Thoughts

I love opening the mail.  Yes, even bills. I like the sound of the paper ripping and the anticipation of reading something new.

When we returned from our trip to the US this week, I sat down with satisfaction over the big stack of differently sized and coloured envelopes.

My sister had sent us a wedding anniversary card.  The Conference had sent us our payslips.  Red Energy wanted our money.

There were some great news – our Permanent Residency medicare card, for example.  There were some bad news – a traffic infringement notice.

Sorting through the different mail, I found myself wondering where my priorities lay.

Why was the letter reminding me to vaccinate Micah carefully set aside while the ADRA letter requesting help for “Chipo,” a widowed woman from Zimbabwe, so easily discarded into the recycling bin?  It wasn’t until the next day that I shame-facedly dug out the letter and read it in its entirety.  It was about giving struggling families micro-loans to start agricultural small businesses.

$15 would help a farmer in Vanuatu to have chickens and chook manure to help their gardens grow.

$43 would help a Myanmar farmer recover from a season of poor yields.

$132 would provide goats for a single mother in Zambia to start a breeding business.

God gently reminded me of His unopened mail to me today:

“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’ Deuteronomy 15:7-11

“Cry aloud; do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.

13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 58

It was a humbling reminder not just to focus on my own needs and desires, but also to “let  justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos 5:24.

I too have taken the forbidden fruit … and oh my, it’s wonderful!  For the first time in my life, I am now a hooked owner of a MacBook.  When Roy had his Mac, I used to say that it was just a prettier version of my PC and that it wasn’t worth the extra cost.  Being a good family man, he sold his and got a cheap PC.

But then I started noticing the difference in quality, capacity, etc. and when my PC started signalling its imminent death (I’ve had it for 4 years), and then my charger died on Sunday, plus JB Hifi had a 10% sale, I decided it was time.  We’re going overseas in a few weeks so we can even claim the GST back (hurrah!)

Maybe it’s just the excitement of having a new computer, but I feel like I’ve been more efficient this week. Is it possible that the Mac actually improves the quality of life?

I kid… sort of.

Having good tools helps!  It does wonders to motivation and productivity.  Remember the first day of school when you prepared new pens, pencils, and notebooks in your new superhero or Hello Kitty book-bags?  The joy of novelty can go a long way.

The same principles apply to Bible study.  Reading and exploring the Bible with good tools and new techniques can bring the ancient text to life in a way that is interesting, enjoyable, and inspiring.

For example, try typing out your thoughts and questions from Bible study on your computer.  Organise the notes into categories like “increasing faith” or “difficult texts.” Try to see a pattern between the passages that deal with the same topics.

I enjoy journaling in a brand new journal with a nice ballpoint pen.  If you’re like me, get a new journal that you will actually look forward to using to write down your reflections on a passage.

Do you know multiple languages?  Reading the Bible in different languages really help to bring to light the various meanings of words, phrases, and ideas. Just know English?  No problem.  Try reading the passage in different English translations: http://www.biblegateway.com. or http://www.biblecc.com.  You can read parallel versions on the same screen to compare and contrast translators’ choices.  I like reading the NKJV, the NIV, the NASB, and the Message versions together.

Pick one verse that you want to dig deeper into and look it up at http://www.blueletterbible.org.    Click on the “TOOLS” button to see the different cross-references, commentaries, Bible dictionaries, etc. related to that verse.  My favourite tool is “INTERLINEAR,” which shows you the original Hebrew or Greek words and their meanings.  You can click on the “Strong’s” number to see a fuller definition and references to where that word is used elsewhere.  For example, in John 3:16, the word “begotten” can be translated “the only one of its kind.”

Speaking of cross-references, if you have a Study Bible that has a middle column with footnotes, etc. try reading them!  Many people have invested long hours of research to provide cross-reference texts that relate to that particular text, phrase, or idea.  Read the various references to understand the greater context.  You could do a cross-reference chain reading where you start in one text, read its reference, then that reference, etc.

I also recommend investing in some Bible commentaries.  You can buy E-books or print versions – or go to a theological library if you live near one.  Commentaries are not just for scholars.  My favourite one is the NIV Application Commentary.  It’s practical,  user-friendly, and in plain English.

Listen to the Bible – it’s amazing how listening to someone else read the text (preferably, a dramatised version and not just a monotone speaker) can make you hear something you’ve never realised before was even in the Bible.  There are apps and websites where you can download and listen to chapters of the Bible for free.  Here are some: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/

Paraphrasing a passage in your own words, creating a personalised Bible version, can help solidity the main idea.  Or write a Haiku version.

If you’re artistic, draw the passage out or compose a song.   Memorise a verse and ruminate on it.

For a simple step-by-step guide to How to Study the Bible, click here:  How to Study the Bible

What are some ways you mix it up?

Have you ever had a heartburn? No, I’m not referring to the terribly painful health condition that’s keeping me up right now (shouldn’t have had that chocolate muffin right before bed).

I’m talking about that fire-in-your-bosom feeling or experience when you fall in love, with someone or something. That excitement, that passion, that overflow of joy with anticipation.

It may be a steady ember or a fireworks of emotions – but whatever its cause and the following array of symptoms, it’s sure to leave you with a lasting impression.

Have you ever had spiritual heartburn? A time when you felt God stirring your heart, whether through an inspiring sermon, stimulating bible study, or a sincere prayer? Perhaps you were on a mountaintop or in a vast desert. A time when you felt the grandiosity of God, or His generosity of grace?

In Luke 24, two individuals experience this kind of heartburn – they are walking to Emmaus, disappointed, discouraged and utterly disheartened after the death of Jesus.

They are so focused on their own sadness from their own dreams deferred that they do not even recognize Jesus when He comes and walks with them. God shields their eyes, too, for various reasons.

But Jesus still walks and talks with them, showing them how their expectations of a Messiah were grounded in selective listening of Scriptures and misguided, earthly ambitions. They wanted a Messiah who would give them political freedom and physical comforts rather than a Messiah who would give them internal freedom and spiritual blessings.

Jesus slowly opens their eyes to the truer, fuller, grander nature and mission of the Messiah by giving them a Bible study ranging from Genesis to Malachi. And as their vision is shifted from focusing on temporary pleasures to eternal promises, they begin to realize that perhaps the Messiah did have to suffer and die – and that perhaps Jesus wasn’t a failure after all! Perhaps He really is God, and He succeeded in providing a way for all people to experience release from guilt, shame, fear, sin, and ultimately, death. Could He really still be alive?!

And so they experience heartburn. Later, after they realize that the person who had been with them all along the way was Jesus (ask me to show you how and why that’s significant – a fascinating bible study!), they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32, NKJV).

Could it be that the reason why we can’t see God is because we, too, are focusing on our own disappointments, caused by misunderstanding of the nature and mission of God? For example, we want and expect God (if He is real) to protect us from harm, provide us good things like family, health, job security, etc. But what if God wants more for us than just gratitude for physical blessings? What if He wants us to fall in love with Him simply for who He is rather than what He can give us?

What if that means that He surprises us with enormous respect, trusting us with the freedom of choice, no matter how difficult the consequences of those choices may be on Him?

What if that means that He waits painfully patiently for us to realize the detrimental effects of selfishness and to accept willingly a lifestyle of Christ-centred and other-centredness that is only possible through God?

What if that means He is willing to risk being misunderstood for the sake of being really known and desired for His whole character, not just the bits and pieces that we like about Him?

What if our own expectations of what it means to follow Jesus need to be broken down? What if that means we may have to go through suffering, failures, and disappointments? After all, that is what Jesus went through – He had to suffer and die before He could resurrect and be our Saviour.

So if we truly want to see God, we need to be open to a paradigm shift; we need to be willing to go back to old passages and see them with new eyes, willing to spend time listening to different ideas, willing to make difficult choices, willing, even, to suffer — willing, in essence, to catch on fire.

I recently joined a gym.

I actually went four times in the past seven days, but I hardly got any exercise.  The first time, I forgot my towel and felt paranoid that they would kick me out because they had a huge sign up that said “Towel check week.”  So I left after 20 minutes.

The second time, I couldn’t find my membership card (it was in my jacket pocket but of course I looked in every pocket of my purse and wallet and came up empty) so I went back home and didn’t feel like going back.

The third time, I had an appointment with the fitness trainer so I answered questions about my health, etc. and didn’t get to actually exercise.

I wonder if we ever feel equally unsatisfied after we go to church.

Do we come back home and feel like we hardly connected to God?  That we were at the right place, doing the right things, going through the right motions, but that none of our spiritual muscles were engaged?

Were we anxious the whole time about what others might think of us?

We signed up for the church because we wanted to be spiritually active, but are we getting our money’s worth? (time = money).

What would make our experience at church worthwhile?

Extending the gym analogy, the church could ensure that it provides a safe environment to exercise faith: a space where each person can develop at his or her own pace; a community that provides accountability and encouragement through group activities as well as individual routines; a training ground where professionals model, coach, and challenge members to achieve their goals; a culture where individuals with different backgrounds, personalities, and needs respect each other’s desires to improve and promote wholistic health (spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, and relational).

The right tools should be provided, reviewed, and updated, with clear descriptions and instructions for usage.  There should be a variety of ways people can engage and exercise their spiritual core: the weights of bible studies, the treadmill of service, the pool of prayer relays, small group workouts…  There should even be a cafe of socials and food.

But no matter how well-equipped the church may be, no matter how proficient the trainers and how inspiring the music, you ultimately decide how much you get out of it.

Are you making an effort to be there consistently? Once there, do you just go through the motions or are you really engaging and building your faith muscles through active listening, reflective participation, and genuine dialogue with God and one another? Are you too distracted worrying about what others think of you that you fail to stretch your understanding of God?  Do you come willing and ready to grow?

Perhaps it’s time to renew our commitment.

And as I return to the gym, prepared and determined, this time, I know there will be results.  That faith keeps me going, and although the change may be slow and difficult, I am glad I joined.

I forget passwords quite often.  There are just too many websites, cards, and accounts requiring passwords and some are quite picky about what kinds of passwords you can have (capital letters, numbers, special characters, etc.)  My work email requires me to change my password quite often and won’t let me repeat old ones.  It’s quite a challenge trying to think of new variations of familiar phrases.

So I sheepishly click on that link of shame, “Forgot your password?” and go through the tedious process of resetting my password.

But sometimes it’s not so easy.  Bank accounts or other secure data require more hoops to jump through, and I wonder what I was thinking when I chose a security question that has at least a dozen possible answers (my greatest moment: one security question simply said “I am” – “vague and forgetful” was not the answer).

Ah, the good old days when the only password we needed to know was “please.”

“Please” got us through many cheeky requests, siblings’ doors, and family dinners as children.  “Please” was the magic word that moved mountains – or at least, the reluctant parent into getting a pet.

Maybe that’s why we use it so much in prayer. “Please be with us today… please bless the food… please heal this illness.”  We use it like a password to answered prayers; If only we could phrase it correctly, we will access that account in heaven.

But the irony is that the word has been misused and overused so that it is also just tacked on in the beginning of phrases in prayer as space holders.   And rather than adding elements of sincerity and humility, the word just denotes another thoughtless repetition rather than a prayer.

An interesting book Debt: the First 5,000 Years analyzes the usage of “please” and “thank you” in society and comments that those words reflect the “democratization of what was once a habit of feudal deference: the insistence on treating absolutely everyone the way that one used only to have to treat a lord or similar hierarchical superior” (Graeber, p 123).  In other words, the original literal meaning of “please” was “you are under no obligation to do this.”  However, “etiquette largely consists of the exchange of polite fictions… by attaching the word ‘please,’ you are saying that it is not an order. But, in fact, it is” (Graeber, p. 124).

Have our prayers been reduced to formalities that expect answers if expressed with passwords like “please” and “thank you”?   Do we see God as an equal who should respect our rules of etiquette?

What would happen if we self-imposed a temporary ban on the words “please” and “thank you” in our prayers and instead talked to God with genuine desire to build an authentic, transparent, intimate relationship with Him?

What would our prayers sound like then?

I know mine would suddenly focus less on what I want and wanted and more on who I am and He is – and who we are together.  Maybe something like, “Today, I was really impatient and judgmental.  I’m so grateful You don’t treat me the way I sometimes I treat others. How do you love so patiently?   How can I be more like You?”

Perhaps as we truly open up to God as to a friend, the trite, polite “Hi, how are you? I’m fine, thanks, and you? ” talk common with acquaintances would be replaced with the honest, heart-felt, run-on-sentence-y conversations where silences, emotional outbursts, and laughter are acceptable.

Then perhaps when we finally do say, “please,” it will be cried out in hunger for righteousness.  When we finally say, “thank you,” it will be whispered in awe of His grace.

So the forgotten meaning can be retrieved.

My father-in-law is here!  He made the long trek from Seattle, WA, USA and has finally lied down to rest after a tedious journey and a hot day.  I remember making that trip myself 18 months ago and am not looking forward to making it again in May, especially with a one-year-old in tow.

But when I asked my father-in-law about the trip and commented on how tired he must be, this is what he said: “Because I was coming to see my son, daughter-in-law and grandson, I didn’t notice anything.  I was just so happy.”

I can just imagine him, at the start of the journey, packing his bags and thinking of meeting his grandson for the first time.  Mid-flight, he was probably picturing the reunion with his son.  As he waited in line at customs maybe he was looking forward to getting to know his daughter-in-law better for the next 9 months.

The journey, however long, can be packed with hope.

Have you seen Shawshank Redemption?  One of the motifs in the film is hope. The protagonist, Andy, says to his fellow inmate friend: “Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”  Without hope, even freedom loses meaning.  At the end of the film (spoiler alert!), Red realizes the truth of the power of hope as he travels in search of his friend: “I find I’m so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”

Have you ever tried searching for a key word online?  Type “hope” on Biblegateway.com and you’ll find 6 pages of results.  Here are a few of my favorites:

“If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.  I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.  My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning – Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.  O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (Psalm 130).

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

“This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”  The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.  It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentaions 3:21-26).

 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:1-8).

” For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us . . . For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (Romans 8:18-25).

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:17-19).

“For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?” (1 Thessalonians 2:19).

“The hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago” (Titus 1:2).

What or who is your hope? 

If your journey has become mundane, meaningless, or muddled, try hope.

I hope my father-in-law has a good experience living with us in Australia.  I hope to see my family and friends in May.  I hope our church in the city grows by the grace of God.  I hope Micah grows up to be like his Dad. I hope.

I am getting to know my internet provider’s customer representatives by name.

Not because I am trying to make new friends, mind you.  I have been calling almost every day for the past week trying to get internet set up at our new place.

After being transferred multiple times and being on the phone for hours, I am beginning to recognize certain voices and names.  Oh, hello again, Christy.  Yes, I’ll hold…

And so I’ve been holding my breath for over a week now waiting for my internet light to flash green.

In the meantime, we’ve been tethering our phones and anxiously watching our usage meter get precariously close to our monthly limit.  I’ve been hunting for McDonalds and other cafes with free wi-fi.

Obviously, we’ve been frustrated.

But oddly, we’ve also been creative.

Roy and I swap our phones when one of us is going out and the other staying in (Roy’s phone tethers better than mine).  I’m using my paper Bible more than Biblegateway (Did you know that most Bibles have a concordance in the back? It’s no Google, but hey, it helps).  I type this blog on Word and then upload it quickly once I connect to the precious internet.  I’m calling people instead of emailing them.

Being disconnected requires searching for ways to connect in alternative ways.

I think we need the same creativity and effort to connect with God.  Not because He is unwilling to draw near, but because we have limited vision and hearing.  The communication lines are often broken on our end.  There are many distractions (not just without, but within, in our own minds), and the noise pollution complicates what could be such a simple conversation with our Friend.

So for those of us who need that re-connection this week, here are some tips:

• Pray out loud – preferably, in a quiet place away from people who will stare at you.  Something about saying it out loud helps us focus on what we’re saying.
• Write it down – for kinesthetic learners like myself, writing a prayer journal helps to better express our thoughts
• Try the ACTS model of prayer:
  • Adoration – praise God for who He is (ex: You are a merciful God!)
  • Confession – ask Him for forgiveness (ex: I was grumpy with the internet provider)
  • Thanksgiving – thank Him for specific things (ex: Thank you that I have this new home and that you’ve filled my life with such abundance that the worst problem right now is the lack of high-speed internet).
  • Supplication – ask God for our daily needs and for others (ex: Please watch over the victims of the bushfires).
• Try one of the 11 Different Ways to Pray shared by PMC which includes prayer walking, group prayer, etc.
• Pray with someone – sharing prayer requests and praying together can help us feel better connected with God.
• Have a special designated time or place for prayer.  Set your phone alarm or have a special quiet spot in the park or garden in your neighborhood.

What have you tried and liked?

Who likes moving?  Maybe you like the packing, unpacking, and cleaning up involved.  I for one am not a fan.  Having moved over 20 times (twice intercontinentally), I know first-hand how exhausting moving can be.

Each time, I moan to myself as I kick the Everest of boxes, “Why do I have so much stuff?!”

Really, why do we accrue so many things?  Why do we have three shirts that look almost identical in color and style, two copies of the same book, and a dozen mugs that never get used?

Whatever happened to simplicity?

It’s not just in material things.  Our time gets cluttered with items that demand or distract our attention.  Our minds are littered with all kinds of information, thoughts, and ideas. Our lives feel like a Jackie Chan movie, incessantly moving, hurrying, and fighting whatever real or imaginary foes (deadlines, bills, tempers, illnesses, hormones, diets, rush hour traffic, etc).

To the storm in our lives, Jesus says, “Peace!  Be still” (Mark 4:39, NIV).  He calls us to come aside and pray awhile.  To focus our minds on Him and silence the buzzing of sounds and conversations.  To listen for that still, small voice that reminds us that yes, not only are we pilgrims whose lives are not about stuff, but our journey also involves sharing the source of peace with others.  But we can’t share what we don’t have.

So I am closing my eyes to the chaos around me.  I am silencing my phone.  I am opening my paper Bible and reading Psalm 46: “…. Be still, and know that I am God….The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

If God sheltered Jacob when he ran away from home (Genesis 28:10-22), how much more will He shelter us from the pursuit of anxiety and stress?

He bids us, “Come away with me to a quiet place and rest awhile…” (Mark 6:31).