They're wide open for discussion, challenge, even good-hearted correction.
Watch for the latest this afternoon - might even make it daily.
Saturday, 19 June 2021
Friday, 22 April 2016
.
from 
to ..............................
I've been enjoying a new way of exploring music, especially the multi-hued world of Jazz. Always keen to pick up the latest copy of Downbeat magazine and read what's new and trending in the ever changing world of Jazz, I recently woke up to the fact that I don't have to wonder what a new artist or album sounds like. (Heh! Don't judge me.) I can search for either on good ole Spotify and listen and assess at my leisure. Is this expressive of my taste? Or is it a little too ordinary, or weird for this aging intellect?Following this process lead me to Avishai Cohen (extraordinary bassist) and a happily growing collection of his beautiful music. (photo above).
And now by clicking on the save box I'm building up quite an eclectic list of musicians I didn't even know existed not so long ago. So thanks Downbeat and thanks Spotify.
Back to the music...latest joy? Fulvio Sigurta, Italian trumpeter and fluglehorn player.
Wednesday, 18 March 2015
welcome to the journey
We've been looking at our verse for the year. Isaiah 43.18-19 which reads in one translation:
Stop dwelling on past events and brooding over times gone by; I am doing something new; it's springing up - can't you see it? I am making a road in the desert, rivers in the wasteland.
It raises the question of what God is doing among us now, and what that means for our lives both individually and collectively. It's a call to live more closely with Him; where we can catch a vision of what God is up to - and where that leads each of us. There is a sense of listening (or watching) and responding.
It catches me where I'm at, reflecting on a not entirely welcome retirement, and yet realising there are ministries beyond the realm of ordained ministry too, and (dare I say it) beyond the PCANZ as well. (Though I am very grateful to the PCANZ for the training and the lifestyle that has been ours for the last 30 years.)
Wherever God is leading next may well require that we become willing to let go of our status and reputation and our pride of achievement, in order to be available to be lead and newly equipped for the next adventure.
So what has the Lord been showing you about the coming adventure and the "new thing" that is springing up amongst us? What challenges are you, are we, facing? What will we need for this phase of our journey together?
Stop dwelling on past events and brooding over times gone by; I am doing something new; it's springing up - can't you see it? I am making a road in the desert, rivers in the wasteland.
It raises the question of what God is doing among us now, and what that means for our lives both individually and collectively. It's a call to live more closely with Him; where we can catch a vision of what God is up to - and where that leads each of us. There is a sense of listening (or watching) and responding.
It catches me where I'm at, reflecting on a not entirely welcome retirement, and yet realising there are ministries beyond the realm of ordained ministry too, and (dare I say it) beyond the PCANZ as well. (Though I am very grateful to the PCANZ for the training and the lifestyle that has been ours for the last 30 years.)
Wherever God is leading next may well require that we become willing to let go of our status and reputation and our pride of achievement, in order to be available to be lead and newly equipped for the next adventure.
So what has the Lord been showing you about the coming adventure and the "new thing" that is springing up amongst us? What challenges are you, are we, facing? What will we need for this phase of our journey together?
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
praying in secret.2
A new feature of our church life we want to share more widely. You can easily adapt it to your own neighbourhood.
Praying in secret 2012.07.04
Matthew 6.6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
we are sending weekly emails to encourage and remind us to pray together as a church family; this is when we each set aside time every Wednesday at 7 pm to pray over the same issue, either in private, or as a group with family or friends.
We are completing a series on Acts this week and what strikes me is how outward-looking they are, how aware they are of those who don’t yet know or follow Jesus, and how it matters to them that people should know and follow the Lord. This weeks therefore our focus is on our outward focus as a church, caring about and reaching out to those who neither know nor follow Jesus.
Key Verse: And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
Please pray:
(1) for growth in confidence for living and telling the good news to our friends and neighbours among your brothers and sisters at Forrest Hill Church;
(2) that we will be sensitive to the opportunities that God gives us to show and tell about Jesus in our own neighbourhoods and workplaces;
(3) that the Session and Managers in affirming the priority of bringing people to a maturing relationship with Jesus Christ (our mission statement) will be prayerful and bold in their direction of this congregation;
(4) that our leaders will develop a very clear vision of God’s ongoing purpose for this wonderful community we call Forrest Hill Church that involves being seen and known as lovers of God in our neighbourhoods.
As an alternative spend some time, either in your imagination or in reality walking your street, or a street near the church buildings, praying for each house as you pass it; asking God to meet the deepest needs, and asking for opportunities to meet those people and be like Christ for them. (You could actually do this using maps.google.com; put your address in the search box, or one of our neighbouring roads in Forrest Hill.)
As a family or group you could each something about the streets and the people in your area; then you could pray about what each person or family shares. Then perhaps your family or housegroup could simply invite neighbours or friends to a soup and toast lunch on a Sunday afternoon - or a dinner if you want to go that flash.
May God bless you with an abiding sense of His peaceful and empowering Presence, touching the world through you.
In His unrelenting grip
Peter
awake, breathe, serve, celebrate
Praying in secret 2012.07.04
Matthew 6.6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
we are sending weekly emails to encourage and remind us to pray together as a church family; this is when we each set aside time every Wednesday at 7 pm to pray over the same issue, either in private, or as a group with family or friends.
We are completing a series on Acts this week and what strikes me is how outward-looking they are, how aware they are of those who don’t yet know or follow Jesus, and how it matters to them that people should know and follow the Lord. This weeks therefore our focus is on our outward focus as a church, caring about and reaching out to those who neither know nor follow Jesus.
Key Verse: And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
Please pray:
(1) for growth in confidence for living and telling the good news to our friends and neighbours among your brothers and sisters at Forrest Hill Church;
(2) that we will be sensitive to the opportunities that God gives us to show and tell about Jesus in our own neighbourhoods and workplaces;
(3) that the Session and Managers in affirming the priority of bringing people to a maturing relationship with Jesus Christ (our mission statement) will be prayerful and bold in their direction of this congregation;
(4) that our leaders will develop a very clear vision of God’s ongoing purpose for this wonderful community we call Forrest Hill Church that involves being seen and known as lovers of God in our neighbourhoods.
As an alternative spend some time, either in your imagination or in reality walking your street, or a street near the church buildings, praying for each house as you pass it; asking God to meet the deepest needs, and asking for opportunities to meet those people and be like Christ for them. (You could actually do this using maps.google.com; put your address in the search box, or one of our neighbouring roads in Forrest Hill.)
As a family or group you could each something about the streets and the people in your area; then you could pray about what each person or family shares. Then perhaps your family or housegroup could simply invite neighbours or friends to a soup and toast lunch on a Sunday afternoon - or a dinner if you want to go that flash.
May God bless you with an abiding sense of His peaceful and empowering Presence, touching the world through you.
In His unrelenting grip
Peter
awake, breathe, serve, celebrate
Monday, 7 May 2012
the warm sunshine of gratitude
I discovered something in hospital that I suppose I knew - already - but I'd never been still long enough to see it work over a sustained period.
Y'see, in a hospital bed you get what the medical people are able to get to you when they're able to get it to you. I could do little enough for myself, and even less for others...but was this really an invitation to make myself the exclusive centre of attention?
Having visited a couple of friends in Hospital the previous Sunday I knew that people are so much worse off than me, but this was hurting, uncomfortable, dependent, and somewhat attention-focussing.
And yet somewhere deep within was a sense that I was the beneficiary of amazing surgical skills and compassionate nursing and ought to be properly thankful for all that comprised such a blessing. So I found myself saying thank you whenever a surgeon come visiting, or a nurse handed me a pottle to puke into or plunged the a syringe full of this medicine or that into a device in the back of hand, or handed me a pill or two or several. Even an icy refill of my water-jug seemed like a real blessing - actually that was a blessing. So "thank you" became an act of praise both of my carers and of the God of all goodness whose own goodness lies behind all good.
So - sunshine? That was the astonishing effect that such a small act of appreciative response; the smile on the faces of those repeatedly, patiently answering my requests and calls on my little button; often a little hassled by the weight of the needs of those they had to care for.
In as much as you did it for the least of these...ought to yield a little sunshine now as well as well on the loving face of the Saviour as He reviews the shape our lives...and yet maybe that "in as much..." also applies to putting a smile on the face of a willing, hardworked, dedicated, compassion-driven servant of my needs when I'm so dependant and at their mercy.
Y'see, in a hospital bed you get what the medical people are able to get to you when they're able to get it to you. I could do little enough for myself, and even less for others...but was this really an invitation to make myself the exclusive centre of attention?
Having visited a couple of friends in Hospital the previous Sunday I knew that people are so much worse off than me, but this was hurting, uncomfortable, dependent, and somewhat attention-focussing.And yet somewhere deep within was a sense that I was the beneficiary of amazing surgical skills and compassionate nursing and ought to be properly thankful for all that comprised such a blessing. So I found myself saying thank you whenever a surgeon come visiting, or a nurse handed me a pottle to puke into or plunged the a syringe full of this medicine or that into a device in the back of hand, or handed me a pill or two or several. Even an icy refill of my water-jug seemed like a real blessing - actually that was a blessing. So "thank you" became an act of praise both of my carers and of the God of all goodness whose own goodness lies behind all good.
So - sunshine? That was the astonishing effect that such a small act of appreciative response; the smile on the faces of those repeatedly, patiently answering my requests and calls on my little button; often a little hassled by the weight of the needs of those they had to care for.
In as much as you did it for the least of these...ought to yield a little sunshine now as well as well on the loving face of the Saviour as He reviews the shape our lives...and yet maybe that "in as much..." also applies to putting a smile on the face of a willing, hardworked, dedicated, compassion-driven servant of my needs when I'm so dependant and at their mercy.
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Reflections on gaining a bionic knee.1
On May 1 I launched out on a new adventure; that of elective surgery to get my knee working properly again - in fact a partial knee replacement - hence "bionic" in the title.
First my thanks to Matt Walker the capable and resourceful surgeon, then to Richard the Anaesthetist, and the Theatre staff. No nonsense, thoughtful, skilled.
I am also very grateful to a wonderful nursing team; to Bindu and Philippa our night time nurses (and to Lynne who did the late shift the last night); and to the ever-smiling and sweet Jisha our daytime nurse. And of course Angela the capable and friendly charge nurse.
I also want to give special credit to my room mates: Randy, Diane and Barbara...all my juniors in age. Their encouragement, even in the midst of their own struggles, was key to my belief in my ability to get going as well as I did post-operation. The two latter are still in hospital as their improvement has been more gradual and painful; may they get well and been tearing up the pavement soon.
One can never discount the encouragement of loving visitors, lead by my life-partner and lover, Bernadette (accompanied once by daughter Beka and granddaughter, Haeata, later followed by my youngest John). The very act of showing up all smiles and concern joined me to the Body again, if I'd ever felt separated. So to Pete and Pam and Bill; Matt; Malcolm; Bob; Victor and Hera and Yongki humble, blest thanks.
Even our journey of pain is not a solo journey, though it may feel so. The best sign of the ultimate Pain-Bearer's presence is that of His love-giving people gathering and travelling with me; and that Presence I felt strongly in the stretches of night where sleep lay in waiting, calling me to talk with Him about those sharing the room with me and whoever He brought into the conversation Deus absconditus? I don't think so; in fact I know otherwise, all praise to His loving, ever-present care and attention.
Blessings
Pete
First my thanks to Matt Walker the capable and resourceful surgeon, then to Richard the Anaesthetist, and the Theatre staff. No nonsense, thoughtful, skilled.
I am also very grateful to a wonderful nursing team; to Bindu and Philippa our night time nurses (and to Lynne who did the late shift the last night); and to the ever-smiling and sweet Jisha our daytime nurse. And of course Angela the capable and friendly charge nurse.
I also want to give special credit to my room mates: Randy, Diane and Barbara...all my juniors in age. Their encouragement, even in the midst of their own struggles, was key to my belief in my ability to get going as well as I did post-operation. The two latter are still in hospital as their improvement has been more gradual and painful; may they get well and been tearing up the pavement soon.
One can never discount the encouragement of loving visitors, lead by my life-partner and lover, Bernadette (accompanied once by daughter Beka and granddaughter, Haeata, later followed by my youngest John). The very act of showing up all smiles and concern joined me to the Body again, if I'd ever felt separated. So to Pete and Pam and Bill; Matt; Malcolm; Bob; Victor and Hera and Yongki humble, blest thanks.
Even our journey of pain is not a solo journey, though it may feel so. The best sign of the ultimate Pain-Bearer's presence is that of His love-giving people gathering and travelling with me; and that Presence I felt strongly in the stretches of night where sleep lay in waiting, calling me to talk with Him about those sharing the room with me and whoever He brought into the conversation Deus absconditus? I don't think so; in fact I know otherwise, all praise to His loving, ever-present care and attention.
Blessings
Pete
Monday, 12 March 2012
a new approach to Sabbath
People who don't get the idea of our Holy Rest drive me crazy...don't know that they're not made to go on and on and on...don't they see they're made to pause every now and then. Things like Uni students at my church who think they must study every hour of every day, while commendable is ultimately self-destructive. So when I was reading "A Passionate Life" by Mike Breen and Walt Kallestad and stumbled across their section on resting [ch.7 The Seventh Day] I was blessed with a great perspective on keeping a day for Holy Rest (my emphasis).
As I thought about it I realised that we humans don't appear on the scene of the creation until well into the 6th day and that all preceded that day happened without our input in any way shape or form. Imagine that - God acting without any recourse to our opinion or prayers! Shocking!
So as B & K point out when God rested on the 7th day, and called humans to rest with Him, our forebears were actually resting on the first full day of their existence. They prepared for their emergence among all that God had made, by first resting. They were not taking a well-earned rest at the end of a week of frantic activity, followed by a day of frantic religious activity. Rather - they were being prepared for what the Lord had designed them to accomplish in the perfection of His purpose.
Further it was a preparation for the creativity with which He had enjoined them as His fellow-workers in "the garden". Sunday is not just the height of our creative, it is also engaging with the Creator Spirit; having our creative energies and intelligence refuelled and inspired. If there's no time for creative development in our week of frantic activity, then here it is, in resting and refuelling in the fellowship of God's loved people and in moments of blessed solitude.
This way of looking at it maybe sets the Sabbath at the start of the week rather than as a way of recuperating at the end of the week. It also puts in the theological rubbish bin all our silly questions about what is permitted on Sunday; questions like "how much work?" or "is sport work?" or "isn't shopping on Sunday only encouraging others to break the Sabbath?" become irrelevant when we acknowledge that the issue is restoration, preparation, inspiration, gathering momentum for the great spring back into life and mission in the field to which the Spirit has lead us. The question how do I best rest, reflect and restore my intellect and energy both in fellowship and solitude?
Well how do we? How do you do this?
As I thought about it I realised that we humans don't appear on the scene of the creation until well into the 6th day and that all preceded that day happened without our input in any way shape or form. Imagine that - God acting without any recourse to our opinion or prayers! Shocking!
So as B & K point out when God rested on the 7th day, and called humans to rest with Him, our forebears were actually resting on the first full day of their existence. They prepared for their emergence among all that God had made, by first resting. They were not taking a well-earned rest at the end of a week of frantic activity, followed by a day of frantic religious activity. Rather - they were being prepared for what the Lord had designed them to accomplish in the perfection of His purpose.
Further it was a preparation for the creativity with which He had enjoined them as His fellow-workers in "the garden". Sunday is not just the height of our creative, it is also engaging with the Creator Spirit; having our creative energies and intelligence refuelled and inspired. If there's no time for creative development in our week of frantic activity, then here it is, in resting and refuelling in the fellowship of God's loved people and in moments of blessed solitude.
This way of looking at it maybe sets the Sabbath at the start of the week rather than as a way of recuperating at the end of the week. It also puts in the theological rubbish bin all our silly questions about what is permitted on Sunday; questions like "how much work?" or "is sport work?" or "isn't shopping on Sunday only encouraging others to break the Sabbath?" become irrelevant when we acknowledge that the issue is restoration, preparation, inspiration, gathering momentum for the great spring back into life and mission in the field to which the Spirit has lead us. The question how do I best rest, reflect and restore my intellect and energy both in fellowship and solitude?
Well how do we? How do you do this?
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
what you planted
It was puzzle, I was sure I had planted cute little flowers in that plot. Spread seeds all over the place I thought from those little foil packets. Should have yielded flights of floral fancy, not an overcrowded cluster of carrot seedlings and radishes! The fertile soil yielded a great crop; it just wasn’t I had hoped for. What the heck?! How did that happen?
Apart from me not having labelled the little packets, a lesson in itself, it was a matter of what you sow, is what you reap - now who said that I wonder?
In the Letter we’re studying, the apostle John’s first, he talks about how God has planted extravagant love in us and so expects that to yield a harvest of loving action in our lives. If He has planted love in us He expects and looks for us to plant love into the lives of others by virtue of our actions that demonstrate our love for God. In this way we cultivate and even harvest love for our brothers and sisters and for those among the Lord has sent us in order to witness to His unquenchable love.
What’s going on if we find ourselves being hateful? It means we have allowed something other than God to be planted and growing in our hearts and minds. However it gets there, it is the work of the anti-Christ about whom John writes more later in the Letter.
The only useful response to that potentially disastrous situation is to bring that failure to God, understanding He already sees it, and allow Him to forgive and cleanse the invasive, life-choking weeds that have come to dominate as only He can. It’s a total weed-out - no trace, no evidence left that we have erred. Thus we’re free again to receive His planting of sacrificial love and begin again producing the harvest of loving action expected.
Apart from me not having labelled the little packets, a lesson in itself, it was a matter of what you sow, is what you reap - now who said that I wonder?
In the Letter we’re studying, the apostle John’s first, he talks about how God has planted extravagant love in us and so expects that to yield a harvest of loving action in our lives. If He has planted love in us He expects and looks for us to plant love into the lives of others by virtue of our actions that demonstrate our love for God. In this way we cultivate and even harvest love for our brothers and sisters and for those among the Lord has sent us in order to witness to His unquenchable love.
What’s going on if we find ourselves being hateful? It means we have allowed something other than God to be planted and growing in our hearts and minds. However it gets there, it is the work of the anti-Christ about whom John writes more later in the Letter.
The only useful response to that potentially disastrous situation is to bring that failure to God, understanding He already sees it, and allow Him to forgive and cleanse the invasive, life-choking weeds that have come to dominate as only He can. It’s a total weed-out - no trace, no evidence left that we have erred. Thus we’re free again to receive His planting of sacrificial love and begin again producing the harvest of loving action expected.
Not jumping at shadows
Loved - forever! part the first
I suppose it was my own fault; I really shouldn’t have been watching a grisly episode of Criminal Minds so close to bed-time. Not that I dreamed about the strange-but-effective team of individuals, or the seriously-distorted pieces of humanity they were trying to catch and apprehend. But something nasty from that show crept into my sleeping consciousness and produced a very unpleasant and unsettling nightmare - of sorts. So I woke up, rattled and unnerved and needing a “little walk down the passage”.
That’s when the trouble started. I was in the halfway world between dream and reality when I entered the darkened hallway, and nearly leapt clean out of my skin when I “saw” something lurking next to the mirror near the kitchen!!! Whoa! After a severe attack of knee-trembling, and deep-breathing, I snapped on the light to find it was a pile of instruments that had been brought in and deposited just there. The light removed the spectre of my fevered imagination, and revealed not just the reality of the situation in the hallway, but also my silly suggestible fear for what it was - a jumping at shadows.
In our Christian lives we do quite a lot of jumping at shadows - which pleases the enemy no end - and yet we should know better. God will not allow that kind of thing invade our space, or terrify us. God is about light and love and intends such good for us that it is almost beyond our understanding; and when we habitually hang around in His presence, in prayer, worship, thoughtful reflection and study (and in the loving embrace of fellowship) we find His wisdom and compassion often enlightening our world of shadowy fears and looming apparitions and reminding us that love conquers all and His light shows the wonder of His enduring Presence.
I suppose it was my own fault; I really shouldn’t have been watching a grisly episode of Criminal Minds so close to bed-time. Not that I dreamed about the strange-but-effective team of individuals, or the seriously-distorted pieces of humanity they were trying to catch and apprehend. But something nasty from that show crept into my sleeping consciousness and produced a very unpleasant and unsettling nightmare - of sorts. So I woke up, rattled and unnerved and needing a “little walk down the passage”.
That’s when the trouble started. I was in the halfway world between dream and reality when I entered the darkened hallway, and nearly leapt clean out of my skin when I “saw” something lurking next to the mirror near the kitchen!!! Whoa! After a severe attack of knee-trembling, and deep-breathing, I snapped on the light to find it was a pile of instruments that had been brought in and deposited just there. The light removed the spectre of my fevered imagination, and revealed not just the reality of the situation in the hallway, but also my silly suggestible fear for what it was - a jumping at shadows.
In our Christian lives we do quite a lot of jumping at shadows - which pleases the enemy no end - and yet we should know better. God will not allow that kind of thing invade our space, or terrify us. God is about light and love and intends such good for us that it is almost beyond our understanding; and when we habitually hang around in His presence, in prayer, worship, thoughtful reflection and study (and in the loving embrace of fellowship) we find His wisdom and compassion often enlightening our world of shadowy fears and looming apparitions and reminding us that love conquers all and His light shows the wonder of His enduring Presence.
Monday, 25 July 2011
chasing the wild goose.1
beginnings
Why do some seeds actually grow and some never produce a thing...even when I’ve done all that gardening wisdom suggests I should? It’s a mystery - that’s what it is - it’s in God’s hands. Life and growth are things that ultimately God makes happen - we can provide the best conditions, apply the best skills we know how, but the end result, the actual growing is Divine labour.
Because all life owes it’s beginning to God, and even the apparent raffle as to why some don’t make it past childhood and others live to an advanced and productive age; it’s somehow all His.
So with the spiritual life; we can do the best we know how in bringing the News to others, and even show them the best of God’s kindness and mercy, surround them with faithful and creative friends and still some never quite get it - some choose to do without God. From our way of looking at it, against all odds, some grasp faith in God like it was going to save their life, and hang on to faith in spite of the most discouraging adversity. The best we can do is to keep breathing the air of heaven; relating to Him, opening ourselves to his life-giving Spirit, trying everything He shows us. So, go on, live!
Saturday, 2 July 2011
heroes
Who is the hero? The man or woman who speaks bravely, who dares controversy; or that
one who quietly gets out there and lives out what they say, even when there is huge and determined opposition, even antagonism? Is it more virtuous to seem to know everything about prayer, or to fill one’s life with the discipline and practise of prayer? Like saying, would you have yourself guided by the one who writes about mountaineering or the one who does it often, which would you trust? The theorist or the bold practitioner?
The same is true of spiritual warfare; lots of books and seminars; heaps of opinion about what it is and what it isn’t; no end of sermons preached about it; but who’s doing it?
Is it that wild-eyed fanatic, the self-declared prayer-warrior, who doesn’t engage with ordinary people very well, full of conspiracy theories, critical of most of the church for their ‘lack of passion’, who says he spends all night violently assaulting the heavenlies, whose text book is “This Present Darkness”?
Or is it the ordinary, unremarkable saint, replete with gratitude for their salvation, fired by the ever-present Spirit, assured of the persistent love of the Divine Father, lives out what they learn, who prays faithfully for those in need and looks for ways to serve them, who bugs government, refuses to accept injustice? The real prayer-warrior is the one who gives time to prayer, knowing it will drive them out into the mission-field at their backdoor. Eh?
For more on this check out www.fhpc.church.org.nz. click on "audio sermon" [sorry about the green]
one who quietly gets out there and lives out what they say, even when there is huge and determined opposition, even antagonism? Is it more virtuous to seem to know everything about prayer, or to fill one’s life with the discipline and practise of prayer? Like saying, would you have yourself guided by the one who writes about mountaineering or the one who does it often, which would you trust? The theorist or the bold practitioner?
The same is true of spiritual warfare; lots of books and seminars; heaps of opinion about what it is and what it isn’t; no end of sermons preached about it; but who’s doing it?
Is it that wild-eyed fanatic, the self-declared prayer-warrior, who doesn’t engage with ordinary people very well, full of conspiracy theories, critical of most of the church for their ‘lack of passion’, who says he spends all night violently assaulting the heavenlies, whose text book is “This Present Darkness”?
Or is it the ordinary, unremarkable saint, replete with gratitude for their salvation, fired by the ever-present Spirit, assured of the persistent love of the Divine Father, lives out what they learn, who prays faithfully for those in need and looks for ways to serve them, who bugs government, refuses to accept injustice? The real prayer-warrior is the one who gives time to prayer, knowing it will drive them out into the mission-field at their backdoor. Eh?
For more on this check out www.fhpc.church.org.nz. click on "audio sermon" [sorry about the green]
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Ephesians 2.11-22 from left-field
This is from my weekly bulletin comment
A friend sent me a postcard from Germany in 1989 of an unbelievable sight...
the hated wall of Berlin being sat upon by a jubilant group of people from all over the world; and another photo showing the wall being vigorously demolished by a young man with a huge sledgehammer. It marked the beginning of the end for a reality that been a part of my, then, 42 years on this planet - a divided Germany, symbolising a divided Europe; further symbolising a divided generation. “The Iron Curtain”, the “bamboo curtain”, the Berlin Wall, the generation gap.
Some walls remain and divide us, even define us because it’s easier to say what we don’t believe or what we’re against than to take the risk of saying what or who we’re for. We gather behind them, or even in front of them shouting “hurray for our side!”
Even in the church we do it - you might be liberal and I KNOW that I’m orthodox, or one might be charismatic and another traditional, or one is for Calvinism and another is for “free will”. In actually making the walls and describing, proscribing the differences we imply right and wrong around choices and preferences. What we joke about or ridicule we are implying to be without the same value that we experience for our own opinion or pressure group. We need to look again at the Cross where all barriers were demolished by the Prince of Peace and all the interesting disparity of humanity is brought together as the image of God in the Temple of God...the body of Christ in the midst of the the dying world.
A friend sent me a postcard from Germany in 1989 of an unbelievable sight...
the hated wall of Berlin being sat upon by a jubilant group of people from all over the world; and another photo showing the wall being vigorously demolished by a young man with a huge sledgehammer. It marked the beginning of the end for a reality that been a part of my, then, 42 years on this planet - a divided Germany, symbolising a divided Europe; further symbolising a divided generation. “The Iron Curtain”, the “bamboo curtain”, the Berlin Wall, the generation gap.
Some walls remain and divide us, even define us because it’s easier to say what we don’t believe or what we’re against than to take the risk of saying what or who we’re for. We gather behind them, or even in front of them shouting “hurray for our side!”
Even in the church we do it - you might be liberal and I KNOW that I’m orthodox, or one might be charismatic and another traditional, or one is for Calvinism and another is for “free will”. In actually making the walls and describing, proscribing the differences we imply right and wrong around choices and preferences. What we joke about or ridicule we are implying to be without the same value that we experience for our own opinion or pressure group. We need to look again at the Cross where all barriers were demolished by the Prince of Peace and all the interesting disparity of humanity is brought together as the image of God in the Temple of God...the body of Christ in the midst of the the dying world.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
yay for our side! errr...
Left a little staggered and, I admit it, somewhat grieved, by the bloodthirsty embrace of the news that an old and nasty enemy has been slaughtered. How does this work? It's not okay to be violent towards your kids, or your aged parents, or opposing political parties (no matter how much a good thrashing seems like a good idea) and yet it's okay to torture and destroy like a rabid dog those who have terrorised us (albeit from a sincere held view that this is a noble religious deed). Tonight on the news it looked like a summary execution in the so-called field of battle and seemed to be justified as such. Shame on us for enjoying it! Shame on us for finding a way to justify any kind of killing! Shame on us who enjoy the benefits of the once-for-all violent death of our Saving God for seeking the destruction of another life to satisfy our angry blood-lust!
How far have we really come? Are we all that civilised after all? Are we any better than the regal savages of England's crown who once used the beautiful Tower as a symbol of horrific consequences for any boat rocker? I remember as a teenager being disgusted at the horrendous torture visited upon the victims of Nazi Germany's race-hatred and more recently the unrestrained injustices visited upon the suffering believers of China; we universally deplored such behaviour, and perhaps naively imagined our side would never do such a thing.
Are we now proven to be poor deluded saps for believing that a nation supposedly carrying the banner for Christian faith should find in it's corrupted, vengeful heart reason why they can flout all that is civil and peace-loving and grace-displaying.
Come Lord Jesus - awaken salutary shame and humble repentance in our hearts that would so readily return to war to assert the fitness of our ways and our culture.
How far have we really come? Are we all that civilised after all? Are we any better than the regal savages of England's crown who once used the beautiful Tower as a symbol of horrific consequences for any boat rocker? I remember as a teenager being disgusted at the horrendous torture visited upon the victims of Nazi Germany's race-hatred and more recently the unrestrained injustices visited upon the suffering believers of China; we universally deplored such behaviour, and perhaps naively imagined our side would never do such a thing.
Are we now proven to be poor deluded saps for believing that a nation supposedly carrying the banner for Christian faith should find in it's corrupted, vengeful heart reason why they can flout all that is civil and peace-loving and grace-displaying.
Come Lord Jesus - awaken salutary shame and humble repentance in our hearts that would so readily return to war to assert the fitness of our ways and our culture.
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
coming out from under
I found this little reflection pouring out from my head and onto my screen as I thought about where I was at and trying to find a way to be more positive and encouraging for my elders. The work of the Living Presence is always right on the mark and no less astonishing for all that:
On the banks of the automotive artery
14 September 2010 The long drag of winter affects us all in differing ways but can have a tendency to take us with it into a kind of seasonal depression. We get to the point where we’re sick of being cold, of getting wet almost every time we go out, of the promise of fine weather being elusive and rather fleeting, of business being hard work and in some cases frankly impossible. It seems that especially as we near the rise of spring and summer a concerted cold burst of sodden weather is determined to undermine our hopefulness. And yet we know that summer will come and soon enough find us whinging about the heat and the humidity. How hard we are to please! And yet we have this as a kind of living demonstration of the faithfulness of God and the persistence of hope. We know the sun will shine with welcome heat, and the warmth of the air will send us dashing into the welcome coolness of the foamy surf. As a black preacher once said, “Friday is here now - but Sunday is a-coming soon!!!” We are people who have every reason to live with hope, to demonstrate the resilience of hope because we find it a relationship with the Lord of glory Himself; the Lord who chased away the seeming finality of death and replaced it with the enduring power of light, life and an eternity of joy in the presence of Him who first loved us. So even in a winter that threatens to “drown” us, and in circumstances that seem impenetrably unfavourable, we KNOW that we have a future and a hope because our Lord is for us - and with us - and in us. There is life yet to be lived, mission yet to be discovered and pursued, there are people who need the Lord and His astonishing mercy and love that only we can find; albeit under the guidance and the equipping of His Holy Spirit. Hope is never dead, never irrelevant, never futile. We have every reason to hope, to believe, to open our doors and our hearts to those who have found this and every winter, real or figurative, almost more can they can bear. We have an answer, we have the answer burning in our own hearts, looking for a way to express itself, or should I say Himself, in the ordinary affairs of extraordinary lives. As we face an annual meeting some of our news isn’t too inspiring, but while we live and breathe, and while God retains His presence among us there is light beyond this threatening darkness of low attendance and budget deficit and all the institutional depressive spirit that can accompany such “realities”. David the psalmist responds to a dark moment of desperate hunger in his life with these words:
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 42. 5, 11)
And David didn’t even know the half of what we know about the reason for hope! Try reading the whole of Psalms 42 and 43 in the light of Jesus' promise to be with us through all seasons and times.
Rev Pete, On the path of life.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
renovation
New neighbours! Me and the Bee took over a welcoming plate of home-made gingernuts and introduced ourselves and met some very nice people.
They've got the house stripped and ready for renovation. Carpet's been pulled and removed, walls cleared of wallpaper, windows eased - a general of purposeful deconstruction. Then comes the interior designer to bring the new look to suit a very active family of mum, dad, two girls, a dog and a cat.
Made me think later of Dallas Willard's book "Renovation of the Heart" and the reshaping and decorating of the inner being that we're offered in relationship with God in Christ. The well worn interior of our lives is constantly in need of refreshing, which if it remains ignored for too long becomes a need for renovation..almost to the level of reconstruction. Our neighbours discovered beautiful floor boards under the carpets and the original shape of the house as they explored it more deeply and that's what they'll work with. The persistent Presence often strips back our lives to reveal the original construction and with that the intention of the Builder in order to renovate according to a design that has existed a long while, a design that honours our humanity and brings us into a relationship that is unerring in it's grace and compassion, and in trust and vision.
But it takes a certain amount of engagement with the Designer-Builder from the heavens, and willingness to be made over and have our interior remade in an image that is the best reflection of our Creator's intention.
Hmmmm.
Think about it.
Pete
Thursday, 3 December 2009
just for you
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
There is an excitement at seeing your own name on the tag attached to the ribbon that wraps the brightly decorated package - whether or not you give any credence to the commercial christmas elf.
Someone loved you enough to create or find something that they believed and hoped would bless you, that communicated how much they cared for you.
You don’t have to do anything special, you don’t have to pass any tests, you don’t have to follow some rule or code. It’s just that there is this relationship in which you are accepted as you are, including the understanding that you’re not perfect; you matter to someone, warts and all. And the gift is a way for them to tell you that you’re a person of surprising value to them.
They think about you with love and appreciation, they want the best for you, they enjoy being your friend, being with you, around you.
So you too have thought carefully about what you’d like to give them, or do for them, to affirm their personhood and the value of your relationship with them...so they’ll find a gaudily wrapped package, with a card naming them as the loved recipient.
This is a picture of a mind-blowing and eternal reality; that we are thoughtfully and extravagantly loved by the Creator of our very lives, that He seeks for our company and that He wants us to become aware of how much He cares for us and has an almost unbelievable plan for us, both as individuals and as a community, a family of His loved ones.
Just as we would be offended if a loved one tried to pay us for the gift we had so lovingly sought or created for them because the cost is part of the love we are offering, so God does not expect or seek for payment from us for the astonishing gift He has for us. The truth is we couldn’t even begin to earn that gift even if we had a million lifetimes in which we unerringly worked to persuade God that we deserved His kindness and grace.
Because it’s a gift His love is free, it’s just for you...get it!
anticipation
our series for Advent and Christmas is called
The Gift.
What follows are the bulletin inserts called Pete's Page:
"You better watch out You better not cry You better not pout I'm telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town He's making a list, Checking it twice; Gonna find out who's naughty or nice. Santa Claus is coming to town"
Advent is a time of anticipation, of having something to look forward to - which at this time is not the same for many of our fellow citizens as it is for us. For many of them it’s about the stress of finding gifts for hard-to-please people, planning to feed a family invasion from all over the country, and just plain coping with all the commercially communicated stress. So they make lists that reveal what they’re anticipating, what they’re hoping for. I know they make lists cos the woman I live with and our mothers did the same.
So what are you hoping for this advent and Christmas season? Is there a gift that you’d been hoping someone who cares for you would buy? Is there some family member you’d not seen for more than a year that you would love to come home this time? Is there some family grief that you’re hoping you’ll be able to handle, perhaps even ignore, as you and the rest of the family try to celebrate the season? Is there a relationship you kind of hope might be rescued in the spirit of a season of good will? What’s on the wish list of your heart?
Can I ask if you’ve asked the true Lord of Christmas for the fulfillment of your heart’s wish-list?
This season is rally about us preparing our hearts for the wonder of a great miracle, whereby the God who dreamt of and fashioned the whole Cosmos became clothed in human skin, complete with nose, eyes, a loudly complaining mouth and an unreliable digestive system. It is also about the belief that because of this God-man there is hope beyond hope that at some point everything that’s wrong with the world will be set right and at peace.
That’s where the hard-to-find peace and hope of the season is.
In His unrelenting grip
Pete
Monday, 17 August 2009
desperate
so a new series starts with returning to the hotspot up the front.
it invites us to look at how much the spiritual life actually means to us...even how much it is genuinely entwined with all the stuff we take for the ordinary. is this how i felt returning to the hotspot after 3 months away? not really, but there is an element of desperation that things oughtn't to be the same any more. however i was really responding to where i perceive people around me to be as far as what makes life worth the trouble. so the first word is " to see - seeking God."
Jonah 2:1-10; Matthew 7:7-11; John 6:35-40
A. DOING WITHOUT GOD
...we’ve been taught to say “God helps those who help themselves.” But is that true? Really?
in a desire to seem independent in a "material world" we find it hard to envisage a God who would disrupt the natural order to either communicate with us much less intervene in our tawdry everyday lives...so we say He blesses our independence. we come to the decision that whatever was the motivational currency of the day we have a better idea - do it yourself and God will have to bless your hard work. hmmmm. really? is that the best we can hope for?
Jonah acts like he knows better than God [see Jonah chapter 1]
Jonah didn't like any idea that his doing things God's way would lead to the liberating of the Ninevites from well deserved judgement and the consequent destruction! So he chose to run away rather than do what he was called to do...y' can never run away from the omnipresent.
B. LOST WITHOUT GOD
Jonah comes to the end of himself to see he needs God [2:1-45]
So there's Jonah in a terrifying storm knowing he's badly messed up...yelling his head off for help from the everpresent who, lucky for him, is also the allpowerful. From the belly of the fish of his salvation he realises he's at the end of himself, totally dependent upon God.
We will come to the end of ourselves
It is part of God's rescue plan to bring us to the end of ourselves as well, because it is only when we know we've reached the end of our autonomy that we know the only hope is beyond us...in the good grace and mercy of God.
“You will seek me and find me,
when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13
C. GETTING DESPERATE (Getting it right.)
calling for God’s intervention [2:7]
so desperation is the only attribute that impresses God that we mean to be shown something of His startling attitude of loving acceptance...and it's the only satisfactory attitude we can bring to a relationship that has any chance of engaging with God's rescue plan...it also guarantees that we will take seriously the means He has put out in our path to be the medium of that engagement.
taking Him seriously [Hebrews 11:6]
when God offers to help or rescue He means it and we can't enhance that startling willingness to engage in any way...we can only go with it the way it's offered...without strings, or any ability on our part to qualify. so we concentrate on getting through as it were...only to discover He was on-line the whole time.
"anyone who wants to come to Him,
must believe that He exists and
rewards those who sincerely seek Him."
heartfelt desperation
...it's all y' got...it's all He sees...use it, go with it.
D. DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT [2:8-9]
paying attention - the Bible - read, study, think
pick it up...give it a real go...take time over it...again, take it seriously
turning to God - prayer - honour, confession, guidance
the point is He's listening more keenly than we ever give Him credit for...unbelievably, He actually likes hearing from us...we're His kids after all.
learning from His friends - listening, asking, humility
y'see, He's already at work in a bunch of similarly flawed people just like you and me, and has made them available to rub off a few rough edges and to speak such words of wisdom that even startles them, if they're honest.
find some of His friends, often to be found in churches on Sundays (but not always), take time to get to know them, and practice a little humility in learning from them...especially from what they do.
own the hunger...don't be afraid of it...I can show you how to satisfy it...
so a new series starts with returning to the hotspot up the front.
it invites us to look at how much the spiritual life actually means to us...even how much it is genuinely entwined with all the stuff we take for the ordinary. is this how i felt returning to the hotspot after 3 months away? not really, but there is an element of desperation that things oughtn't to be the same any more. however i was really responding to where i perceive people around me to be as far as what makes life worth the trouble. so the first word is " to see - seeking God."
Jonah 2:1-10; Matthew 7:7-11; John 6:35-40
A. DOING WITHOUT GOD
...we’ve been taught to say “God helps those who help themselves.” But is that true? Really?
in a desire to seem independent in a "material world" we find it hard to envisage a God who would disrupt the natural order to either communicate with us much less intervene in our tawdry everyday lives...so we say He blesses our independence. we come to the decision that whatever was the motivational currency of the day we have a better idea - do it yourself and God will have to bless your hard work. hmmmm. really? is that the best we can hope for?
Jonah acts like he knows better than God [see Jonah chapter 1]
Jonah didn't like any idea that his doing things God's way would lead to the liberating of the Ninevites from well deserved judgement and the consequent destruction! So he chose to run away rather than do what he was called to do...y' can never run away from the omnipresent.
B. LOST WITHOUT GOD
Jonah comes to the end of himself to see he needs God [2:1-45]
So there's Jonah in a terrifying storm knowing he's badly messed up...yelling his head off for help from the everpresent who, lucky for him, is also the allpowerful. From the belly of the fish of his salvation he realises he's at the end of himself, totally dependent upon God.
We will come to the end of ourselves
It is part of God's rescue plan to bring us to the end of ourselves as well, because it is only when we know we've reached the end of our autonomy that we know the only hope is beyond us...in the good grace and mercy of God.
“You will seek me and find me,
when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13
C. GETTING DESPERATE (Getting it right.)
calling for God’s intervention [2:7]
so desperation is the only attribute that impresses God that we mean to be shown something of His startling attitude of loving acceptance...and it's the only satisfactory attitude we can bring to a relationship that has any chance of engaging with God's rescue plan...it also guarantees that we will take seriously the means He has put out in our path to be the medium of that engagement.
taking Him seriously [Hebrews 11:6]
when God offers to help or rescue He means it and we can't enhance that startling willingness to engage in any way...we can only go with it the way it's offered...without strings, or any ability on our part to qualify. so we concentrate on getting through as it were...only to discover He was on-line the whole time.
"anyone who wants to come to Him,
must believe that He exists and
rewards those who sincerely seek Him."
heartfelt desperation
...it's all y' got...it's all He sees...use it, go with it.
D. DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT [2:8-9]
paying attention - the Bible - read, study, think
pick it up...give it a real go...take time over it...again, take it seriously
turning to God - prayer - honour, confession, guidance
the point is He's listening more keenly than we ever give Him credit for...unbelievably, He actually likes hearing from us...we're His kids after all.
learning from His friends - listening, asking, humility
y'see, He's already at work in a bunch of similarly flawed people just like you and me, and has made them available to rub off a few rough edges and to speak such words of wisdom that even startles them, if they're honest.
find some of His friends, often to be found in churches on Sundays (but not always), take time to get to know them, and practice a little humility in learning from them...especially from what they do.
own the hunger...don't be afraid of it...I can show you how to satisfy it...
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Taking stock of the good things
I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord;
apart from You I have no good thing."
Psalm 16:2
(first journalled, May 6)
Here I was finding it hard without Bernie, realising that she the is most wonderful person in my life on this Planet - how well she organises and arranges things - don't know that I would have gotten very far on this Grand Adventure without her love and her attention to detail and far-sightedness. (Coupled with having incited the generous help of a friend in England.) But it's not just the organising of this trip - it comes out of a tremendous gift of relationship that fills and completes me as a person - not a gift I've always appreciated for all she's worth (beyond calculation anyway)! So thanks to the Divine Lover for this tremendously "good thing".
Another good thing is the relationship that sees me here in this place at this time. That's the circle of relationship that's Forrest Hill Presbyterian - they're so kind and affirming - and very generous. There has been real growth in character and confidence because of their kind and good encouragement; and it looks like they're growing too - in character, in fruit and more recently in numbers showing up and their giving to God. So here I am, in the midst of a whole new Grand Adventure, in large part because of my wife's gifts and the generosity of my loved fellow-travellers at home. Another "good thing".
A new "good thing" is mostly appreciated in potential, yet already experienced as remarkable generosity; this is the other, single "r", Forest Hill community here in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their openess to me coming and their generosity in providing a lovely place for me live and sleep; - pure Americana and truly comfortable. This is a relationship to nurture and cherish, and to be surprised by in the nicest ways - and in which to grow, and to find and explore new potential in myself, as well as this rather vast work of God.
Under all of this is the amazing "good thing" of having been called to a ministry, this giving of my life to the Gift, and to those among whom I find myself to love and serve in the name and for the sake of the Lord - the relationships that come from it, the joys of seeing lives change (and yet not being at all sure it comes from anything I'm doing - actually the Lord at work, but through me? - well that's the surprise and the delight!) So apart from the Lover of my soul I have no good thing - and that in itself is strength.
Pete
I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord;
apart from You I have no good thing."
Psalm 16:2
(first journalled, May 6)
Here I was finding it hard without Bernie, realising that she the is most wonderful person in my life on this Planet - how well she organises and arranges things - don't know that I would have gotten very far on this Grand Adventure without her love and her attention to detail and far-sightedness. (Coupled with having incited the generous help of a friend in England.) But it's not just the organising of this trip - it comes out of a tremendous gift of relationship that fills and completes me as a person - not a gift I've always appreciated for all she's worth (beyond calculation anyway)! So thanks to the Divine Lover for this tremendously "good thing".
Another good thing is the relationship that sees me here in this place at this time. That's the circle of relationship that's Forrest Hill Presbyterian - they're so kind and affirming - and very generous. There has been real growth in character and confidence because of their kind and good encouragement; and it looks like they're growing too - in character, in fruit and more recently in numbers showing up and their giving to God. So here I am, in the midst of a whole new Grand Adventure, in large part because of my wife's gifts and the generosity of my loved fellow-travellers at home. Another "good thing".
A new "good thing" is mostly appreciated in potential, yet already experienced as remarkable generosity; this is the other, single "r", Forest Hill community here in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their openess to me coming and their generosity in providing a lovely place for me live and sleep; - pure Americana and truly comfortable. This is a relationship to nurture and cherish, and to be surprised by in the nicest ways - and in which to grow, and to find and explore new potential in myself, as well as this rather vast work of God.
Under all of this is the amazing "good thing" of having been called to a ministry, this giving of my life to the Gift, and to those among whom I find myself to love and serve in the name and for the sake of the Lord - the relationships that come from it, the joys of seeing lives change (and yet not being at all sure it comes from anything I'm doing - actually the Lord at work, but through me? - well that's the surprise and the delight!) So apart from the Lover of my soul I have no good thing - and that in itself is strength.
Pete
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)