Selah

Forest Path

My joy, my peace, my source, my life
My rock, my anchor, my refuge, my strength
My healer, my freedom, my restorer, my transformer 
My wisdom, my guide, my creator, my courage 
My hope, my future, my vision, my inspiration 

God Almighty
Blessed Trinity
Father, Son and Spirit

Selah
Pause and think about it

Today

New-day

A new day.
A fresh start
A clear page
Wonders waiting to be discovered. 

New dreams yet to be born.
Visions still unseen.
Insights unknown.
Wisdom from God's world. 

Yesterday is gone.
Only a memory now.
Lessons learnt.
Experience gained. 

Tomorrow's not yet here.
A future unrealized.
Always beyond our grasp.
The distant horizon. 

Live in this moment.
Right here right now.
The present is what we have.
Pregnant with possibility.

HE is here.
All you need.
Nothing lacking.
Fulness revealed.

Conquer fear.
Walk in faith.
Love is here.
Trust and wait. 

Wide awake.
Seize the day.
Drink it full.
All the way. 

Nothing wasted.
Nothing spared.
Brave and strong.
Free at last. 

Climb your mountain.
Sing your song.
Reach for the sky.
Everything belongs. 

Life is adventure.
Scary for sure.
Well worth living.
No regrets. 

This is your day.

Today. 

2015 Australian Christian Book of the Year

The Australian Christian Book of the Year Award is given annually to an original book written by an Australian citizen. The award recognises and encourages excellence in Australian Christian writing. The ACBOTY Award carries a prize of $3,000 for the author, and a framed certificate for the author and publisher. Entries are judged with an eye to the: 

  • Original nature of the work.
  • Literary style, including suitability for the target audience.
  • Design, layout, cover, text and illustrations.
  • Contribution that the book makes in meeting a need for Christian writing in the Australian situation and in the Australian market.

Entries are read and judged by a panel selected by the SparkLit Council.

2015 Winner SP

Captains of the Soul: A History of Australian Army Chaplains by Michael Gladwin

The letters and journals of both chaplains and soldiers animate this account of the work of chaplains in every theatre of war involving Australian troops. While the role of the chaplain has changed over time, the common task remains the ministry of God’s Word and the sacraments to soldiers, burying the dead and representing an alternative reality to the conflict, chaos and suffering. Increasingly unfashionable in some spheres of society, chaplains continue to be valued in proportion to the proximity of battle. Gladwin does not flinch from portraying chaplains who behaved disgracefully nor from facing up to the problem of fatalism amongst some Australian troops. However, acts of heroism by ‘the soldier without a gun’ abound and provide Christian communicators with a treasury of inspiring, home-grown stories. This is a history of national importance and an insight into the Australian character.

To read about the other eight books short-listed, visit sparklit.org

Halftime Australia

HT

Only one hunderd years ago the average human life span was less than 50 years. Today, we are one of the first generations to live long enough to have two considerably lengthy halves of life. Even at the age of 50, although you will have already had 30 years of work and contribution, you have a possible additional 'second half' of another 30 years or more of contribution. In our first half we tend to focus on whatever we define as 'success'. It's wise to have a good 'halftime' experience in order to reflect on our life and ensure that our second half has a greater focus on 'significance'. 

Bob Buford writes about this life perspective in his best-selling book Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance. Building on this concept, the Halftime Institute exists to assist people from all walks of life to pause, reflect and discover what they want to achieve in the second half of their life.

Halftime Australia is led by my good friend, John Sikkema. They provide a range of services including coaching, personal mentoring and round tables with groups of people seeking this similar clarity.

I highly recommend this organisation to you, knowing it will greatly benefit your life, as it has mine. Why not give John a call and see how Halftime could assist you in your life journey.

Mars Hill – The Marketplace

Mars Hill Graphic 1080

Paul at Athens

The apostle Paul gives us an insightful example as to how to engage with our culture during his time in the pagan city of ancient Athens as recorded in Acts 17. He spent time in the synagogue, in the marketplace and then was invited to the Areopagus to engage with the philosophers there. These places can represent three different environments or spaces in our own world today.

  1. The first space is the synagogue, which is where Jews and God-fearing Greeks gathered (vs.16-17). These are people who believe in God and share a common language, experience and belief system. This space can refer to the church community today or to a Christian organisation. It is where we share much in common with the people around us, including similar faith, beliefs, customs and language.
  2. Paul also spent time in the marketplace (vs.17).  This was the area outside the synagogue where people went about their daily life and work. There is less common ground here as there is a range of competing beliefs and insider language doesn't connect. This space can refer to the marketplace today, the places outside of the church community where we work and do life. This is where most Christians spend the majority of their time. The challenge is to connect and bring the good news of Jesus to people in this space in a language they can understand.
  3. The third space Paul went was the Areopagus (also called 'Mars Hill'). The people he had influenced in the marketplace invited him there (vs.18-34). He entered another world because of the interest he had created. Here Paul shared the good news of Jesus but never once quoted an Old Testament text, although his comments were based strongly on a biblical worldview. Despite his initial anger at their idolatry, he chose to build rapport with his audience by commending them for their spirituality and he even quoted some local Greek poets.

The result? Some people sneered or mocked, especially when hearing about the resurrection, others wanted to hear more, while others put their faith in Jesus (vs.32-34). We see these same responses today when people hear the Gospel.

There is much we can learn from Paul in living out his faith in these three very different environments, each of which has relevance for us. Today, we will focus on the marketplace.

The Marketplace

Most people spend over half of their waking hours in the ‘workplace’. Everyone works, whether we get paid or not, including students, stay-at-home parents, and retirees. God himself is a worker (Gen.2:1-3; John 5:17) and we are created in his image to work as his representatives on the earth (Gen.2:15). Work, despite the effects of the curse, is to have dignity, value and meaning. Unfortunately, we have been affected by a dualism that divides between the ‘sacred’ (the synagogue) and the ‘secular’ (the marketplace) when in reality all of life is sacred and part of God’s domain (see Col.3:17). God is just as interested in our Mondays as he is in our Sundays!

A few years ago, in our teaching series entitled Your Work God’s Work, we looked at a theology of work. The purpose of work is to: (1) glorify God, (2) serve people, (3) provide for meaningful contribution, and (4) generate wealth. Of course, work isn’t everything. You are not your job. We need to balance work with the other aspects of our life, including family, church, rest and recreation. However, because of the importance of work, how we work really matters (see Col.3:22 – 4:6). Qualities such as diligence, integrity and love usually lead to opportunities to share our faith in Jesus with ‘outsiders’. Each of us needs to be ready to give an answer (Greek apologia, from which we derive the concept of Christian Apologetics) for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15).

When speaking to these pagan people, Paul stated that, “God is not far from any one of us” (Acts 17:27). This directly challenges the concept of certain people being “far from God”. The truth is that God is close to each person and we simply need to pray for them to awake to the reality of God’s existence and love for them. This is usually a process and occurs over a period of time. Our part to play is simply to join the work God is already doing in people’s hearts and lives.

The first Christians preached the same Gospel of Jesus Christ (1Cor.15:11) yet they expressed it in significantly different ways depending on their audience. For instance, Matthew emphasises ‘the kingdom’ while John focuses on ‘eternal life’ and Paul on ‘justification’. These are not different gospels. Contextualisation requires us to think about how the good news of Jesus meets the needs of a particular person, as well as how it confronts their idols (things they pursue to meet those needs but that, in the end, don’t truly satisfy).

Reflection Questions

  1. One approach to evangelism is to invite unchurched people into the ‘first space’. What kind of person is this applicable to? What kind of person may never come straight into a ‘first space’ gathering? What ways could we can make the ‘first space’ more welcoming and meaningful to outsiders?
  2. The majority of our church congregation spends a great deal of their time and energy in the ‘second space’. How can the church better equip people to fulfil God’s purpose for them in this space? What are some keys to them receiving more ‘third space’ opportunities?
  3. Reflect on a ‘third space’ experience you may have had? How did it happen and what was it like? What are some practical ways we can become more comfortable in communicating in ‘third space’ environments?
  4. What are some of the biggest challenges you face each week as a Christian in the workplace?
  5. Take the Workaholic Test. How did you score?
  6. In what ways does the Gospel meet the needs and confront the idols of the people in our world? Consider aspects such as the human longing for intimacy, meaning, purpose, belonging, and contribution.
  7. Conversion is sometimes described as an ‘awakening’. Reflect on your own coming to faith: was it an alarm clock conversion (like Paul on the road to Damascus) or a gradual waking up to the reality of God? How can this inform our evangelistic efforts?
  8. Consider the varied response to Paul’s message at Athens (Acts 17:32-34) and the parable Jesus told of the seed and the different soils (Matthew 13:1-23). How can we draw encouragement from this?

Also, check out Halftime Australia.

The Devil’s Most Effective Tool – Discouragement

DiscThe following fictitious story illustrates the power of discouragement.

Once upon a time it was announced that the devil was going out of business and would sell all his equipment to those who were willing to pay the price.

On the big day of the sale, all his tools were attractively displayed. There was Envy, Jealousy, Hatred, Malice, Deceit, Sensuality, Pride, Idolatry, and other implements of evil on display. Each of the tools was marked with its own price tag.

Over in the corner by itself was a harmless-looking, wedge-shaped tool very much worn down, but still it bore a higher price than any of the others. Someone asked the devil what it was, and he answered, "That is Discouragement."  The next question came quickly: "And why is it priced so high even though it is plain to see that it is more worn than these others?"

"Because," replied the devil, "it is more useful to me than all these others. I can pry open and get into a person's heart with that when I cannot get near him with any other tool. Once I get inside, I can use him or her in whatever way suits me best. It is worn well because I use it on everybody I can, and few people even know it belongs to me."

This tool was priced so high that no one could buy it, and to this day it has never been sold. It still belongs to the devil, and he still uses it on people of all kinds. 

[Author Unknown]

Galatians 6:9. Let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. The Message Bible

See also: Discouragement – A Poem

Feeling Too Young or Too Old?

No matter how old you are now, you are never too young or too old for doing something meaningful and significant with your life. 

Here’s a short list of people who accomplished some amazing things at different ages of their life:

  • Mozart was already competent on keyboard and violin; he composed from the age of 5.
  • Shirley Temple was 6 when she became a movie star on “Bright Eyes.”
  • Anne Frank was 12 when she wrote the diary of Anne Frank.
  • Magnus Carlsen became a chess Grandmaster at the age of 13.
  • Nadia Comăneci was a gymnast from Romania that scored seven perfect 10.0 and won three gold medals at the Olympics at age 14.
  • Pele, a soccer superstar, was 17 years old when he won the world cup in 1958 with Brazil.
  • John Lennon was 20 years and Paul McCartney was 18 when the Beatles had their first concert in 1961.
  • Jesse Owens was 22 when he won 4 gold medals in Berlin 1936.
  • Beethoven was a piano virtuoso by age 23.
  • Issac Newton wrote Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica at age 24.
  • Roger Bannister was 25 when he broke the 4 minute mile record.
  • Albert Einstein was 26 when he wrote the theory of relativity.
  • Michelangelo created two of the greatest sculptures “David” and “Pieta” by age 28.
  • Alexander the Great, by age 29, had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world.
  • Edmund Hillary was 33 when he became the first man to reach Mount Everest.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. was 34 when he wrote the speech “I Have a Dream."
  • The Wright brothers, Orville (32) and Wilbur (36) invented and built the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight.
  • Vincent Van Gogh was 37 when he died virtually unknown, yet his paintings today are worth millions.
  • Neil Armstrong was 38 when he became the first man to set foot on the moon.
  • Mark Twain was 40 when he wrote "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", and 49 years old when he wrote "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".
  • Christopher Columbus was 41 when he discovered the Americas.
  • Rosa Parks was 42 when she refused to obey the bus driver’s order to give up her seat to make room for a white passenger.
  • John F. Kennedy was 43 years old when he became President of the United States.
  • Henry Ford Was 45 when the Ford T came out.
  • Leonardo Da Vinci was 51 years old when he painted the Mona Lisa.
  • Abraham Lincoln was 52 when he became president.
  • Ray Kroc Was 53 when he bought the McDonalds Franchise and took it to unprecedented levels.
  • Dr. Seuss was 54 when he wrote "The Cat in the Hat".
  • Colonel Harland Sanders was 61 when he started the KFC Franchise.
  • J.R.R Tolkien was 62 when the Lord of the Ring books came out.
  • Ronald Reagan was 69 when he became President of the US.
  • Nelson Mandela was 76 when he became President.

Bringing Out the Best in Others

DisI love the story of a man who had dealings with two British prime ministers, William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli. He said of Gladstone, “Whenever I came away from a conversation with him I was left with the feeling of how brilliant he was.” He said of Disraeli, “Whenever I came away from a conversation with Disraeli I was left with the feeling of how brilliant I was.” 

Disraeli probably earned the right then to quip:

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.”

How can you bring out the best in other people today?

When you enter a room, don't have as your underlying script, "Here I am!" but rather "There you are!"

Failure – Michael Jordan

Jordan

Michael Jordan was one of the greatest basketball players ever to play the game, leading the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA championships and winning 5 MVP awards.

Near the end of his career, he said this:

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

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