Women Bible Life

The shame of modesty

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000+11:00

A nude woman delicately poised on a magazine cover, showing most, but not all, of herself. She is fifty and there is no scandal. It is an average weekly women's magazine, hanging in newsagency windows and at the supermarket checkout.

What would once have been seen as a moral deficiency is now esteemed. Nudity has become a sign of strength and character. The most prized middle aged women in our society are the ones who look good nude and are bold enough to show everyone. Nude, at any age, is so normal. Achievement of any other kind is almost invisible.

The only reason for not showing all is imperfection. Too fat, too textured, too embarrassed. There is a new social and moral obligation to flaunt what you've got. Wear the least amount of clothing you look good in. It is a crime against yourself and the world, not to display the full extent of private beauty.

I'm challenged to help my daughter make sense of the world she sees. It is one place where being a Christian will make an enormous difference. But I feel the pull myself.

I'm telling myself and my daughter,

Beauty does not equal bare.
There are reasons to cover up which have nothing to do with shame and imperfection.
Even if other people think you look good in it doesn't mean you ought to wear it .
Your life does not consist in the smoothness, smallness and firmness of your body.
If your body joy comes from the admiration of others, your whole person will wither long before your skin does.
Your body exists to show the greatness of Jesus, in thousands of ways, as you use it to do good.
Bare dressing and nudity are excellent and good in the privacy between a husband and a wife.

There is an additional challenge to teach our boys what is good and beautiful, and to train their eyes and appetites. It will probably have a lot to do with what happens in our own family.

What Jesus' people are waiting for...

2012-01-21T09:52:00.000+11:00

Isaiah 35 is a wonderful picture, worth reading the whole. It ends with this,

"And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."Isaiah 35:10

Every tear, sigh and groan will end. The joy will not. Jesus says to be ready. Come to him, the king who gives rest and joy.

Enjoying #12

2012-01-17T22:37:00.000+11:00

Baby in our home library

And our new picture book ledges, thanks to Steve and Neil. The children simply can't resist books when they can see the covers, neither can the grown ups.

Hearts and ears and mouth and...

2012-01-11T15:14:00.000+11:00

Some more thoughts from Psalm 78.

The heart twists like a deceitful bow, invariably away from God (78:57).

Hearts only bend toward God when the ear is inclined to his words (vv.1-8).

Ears listening to God, makes for a heart steadfast and faithful to him (vv.7-8).

When the ear is not so inclined, the heart drifts.

The ear stops listening to God's words about himself, then the heart shifts away from him; then he is forgotten and ignored, disobeyed and replaced with pretend gods (vv.56-58).

This psalm reminds and warns me to incline my ears to God's words in his Bible. If I'm not listening to his word, then I am listening to something else. Nothing else will fix my heart on him. It is impossible to have a heart which is steadfastly trusting God, but pays little attention to his Bible. When my heart is not fixed on him, it will wander and worship the wrong thing.

If my ears are not inclined to God's word and my heart is not fixed on him, then there is no way I will be opening my mouth to speak of him the way I ought.

So I am asking myself,

What other voices am I inclined to hear?
What idols do these voices lead to?
Who is impacted when I listen to the wrong voices and worship the wrong things?
What does my lifestyle look like when I am drifting in my listening and loving?
How can I be proactive in paying attention to God's words in my current circumstances?
Who are the people God has put near me who can be learning about God with me?
What influence might my present inclinations have on future generations (for good or ill)?

Change starts by talking with God about my bending heart and dull ears. Confessing the wrong inclinations; asking for God's forgiveness; leaning on the sufficiency of Jesus' death to take away my sin and its consequences; asking for God's Holy Spirit to incline my ears to his words all over again. Praise God that he does give his Spirit to make hearts alive and joined to him forever.

"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." Ezekiel 36:25-27

The cubby cottage

2012-01-07T05:00:00.000+11:00

We've almost finished the outside of the cubby house. Thanks for people's colour suggestions - we resisted the rainbow and went with something that wouldn't distract local traffic. It looks a bit grey in the photo - it is actually more the colour of melted milk chocolate.

We plan to paint the interior with some black board paint and bright colour. We're yet to build the platforms inside for safe access to the attic. We're not putting on a front door, because we want to work against exclusive play. The children will probably build their own furniture with cardboard boxes.

I have hopes to fill the little yard with an edible cottage garden. A little path must twist and turn and dance between the beds. That will take time. Sadly, the need for a cricket pitch might prevail over my daughter's visions. But cricket would be lovely in the front yard, I think (so neighbourly!).

I have found the cottage to be a lovely place to sit with a cup of tea and a book. There have been several Bible times up in the attic and a few morning teas and story times downstairs. Steve and the two bigger kids tried to sleep in it last week. They made it until the early hours of the morning and then came inside.

It has been a completely enjoyable project. More enjoyment to come, I expect.

10 years

2012-01-05T04:02:00.000+11:00

Today is the tenth year Steve and I are celebrating being married. God has been exceedingly kind to us, every step of the way, in all sorts of weather.

Thank you God for making marriage. Thank you Father for marrying this man to me. Thank you for keeping us married and giving us enjoyment in marriage. Thank you Jesus for teaching us what marriage is, the manner it is to be lived in, and what it is for. Thank you Holy Spirit for your power in each moment.

Thank you Stephen for being my one and only, serving Jesus, until death one day parts us. I love you and like you a lot.

From teacher to learner

2012-01-03T15:34:00.000+11:00

I am relearning how to be a learner. At school I was good at jumping through hoops, doing well, but retaining little. I was not a good learner. I think I was too stressed and hurried to learn well.
I have since been able to maintain the appearance of learning, masking the reality. There are many books on my shelf, read and forgotten, or not read at all.

As I become more present in my children's learning, I realise I am not so much teaching them, but learning beside them. Cooking, maths, building, planting, harvesting, running, playing, reading, growing, thinking, baking, painting, singing, dancing, climbing, analysing, investigating, writing, talking, listening, being a friend, understanding the Bible, following Jesus.
In some things, I might be a more experienced learner, but I never stop being a learner. This is true for many things, I suppose. It's certainly true in Christian community.

New Year testimony

2012-01-01T15:47:00.004+11:00

I have spent some time today thinking and writing about how I came to trust in Jesus. It has been a good mental, emotional and spiritual exercise for January 1, 2012.

I am amazed at the decades of grace and kindness and gentleness God has shown me. These decades are preceded by millennia of his grace and kindness. From age to age, from year to year, he stays the same.

If you have some spare moments, I really recommend getting paper and pen and writing out (some of) the story of God's kindness to you in Jesus.

2012 Christmas Swap

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000+11:00

In the dusk of the most recent Christmas, I thought I would announce something new for next Christmas.
Some of our Advent traditions have been made more special by sharing - borrowed nativity scenes, Advent calendars made and given by friends. So, I would like to suggest a big Christmas swap for 2012.

A friend made our family an Advent calandar a few years ago. Super .

The idea is to prepare something for another family to enjoy next Christmas. Something which will remind them about Jesus.
When registrations open (in the second half of 2012), participants will be given the email address of another household. You can find out who is in their household and plan something special to help them think about Jesus at Christmas. Single people, couples without children, empty nesters, families of all shapes and sizes, old and young are welcome to join in.

The guidelines. It has to be (anything!)

Biblical.
Something you can post (remember the cost of postage when you are preparing).
It can be made, bought, digital, written, visual; a single object or a whole Advent calendar.
It can be as big or small as you like.
It doesn't need to fancy or crafty. If you want some inspiration, see Ally's blog
Don't be concerned for equanimity. Give whatever you can with a cheerful heart. Remember, we are a people of grace!

I will put up a reminder each month, just so it doesn't take anyone by surprise. Feel free to get organised now if you like.

Registrations for the 2012 Christmas Swap will open in the second half of next year.

A friend's hand painted nativity scene we've borrowed this year

Comment on Facebook, or email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com

Nativity Challenge 2011 Winner!

2011-12-26T19:38:00.001+11:00

Thanks for all the entries for this year's Nativity Challenge. I've really enjoyed getting a glimpse into how some others are enjoying Jesus this Christmas. I've also gained a few ideas we'll try ourselves in the future.

A winner has been randomly selected. That winner is, Joel, of entry number 10!

Joel will enjoy choosing some special things from harrysdesk. I'll email your mum, Joel!

Thanks everyone!

Nativity Challenge #12

2011-12-26T19:22:00.000+11:00

Lucila has been inspired by some Old Testament imagery and brings a very careful floral arrangement to close our Nativity Challenge for 2011.

Lucila guides us through the imagery,

something different... a highly symbolic production...
It shouldn't be too hard to spot a big star, a host of angels, Mary and Joseph, and the Lord Jesus (also a sign forecasting the reason for his coming... "unless a [petal] falls to the ground"...) Harder to spot are the 3 shepherds (spindly looking things) and some wise men (with rapidly disintegrating baby agapanthus crowns... I have upcycled - redeemed? - a week-old bunch of flowers!) I enjoyed making this this morning after hearing a meditation on Christ as a Rose and a Lily (Song of Songs 2).

I know a four year old girl who is going to be particularly enamored with this entry (there are always fresh garden flowers in her room). Thanks for pioneering a new nativity form for us, Lucila!

Nativity Challenge #11

2011-12-26T11:42:00.000+11:00

Jane has added playdough to our nativity media, with her little ones,

Jane explains:

"We made a playdough nativity, or... Shall we say more accurately I made it as the concept was a bit beyond my little one, but general playdough fun was had by all and after finishing it the various characters 'visited' Jesus. We added a cross and heart as a reminder of what Jesus was born for."

Thanks Jane and Co. I'm inspired.

I will randomly select the winner tonight, so there is still a good 6-7 hours left to enter the challenge!

Nativity Challenge #10

2011-12-24T19:22:00.000+11:00

"Here is Joel's (age 9) creative efforts for the Nativity challenge. Once again the medium of choice is coloured blu tac, the scene is inspired by Luke, and there is a star! I wish my photography skills (and/or my camera) were better to do justice to the details he has included, but anyway, there is Mary looking at Jesus in the manager, Joseph looking on and a sheep in the foreground."

Thanks Joel! That baby looks very cuddle-able!!

Nativity Challenge #9

2011-12-24T19:18:00.000+11:00

Five year old, Melody made these out of coloured blu-tak!!!

Her mum writes,

They were modelled out of coloured blu tac and taken from our reading of Luke 2:8-20. If you can make it out, there are 3 shepherds with crooks visiting Mary & Jesus, plus an angel in the sky. There is also a star, which isn't mentioned in this passage but she was very keen to put it in anyway!

Genius!!

Nativity Challenge #8

2011-12-24T08:34:00.000+11:00

Miriam's family have baked up and built our eighth Nativity challenge entry.

"Gingerbread houses have inadvertently become a tradition at our family's Christmases only because I usually attend church run gingerbread house events. This year was an exception, so we suddenly found ourselves faced with the challenge of making one from scratch!

Which meant we could be a little bit more creative. So with my husband Ben, Malachi (6 yrs) and Matilda (4 yrs), we set out to make a gingerbread nativity.

It comes complete with a gingerbread Mary and Joseph, a jelly baby Jesus, three kings with gifts, an angel and star on top, a shepherd and his woolly marshmallow sheep, a goat trying to climb on top of the stable and a snake (!?)
It was such a lovely family activity."

I want to know when it gets eaten!! Deliciously clever.

Nativity Challenge #7

2011-12-23T23:03:00.000+11:00

Our next entry is from a four year old who has been busy using her scene to narrate the nativity story (and isn't that the point!?)

Her mum writes,

"The 3-5 year old kids who go to the creche run during my womens Bible study each did their own nativity scene over a few weeks using printouts from www.catholicicing.com which they coloured, collaged, etc and stuck to toilet rolls. Each week they made a few of the people/animals and read that part of the nativity story together. There is Jesus (in a manger), Mary, Joseph, an angel, a shepherd, three wise men, a donkey, a sheep, a tree and the stable backdrop. This is the set my 4year old made. She loves using it to tell the nativity story."

May God keep her always talking about Jesus.

Nativity Challenge #6

2011-12-23T22:20:00.001+11:00

These shepherds have stubble and a very good looking pair of sheep! Meredith's eight year old created our sixth Nativity challenge entry:

Thanks R!! Those smiles are contagious.

The lion and the lamb and the baby at Christmas

2011-12-23T00:01:00.000+11:00

The other day, I found this interesting snow dome:

Before unwrapping it as a family, we read these Bible passages:

Isaiah 11:1-10
John 1:36
Rev 5
Rev 21:27

If you want to do some thinking about what that Christmas baby was here for, then you might like to read too.

The Nativity Challenge prize

2011-12-22T22:13:00.001+11:00

I love harrysdesk. The winner of our Nativity Challenge will too. The prize for the randomly selected winner is a voucher to spend at harrysdesk.

image from harrysdesk

I'm really enjoying the photos, thanks friends! The 2011 Nativity Challenge closes 26 December.

Nativity Challenge #5

2011-12-22T21:53:00.001+11:00

Nicole's family has been involved in a couple of nativity scenes lately, you can read about them here.

You can read about the Christmas/birthday party where the kids entered into the scene at Sarah's blog here. Thanks for the inspiration you two!

The challenge closes on 26 Dec 2011, so if you have a few idle moments in the next few days (you never know!), please join in!

Nativity Challenge #4

2011-12-22T08:56:00.001+11:00

Sarah has brought her old childhood toys to life for our fourth Nativity Challenge entry. Very cheeky!

I love those sheep! Thanks Sarah.

Nativity challenge #3

2011-12-22T08:25:00.000+11:00

Anabelle (6) and Cate (2) have created our third Nativity challenge entry.

Vanessa says,

"the girls even acted parts of the story out (a first for us!) Anabelle made a great Mary, shepherd and wise man. Cate was content to be baby Jesus, wrapped in her wrappy! We stuck with lego again this year, but Anabelle is now the owner of "big girl lego" so she made her creation with this. Cate's duplo effort was assisted by Anabelle."

Thanks girls! If only we had video footage of the re-enactment!

Nativity challenge #2

2011-12-21T14:07:00.007+11:00

Libby and her two and four year olds have crafted the second entry in our Nativity challenge.

Libby explains,

"We have been creating it as we go through our Advent readings (thanks to Julie at http://www.theusefulbox.com/) and the kids (2 & 4) have had a great time not only creating our characters but then playing with them and acting out the story. We have managed to use just what we have around the house for all the toilet roll characters."

Thanks for sharing with us!

Enjoying #11

2011-12-19T06:00:00.001+11:00

Seeing our cubby house project move toward completion (although, I might be enjoying this process for a little while yet!).

The kids weave little worlds in and out of it.

What colour do you think we should paint it? Tell me on Facebook.

Enjoying #10

2011-12-17T21:02:00.003+11:00

The two year old's drawing of the six year old.

Nativity challenge #1

2011-12-15T12:30:00.005+11:00

Bec and her lovely clan have sent through our first Nativity Challenge entry, to fuel our festive creativity.

Bec says...

"The box came from a Koorong book delivery and the paper bark from our tree. Obvious where the people came from! We made Christmas cards from the close ups. It's about as good as I get with crafty stuff! We enjoyed making it though and the girls like taking it to school and preschool to show too."

And apparently the dried grass was collected from the side of the road on their honeymoon back in 1996! Special. I am definitely stealing that Christmas card idea!

To see details on how you can enter, click here.

Nativity challenge

2011-12-13T11:24:00.003+11:00

Last year, we had fun with a Lego Nativity challenge.

This year, I challenge old and young to

have a read of the Bible's account of Jesus' birth (Luke 1-2, Matthew 1-2)
and make a nativity scene out of...anything!

Email me a picture (scw.mckay@gmail.com) which I will post on my blog. Entries will be accepted until I draw a winner on Boxing Day (26 Dec).

The prize will be easy to post internationally - so entries from around the world are welcome!!

If you have any questions, email me or ask on the Women Bible Life facebook page.

Can't wait to see what you can come up with!!

Work or full time Christian ministry?

2011-12-08T12:57:00.005+11:00

Steve and I got married halfway through university. During those uni days, a common discussion was whether training for full time, paid, Christian work was something we should do. There certainly was a sentiment around that if you were keen for Jesus, that was the way to show it. Just working a normal job was not a decision which you would make from gospel motivations - unless it was necessary on the way to a ministry apprenticeship and college.

We talked with more mature Christians who knew us well. We decided the best thing we could do, at that stage, was to serve Jesus in usual work, marriage, family, hospitality and relationships within our local church and community.

Partly, we figured that the qualifications for leadership in the pastoral letters (read through Titus, 1&2 Timothy) were far from proven in our own lives. But mostly, we figured that ordinary life could be a very useful training ground for serving Jesus and his people. But, then again, life as a Christian isn't neatly broken up into "training" and then "doing".

As these thoughts are never too far out of mind, I've really appreciated Gospel Groundwork: Training for the Ordinary Christian Life. It's the best way I've found of learning to see all of life as service to Jesus.

Groundwork helps us make the connection between sound biblical theology and ordinary life. It is very well written, which makes it enjoyable (no dry abstractions!). You can choose to do assignments or not. You can do a full course of study or just individual modules. You can do it on your own or as a church. It is flexible study which enriches and strengthens Christians in the everyday responsibilities God has given them. It is also very affordable. And you can take as much or as little time as suits you.

I recommend it to everyone who loves Jesus. It will make a difference to how you think about, and do, everything.

If you don't know where to start, try Good Work: A Labour of Love. It is unmissable. Also have a look at the Family module. An excellent thing for the New Year.

You can email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com. Or comment on the Women Bible Life facebook page.

The children's own Advent Calendar

2011-12-05T08:15:00.000+11:00

I decided to let the kids make their own Advent calendar this year. Mostly because there are more things to fit in the days than I am able to do myself. As circumstances forced me to hand over some of this preparation, I have noticed wonderful things.

Since this is the fifth time we have had an Advent calendar, it is an established tradition which means the bigger kids know what to do.

Having a child who can read and write means he can do more than was possible in previous years.

The kids are more interested because they have been more involved.

The focus is on the Bible passage, because they know there is no candy cane in there.

They have spent 3-4 hours together at the table decorating during the week. Pretty special time for the 6, 4 and 2 year old.

This fits more with how I think children learn best.

It is best not to get in the middle of their making. I didn't want them to think it had to look a certain way- right down to sticking them on the wall straight.

I have been pleasantly surprised with their commitment to the task.

It's making my December nicer too.

I think making the Advent calendar will become a tradition in its own right.

For the record, our neighbours gave the kids a chocolate calendar each, so there is sugar somewhere!

Presents don't make kids happy

2011-12-01T06:00:00.001+11:00

Presents don't make my kids happy. If the presents worked, they would never want another one.

I am concerned with how my children are becoming so distracted by possessing. It is quite spectacular how our culture promotes and trains children in greed. It is expected that kids should want a lot and get what they want.

Psalm 16 is going to be my theme for the greedy season,

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you."

As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.

The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore. Isn't that what we're all after? That deep, weighty happiness which is not about to end or break. That sturdy happiness is only found in God's presence. We only get into God's presence when we are forgiven through Jesus.

Christmas is about taking every opportunity to help children desire to be rich toward God. At this stage, presents are not helping our kids love Jesus more. So, this year, we're keeping presents small and simple. Not many presents, because we want our kids to be extraordinarily happy.

Feel free to email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com or comment on the Women Bible Life facebook page.

The kids are making our Advent Calendar

2011-11-30T06:00:00.002+11:00

In an effort to shift our children out of the consumer role this Christmas, we have given them the challenge of putting together our family Advent calendar.

At this stage they have:

a pack of 25 envelopes
the craft box
the Biblical narrative printed out, to be read, chopped up and distributed among the envelopes (in sequence!)
They can include some of their own ideas for activities in various envelopes (I'll print up Ally's list for them to get inspiration from)

We'll see how it goes! It is possible that the process in itself might have more impact than any calendar I can come up with. Or it might not work at all. Worth a try!

It's also an easy solution for a busy mummy, who cannot do what she did last year!

The sleep of death

2011-11-28T21:13:00.002+11:00

Last week, I killed a dog. I didn't mean to. The poor thing ran under my front wheel. Then came the unexpected, closing minute of that beast's life. She fought the swell of death, fumbling off the road and back onto it again. She died and nothing could be done.

And I remember my Grandad's last day, five years ago. The family were all called to see him, because science said his hours were his last. It was so strange to see a man sitting up, talking and listening, knowing that all the while his body was closing. Within a couple of hours we had watched his spirit leave his body. No one could wake him up then.

We can observe so much about what happens to bodies as they approach an expected death, but we cannot master the process.

My four year old daughter and I read about Jairus' "not dead but sleeping" daughter in Mark 5.

We are amazed that something as complete, impossible and irreversible as death is obedient to Jesus. When Jesus brings someone back to life, it's as easy as if he only had to wake someone from sleep. Death obeys Jesus.

As easily as I am woken from sleep, Jesus will wake his people from death to unending life with him. His own resurrection is the first of many (1 Corinthians 15).

For Jesus' people, there is no lasting sorrow in death. Father, teach us to live and die like we believe that.

Church planting legacy

2011-11-25T12:44:00.006+11:00

Our church is of the conservative evangelical variety, planted in 2002. There has been a swell of similar churches planted in recent years, outside of Sydney.

There has been a strong feeling and words about "taking the gospel to the country" as if it has never been there before. But it has!

In the Nineteenth Century, the key families in our area (the sort of families which suburbs are named after now) were gospel Bible people. They were families who were building the infrastructure in the area. They understood the doctrines of grace deeply. They were conscious in their daily toil (and it truly was toilsome), that they were serving Jesus.

They were people who knew their Bible, prayed fervently and went to painful lengths to make sure others could too.

What we're doing is not new. We are a pebble in a quarry. God has been building his church for ages, in all sorts of strange places.

It's exciting to think of how the ordinary, gospel soaked and shaped, good work and words of Christians have left an imprint. It is also sobering. Some of the good fruit of those earlier followers of Jesus is still being enjoyed, but the Jesus they were serving has been mostly forgotten.

I'm looking forward to reading more about the Christian heritage in my local area. I'm challenged to pray and think more long term in my daily work here.

This history is a good tonic for when we think we're more important than we are. And wonderful encouragement when we think our lives now are insignificant.

*I only know a little of our local history from what our pastor has told me of his reading. I'll let you know when I discover more.

Christmas messengers

2011-11-24T09:08:00.003+11:00

Ally is continuing her tradition of designing a Christmas tree decoration from men's neckties. This year the decoration is an angel. Each one is packaged with a Christmas poem. I wrote the poem this year.

Time weary waiting
On the long silent God to speak
Angel voices split cold, black silence
Saturating the void with glory

The dust-bound tremble, breaking under glory’s weight.

Fear flees with a word
God has left the glory of the highest
Slipping to the cold, dark earth
In the cold, black silence
Speaking, being, bringing peace.

You can buy Ally's angels (and trees and stars from previous years) from her etsy store, Recycled market or contact her directly. Have a look at her blog for her lovely explanation of why angels are special in their family.

Thanks for the beauty with substance, Ally dear.

Enjoying #9

2011-11-22T07:20:00.001+11:00

Cultivating our little backyard and watching my husband build.

July 2011

November 2011

Cubby house concept by six year old (there is an attic, but we rejected the fireplace).

Designed and built by Steve and a good friend from way back.

To be continued...(hopefully soon!)

Grace brings peace in conflict

2011-11-15T09:46:00.005+11:00

As I think about inner conflict, a New Testament cliche springs into my thoughts. Grace and peace. In the letters Paul wrote his introductions always tie the two together, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Peace comes only because grace has been given. Without God showing the grace of favour we don't deserve, we can have no peace with him. To those who stand in the full force of his grace, there is peace. Enmity, condemnation, death, enslavement and hell all gone.

When I feel that peace is missing in me, I have forgotten grace. It is only leaning on God's all powerful provision of mercy and grace in Jesus' death that I have peace. If I look at my own performance, there is no rest because it is all so broken and tainted and inadequate. But God doesn't measure me by my performance anymore. He measure's Jesus' perfect performance and counts it as mine. That's the peace and rest.

And as I work through inner and outer conflict with others, the only peaceful solution is going to come with grace. Peace can happen, in degrees, when I don't enslave people to my standards and when they don't pin me up to theirs.

Where I don't have a disposition of grace to others, I can't expect peaceful relationship. Where others aren't committed to me in grace, I ought not be surprised when our relationship is fragile.

Grace and peace go together. God to us, us to each other. Of course, it's complicated. God's grace was costly and not merely ignoring or forgetting our sin. He dealt with it at his own expense.

Working out how to do grace in our own messy relationships is a project for a community of people who understand and rest in Jesus' grace. I'll keep talking with my gospel community* about how grace and peace might work out in some of my more complicated situations.

*For us, this is our mid week home group. People we study the Bible with, eat with and generally do daily life with; formally and informally. Read more under the church label.

If you'd like to comment, head over to the Women Bible Life Facebook page. Or you are welcome to email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com

Teaching kids not to copy their fathers (Ps78)

2011-11-11T06:33:00.001+11:00

Psalm 78 would be an interesting psalm to map and illustrate (unless you're a linear thinker, then you might find it a very annoying psalm to document!). I'll let you know if I try it with my children sometime.

Psalm 78 is a sad ballad about what not to do. But it is every person's story. More than that, it is about a marvelously persistent God. The psalm is to get people teaching the younger generations (even those not yet born) the truth about God and people.

The "fathers" (the ancestors who went before them, all the way back to the oldest daddy, Abraham) had experienced "the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done." (v.4). The whole community shared in the wonders as the story was retold from one generation to the next.

Asaph reminds the people he is singing to that it is their job to relay the message, to not hide it from the kids. The goal is an education which transforms, "so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments." (v.7).

The hope was a future generation which would be different from their fathers. They had turned back on the day of battle (9). They did not keep God's covenant, but refused to walk according to his law (v.10). They forgot his works and wonders (v.11-16). His works and wonders of saving and sustaining them, providing for every need in the most unlikely and barren places. So, the hope in teaching the young ones was,

"that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God." (v.8)

Asaph goes back to the story. The sin thickened. God's people tested him in their hearts with thanklessness and by being demanding (v.18). They were governed by their cravings and riled against God when he didn't give them what they wanted. They slandered God, questioning his ability and inclination to do what was good for them (v.19). Sounds like me and my children.

God was angry, angry because they did not believe in him and they did not trust in his power to save them. Even still, he provided and filled them up (vv.23-29). Yet, while they were still chewing on the abundance, God poured out a restrained measure of his wrath (vv.31, 38). The community was chastened by the death of their strongest, the ones they needed (v.31).

The community persisted in their grumbling unbelief (v.32). More fury followed.

Miscarried repentance

Then they sought God. In earnest repentance, remembering that God really was their steady, strong rock and redeemer (vv.34-35).

But their earnest seeking slipped into hollow flattery. Lies. (v.36). Hearts slipping with their words. Obedience dragged with them. No lasting change.

Yet God, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath." (v.38)

God was grieved by their rebellion. All the consequences, as he handed them into the power of their enemies, costed him too. After all, they were his precious possession, his heritage, his glory, people who he had rescued and taken for his own (vv.42-55). While ruling over the entire process, God was still grieved in it. What a mysterious God.

In their forgetfulness, they twisted into idolatry, like their fathers (vv.56ff). So God moved out of his house among them (v.60). He "delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe. He gave his people over to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage. (vv.61-64).

And then he rescued them from their enemies, the enemies who had been instruments of his own judgement (vv.65-66). He didn't just rescue, but restored. God moved back in among his people, building a house among them which was infinitely better than the first one, just as the heavens are infinitely higher than the earth. A lasting house, with a new shepherd King (vv.69-72).

The shepherd King, Jesus, brings people into God's better house. The implications of this are reserved for a future post.

If you want to talk about it, try the Women Bible Life Facebook page. Or you are welcome to email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com

Psalm 78

2011-11-11T06:03:00.003+11:00

Tell the Coming Generation

A Maskil of Asaph.

¹ Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
² I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
³things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
⁴We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.

⁵He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
⁶that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
⁷so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
⁸and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.

⁹The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
¹⁰They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
¹¹They forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them.
¹²In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
¹³He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
¹⁴ In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
¹⁵He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
¹⁶He made streams come out of the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

¹⁷Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
¹⁸They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
¹⁹They spoke against God, saying,
"Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
²⁰ He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?"

²¹Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath;
a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
²²because they did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
²³Yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
²⁴and he rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
²⁵Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
²⁶He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
²⁷he rained meat on them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
²⁸he let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
²⁹And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
³⁰But before they had satisfied their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
³¹the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed the strongest of them
and laid low the young men of Israel.

³²In spite of all this, they still sinned;
despite his wonders, they did not believe.
³³So he made their days vanish like a breath,
and their years in terror.
³⁴When he killed them, they sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
³⁵They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
³⁶But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
³⁷Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸Yet he, being compassionate,
atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
³⁹He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and comes not again.
⁴⁰How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert!
⁴¹They tested God again and again
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
⁴²They did not remember his power
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
⁴³ when he performed his signs in Egypt
and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.
⁴⁴He turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
⁴⁵He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
⁴⁶He gave their crops to the destroying locust
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamores with frost.
⁴⁸He gave over their cattle to the hail
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
⁴⁹He let loose on them his burning anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of destroying angels.
⁵⁰He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
⁵¹He struck down every firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
⁵²Then he led out his people like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
⁵³ He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid,
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
⁵⁴And he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountain which his right hand had won.
⁵⁵He drove out nations before them;
he apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁵⁶Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God
and did not keep his testimonies,
⁵⁷but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like a deceitful bow.
⁵⁸For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
⁵⁹When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
⁶⁰He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
⁶¹and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.
⁶²He gave his people over to the sword
and vented his wrath on his heritage.
⁶³ Fire devoured their young men,
and their young women had no marriage song.
⁶⁴Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
⁶⁵Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
⁶⁶And he put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.

⁶⁷He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
⁶⁸but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves.
⁶⁹He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.
⁷⁰He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
⁷¹from following the nursing ewes he brought him
to shepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his inheritance.
⁷²With upright heart he shepherded them
and guided them with his skillful hand.

Lame prayer

2011-11-08T13:47:00.002+11:00

Perhaps we're poor in prayer because:

~We're bored by it. We're used to having all our senses swept up in amusement. Prayer isn't entertaining.
~We're not desperate enough. We've got a lot and don't need God enough.
~When we do feel desperation, we comfort ourselves with distraction, because distractions abound.
~God is just so forgettable when his world is so immediate. The creation feels more real than its Creator.
~For those who have a theologically conservative background, we've been taught that it's more important to listen to God's words (in his Bible) than to talk. So we don't talk to God much at all. Which has stumped the whole point of God speaking, which is to make himself known, so that he can be enjoyed and adored and trusted.

Enjoyment, adoration and trust aren't mute.

Hope and joy for perfectionists

2011-10-30T21:15:00.005+11:00

When it comes to living in God-centred love and wisdom, I am especially sad to see how little I resemble Jesus.

On the day when I see Jesus, in the living flesh, I will see him clearly and fully. Eyes unveiled beholding his perfection. Feasting and satisfied, happily gorged, immersed in his glory.

And in seeing Jesus, I will be perfectly resembling him. I will still be distinctly Catherine, but Catherine who does not fail to be like Jesus. Glorified, in the sense of being made glorious, perfectly reflecting the glorious image of God. Without lack or spoil or shortage. Finally!

And by no anxious diligence of my own. A real, flawless perfection bought and wrought by God the Father, Son and Spirit.

This week, I plan to scour Scripture, reminding myself of this future perfection.

What passages of Scripture come to mind for you about the glory Jesus' people will share in? Feel free to share on the Women Bible Life Facebook page, or email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com.

Enjoying #8

2011-10-26T22:11:00.000+11:00

I've been living in a cave, having babies, for a few years. I hadn't heard of Lior until a month ago. If you haven't either, have a look at his website and have a listen.

photo courtesy of SG

The other night, Steve and I were treated with friends to a dinner concert where Lior performed. It was the best musical experience of my life. Outstanding. I'm still thinking and singing about it. And we've been visiting itunes a lot since!

Lior performed his own music and covers which people had requested prior to the concert. 'Living on a Prayer' to the Sesame Street theme was cheeky and clever. And I can't imagine a better performance of 'Nature Boy', which closed the evening. You can hear how brilliant and honest a performer really is when they perform live. No hiding behind technology.

You can hear other worlds in Lior's melodies and melismata. It amazes me to watch and hear someone do something which is so skillful and so musically out of the league of most people. Some of God's genius is displayed in the excellence of his creation.

I especially loved finding Lior's performance of the traditional Jewish hymn, 'Avinu Melkeinu'. It's the sound of a heritage not my own, but part of the one I've been grafted into. You can find it in the vault of Lior's website. Do go and listen.

There is also a similar performance here,

The language lesson

2011-10-24T13:14:00.008+11:00

I'm learning a little Spanish from a school mum who has become a friend. It is a rather humiliating process to learn a language from scratch. There are sounds my mouth has never made before. My palate is not agile in Spanish. It is nice to have a kind friend to learn with, because it is such a self conscious process.

I've been thinking more about people who have to spend their whole life living in their second language, people like my Mexican friend. Daily life must be so tiring, lonely, anxious and humiliating for the person who comes from somewhere else. It seems helpful to take time to be a friend; to talk, listen, explain, read and write together. Another application of literacy in community, I suppose.

This experience is also giving me a little glimpse into part of what our international missionaries are working hard at.

It is also reminding me how wonderful it is that Jesus is gathering people from all tribes, languages and nations.

"Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth."
Rev 5:9-10

Rich in this age

2011-10-18T20:30:00.005+11:00

^"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment,for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs...

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. "
1 Tim 6:8-10, 17-19
^"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
1 John 2:15-17

I grew up feeling that it was sinful to own a house, because we didn't. Nine years into our married life, Steve and I have recently "bought" our first home. We've now got what I'd spent years despising. It feels a little awkward.

It's nice to plant some trees and gardens, put pictures on walls, put up fences where we need them, buy a dining table the right size and shape for how we use it. Things I've never done before. It's great to have a house which is easy to share with others. There's enjoyment setting up a space where others grow, rest, play, learn, in our own family and beyond. It is a temporary space which God can make useful for eternity.

In this situation, I'm learning a few things.

If all things are from Jesus and for him, then so is this wealth and home. It's from Jesus to be used for Jesus, until he sees fit to take it from us or us from our home.
It is mostly fear of what people think which make me feel awkward.
More people take more space. More space means more capacity for more people.
There is a constant fight not to find identity in home. The more we share and use it, the less inclined I am to idolise it.
This is not our home. It belongs to Jesus and his people. There is a multitude of ways it can be used to build disciples of Jesus in the short and long term.
Planting trees and roses gives the neighbours something nice to look at and shade to park under. My little girl and I like to look at them too.
We are accountable to God for our attitude to wealth and house and how we use them. Time will tell.
Wealth and homes give us capacity to do good in particular ways.
Christians who are wealthy are to be generous in all sorts of ways, in all sorts of relationships, short and long term.
The rich are to humbly set their hope on God, not their uncertain wealth.
Christians with wealth, who have hope set on God, are told to enjoy what God has given them.
Proud and haughty attachment to house and wealth is sin.
Loving and craving wealth is sin, leading to all kinds of evil.
Abundance is not God's ultimate gift, but it is still a gift.
If we have wealth, God expects we're to enjoy using it generously to do good.
Wealth will not last, perhaps in this age, certainly not into the next. God will.
Use temporary wealth to be rich in good works, ready and eager to share.
It's far better to be humbly honest about wealth and look at the vast opportunities to use it well.
If God has given us wealth, but we pretend he hasn't because of embarrassment or shame, then we're not likely to use that wealth for his glory and the good of others.

If you have a comment, you're welcome to email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com. You can also comment on the Women Bible Life Facebook page.

Courage

2011-10-14T13:19:00.006+11:00

I'm half way through Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, by Eric Metaxas. It is an excellent biography. I'd like to write up something about it when I'm finished reading it.

Reading about other people following Jesus in a different place and time brings things to light in my own life, which I hadn't noticed before. At the moment, it is how cowardly I've become.

Our affluent culture is so committed to cultivating safety and comfort. Most of us aren't good at taking risks. We want to know that a certain path of action will "work" and end well. I've bought so far into this that I've forgotten that it is normal for Jesus' people to choose a hard, narrow road which looks to others like a foolish dead end.

But we're following the King who died and rose again. No dead ends with Jesus. Following him, we're free to spend ourselves for him and others. To spend ourselves until there is nothing left, because the time is coming when we will be full and rested, with Jesus, forever.

To give up self like this, especially when it looks like it won't end very well, takes courage. God help us practice self sacrificing courage in the little things and big things. Being loud, in word and deed, about Jesus' lordship over everything. Being loud, in word and deed, about what he says is good and true. Being loud, in word and deed, about his exclusive supremacy in everything, from beginning to end.

If you'd like to comment, you're welcome to email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com. You can also comment on the Women Bible Life Facebook page.

Image from www.ericmetaxas.com

Enjoying #7

2011-10-09T22:34:00.004+11:00

Dubbo zoo in various combinations of wheels, legs, sling and shoulders.

Literacy in community

2011-10-06T14:18:00.001+11:00

I often find our children in a favourite book with a favourite grown up. They have a dozen adults who regularly read with them. All these adults are Christian. A teenage friend even brings his own favourite picture books to read with and lend to our children. It's entirely unscripted and lovely.

This is one of the peculiar benefits our children enjoy in being part if an inter-generational Christian community. Their friends don't enjoy anything like this.

Everything I read on learning and child development tells me how significant reading aloud to children is. But so many children don't share words, stories and books with grown ups at all (ask a primary school teacher!).

I have been trying to understand what poverty looks like in my local culture. I think literacy is at the centre of it. Lots of people have money and excess stuff, but no time. Kids are hurried through childhood, over scheduled and kept busy. There is not time or patience for reading, free playing, pretending and creating. Learning is only so you can be better than the next person in the anxious race to grow up. We're keen to find the most efficient and convenient and fast ways of getting kids out of childhood. Reading to kids doesn't feel very efficient, it's often not convenient and it takes time.

This is a poverty which Jesus transforms. We can slow down because we believe in the resurrection and God's Providence. We can stop in the moment with a child because Jesus teaches us to say no to self, welcoming the smaller and weaker. Jesus says relationships matter (the Triune God reconciles enemies to himself, putting them in eternal relationship with himself and each other, at his own expense). The gospel teaches us to do costly and inefficient things for the sake of loving people.

I wonder how our Christian community can alleviate some of this literacy and relational poverty in our wider community?

Comfort for marathon suffering (Ps 77)

2011-09-29T14:41:00.000+10:00

Psalm 77 might not fit with your experience. You might not have ever felt this bad for this long. Maybe you can study it for the sake of others, or your future self. No doubt there are many who do feel Psalm 77. This psalm gives space to feel awful. It also shows what a godly grief looks like.

There is deep trouble and doubt for Asaph in this psalm. But it is a doubt which is hedged in with confidence, I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. (v.1)

Day and night, there is no rest. This is persistent sorrow, beyond the distraction of worldly comfort, my soul refuses to be comforted (v.2.4). This is not just a bad day, but a consuming, long sorrow. It is an experience so deep that there is no ignoring or escaping it.

When he thinks on the source of all comfort, he is not comforted. When he thinks of God, he doesn't quickly perk up. He moans and his spirit faints (v.3). He's trying to trust and rejoice, but it isn't working quickly. He's seeking, he's remembering, he's meditating, his soul is searching diligently. God does not feel near and comforting (vv.2-6).

The questions come. Will the LORD spurn forever? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Has the endless love ended? Has the steadfast, unmoving love moved? Are God's promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious - has he forgotten to be himself? Has he stopped being God? Has God failed? (vv.7-9).

Even though it hasn't fixed things so far, Asaph keeps remembering who God is and what God's done. God's years have no beginning or end. His power (his right hand) is as vast as his years (v.10). God has a record of using his infinite power in mighty deeds in his world (v.11-12). Asaph keeps his thoughts on this mysterious God.

God is holy. No God is like him. He confounds the ordinary to bring about the impossible. He uses his great power to save his people (v.14-15). Creation trembles before him. The waters he made; the waters he judged the world with; the waters he led his people through. Yet your foot prints were unseen. God works powerfully and mysteriously.

God works in compassion. You lead your people like a flock through Moses and Aaron. He leads, cares, defends, provides. Now, he shepherds his people through his own Son, Jesus (Hebrews 3). If we are Jesus' people, he hides us safely from the deluge of God's judgement. He makes us the objects of God's tender care and compassion, forever.

For a while, until Jesus returns, there will be long seasons of reminding self of what isn't obvious.

Like in Psalm 77, our comfort is not in explanations and quick solutions. Our comfort is that God is holy and strong. He just is. He is continuing to act consistently with his past determination to save and redeem his people. He is still acting in steadfast love forever. He has not forgotten his compassion. He leads his flock, at the hand of Jesus.

If you have any comments, you're welcome to email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com. You can also comment on the Women Bible Life Facebook page.

Sibling prayers

2011-09-27T06:00:00.000+10:00

The beautiful web of sibling relationships. It seems that new things are unearthed in each personality every time a new one is added to the family. There are peculiar chemical reactions between the different individuals. But, it's not predictable science.

I have been praying that these relationships are rich and nourishing for their lifetimes.

I imagine the wonderful encouragement and help each could be to the other in all the parts of life before them.

I pray they are brothers and sister not just by blood, but by new birth, through the Holy Spirit.

I pray they will be invested in each other, not just with common history, but the same sure hope in Jesus' triumphant return.

I pray they will humbly care about each others' godliness and perseverance in Jesus.

I pray they will be fellow workers for Jesus' kingdom, helping each other to persist in joyful service and spiritual zeal.

Praying they pray for each other.

Lord, by your grace and power, please make it so.

I wander down the dark hall, looking at their small and growing bodies, heavy with sleep. More dependent on the heavenly Father than they know, more than I know.

I'd love to hear the wisdom of others about how to cultivate rich sibling relationships over time. You can email me at scw.mckay@gmail.com or comment on the Women Bible Life Facebook page.

Psalm 77

2011-09-25T10:51:00.000+10:00

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

¹I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
² In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted. ³When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints.
Selah

⁴You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
⁶I said, "Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart."
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
⁷"Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
⁸Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?"
Selah

¹⁰Then I said, "I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High."

¹¹I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
¹²I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
¹³Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
¹⁵You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah

¹⁶When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
¹⁸ The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
²⁰You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Enjoying #6

2011-09-23T10:30:00.000+10:00

Crepe Myrtle in June

Crepe Myrtle in September

Claret Ash in September

Watching the new season in new trees.

Looking forward to these trees growing shade and shelter in our neighbourhood one day.

For an explanation of the "enjoying" series, click here.

My framework for the everyday

2011-09-20T13:23:00.006+10:00

I've found the increasing busyness of the last decade has made it necessary to define a framework for thinking about what I do and don't occupy myself with in a typical week. I find I am often looking at it (a printed copy is in a kitchen cupboard). It reminds me of what is core and essential in the situation God has currently put me. It gives me some clarity for when I need to say "no" (which is more often than I like!).

I exist to:

adore, trust, enjoy, obey and proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ.

love the following people by helping them to adore,trust, enjoy, obey and proclaim the Lord Jesus too:

Steve
our kids: W, A, C, O
Home group: R, B, T&J, M, B, B, N&T, C&T, K, D
extended family, friends, school acquaintances, wider church connections, neighbours
people I don't see everyday/may not meet (through words, "occasional" love)

All this can happen as

I "help" Steve uniquely as his wife
instruct, train, correct, nurture, equip W, A, C and O
manage my household (plan, order, cook, clean, open)
be hospitable (sharing our life and space with others)
Study/read/write about Jesus and life under his good rule.

Everything fits into the framework somewhere. For example, exercise and food give some strength to do these things. Making time to plan for household management means the space where a lot of these things happens is usable. The encouragement to follow Jesus is woven through it all.

Rather than thinking in linear "priorities", this framework allows me to keep the tasks and responsibilities in view. The relationships within the framework will change sometimes (because we live in a world where people die and relationships occasionally break down). The tasks will vary over time, as other people's needs and my own capacity changes. But, I can imagine, the framework will always look something like this.

And of course, even now, it helps me see which responsibilities I might be neglecting.

Jesus is Lord of it all and gives grace in it all.

If you have any comments, you're welcome to email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com. Or you can comment on the Women Bible Life Facebook page.

Enjoying #5

2011-09-17T11:28:00.005+10:00

Getting to know this one.

Teaching kids Jesus as we go

2011-09-13T17:23:00.003+10:00

In recent months, a lot of Bible exposure with the kids has been pretty informal. But it's the type of sharing which I pray will continue as long as our relationship in this age does.

While I'm helping a child with one of the ordinary daily jobs, I'm making a point of saying,

"Do you know what I read in the Bible today?". I then go on to retell what I read and learned, and explain how that part of the Bible has challenged me in particular. It started quite spontaneously, as I was genuinely amazed at something I had read. Since then, I am trying to make it more of a happy habit.

This has been good because:

The children aren't just seeing me read the Bible, but getting inside my Bible reading with me.
One of my children learns much more from talking than from being read to.
I get to model a little bit of responding to the Bible with joy.
I can do it while I'm doing the other necessary tasks.
It reminds me of the glorious reality which is easily forgotten while I am tying shoe laces.
It makes me process what I am reading a little further, digesting it enough to be able to talk about it in simple words.
It has been good to cultivate the habit of talking about Jesus and the Bible in the middle of life.
The children can see that their parents are not experts, but learners too.
They might see more of how God's word about Jesus brings us into life, light, joy and delight.

Enjoying #4

2011-09-10T21:52:00.005+10:00

A completed project.

I began the four year old's quilt before her first birthday.

The picture on the wall has been finished for a while.

The matching bunting was made by our special friend, Taire.

Nice to start and finish something we look at everyday.

Explanation of the "enjoying" series.

Beyond the scope of pastoral care

2011-09-08T23:05:00.002+10:00

Loving, lasting pastoral care is about relationships rather than mere logistics.

But many people are so grieved or broken that they have no capacity to put themselves in the orbit of relationships. Or to stay in orbit. These are the people who go away quietly. They are the people who we expect to take more responsibility, get more involved, be friendlier, more committed and take initiative. For these people, just waking up to a new day can feel difficult enough.

Quite accidentally, we don't care for people unless they are performing to a certain level, putting themselves in the range of our relationships, on our terms. This excludes the people who need care the most.

God is the pursuer of those who have alienated themselves (Romans 5:1-10). Jesus is the Shepherd who goes after the missing and lost (Gospel of John). God is the Father who is determined to show compassion to the helpless (the whole Bible). May his Spirit grow us in his likeness.

If you have a comment, you are welcome to email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com. Or you can comment on the Women Bible Life Facebook page.

Unhelpful pastoral care

2011-09-05T09:40:00.001+10:00

Pastoral care. Complicated people. Complicated situations. Crises. Meals and visits. When that was how I thought of pastoral care, I ground myself into miserable exhaustion. And I didn't do a very good job of loving people.

Pastoral care is not just the "strong" and capable loving the weak and dysfunctional (have you noticed how patronising pastoral care often seems when "carers" are discussing the "needy"?). There is no neat boundary between the needy and the carers, as if we are only ever one or the other.

It is easy to treat people as problems to be fixed or outsourced. This happens when we think of pastoral care in the crisis, curing sense. Needing to fix people and their problems. Getting impatient and frustrated when they won't fix. Giving up when it doesn't "work".

Scripture presents God's people as family which stays together permanently. We don't fix people problems. We stand and walk beside each other for the long haul. We're persevering together until we see Jesus, in crisis and out of it.

Pastoral care is rejoicing with the joyful and sharing the sorrow of the sad. It's about bearing each others' burdens, while maturing to bear our own. It's helping each other change, in these waiting days, into the likeness of Jesus. This doesn't only happen in a crisis. A lot of good pastoral care will be prevention (training in godliness), and fortifying each other for future suffering.

A lot of hardship, grief and suffering outlasts a brief crisis. Real, long term relationships are what we need.

So perhaps it is helpful to think about pastoral care as all the stuff we all do to help each other persevere and mature, in long term relationships. It's not only what leaders and paid staff of a church do for everyone else, in the crises.

The end of pastoral care is the Day when we see Jesus. The goal of pastoral care is to have people get to that day, loving and trusting Jesus. It's about encouraging each other while it is still called Today, until that day, lest we drift in the meantime (read Hebrews).

It's not our job to rescue people and take the mess away (Jesus ultimately does that). Our job is to help them endure through it, leaning on Jesus. Part of that encouragement will be alleviating crises with meals, visits and some solutions. But our care for people in a crisis won't be particularly effective if there is no shared "family" life before and after the crisis.

If you have any comments, you're welcome to email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com. Or you can comment on the Women Bible Life Facebook page.

Enjoying #3

2011-08-28T21:25:00.000+10:00

Collage, rearranging very old (1880's) edition sheet music.

Happy weakness

2011-08-24T20:15:00.001+10:00

Steve and I recently turned 30. Old to some and young to others. Jesus' invitation sounds sweeter every year,

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matt 11:28-30

We know ourselves a little better than we did ten years ago. We cannot imagine ourseves full of infinite power and potential anymore. We are collecting failures and often running into our limits. Not as much fits into the years as we once imagined.

Strangely, as our view of self is sobered, our joy grows. The less we see to boast in, the more room there is for satisfaction. Our weakness gives us no safe option but to dig deeper into Jesus' work in our place. That's where we find satisfying, settled joy. Joy in Jesus' triumph over every weakness and failure and strength. Restful joy, leaning on him, forgetting self and finding it in him.

Paul was learning this too,

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor 12:9-10

Urgent action on legal definition of marriage

2011-08-22T13:26:00.003+10:00

Australians who are concerned with the current debate over the definition of marriage can write to their local MP (preferably before Wednesday). Parliamentarians are reporting back on Wednesday with a representation of their constituents' views.

I am finding these articles helpful.

http://www.sie.org.au/briefings/responding_to_same-sex_marriage_proposals_in_australia/

http://australianmarriage.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Revising_Marriage_pastors.pdf

http://australianmarriage.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Revising_Marriage_short.pdf

It is an issue worth caring about, in action and prayer.

Enjoying #2

2011-08-21T21:15:00.000+10:00

Watching small, pretty things grow in our garden.

Enjoying series

2011-08-21T21:13:00.000+10:00

I've introduced a new, almost wordless, series of photographs. These are photos of things I've been enjoying.

It's been so good to have feelings functioning well again, perhaps better than they ever have. I'm not taking normal for granted at all. I'd like to share some of the good I am seeing and enjoying, just because it's so nice.

All these good things are good because they have been made so, by the source of all goodness, the eternal God. He is the ultimate, satisfying, unending Joy all the little joys flow from and point to.

"He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Col 1:16-17

The goal of recovering from depression

2011-08-17T05:46:00.000+10:00

It might be silly, but I needed a good reason to seek treatment for long term depression. A reason other than happiness. It took a while for me to be persuaded that this was something I should try to improve. I wondered if I just needed to live with it, being a Genesis 3 world and all. Until I couldn't live with it.

You can get a feel for my story in this post. Depression was ruining more than my personal happiness. Necessity shoved me into treatment.

My goal was to feel accurately. To feel joy and sorrow in the correct proportions. True feelings. The solution is not to feel happy at the expense of reality, but to feel the right things in the right measure at the right time, in the right way.

For me, blessings given by God to be enjoyed consistently felt burdensome. I would often break down, unable to finish reading a picture book to a five year old. Dread anxiety at the thought of good things, like spending a family day at the beach. Waking up in silent, dark hours of the night, terrified of the new day, not wanting it to come. Sorrow saturating and suffocating every pleasure, distorting every sense and word. Distorting me. Dread and blackness in the middle of goodness. Depression tells convincing lies.

Jesus gives his Spirit to make people new. When he takes God's enemies and secures their adoption as God's children, Jesus changes the way we think and feel. Jesus is the light and truth who shows us what is real and true. He shifts our perceptions to be in sync with his reality. We start to see God, the world, ourselves, sin , death, judgement, Jesus and life the way they truly are.

God's Spirit gives us a new heart and mind. God grows us toward true perceptions and true feelings. The new mind calls good things good and evil things evil. The new heart starts to love what God loves and grieve over what is evil. My goal in recovering from depression is to respond to things in a way which is consistent with what God says is real and true. The goal is to be a more accurate image bearer. That is what people were created for and redeemed by Jesus for.

God is not beautifully reflected in our untrue feelings. It is fitting to have sorrow in proportion to the evil, when it is actually there. In the same way, it is fitting to enjoy things God says are good.

If you have any comments, you are welcome to email me at scw.mckay@gmail.com, I will respond as soon as I am able.

Enjoying #1

2011-08-15T22:02:00.002+10:00

Bible time with my littlest boy

Gospel community failure

2011-08-11T14:10:00.001+10:00

Christian community can let us down. There is a gap between what we ought to be and what we are. Sometimes that gap is wide and deep and disappointing. Other times, life with Jesus' people is nourishing and easy to enjoy.

I've been reading through Paul's letters lately. I've been glad to observe some of the Apostle's experience on the fringes of his letters. Paul was deeply attached to God's people. He longed to be with them and to see them mature into the likeness of Jesus. He was desperate that they be found "in Christ" on the Last day. There were times when he rejoiced in their support and interest in him. There were other times when he was completely abandoned or forgotten or out of their reach.

Paul did not experience perfect, continuous Christian community. He wasn't naive and idealistic when he gave the "one another" instructions about Christian community which litter these letters. He was instructing Christians how to fit their lives together as God's people, because they needed to be told. Like us, I guess they weren't instinctively good at it. Growth toward obedience involves very poor performance at times.

It's not really gospel community if we don't need gospel grace, from God and from each other.

It is a good reminder of the mixed experience we can expect in Christian communities. Next time things Christian community is difficult, I'll be a little less surprised!

You can read up on some of our experience in Gospel community in our church through this link.

No comment?

2011-08-10T21:28:00.000+10:00

I have not enabled commenting on my blog at the moment. This has to do with the nature of social media, the nature of my blog and my own nature.

Me
Anticipation (whether good or bad) messes with my emotional stability! Blogging feels a little like a time bomb when the comments are live. It is harder to switch off from the blog when comments are (or are not!) being made.

I am not prompt in replying to anything, including blog comments. Factors converge to make it difficult, so I'll give in to reality for the present.
I might have time to write the occasional post, but the mental space and time to engage with questions and comments is not often available.

My blog
The most significant comments and discussions I have had with people have been private. If people want to discuss issues I raise, they mostly won't want to do it in public. These discussions are wonderful, useful and don't require the comments box. I'd love for these to continue.

Social media
The digital world has opened up some potentially wonderful spaces. Women can use them to think together about what the Bible tells us about life under Jesus' good rule. These discussions can happen on other people's blogs, on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere. I like contributing, but with the option of being on the fringe. Removing comments gives me more space to do this.

I'd still love to hear from you, so you're welcome to email me:

scw.mckay@gmail.com

Again

2011-08-07T15:00:00.002+10:00

Rest in recent months has been wonderful. I have had time and mental space to enjoy things. This is a significant blessing I am thankful for. It is a relief to have my feelings match reality much more than they ever have.

In the middle of this rest, I have thought carefully about the things I can and can't do in my present stage of life. I have decided blogging is a reasonable thing for me to resume, posting as I am able. So, this is the cheerful end of my blog hibernation.

I'll pop back later in the week to tell you about some changes.

Very nice news

2011-06-23T13:44:00.001+10:00

For those who have been wondering how things are going...

Not very long ago, we welcomed our fourth baby. He's a lovely boy and we are all enjoying him immensely.

He was born at home, in the bathroom, according to plan. After a brief rest and cuddle, we were showering, dressing and heading to the hospital. The six year old was woken up at 4:30am to meet his newest brother.

In Special Care nursery some special people helped our baby boy recover from a pneumothorax, which had been making his breathing hard work.

The next day we were glad to be out of a box, off tubes and drips, and all together at home again. Now siblings can hover, coo and gush.

In the weeks leading up to his birth, Psalm 90 has been nourishing me,

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

¹Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
² Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
³You return man to dust
and say, "Return, O children of man!"
⁴For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
⁵You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
⁶in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
⁷For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
⁸You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
⁹For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
¹⁰The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
¹¹Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
¹² So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
¹³ Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
¹⁴Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
¹⁵Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
¹⁶Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
¹⁷Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!

Everlasting Lord, we are fleeting; we don't last long.

As we encounter birth and death and all in between, help us to number our days, that we might be wise.

Show your glorious power, your great work, displayed in the Lord Jesus.

Thank you for release from wrath and your everlasting favour purchased for people by Jesus' death.

Through him, establish the work of our temporary hands.

And give us joy in Jesus, in the middle of it all.

Amen.

Thanks for praying for us, friends.

Before I am completely gone...

2011-04-22T21:22:00.002+10:00

For those who might still stumble upon this dormant blog, keep an eye on Meredith's blog, The Key to the Door, in early May. It seems I can't stop blogging entirely...

The dormant blog

2011-04-11T20:11:00.004+10:00

My blog is about to become dormant. Indefinitely. Without being dramatic, I thought it might be courteous to let the regular readers know. Here are a few explanations (certainly not all!):

It will be good to drop the (ridiculous but real) sneaking burden of not just doing Christian life, but also blogging about it. I am eager to attend more to the reality of following Jesus than the rhetoric around it.

It will be good to flee from the worse moments of doing something so that it can be blogged. It smells of the very things Jesus warns us against (Matthew 6). Social media is a terrible place for keeping up appearances. These days it is harder to cultivate hidden obedience.

There are too many other things to do at the moment. It has been tempting at times to choose a night of writing over other things which might do more good, even if they are less visible. When that temptation is not indulged, there can then be the battle to not resent the things which get in the way of writing. I want to serve Jesus joyfully, not bitterly wishing I was doing something else.

I don't like blogs as much as I used to. It feels a bit strained to invest in something I am so double minded about.

That's not to say that blogging has been bad. I've mostly enjoyed it immensely and am very thankful for the relationships which are growing out of it. There is something very special, connecting with godly people who I wouldn't meet otherwise. These relationships can continue.

I've also enjoyed working on a set of skills. I am planning to keep reading, thinking and writing. Calvin's Institutes, Psalms, Gospel community, women's ministry, mothering and the rest. It will just be less public.

The blog will still be here, but I won't be adding new posts. If you want to use any of the content, you are welcome to email me, scw.mckay@gmail.com.

I will still be active on twitter also. It would be fun to stay in touch!

Praying with joy to the great God who will keep growing his people into steadfast trust in Jesus and into Jesus' likeness, for his own glory.

Our simple Easter plan ***UPDATED

2011-04-07T20:34:00.001+10:00

Inspired by Meredith, I bought a couple of packs of these eggs when I spotted them for $2 (at the Reject shop - for the locals).

Since we have 2 WEEKS (!!!) of school holidays leading up to Easter, I thought we might hunt for and open one egg or two each day. I will decide as we go what I put in it, depending on how busy we expect to be each day.

In the very least will be a piece of paper with a reference for a slab of Matthew's gospel. I have chosen to do Matthew because the sermon series for this term has been Matthew 26-28. I have been reading through the whole gospel myself, a chapter a day, to keep the background of the series in view.

Since the kids hear the sermons and participate in some of our Bible studies, I thought it could be good to try the same thing with them. If it gets to be too much, I will select key passages as we go along. Next year, I hope to start earlier and follow Meredith's excellent plan.

We're aiming to read through Matthew's gospel from the beginning, landing on the Passion narrative by Thursday (the day before Good Friday). It's another good opportunity to read through a gospel with the kids. We'll use NIrV.

Along with the readings we will be making the most of our freshly sorted art and craft box. I will give the kids a small pile of materials most days (I hope!) and let them make up something which depicts whatever we have been reading about.

If we have a good range of illustrations at the end of the week, we might print a copy of Matthew's gospel and publish our own illustrated edition. Then we can read it all over again!

We'll see!

Update on the Day by Day Bible

2011-04-04T21:36:00.003+10:00

I mentioned a few months back that we had started reading through this book of daily Bible stories with the kids. We're still finding it's a good level for the bigger kids (4 and 6). Some words are a bit abstract, but not too disrupting. There is certainly a storyteller's embellishment added to the Old Testament narratives. I'm yet to decide what I think of this.

There have been a couple of times where we have discussed how the story is a bit different from the Bible text. We hope this is helping our kids learn some early critical skills.

The main point of irritation, at the moment, is the little prayers included for each day. We ignore them. They are either a bit limp and airy, or completely miss the emphasis of the original text. The book would be better without them.

Like any retelling of the biblical text, this book is just one small component of instructing and training children to follow Jesus. But still useful.

I'm sure I'll have more varied comment to make as the year progresses and we strike different literary forms retold in this compilation.

Has anyone else been reading through? What have you found?

Cut down, lifted up (Ps 75)

2011-04-03T19:47:00.002+10:00

The pull to explain and vindicate myself (in things which matter and which don't) is confronted by Psalm 75.

Asaph's lament about God's distance, silence and slowness to act in Psalm 74 is reversed in Psalm 75. God is near. God is showing his wondrous works (v.1). When you list the great deeds of God, which things make it onto your list? Asaph is singing about God being the near and wonderful judge. Strange and terrifying.

There are two groups of people. They both have horns. Piper has a tidy explanation of "horn" in this old sermon, "The horn is a sign of strength and a means of victory". God's judgement is about whether people grow and glorify their own horns.

The boastful wicked "speak with haughty necks" (vv.4-5). They lift up their own horn, making much of their own strength and power and ability to triumph. Their end is to drink a cup, filled by God, reserved for he wicked (v.8). Their power and strength will be cut off (v.10). All this will happen at a future time God has fixed to judge (v.2). This cup features many times in the Old and New Testaments (Is 51:17,22 Jer 25:15-17 Ez 23:31-35 Hab2:16-17 Mt 20:22-23 Mt 26:39,42). It is a dreadful cup.

God's judgement is worth celebrating, because it is also when he lifts up those who don't lift up themselves (vv.6-7, 10). The righteous are those whose "horn" has been grown and elevated by God. God is their strength, their power and their victory. He is the one who does the lifting up and saving.

Jesus drank the full cup to the dregs, so that it would pass empty, with nothing left for his people (Mt 26-28). Complete judgement has been consumed for those who trust Jesus. There is nothing left for them on that day yet to come. Jesus drank the cup of God's deadly but just wrath so that those who throw themselves on him will be lifted up by him. Saved, strengthened and made victorious, despite themselves. Given a new, living cup to drink (Mt 26:26-29).

The perfect righteousness of the only righteous One, Jesus, is counted theirs (this is called justification). The horns of those counted righteous in Christ will be lifted up.

The shape of how God judges and shows mercy teaches us our demeanour for now. In the big and little, we are not meant to be a self made, self promoting people. This undoes and remakes our own view of ourselves; our desperation for other people's approval; how we define and achieve success; how we get and rest in God's approval; where our significance and security comes from.

God is pleased, not with the desperate effort of lifting ourselves up, but with us resting in his own effort exerted in Jesus, for us. Wondrous deeds to sing about.

Sin wakes up with me

2011-03-31T06:05:00.005+11:00

¹And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. ² And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven."³And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." ⁴But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said,"Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? ⁶But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—he then said to the paralytic—"Rise, pick up your bed and go home." ⁷And he rose and went home. ⁸When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. Matthew 9:1-8

My sin wakes up with me, the most vivid thing.

The man who says, "Your sins are forgiven", has authority on earth to forgive it.

Sin is strong. The judgement it chains me with is unbearable. Jesus is stronger. Jesus, the Son of Man, says to me, "Your vivid, wakeful sins are forgiven". His words work.

Praising, glorying in God with a holy fear.

"For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." Mt 9:13

Some essential points on God's sovereignty (the Calvin club)

2011-03-28T22:23:00.002+11:00

In God's world he sustains everything, yes everything. Nothing happens by chance. All things are achieving God's plans and purposes. Big and small. Good and bad. Not in a reactionary, after the fact, mop up the mess kind of way. God governs his world proactively. Nothing happens but by his design.

Before I make any further comment on Calvin's Institutes I.xvi & xvii, I thought these points might be useful ones to make (though not the only points which need to be made!):

1. This truth is as difficult as it is precious. It is worth fighting hard with the Bible's truth on God's complete power and goodness in all things. Every comfort hangs on it. If God is not completely sovereign, we are free falling with no safe place to land. If we try to explain away God's sovereignty, we hide God's glory from people and rob them of comfort.

2. Many objections to God's complete sovereignty have more to do with the potential implications or behaviours which it might produce (arrogance, passivity, fatalism, elitism, negligence). This stops us from considering the merit of the truth on its own terms. Caution is warranted. Historically, perversion of the biblical doctrine of God's sovereignty has become a horrid, ungodly weapon. This does not make the doctrine any less true, it just shows human inclination toward distortion and ignorant injustice. We need to tread carefully, but we do need to tread!

3. It is good to struggle with the idea of God being completely sovereign. It reminds us that God is bigger and more complex than his creatures. If he were the work of our imagination, we would be able to make easy sense of him. He is not a cheap and simple Sovereign.

4. When answers and explanations are slow to unfold, it doesn't mean there are none. God would have us wrestle humbly, patiently and persistently. Don't give up prematurely!

5. It's dangerous to assume the implications we draw are the necessary implications. Or that we are the first person in the world to have thought of a particular question.

6. It is helpful to stop and ask, "What if this is not so?" What are the implications for God's character, his world and you if God is not completely sovereign?

7. A robust, biblical view of God's sovereignty will not make us passive. Neither will a big, biblical view of God's sovereignty make us dormant in evangelism. In chapter xvii, Calvin has some great things to say about justice, taking responsibility and negligence in view of God's sovereignty. If we find ourselves becoming lazy or idle, we have not understood God's sovereignty properly.

8. We are not permitted to fall into fatalism. We are still charged with using whatever means are before us to do what is good and wise. God will work his plans out using those means. We will not find our security in the means, but use them thankfully. We'll see more on tht point in chapter xvii.

9. There is a difference between our perception of events and God's design in them. All because God has his design and purposes in all things (big, small, good and bad), does not mean we can interpret everything for him. We may not put words in God's mouth. While we are assured that God is purposeful and good in all things, there is still much mystery.

10. The Bible holds that several things are true all at the same time. God is completely in charge of his world at every point, all the time; God is never the author of evil; people are responsible for their own actions. We are not told how the mechanics between these truths work. All because I don't understand it doesn't make it any less true.

11. The smaller our view of God's sovereignty, the bigger our view of people will be and the less remarkable Jesus' achievements seem.

"I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted." Job 42:2

Waste from disorganisation

2011-03-24T12:13:00.000+11:00

In six or seven weeks, we are moving house. This has thrown me into some sorting and tossing action. Which is embarrassingly rare.

I am good at macro organisation - big categories and systems. I am very bad with the micro systems which keep a house in order; the little steps which make the macro actually happen. Well, I am good at designing and thinking about the micro systems. I am just bad at remembering what my systems are, in the middle of daily activity. This means I lose things. I replace things too often. We have more than we need. We waste.

The problem has amused me as I've been cleaning out old handbags. Things which have been missing for two years have appeared. Lots of coins and hairclips have been put back into circulation. I found an envelope with $305 in it (horrified gasp!). Which is sin,

a) To not notice when that much money goes missing means we are not managing what we have well enough.

b) There has been a whole lot of potential good sitting dormant in an old nappy bag (in the garage!). If I had just cleaned out at the time, there would have been less waste. Disorganisation and poor stewardship go together for me.

So, I am thriving on a new challenge.

My goal is to toss a bag of stuff every day until we move. I am up to 10 bags in 4 days. I want to work out what we've got; organise it so it is being used; distribute what we don't need to others who might use it better; or just get rid of the redundant (even if it is perfectly good).

A couple of years ago, Ally gave me a fabulous book, SORTED. Grab a copy or look around their website. I am re-reading my copy. I am encouraged to think that these organisational skills can learned. I am not doomed! Neither am I excused just because of my personality.

One thing I have found really useful in the sorting and tossing process is deciding what to get rid of. This book has helped me get some workable categories and benchmarks in my head for this process.

How much more might our family be able to bless others if I were more domestically organised? How much waste happens because of disorganisation in our churches and business? Just some things I wonder about as I fill a bag or two.

Not getting our own way at church

2011-03-21T12:51:00.001+11:00

Expectations stunt Christian growth and break community.

The music is not good.
Relationships have not turned out the way I hoped.
The preaching is not like someone else's.
There is not enough being done to impact the community.
There is too much talk about impacting the community.
The people are hypocrites.
I have not been given the opportunities to serve I was hoping for.
My gifts not have not been recognised and esteemed.
People aren't doing things my way.
People aren't doing things in my time.

It feels too old.

It feels too young.

We have been groomed to be consumers. We are taught that the customer is always right. We reserve the right to shop around until we get what we feel entitled to.

I suspect people like me are the worst. The more responsibility we carry with work, finances and family, the more our sense of entitlement grows. There is less patience with disappointment because fewer things fit into life. To stick with something or someone who is hard becomes more costly than it was 10 years earlier when life felt light and infinite. We are more selfish. And because we work hard, we feel more entitled to get our own way.

Christian community stops delivering, I'm out of there.

We let our expectations have more authority than Scripture. We let frustration give us permission to disobey God's commandment to stick with his people. Maybe we could make some time to read through 1 John?

Our God bonds himself inseparably to his disappointing people. I'm praying that I'll be better at sticking with people, not surprised or quitting relationships when things aren't the way I hoped they would be. Pray with me?

The gospel is not...

2011-03-17T22:20:00.000+11:00

Have you noticed how often the gospel is told as "Jesus died for your sins." That's my big problem with this booklet.

But it is a pretty standard thing to say. That's because it is pretty standard to say that Jesus suffered the punishment for every sin of every human who ever lived. Which is not what the Bible has persuaded me of. But that is a significant tangent. For now, can we at least question what is true and biblically faithful and helpful when gospelling people?

The Bible doesn't say, "Come to Jesus because your sins are forgiven" (which is what we end up communicating, whether we mean to or not). It says, "Come to Jesus and you will be forgiven". Big difference.

Saying, "everyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved" and appealing to people to bow before King Jesus for salvation is very different from saying, "Jesus died to save you".

When the New Testament makes statements like, "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God," (1 Peter 3:18), Paul is reminding people who are already Christians of what Jesus has definitely achieved for them.

If this were an appeal to unbelievers, Paul would be saying, "Christ died for your sins to bring you to God, so please come or else his death was wasted and he failed because he could not manage to bring you completely to salvation". It would be a denial of God's sovereign power and grace, even if accidentally. It would deny the rest of Scripture which says God never fails.

The call to respond to Jesus in faith and repentance is for everyone. Those who do come to him are forgiven. They are forgiven because his death was for them, he has substituted himself in their place of God's judgement.

This doesn't mean that our job is to work out if Jesus' death was for me. It is to respond to Jesus the way he tells me to, and in responding, to trust that he will do what he said he would to.

For those who do not yet trust Jesus, we plead with them to see the wonderful King. The King who made them and who owns them, who they have denied. The King who tells them to turn to him, to stop pretending they rule, to sit in gladness under his rule. The King who will one day be their judge. The King who saves all those who call on him. And when they do call on him, Scripture shouts loud, "Jesus death was for you."

Wedding photos

2011-03-16T21:59:00.003+11:00

If you were interested in seeing some official footage from this special wedding, you will find it HERE.

Ben Adams captured the personality and character of Josh and Taire's wedding beautifully.

I'm the pregnant & green bridesmaid. My husband Steve is the splendidly handsome groomsman who partners me.

[Ally made my dress and bag (complete with rosette - it gets it's own special photo around half way). She's so clever!]

Kindergarten news

2011-03-14T19:23:00.004+11:00

The six year old's day to share news with his class is Monday. He decided to take these to tell his class more about Jesus,

The text is inspired by Mary's encounter with the risen Jesus, "My Teacher!". Under the risen Jesus, and the crowd of saved sinners, is the bread and the wine (we have been learning more about the Lord's Supper lately). Not sure how many of these details were included in the news report today.

His plan to share Jesus for news was provoked over the weekend as we've enjoyed this cheap little comic booklet. It fits well as we think through Mt 26-28 with church and prepare for Easter. The kids love it and I really like it. I must acknowledge, I don't agree with the appeal it makes at the end (that's another post). The comic featured in the news report. A lot more than I bargained for, at less than $1.50!

I'm not sure what the teacher made of it all!

Some questions to help with Ps75

2011-03-14T09:42:00.005+11:00

"Your name is near", what a relief after Psalm 74!

What are the "wondrous deeds" the psalmist sings about in Psalm 75? Are these the sort of deeds you consider wondrous?

Where else do we see the idea of a "cup" in the Bible? (eg. Psalm 23, Mt 26:36-39)

Who are "the righteous"? (Rm 4:1-8)

If you feed the other passages back into Psalm 75, what do we learn?

Psalm 75

2011-03-14T09:39:00.002+11:00

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

1 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is near.
We recount your wondrous deeds.
2 "At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep steady its pillars.
Selah

4 I say to the boastful, 'Do not boast,'
and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with haughty neck.'"

6 For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
7 but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.

9 But I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

The good we fail to do

2011-03-11T22:20:00.004+11:00

Sin which currently troubles me most is the sin of omission. Sins of omission are the good things we should do which we don't. The good we excuse ourselves from. I am still thinking about when we should stop doing good things.

These sins are easy to ignore and justify ourselves against. They are the sins which people don't see, because, by nature, they are deeds which haven't been done. Of course there are some obvious sins of omission. If I don't feed my children, it is pretty clear I am sinning against them. But the obvious omissions are not the ones most of us are likely to be guilty of.

Part of what is annoying about this kind of sin, is that there is a world of good we don't do, because we can't.
And there are a lot of needs within the frame of possibility, but still, I cannot do them all.
And there are some good things I could have done, if I had not been doing some other good things.
And there are some good things I only see the importance of retrospectively. I didn't do the good I could have done at the time, because of ignorance.
And there are some deliberate choices I have made to not do some good things, for the sake of being able to do others, but those choices have had a cost. Maybe I made the wrong choice in some relationships? Maybe I was making excuses for myself? Maybe even if I had done things differently, the outcome would still have been the same?

And if it's all in the past, why care?
Well, even if my intentions were okay, I still might have sinned against someone. I need to own that, say sorry, receive God's forgiveness (and hopefully theirs), be reconciled and change.
I don't want to persist in sins of neglect. Growing to bear the likeness of Jesus means dealing with all sorts of sin.
If the deliberate choices I made are no longer achieving the good I hoped they would, then I should make different choices.

As I try to discern some of the workings of my own sin, I am cautious.
I don't want to navel gaze.
I easily confuse failure to meet other people's expectations with sin of ommission.
I don't want to use other people's ommission as an excuse to justify my own.

And with all that said...
I believe in a sovereign God who is always working out his good purposes, despite me. My omissions, though having consequences and being real sins, cannot tie his hands.
Because I believe in a sovereign God, I don't believe in "what if".
I believe in a gracious God who is fixed in his love and favour toward me, because Jesus suffered judgement for all my sin, and has fitted me with his righteousness - even while he sees the reality of my sin now.
I believe in a God who has prepared good works for me to do. He is at work in me while I work out my salvation with joyful fear and trembling.
I believe in the Holy Spirit who seals all of Jesus' people and IS transforming them into the glorious likeness of Jesus.

Praying for wisdom and humility and confidence in the sufficient (totally abundant!) grace and power of God. I welcome any insights!

This week, God made our tree bloom

2011-03-09T11:40:00.001+11:00

A year ago, a neighbour gave us a stick to plant. It has just bloomed. Sadly, there were only three flowers and I managed to miss photographing them when they were fresh. Watching life sprout from the bare branch has been good.

Watching things grow, we see glimpses of God's creative genius. He is the only original one. He imagined and brought it all into being. Every detail of the planet shows a fragment of the inner delight and workings of God's mind. His glory is splashed all over.

When I see beauty, I am learning to stop and remind myself that the beauty points back to the One who is more beautiful still. The source of all goodness and beauty is better and more beautiful than the best things we see.

Even in a decaying world, under the curse of thorn and thistle, broken by human rebellion against the Creator, things still grow. What a generous judge.

God didn't just do the originating and then leave things to nature. He holds the fabric of the universe together moment by moment. Our tree bloomed last week because God made it bloom. He upholds every atom every moment. Our tree had only three blooms because that is all God gave it this season. He actively rules over everything he has made, even the smallest bloom.

That is part of what Calvin writes about in Institutes I.XVI.

"there is no erratic power or motion in creatures, but that they are governed by God's secret plan in such a way that nothing happens except what is knowingly and willingly decreed by him." I.XVI.4 (p.200 McNeill)

"Providence means not that by which God idly observes from heaven what takes place on earth, but that by which, as keeper of the keys, he governs all events. Thus it pertains no less to his hands than to his eyes." (p.202)

Which is enormous comfort, but sometimes a messy and troubling one. With fear and trembling, more soon on God's marvellous, mysterious, good sovereignty soon.

"Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre!
He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares rain for the earth;
he makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the beasts their food,
and to the young ravens that cry.
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
In those who hope in his steadfast love." Ps 147:7-11

The humble, triumphant God (Ps 74)

2011-03-05T06:00:00.000+11:00

Asaph was frustrated at God's slowness in the face of mocking enemies. How much more of the same do we see in Jesus' way of living and dying? Weakness, misunderstanding, defeat. God's Son is silent before those who will ruin his flesh. He restrains his power as scoffers spit. He does not clip the story to prove his power; he stays on the cross, unaided by the armies of heaven.

God's slowness to prove himself is purposeful. His slowness to vindicate his name is for the sake of his name and the good of his people. Jesus' glory is greater because of the humiliation of the cross. Jesus' achievements are infinite because of the brief triumph of his enemies.

God's plan doesn't stop in the middle of Asaph's abandonment or Jesus' humiliation. Jesus is alive. He has the power of an indestructible life. He reigns, even while he is now misrepresented and invisible to most.

God's triumph will not resemble the weakness and the failures. All will be laid bare one day and his glory will be made clear to those who love it and hate it.

That's explanation and comfort for the days of weakness and failure and mockery now.

God not defending himself (Ps 74)

2011-03-03T21:31:00.001+11:00

God lets his creatures mock him. He lets people who identify themselves as his own represent him badly. Through mammoth moral failure, incompetence, mediocrity, weakness or plain misunderstanding. God lets his enemies look strong and triumphant. Asaph's anguish in Psalm 74 is all about God's slowness to vindicate himself.

Asaph's trouble:

God seems to have thrown his special, covenant people off. God is angry with his people (v.1). His people who he redeemed/purchased a long time before and who he used to live with (v.2). The special place which marked God's presence with them has been destroyed. The land of blessing is in perpetual ruins (v.3).

God's enemies seem to have triumphed in the very place where God's people were to meet with him (v.4). They have destroyed God's special place. By destroying his special place, they have insulted the LORD (vv.7-8).

God has let himself be insulted by his enemies.

God is not speaking to his special people ("there is no longer any prophet" v.9). There is no word of comfort bringing hope of future restoration. How long? How long will they be cut off from God? How long will he let himself be the mockery of his foes (v.10)?

Asaph is asking why God is not acting to defend his own reputation, his glory, his purposes (v.11).

Asaph's confidence:

God is not young and naive. He is the master of working salvation, bringing about the impossible (13-15). Everything was made by him, belongs to him and is subject to him. God's slowness to act in defence of his people or his own name is not a lack of power. He can do it whenever he wants to.

Asaph's appeal:

Act for your own sake, LORD. Foolish people scoff (v.18). For the sake of your redeemed, purchased, poor people (v.19). Because of the covenant you made with them (v.20). Work so they may praise your name again (v.21). Defend YOUR cause, don't let the foolish scoff at you any more (v.23).

What is the same for God's people, this side of Jesus' death and resurrection, while we wait for Jesus' return?
What is different?
What comfort do you find in this psalm?
What provokes you?

Psalm 74

2011-03-03T21:04:00.003+11:00

A Maskil of Asaph.

¹O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
² Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,
which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion where you have dwelt.
³Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

⁴Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;
they set up their own signs for signs.
⁵They were like those who swing axes
in a forest of trees.
⁶And all its carved wood
they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
⁷They set your sanctuary on fire;
they profaned the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it down to the ground.
⁸They said to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them";
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

⁹We do not see our signs;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is none among us who knows how long.
¹⁰How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
¹¹Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!

¹²Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
¹³You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
¹⁴You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
¹⁵You split open springs and brooks;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
¹⁶Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
¹⁷You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
you have made summer and winter.

¹⁸ Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs,
and a foolish people reviles your name.
¹⁹Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.

²⁰Have regard for the covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
²¹Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.

²²Arise, O God, defend your cause;
remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
²³Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

Image bearing as mission

2011-03-02T13:10:00.000+11:00

"the end of regeneration is that Christ should reform us to God's image"

Calvin, Institutes, I.XV.4

We're born again, brought from spiritual deadness to life, by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ gives us his Spirit and works in us, moment by moment, to make us what we were originally created to be. Image bearers of God. We are not yet what we will one day be.

While we wait for the day of completion, when Jesus comes again, I wonder if this is the central mission strategy God would have for us? Getting better at bearing his image, like Jesus. Surely that would cover every word and deed, everywhere, all the time, to everyone?

If mission and discipleship are separated from concern with image bearing, then the Bible says we're missing something. And we'll do a bad job.

So evangelism is not mostly about tracts, programs, guest speakers and events. It's personal and corporate image bearing. All of us, everyday, in the Holy Spirit's power, by God's grace. Working out how to resemble our heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus, wherever he has us now.

Gen 1:26-28

Col 1:15-23, 2:8-15

Eph 3:19, 4:9-24

If we are concerned with bearing our family resemblance (as we were created and redeemed to), then...

true words about Jesus will be spoken,

by people who shine fragments of his glory,

bringing glimmers of his good reign into their streets and towns.

What a joy to be part of.

In case you missed it

2011-02-26T09:16:00.001+11:00

We're settled into school, a wedding is over and an exam is done. So, I am catching up on some Institutes reading this weekend, ready to be more attentive to chapters XV to XIII in March, April (and perhaps May!). Just reminding those who were planning to join me.

Hope in exile

2011-02-23T21:12:00.006+11:00

The prophet Jeremiah writes to a people experiencing the painful end of God's faithfulness. They are on the edge of inevitable exile, being removed from everything that resembled God's blessing. It was their own fault.

Even as decades of exile stretch toward the horizon, Jeremiah is given these words from the LORD who is judging them,

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Thus says the LORD,who gives the sun for light by day
and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD of hosts is his name:
"If this fixed order departs
from before me, declares the LORD,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
from being a nation before me forever."
Jer 31:31-36

Even in judgement, God didn't stop pointing his people forward to what he was yet to do, in keeping with the promises he had made long before. What great, permanent things Jesus has achieved.

Holy Spirit, give us eyes to see it and be patient, waiting for complete end of our exile in this age.

Children at weddings

2011-02-21T20:56:00.004+11:00

In the past thirteen months, our whole family has been to four weddings. All of these weddings have been generous, but not extravagant. They have all been seriously joyful. Hopeful, confident, but not naive. Beautiful, but not vain. Each wedding has been a unique expression of the different personalities of the people getting married.

Our children were invited to all of these weddings, which is so special. The invitations reflect the reality that Christian family is made up of all sorts of people, all ages, convenient and inconvenient. It really shows that people matter more than achieving a particular aesthetic. How very much like our Heavenly Father.

What has impressed us at these weddings, is not just how the children were invited, but how the hosts looked for ways to include the kids. Special food and drink tables; tables with crayons, paper and lollipops; a professional face painter; a jumping castle; a slushee machine; a crazy booth (while not exclusively aimed at the kids, they certainly loved it! And despite its potential, it was all very wholesome!).

When people have tried to be economical with their wedding costs, it says a lot when they deliberately plan kindness for the kids. It is completely counter cultural and has a distinct gospel fragrance.

The spirit of generosity reflects the joy and kindness of the Creator who invented fun and goodness and marriage and children.

And at the same time, our children get to see how marriages start and the promises they are built on.

Thanks newly married friends.

Matrimony in community (!!!)

2011-02-18T12:06:00.004+11:00

Jen and Chris were married three weeks ago. Josh and Taire marry tomorrow.

Two very exciting weddings. Two marriages starting with the intention of reflecting God's glory, within and beyond. Two marriages built on Jesus, by Jesus and for Jesus.

It is so exciting to see these four people begin and grow into their new families.

For tomorrow's wedding it is a fun treat to be partnered with my own husband in a bridal party! It is extra fun to be a decade older than the bride and groom, because the style of wedding is so different from what was typical when we got married. It makes us feel older and younger at the same time.

We all belong to the same church, and 7/8 of us have been in the same Gospel community until a few weeks ago. We all know each other and know Jesus. Great arrangement.

It has been special to share the baking, the eyebrow grooming, the fabric cutting, the delicate conversations, the speech writing, the dress making, the creativity, the food, the logistics. All the details are made more significant because of several years of shared Christian growth. And made meaningful by the commitment to shared futures serving Jesus.

May these beautiful beginnings be outshone by marriages which are more beautiful still! By God's grace and power, purchased by Jesus, worked by the Spirit.

Can't wait to share some photos! For now, bag and rosette hand crafted by harrysdesk, to match my dress which clever Ally made.

Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament

2011-02-15T12:30:00.000+11:00

He's on every page. Sometimes you need a microscope, sometimes a telescope, sometimes you need to step back for the picture to focus. How do we see Jesus in the Old Testament when his name is never printed on the page? I'm doing a bit of study at the moment, looking at how the Old Testament speaks to us about Jesus.

There are direct passages which are quoted specifically to explain the identity and work of Jesus in the New Testament. But, these types of passages are not on every page of the Old Testament. We'll see more of Jesus if we also look at themes across the Bible. Themes are ideas which keep popping up, maturing along the way.

Here are a few key themes:

The rhythm of sin, judgement and grace.
These are all essential parts of the gospel and are built up from the beginning of the Bible. As we see sin, judgement and grace in all the big and little stories, we grow a richer picture of God's character, human depravity and the massive achievements of Jesus. We see the patterns of God and humankind. We see the same God at work in the Old and New Testament.

Blessing
Start at the very beginning.
What did blessing look like?
How was blessing lost (curse)?
How did God start restoring blessing again (Gen 12:1-3)?
Then you can trace the history of that blessing through the mixed history of Israel.
Sit with the prophets as they explain the absence of blessing and as they look forward to blessing yet to come.
Keep tracking the theme and we see Jesus. He brings people into the blessed standing with God, and will bring those blessed people into the absolute experience of blessing in his new creation.

Kingship
What does God's reign over his world look like:
in Gen 1-2?
in the Fall (Gen 3)?
his interactions with humanity?
his intentions for Abraham's blessed descendants?
God's design for the King of Israel?
the good and evil kings in Israel and Judah?
the destruction brought about by foreign rulers and exile?
what the prophets had to say in judgement against evil kings?
the anticipation of the perfect king to come (Messiah, Christ)?
the nature of the perfect kingdom to come?
Tracing the reign of God over his creation and his special people sets the scene for understanding Jesus as King.

God's glory
It would be interesting to note, from beginning to end, all the ways that God's glory is described.
How does God' glory motivate what he does?
How is God's glory shown in what he does?
How do people experience God's glory?
When we read that Jesus is the Father's glory (John 1) the theme takes on deeper and higher dimensions.

Of course, following each of the themes through the death, resurrection and rule of Jesus to their fulfilment in the new creation is essential. There are other themes you will also find, but these are essential ones which I keep stumbling across.

Sometime, I'd like to read through the whole Bible, with one or two particular themes in mind. It would keep the whole spread of Scripture in view, but give some focus to the reading. I might give it a go later in the year.

Bible and prayer: time to tweak (again!)

2011-02-14T06:38:00.004+11:00

I've been enjoying the transition into school hemmed days. What a generous provision from my loving Heavenly Father, considering how ill the idea of school has made me in recent years! But in the middle of God's gracious provision it is hard to find time to enjoy my gracious Provider.

Whether it is new babies, illness, or new rhythms to life, soft hearted time in the Bible and time in prayer does not happen accidentally. If we don't want to feed on God, then there are always plenty of ways to avoid it. When we do long for it, there are always hurdles.

So, I am getting a feel for the new rhythm in our days and re-working where personal time in the Bible and prayer will fit. We're also doing the same thing with our family Bible time - not all the kids are around for morning tea anymore and there is a new level of fatigue at dinner time! And writing. Plenty to write about, but I keep running out of time (or energy!).

As we learn what things might look like in a new stage, I've been half-thinking:

*The more responsibilities we get, the busier we are, the more deliberate we need to be about Christian growth and fellowship. We can't expect to joyfully grow on a diet of nothing.

*Life's always going to be full of something, so there's not much point in waiting for things to get less busy. We're always Jesus' people, busy or not.

*Serious study may or may not mean we are growing in love and obedience. I can happily settle for academic exercise, without responding to the true and living God in adoration and humility. Humble, obedient prayerfulness vanishes when I am in busy task mode. But perhaps that is a personality thing.

*Understanding the current stage helps us to grow through it, without despair or stagnating.

*The need to be opportunistic. Making the most of the peculiar little opportunities for enjoying Jesus which our current circumstances bring can do a great deal to fatten us up spiritually.

*I'd love to learn which battles to fight energetically. Which disciplines, habits and attitudes should I zealously protect or resist? Which tendencies make for fruitful perseverance across all sorts of seasons in a Christian woman's life?

And now, time to pack some lunches.

Psalm 74, not us but still relevant

2011-02-11T13:15:00.001+11:00

For the Christian, Psalm 74 is both not true, yet completely relevant. I'd love to hear what others think. If you have the chance to read Psam74,

In which ways do you think the psalm is not true for the person who is "in Christ"?

How is the psalm still relevant for the Christian who looks and feels like they have been abandoned?

Salt and light: Different, good and useful

2011-02-07T05:46:00.000+11:00

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
"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 5:13-16

In chapter 4, Matthew starts building a connection between light and the gospel Jesus preaches (4:16ff). The light of God's new community is the gospel. Not hidden. Distinct, good and useful. The supreme message that Jesus is the king who saves.

The salt seems to be the good deeds of King Jesus' community (outlined in Mat 5-7). Deeds which reflect God's character. Distinct, good and useful. Deeds illuminated by the message of the gospel.

Church is to be salt and light. Distinct, good and useful in word and action. Our tradition is better at light than salt. We typically spend more time arguing against doing good than finding ways of doing it. We often make the gospel an abstraction and offer little usefulness in this age or the next. Jesus says that as the light shines (the message of the gospel), people will see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven. Both are essential.

I am thankful to have a pastor who is leading our church in repentance. We're starting to pray in eager anticipation for God to mature us into the good works which he has planned ahead for us to do (Eph 2:1-10). Deeds through which God would make much of Jesus in his city and his world.

But this isn't a triumphalistic, "We're going to change the world". Jesus' people are broken and desperate (5:2-11). Broken people whose comfort and wealth is bound up in Jesus' kingdom (10-12). Broken people who resemble their heavenly Father poorly, but who are slowly being matured into his likeness.

Broken people, comforted by Jesus, being changed to do good, clinging to his message. When we are, then God says, "You are the salt of the earth and light of the world." Broken. Humble. Dissolving at times. But different, good and useful.

*Last night's sermon at church has fuelled a lot of these words. Thanks Roger Burgess.

Preschool

2011-02-04T08:19:00.004+11:00

ready for preschool...

with her special book to remind her "that Jesus is the boss and he died to take sin away".

Our lovely girl is delighted to be starting preschool today, although a little indignant that she cannot go to kindergarten yet. She will have one day a week this year. I'm glad it is only a few day time hours because I will miss her unpredictable, independent humour terribly.

Happy with God

2011-02-03T20:51:00.002+11:00

Earlier this week, Steve was talking through the story of Genesis 1-3 with the kids. When we got to Adam and Eve's entry into sin, our girl stated in her matter of fact way,

"They were happy. Then they saw the fruit and ate it. They were sad when God said, 'Go away and die.' "

Oh, to always see our happiness in obedient nearness to God through Jesus! Sadness and death happens away from him.

I love the way the Psalms pick up on blessing as nearness to God. Like Psalm 16.

The whole Bible's story is a flux of nearness and distance. Horror grows away from him. Doesn't our world feel it? The meandering story of the Bible ends with,

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." Rev 21:3-4

The happiness of the age to come is about finally being happy (immeasureably delighted!) with God. Every other joy in the age to come will be secondary, by far, to our joy in being with him. Praise you Jesus for bringing us near.

Long days, short years, school begins.

2011-02-02T08:44:00.000+11:00

The days are long, but the years pass quickly.

My first baby is going to school, not a baby anymore. Conquering his own territory, learning that Jesus is Lord everywhere, even when Mum and Dad are not with him. He walks into a place where we are not, but God always is. We rely on God's sovereign grace.

We pray that he will be living the reality of Jesus' Lordship as he learns to be in a new place, doing new things. It is a step toward what we have been training for over the past years. That training continues, but it will include new things.

Who knows what will be fun, what will be useful and what will be hard? For today, we are enjoying the excitement of something new.

A new year for the Calvin club

2011-01-30T11:20:00.005+11:00

When we began the Calvin club, my goal for the first year was to get to the end of Book One. I didn't! There are a few chapters I really don't want to speed through (XVI to XVIII). So here is my current plan:

Read up to and including I.XV in February, without writing about what I read (February will be a busy month!).
March: I.XVI & XVII on God's Providence
April: I.XVIII "God so Uses the Works of the Ungodly, and so Bends Their Minds to Carry out His Judgements, that he Remains Pure From Every Stain"

I am hoping this pace will mean I might pay more attention and perhaps write something about the chapters which are provocative. I will also be done with Book One before our baby is due to arrive in June. This pace will allow for others to follow on, as well as leaving space for me to think and write about some other things.

So, there is a month to catchup, ready to join in for March.

Not trusting the certainties of despair

2011-01-28T06:00:00.000+11:00

A lovely friend reminded me of these wonderful words,

"We fortify ourselves against the dark hours of depression by cultivating a deep distrust of the certainties of despair. Despair is relentless in the certainties of its pessimism".

From The Hidden Smile of God, by John Piper. This book is one of Piper's books which compile three short biographies with his own pastoral insights. You can listen to the lectures these books were based on from here. You can find the biographical series of books here.

I have found these biographies (especially in the audio format) to be a really significant encouragement in difficult times.