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.

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

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

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...