Why do we want to be perfect?

We can blame the media for only depicting flawless faces and perfect figures for our obsession with beauty. But media and marketing can only entice us by triggering the desire that is already in us to begin with. Not only do we desire perfection in beauty, but also perfect health, homes, cars and products that promise to make our life...perfect. Marketers understand what drives us through our decision making maze - we all want to be perfect looking and live problem-free lives.

Why is this? The Bible tells us that we want perfection because we are made for it. But sin entered our world and since then decay, entropy and disorder have robbed perfection from us in every arena in life.  The good news is that through Jesus God has already accomplished the work that will restore us to the ultimate perfect existence that we were made for. The problem with us is that we want a perfect world without God.  We want the goods but don't want God who is the source of all things good (James 1:17).

Some of us have already discovered that beauty, good health and great products don't completely satisfy the deep longing that drives us to pursue them.  Ultimately, without God the allure of all good things will fade for lack of his sustenance.  There is no perfection without God.

Modern day idolatry

Worshipping carved images of hand-made gods is certainly not something we are prone to do in our society today.  But the essence of idolatry is often embodied in a person or a thing that we pursue.  Basically anything that occupies our attention to the extend that we revolve life around it has become an idol to us.  In this way idolatry is very much alive today.  And God is dead set against anything that has this much power over us.

One form of idolatry that has affected our modern world is this idea of a 'soul mate'.  The feeling of being in love is intoxicating, and it can lead to many false promises in our imagination.  With 'soul mate' idolatry we pin our hope on one person to make us happy and to make us feel complete, not realizing that these deep longings can only be fulfilled by God alone.  We seek from a soul mate what only God can give.

No wonder God portraits himself as husband to Israel in the Old Testament.  And it is in this context that we understand what it means when God says that He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5).

How do I know I'm not working FOR my salvation?

One thing about Christianity that took me a long time to grapple with is this: I am saved by grace not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9), and yet, I need to prove my faith through my works (James 2:18).  So what does this really look like?

On the outside, it's not easy to tell if someone is doing good work in order to earn their salvation or if they are answering God's call as a result of being saved. As a natural do-er, I felt no need to even decipher the inner motivation for a long time. It felt good to be useful and helpful, and being looked upon positively was pretty cool too.  That is, until I burned out.  And then I got annoyed by others who didn't seem to be working as hard as I was.  Somewhere along the line I had become a legalistic dork who forgot about grace.  I was treating salvation as if it were earned by works rather than given by God.

So, I learnt the difference between a works motivation and a grace motivation the hard way.  Whenever we feel stress and anxiety about the work we do, then start to judge others (remember the story about Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42), it is a sure sign that we are working to perform, to earn brownie points from God, from others or from ourselves.  Just as the Israelites during their time as slaves to Egypt in the Old Testament, we work to survive and think we must work to be saved.  

But God did not save us to make us slaves again.  No point returning to Egypt.  He teaches us to work out of faith and obedience to His calling.  We learn to do things motivated by love and gratefulness to him.  We also learn to rest on His divine power that undergirds us whenever he tells us to do anything.  So we feel more free to take risk knowing that success is not dependent on our performance but rather on God's pleasure to deliver.

Sin and identity formation

In most religions, sin is usually defined as an action that breaks a moral law. Simple enough. But in Christianity, Jesus made it much more problematic, saying that even the thought of breaking a moral law is sin (Matthew 5:21-48). Who can withstand this level of scrutiny?!

Jesus wants to get at sin much sooner and deeper in our inner being than we might first realize.  The desire to sin and the conception of sin both happen inside of us (James 1:14-15).  When we think of why we sin, it usually stems from a core belief (however subtle it may be) that says 'I am not enough'.  For example, we might think that we are not worthy unless we are successful or desirable or powerful or popular etc.  And because self-esteem is at stake, we strive to be successful or desirable or whatever at all cost including hurting people that get in the way of our objective.  In order words, we sin or hurt others to get something that fulfills our need for positive self-identity.  

The beauty of Jesus and his salvation lies in this -- that by believing in him, we are made children of God (John 1:12).  It is as though we have been born again, allowing us to rest in this new identity and cease our strivings to be whatever the old self tells us.  The antidote to sin then is in letting our sonship in God sink deeper than the lies that we'd believed in in the old life.  The old identity must be replaced by a better one to lose its power over us in the new life.  What better identity can we have than being sons and daughters of God?  

When I hear the praises start

Song By the late Keith Green
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1GjhqalbYQ&feature=related

Is religion bad for intellectual development?

Oh...it sure can be. Since faith is such a crucial part of Christianity, there is a tendency to tackle difficult questions with more "faith" than thinking.  In order words, when we encounter things that we don't understand, instead of encouraging intellectual curiosity, we stop our thinking process short by saying that this just takes more faith to believe. Sometimes if the questioning persists, then the questioner is labelled a doubter, someone who is faithless.

My own experience is that the desire for an answer is not driven by the lack of faith. Rather it is the very opposite. "I have no doubt that God has an answer and that it will be a good one; I want to know what God thinks!" That is not a bad thing, is it?  In a friendship, we want to know what the other person thinks about this and that; it is just natural curiosity.  And through Jesus, God has befriended us.   

Some will quote Isaiah 55:8-9 to say that God's ways are higher than ours, and his thoughts are higher than ours. That is true, but it doesn't mean we can't access his thoughts. James 1:5 states "If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously without finding fault, and it will be given to him."  The apostle Paul puts it even more poignantly in 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 by saying that the Spirit of God who dwells in us searches all things, even the deep things of God...we have the mind of Christ!

A heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone

Life circumstances naturally harden our hearts.  As we experience disappointments in life, which invariably result from dealing with other people, over time we can't help but build walls for self-preservation.  The result is that our hearts become callous and hard.

But God said he wants to give us a new heart, a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).  I take this to mean a soft heart.  One of the implications of having a soft heart is that we begin to feel more and more for others. Romans 12:15 says we are to 'rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn'.

As God becomes a living reality in us, He also becomes our anchor and source of security, freeing us from the need of self-preservation.  Knowing that He is our ultimate protector enables us to reach out to others without any fears.  

Why doesn't God just show up?

Typically we hear one of two answers to the above question: (1) God is so holy and we are so sinful that we would die instantly if he showed up.  (2) God did show up--2000 years ago when he became the man, Jesus, and it is unbelief that keeps us from seeing His divinity.  

Answer (1) implies that God cannot control his power; which has been proven wrong.  The Old Testament records that both Moses and Jacob survived their encounters with God.  Answer (2) is certainly true, but that doesn't satisfy most of us who live so long after Jesus' time on earth.  

And we're often seeking something a bit more precise beneath that question anyway, namely "if God exists, why doesn't he show himself with power and might to prove that he is real?"  

Here are two possible reasons that seem to make sense to me.  

First, God apparently desires to forge relationships with us. That was his original plan in the Garden of Eden. But after Adam's fall, people began to hide from God out of shame (Genesis 3:10).  And if He were to appear with power today we too would likely hide out of fear.  Shame and fear are not exactly positive building blocks for the relationships God is creating.  

Second, God has an agenda to transform humanity.  This work has to take place in our hearts.  Ezekiel 36:26 tells us that He wants to remove our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh.  Appearing with power doesn't necessarily further God's clear transformational agenda.

What God did do was far more effective for His purposes than just showing up.  By sending His Son Jesus to the cross in an act of love, He removed the barrier of fear and shame between us.  Then Jesus sent His Spirit into the heart of each believer for the transforming work He purposed.  Jesus' work, though less spectacular in one sense, was much more effective for God's purposes--and ironically, far more costly to God--than if he had just shown up with a massive display of power. 

Sorry is just a word

When my nephews were just four and five years old, they would love each other to pieces one moment and then fight like cats and dogs the next. The older one habitually played tricks on his brother for fun, and the younger one, who was less adept at such trickery retaliated with action. One day I had to be their peace-maker, and asked the older boy to apologize for his mischief.  But before he even had a chance to respond, my youngest nephew, with tears in his eyes, protested to me and said "But sorry is just a word!"

Words can definitely become empty and meaningless if they are not followed by some change or other tangible action. We are so prone to say things we don't mean. We even train our children to say an automatic 'sorry' before first dealing with their hearts.  Gone are the days of verbal contracts, precisely because words without paper trail cannot be trusted. The apostle James concludes that no one can be found faultless in what he says, we all fail at being true to our word at some level. (James 3:2)

But Jesus isn't like that.  He lived out what he preached and thus qualified to call himself 'the Truth' (John 14:6).  His word and his deed were then and still are, one and the same.  And on this basis, we can put our trust in His words and live by them. 

Having Hebrew Heritage

Christianity was birthed from a Jewish womb.  Jesus himself was fully Jewish, not only by birth but also by practice. He said in Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them".  This is crucial for Christians, who rely upon Jesus' complete fulfillment of the Law in order to inherit the covenantal promises--of blessing in our earthly lives and eternal life with God--which God himself gave to Abraham in Genesis 15.  In a sense, a Christian gains access, through Jesus, to a Hebrew heritage.  And without this Hebrew root, there would be no Christianity.  

In this light--the connection between Old and New Testaments, Jews and Jesus, I find myself needing to retract something I wrote in a previous blog when I deemed Judaism a graceless religion.  Judaism springs from the Old Testament, where God made promises on account of his mercy: Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David etc...were all saved by mercy and not by their works.  In fact, the concept of mercy and grace in Christianity originates from God's interaction with his people in the Old Testament.

By the same token, since Jesus was the only one who perfectly fulfilled the Law - without Jesus, there would be no fulfillment of God's Old Testament promise.  As the apostle Peter puts it, the prophets of old were looking forward to the arrival of Christ and his fulfillment of their prophecy (1 Peter 1:10).

Christians do well to delve into the Old Testament and read the Bible as a whole in order to understand the context from which Jesus and the apostles established our faith and to grow us in it.  

Facing trials as pure joy, why?

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4)

Anyone who has been through deep waters in life knows the challenge of this verse. But as incomprehensible as it sounds, there are good reasons to consider facing life's trails as joy.  From studying the book of Job, I can see three reasons.  

First, trials in life indicate the depth of our relationship with God.  See how God describes Job in Chapter 1, verse 8 - 'Have you considered my servant Job?  There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.'  Job was not only known to God, but was also held in high esteem by God himself.  It was because the Lord took pride in Job that Satan focused on him (Job 2:3).  All believers in Jesus delight God when we abide by and obey His Son.  Therefore, as we walk with Jesus we ready ourselves for Satan's attack.

Second, God watches over the tried unceasingly.  Satan had to seek permission from God to attack Job (Job 1:12).  No matter how dire and dreadful our trials may seem to us, we can be sure that God remains sovereign and is in control of all situations.  Circumstances will never get out of hand for those who trust in Him.  

Third, the trial will end and God will exonerate his beloved.  In Job's example, we see that God blessed him in the end more than in the first part of his life.  And James tells us too that we will become more mature and complete and not lacking anything.  This is a great promise in time of trial.

Your love broke through

Another song by Keith Green
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h89-3_kIRDA

Like a foolish dreamer, trying to build a highway to the sky
All my hopes would come tumbling down, 
  and I never knew just why
Until today, when you pulled away the clouds 
  that hung like curtains on my eyes
Well I've been blind all these wasted years 
  and I thought I was so wise
But then you took me by surprise

Like waking up from the longest dream, how real it seemed
Until your love broke through
I've been lost in a fantasy, that blinded me
Until your love broke through

All my life I've been searching for that crazy missing part
And with one touch, 
  you just rolled away the stone that held my heart
And now I see that the answer was as easy, 
  as just asking you in
And I am so sure I could never doubt your gentle touch again
It's like the power of the wind

Like waking up from the longest dream, how real it seemed
Until your love broke through
I've been lost in a fantasy, that blinded me
Until your love, until your love, broke through

To obey is better than sacrifice

Lyrics by Keith Green
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzWyZxlwGKI&feature=related

To obey is better than sacrifice
I don't need your money, I want your life
And I hear you say that I'm coming back soon
But you act like I'll never return

Well you speak of grace and My love so sweet
How you thrive on milk, but reject My meat
And I can't help weeping of how it will be
If you keep on ignoring My words
Well you pray to prosper and succeed
But your flesh is something I just can't feed

To obey is better than sacrifice
I want more than Sunday and Wednesday nights
Cause if you can't come to Me every day
Then don't bother coming at all

To obey is better than sacrifice
I want hearts of fire, not your prayers of ice
And I'm coming quickly to give back to you
According to what you have done
According to what you have done
According to what you have done 

The problem of pain and suffering

I have heard of numerous stories of miraculous healing and divine deliverance for believers in dire circumstances; those are great stories that we like to share.  We even tell these stories with a hint of undue pride -- see, now the world will know that our religion is good.  But the truth is for every miraculous healing we hear about, there are hundreds of unhealed and heart breaking situations that aren't told. 

Christians who read the Bible should not be surprised by suffering; we're told to expect trials of pain in life and we're told why this is so.  In the New Testament various apostles tell believers they will go through crucible experiences that will refine their faith and character.  The apostle James goes so far to say that we should consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds (James 1:2).

For the faithful, the ultimate goal isn't happiness in this life.  There is greater joy to come and that joy will be permanent.  In the meantime we trust our God--who has the power to change our situation in a blink--to do what He deems best to accomplish his plan.  

Accepting suffering isn't a case of expecting too little from God, we still pray for relief no matter what.  But if God doesn't answer the way we envision, we can be sure that we have asked of Him too little, that He is in fact giving us an answer that is much beyond what we can imagine.  (John 14:13; Matthew 7:9)

The judgment of God - what will that be like?

This is how one man imagined it will be:

"God sits on a throne with a great curtain behind Him and, one by one, we come before Him. Then God makes a sign with His right hand, and from behind the curtain come beings each more beautiful than the other; so splendid that we cannot bear to look at them. Each of these beings stands before one of those to be judged. We who are accused ask, 'Who is this beautiful being with me?' God answered, "That is you, as you would have been if you had obeyed Me.' And then comes, for the disobedient, the eternal hell of remorse." from the book In God's Underground by Richard Wurmbrand

The feeling of regret is not unfamiliar to us.  It is actually a fear--the fear of loss.  And we all have this innate fear of loss built in.  In fact, avoiding the pain of loss is known to be a powerful motivator in business negotiation strategy. 

Such feeling may arise from lost opportunity, loss of love or the loss of anything precious to us, as a result of our own decision and action or the lack thereof.  It is excruciating.  But in this life, we still have the chance to "make up for the loss", to learn from our mistake or to redeem those bad decisions somehow.  We also look to a variety of distractions to numb ourselves from the pain of loss.  

At the final judgment we will not have such diversions; we will face eternally what could have been for us.  The Bible often describes Hell to be a place of 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' a state of mind filled with profound regret (Matthew 13:41-42).  How dreadful it will be for those of us who have not relied on Jesus to regain what we have lost!

How can a loving God condone judgment and Hell?

This is actually a class-based question, likely asked by those of us living in the safe confines of the West.  

Not long ago, we were in rural South Africa interviewing Christians who had converted from animistic/black magic religion. We asked this amongst many other questions: "What is your favourite verse in the Bible?"  One answer stands out in my mind to this day.  It came from a muscular, intimidating man, who carried intensity with his every word.  In a less friendly circumstance, I would have been afraid of him.  But get this, his favourite Bible verse was "Thou shall not kill".

For those trapped in the cyclical environment of revenge and violence, the God who says in Deuteronomy 32:35 "Vengeance is mine" offers a way out.  Recognizing ultimate justice exists and that it will be carried out by an all-powerful God, gives both hope and reason to restrain oneself from the natural impulse of getting even.    

To the oppressed, the relevant question is not: "How can God condone judgment and Hell?" It is: "How can a loving God NOT be about judgment and Hell?"  

And our response should be that of Paul the Apostle in Romans 12:19 "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay.' says the Lord".  

Are Heaven and Hell only states of mind?

From the book The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, we find these incredibly insightful words.

"Hell is a state of mind ... And every state of mind, left to itself, every shutting up of the creature within the dungeon of its own mind--is, in the end, Hell.  But Heaven is not a state of mind.  Heaven is reality itself.  All that is fully real is Heavenly. For all that can be shaken will be shaken and only the unshakeable remains."

By this definition, I have experienced Hell plenty here and now.  Every self-absorbed thought I ever indulged and lingered in eventually led to a state of isolation so dark and confined that there seemed to be no way out.  

There is no friendship in Hell.  Others are there, yes, but not friendship, because in Hell everyone's mind is preoccupied purely on himself--leaving no room to embrace others.    

What didn't Jesus have in Heaven?

What caused him to forsake all the comfort, power and privilege of his heavenly reign to enter our world and to come as one of us?

He didn't come with sweeping power and might as some would expect him to.  Instead, he came humbly--as a baby, born in a barn, growing up under a cloud of suspicion concerning his legitimacy.  As an adult, he was mocked, scorned and spat upon because of his claims. He endured betrayal, injustice and abandonment.  Finally, on the cross, he suffered physical cruelty and spiritual darkness of the worst kind.  

For what did Jesus come into our world?

Some say that religion is a power trip. That may be the case with other religions or even true of Christianity because of the ways people have lived it out. But it is not true about Jesus, who demonstrated His love toward us in the most unambiguous way possible at a very great cost to himself.  Jesus came for us.

What so amazing about grace?

Grace, a distinct element of the Christian faith, is amazing because it requires no performance on the part of the believer. As a result, Christianity becomes the most non-discriminatory religion in the world. The only requirement is to rely upon Jesus for our relationship with God. People can believe in Jesus just moments before they die and gain God's friendship for eternity. 

• Buddhism requires that we denounce all worldly aspirations and detach from human emotions
• Hinduism requires that we do good in order to earn karma for the benefit of the next life
• Judaism and Islam have us keeping religious laws to get in God's good book
• The smaller/local gods in many cultures require us to make sacrificial offerings of many kinds

Graceless religions demand our performance. In essence, followers of these religions become their own saviours; everything depends on their effort.  Some (most? all?) of us haven't got the talent or ability to do good work. Others of us have been so abused or damaged by life circumstances that our good will is depleted.  A little closer to home, most of us can't even abide by the simplest moral code of honesty--almost all of us tell lies here and there.    

Give me Christianity.  I am much safer with the God who sees my infirmities and yet--amazingly--still loves me, than with another deity who demands my performance.

The chill of Hadamar

On the grounds of Hadamar

a call beckons from below

captives roamed from room to room

unjust horror muted cries

the dumb, the lame, the young and old

pain and sorrow and fear untold

thick scent of death once filled the air

passage for fifteen thousand souls

Hadamar Clinic

A cleverly designed dissecting table, slanted for blood to drain down one end.

Ant killer

Unwrapped

Right brain tickling

Death is...

A punch in the gut

memories like a flood

Swollen eyes

a final goodbye

yet...

In Christ we trust

there is no goodbye
See you later

on the other side!

Who got the blessing? Jacob or Esau?

As far as we can tell, Esau had a pretty good life. He acquired much livestock and goods. He had wives, children and servants. His descendants were so numerous they became a kingdom (known as Edom).  He even showed grace toward his brother Jacob -- who had stolen the blessing due the eldest son.  

Jacob, on the other hand, fled for his life after cheating Esau. He went to his uncle Laban -- who turned out to be similarly deceptive, cheating Jacob out of 7 years of labor for a bride that he didn't want. While working for Laban, he devised a questionable way to develop his own herds, thereby arousing jealousy amongst his cousins and prompting Jacob to flee once again. Years later, he bore much grief when he learned that his favourite son had been killed -- a deception carried out by his other children who had actually sold the son into slavery! Jacob's life was a nightmare of deceiving and being deceived -- not quite the classic definition we associate with the word "blessed".

Looking closer we see a life transformed.  As a child Jacob was groomed by his mother to use deceptive means to get what he wanted. He wanted the right thing - God's blessing - but he went about getting it in all the wrong ways. After years of living in distrust and fear for his life, he came to a low point at Bethel.  There he met God and their struggle came to its climax. We read that Jacob would not let God go until his blessing was assured. And God did bless him in response to this new humility.  From this point forward we hear of no more deception on Jacob's part.  His encounter with God changed him, so much so that He also changed his name...to Israel.  He is literally the (grand)father of all Hebrew/Jewish people. 

While God's blessing toward Jacob wasn't obvious for most of his life, we easily see the richness of God's blessing on him today. We see, as did Jacob, that God transformed him into the new man - Israel. We also see how he became a tenacious nation that has endured against all odds.  And finally, from Jacob's flesh came our saviour -- Jesus, the light and life of the world.  

What is the biggest miracle with Israel?

When we read the Bible, the accounts of Israel's exploits make it seem like a big power.  They must have been one of the world's superpowers back then.  But in actual fact, Israel has always been a small nation with limited reach -- even at her height (under Kings David and Solomon) she was still relatively small.  

In contrast, the Hebrew nation was surrounded by nations that at one time or another become ancient superpower: Egypt (they were a superpower a few times), Babylon, Assyria, Persia and of course Rome.  These comprise most of the world history's greatest empires!  And four of them at one time or another had a major issue with little Israel.  

The fact that this small nation survived the antagonism of four super powers is astounding -- something we moderns forget.  Many people struggle with the veracity of the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea as God's miraculous acts.  But they forget the obvious miracle (one that historians don't doubt) and that was the fact that Israel managed to escape from the Egyptian Empire at the very pinnacle of its rule, taking away from it a massive labour force and livestock!  

In the modern era a relatively small number of Jewish people have been able to maintain their identity even while spread throughout the world, having been separated for many centuries.  Then only three years after the largest and most sophisticated effort to extinguish them, Israel became a recognized state! 

Many larger people groups have come and gone from the face of Earth over the last 4000 years, yet Israel stands today as a strong power in the Middle East.  This is mind boggling history for such a tiny group.  The existence of Israel today is nothing short of miraculous.  We can credit Israel for its tenacity and strength...and marvel at God's unfailing commitment to His people even when many of them no longer believe He exists.

Everybody asks this...

Is the Bible still relevant today? 

Most of it is about one small nation a long, long time ago. Their lives were drastically different than ours are today. What can they tell us that we don't already know? Besides, look at the trouble this nation has with their neighbours today, if their own history hasn't benefitted them, how will it benefit us?

Then there are those who say the Bible is God's love letter to us...really? You don't have to be a romantic to know that love letters shouldn't be full of bloodshed and threats of cosmic wrath. 

But I've found reading the Bible does bring light and insight to me. While the people, culture and life circumstances completely differ from our 21st century living, I find that people's nature hasn't changed that much in thousands of years. For example, people fought with knives and sticks back then and we fight with smart bombs today; the point is, we still fight. We don't need the Bible to tell us that human nature is hard to change. Anyone remotely familiar with world history knows this. 

But the Bible does tell us some things that history doesn't tell us. The Bible is God's self-revelation. God doesn't change, but he changes difficult people and transforms the world. Getting to know Him--in the sense of what He is like, what pleases Him and what doesn't--should be our goal when we listen to His word. And in this encounter we too become transformed--we become new.

The surprises that Jesus brings

No one with the wildest imagination could have conceived the idea of God entering into our world as one of us, starting from a woman's womb.  The Jews had been anticipating the Messiah, but they were expecting someone with sweeping power that would overcome the Romans for their race.  They didn't expect the Messiah that came.  We all have ideas of what God should be like and what He should do in our world.

Then came Jesus, with meekness and humility and determination to sacrificially die.  His teaching turned our heads up-side-down again and again.  For example, he says that in his kingdom, the last will be the first (Matthew 20:16), the least will be the greatest (Luke 9:48), love your enemy (Matthew 5:44), embrace servanthood (John 13:14), sacrifice for others (John 15:13).  All of these things go against our natural inclinations and oppose conventional values.  Then Jesus lived out all that He preached.

We can accept these confounding principles from Jesus and ask for his help to conform our lives to these.  Or we can insist on our own idea of what God should be.  Though Jesus rose again from death suggests He knew what He was doing.

Will heaven be merely spiritual?

When we think of Heaven, winged cherubs, white clouds and blue sky are the images that first flood my mind--an ethereal place with spiritual beings. I suspect that we rarely think of physical bodies or geographical places being part of that world.  Renaissance painters have unwittingly influenced our idea of heaven for many generations. 

The interesting thing is that Heaven is described as concretely earthy both in the Old and New Testaments. Specifically, Isaiah 11 describes the peaceful nature of the future animal kingdom and Revelation 21 & 22 describes Heaven as a city with streets made of precious stones, trees that bear fruit and a river running through it.  Physical stuff.  

Does this mean, then, that not only our souls get saved but our bodies also?  We're getting more used to the idea of bodies coming from a little string of information called DNA that contains all the source code to recompose our bodies.  Jesus already modelled a heavenly body.  After his death he appeared to many people, walking, talking and eating with them in an undoubtedly physical, yet fantastic, body (Luke 24:36-45).  

So what if Heaven has a physical dimension we ask?  Well, maybe Christians should pause before dismissing the material concerns of this world--the world to come appears to be no less tangible.  In fact, it may be even more physical than what we already know.  

What is the chief end of man? (2)

Precisely how does one glorify and enjoy God? 

One example that came to mind is the Scottish athlete, Eric Liddell (1902-1945), subject of the movie "Chariots of Fire".  Eric was born to Scottish missionary parents in China in 1902. At the age of five, he was sent to England for his education--which was customary for missionary children in those days. At school, Eric exhibited exemplary character and was known for his strong Christian faith. He excelled in sports, becoming an Olympic Champion in the 400 metre race during the 1924 Paris Olympics. The 400 wasn't his best event; it was well known that the 100 metre race was his strongest.  He refused to run the 100 because it fell on a Sunday.  His view was that there were greater glories at stake than winning Olympic medals. 

In 1925, Eric returned to China as a missionary, following his parents' footsteps. He first taught in an elite college for wealthy Chinese students, with the intention of promoting Christian values in the influential circles of that society. At age 30, he was ordained and became a minister. In 1941, as the Japanese invasion made life increasingly dangerous in China, Eric sent his wife and three daughters back to the West. He himself stayed behind and joined his brother, who was a doctor at a rural mission station, to serve the poor. Eventually, the Japanese took over the mission station and in 1943, Eric was imprisoned at an internment camp. In the camp Eric became a leader, facilitating an orderly distribution of food, medicines and other supplies that often ran short. He also kept busy by helping the elderly and teaching the young Bible lessons. 

For Eric Liddell, the hardship during internment could have been avoided. As a well known athlete, Eric had an opportunity to leave the camp as part of a prisoner exchange between the British and the Japanese, but he gave up his place for another.

In all his life, whether in the comfort of the West or while in hardship serving others, Liddell glorified God by loving and serving sacrificially like Christ. 

But did he also enjoy God? It would seems so. Hear his famous words: "I believe that God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. When I run, I feel His pleasure".

What is the chief end of man? (1)

To me this question begs another: "Why did God even make mankind?"

It is good to look for hints regarding God's intention for His creation, in Bible passages about the Garden of Eden. Before sin made a mess of things, God walked with Adam and Eve, face to face, without any barrier. They were like friends spending time in each other's company. Their separation only happened after people believed Satan's lies about God and began doubting God's words (Genesis 3:4). Distrust crept into the relationship, creating a wedge between God and man. 

That wedge grew. Even after God had banned Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23), He still occasionally walked with Adam and his descendants. It wasn't until after he killed his brother Abel, that Cain was banished from God's presence (Genesis 4:14). Six generations after Adam, we read that God walked with Enoch. Theirs was such a close relationship that God took Enoch directly to Heaven, sparing him the experience of death (Genesis 5:24). 

In the beginning of biblical history, we notice that God made people, amongst other things, to spend time with them. To spend time with us. 

It is no wonder the Westminster Shorter Catechism answers the question "What is the chief end of man?" with this answer: "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever".

The personification of evil

I had a dream last night.  In the dream I saw evil personified as a group of tiny people from a certain ethnic group -- and they were entering into our home.  We were threatened and decided that they should be destroyed.  So, using a lot of water, I flushed these evil people down the sink (they were very tiny!).  I had to squash them down with my fingers, one by one, into the drain. (Yes, quite comical but apparently this is how I would kill if given the task.)  After I'd done my deed I realized these were human beings that I squashed down and killed!  My heart became horrified and filled with guilt - why hadn't I consulted with God first on what to do?!  

The Bible tells us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in the unseen spiritual world (Ephesians 6:12).  Because we do not see spirits and only see the people that they influence, we mistake people for the devil.  Just as God chooses to use us as agents of His goodness, so also we sometimes yield to the devil's lead and do what he would want.  Christians are admonished to distinguish between people and their deeds.  We see an example of this from Jesus when he prayed for those who were crucifying him -- praying even as he hung on the cross (Luke 23:34).  We see the same thing when God withheld his wrath from the repentant Ninevites (they had done much evil [Jonah 3:10]).  In a surprising example, we see Jesus rebuke Peter, his own disciple, saying "Get behind me, Satan!" (Mark 8:33).  Jesus knew who the real adversary was.

We are conditioned to react to people according to the way we are treated.  The dream reminds me that in all situations seeking God's perspective should be my first inclination.  

Jonah - the reluctant witness to the Gentiles (3)

The best part of the book of Jonah is found in Chapter 4 which is entirely about the relationship between God and Jonah. 

The prophet was not afraid to share his honest feelings and dismay in God's compassion towards a people that he hated.  Jonah argued and pouted and told God he would rather die than see the Ninevites get saved.  His audacity is shocking.  Then again, it also shows how intimate and trusting the relationship must have been between them.  What freedom Jonah had with God!

On the other hand, the story also reveals the patience God has for his beloved.  Was there no other prophet He could call on?  Why did God insist on using the stubborn prophet?  In order to engage Jonah, God employed the raging sea, a huge fish, then later on He grew a vine and a worm to eat it up.  All that trouble to bring Jonah closer to God's heart.  God wanted him to know and perhaps share the compassion He has for the lost.

The book does not end with Jonah's change of heart.  The story is here to change our hearts in at least two ways.  First, to know that God's love toward us is patient and enduring.  He is big enough to contain all our negative emotions, so we have freedom to be honest with Him.  Second, to know God's heart toward others: it is important to Him that we share his grace for the lost.  He will go to great trouble to transform our hearts toward that end.  

Jonah - the reluctant witness to the Gentiles (2)

After Jonah spent three days in the fish, he repented -- who wouldn't under those conditions? So when God called him to preach in Nineveh a second time, Jonah knew better than to run away again.  But his heart wasn't in it...

The reluctant prophet showed up in the city and basically preached half the message. "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned" (Jonah 3:4). That was it. He didn't say "God loves you"; didn't say "repent before you die"; nothing of that sort was encouraged. One gets the impression that he enjoyed preaching doom to Nineveh as he didn't offer any solution to this catastrophic message for the people.  He neglected to tell them that God responds to repentance.

But here is the amazing part: the whole city responded to his cold-hearted message and believed God! All 120,000 in the city from the least to the greatest repented, the most successful conversion event in all of Scripture. The king of Nineveh took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and proclaimed a fast that even animals had to abide by.  They became contrite hoping that God would relent and change His mind about destroying them. 

And God did change his mind.  He is gracious and compassionate, not willing that anyone be destroyed, even in the Old Testament--that's why he sent Jonah to Nineveh in the first place.

And we see again that even though the messenger God sent had a seriously flawed heart, God's purpose to save nations was still accomplished.  God does not depend on the eloquence or hard work or even good intention of His servants to get this job done.  Knowing this brings great relief to those of us that fear our flaws or failures will mess up God's plan.  

Jonah - the reluctant witness to the Gentiles (1)

I love the book of Jonah; it reveals the incredible patience God has with his stubborn servants and the great compassion He has for the wicked.  This book also affirms in many different ways the theme that God loved the nations even in the Old Testament.

Jonah was definitely one prophet with a mind of his own.  When the LORD sent him to Nineveh (known today as Mosul in Iraq) to warn them of God's coming wrath, Jonah ran the other way.  His disobedience caused havoc in the sea while he was sailing away from Nineveh towards Tarshish, dragging the foreign sailors into trouble with him.  When the sailors found out Jonah was a Hebrew and that he worshipped the one true God of heaven, they were terrified.  (Jonah 1:9-10)

The sailors' reaction affirms that the Hebrew people had become light: that God had been made known to the neighbouring people through His relationship with the Israelites (the theme of yesterday's blog).  And when the raging sea grew calm after they threw Jonah overboard as instructed, these men became God fearing followers; Jonah 1:16 indicates that they made sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to Him, entering into a covenant relationship with God.

So, even in his disobedience, Jonah helped made converts.  If we are ever concerned that our conduct may turn away would-be God seekers, this story should assure us that God can use anyone in anyway to save the people He wants to save.  Our performance is not the limiting factor with God's salvation of other people.  We may suffer for our own disobedience, but He is wonderfully creative in bringing the lost ones to Himself.  

Did God only care about Israel before Jesus came?

Most of the Old Testament centres on the history of one nation -- Israel -- to the extent that they become known as God's chosen people.  We read how God saved them from severe famine, freed them from slavery, led them into a new land and gave them victories in battles over and over again.  God made a covenant with them and declared His love for this people without reservation.  They were special.

The curious fact is that God made all of mankind yet seemed to just favour one nation over everyone else.  Why?

In Isaiah 43:12 we read that God intended to have Israel be His witness.  Witness to what?  Apparently to the fact that He is the only true God.  We know that other people groups were worshipping many gods in those days.  In choosing and then leading Israel God taught the Israelites to serve Him alone.  As a result, they gained notoriety far and wide for their allegiance to the one God -- Yahweh.  And a number of Israel's leaders and heroes clearly grasped God's purpose in this -- for example, the author of Psalm 67 who expresses his desire to make God's ways known all over the earth and that salvation would be among all nations.

If we know to look for it, we see evidence that all nations were included in God's plan in the Old Testament.  Gentiles were never an after thought.

There is always sunshine above the clouds

Zoom in to find people in the shot.                   Grand Canyon Feb 2010

Sweet dreams are made of these (1)

Revelation 21:3-4
"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Isaiah 11:6-9
The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.

Things are not always what they seem.

If we judge character by appearance or outward behaviour, we could be so wrong.

Not all people who live upright and moral lives do so because they are exceptionally pure and holy on the inside.  Some character flaws can help us avoid evil.  Pride keeps us from stealing; timidity keeps us from promiscuity; fear keeps us from killing, etc.

On the other hand, people who do apparently bad deeds may have righteous inner cores that surprise even themselves.  There are stories of gangster bosses who live the life of crime to keep their underlings employed; they are misled leaders who love to provide.  Many disgruntled idealists have become members of totalitarian regimes over the years; they are pursuing justice--just down the wrong path.  Even some sexual offenders purposely re-offend to get themselves back into jail and out of harms way.

God forbids that we judge and He has good reasons for it.  1 Samuel 16:7b says that the Lord looks at the heart.  

Second Class Christianity

Somewhere along the line Christians in the West picked up the notion that serious believers in Jesus, if they truly listen to His call, become either a pastor, a missionary or a full time ministry worker in some para-church organization.  Any other job ends up being less than the higher calling of preaching or serving others.  Ministry related professions are considered sacrificial while other vocations are perceived  to be about personal gain.

Although we don't say it out loud, this notion is always in the back of our minds.  And the way our churches operate affirms it in many different ways.  For example, pastors receive special prayer because they are "in charge of the flock".  Missionaries also need extra prayers because "they are on the front line".  Ministry staff deserve applause because they often work long hours that are "above and beyond their duty".

While pastors, missionaries and ministry staff all deserve our prayers, support and applause, the indirect affect of putting them on pedestals is the suggestion that lay Christians are mere spectators surrounding these champions.  Lay Christians become dependent on paid pastors to interpret the Bible for them, rather than learning to understand Scripture and integrate God's teaching into their particular situations.  This dependency is both dangerous and unscriptural.

In addition to the dependency problem, there's the motivation problem.  By elevating a few ministry related professions, we tend to view all other vocations as secondary in God's eyes, depleting the motivation to pursue excellence in areas that are also part of God's domain.  Doctors heal.  Lawyers uphold justice.  Business owners provide employment, goods and services.  Artists shape and influence culture.  Scientists, philosophers, anthropologists all are seekers of truth.  Christians working in regular jobs can certainly devote themselves sacrificially; it doesn't have to be about personal gain for them either.   Everyone can serve Christ in their vocation.

The term "Sunday Christians" is often used to label people who live religious lives only when they are at church.  But if there is little encouragement to understand Scripture in ordinary contexts and if we fail to see the kingdom significance of "regular professions", then how are believers supposed to avoid being "Sunday Christians"?

Why the Holy Spirit?

In the Old Testament, God spoke through certain individuals here or there to convey his message to the people.  At least that's the way stories were recorded; from Abraham to Moses to various kings and prophets, God appears to have spoken only to a chosen few.  And the text indicates that God veiled himself in these encounters to ensure that His pure holiness would not instantly destroy men.

Then came Jesus, God incarnated within a human body--a fantastic veil to protect people from God's holiness.  He was audible, touchable and perceivable in every sense, yet did not destroy us while he walked amongst us.  Some did not believe Jesus was God because He was too ordinary.  Yet in Jesus, God came deeper into relationship with his broken people.

In dying for us Jesus accomplished a further step in the process.  He gave to those who rely upon Him ("believe" or have "faith" in Him) his own purity--and therefore the ability to have God's Spirit come into their lives as the Spirit is in His life.

And that's what happened: God's Spirit did come into those who believed in Jesus giving birth to the Church of Christ as described in Chapter 2 in the book of Acts--an event called Pentecost.  This was where the shift began, the Spirit descending on every follower of Jesus rather than just coming near someone special like before when dealing with His people.

Ever since Pentecost, all believers of Jesus have been given the Holy Spirit, and thus no longer have to depend on human leaders to connect with God.  For this reason, no one believer is counted above another in the Kingdom of God, because we each gain fellowship with Him through the same means--that is through Jesus' Spirit.

Just a hole in the ground

                                  The Grand Canyon  Feb 2010

Blue sky and sunshine

                                  Death Valley, California.  Feb 2010

A horse is made to run!

The Horse and His Boy, the third book of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series, is a story about a horse named Bree.  Bree was born a free horse but was captured as a babe and became a slave for most of his life.  He had a cruel master that made him work by inflicting pain and fear.  Later, Bree was freed from the old master.  But when the familiar pain and fear were gone he lost all motivation to work hard; he drifted along without aim or passion, neither realizing his true nature nor the purpose that he was born for.  That is until Aslan, the Good Lion, chased him--even scratching him superficially--so as to teach him to run hard again as a free horse.

Christians are like Bree.  Before we experienced freedom in Christ, we were under the slave masters of this world, working and toiling for all the wrong reasons: pride, lust, greed and fears of all kinds...things that ultimately destroy us.  When Christ comes into our hearts releasing us from our old master(s) we also lose the old motivations to work hard.  We gain a choice: should we run hard for our new master or should we just coast along?

A horse is made to run, and man is made to work.  Before the fall in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had jobs too.  And Christ is at work to help us work as free people.

Jesus is a good master.  As with Bree, He may sometimes use discipline to push us forward.  But unlike the old earthly masters, He never acts in a way that will destroy us.  Scripture tells us that whatever He demands from us He also gives us the where-with-all to accomplish it.

Should the Church be perfect?

With all the teaching on good values and virtues it seems natural for the world to expect Christ's Church to be a squeaky clean institution that every member can be proud of.  But the fact is, church history is marred with stains of crime and cruelty, like the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, and more recently Jim and Tammy Baker plus a whole host of child molesting priests and pastors.  When confronted with these facts we become speechless.

But Christians should know better than to expect the Church to be perfect.  Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous but sinners." (Mark 2:17)  To become a Christian, one does not require a criminal check, a moral index check, nor any other condition.  All are welcome as they are; the door is wide open for anyone who desires Christ.  As a result, sinners come carrying their old selves and old habits.

Richard Wurmbrand said it best, "A hospital may stink of pus and blood; in that lies its beauty, for it receives the sick with their disgusting sores and horrible diseases.  The Church is Christ's own hospital.  Millions of patients are treated in it, with love.  The Church accepts sinners - they continue to sin, and for their transgressions the Church is blamed....The politics and prejudices of its servants are distortions of what comes from God -- that is, the Bible and its teachings, worship and the sacraments.  Whatever its faults, the Church has much that is sublime in it.  The sea drowns thousands of people in it every year, but no one contests its beauty." (p. 28, In God's Underground)

To walk humbly with your God (3)

Of modern saints, Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha) is probably the most well known example of humility.

She sensed God's call to belong completely to Him at age 12 but struggled with that desire for 6 years.  At age 18, Agnes joined the Order of Loreto Nuns, whose missionaries were working in Bengal.  One year later, in 1929, she arrived at Calcutta, where she would spent most of her life fulfilling God's call upon her by serving the poor, the unclean and the despised.  

Her humility became evident through her obedience to God: showing his love to the lowly outcasts -- India's 'untouchables' amidst the dirt of unpleasant places.  With few resources, at least in the beginning, her service was not just from an arm's length, living in a clean convent then commuting to the slump each day as if it were her day job.  She moved in amongst the poor, demonstrating the kind of love that her Master humbled himself to give to similarly unclean people.  

And while her service benefitted many, her devotion was towards Jesus alone.  In serving them she served Jesus.  

To love mercy (2)

One individual really stands out to me as someone who embraced God's call to love mercy: Richard Wurmbrand (1909-2001).  A Romanian Jew, Richard converted to Christianity at age 29 after having chased a life of pleasure in Bucharest during the pre-Second World War era.  When God took hold of his heart he became a Lutheran minister, pursuing the life of faith in Christ with the same abandon as his former life of pleasure.  When the communists took power after World War II this meant that he would spend 14 years in different prisons suffering various forms of torture at the hands of interrogators and prison guards because of his belief in Jesus.

During this imprisonment, Romania's political regime changed like a revolving door; power passed from one group within the party to another continuously.  When Wurmbrand was not in isolation, he ministered to fellow prisoners with words and with deeds, preaching the Gospel and giving away his precious morsels of dry bread or sugar to those in dire need.  And, because of the changes in the political climate, he often encountered prisoners who had previously been his tormentors, having tortured him years before when they were in power.

But that did not deter him from showing love and mercy.  One time Wurmbrand nursed a former torturer on his death bed, cleaning pus, blood and feces from his dying body--without the luxuries of running water or clean cloths.  Where did this deep mercy come from?  How was it conceived in such circumstances?

Wurmbrand understood that his calling was to 'build a bridge between good and evil; a bridge of tears, prayers and self-sacrifice for sinners to cross over and join the blessed.' (p.53 In God's Underground)

Reading and re-reading elements of Wurmbrand's story bring new meaning to the words "To love mercy"; they don't just conjure up warm and fuzzy feelings that shift with every changing wind.  Rather they trigger thoughts of mercy so powerful that even unimaginably awful circumstances cannot overwhelm it--mercy that must come from God's nature in us...mercy beyond our good intentions.

What does God require of me? (1)

Micah 6:8 states: "He has shown you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

This doesn't sound so hard, or does it?

William Wilberforce took the words 'to act justly' seriously.  A British politician in the late 1700's, he became convinced of the injustice of African slavery practiced within the British Empire and took up the task of abolishing it.  Many others joined him, responding to the call for justice; together they worked tirelessly, giving birth to the world's first grass roots human rights movement.  But ultimately it was Wilberforce's position in parliament that gave the opportunity to legislate against slavery.  His unlikely success had far-reaching influence over the entire British Empire.

At the time using and trading slaves was common and profitable business, and Britain dominated the practice.  As a result, Wilberforce's mission was both counter-cultural and formidably difficult.

What caused Wilberforce and others like him to conceive the need for such social change?  And what empowered them to think that the abolition was even possible?  His biography tells us it was his faith-- not merely faith in human ability, but faith in God who loves justice and brings about His will on earth.  In other words, Wilberforce did what he did because the King of Heaven wanted better for the citizens of Earth than did the King of England.

While we're often tempted to treat Christianity as a hot tub religion where we comfortably wait for Heaven to come, this verse stirs the water.  Hearing Christ's call, we set our minds to consider His Kingdom business in a decaying world that eagerly waits for renewal.

Does God not have any middle ground?

No, it sure doesn't look like God is into compromising. He gives us an ultimatum of either life or death, blessings or curses. Deuteronomy 28's first 14 verses describe the incredible blessings for those who obey Him while the remaining 54 verses describe the curses for those who don't. And the difference between blessings and curses are on opposite extremes.

We don't like black and white extremes today. We like compromises and take pride in creating win-win situations. Conventional wisdom tells us it's all about making both sides happy. But God isn't happy when we choose to disobey him; there is no half-way obedience with Him.

The fact is, as black and white as God may seem, He has been incredibly patient with His people. His warnings are stern but notice that His punishments typically are slow to come. For example, the Assyrian overthrow of Israel was essentially the fullest curse outlined in Deuteronomy, but only occurred in 721 B.C., over 500 years after the events of Deuteronomy and after centuries of Israelite moral failures.

Can God be blamed for the cruel misfortune of His people after He had given them ample opportunity to change their course time and time again?

Can we blame God for the existence of Hell when we have been given ample opportunity to avoid it?

Where is your Egypt?

Listen to Moses' words to the Israelites just before they finally entered the promised land (Canaan).

"The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end." Deuteronomy 11:10-12 

Egypt was a known entity to them.  While they were ruled by cruel masters, they were nevertheless able to depend on the Nile River to provide steady, dependable, regular water for the crops they needed to produce.  In contrast, the land God promised them was full of unknowns.  And here Moses tells them that Canaan will not be like Egypt with its river.  They will need to depend on the Lord to bring rain; it will require faith and trust in Him.

It is obvious that whether on the way to the promised land or living in the promised land, God wants His people to rely on Him.  There is no way around this simple requirement.  Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God.

If our lives do not require us to rely on God right now we're probably living in Egypt.  Apparently, the 'promised land' is not a place where we 'live happily ever after' or 'have not a care in the world'.  It is a place where we absolutely rely upon Him.

Are we on a 40 year journey that should only take weeks?

Apparently the distance from Egypt to Canaan - which took the Israelites 40 years to cross - was a mere couple week journey if you'd just travel in a straight line.

So, why 40 years? Numbers 14 tells us that it was punishment for the Israelites' lack of faith. Israel had two occasions to move into Canaan. The first time came after relatively straight line travel - not 40 years. But when the Lord told them to enter into Canaan on that occasion they became afraid, began to grumble and complain, then refused to go in. In the space of a few weeks they completely forgot how the Lord delivered them from Pharaoh's powerful grip. Only a few like Joshua and Caleb trusted God the first time Israel stood at Canaan's door. Except for these few - who God later allowed to go through that door, everyone else died during the 40 years of desert wandering.

The wandering was a way of letting the doubters die out ... the punishment seems harsh ... doesn't it? Then again, God did give them what they wanted - safety, food and mediocrity. He took care of them for all 40 years. No one died for lack of food, water or shelter in the harsh desert. He remained faithful to them.

At the same time, He trained up a new generation - a group poised to trust Him more than their mothers and fathers. These young people, along with Joshua and Caleb, entered Canaan 40 years later - and saw God do amazing things on their behalf...

What about us? Do we hear God saying "go" but we hold back because of fear and our lack of faith?

Are we travelling on a 40-year journey that should only take a few weeks and being in danger of missing out on God's big adventure?

Can any good come out of falling to temptation?

After all, Romans 8:28 says:  "...in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

King David failed to withstand temptation - committing adultery with Bathsheba, then murdering her husband to avoid a scandal when it became obvious she was bearing an illegitimate child - David's child.  Yet here is the curious fact: in spite of this enormous failure, God later blessed David and Bathsheba with more children including the wisest son a man could ever have.

Doesn't it look wrong that God would bless a union like this?  One borne of sin upon sin?

Apparently God really does forgive people - more completely than we can even imagine.

On a different note, failure with temptation is a great antidote against self-righteousness.  There's nothing like a significant moral failure to pop the bubble that formed in our heads - that we're quality Christians with big spiritual muscles.  All our effort, high morals and strong will power go out the window.  And then when God continues to love and cherish us as we lick the wound of our failure, we become the most surprised sinners; God shows us what grace really means.

The best outcome from falling to temptation is being picked up again by our gracious God.   Our hearts get softer when we really understand that we don't deserve His love.

What does a life of faith look like?

In Hebrews 11 we find this definition of faith: "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." It sounds like an internal thing - believing in something or hoping that event will pass. Faith seems to just be a cerebral activity.

However, the rest of the chapter relates past heros of faith in the Bible who all DID something. They usually pursued something that did not initially make a lot of sense: like Noah, who built a boat while living on a desert, like Abraham, who left the familiar and went to an unknown place for his inheritance, like Moses, who led the Israelites out of Egypt instead of enjoying the life of a prince etc. These people took extraordinary action because what they believed moved them to act.

Their faith was not merely internal; it manifested itself in big decisions and behaviours, often resulting in significant consequences to their lives.

What does our faith propel us to do today? What is the task at hand calling us out of the ordinary and commonplace and into the unknown place where God will be pleased with our faith?

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one

We often think of temptation as being enticed to do something we should NOT DO.  As a result, most Christians that live morally upright lives--avoiding certain forbidden activities--mistake themselves for being righteous.

Sure, everybody has 'sinned'; I've lied, thought bad thoughts and lost my temper now and then, but that's not like murder or infidelity or theft which are the sins that require deliverance.  Because our sins are not all that bad, we don't get why we need God's forgiveness, but we'll take it anyway.

What we often neglect is the temptation to not do what we should DO.  An indication of how serious this is to God is revealed in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-28).  Here the servant who didn't do anything with his talent was harshly rebuked as being wicked.

No, it's not enough to just avoid the obvious DON'Ts of the Bible, we have to pay attention to the DOs.  Doing good is tougher than not doing bad.  A lot tougher.

Temptations of all kinds have an all consuming quality that distract us from setting our minds on God's business.  We need deliverance from these distractions so that God gains glory from the good that is accomplished.

Forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors.

What is this petition really saying?  That God's forgiveness is conditional upon our forgiving others?  It sure sounds like it, but that goes against the theme of grace present throughout the Bible.

God's forgiveness is completely free and unconditional, it doesn't depend on my forgiving others.

Jesus is teaching people that he presumes want to become godly, that is, gracious.  If God's forgiveness is free and unconditional, it would be the natural thing for His followers to want to forgive in the same way.  And so Jesus provokes us to ask, with all of our being, to become gracious like God.  Praying this prayer exactly the way Jesus taught enables us to desire costly grace not just toward us, but through us.

Give us this day our daily bread

Why not weekly, monthly or yearly?

Daily is very short-term planning. And yet, contrary to conventional wisdom, it seems God wants his children to resist planning their futures.

He taught his people to have a daily mentality in Exodus 16:4, "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way, I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions," which Jesus reiterated when he taught his disciples to pray "give us today our daily bread"...

How often are we preoccupied with future needs that we miss God's voice. Instead of trusting Him, we take matters into our own hands and miss out on things that matter to God and ultimately ourselves.