Mark Conner Theology

The Millennium

Future_2One area of debate amongst end time theologians is when the ‘millennium’ (spoken of in Revelation 20:1-6) will be.

The millennium is a 1000 year period where believers will rule and reign with Christ on the earth as a reward for their faithfulness.

Some people believe that we are in the millennium now and therefore that the second coming of Jesus will be after the millennium. They are called ‘post-millennialists’.

Some people believe that the millennium does not refer to a literal period of time but rather that it is symbolic of the entire period between the first and second comings of Christ. In other words, we are living in the millennium period now. They are called ‘a-millennialists’.

Still others believe that the second coming of Christ will occur before the millennium. They are referred to as ‘pre-millennialists’.

The challenge for all interpreters is that Revelation 20 is the only explicit reference of the millennium in the New Testament and there is no mention of the relation of the second coming to the millennium in the actual text (whether it is before or after).

Personally, I don’t think we’re in it now (you call this rest?). I tend to think that the second coming will occur first and then the millennium will be after that, but even that view has some challenges. So, this is not a subject anyone can be dogmatic about because there are too many unknowns.

P.S. For an overview and discussion of each of the major views about the millennium see the book Three Views of the Millennium and Beyond (Darrell L. Bock: General Editor). Another book on this topic that may interest you is the The Christian Millennium by my dad, Kevin J. Conner.

Mark Conner Current Issues

A New Prime Minister

Rudd_2Congratulations to Kevin Rudd for his recent election as the new Prime Minister of Australia.

Regardless of who you voted for, we need to pray for Mr Rudd, for his party, and for all the candidates who were elected – in both the House of Representative and the Senate.

"I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God’s mercy upon them, and give thanks. Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, for he wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message that God gave to the world at the proper time." [The Apostle Paul – 1 Timothy 2:1-7.
NLT]

The public mood seems to be that many people are pleased that the election is over… and everyone can get on with life. After all, political campaigns and campaign promises can tend to get tedious after a while.

It is important that we don’t buy into the illusion that every problem has a political solution. Politics are important but we must keep everything in it’s proper perspective. As Charles Colson says, "Politics is, after all, only an expression of culture. It cannot be the ultimate source of meaning and influence if people wish to remain free." Other things, such as family, church, faith, and community are the ingredients of a truly meaningful life.

Together, let’s believe and pray for Australia to continue to be a great place to live, to work, to raise a family, and to share our faith.

Mark Conner Humour

Basic Baptist Bathroom

ToiletSome humour for the day … (with no offence intended to the Baptists!)

A very proper lady began planning a week’s camping vacation for her and her Baptist Church group. She wrote to a campground for reservations. She wanted to make sure that the campground was fully equipped and modern, but couldn’t bring herself to write the word "toilet" in her letter. So, she decided on the old-fashioned term "Bathroom Commode." Once written down she still was not comfortable. Finally she decided on the abbreviation "B.C." and wrote, "does your campground have its own "B.C.?"

When the campground owner received the letter, he couldn’t figure out what she meant by "B.C." He showed it to several of the campers, one of whom suggested the lady was obviously referring to a Baptist Church since there was a letterhead on the paper which referred to a Baptist Church. So he sent this reply. 🙂

Continue reading “Basic Baptist Bathroom” →

Mark Conner Current Issues

Australian’s Foreign Aid

AidCurrently Australia spends only 0.3 percent of it’s gross national income on foreign aid. This is significantly behind the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal of increasing the developed world’s foreign aid giving levels to 0.7 per cent by 2015.

People such as Tim Costello, CEO of World Vision in Australia, and even rock star and activist Bob Geldof are currently speaking out about this. You can express your opinion about this issue in a current online poll by clicking here. 

At CityLife Church, we ensure that 10% (a ‘tithe’) of all of our income is invested outside of our church – into our local community, into world mission activity, and as donations to other like-minded ministries. We have been doing this for over 10 years now and God has blessed us for it.

What would it look like if a nation as rich as Australia gave 10% of it’s income to bless needy countires?

Here are a few Bible verses for further reflection …

Continue reading “Australian’s Foreign Aid” →

Mark Conner Current Issues

Integrity

IntegrityOne of the greatest needs today, in people’s personal lives and in every arena of society, is the quality of integrity. You can see the need for it everywhere – in government, in business, in education, in law enforcement, in sports, in the media, in the entertainment industry, in personal relationships, and also in the church.

Integrity means that there is an integration of who people see on the outside and who we really are on the inside. Our walk matches our talk.

Here are a few additional good thoughts on integrity for reflection …

Continue reading “Integrity” →

Mark Conner General Interest

Your Date with Death?

HourglassMoses once said, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom [Psalm 90:12. NIV]." The truth is that unless Jesus returns in our life time, which he could, each one of us has a date with death. None of us knows when that will be, although you can get a bit of an estimate by entering your details into the online death clock. It might seem a bit morbid but it’s a reality we must face. Of course you may live longer, or you may not live as long. None of us knows.

What we do know is that life is brief – much like a ‘mist’ that appears and then suddenly vanishes away (see Psalm 39:4-5 and James 3:13-17). In contrast, eternity is long – very long.

How should we then live?

Make sure that you don’t buy into the primary values of the world which are pleasure, possessions, and prestige (see 1 John 2:15-16). These things, though not necessarily wrong in and of themselves, have no eternal value (1 John 2:17). What matters most for eternity is loving God, loving people, and investing our time, talents, and resources into God’s work here on earth.

On judgment day, we will each have a personal audit and essentially be asked two questions:

  1. "What did you do with my Son, Jesus?" That’s a salvation issue – heaven or hell.
  2. "What did you do with your life?" That’s a reward issue.

Let’s live each day with the readiness as if it may be our last but with the wisdom and foresight that we hopefully will have many more to come. Because tomorrow is not guaranteed us, let’s remember that THIS is the day that the Lord has made so we will rejoice and be glad in it (see Psalm 118:24).

Finally, a few important Bible verses on the subject of death, which is the last enemy to be destroyed …

Continue reading “Your Date with Death?” →

Mark Conner Humour

A Letter from Poor Grandma

HonkSome humour for the day … a letter from poor grandma …

"The other day I went up to a local Christian bookstore and saw a Honk If You Love Jesus bumper sticker. I was feeling particularly sassy that day because I had just come from a thrilling choir performance, followed by a thunderous prayer meeting, so I bought the sticker and put in on my bumper.

I was stopped at a red light at a busy intersection, just lost in thought about the Lord and how good He is and I didn’t notice that the light had changed. It is a good thing someone else loves Jesus because if he hadn’t honked, I’d never have noticed.

I found that LOTS of people love Jesus. Why, while I was sitting there, the guy behind started honking like crazy, and when he leaned out of his window and screamed, ‘for the love of God, GO! GO!’  What an exuberant cheerleader he was for Jesus. Everyone started honking! I just leaned out of my window and started waving and smiling at all these loving people.

I even honked my horn a few times to share in the love. There must have been a man from Queensland back there because I heard him yelling something about a sunny beach …

I saw another guy waving in a funny way with only his middle finger stuck up in the air. When I asked my teenage grandson in the back seat what that meant, he said that it was probably a Hawaiian good luck sign or something. Well, I’ve never met anyone from Hawaii, so I leaned out the window and gave him the good luck sign back. My grandson burst out laughing, why even he was enjoying this religious experience.

A couple of the people were so caught up in the joy of the moment that they got out of their cars and started walking towards me. I bet they wanted to pray or ask what church I attended, but this is when I noticed the light had changed. So, I waved to all my sisters and brothers grinning, and drove on through the intersection. I noticed I was the only car that got through the intersection before the light changed again and I felt kind of sad that I had to leave them after all the love we had shared, so I slowed the car down, leaned out of the window and I gave them all the Hawaiian good luck sign one last time as I drove away.

Praise the Lord for such wonderful folks!"

[Source Unknown]

Mark Conner General Interest

John Mark Ministries

WebJohn Mark Ministries exists to serve church leaders, pastors, and ex-pastors who want to think maturely about their faith. This ministry was founded by Rowland Croucher and is based in Melbourne, Australia. Rowland’s web site has a wealth of interesting and helpful information on a wide variety of topics (including a large clean humour section!). It’s definitely worth checking out – just click here. Type any topic in the search box to the left of the web site and you’ll find more than enough good reading and references. Enjoy!

Mark Conner Contemporary Culture

Should a Christian Get a Tattoo?

If you want to amuse yourself, type the question 'Should a Christian have a tattoo?' into an internet search engine and watch the sparks fly! Some people see tattoos as okay while others see them as 'evil' and inappropriate for a Christian.

The Bible teaches that God is holy and that he has called us as his people to be holy also. 'Holy' means set apart to the Lord. Holiness is primarily a matter of the heart and it refers to what's happening on the inside of us. This was the focus of Jesus' teaching (see Matt.5-7 as an example).

There are many misconceptions about what holiness is, including an overly strong emphasis on external appearance and particular stances on a variety of non-sinful issues. Having a tattoo does not necessarily make a person 'unholy' nor does not having a tattoo make a person 'holy'.

I don't think you can build a water tight Biblical case against tattoos. It is only mentioned once in the Bible …

Lev.19:28. "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord." NIV

If you take this as authoritative and with direct relevance to today then you shouldn't cut your hair on the sides or trim the edges of your beard, as instructed in the previous verse.

Lev.19:27. "Do not cut the hair at the sides of the head or clip off the edges of your beard." NIV

You also shouldn't wear clothing with mixed materials, as mentioned a little earlier in this same chapter.

Lev.19:19. "Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material." NIV

Are you weating a cotton and polyester piece of clothing today?

These prohibitions were primarily aimed at ensuring that Israel avoided pagan religious rites. God was clearly forbidding them from various forms of occultic and pagan worship (see also Lev.21:5). Lacerations and disfigurement of the body were common among pagans as signs of mourning and to secure the attention of their deity (see 1 Kings 18:28). These laws were specifically forbidding pagan mourning practices involved in ancestor worship, both of which were major components of life outside of Israel (c.f. Deut.14:1-2. Jer.48:37).

Today there is no earthly ritual system with reference to which we can make distinctions in this way, so the applicability of these laws has ceased to exist. They are no longer directly relevant to us today.

So that leaves the matter of choosing whether to have a tattoo or not as a conscience issue for each individual.

So what principles would we apply to whether or not a Christian should get a tattoo today?

The following questions are worth at least considering:

  1. Why do you want a tattoo? Is this just to follow a trend?
  2. What do you want a tattoo of? There is a big difference between a cross and a snake (or a nude body)!
  3. Have you really thought through the ramifications? Tattoos are permanent and don't come off. For instance, tattooing "I love Mary" on your arm may not go down too well if you end up marrying someone named Jane! I heard a story recently of a woman asking for a tattoo of the name "Brett", only to discover the tattooist made a mistake and tattooed the name "Bert" instead! Of course that's better that a recent article in our local paper of someone going to Thailand and asking for a tattoo of the words 'Geelong Cats – Day Premiers' to be placed on their right arm, only to discover that that tattooist got it wrong and wrote 'Geelong Cats – Gay Premiers' under the actual words 'right arm'!
  4. How big is this tattoo you want? There is a big difference between a small tattoo and covering your whole arm, leg or neck, for instance.
  5. Where is this tattoo going to be? There is a big difference between something discreet than one on your face, for instance.

As far as parents and teenagers, this is an issue for the parents to sort out, not for the church to make a ruling on. Our church does not have an official stance on this issue. Parents have the God-given authority to make a decision either way on this issue for their teenagers (as they do in other areas such as whether to allow them to see certain movies, etc). Teenagers need to obey and honour their parents on matters such as this. Obviously, teenagers may ask 'why' and parents need to be prepared to answer this (which may simply be – "Because I said so", although a more in-depth discussion may be more beneficial). 

 

This is no doubt a controversial issue but we must separate 'Biblical mandates' from 'personal convictions'. Both are necessary and important but we must not confuse the two.

 

P.S. As far as people who already have a tattoo … church communities should seek to be places that accept people as they are, not based on certain criteria on debatable issues. We want people to feel loved, welcomed and valued – just as they are, in the same way that Jesus did.

Mark Conner Theology

Are you looking for the ‘centre’ of God’s will?

Bulls_eyeGod’s will (or ‘calling’) for our lives is not meant to be complicated or confusing. Don’t feel like some people who think, “God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life, but He’s not telling me!”

God’s will is not some secret or hidden formula you need to discover. We like things quick and easy and get frustrated when it doesn’t happen that way.

Sometimes our frustration is based on the belief that God has a detailed plan of our life that He has hidden and we need to discover. We think we must try to find the next step He wants us to take every moment of the day so as to not displease Him. Is His will a circle in which we need to find the “dot” in the middle in order to be in the very ‘centre of His will’? Does God have a perfect plan for every one of our decisions, which we need to discover?  Big decisions (like who to marry, which school to go to, what career to choose, or which house to buy) and little decisions (what to wear, where to have lunch, or where to sit)?

Let’s look at Adam and Eve. God gave them one commandment – a moral absolute: “Don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” He them gave them the freedom to eat of any of the other trees in the garden. One “No” and dozens of “Yes’s”. God defines clear boundaries, then gives us the freedom to live within them. Adam and Eve were also free to daily decide their work and activity focused on the overall objectives given to them by God (“take care of the garden and take dominion over the earth”).

Gen 2:15-17. The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." NIV

The Bible indicates that God has a general purpose and plan for our lives, which he communicates to us. This includes loving God, loving people, and investing our time, talents and resources in God’s work here on earth. He also communicates any limitations or areas that are restricted to us. Within these parameters, we are free to choose what we want to do.

Continue reading “Are you looking for the ‘centre’ of God’s will?” →

Mark Conner Quotes

Thought for the Day

Eagle"How can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? How can you say God refuses to hear your case?  Have you never heard or understood? Don’t you know that the LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up. But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." [Isaiah 40:27-31. NLT]

Mark Conner Current Issues

Sudden Death – Living in Light of Eternity

EternityYesterday an 18 year old teenager shot dead eight students at a high school in a small town in Finland. He then shot himself. What a tragedy. What a shocking and sudden end to life. Unexpected death … entrance in eternity … ready or not.

Life is so fragile … death so certain … and eternity so long.

David put it this way …

"LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away. My life is no longer than the width of my hand. An entire lifetime is just a moment to you; human existence is but a breath." [Psalm 39:4-5 NLT]

"Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’  As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.  Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins." [James 4:13-17. NIV]

How should we then live? What matters most .. for eternity?

I wonder how we would live if we knew we only had 6 months to live?

What would we do different? What would we focus on?

Food for thought …

Our prayers go out to the families of these teenagers – that God may comfort them during this time of terrible grief and loss.

Mark Conner Family

Some Wisdom for Parents

Kids_4Becoming a parent is pretty easy. Learning to parent well takes a lot of time and effort. After all, kids don't arrive with instructions! Thankfully, God's Word and other experienced people offer us some helpful guidance. Here are a few wise and encouraging words for reflection, if you are a parent …Teens_2

    • "Then Jesus took the children into his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them." [Mark 10:16. NLT]

 

  • "Rules without relationships lead to rebellion." [Josh McDowell]

 

 

  • "People do what people see." [John Maxwell]

 

 

  • "You can con a con, you can fool a fool, but you can't kid a kid." [Josh McDowell]

 

 

  • "When it comes to parenting, love is spelt T-I-M-E."

 

 

  • "Parents are prone to give their children everything except the one thing they need most. That is time: time for listening, time for understanding, time for helping and time for guiding. It sounds simple, but in reality, it is the most difficult and the most sacrificial task of parenthood." [Emma Hulburt]
    • "The Six A's of Positive (not perfect!) Parenting: start with acceptance. Then add appreciation. Season both of these with liberal amounts of affection and availability. Then add accountability, topped off with loving authority." [Josh McDowell]

 

  • "Discipline your children, and they will give you happiness and peace of mind." [Prov 29:17. NLT]

 

 

  • ".. And now a word to you fathers (parents). Don't make your children angry by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction approved by the Lord." [The Apostle Paul – Eph.6:4. NLT]

 

 

  • "My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Your anger can never make things right in God's sight." [James 1:19-20. NLT]

 

 

  • "Don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil." [Eph 4:26-27. NLT]

 

 

  • "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. [Deut 6:4-9. NLT]

 

 

  • “The greatest determent to sin is not rules but vision.” [Pastor Wendell Smith]

 

 

  • "Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it." [Prov 22:6. NLT]

 

 

  • “We are responsible to people but we are not responsible for people.” [John Maxwell] It’s the same for us as parents. We are responsible “to” raise our children and teach them God’s ways but as they grow and come of age they are responsible “for” their own choices and we have to release them to that responsibility. This doesn’t mean we don’t care, or pray or seek to influence, but we have to let them go. This also means that we should not take inappropriate guilt upon ourselves as parents if our older children make unwise choices. There are a lot of parents who feel that they are failures because their children are not serving God or have made unwise choices in their lives. If that’s true then God the Father is a failure because his first kids blew it badly! As parents we must empower our grown up children fully – then pray, trust God and believe that the seeds we have planted will bear good fruit in due time.

 

 

  • "Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the hearts of children to their parents. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse." [Mal 4:5-6. NLT]

 

 

  • "Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him." [Psalm 127:3. NLT]

 

Mark Conner Personal Development

The Power of Encouragement

Discouraged"So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing." [Paul – 1 Thess. 5:11]

We all thrive on praise and encouragement. It motivates us and brings out the best in us. Encouragement is like oxygen to the soul. We tend to become what the most important people in their lives think we can become. Encouragement can be given in various forms – listening (Jas.1:19), empathy (Rom.12:15), comfort (2 Cor.1:3-4) and words of appreciation.

Jesus is a great encourager. The book of Acts gives us three specific examples of Jesus going out of his way to encourage Paul in his life and ministry.

1. Paul had been ministering in Corinth with good results but also with much opposition. Jesus appeared to Paul at night through a dream to encourage him (Acts 18:9-10). He said, "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." [Acts 18:9-10. NIV] The Message Bible puts it this way: "Keep it up and don’t let anyone intimidate or silence you. No matter what happens, I’m with you and no one is going to hurt you. You have no idea how many people I have on my side in this city."

What was the result of this encouragement? Paul stayed in Corinth for eighteen months and established a flourishing church and reached out to the surrounding regions of Achacia (2 Cor.1:1).

2. Paul has been arrested in Jerusalem because of his witness about the Lord Jesus. There was much opposition and antagonism directed at him by the religious leaders and the Jewish people. Jesus appeared again to Paul at night to encourage him. He stood near him and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome." [Acts 23:11. NIV] The Message Bible puts it this way: "It’s going to be all right. Everything is going to turn out for the best. You’ve been a good witness for me here in Jerusalem. Now you’re going to be my witness in Rome!"

The result? Paul went on to preach the gospel in Rome. God preserved him from a death plot, shipwreck, imprisonment and many other difficulties. He finished his course well.

3. Paul finally made it to Jerusalem, barely escaping losing his life, and was then on the way to Rome as a prisoner on board a ship (Acts 27). Just to make things worse, they encountered very bad weather and lost a lot of time. Despite Paul’s warning of further disaster, they kept sailing and were hit by a terrible storm, which caused the ship to lose control. Luke records that "it had been many days since we had seen either sun or stars. Wind and waves were battering us unmercifully and we lost all hope of rescue."

One night, Jesus sent an angel to tell Paul, "Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you." [Acts 27:23-24. NIV] The Message Bible says: "Don’t give up Paul. You’re going to stand before Caesar yet – and everyone sailing with you is also going to make it."

As a result, Paul was able to encourage the other 276 passengers and bring them all to safety after two weeks on the wild sea. Once on land, Paul was bitten by a snake but miraculously, was not harmed! The father of the main leader on the island, Publius, was sick and Paul prayed for him and he was healed. This resulted in everyone on the island who was sick coming to Paul and being healed as well as hearing the good news of Jesus Christ.

Here are a few lessons we can glean from the encouragement that Jesus gave to Paul:

Continue reading “The Power of Encouragement” →