Small decisions, big consequences

Thursday night, as work finished, Austin Hemmings made his way to his car.  He saw a woman being hit by a man, he went to help.  He was stabbed in the chest and died.


It is a story  that is tragically repeated all over the world.  Kindness in the face of wickedness is not rewarded but punished.


What strikes me in this though is that Austin Hemmings' Christian faith, his eldest daughter has had some contact with the TSCF group at AUT. In their grief the family are speaking of Austin with a clarity that makes their pain palpable.  Do pray for them.


It also strikes me from those who are musing about this death what a difference a hope in Jesus makes:


"Now he is gone, leaving a wife without a husband and three teenage children without a father. They - and we - mourn for him. And they should know - as we all know - the only comfort to be had in this sorry and senseless affair: the man they grieve for now may have been a typical Kiwi bloke, but he was a hero. It is cold comfort indeed, but they should be profoundly proud of him." Editorial, New Zeland Herald 


"Dick Hemmings said news of his son's death had been "pretty rough, but his life was an apprenticeship... There are greater rewards ."


For the second time this year, Christians in NZ, are grieving very publicly.  The question arises again about where God is in the midst of the pain, the seemingly random violence and the suffering of His own people?  And again the answer is clear - He is present in the midst of it.  His existence in a fallen world, under Judgement, is not contingent on good things happening to good people and bad things happening to bad people.  The question is not IF God exists, but what SORT of God He is.


The editor of the NZ Herald thinks, from the sidelines "the only comfort to be had in this sorry and senseless affair: the man they grieve for now may have been a typical Kiwi bloke, but he was a hero. It is cold comfort indeed, but they should be profoundly proud of him" but Austin's father, and the rest of his family, is SO much more correct "there are greater rewards..."


Death is now a toothless enemy of the people of God (1Cor 15:50-57) and the result in the hearts and lives of God's people, much to the confusion of those who deny Christ or are ignorant of him? The result is not a denial of God but an unshakable confidence in HIM.


"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 1Cor 15:58


I'm praying that the Hemmings family would know that resolute steadfastness and hope - Austin's life and death are not 'in vain' - as well as the 'warm' comfort of Christ (2 Tim 4:6-8).


I'm also praying that the people of New Zealand will be confused, intrigued and challenged by the Hemming's hope in the midst of intractable loss.

Wot's it all for?

Mark Meynell has posted a brilliant set of talk notes that he gave at a recent conference for Christian bloggers - being in New Zealand proved the biggest obstacle to being there (as well as not having a fully functional set of grey/white matter).  Read Mark's post - it gives the historical perspective on blogging and is an encouragement to deeper thought whether you are a reader of blogs or a blogger yourself...

a thousand ways to say I long for Christ alone…?

It is sometimes startling that in the familiar lies a depth and profundity which is easily passed by in the hurry of ordinary life. Tonight the words of the Wesleyian hymn "O for a Thousand Tongues" came to mind as I was thinking about how we express our desire to know Christ better.

 

Several friends have written in the last few days to encourage and remind me of God's sufficient grace in all of life's trials and triumphs. Weaknesses of body and mind over the last few months have made me mindful of the frailty of my flesh but also of its unattractive strengths. For even at its weakest and most humbled, it is no stranger to sin in thought and word and deed. The selfishness that the heart can turn to, the envy and greed for more than is currently at hand and a sharp word to those who happen to pass by, a doubt sown and a gripe shared around – all serve to poison the heart and mind, no matter how weak I might have felt, as well as share the necrotising impact of a heart discontent.

 

And all the more; Jesus is made apparent and real. To know Him at all is to be discontent with discontentment, to answer our own hearts' wicked schemes with the Glory of the Sovereign Saviour and to drink deeply great drafts of the life-giving Grace of the Gospel of God, which will save all who call in faith on Jesus Name.

 

Are there words enough? Are there words of love, devotion, gratitude and intimacy that can encapsulate what He has done? Can I, in these short paragraphs, convey what needs to be said? No. Thank you is the beginning…

 

Charles Wesley came to Christ in the context of recovering from illness, a year later he wrote an 18 stanza poem/hymn to celebrate his first anniversary of coming to truly know Jesus; from which would arise the hymn we know as "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing". I've mostly sung it with a rousing chorus in large congregations. But it strikes me tonight, that it is a song born of immense gratitude and arising out of a desire to find adequate words to express the beauty that is found in Jesus alone. I quote the poem in full; thankful that, nearly 300 years on, these words 'work' for me. How about you?

 

Glory to God, and praise and love

be ever, ever given,

by saints below and saints above,

the church in earth and heaven.

 

On this glad day the glorious Sun

of Righteousness arose;

on my benighted soul he shone

and filled it with repose.

 

Sudden expired the legal strife,

'twas then I ceased to grieve;

my second, real, living life

I then began to live.

 

Then with my heart I first believed,

believed with faith divine,

power with the Holy Ghost received

to call the Savior mine.

 

I felt my Lord's atoning blood

close to my soul applied;

me, me he loved, the Son of God,

for me, for me he died!

 

I found and owned his promise true,

ascertained of my part,

my pardon passed in heaven I knew

when written on my heart.

 

O for a thousand tongues to sing

my dear Redeemer's praise!

The glories of my God and King,

the triumphs of his grace.

 

My gracious Master and my God,

assist me to proclaim,

to spread through all the earth abroad

the honors of thy name.

 

Jesus! the name that charms our fears,

that bids our sorrows cease;

'tis music in the sinner's ears,

'tis life, and health, and peace!

 

He breaks the power of canceled sin,

he sets the prisoner free;

his blood can make the foulest clean;

his blood availed for me.

 

He speaks, and listening to his voice

new life the dead receive;

the mournful, broken hearts rejoice,

the humble poor believe.

 

Hear him, ye deaf, his praise, ye dumb,

your loosened tongues employ;

ye blind, behold your Savior come,

and leap, ye lame, for joy.

 

Look unto him, ye nations, own

your God, ye fallen race!

Look, and be saved through faith alone,

be justified by grace!

 

See all your sins on Jesus laid;

the Lamb of God was slain,

his soul was once an offering made

for every soul of man.

 

Harlots and publicans and thieves,

in holy triumph join!

Saved is the sinner that believes

from crimes as great as mine.

 

Murderers and all ye hellish crew,

ye sons of lust and pride,

believe the Savior died for you;

for me the Savior died.

 

With me, your chief, you then shall know,

shall feel your sins forgiven;

anticipate your heaven below

and own that love is heaven.

Student Witness 101 - putting student mission on the map

Friends in UCCF  have come up with a witty and clever video explaining what student witness is all about.  I love student witness.  I love playmobil.  I love creativity.  All 3 come together in this 3 minute video.  Watch it, enjoy it and note the one thing I don't love about this video.  New Zealand isn't on the map at at 2mins 55 seconds into the video - neither are the South Pacific islands of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu etc... 







TSCF (NZ) was one of the 10 founding nations of IFES : but at times we're left off the map. It happened last year at the IFES World assembly too. It's not too bad really - God knows how to find us - perched here on the edge of the world's time zones, a small nation in a big ocean, isolated from our nearest neighbours by at least a 2.5 hour flight.



I love student ministry - I'm convinced that this is what God has called me to.  This week I've had text's and emails from several students, some rejoicing in the opportunities on campus, some struggling to feel qualified or empowered to do the work, others taking their first steps toward life after graduation, one excelling in her course and grateful to God for it another seeking to honour God as he pushes through hoping to complete his degree.  I love it.  I miss it terribly.


This morning from the quote for the day widget on my igoogle home page:

"A perpetual holiday is a good working definition of hell." G.B. Shaw

Shaw obviously didn't understand the full implications of his glib use of the word 'hell'.  Having been away from the student world since May, waiting for my brain to recover from the resulting injury after concussion, it is not easy but it's not hell.  The UCCF video reminded me, that I do not have to be on campus, do not have to be 'working' to be part of the work.  Prayer is vital in the work.  It's not that I didn't know this, but that now I know it better.

Thank you if you have been praying for me recently; thank you if you pray as part of the work here in NZ, regardless where in the world you live.  If you want to pray more and get more info on a regular basis email me and I'll add you to the monthly updates that are sent out.

Stop what you are doing, read this and then pray!

There are some arresting prayer requests that come: this is one of them - from Christians in Orissa, India.  It came as a prayer letter - I've edited the text to remove names, this being more public than a direct mail. Read on...
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"Last week under the cover of a moonless sky & heavy rains we travelled through potholed interior roads to deliver a jeep load of supplies to one of our field workers "P". Two days prior a mob of around 500 Hindu fanatics walked into P’s village chanting anti Christian slogans & demanding for the village Pastor. P had been tipped off of their approach and with Bible under his arm ran 3kms through the fields to a neighbouring village to hide. The mob turned on the mud house & Church, smashing the walls & setting ablaze the contents and thatched roofing.  Threats of dire consequences were given to the village Christians if they did not convert back to Hinduism. The village believers were left paralysed with shock and fear.  

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It was a thrill to deliver clothing, bedding, food, cooking utensils, & general provisions to P & His family. The family & village believers were so happy & thankful to see us. With tears we encouraged & prayed with them. P, his wife & 4 children (9, 6 yrs, 1 ½ & their youngest child), lost all that they owned to the fire that day. Despite the threats, P’s faith and courage has only strengthened. The following Sunday P gathered the village believers as usual to worship & learn more about the ways of God.   Four other families associated with us have also suffered similar losses.

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Persecution against Christians in Orissa - P’s story is one of thousands of such atrocities that are currently taking place against Christians in Orissa by Hindu Terrorists. On August 23, widespread violence erupted against Christians following the assassination of a World Hindu Council & VHP leader Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati at his Ashram in the troubled Kandhamal district. Four of the Swami’s followers were killed with him as 30 men stormed the Swami’s Ashram and opened fire. The Swami was the alleged mastermind behind the December 2007 attacks against Christians in Kandhamal where 90 churches, 600 homes and 10 persons were destroyed. The 85 year old Saraswati had been leading a campaign against Christians in Kandhamal district for over 35 years

Despite a letter from the Nexalite Maoists claming responsibility for the Swami’s murder, political Hindu groups have placed the blame on Christians and as a result have launched attacks on Christians throughout the state.  The rally cry was that the Swami’s death must be repaid with “Christian Blood”. On a nightly basis, Hindu mobs storm villages & destroy, burn, torture, rape, kill and force people to reconvert back to Hinduism. Eye witnesses report that the mobs would “beat or kill Christians who refused to deny their faith. In many terrifying cases, family members were forced to watch their loved ones being murdered in the hopes that they would be convinced to return to Hinduism." (Baptist Press)

Official figures report that over 50,000 people have been displaced, 4000 homes & 1,000 Churches have been destroyed and 25 Christian have been killed.  200 Christian villages are now empty. It is reported that thousands are still hiding out in jungles or have walked out to cities. Some 13,000 people are now living in nine relief camps.

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Christian Exodus

The Church of North India (CNI) writes that this is “the worst anti-Christian violence India has seen since independence 60 years ago”.

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Violence in "J" town:- Trouble broke out in our town Jeypore on the 30^th of August when Hindu youth plastered objectionable posters about Christian girls throughout the Town’s College.  A clash between Hindu & Christian students broke out which spilled over into the streets.  A pitch battle took place outside one of the town’s larger churches as Christians fought to defend the building. The mob set upon other Churches & Christian institutions in the town. Sadly our daughter's School was attacked and the administration block gutted by fire. 600 troops were quickly brought in to restore law & order. “Shoot to kill” orders and a total curfew was imposed upon the town. From our rooftop we witnessed around 200 Christian youth from our neighbouring  village armed with swords, knives, axes, spears & sticks ward off a mob of Hindu fanatics who began to approach our community. It was very real, very close and a test of our theology.  

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We continue to hear powerful stories of faith, strength & courage on behalf of our Christian brothers & sisters. Many are laying down their lives to protect others. Many are choosing to die for their faith. 

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As many Children’s homes and Schools have been destroyed in this terror campaign we have sent most of the children who stay in our campus back to their home villages until further notice. Five older ones have stayed on as they need to sit important School Exams. Many Christian families have left Jeypore though we have the sense that we are to stay & stand firm in the Hope to which we have been called. Our verse of calling has been a great strength to us during these days:-

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“I took you from the ends of the earth, from its  furtherest corners I have called you. I said ‘You are my servant’ I have chosen you and have not rejected you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing. For I am the Lord , your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not Fear, I will help you”   

Isaiah 41v9 – 13

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Sunny – In the midst of the turmoil & trauma the Lord has blessed our family with a beautiful baby boy to love & care for. Sunny was born on the 4^th of June & within the hour of delivery was safe in our home.  Three months prior to Sunny’s birth "A" spent many hours counselling his birth mother who had already tried but failed to abort the child using village methods. The community judgement upon the young unmarried mother was that the child must die. We sheltered & cared for her in our campus. We also welcomed members of her extended family to stay with us who came on a mission to ensure the child was killed. Each visit gave us the opportunity to share about the Lord, His Love, forgiveness and heart for the sanctity of life.  These were very tense days. God’s incredible grace prevailed & the mother & community chose to honour the request to allow the child to live & give the baby to us to care for. Miraculously, relationships between our family, the birth mother and her community have continued to flourish since Sunny’s birth.   

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Through this situation we learn that it is common practise for young women in this community to abort and even kill newly delivered babies. We have uncovered that this is reaching shocking levels amongst this community. Now this people know there is another way we pray that they will choose life & not death. We are expecting more babies like Sunny to come to us.  

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Though born 2 months premature & having already survived attacks against his little life, Sunny is now doing just fine. For the first 2 months we hardly slept as Sunny cried throughout the nights. Part of this was that he contracted Malaria & was very sick. He is now well & growing wonderfully. Christleigh & Jessie love having a baby brother to care for. The hostel girls are also enjoying learning much from Andrea about caring for babies.   

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Life & Death:- The events currently taking place in and around our lives reveal two opposing forces, Life & Death. Jesus once said:-

The thief comes only to steel, kill & destroy;

                          but I have come that they may have life & life more abundantly”       John 10 v 10. 

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One wants only to kill & destroy the other wants to give abundant life. We have come to Orissa to share Christ’s abundant Life.  What a time and what opportunities he is giving to us to do this!.   

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Please Pray :– We really urge you to encourage corporate prayer for the needs of the Christians in Orissa & throughout India during these days. We must pray that our brothers & sisters will stand strong & resolute in their faith in the face of persecution. We must have hope that the Lord God Almighty who hears the prayers of his people will release healing to this needy land and its people.  We must pray for the most incredible REVIVAL to break out throughout this land."

If wishes were changes...

"What if..." how many times have you thought, "what if..."


For me the last week has been full of "what if... I had worn a bike helmet on May 13th; ...I don't get back to being well enough to work; ...we win the lottery (we don't play it we won't)"


Then i remembered the BIG "IF" - the poem by Rudyard Kipling

IF you can keep your head when all about you 

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

I hate this poem with a passion.  Not only is it 'anti-patriotic' of me (it's one of the 'definitive' English poems) but it also seems to run against a self-empowering desire of the current cultural melee.  Being a 'man' does not come down to stoicism, dispassion or being invulnerable to pain.  We do not have 'the Earth and everything that's in it".  It is not ours to own.


IF (at least the way in which we use it most often) puts the emphasis in the wrong place.  Essentially it places us central to our own story. We become the heroes of our own history, the main actors in the play we author - "If..", If I were in charge it would play this way or that...


But the plain and simple truth, the inescapable reality is that we are not the central players in history, God is.  There IS a better if though


"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Col 3.1-4



IF we discover that Jesus is the center and pinnacle of History, If we come to Him then we have life in Him, life that does not fade or faulter with the passage of time.  Eternal Life that comes with the assurance of the One who is The Life.  Life that persists in the face of struggle, that is not tainted by the harsher realities of this world nor tarnished in comparison to the best this world has to offer.


Life in Christ - made me stop and think this week.  IF I have been made alive in Him, my hopes, my fears - my life - are all wrapped up in Him, under His sovereign care. It changes the whole perspective on what it means to live. It also changes the core 'what if...' to "IF I have been made alive in Christ..." what does it mean to live for Him in the midst of every circumstance of life.  The answers come in terms of character rather than circumstances.


"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive and above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Col 3.12-17



Praise be to the Father through Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit!

When Satan tempts me to despair,

and tells me of the guilt within

Upward i look and see Him there, 

who made an end of all my sin.

One with my Lord, I cannot die

My soul is purchased by His blood

My life is hid with Christ on High

With Christ my Saviour and My God!

from Before the Throne of God Above

mud, sweat, tears and glory

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

Proverbs 11.24

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose"

Jim Elliot

There are some people I've known  since their time as students, witnessing them work out and live out a life following Jesus on campus, watching as they graduate and move into wider life and ministry.  Dawn and Jonathan Clark are just two of them. Dawn and Jonathan Clark are but two.  They both did Relay, romance blossomed, they moved on to jobs in teaching and local government and then joined UCCF staff, Jonathan as a Regional Staff Worker in Nottingham and Dawn as Relay Administrator, working alongside me for 3.5 excellent years. They then went into a phase of 'succession planning' and produced 3 lovely kids.

I love the Clarks for their open friendliness, their love of God's people but most of all their warm-hearted discipleship, following Jesus humbly and passionately.  They headed off to Athens to work with the IFES movement there around the same sort of time that we were settling in here.  Dawn and Jonathan escaped the heated indolence of Athens July & August and dropped into UCCF Forum, a GB national student leaders conference to talk of their work (and probably to do some sneeky seed sowing and hoping that others would hear the call to go to near and far for the sake of the gospel).  Dawn writes powerfully about how God moved  and how his people responded in their blog.

I read Dawn's thoughts and was provoked in a number of ways:

• It was at Forum in 1992 that I resolutely responded to a talk about world mission, I remember praying "Father, I will go to the ends of the earth, to wherever you send me".  I think at the time I thought of valiant mission in dangerous territory, under a blazing African sun or an Amazonian jungle.  I did not think of New Zealand and when, 13 years later, I arrived with wife and kids in tow did not imagine that this is what the 'ends of the earth' would look like but we are ever more confident that this is where God would have us.

• 10th December 1988 I was asked a question that still leaps up out at me.  Working, in all places, at a Roman Catholic retreat centre, in a gap year between school and Uni, my supervisor in a meeting asked me if I was ready to suffer in the service of Christ.  Truth was that I was still very young and immature in my faith, I'd been a Christian about 18 months and could hardly articulate it in that way. I knew that I was being challenged, not by my supervisor but by God.  I said yes that day but knew it was not a valiant and brave thing - though I fought it in the months and years ahead (and fight it still today) I was confronted with the fact that to follow Christ leads through Gethsemene to the Cross and onto the Glory of Resurrection and Life.  The verb 'to suffer' occurs more times in the New Testament than the Old, is often on the lips of Christ and is a repeated refrain in Paul, Peter, James and John's letters and the writer of Hebrews applies the verb to Jesus, to those in the Old Testament who waited for Christ's coming and to those who hope in Himsince the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Apparently at Forum this year John Piper spoke of the normalcy and essential relationship of gospel living and suffering.  The students had already had a mild taster in that the site had been deluged and they were living, sleeping and meeting in mud up to their ankles.  They responded to a call to live a gospel life, suffering as part of the package, and many responded.

• The last few months have brought home afresh that gospel living is not a remote from suffering. There are extraordinary tales to tell of protection, prevention and preservation in the midst of gospel living; I have one or two of my own to share.  Normal Christian life, however, is not shielded from all kinds of suffering.  Dawn and Jonathan Clark suffer more than the heat in Athens, friends in Turkey, the Middle East, in Muslim Africa and even here in Aotearoa/New Zealand are living lives of extraordinary grace and witness in the face of loss, hardship, isolation, loneliness, ridicule and sorrow.  They make me proud to be a follower of Jesus, they make me want to follow him more closely and they encourage me to lift my eyes to a better place where there will be no more tears, death, loss or sorrow: with Christ, face to face, an eternity of joyful gain upon gain.

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Romans 8.18-25

morbidly alive

"Although prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed" Winston Churchill

"Death doesn't really worry me that much, I'm not frightened about it... I just don't want to be there when it happens." Woody Allen

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.... Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 6:23, 7:25-25a

It is a great privilege to live.  Precious and fragile though the gift is, we see it squandered on the petty and frivolous, invested in self-serving action and inaction, degraded in the name of economics and reduced to chemical and biological accident in the name of science. 

Right now, as you read these few words, you are incredibly privileged.

"Ah, but you don't know my life"

You're right I don't.  But I know that you are alive.  I know that you have the capacity for beauty and grace, for kindness and tenderness.  I also know you have the capacity for wickedness and selfishness, cruelty and calousness.  In short you are alive and you are a sinner.

"how dare you?"

Simple - I am too.  We - you and me - we are marred and scarred by sin.  Our best efforts, kindest actions, most commedable traits and most noble motivations are all tainted; and hopelessly so.

All without hope, if it were not for Jesus.  The Son of God.  The only one who can save you and me from the 'wages' we deserve.  Through his death on the cross, sin is nailed down and dealt with.  God destroys sin's curse, the destroyer of human souls.  Sin's impact, and God's antipathy toward it, is spelled out on the cross.  His Son dies "rejected and alone" not in some cosmic accident, not simply in a lavish example of the extremity of God's love for us BUT demonstrates his love in dealing with His own antipathy toward sin that would justly call for your death, and mine.  The cross is not the last word as Jesus, God in the flesh, rises to life, victorious from the destruction of death as the Destroyer of Death and Hell and Sin.

The apostle Paul wrote to a group of men and women who were trying to understand all of this and said:

"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised." 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

This radical change effected in us comes through faith in Jesus, not believing that He existed, not acknowledging that He is God (as though we are here to pass judgement on Him) but more a complete surrendering your life, ambitions and desires; past, present and future to Him as the King and God of your life (truly as the One who can justly pass judgement on us, but rather offers us mercy, grace and truth if we will only grasp hold of it).  Paul continues...

"From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:16-19

You see - it IS a privilege to live.  For to live, to TRULY LIVE, is to know Jesus.  Anything and everything else is not life as God intended.  Infact it is not life at all.

"The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." John 3.35-36

"Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day....Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life." John 6.43, 47-48 

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2.22

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Colossians 3.1-4

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1.21

simply a curator

Curator: Latin for 'overseer' or 'guardian'. A specialist responsible for either a single exhibition or for an institution's collections and their cataloging.

We are little more than curators in a grand exhibition of God's glory. this is by no means a dismissive or diminutive statement.  It rightly gives God His due, there is nothing of our doing that compares to His, nothing in our knowledge that is not granted under the light and delight of his Supreme self-revelation.

We look. We see. We make a choice.

Do we aggrandize ourselves, as though we are the ones deserving of glory, pointing out our small efforts and achievements, 'haven't I done well'? The temptations to live like this are all around. We hear of 'self-made' men and women, 'movers' and 'shakers', the 'rich' and the 'powerful'.  We check out our popularity by how many Facebook friends we have. We Google our names and see how present we are on the web.  We look to finances, followers or fame to gauge the impact, success and weight of our lives.  In doing so we become the curators of our own monolith to self, and fall prey to God dishonouring self-centred pride, for which the only remedy is to turn to God through Jesus Christ and ask for transforming mercy.

Do we honour God as God? The Author, Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer and Judge of all that we see and experience.  Do we note that from minutiae to meta-narrative He is The One who is central?  Do we note that any positive success, achievement or impact is for Him and about Him? Is He the centre of gravity in the orbit of our personal and communal life?

We are little more than curators in the Grand Installation of God's handiwork.  In awe, we point out the details of His majestic splendour.  We joyfully share together in the excellence of His Genius.   We are left speechless before His eloquence.  We speak of His inexpressibly awesome justice, love and mercy enfleshed in His Son.  We know that being a mere curator in this theatre of His Glory is a privilege and a pleasure that we dared not hope for.

For a day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Ps 84.10

So, as a curator, let me point out briefly two magnificent examples of God's Glory at work that have lifted my head and heart in praise to Him.

Milo Monday: during term time, regardless of weather, a group of AUT CF students get to campus for 6.30 am.  They set up a table, their CF banner, set plastic cups, and bring out two large pans.  One heads off to a common room to fill the pan with boiling water and carry it back to the table.  The water is mixed with Milo powder and condensed milk. Milo (very nice Milo at that) is made.  At 7.00 am (ish) all is set up and ready to roll.  For the next two hours students are offered a cup of Milo by blue t-shirted CF members.  Some refuse the offer.  Others hurredly take one, some stop, drink and chat.  It isn't earthshattering in complexity.  It is neither 'power' or 'proclaimation'  evangelism.  It is having a huge impact on campus though.  Christians are making contact with CF through it.  Non-Christians are expressing appreciation of it.  CF has a good reputation with the powers that be because of it.  CF members grow together in service, in community and in courage through it. God is honoured in it.

" “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Matthew's Gospel 5:14-16

The TSCF staff team:  We're different sorts of people, born into varying ethnic, cultural and family settings around the world.  These men and women are as close as I get to extended family this side of the globe.  I love them very much and miss them a great deal in this time of being off work. We live all over the country and don't see each other as a whole team except for a couple of times a year.  We laugh, pray, study, serve, cry and (sometimes) argue together.  Our diversity and quirkiness are overcome by our love of Jesus and our call to live out our lives serving him in the student world in NZ.  There is little that would unite us except our life in Jesus.  The best and most important thing about us together, is that Jesus is the height, length and depth of our unity as we serve Him; making Jesus' magnificence plain among the students that He has placed us alongside. It is precisely in bringing us together through faith in Jesus that God is exalted.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

John 17:20-21

In both of these instances I think it is clear, in specific detail and in the outworking over time we see God's beauty and brilliance.

"For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” "

1 Corinthians 1:26-31