Ups and downs

What's in a holiday? Just returned home from seven days off. Six of which have been spent driving and camping with my family. We had good times and bad over the course of the time,  kodak moments and moments which should never be perserved on film.

We caught up with family during the trip but spent most time visiting with new friends and just on our own as a family. 

This is as important as anything else to do on holiday, we need time together doing stuff like walking up mountains and scooting down beach pathways to reconnect in places other than home. I believe that family holidays are one of the best things that I treasure from my childhood. There is just something about the pleasure of experiencing new and sometimes adventurous times together in contexts outside the everyday grind that bind us together with bonds which can not be broken. I now appreciate the cost that my parents payed to provide these quality times for our family! Which is not insignificant.

There have been the usual negatives of vomiting, navigational marital stress, and pest animals, rain and kids that won't stop nagging, winning ( fill in you own annoying utterance type here) but we soldiered on through these and other obsticules to break though to the other side of holiday joy.

Peace or unbelief.

I've had a rough social media week. 

I made a few comments on a family members status and started a firestorm of hatered, a landslide of bitterness.

I doesn't really help that it needed to be said.

That branch of the family have now just added us to the axis of evil, who in their minds are worthy of utter contempt, and deserve not to draw the breath of life.

The are so entrenched in their hurt that the slightest brushing will open the old wounds that refuse to be healed.

Oh lord would you heal them and let love win this battle, overwhelm them with your loving kindness and sofen their hardened hearts I pray.

Doing hard things alone

I always like to have a helper. A companion an off sider. But this is not always an option. We do all need time alone. And when I say alone I mean with God. Alone with God. When we look at heroism, most often it is the actions of a single person that recieve the attentions and honor of men.

At the end of the day Jesus is the only dependable one. He is the Rock.

We let ourselves down so often we can not even rely on ourselves . Let alone other people.   

Jesus faced his cross alone none stood by Him, not even one. Then his own beloved Father turned His back on him. Absolutely alone, abandoned. Forsaken and given up to die.

All for me and you. Let us be willing to lose friends for this man ! And lose parents, siblings for him.

 Let us love not our own lives for him. 

I offer my life for Him, just to be near Him. To walk in His mighty shadow which is no shadow at all for He is the light of the world! 

In him will I abide now and evermore!

Blogging or meditating

For some including myself we think about things while talking them out. If we are not free to talk then we may never have a full understanding. This not a objective truth it's just where I am in my development as a human being. Generally speaking where there is much speaking the value of the words is likely to be low! 

Slow to speak and quick to listen the scriptures say. I would like to be a better listener. 

But talking or writing have always been good outlets for me although I'm not sure how well recieved my words are! 

That they are recieved is important though, for instance I have never successfully kept a journal or sermon notes for private meditation I seem to be most adept at public speaking ( at least one on one) and especially writing letters and this blog is still going now for six years. Granted there have been times of low output but it hasn't died and when feeling fit mentally I seem very seldom stuck for something to write about. I think through out my meditative driving job during the work day of things to blog about but mostly forget them I think. 

Still my inspiration doesn't seem to dry up. I believe that is because I am not the source of it. Some of the stuff I have written has come from a purer heart than the one that beats in my breast. 

Bless God for the Infilling of His Holy Spirit!

True Prosperity

All that glitters is not Gold.  I could turn this around and say All that is gold does not glitter!

Matthew 6:19-21 says...

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Prosperity is mostly thought of in terms of income or wealth handed down to us. In other words material gain and getting. Humans seek the power of wealth, so they can do what they want to do.

I think true prosperity is found in giving. If we are givers then we are called generous but if we hold what we have been given another name for that is greedy.

Obviously we would want to thought of as generous rather that greedy. But most people probably believe themselves to be generous. Most people want to give its just a matter of WHEN. I say if we are truly generous then we must give today/now. We must look at what we have and divide off something to give (no matter how small and insignificant, something is better than nothing). Obviously the bigger the proportion of the given amount the more generous we are.

 Jesus praised the poor widow for giving all of her two mites and condemned the pharisee, although he gave large gifts!   

The scriptures say God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, He is not short of a quid, and how much of His wealth did God give into the control of humanity? All.

Nobody can out give God a wise woman once told me.

Don't wait to begin giving. We often try to delay Gods call to generosity by arguing that we can start to be giving when we have saved for ....... or when we've payed off........... and so on. Lets not delay the blessings of prosperity for another day/week/ year....... give now and prosper! 

Who to follow.

Should it be the one who was pushed out of heaven . And who fell, the fallen angel. He came here unwillingly believeing his place to be. 'I will ascend above the stars of God, I will be like the most High.'

Or should we follow The Lord of heaven who came down willingly because he wanted to humble himself and to be humbled still further as a tiny baby who's lot was first assigned to a stable. And then in obedience unto death even death on the cross. Enduring public shame and ridicule with out giving any answer except;

Father forgive them for they know not what they do.

It's an easy choice for me!

Parental pride

My children are a blessing they teach me so much. They have enjoyed their time at school this year and the school has given them honors and good reports so I would have reason to be 'proud' of them.

But I am not proud of them. I support them and love them. If I want to pride myself on my children's character or achievements. I would boast in the Lord because they themselves are not worthy and neither am I. But Jesus is worthy of ALL the Honor, ALL the Glory, ALL the praise, ALL the power and ALL that is within me, for I am nothing, I have given myself away. 

He alone has triumphed over sin and death. I and my wife and children have done nothing that needs to be praised by men except that the spirit has worked it in us! If then it was not my work but the work of the spirit in me/my children how can we take credit? How can we personally receive the honor?

Friends we can't and shouldn't lest we treat as worthless the Grace of God.

Dry hands

My hands are getting so dry. The wx is hot with breezes, hot breezes so it's little wonder. They feel awful to type with, moisturizing is so unmanly though. I've decided I need work gloves. But I always thought they were for sissies. Well I guess I'm a sissy now!

 My spirit is not dry. like a watered garden is my soul within me, because of Jesus.

Obsessed with Jesus

I have a need. I need this need not daily, not even hourly, but continuously every single moment of my life.

I need Jesus. I want Him. After I have wanted Him I want Him more, and more, and more.....
I will never have enough of needing Him. I WILL ALLWAYS SEAK HIM.

The good news is that He has found me. I was lost. He found me. I have tasted and found that the Lord is Good. Like the Sweetest Honey that never overpowers my taste buds, Like the most beautiful song that my ears never tire of hearing. Like fragrant smells of lush flower gardens and orchards after rain.

NOTHING ELSE WILL EVER SATISFY ME.

Strong Protector

If you are the head of your household, You may be the Father or Husband, you may even be a single mother/woman for what ever reason. Children and wives obviously need protection but do you ever wonder who will protect the protector? I do.
When I was little on stormy nights when large things where being tossed around by the wind like they weighed nothing, I was GLAD I had a Father. I felt safe knowing Dad was there to deal with any calamity that might arise. Or on quiet nights when there would be a loud unidentifiable noise I needed a father to comfort me, my Dads presence was the only security I had against these fears, I didn't really trust God than as I do now. I needed a physical presence, someone I could see and touch who I knew was strong.

I now know that my Dad wasn't  all that strong. In fact He was weak and had many fears of His own that I didn't know about or understand. I realize that the man I had put all my trust in wasn't actually capable of protecting me from all my fears. My trust was misplaced.

As a Dad/Husband I know that now I am the security for my family. My kids look at me as that strong man that can lift them high and bring them into line when they misbehave. But I know that I am weak. I still need someone stronger to protect me! And who would that person be? My Father has died. I believe that God sends angels to protect us, but even they are not enough for me because I know I have a very powerful enemy.

My confidence is only satisfied through Jesus in God alone. I can only rest from all my fears in His Almighty strength. In Him I have no fear and I rest in peace because I know He never sleeps!
Let us all young and old, male and female, trust in Him who has never been shaken and never been moved.

I know of a missionary grandmother who on more than one occasion has had her sleeping place invaded by armed and violent men, she has not retreated from her calling because she worships the God who said this.

Psalm 127

21st Century King James Version (KJ21)

127 Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Psalm 91

21st Century King James Version (KJ21)

91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him will I trust.”

3 Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence.

4 He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust; His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5 Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flieth by day,

6 nor of the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor of the destruction that layeth waste at noonday.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee.

8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because thou hast made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation,

10 there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11 For He shall give His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.

12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample underfoot.

14 “Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.

15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”

Good Soil

From little things, Big things grow....

We have reached a stage of wanting to grow things again (despite living in a rented house with very little in the way of garden). A man can only walk across a prickle infested lawn so many times before he is compelled by the pain in His feet to do something about it! Weeds flourish when good people do nothing. And the best way to combat weeds is to encourage the healthy growth of the desired plants.

Isaiah 58:11 
The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.

We have been watering flat out with the hose to keep the sun from scorching struggling grass but the weeds don't struggle at all weeds are strong plants and not fussy they will grow anywhere most of them, good plants are fragile and need a lot of care and attention in order to produce a verdant verge or a vibrant vege patch.

It all starts with good soil. Good soil doesn't just appear it is built over years by lots of dead orgainic material merging into it and natural fertilizer from animals be it manure or their rotten carcasses(blood and bone) all this rotten stuff is broken down by microbes and rendered from something offensive and unattractive into something that becomes a life giving medium for an new generation of living thing by producing plants which are then eaten by animals and so on up the food chain. Dead things once above ground eventually circum to death and decay falling to the ground they are absorbed and converted into the various minerals and raw materials need by plants to build their growing forms. Soil that is no good has no life in it.

Something good has to die before there can be life in the soil.

Christians need to offer up their lives as Christ has done, in order for good spiritual soil to be prepared. And this as well as sowing the word of God and watering it will produce a fruitful harvest.

Rev12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Flood, Blood & Fire.

"To a land that dwells in darkness there has come a Great Light."- transliteration of Isaiah 9:2

The earth is said in the scriptures to be groaning for the coming of the Savior, that is the very ground cry's out to God to be cleansed. God is attentive to these cry's He answers them with three cleansing elements, the first is water.
 During the great flood of Noah God cleansed the earth of all unrighteousness, all wicked people perished and only righteous Noah and his household were saved. But he also cleaned the land itself, all the blood that had been spilt was washed away and the whole earth was given a new beginning. Of course it wasn't long before Sin increased again and more blood was spilt in anger, again defiling the land so we were back to square one. God of course had made a covenant to never again destroy the earth by water. So he had to use another element. Blood.

Israel are Gods covenant (chosen) people and God sealed the covenant with blood, animal blood. More animal blood was spilt in the land of Israel than your average abattoir. They where a people under blood and it was intended that all nations would be blessed by their observation and reverence of  Israel. Israel was the altar of God where he offered sacrifices to cleanse the whole earth. They were to be a sign.
But we know from reading the bible that Israel was unfaithful to the covenant and broke it. So God did what He promised to do if this occurred, He destroyed the nation and scattered a remant of Godly seed over all the face of the Earth.

There is no longer any blood sacrifice that can be offered because since God sent Jesus to die for the sins of the entire world He no longer accepts blood sacrifices, the cleansing power of blood the cleanse the land has now finished, because although Christs blood has power to clean any and all who come to Him, it can't clean unbelievers, so the land is still defiled. The Blood covenant does not cover the whole earth, but only those who chose to obey God and come under it, The church of Christ is clean and is spread out over all the earth ( at least most of it thanks to missionaries), so this is a temporary, sprinkled, cleansing of the land but it lacks completeness. And God has promised to, at some point, remove the church from the earth via the rapture. This is where Jesus returns not to the earth but to the clouds from where he will catch up all those who are trusting in His name.

When this happens the earth will have no covering, Nothing to prevent God from poring out His wrath on the earth. Indeed that is what He promises to do. But this will not be a complete destruction. He again will show mercy in that He will only allow Himself short outbursts here an there. And although these outbursts will be incredibly devastating He will not destroy all till the end. And the final element will fully and finally cleanse the earth forever, fire.

The whole earth and the universe will be consumed by fire. That is completely destroyed. End of story.......

Well not quite because there still remains the promise of our wonderful God to make a completely new start. He going to start from scratch. He will create a whole new universe, the old one will pass away but a replacement will be brought into being. this land I believe will never be defiled because there will be no marriage and no new people procreated, the only inhabitants of this new earth will be those who have been cleansed forever by the blood of the Lamb. No blood will ever be spilt in anger in Gods new world. Jesus has paid it all on this old, passing away, earth.

This is why Jesus said Heaven and earth will pass away but the word of the Lord abides forever!
Glory to God in the highest, peace on the earth toward men.

Long waiting

My five year old daughter sometimes (when prevailed upon) rides shot gun with me when I do the daily freight run to Mungindi. Usually after we depart Moree she will watch the scenery, we will talk a little and then she will want to eat smoko.  After smoko has settled a little she will ask if she can go home now or at most she will ask if not straight away can she go home in a little while (when she is sick of it).

There is almost nothing as hard to learn than long waiting for a child or any adult that has not learned it as a child. It is painful to learn. Nobody likes pain.

Our sinful natures lust against the imposition of waiting. whether it be for a bus or a in the doctors rooms.
I was held up by traffic a bit yesterday, and initially I reacted my normal way with frustration and discontent but I was reminded that it is Gods will that we learn long waiting and I was immediately content to sit there as long as necessary and rested in the Lord, He knows what he's doing folks. Conforming us though the hardship of waiting unto perfection, His will is to restore us to the original image of God, that is in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 131

King James Version (KJV)

131 Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.

2 Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.

3 Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and for ever.

Strangely Dim

" we were like men living in a dream."
                                      -Jewish citizen on the recapture of Jerusalem following 2000 yrs of exile.


There is nothing like a bit of time in the darkness to help us to appreciate the day.
 I have entered my promised land after decades of wilderness time fearing man, and suffering at the hands of rejection How I came to spend this time would be the stuff of counselors offices but I am completely sure that it was all part of God's perfect plan for my life. God does use sorrow and suffering to not only fit us for Heaven but empower our testimony on earth.

Joshua and Caleb were witnesses of the power of the strength of the Anakim( Canaanite giants) but they did not cower to the fear of man. Why?

Because they feared God much much more. God is worthy of our fear. We must fear Him, since we cane not approach Him rightly any other way. If God was a teddy bear we could get away with waltzing into the throne room of God with a casual 'howzit going bro"  But far be it from me to ever approach God in such a manner.

God is not our equal. We are incapable of comprehending the magnitude of His presence and power, although our awe of His wonderful creation goes some way it barely scratches the surface. He is so far above us that we could never get near enough to Him to know Him. But Father God wants us to know Him so..... the Lord of Heaven came down.

The firstborn of the Father was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Jesus had no fear of man because, He created all men and they had no power over him.
All mature followers of Christ will have to have overcome this giant to take possession of the promised land.

If Jesus had feared the nails all the world would have been lost for eternity. 

That is why Jesus is now and ever shall remain my Greatest Hero. 

Two trees

 I have been thinking a lot about trees lately. In hot weather the shade of a tree is priceless. There are alot of trees mentioned in the bible.

They were created three days before mankind on the third day, Created even before the great lights of Heaven, the Sun, Moon and starry host. They are therefore the oldest form of living things on this earth. It pleased God to make them first.

After His first week of work God went back to work on Sunday and made a Garden in Eden with Trees obviously being central. In fact the trees are one of the four main characters on the stage of Eden. The other three being mankind and God himself. I suppose we have to mention the trespasser as well but I'd really rather not. I'm sure He wasn't invited.God just tolerated his presence because He was using Him to accomplish His plan of salvation.

Well you should all know the creation story and the fall. But what about the trees. Adams sin in desiring and partaking in what God had not ordained, the fruit of the tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil, meant that the free access to the Tree of Life was from then on cut off.
However we are able to again eat of this tree after we have been redeemed by the blood of the one who hung on it.

You see the cross is now the tree of life. The fruit of it, Christ's body and blood, are what we must eat to gain life eternal. The tree of knowledge seemed to promise greater life,(the life of God) but instead yielded death.
The cross which seemed to all in sundry to have ended all Hope for Mankind, Seems at first glance to be the tree of death. However its fruit gives life eternal. Wonderful Saviour.

Mungindi Burger

I got permission from my Food Boss to have a blow out so today I ordered a 'Mungindi Burger' from a takeaway shop in the town I drive to, to deliver freight. It was a beauty.
You my have heard of, or over heard or even be one yourself but I am speaking about a certain hard-as- nails-bush-in-me-blood type that when he orders a burger out come the definitive words...

'' NO SALAD PLEASE!"

And if you ever witness this moment you'll know that salad would just ruin this guys day if it ever made friends with a burger he wanted to eat.

Three different types of red meat, a slough of cheese and a slice of tomato. Perfect.

Well not really I like salad. I was attracted to the name but I failed to read the list of ingredients.
I guess Mungindi is the kind of town that predominately peopled by the above described characters.

That would be typical of cow chasers and the like who drift around and never stop somewhere long enough to 'put a garden in'. Salad comes from a garden, And no garden has ever or will ever exist without a gardener. A man who wants salad must depend on or become a gardener or husbandman.

John 15

New Century Version (NCV)

Jesus Is Like a Vine

15 “I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me.

God resists the proud

But He delights in ministering grace to the Humble. God must resist the proud because He doesn't want a family of fools. A proud man is a fool because He is suffering under the delusion of His own grandeur.
Humility is just a realization of reality, we are not great. The centre of the universe is not us.
We must look up, not down at our navels.

My little son said today while looking at a tree, "I wish I was as High as that!"  A fair wish to have for a little bloke. He is not aware yet of God's plan for every proud tree, Isaiah lays it out the best in  Chp2 vs 12-18.

12 The Lord Almighty has a day in store
    for all the proud and lofty,
for all that is exalted
    (and they will be humbled),
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty,
    and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 for all the towering mountains
    and all the high hills,
15 for every lofty tower
    and every fortified wall,
16 for every trading ship[b]
    and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low
    and human pride humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18     and the idols will totally disappear.

and who can forget chp 40 vs 4

Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

And what about 2 Corinthians 10:5

5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

by all this I get the distinct impression that God is not pleased when one sets himself above another because He is no respecter of persons. He alone knows that all men are as dust, grass and flowers. Here today gone tomorrow. If not one of us can save even our selves from the certainty of death. Why presume we to play overlord to anyone else. 

Image of love

I just did a quick search of Google images for love. Man there's a lot of stuff there each one deserves a thousand words, how ever not many that picture true love except maybe this one

God is said to love us this way, but is this an absolutely true saying. God loves us where we are and we are not perfect when we first love Him. Such is the nature of his love that He gave His Son to make us perfect, so that where He is we may also be.

So this is a true saying if it seen in a certain light, which I might paraphrase I am in awe of your perfections in spite of your imperfections. I accept you warts and all however I'm not seeing warts at the moment because of the loving feelings that are coursing through my being!

The standard for heaven is Holiness however, which is all surpassing beauty to which we could never measure up of our own selves, we need to be washed of our filthiness. which leads me to another point the colour of love is of course red which the most prevalent colour on Google images love search.

 Why is blood red the colour of love? Because this is the Greatest love that a man should give his life for another. Red implies a willingness to give ones life for another.

So I guess the image I was looking for was the image of the suffering and agony of Christ on the cross. That i is the grandest love scene ever played out on the stage of this earth.

Contrast this with a common worldly image of love...

One is giving the other taking of self.  The picture above is not an image of love but of lust. The satisfying of self by taking that which you want,  giving in to desire. It is an image of two selfish people rejoicing that they they have found in the other the answer to their need. They are also giving of their bodies to one another  but that is in order that they might take, giving to take, the taking of the other predominates. They are consuming, using the other. They are no doubt saying and 'feeling' love for the other however it is highly conditional love and superficial. 'I will love you always as long as you always look this good!'

When we look at Jesus suffering we see Him bearing the cost of our redeemtion. He is giving in order to keep giving, and giving and giving. Jesus payed it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

The Power of Godliness

2 Tim 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

What or who is the power of Godliness ? Powers in the biblical  understanding are not impersonal. A Power is a person whether divine, angelic or mortal. The gravity of their presence, the pervasiveness of their spirit. We all have power. A talented charismatic person will have much more power in this world than an illiterate and insecure one but these various distributions of power are of little consequence to God. He delights in using the weakest of things to defy the strong.

Structure without essence. Form without fullness. A house left empty. The glory having departed. 
These are the tragedies that flow from separation with the Father, our source of life. The beguiling nature of sinfulness leads us away from the lover of our souls, then hides the way back in darkness, so that we are forced to continue existing without really living. We are lead away from Him to enslavement, and despair. 

But praise be unto God. The light of the world is come to a land of darkness, He has triumphed over the power of sin and death to make a way back. To save, rescue and redeem our souls. Christ came to reconcile us to the Father. He is the way. In Him we see the greatest expression of power. Christ is the power of God.

A vital relationship with Christ as Savior, Lord and Friend empowers us to reconnect with the Father. He is our source and our destiny, and without Him we have no life. We must abide in the vine.

The Rose of Sharon

The song "Above All" by M.W.Smith is an alright song but I can't like the part about the rose and thinking of me above all cause I know its wrong.

A rose being tramped is not a proper type of Christ, because it has no blood. That is why He is called the lamb and not the rose. Plant life although wonderful and life sustaining for herbivores and all carnivores that eat the herbivores, is not in the same class as air breathing creatures, who have blood systems. The life is in the blood. The remission of sin can only come by the shedding of blood.

The tragedy of a tramped rose which is not aware of its own existence, is not comparable to that of a self aware/conscious being such as and animal or say Jesus. Nothing can compare to the sacrifice of our Lord. He alone was the spotless lamb the offering of which was sufficient to appease the just wrath of our Holy God once and for all.

People say stuff like    'even if I was the only person on earth Christ would have died for me.'
or the last line of the chorus here 'and thought of me above all'

am I God that Jesus should have thought of me above all? no this is not correct. Jesus always and forever thinks of His Father above All. I don't even want Him to think of me Above all cause I'm not worthy of that, I am not above all!

When we sing this song we are singing a false gospel and worshiping ourselves, sorry to ruin it for anyone who loves this song but the truth needs to be revealed and layed bare even if it is painful for us to confront, lest we be lead into delusion.

Bringing in the sheaves

I am helping with harvest at the moment, driving the 'chaser bin'.
They aren't any sheaves brought in anymore cause the harvesting machine (header) does all the threshing and winnowing as well as chopping the chaff and broadcasting it so it will rot down most efficiently.
The community of people that used to have to come together for the purpose of harvesting and processing grain have been replaced by a handful of people not face to face (as much) but machine to machine!

God told Adam to take dominion over the fields and that's what Adams sons have done, albeit in man glorying way. In using machines we are able to increase food production to the point that there should be enough to feed all the people on the earth. So we have a tool (like a shovel) that will help us to do what God wants done. He wants everyone who works to have enough food to eat. Of course westerners eat the lions share but that's another guilt trip.
The machines are great but not greater than the men who drive them, or even the grain they are harvesting.
I mean, headers are great but you can't grow or eat one!
Machines are built to serve us but ironically they make us their slaves, We must spend vast portions of our allotted time on earth paying for them and fixing them.

I miss the community that would have cut and bound the sheaves, transported by hand or ox cart to the threshing floor, threshing, winnowing then ensilment and grinding flour. All together face to face, shoulder to shoulder. And the harvest festivals would have been great. What better time to celebrate after the work is all done and the grain is safely stored in the store house for the coming year who wouldn't want to kick back?
And farmers do this but mostly in a personal way, by taking a holiday or buying big ticket items after the annul  paycheck comes in. The church I grew up in had harvest festival where folk would bring things they had grown in and displaying them in the front of the church. It was beautiful seeing all the fruit of the earth gathered in, but then time marched on and people have stopped growing stuff at home in favour of dependence on the almighty Woollies/Coles industrial complex. How sad that we would let ourselves be sold into slavery for the sake of seeking ease and convenience. Isn't that what the Israelite's wanted to do in the wilderness after presently escaping 400 yrs of slavery in Egypt. Go back to the fleshpots!

Whats my point. Manual labor is good. It stops you from getting fat and brings us together with our brothers and sisters who pitch in and share the burden. The work is soon forgotten as we talk, sing and strengthen one another as well as sought out any discord. Let us not be bewitched/obsessed by the things we have made so that we can't remember the things God has made are far greater including our fellow man.

Jesus taught all of his lessons by referring to examples seen in  everyday life for the people of the time, harvesting grain was just one, birds, lilies of the field. I only just the other day appreciated fully that in using these examples he wasn't referring to things he had simply observed but rather he was their very creator he designed them, built them, and displayed them in all their splendor for our pleasure and use. Then He uses them to teach us,who are also the work of his hands. Let us not miss the beauty of the things he has made. That we might learn of Him and know Him more.

The River and the Mulberry Tree.

Just a short pace form where we live is a river, the 'Mehi' is it's name. Its not a very grand body of water but its important to us a many others. My children and I take our dog for walks along its backs and we jump in it to cool off. As we travel the dirt path upstream we often stop at the mulberry tree, Which grows down on the lower bank which some times is flooded.
 We are loving the fruit at this time of year. There is something special about eating straight from a tree that just seems right. Also nobody has cultivated this tree it has been planted there by the providence of God. He has provided everything to make this fruit grow the seed, the water and the sunshine and he made a place for it and planted it there. We stroll up to it and wonder that a wild tree like this has any fruit on it? Does anyone else know of it's existence and value its bounty? It would appear not, because we are often blessed with hand-fulls of fruit. Isn't God good to put a tree there that only we know enough about to enjoy. His goodness is displayed to me by this and a thousand other ways. How great is our God?

transperency

1 Samuel 16:7

King James Version (KJV)

7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

Every person has two lives, public and private. For most people there are some differences between them. And this is right, because its all about how much we are known, how much do we reveal of our hearts to others and to God. And everybody doesn't need to know us completely, the bible teaches that only a fool utters his whole mind.

The result of Adam's sin was first shame and then hiding. This shows us that Adam's mind had immediately been darkened at the fall because it is not rational to make any feeble attempt to hide from All powerful, All knowing and searching all things God.

When we are restored to a right relationship with God by faith in Christ we realize that hiding from God is futile and that we need to open our hearts door and let Jesus in. We need him to come in because we have a problem that we cannot hide or solve by ourselves, A broken relationship with God our Father.

Christ must be allowed in to every room of our hearts and every area our our lives. If  He is not Lord of all then he is not Lord at all! This means that we are naked before Him hiding nothing. 

What does this mean? It means we are restored to the same pre-fall oneness that Adam & Eve enjoyed with God, our nakedness is no shame to us. 

God is still Holy and He still can not look upon sin, and there is still sin in us, so how can this be. Because we are in Christ, He has become our covering, he imputes His righteousness to us. 

We are now hidden in Christ. We can stand before a Holy God without perishing.

So I have established that we must allow ourselves to be transparent before God.  As believers we must transparent before men as well to different degrees, be able to pass inspection. If anyone wanted to accuse you of being a christian would they find any evidence?

I believe that there is a huge problem in our lives if we are Christian only publicly and not privately. And that public display might only mean attending meetings and talking the talk. If an investigator or an elder goes to our family members and asks for evidence of our faith in the private sphere, they better be able to give a good report without lying!  If they can't then we walk not in the truth.

There are actually three levels of public life. ( family life crosses over into private as well.) Some deceivers are able act falsely in all three. They are the self we present to our family, the self we present to our church and the self we present to the world. We  must walk in truth consistently in all three to be a faithful witness. 

It is also a problem of equal magnitude if we are champions privately and freeloaders in church and sinners to the world. Our witness to the world is vital if we are to for fill the Great Commission and make disciples.

  Oh Lord grant us more of you Grace that we might repent of our shortcomings,failures and pride and live truly and faithfully as your representatives, your image bearers, that the light of your Glory might shine brightly in us and pierce the darkness around us.