I became a Christian when 18 years old, single, with no kids. My first child changed my life when I was 32 and had already spent over a dozen years as an adult learning about God. Also, none of the churches I have been a member of use a liturgical calendar so there are elements of church traditions I know very little about.

So while I understand how important it is to teach my children about God and model faith to them, I have very little idea how to make it happen in practise. My wife and I are slowly gathering various ideas which we try out, adapt and use as the basis of faith-filled family traditions. Fortunately with young children it only takes several repetitions for them to gain an expectation for such stumbling traditions to continue.

With this in mind I ordered one of Caleb Voskamp’s Advent to Lent wreaths in October last year, unfortunately too late for it to arrive before Christmas. After a 12 week journey across the Pacific ocean it did arrive last Saturday, in time for the Lent countdown to Easter.

With it’s beautifully finished oak spiral and figure of Christ hauling his cross, our wreath has begun counting down to the dawning light of resurrection at Easter.

I am excited to have this visual and tactile aid as we endeavour to incorporate the living symbolism of Christianity into our family life.

A purist might say that props should be unnecessary; I am simply filling my life with more stuff and indulging in the human penchant for replacing interaction with God with man-made traditions. My reply to this is that I know my weakness. Materialism is unnecessary but inevitable because I have a physical body living in a materialistic social framework. Therefore I manipulate this natural tendency such that my heart is turned towards God by the stuff in my life rather than away from God by the independence that comfort brings automatically.

The physical presence of a wooden spiral in the middle of our dining table with a candle and figure of Christ carrying a cross on it is already reminding my frequently that there is a meaning to life far beyond the usual daily grind. That is gain.

Note: my son doesn’t usually have a droopy left eyelid – this photo caught him mid-blink!

]]> http://wordsofeternallife.org/2012/marching-into-lent/feed/ 0 http://wordsofeternallife.org/2012/john-the-baptist-gets-high/ http://wordsofeternallife.org/2012/john-the-baptist-gets-high/#comments Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:55:35 +0000 Mike http://wordsofeternallife.org/?p=11846 Imagine spending thirty years of your life intensely focussed on what you are convinced is you entire purpose for being. The enormity of the task sometimes causes you to quiver and seriously doubt yourself, can you really pull it off? What if, in the crucial moment, you fail to perform what is expected of you? If this job is not done properly history will hate you for it!

It is the preparation which costs so much; constant vigilance, total discipline and self control, being unable to participate in most of the entertainments your peers enjoy. Every day – preparing and waiting – Oh the seemingly endless waiting.

Finally, after years of study and setting yourself aside for the task you know you are ready and the time is right to begin. With faltering voice at first you start speaking out, attempting to convince others of the message you have been given.  Surprisingly the people respond. They see your sincerity, look past your idiosyncrasies and understand the message.

Well, the common people that is. The educated and wealthy start mocking and debating. They cannot see why your teaching is applicable to them, especially given their inherited position.

Yet, despite this opposition even your reputation grows until crowds are gathering to listen and act. People are taking it seriously, asking sensible questions about how to change injustice. Things are happening!

However, with the success your anxiety mounts. Things are surely going to come to a head soon but you still haven’t done the most important thing. What if you’ve missed it? What if dealing with so many people coming to listen and be changed has blinded you to the most important part of the task?

With such doubts in your mind every night you rehearse your message. Your tone is getting more strident and uncompromising. The ‘debates’ with the authorities are getting less like debates and becoming more like tirades against them. Someone is going to get real upset before too much longer!

Then it happens, after yet another heated exchange with the scribes. Looking up, the man walking towards you matches what others have described but more importantly you recognize in him an air of uncompromising sincerity. Now, after so many public speeches your words tumble out awkwardly and you hear yourself wondering out loud whether what you’d been planning to do is actually the right thing.

He smiles and reassures. Yes, your concerns are valid but stick to the plan. So it is done.

Then…

Well, words cannot describe it. Nothing you had imagined came near the actual event. But it happened, just as you had been told. Good thing the water was fairly shallow or you’d have nearly drowned! Not only the dove, but the voice also! The sign! YOU HAD JUST BAPTIZED THE SON OF GOD!

I am speculating here, but it is my guess that John the baptist – a young 30-year-old man – found it difficult to focus on his work for the rest of that day and probably was buzzing too much to sleep very well that night! The purpose God had given him in life had now been achieved!

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:29-34 ESV)

Other posts related to this topic:

• Words, witness and warning
• Rend the heavens
• Companions for the journey

Image of man jumping: iStock

The task – write for 5 minutes based on the prompt delight:

Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
(Psalm 37:4 ESV)

When you think about it, this verse is quite typical of God’s way of doing things – if I delight in God then the desire of my heart will be to get more of God – He is happy to give me this.

But am I? Do I?

My greatest delight is usually in what God has made or what He gives me rather than in Him. How do I delight in God who I cannot see?

In 5 minutes I cannot explore this in depth, but it would seem that the idea (from C.S. Lewis, I think) of ‘running up the sunbeam’ to it’s source applies here. Look at the gifts that I do delight in and then understand something about who God is that He gives such delights to me and from increasing understanding of what God is like my delight shifts to be in Him.

It seems to need constant effort though to even keep mindful of the true character of God when easy fixes such  as TV, internet, and chocolate are within reach.

What will you reach for?

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20 ESV)

Other posts related to this topic:

• The real, real world
• Homesick
• I don’t desire God…

Image of girl looking at butterfly: iStock

Whereas I am just plain old average. I was going to write ‘very average’ but that would be overstating the case and adding the idea of excelling at being average, I don’t, I’m just average. My academic record is average (all B’s and C’s, not many ‘pointy grades’), my income is average, even the size of my family is average! The main points of difference about me are my height (short) and my house (small). One of my struggles in life is finding anything interesting to write in my Twitter bio.

Point of difference

So what purpose does an ordinary person like me have in writing stuff for the whole world to see ? (If they chose to look – they don’t!)

Marketing gurus like to tell us that whatever we are trying to publish needs to have a ‘point of difference’ so that people will be interested. This makes good sense in a marketplace crowded with stuff and an internet congested with blogs.

Within contemporary New Zealand culture my point of difference is that I am a Christian. In our very secular society a person has to be pretty committed to be an active church goer with a deep faith in Jesus Christ. Still, there are plenty of other Christians in NZ, some of whom write blogs and most of those folks are more educated, opinionated and articulate than me.

So I suppose my ‘point of difference’ is that I’m just a very ordinary Christian living in a secular society and trying to figure out what it means to trust Jesus while working to pay the bills.

Ordinary folks welcome!

Given that I’m just an ordinary guy with no special training in theology or such like, I do not set out to teach deep theological truths on this blog or argue about fine points of doctrine. Theology and doctrine are important to me but I have learned over the years that God uses people with inadequate understanding about Him – He has to because nobody fully understands God.

All I’m really aiming to do is share the reality of striving to live for Christ in an ordinary life. Not the life of a missionary or pastor or scholar, just plain old making ends meet in the context of work and family.

 I’m not the only person to think this way:

Because your story matters more than your stats

Other posts related to this topic:

• Blog success in an Upside Down Kingdom

Image of me: taken by my wife

The task: Write for 5 minutes, no fixing and fiddling, just write.

Learning to be real and realistic:

Real: actual, genuine.
Realistic: seeing or accepting things as they really are, practical.

The first eighteen years of my life were based on these ideas. I liked to stick with the facts, to look for truth, be practical; and my parents drummed into me that it is foolhardy to be anything other than realistic – one must accept things as they are.

What is the real world?

But there is more to life than what folks like to call the real world, what we can see and touch. There is One who John and the other apostles saw and touched, who cannot be seen or touched right now but is no less real for it (1 John 1:1-2).

The real real world is much bigger than what we can see and touch here and now. It includes wars, refugees, children and old people hiding in jungles from soldiers who should protect them. The real, real world contains ideas bigger and cleverer and stupider than any I encountered in small town Central Otago, NZ. It includes God – and evil – chariots of fire and legions of angels (see 2 Kings 6:17, Matthew 26:53).

Intangible but really dangerous

In the real, real world there are demons in my head that will do real damage if let loose. There is selfishness in my heart that would destroy my marriage if given free reign. There is frustration and anger in my soul that will destroy my children if released. These things cannot be touched, but they touch me and those I love.

In this world I need the Jesus I cannot see or touch.

Stop

Confession: I did do a little editing after my 5 minutes. The bold and italics, headings and scripture references were all added later.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
(1 John 1:1-4 ESV)

Other posts related to this topic:

• Tough AND tender
• An oddly vivid memory

Image of enraged man: iStock

For each will have to bear his own load.
(Galatians 6:5 ESV)

The parent fairies will do it

Teaching our kids to responsibly do their share of jobs around the home is one of our big struggles at the moment. They still think the world exists for them and don’t comprehend that work doesn’t do itself (or maybe they are smart enough to know the ‘parent fairies’ will always do it if left long enough).

In my attempts to ‘encourage’ them do a bit more to help I commonly end up quite grouchy at them and probably achieve little other than making everyone upset. The stupid one is clearly me because despite the technique clearly being ineffective, I still use it as my default parenting mode.

Raised voices don’t work

For children to take responsibility for their share of household chores and learn a ‘good work ethic’ is an internal process deep within their hearts. I’m sure there are developmental stages they must pass through before the concept of helping others will stick, and there are certainly spiritual issues such as sin and selfishness.

Because the change must occur within the heart of a child, my power to influence the process from outside is limited, more so if shouting or frustration characterize my approach. My best tool is to pray for my kids. To ask God to work in their hearts and in my heart so we can all work together rather than against each other. I need all the prayer I can get!

Download the prayer prompts:

31 Days of Prayer; Children

Other posts related to this topic:

• Pray for your kids – Faith
• Pray for your kids – Compassion
• Pray for your kids – Humility`

Image of girl carrying sticks: iStockphoto 

Initially I thought this is taking it a bit far, placing gratitude on a pedestal and elevating into a dangerously idolatrous position.

On Consideration

However, when I give thanks for stuff I am not giving thanks to gratitude, I am giving thanks to God. If I were just cultivating ‘an attitude of gratitude’ in an attempt to make myself happier it would be idolatry, worship of myself. In contrast, by continually giving thanks (and praise) to God I am living prayerfully, as Paul exhorts (Ephesians 5:20, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Colossians 3:17).

If I cannot be bothered glorifying God for all He gives then I edge ever closer to a precipice of idolatry, foolishness and a darkened heart:

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21 ESV)

Escape from idolatry

Each day we encounter events, situations and interactions which occur under God’s sovereign supervision. If the weather upsets my plans to do something I can get grouchy because my day has been messed up, or I can look beyond myself to ask what there may be to thank God for in this? Perhaps I am better to be doing something other than what I had planned. Maybe this weather is a blessing to others and those of us who don’t like it will get the sort of weather we do like on another day. Or it is so terrible that nobody is blessed and many suffer – in this case it is a chance to put aside my selfishness and help somehow.

I don’t thank God for what is evil, but I do look for the other blessings God gives despite evil occurring. Without this there remains only despair. Purposely looking for what I can genuinely thank God for refocuses my attention beyond the veil of evil and corruption cloaking the world and onto the perfection of Christ who remains Lord over all.

A society of fools

What happens when millions of people refuse to thank God for what He gives or to give Him glory? That society becomes darkened and foolish, chasing after delusions.  As the church of Christ we are called to be light in the world. One way in which the world around us will see the light of Christ is when we remain thankful to God in situations that leave most people moaning and grumpy.

The joy of the Lord may be our strength, but how do we get it? We grow in joy as we grow in knowledge of God. God is spirit, we cannot see Him. What we can see is God’s acts in our lives – if we look. This is what I’m doing when I list eucharisteo, I am looking for the works of God in my life. And His touches are everywhere.

If the church of Christ spent more time thanking and praising God for what we have been blessed with instead of moaning about what we want the world would notice big time. Why then are so few leaders of families and churches and ministries promoting thanksgiving? Why are so few men praising God for His blessings?

Get with the game guys!

Listen up guys, it  is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Praising God for what He gives is not the sole domain of Christian women, yet they seem to be the only people talking about in the blogosphere.

You don’t have to be a soccer Mom, homeschool your kids, bake your own bread and knit your own socks to give thanks in all things. In fact, Paul’s exhortations to give thanks in Ephesians and Colossians are both closely followed by direct commands to both wives and husbands.

Theoretically you can do this silently in your head while going about your work. A bit like your praying hey? You know, where you decide to pray silently and start of well, discovering minutes later that you are actually wondering if it is OK to ask God for a new car like the one you’re following now.

I’d encourage you to record what you thank God for. It needn’t be on a blog. It could be in a notebook. Or let the gadget freak in you go wild – try the iPhone app, or Evernote, Tweet your thanks, photograph it, podcast it, make a Youtube video – whatever, go nuts. By making a point of recording what you are thanking God for you force it back to the forefront of your thinking and remain aware of the need to keep at it.

C’mon men, the women are whipping your ass in giving glory to God! Perhaps we need a more hairy and testosterone laden version of the ‘gratitude community’?

Gifts I have noticed today (#827 – #840):

827) My 19 year old expresso maker – broken, welded back together, broken again – but it still works!
828) A book I wanted to read conveniently placed in my hands.
829) A quiet day at home alone.
830) The simple lunch I am enjoying.
831) Beginning to enjoy my jogging.
832) Daughters excited to start a new school year.
833) God promises to supply all I need (Philippians 4:19)
834) Reinstatement of our child disability allowance.
835) My wife’s persistence in dealing with bureauracracy.
836) Cheap 2nd hand stereo.
837) Lots of cheap plants to go where the hedge used to be.
838) Finishing my run despite being stung on the ankle by a bee.
839) Renewed sympathy for the kids when they get bee stings!
840) Starting a prayer journal for my daughter as we pray together.

Image of runners: iStock

I would go so far as to say that there is also a part of you that should never be allowed out to terrorize innocent victims.

It is an insatiable beast, unstoppable if unleashed. And yet we often treat it like some cuddly little lap dog. The reality is far more gruesome. At certain phases of the moon this beast within transforms into a ravaging horror, snapping the feeble bonds a half-hearted soul might tether it with.

What is this deep, primitive part of our psyche?

It is called sin

What we experience initially is temptation. Something crosses our path (or our mind) which sparks a desire. At this, sin springs alive, enticing us to evil.

There are only two options; give in, or fight. Giving in has an apparent appeal of gratifying the desire and ending the temptation. Fighting on the other hand will continue indefinitely, to a very bitter end – death of either temptation or tempted.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
(James 1:13-15 ESV)

Unfortunately, giving in results in slavery to whatever the sin was that tempted us (John 8:32 & 2 Peter 2:19). There are dire warnings against turning away from purity in Christ to wallow in sin (2 Peter 2:20-22). For this reason we have to take steps prior to being tempted so we will not buckle under it.

Chain yourself in the basement

Have you ever seen any of those old werewolf movies? You know, those in which the terrified man, dripping with sweat, chains himself in the basement and says to his friends, “Whatever you do, no matter what I say or how I beg, don’t let me ought of there.” He sees the full-moon coming and he’s taking action to protect everyone against himself. (Russell D. Moore in Should I Marry a Man With Pornography Struggles?)

A person who takes God seriously will be truly terrified of falling into sin. This is something I need to keep being reminded of. There are so many who are quick to label as legalism any attempt to take action against sin that the christian subculture has become very liberal and careless about how destructive sin is.

Jesus has defeated the power of sin to condemn us, but we are still commanded to fight it (Matthew 2:29-30).

What you need is not a sinless man. You need a man deeply aware of his sin and of his potential for further sin. You need a man who can see just how capable he is of destroying himself and your family. And you need a man with the wisdom to, as Jesus put it, gouge out whatever is dragging him under to self-destruction. This means a man who knows how to subvert himself.  (Russell D. Moore in Should I Marry a Man With Pornography Struggles?)

Occasionally I am reminded that I actually take more care over the safety of this body which will only live about 70 years than I do of my soul which will live forever in either heaven or hell. When doing activities in which my eyes could be injured I wear protective glasses to prevent it. Do I protect my soul from what passes through my eyes?

I take precautions to avoid injuring my hands from cuts or being broken. What am I doing to prevent injury to my heart by foolish actions done without thinking through the potential consequences? Am I wearing protective equipment? (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Challenge

One of the most important things you can do is take measures to keep yourself from sin. I challenge you to think right now of whatever temptation is most troublesome in your life currently. Then figure out one way to reduce the chance of giving in to it.

Take concrete steps to put this into action. Do it now while you are not being tempted so that when you are, the crash barriers are already in place above the precipice. Don’t wait until full moon and then wish you had done something earlier!

Three very good sermons on this topic by John Piper:

• How to Kill Sin, Part 1
• How to Kill Sin, Part 2
• How to Kill Sin, Part 3

Other posts related to this topic:

• Sin is a horrid, hateful sight
• What makes me do what I do not want to do?
• Servant girl denials

Image of young man in prison: iStock
Image of werewolf awakening: Olivier Martins (flickr)

This week’s prompt is Tender.

The task: Write for 5 minutes, easy peasy.

Tough AND tender

Men are ‘supposed’ to be tough, strong, keeping it together. They can also be aggressive and violent, bullies.

Jesus taught us a better way. He was fully man and He was tough – having massive nails hammered through your wrists ain’t for wimps! But He was also tender. Jesus wept (John 11:35).

Jesus loved others deeply and felt their pain.

Imitating Christ

Jesus has called me to follow Him. This means not only doing stuff outwardly like He would do (which is difficult enough), but also being like Him at my core, having compassion as He does, caring for others as He does, seeking God’s glory as He does.

Over the years of my attempting to follow Jesus, He has changed me. He has changed my dreams – I used to want to be great at something, to make a mark – now what I want to be when I grow up is a wise old man who has a tender heart as Jesus does.

My ambition is sanctioned by Peter

Peter confrims that this is a worthy goal:

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
(1 Peter 3:8 ESV)

Stop

Other posts related to this topic:

• An oddly vivid memory
• Throw a bucket of cold water at me
• Pray for your kids – Compassion

Image of man weeping: onepony (iStock)

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
(Matthew 9:36 ESV)

Consider compassion and a little Albanian nun often comes to mind. A woman who was greatly used by God yet did not consider herself to be anything other than Christ’s servant.

Maybe you cringe as a parent at the thought of your child taking vows of chastity and poverty in order to serve the poorest of the poor. But I’m sure you want your kids to exhibit at least some compassion.

I found an excellent description of compassion written by R.C. Sproul Jr and will simply quote what he wrote:

Compassion, rightly understood, means entering into the passion, or suffering, of others. It means setting aside our own concerns, our own fears, our own needs, and not just supplying but feeling the needs of those around us. This, ironically, happens not when we have all that we need. It happens instead when we come to understand that we have nothing and that we need nothing. Compassion flows not out of the wellsatisfied but from those who have not. There is, in turn, only one way to do this — to die to self. When my aspirations, my hopes and dreams, my wants are crucified, I enter into liberty. I am free to take up the concerns of others. A dead man has no need to protect his comfort. He has no need to protect his wealth. He has no need at all to protect his reputation.  (With Passion, Tabletalk Magazine)

Such a huge challenge – to die to self and take up the concerns of others as my own. Perhaps children can teach us something of how to do this as they have little of their own but only what is provided for them. They are less about status and more about what is happening right here, right now.

But children have to learn empathy. Selfishness is natural to our sinful nature and overwhelms compassion. Every human has to consciously leave aside their own concerns in order to care for another. This is what we ask God to do, help our kids (and us) to die to ourselves so that we may serve others.

Download the prayer prompts:

31 Days of Prayer; Children

Other posts related to this topic:

• Pray for your kids – Faith
• Pray for your kids – Humility
• Pray for your kids – Protection

Image of Mother Teresa: Fotopedia
Image of boy comforting friend: iStockphoto