago without any thought to what God is doing in my own life right now?

Does the absence of doubt reflect spiritual contentment or indifference?  It is very easy (especially as men) to become invested in work or lifestyle pursuits that appear to fill the God-sized hole that we have in our lives.  If life was a game of charades would I be labeled as content or indifferent?

Am I living towards my ultimate purpose?  There are many good things that I could be doing with my time and relationships – but are they the best things?  How does my life reflect my ultimate purpose?

JK

In recent years my path has frequently crossed with gay guys–guys who enjoy makeup and tight clothes (on themselves), guys who openly flaunt their sexuality to other guys, and guys who seem ambivalent about their identity, sexual or otherwise.  Some of them disdain me, a pastor’s wife, but some have become good friends.  Some even enthusiastically attend events at our church.  Until I had the opportunity to interact personally with some intriguing gay men, I always thought about homosexuality as something “out there”, something only to teach about from Romans 1 and Genesis 19, and definitely to be avoided or even shunned in public.

However, getting to know homosexuals on a friendship level has stirred my thinking about the spiritual needs of this subculture.  I have been accustomed to being with people who respond to the sight of a homosexual by mockingly mimicking his effeminate gestures or cracking an in-joke.  Could those reactions be motivated by fear?  Or by ignorance?  Shouldn’t we be motivated by the love of Christ for those who have never known that love?  The truth is that whatever our sin, we are each desperately in need of Jesus to give us new life and new hope.  Just because a guy (or girl) struggles with a sexual sin that the Bible soundly condemns does not mean that the person is unable to receive grace.  On the contrary, isn’t a person who is bound by a life-dominating sin positioned perfectly to experience the boundless grace and mercy of God?

Homosexuals need our compassion not our condemnation.  Condemnation they already have like everyone else who does not “obey the Son” (John 3:36).  The gospel is for them just as it is for you and me.  How do you react when you realise your waiter or your coworker or your son is gay?  What are you doing to connect him (or her) with the love and mercy of God in Jesus Christ?  I’d love to hear your ideas on how to overcome “gay” discomfort with the compassion and gospel of the Lord.

What is style?  Style (from “stylus” or pen) indicates a manner of expression — the manner through which someone or something is presented and perceived.  So you may have a particular writing style or a decor style or clothing style, and all of these are ways of expressing your ideas or your home or yourself.

We like it when people compliment our style, because they are complimenting us.  Your image — the way people perceive you — is therefore very important in the modern world, where advertising, fashion, and digital images constantly present the ideal “you.”

Style is also celebrated as an end in itself, where the substance is not what’s important, it’s how you present it.  Christian writer Os Guiness has commented,

“Who we are takes second place to who we can become and who we appear to be.  We may not be comfortable in our own skins, but style is the umbilical cord between sales and the self we would like to become.” *

The priority of style is all around us.  The fashion industry promotes image above all else, offering you a constantly changing, personal utopia where others will perceive you the way you wish and where all your needs are met.  Recently I’ve noticed the ABC’s popular TV show “The Gruen Transfer,” which is basically a show dedicated to advertising and how it works.

I think the dominant style website today is Facebook.  Facebook is a great way to connect with others and share your life, but it also can be a catalogue of subtle self-advertising. This photo is who I appear to be, not who I am.

When you idolize your image or crave compliments, the end result will be a personal sense of hollowness.  As Guiness describes:

“…preoccupation with style is a major ingredient of the emptiness in modern culture.  Thus it affects the drive to sex and violence, which is the prime compensation for emptiness in a culture that has only one sin left — boredom.  The modern world that is crammed with images and frantic with changing styles is a hollow world, but is too dazzled to see it.”

* Fit Bodies, Fat Minds

Ben Kwok

Because Tim’s writing is Bible-based, his perspective is realistic, in the best sense.  Here’s an example:

No matter how mature you get in this area, the battle doesn’t end. Yes, detox is real. It’s needed, it’s critical, it’s an absolute must-have. But it’s no magic bullet or stake in the heart of your sin. Think of the purest, most noble, most mature Christian man you know. He is probably far more immune to porn’s enticements than most guys, but he is not completely immune. Neither will you be. Ever.

The wonderful transformation of a deep and thorough detox is necessary. Then, you will be stronger. There will be a new lightness and sense of freedom and joy in God as he pours out fresh grace. But none of us ever “arrive” in any kind of permanent way. We never become immune to this parasite of the soul.

So, getting free and staying free are different things but they involve the same process: Repentance, putting off the old, and putting on the new. You need to practice all three, on a regular basis, for the rest of your life.

You can buy it here in print or download the e-book.

Ben Kwok