Waiting for the next season to come.

I’ve been pondering the milestones of life recently, and how knitted into society it is to reach certain goals. Next year I turn 20, and although it is commonly said that ‘age is just a number’, there seems to be many underlying goals that come along with this new number I’m going to adopt. Whether we like to admit it or not, there are certain age brackets that link to certain achievements as we pass through the years. I feel they’re kind of like little fires that burn away unnoticed until a friend ties the knot with their partner, or scores their dream job, and we suddenly catch sight of them and are burned with the feeling of failure.

As I ponder these achievements I see myself reaching one day, questions start to bubble up about when I will find the eyes of my husband, or the job offer that fits, when will I feel content with my figure, or travel to a new place?
I often present these questions to God, and he gently tells me to have patience, and that things will come in their due time when I am ready for them. Now patience isn’t something we hold to dearly in the society we live in, with fast food and speedy technology, we find ourselves expectant that God will deliver at the same rate, right?

It’s a harsh reality I’ve only been coming to grips with recently, and it may not be something you’ve come to think about. As I look back on the decisions I made and the paths I’ve taken I’ve come to notice that where I’ve seen the most fruit, is where I’ve patiently waited on God. One thing I’d like to address it that often waiting doesn’t mean literally sitting by your bedside in hope that God will magically give you the ability to run a company and you’ll be rich within the following month.
The same goes for women, in that waiting for a husband doesn't often mean sitting in your room digging into song of songs in hope that one day God will bring a man who’ll recite verses such as 'You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.' (Song of Songs 4:7) 



I feel like when God instructs you to be patient, he wants you to work within the parameters he has currently allowed you to work in, and hold faith that in his timing he will extend those parameters and you’ll be able to step into the new season he has for you. 

Whether this be faithfully serving in your worship team, until you are able to step into leading, or involving yourself in social circles that will allow you to mingle with people until God anoints a time of particular growth in friendship with one person. I’d encourage you to cast off the worries you once held, the burdens from the past, and don’t become anxious or impatient about the future plans God has for you either, but instead direct all or your energy into the present season God has placed you in. Begin working really hard in your workplace, your school, you friendship circles, and God will honour this and bring blessing upon you. You’re in this particular season for a reason; I’d challenge you to ask God how he can use you in it. What skills has he given you to impact the people around you? Are pushing too hard to move onto the next stage, or are you becoming sluggish because of your fear of the future? Seek God in your current season and have faith that you are there for a reason, how is God wanting to use you?

‘For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

² a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³ a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
⁷ a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

                         (Ecclesiastes 3:1-22)

A City On A Hill

Geographically speaking, Christchurch is far from being situated on a hill. We lay in more of a valley with surrounding hills and mountains that tower over us, but yet I felt God speak this phrase to me very clearly yesterday evening. I quickly hopped on the web and searched the passage of scripture that this came from.
In Matthew 5:14 it says

‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.’ (NIV)

February the 22nd marks the four year anniversary of the earthquake that destroyed this city, but it also marks a time where we became the most malleable form in which God can use us- I will touch in this more in a moment.  We were suddenly in the public eye, news channels jumped on this disaster and it spread like wildfire. I feel this is what really placed us as a city on a hill. This scripture will continue to ring true as we rebuild, slowly building up fresh infrastructure, birthed from minds that suddenly had a whole canvas of a city to work on. Community projects have blossomed like pop up dance-o-mats, poetry walls, and outside movie screenings have adorned this city with hope during this ongoing restoration project. This rebuild will not be a quiet task, it will draw attention no only nationally but internationally and it is pushing me to continue prayerfully that God’s hand is upon this whole process. If we are a city on a hill that cannot be hidden, I want to be a city that shines the light of Christ from every rubble ruined street corner, and every sleek new office building. I desire to be a part of something that has Christ as the centre, and know that if God can speak the stars into existence, he can take the brokenness of this city and make it whole again.

This leads me onto something I touched on before, being malleable in God’s hands. After the quake we became our weakest, as we mourned over loves ones and watched bricks that built up our homes and buildings, tumble around us. The city became a mess of road cones and tears, and we watched as we became very different versions of ourselves than we once knew. But not only did God speak to me about being a city on a hill, the thing that hit me the most this evening was two verses a few above that read,

³You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
⁴ You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. (THE MSG)

How incredible is it that God loves our brokenness? A person who is willing to become completely undone for the sake of being put back together to become more like him is someone who is treasured in God’s eyes. This evening I began to see God’s heart in the way I view this city. I see how I am intrigued by the fading shop signs and smashed bookcases behind windows. I look upon broken dollhouse-like buildings, and I am reminded of my own brokenness and how lovingly God looks upon my every fault, knowing he has work to do in me. I see how when this city and it’s people are at the end of their rope, there is far more God can do because we are willing for him to take the reins. I see how when we have lost what is most important to us, the embrace of our father is that much more comforting and needed. But most of all, I see myself in these broken city streets and hear my Dad call me his child and let me know the passion I have for this broken city is the passion he has for me. He wants me to run into his arms when I reach the end of my tether, or when I feel I am crumbling in the way this city did, because in times like these he will grow me the most.
I encourage you to be attentive to what God is speaking to you about, and don’t ever feel discounted because of your faults of weaknesses. For when we are at our weakest, it is at this place we are most able to be used by our Father- and he can use you in incredible ways.

Swimming Against the Tide: Part 1

Lately in our church we just finished a four part series on love, romance and sex (don’t worry, this isn’t one of “those” blogs!). The series itself was excellent at unwrapping those particular topics (it can be found here) but one thing that also stood out to me is that in practically all aspects of christian life, we are swimming against the tide of our secular western world. Pursuing God and doing things his way and the way he designed them is so counter to what our culture would say. We live in a fallen world, a world that is lost and confused, a world that says identity and satisfaction can be found in sex, money, status, possessions and self worship. Since the fall of man, so many wonderful things that God created for his purpose have been twisted and moulded to fit man’s own selfish wants and desires. So as Christians walking in this broken world, seeking Gods kingdom come and the ultimate reconciliation of man to God, how do we go about living our day to day life against this ever rushing tide of secularity and worldly influence? I was pondering and praying about the ways in which we can go about this and on the drive home from college today, 3 things stood out to me in my mind, the first of these I’d like to share today.

Part 1: A strong personal relationship with the Father

As we look at the life of Jesus in the bible we can soon notice the strong connection he has to his father in heaven. In Luke Chapter 5, news of Jesus’ teaching and his miracles is starting to travel abroad and crowds are starting to gather in wait for him, then in verse 16 it says 

“Yet He often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.”

Jesus was a rather busy man back then, healing the sick and teaching the good news all over the place, yet still he understood the importance of quiet time with God. In order for God to use us to win this broken world back for him we need to be like Jesus and take time out to spend with our heavenly Father. Even when we get busy and overloaded with the stresses of life, we need to do what Jesus did and take time to withdraw and spend with God. There’s no use trying to swim against the tide of culture and worldly influence if we don’t have the presence of God and the Holy Spirit with us, it would be like an athlete trying to run a race with no energy, or trying to drive a car without filling it with petrol. The Lords prayer asks God to “give us today our daily bread” He is the bread of life, he is what we need daily in order to live and be more like him. Taking time out for him is the most important thing we can do. 

When Paul writes to the church in Ephesians he says to not get drunk on wine, but keep on being filled with the Spirit. In short, what we put in is what we get out. If we are spending ALL of our time being filled with the things of the world (the wine so to speak) then we can very easily start to drift back downstream and begin to compromise areas of our lives and thoughts. Bearing in mind though, wine itself, like many other things in the world, is not inherently bad when in its right and godly place, but to “get drunk” on these things and engage with them in a way God didn’t intend is what Paul is warning us of. However, If our priority is to be consistently asking for more of the holy spirit, fueling up on the words of the bible and aligning our will with Gods will through prayer, then we will become equipped and ready to go out and be salt and light in the world. 

Something else important to note in that verse is that Jesus withdrew to desolate places, other translations use words like deserted, lonely and wilderness. When Jesus teaches us to pray in Mathew chapter 6, he says to go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father. One important thing I think these passages are saying is that in order to spend good quality time with God, we need to unplug from everything around us and create a space which is quiet and away from the outside world. That means not only closing our door, but also turning off our phones and laptops, switching off Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and all those other things that can so easily distract us with constant notifications, messages, invites etc. With technology the way it is, it’s so easy to be wired in and connected 24/7. More information is accessible at our fingertips than every before and communicating with friends and family is only a few clicks away. Like the wine Paul speaks of, all that stuff is great in it’s right place. However to become addicted and unable to be without these things for long enough to collect our thoughts and begin to draw close to God is a huge danger we face in modern life and even more so in our relationship and our quiet times with God. When we take time out for our Father in heaven we need to make sure we are removing any and all distractions and obstacles that can hinder our relationship with him. Being aware of technology and it’s right place in the kingdom of God is something that as Christians we should be really aware of on a daily basis. By letting ourselves conform to the worlds constant need to be plugged in, we may miss opportunities to plant gospel seeds, do good for others, have important conversations and most importantly, hear from God.

Without spending consistent quality time with our provider and our sustainer, the tide we swim against is one that can seem relentless and unbearable. But by spending time with the Father and learning what it means to withdraw to the desolate places to pray as Jesus did, we soon realise that it’s a battle that has already been won.  

“What then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, then who can be against us” 

-Romans 8:31

Revisiting Spirituality (Part 2): Don't YOLO it; YOLTBTSTYLF it!

A Recap: Spirituality, Not Religiosity 

As a brief recap, spirituality is a very misunderstood term, one misunderstood as ridiculous; either as a tool to become holy, or as an 'airy-fairy' false belief system people resort to (see part 1 here). Christianity is also amongst the crossfire: as some perceive Christianity as religiosity; something that has strict requirements to follow in order to become 'holy'.  

Recently I have been reflecting on YOLO (you only live once). I love this term, you know, it kinda feels like the 'push' or 'kick starter' before a bungee jump. I often use it if I'm not sure about doing something, and 95% of the time it gets me to do a particular thing without looking at its consequences. But the idea behind YOLO can distort how I live with God in a world that is 'fun'.          

“Let us eat and drink,” you say “for tomorrow we die!” - Isaiah 22: 13(NIV)#YOLO

Promises

One thing about Christianity is that we do not indeed to strive for God's promise. You may have heard this time to time, and I indeed forget it time to time, but one of the many major things that differs Christianity from other faiths like Islam, is their promises. 

(5)made us alive with Christ... (6)And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus... (8)For it is by grace you have been saved... 

- Ephesians 2: 5, 6, 8 (NIV)

We are made with, raised with and saved through Christ - all are in past tense! For many religions it is 'follow, strive, invest and then, become holy', but for Christianity we who accept Jesus as Lord are 'holy', therefore it is the other way round; we want to 'follow, strive and invest'. So for Christianity, we have are inheritence now, and later. The now being our assurance!

The Spirit is our assurance (see image; Eph 1: 13-14), God gave us not something, but someone to look after us until we are in heaven. In part 1 (see here), I referred to the fruits of the Spirit: essentially, the desires of the Spirit which overwrite our darker desires; nurturing our spirituality. But also, God gave us his Spirit to dwell in us to remind us of his promise, eternal life - salvation. Recently I have been pondering how this has huge significance on our day-to-day lives.

Eternal Perspective

You know, it is weird, when the bible refers to Christians as 'saints' and 'righteous'. Because in the world we live in it is so easy to compare ourselves with others and feel insecure. I don't know about you but I don't look in the mirror and go 'look at this beautiful saint!' You know, righteousness is alot more down to earth than you may think. Essentially, it describes a person who is right with God (through accepting Jesus Christ as lord); living in and by his promise. But this idea of righteousness is so distorted, moreover, it is - for everyone; non-Christians, Christians, old age society and post-modern society - often limited to a 'great' man like Moses or an old dude who has dedicated his whole life to a religion in a run down chapel. But it isn't an earned thing, it doesn't put people on a higher pedestal in a 'hierarchy' in order to get closer to God (see Eph 2: 9). It is this misunderstanding that managed to translate itself into how I perceive the life I live and its many choices.

I read Romans 8 recently, and never have I been so challenged! It describes the promise we have not just later, but now! Even more so, it provokes my spirit with joy to reach out to the world. Cause if I have an eternal life after this one then YOLTBTSTYLF! You Only Live Twice But The Second Time Is For Life, so why not?

Imagine you are in heaven 3000 years from now, you would probably be like 'remember that time 3000 years ago when I was scared to talk to that guy about this eternal life?' Oh yeah, imagine I also said this in a joyous tone of voice - as Jesus' promise isn't a conviction to reach out to people, but a fire, a reason, something that gets us pumped to do it! Don't feel compelled to force yourself to talk to strangers, but simply, if someone asks about your faith or asks what you are up to in the weekend - just YOLTBTSTYLF it - tell them you went to Church, tell them about your testimony, Jesus says to plant seeds not to tear roots (Matt 13: 29).  They may laugh or persecute you, but in a millennia or so you'll be like #YOLTBTSTYLF that! 

Revisiting Spirituality: Nurturing an Eternal Perspective

When we spend time with the Spirit, our fruits develop in which it reflects a healthy spirituality. Moreover, when our fruits develop, when we feel secure in our relationship with the Spirit - no matter if we read our bible everyday or not, sinned that day or not - it develops an eternal perspective. I write this as an encouragement! Because isn't it awesome that God didn't just give us a piece of paper saying we are saved? That instead, he actually gave us a living person to assure us of his promise, a person to develop a relationship with and count on! So don't YOLO it - I might aswell do this cause I'll die; YOLTBTSTYLF it!

Revisiting Spirituality (Part 1): God the Spirit and Spirituality

Introduction - God the Spirit, and Spirituality

The topic of spirituality has always been a foreign one for me at the least. Foreign, not only because I don't quite fully understand what spirituality is, but also, it isn't something we read in the newspaper or talk comfortably about on a general basis. But it is my interest to express my relationship with the spirit alongside the bible in order to deliver one approach to spirituality, and how it is applicable even in public. For the sake of irony (see next heading), I don't want people to misinterpret this blog as a direct finger point 'do this' because it's not at all. As it is just a yarn; one expression of one interpretation.

Spirituality and it's Hundred Interpretations

Spirituality is an important sphere in our lives, moreover, it is a space where we connect with God in particular ways. But sadly, spirituality is also an ambiguous concept. It is ambiguous because the bible says one thing, but people read three things, and thereafter the world has advertised a hundred things. Furthermore, the chemistry of its ambiguous nature is rather complex, but to put it simply it transpires out of these subsequent consequences: many people absorb many experiences, and therefore we tend to interpret many things. Spirituality from the current post-modern perspective, may be referred to, and limited only to as a concept. This limitation is a result of our inter-subjective web, simply: different people seeing various different things and ultimately; interpreting a particular response.

 The consequences of the ambiguous post-modern spirituality are the apparent unnecessary rituals we come across today. This has contributed to the "weird" and "spooky" vibe that people nowadays interpret when they come across 'spirituality'. For the sake of going off topic, all arguments aside: the bible is an absolute truth and so; how it describes spirituality should be seen as the real and true spirituality. But there are many ridiculous spiritual activities in practice, and all but one is true. Therefore, it is rare to see spirituality actually produce anything significant, good, or anything at all. It is then understandable; why the general (or at least western) perspective of  being spiritual is a quality of being insane or at least a little bit crazy. Surely if A, B, and C do an array of weird and ridiculous things, and all claim to act under a 'spiritual' determination, spirituality and everything to do with it must and only be a ridiculous in vain concept for nutters... By no means, this is a complete misinterpretation of what the bible says spirituality is, and furthermore, what spirituality should be interpreted as and look like.

What Christians (and this includes me) may face because of this, is a thick cloud of disillusionment. It is similar to this modern misunderstanding; when people understand Christianity as religiosity. For example, I often have people asking on the lines of 'Are you religious?' and my response would immediately be on the lines of 'I believe in [or follow] Jesus, but I am not religious.' This response often has people interested because they don't understand the difference, moreover it drops a 'fruitful' seed in their curiosity that opens future conversations. This atmosphere of the world loves to distract our perception from what the bible says spirituality is, and its confusion scatters our faith to what other things say.  Most importantly, this distraction has made it difficult for us to understand and develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Holywho?

One thing that I continue to struggle with is grasping who the Holy Spirit is; as person of God. Yes, who, not what. I must admit, I still may accidentally refer to him as an it. For some reason it can be easy for me to limit the Spirit to God's Loreal product; in which we may think of the Spirit as a buzz that makes us feel "worth it".

Whenever I come back from intense experience of the Holy Spirit, I find it easy to limit what the Spirit can do when and where. This is a natural response, and it was particularly easy for me to fall into its trap in years surrounding when I first was baptized and met the Spirit.

I'd like to also note that being baptized in the spirit is different to knowing the spirit.

Back in my early years, I only understood the Spirit as an experience, rather than someone; whom is always with me. I don't fully understand the Spirit, and I probably will only understand him as a child understands little of the world they live in. This is the beauty of the Holy Spirit: not only he is someone we can experience things with that transcends any intimacy; but he is a person, therefore he is a someone we can develop and live alongside in relationship.


God, the Holy Spirit

I do want to avoid the confusion the Trinity tends to give to people, but God is three persons. To put it simply, a friend put him into perspective in the terms of water:

Water can be a gas (steam),
Liquid (water)
Or solid (ice).

But imagine water is in its forms all at the same time, God is (and in no particular order):

God the Father;
God the Son (Jesus);
God the Holy Spirit.

It's not the best explanation, but anyway... God plays three different roles as those persons, all are equal and work in perfect harmony (see Genesis 1).

Galatians 5 describes the fruits, the attributes of the spirit as love, joy, peace, etc (see image above). One may distinguish these fruits as the character of Jesus, in which is portrayed throughout the gospels. If you understand these fruits as 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away', it highlights a relationship between the three persons of God. Instead of limiting the Spirit to annual experiences in Christian camps, we should recognize how we can have a day-to-day relationship with him. Yes, you may not feel that 'buzz' everyday you felt that one or two times coming back from your first christian camps, but the Spirit may want to gives other things.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 

1 Corinthians 12: 4-6

1 Cor. 12 is a great chapter and you may want to read all of it! But how about when you are on the bus, before you get out of bed, in the show even; ask the spirit to develop even just one of those fruits. The Spirit is someone who helps us be like Jesus, he equips us with the things we need to live in this world. Ken Shelley, King's Church Christchurch pastor said "don't waste your wilderness." How about you use your wilderness as a starting point; to start seeing the Spirit as someone who can help you, and comfort you. God to us is a spontaneous God (see 'Our Worries' blog post), but he isn't; his will is ultimate and we can depend on him that he has our best destiny planned. Overwhelmed with work or assignments? Ask the Spirit for peace. Need to feel that little happier? Ask the Spirit for love and joy. Don't expect a quick fix; continually ask for it, fight for it! God wants us to live for him, but we live in a world that doesn't want God or his ideals. This relationship we have with God is one like any other in this aspect: it develops. It is this relationship that is given to us out of the grace of the father, and it lasts forever.

#YOLTBTSTYLF

(You only live twice, but the second time you live forever)