Our church library has lots of books – and Mere Christianity would have to be one of my favourites, and one that I would recommend to absolutely anyone.
It’s the kind of book that you can read many times, and find something new each time – and it’s enduring success is evidenced by the fact that it is still in publication today, and remains one of the most popular books on Christianity.
A lot of people may be familiar with C S Lewis from his children’s series – The Chronicles of Narnia – the most well-known of which, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, many of us would have grown up reading.
Mere Christianity is adapted from a series of radio talks that C S Lewis gave in Britain during WW2 – to a nation looking for meaning and somewhere to put their faith in the midst of so much darkness and uncertainty in the world.
That message – of faith and belief – is just as relevant today.
It explores Christianity at its most simple – and profound – tackling deep concepts using straight-forward and beautiful examples that stay with you long after you finish reading.
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
~Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
What a beautiful image that is!
Psalm 51: 10-12
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
by: Sharyn
Our church now has a subscription to RightNow Media library, which means we now have access to a digital library of sermons, podcasts, children’s entertainment and other digital resources (check the church newsletter for details, or chat to Jinha if you haven’t got your invite yet!).
As we’re about to celebrate Easter this weekend, I thought I’d check out what resources RightNow Media had relating to this, and while I was doing so I found this series: The Easter Experience, presented by Kyle Ideleman. It’s a six-part series examining the story of Easter (so if you start tonight, you can finish on Easter Sunday!).
I always find it fascinating to see the stories from the Bible brought to life and reimagined. It helps me to visualise what it might have looked like, to imagine how it might have been. How confusing what we now know as the Easter story would have been at the time to the disciples, as they experienced the highs and the lows (and the highs again). It’s got all the hallmarks of an incredible story – and yet the good news is that the Good News is real – and just as true for us today.
And while it’s wonderful to see this acted out before our eyes, or read about it on the page, what’s most important of all is that it also becomes more to us than merely a story.
In Luke 24, the disciples are still reeling from the events that had transpired that weekend. The women go to the tomb to anoint what they thought was going to be a dead body – and yet what they found instead was an empty tomb. When they are told that Jesus has risen. “Then they remembered his words.” (Luke 24:8) Imagine what it would have been like for them as what they had seen slotted into place, and they began to fully understand the message Jesus had been communicating throughout his ministry. How easy it is for us to now take that for granted, when we feel like we already know the story. But it’s our story too, and we each still have to “remember the words” and decide what we do next.
Whatever your experience this Easter, I hope you are able to spend some time reflecting on the moment that the Good News was given to us through Jesus, and that you can “remember his words” and enjoy the abundant life that is freely offered to us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
by: Sharyn
I don’t often think of the Bible as the kind of book that would use the word stupid.
Oh, perhaps in an indirect sort of way with synonyms for stupid. I know the Gospels are full of parables about foolish builders who can’t keep a house standing, foolish bridesmaids who can’t keep their lamps lit, and foolish servants who can’t help being undone by their own schemes.
But … stupid?
So I was surprised when I came across this verse in Proverbs that seems surprisingly blunt:
“Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” (Proverbs 12:1)
The key thing here is that stupid is not a lack of knowledge – it’s an attitude. And it’s an attitude which stems from a lack of self-knowledge and a lack of desire to change that state. In other words … it’s less about what you know rather than what you do when you’re faced with the fact that you don’t actually know it all.
So… being stupid in this sense isn’t about intelligence at all. It’s an attitude of pride that scorns, resists and avoids opportunities to learn.
If you couldn’t handle being corrected, you’d never learn anything. Although we often think of learning as something that happens inside a classroom, the truth is every day is an opportunity to learn. We can learn from other people, learn from experience, learn from past mistakes. However the only way we can learn any of these things is if we recognise that there is something there for us to learn from.
Proverb 12:15 goes on to say – “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.”
Wisdom is defined by listening and responding to a wisdom beyond ourselves, just as knowledge comes from instruction. If you never open your eyes to other perspectives, you’ll never see beyond your own line of sight.
by: Sharyn
I got a store catalogue in the mail this week. Inside were an array of lovely (and oh-so-affordable!) homewares – everything from cushions, furniture, kitchen items, clothing and accessories. Nothing I need, but lots of things I could potentially convince myself I did.
As I was looking at it, the title of the catalogue caught my eye: Inspired Living.
Inspiration is certainly a go-to word right now: we use it to describe everything from celebrities to juice cleanses. Of course, the question behind any inspiration is – what is its source? In the case of the catalogue, the inspiration is driven by the latest design trends… lasting only as long as the trend remains trendy, before it’s replaced by the next latest thing.
True inspired living is not about owning a scented candle in the Pantone colour of the year (…Greenery, if you were curious), arranging framed motivational posters or gracing your kitchen with geometric fruit bowls in rose gold.
Being a Christian is all about inspired living – it’s a life that is inspired, as a follower of Christ, to lead a life inspired by something greater than this world.
You won’t find it in a catalogue, because it’s not something that can be purchased with money.
You won’t discard it once a new season arrives, because it will stand the test of time.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2
That’s what true inspired living looks like.
As a kid, one of my favourite songs at church was the song Sandy land.
“Don’t build your house on the sandy land… don’t build it too near the shore. Oh, it might look kind of nice, but you’ll have to build it twice, ’cause you’ll have to build your house once more. You got to build your house upon a rock. Make a good foundation on a solid spot. Oh the storms may come and go, but the peace of God you will know.”
(… if you have that song stuck in your head the rest of the day – you’re welcome!)
One of the reasons I liked singing it so much was because of all the actions. While we sang, we pointed, clapped, sketched circles in the air. We mimed building, we waved our hands from side to side to represent storms, we made peace symbols and pointed at the sky.
It was a fun song to sing because of the actions that went along with the words.
The story the song is based on is also about actions that go along with the words.
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” (Luke 6:46-49)
Reading the story Jesus told, you can see there are a lot of similarities. Both men were builders. Both built houses. Both were hit by the same storm.
The difference is, one man took the time to lay a firm foundation. He built into something solid. Something that would last, that would anchor him.
The second builder skipped that step – we’re not told why. Maybe he was lazy. Maybe he was just so keen to start building, he didn’t see the point of digging first. After all, it’s hard to get excited about a foundation. That’s not something that people can see just by looking. After all – the house is the part you live in – so he focused on that.
When they were finished, both houses would have looked the same. Looking at them side by side, you wouldn’t be able to tell the strength of their foundation. However after the storm hits – it becomes very apparent. One house has collapsed, and one is still standing.
It didn’t matter how much time or care the second builder put into the house – once the storm hit, it all came tumbling down.
A foundation is something that comes first, that everything else rests upon.
Isaiah 26: 4 – “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”
In life, there will always be storms. We can’t control how strong the wind may blow or how heavy the rain may fall around us. But we can make a choice what sort of foundation we will lay, by following what Jesus has said. The storms may come and go – but the peace of God you will know – if you build wisely, on a sure foundation.
by: Sharyn
For my birthday this year, one of my best friends gave me a very special present: my first ever plant! It is a peace lily (for us non-gardening types, you may know it by its less scientific name, the-one-with-the-wide-green-leaves-and-the-upright-white-flower-bits).
I was promised it (and the other plants we bought on the same expedition) would be ideal for a novice gardener like myself. ‘Low maintenance’. ‘Hardy’.
Six months later, and I’m pleased to report that my plants are still alive and – for the most part – well. Although we have had our ups and downs.
Particularly my peace lily. It turns out lilies need a fair amount of watering, and it took us a while to get into a routine. Especially after I went away for a few days.
When I came back, I could see its leaves drooping – and drooping. I panicked. I watered it, but the next morning it still looked sad. I was convinced this was the end. Surely I couldn’t coax my plant back from the brink of its drooping decline.
I talked to my friend (who is an excellent gardener), and she told me to take it to my laundry sink and leave it under a running tap for five minutes, then let it drain in the sink overnight. I was skeptical, but did exactly what she said.
The next morning, when I woke up I couldn’t believe my eyes. My plant had gone from looking like a forlorn, disgruntled swan and the lilies had returned to their perky upright selves.
What a difference water makes! I could see the difference for myself.
Isaiah 58:11
The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones. You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
If you’ve ever been thirsty, you know how amazing that first sip of water tastes. If we hadn’t ever experienced drought, we wouldn’t appreciate what it would mean to be connected to a source of water that won’t fail. A watered garden means that a gardener is tending it. And unlike me, who may occasionally forget to water my plant, God is there continually to guide us, to satisfy our soul and to give us strength.
Throughout winter, I watched in dismay as the lilies changed from white to brown, and eventually dropped off. My peace lily became all leaves and no lilies. I kept watering it. And in spring, I was so excited to glimpse the first lily as it bloomed – and then another – and another (I’m now up to four!). Each one seems like a miniature miracle to me.
In parables, Jesus often uses examples from nature – vines, branches, fruit. Things that grow. Things that require care. And things that flower, and bring forth fruit.
John 15: 5, 8
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing… By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.