Jesus

Splash

in Thoughts  by Ruth 0 comments

b6c72007-406d-4223-9801-94073c953475SPLASH

Test. splash 

Run. splash

Music. splash

Trump. splash

These are examples of the random-seeming words produced by Julius Popp’s word waterfall entitled bit.fall.

I admit it was ambitious to go to an art museum with our nine-month-old son. We felt entitled to at least one adult centric excursion.  After all, it was our nine-year wedding anniversary.

The MONA in Hobart did not disappoint. Well, at least the third we got to enjoy before our bub dictated otherwise.

The museum is entirely underground. Three stories carved out of solid rock. Bit.fall was the most impactful for me. (Perhaps because it is the first one in the exhibit, and every art piece thereafter I was placating our son.)

Words are created using water which appear for a moment until they splash with a cracking echo into the drains below. The words are temporary. You process them with brevity of thought and then it is on to the next word. It is hypnotic and a major waste of time but that is the artist’s point.

Bit.fall encapsulates the constant barrage of distraction within our digital age. Our phones herald new messages, meet ups, and Facebook posts with catchy sounds, and once hooked, we become victim to the plethora of ‘link bait’ stalking us on nearly every web page.

I see an ad, a word, a picture, news feed or a status update.

I view.

I consume. My phone vibrates.

I move on. Splash

Although these distractions waste my precious time, I feel I have lost something far more important – Focus.

Matthew 8:23-27 is a well-known but amazing story of how Jesus commanded the stormy seas to be calm. The storm caused the disciples’ fear that ultimately revealed their lack of faith. Their distraction was a storm. They lost their focus.

In addition to storms, the modern world is bathed in distractions. Where once we may have watched the occasional TV show, we are now drowning in a sea of personalised content.

It is not that news, YouTube, status updates are bad or even sinful but they are common snares that detract from experiencing the abundance of life. I have found personally that it robs me of my ability to think deeply and reflect.

In a feeble but sincere attempt to reclaim my focus and thoughts, I have deleted the Facebook app from my phone.  I have to sign on using my computer (pre 2007 style). This is just enough effort for me to forget to check it at all. I have also unsubscribed to a number of email subscriptions this week.

These minor changes have given me more time to reflect on important matters and my focus is slowly coming back. I still get distracted and admit I struggle to concentrate.

I am comforted by the fact that despite the disciples’ lack of faith, Jesus still calmed the stormy seas. There are no prerequisites for God to rescue us whatever our snare.

On that thought, I would like to finish on the serenity of Psalm 107:28-31 instead of a distracting splash.

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.  He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. 

by: Ruth

He calls us friend

in Thoughts  by Jinha Kim 0 comments

One of the greatest blessings in life are good friends.

When we close our eyes and picture a good time, fond memory, or favourite pastime, most likely we are remembering moments with our friends.

Some of us are fortunate enough to have at least one “friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).

Now imagine Jesus, the Creator and Sustainer of life, turning to us and saying, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends . . . I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:13,15b).

Did you catch that?  Jesus calls us friends!

It is easy to read this passage in John (or any passage in the Bible for that matter) and hear the impersonal voice of an audio book narrator.  But go back and picture your best friend, who knows he or she only has a few more hours to live, leaning over to you and saying with trembling lips and soulful eyes, “You have been my friend…”

Wouldn’t you clutch your friend’s hand and say, “Thank you for being my best friend!  I don’t know what I’m going to do without you!”  Wouldn’t you weep if your friend’s death was to save your life?

Jesus could have saved us in a condescending swoop, like the way we release bugs outdoors instead of killing them.  Or He could have saved us like a superhero in spandex, using his powers to do the maximum good for as many unknown faces as possible.  He would still be worthy of worship.

But Jesus comes into the every day.  He walks with us.  He eats with us.  He talks with us and cries with us.  He knows us each by name.

Even His enemies saw that Jesus was not an esoteric snob or unapproachable celebrity with his posse of “cool guys”; they were annoyed that he was “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 11:19).  He treated them as His equals; He was “Immanuel” – one with us.

When Judas betrayed Him, Jesus still called him “friend” (Matthew 26:50).  It was not said with sarcasm, but with sorrow as His heart was broken.

In those last few hours of HIs life, Jesus poured our His heart to His closest friends, the twelve disciples.  He washed their feet and shared one last meal with them.  He called them friends and prayed for them.  After they had all fled and even denied knowing Him, after He had been abused and crucified, He prayed that they would be forgiven.  Then He died for them – and us.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends…” (John 15:13).

Jesus extends His friendship to us – He says tenderly, earnestly, “Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, ad they with me” (Revelation 3:20).

By saying yes to opportunities to know Him better, we are venturing into the best friendship we could ever have.  It may take several months or years, but we will come to know and love a God who longs to call us friends.

by: Jinha Kim

"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

Don’t forget your enemies this Christmas

in Thoughts  by Ruth 0 comments

Screen Shot 2015-12-15 at 12.20.48 pmGift giving is a big part of the Christmas season. We give gifts to show appreciation and affection that nurture relationships with close family and friends.

However, upon reflecting on humanity’s greatest gift Jesus Christ who gave himself to be the Savior of all mankind, we learn the greatest example of gift giving is not in giving to loved ones, but to those most at odds with us.

Gift giving is an act of mending.

The thought of giving to one’s enemies this or any season is probably not a priority on your Christmas list. However, consider the wisdom in the book of Proverbs.

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;

if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you. NIV Proverbs 25:21-22

Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son highlights this principle. To the dismay of his loyal son, the father GIVES a large banquet to honor the return of his wayward son. What a surprise for his rebellious son and what a testimony of his father’s love this gift must have brought. The relationship was not only restored but the prodigal son has seen a depth of his father’s character that the loyal brother could not.

Jesus Christ astonishingly declares – “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you…. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them… But love your enemies… then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” NIV Luke 6:27-35

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the USA who preserved the unity of his country and abolished slavery, understood the transformative power over ones enemies by stating:

“The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.”  

Jesus’ primary mission is to reconcile his enemies by giving them the greatest gift of all.

“… while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son…” NIV Romans 5:10

Jesus’ instruction begs us to think contrary to human logic: “For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” NIV Matthew 5:46-47

Jesus not only requested we love our enemies, he demonstrated the power of love by giving himself to all of mankind to show how much stronger love is over hate.

So this season, use the act of gift giving in its most powerful form. Think of those that you think very little of and witness the transformative power of giving to those who least expect or deserve it.

Wishing you a restorative season this year!

by: Ruth

It sounds right

in Thoughts  by Bronwyn 0 comments

I think this sounds right

Have you ever sat a multiple choice test where you weren’t sure of the correct answer? You re-read all the options and then thought, I think ‘C’ sounds most correct.

When I taught English to Cambodian high schoolers I was trying to explain why their sentences were incorrect. Since English is my first language, I speak it fluently but do not always understand why I say things in a certain way. So the best I explanation I could come up with at the time was: ‘it just sounds wrong when you write it this way. This way sounds better.’

Or perhaps you are going somewhere you have been before but you aren’t entirely sure of the way. And as you walk or drive along you think, ‘hmm this way feels right.’

What is it that gives us this impression of ‘right’? And how do we ensure that our impressions actually are correct? So often we put the wrong answer down on a test or we give incorrect grammatical advice or end up lost because our inner sense of right is misplaced.

In the case of the test, if we didn’t learn the material correctly then incorrect options will sound correct to our minds. If I learned to speak English incorrectly then I will likely teach others to speak incorrectly. And depending on how well I know the route to a destination will determine how easily I get there! In each case it is a matter of knowing the right way. To add complexity to this, there are degrees of knowing and with each degree of knowing comes increasing chances of getting it right.

And so it would seem with our life choices – which way seems right? What path feels right to you?

These are often questions we pose to ourselves and to others who are at a crossroads. Should I make this purchase or that? Should I go abroad to gain more experience or stay in my company to gain a promotion? Should I marry this person or keep looking? Should we have children? How should we raise them? The problem is if we don’t have any concept of ‘right’ then really anything could seem or feel right at any given point in time. And we may be faced with the question: ‘do I trust my feelings?’

God provides us with an avenue to know the right way. He illustrates a purpose for our existence through the Bible and in it are visions, mission statements, directions, examples to follow (and not to follow), descriptions, pictures and in some cases, explicit instructions. Just as the textbook and the test questions are not duplicates of each other, so with life the text and the choices given demand an applicable knowledge of one to answer the other. And so the more familiar we are with God and His way, the more correct our feelings about what is the right way will be.

Some people call it ‘feeding on God’s word’, others may call it ‘quiet time’, ‘devotion’ or ‘Bible study’. It doesn’t matter what name you give it, becoming familiar with the Bible is the best way to know God and His thoughts. As Albert Einstein said, ‘I want to know His [God’s] thoughts. The rest are details.’

by: Bronwyn

The Meaning of Misery

in Thoughts  by Jinha Kim 0 comments

I have always loved Les Misérables – after all, I did study French literature.  But I first read it in English long before I could sing “Alouette.”  It was one of my mom’s favourite books so I read it partly out of curiosity, partly out of an ambitious desire to conquer the tome (the unabridged version is 1488 pages long – 202 pages longer than the complete Gutenberg Bible), and partly to understand the meaning of the title.

Les Misérables – a literal translation would be, “The Miserable Ones,” or the “The Wretched Ones.”  Who is Victor Hugo referring to?  Who are the miserable ones?

The most obvious answer is – the poor.  The masses in France that were driven to hunger and poverty during that time lived in a truly wretched reality that unfortunately still plays out in many parts of the world.

But are the rich exempt from misery?  No – heartless, they may be, but happy they are not.

How did Hugo define happiness? “The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves–say rather, loved in spite of ourselves (p. 167).”

Misery, then, is living without that conviction that we are loved just as we are.  It’s the state of constant insecurity, of wanting approval and affirmation from others around us, even those we don’t particularly like or even know.  A mistake, a disappointment, a heartache can make our worlds come crashing down.

The poor and the disenfranchised know what misery feels like.  But so does anyone who has felt truly rejected, betrayed or abandoned.  Or anyone in soul turmoil wondering who we truly are, what we’re all about (like Javert).

It is to us wretched individuals that God says,

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:9-13, NIV).

“Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.  So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.  In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John 16:20-23, NIV).

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NIV).

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

To all of us Les Misérables, Jesus offers the supreme happiness of being loved in spite of ourselves, a love tried and true, a love that overcomes the world and turns our mourning into dancing.

by: Jinha Kim

"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14