Decay

Half my face is numb at the moment

I've had a toothache in the evenings for the last week and I have finally decided to do something about it so I went to the dentist this morning, a few months ago the suspect tooths filling had fallen out and I hadn't got around to getting it fixed so I knew where the problem was. Once the dentist had a look I found out that the tooth that I thought was the cause of the pain wasn't and that the problem one was the next one back.

This confused me a little untill the dentist explained it: The tooth that I thought was causing the problems was missing a filling (had fallen out) but in the tooth behind it the filling had cracked but not fallen out. So this cracked filling had become a 'food trap' and have caused decay in the tooth while still looking fine when I looked in the bathroom mirror.

So the result was the dentist had to do some drilling and put fillings in both teeth thus half my face is numb.

What I got thinking about on the way home from the dentist was how we do the same thing with rubbish in our own lives. This rubbish that some people (and the bible) call 'sin' Now I personally find the word sin to be very harsh and I struggle to use it in any context. But anyway this rubbish that we know is there but we choose to deny its existance is slowly causing decay in our spirit. For some people it is easy to see and is public. But if you are like me then you will cover it up so that it all looks fine (like my tooth looked fine) but under that vaneer there is something slowly eating away at us.

This is not a good place to be, but I also know that God is like the dentist, he sees the obvious stuff (like a filling that has fallen out) but he is also able to see the not so easy stuff to see (like the next tooth back that looked fine but was actually worse) God through Jesus can bring healing to that decay he can remove it, drill it out and fill it up.

With this though there is still the consequences of the actions, for me it is that I now have some teeth that are more filling that tooth and there will be pain once the anasthetic wears off. This will be the same with the stuff God removes from our spirit that is causing decay, there will be pain, there will be sacrifice but there will also be a sense of being able to move forward a sense that it needed to be done and that you are a better person for it.

It hurts and it costs us but it is soo worth it, because our heavenly dentist knows what is best for us :-)

Just taking another step on the journey...

Auditors, Spirituality & Cut out Altars

I came across a great site the other day, http://www.rejesus.co.uk This is a british site (Anglican I think) On the site there is a PDF document that can be downloaded called "Sacred space" This document outlines 10 ways to bring the sacred into your workplace. It seems to have been written with great intentions but I find some of them to be inappropiate for the average NZ workplace.

One idea was to setup a 'sacred space' (I like this idea) in the workplace and to appoint a 'sacred space auditior' (bad terminology) to measure its effectiveness and to 'plan what sort of changes to implement.' this sounds like a great idea but I can't see many places that this could happen in.

A good idea was to have go for a 20 minute walk during your lunchbreak and open your senses to what is going on around you, to what is going on inside and what is God is doing.

I had a good laugh at the next one I saw, a cut out altar that you can put on your desk, complete with Candles and some crosses. See below...

I find it funny and amazing how the different 'flavours' of christianity work, for some people a cut out altar on their desk would be great, it would help them connect with God yet I know I look at this and laugh:-) I say this with no contempt for the flavours that have altars in their churches. It is meerly a different expression of this thing we call the church.

Have a look at 'sacred space' yourself here

Christ is Safe?

Christs work makes us safe, Gods word makes us sure

I saw this statement on a chalkboard outside the local Christian Bookshop, it got me thinking about the cheesy statements we come up with that are absolute rubbish.

My experience of Christianity has shown me that the only time I feel safe is when I am not seeking God. I feel the most insecure, freaked out and scared when im pushing my limits in my faith.

A story that comes to mind is about a few guys they were out in their boat, the weather was turning to custard it was getting worse and worse. Then they see a guy walking towards them, this guy was the same guy that they had been hanging out with for a while, this guy always seemed to do some weird things that they didn't understand. Now this same guy who went by the name Jesus was out on the water walking towards them. They were all freaked! Jesus called out to them and said "Hey relax, its me!" One of the more impulsive guys in the boat called Peter called out to Jesus, if its really you let me come to you! Jesus said "Come on, I'm waiting"

oh crud, I've gotta do something now

Now Peter must have been freaking, I guess he would have just realised that oh crud, I've gotta do something now. I bet that the statement 'Christs work makes us safe' wasn't much consolation at that time. Yet even though he was freaked out, insecure, neurotic and emotional (FINE for short) He knows that God is calling him so he steps out of the boat.

I would bet everything I own that he never felt safe though...

Everest

Mark Inglis
You may have heard on the news that a double amputee has conquered Mt Everest.

I heard a radio announcer say the following:

Last night while we were at home watching TV a guy with no legs climbed Mt Everest

Kinda challenging huh?

What has overshadowed this achivement for Mark Inglis is that on the way up his party passed a man who had got into trouble coming down the mountain and was slowly freezing to death. They made the call to leave him where he was and continue to the top. Sir Edmund Hillary (the guy who first reached the top of Everest) has come out and criticised Mark Inglis and his party for not abandoning the summit and getting the freezing climber down the mountain. Marks response has been to say that the freezing climber was too far gone and that there was no hope for him. Mark and his party were not the only people to pass the freezing climber by, apparently over 40 people went by him.

Mt Everest (www.friendlyplanet.com)

The media has taken to this in a frenzy and Mark has not returned to New Zealand a hero but a villian.

Some of the people attempting Everest have paid significant money to climb Everest, some news articles say in excess of $50,000. But being faced with the choice of trying to save a man who was freezzing to death and reaching the summit, over 40 people walked by and left the climber to freeze.

How much is a human life worth?

The questions this raised for me was how much is a human life worth? If I was one of those 40 people would I give up my dream of reaching the summit to help a fellow climber? would I sacrifice my significant cash investment to save a guy who might die anyway?

I don't have answers for these are hard questions, I would like to argee with Sir Edmund and say I would forget the summit, but I don't know... what would you do?

Singleness and Faith

I got invited to another friends wedding this week.
He rung me up to let me know I was invited, we got talking about work and life in general and then he asked a question that I knew was coming, a question that I have been asked many times over the last few years, he asked me 'So have you got a girlfriend yet?'
I gave a brush-off answer 'that girls are not worth the hassle'...I knew this was a lie but it was a way of pushing aside a topic that I have never found easy.

The topic of singleness is a struggle for a lot of Christians. I googled 'Christian Singles' and I got 12 million hits! There are an amazing amount of books out there called 'God will give you a wife/husband in 12 easy steps!' I have read a couple of books on Christian dating (or courting or whatever different term you want to use) and some have been helpful and others I haven't bothered finishing.

Do you have a list?

Its funny, I met with a female friend for coffee this week and I asked her if she had a "List" of what she was looking for in a guy. She did. It was a decent list that had been thought out.

It got me thinking about what I look for in a potential partner.

Looking at my history it seems to be if she is interested in me is about the only thing on the list.

But then I got thinking about what I really look for. I look for someone who is...

• Outgoing
• Funny
• Passionate about God
• Someone I can be myself around

A friend at my church who is happily married once told me that he had 20'ish things from the bible that he used to measure up a potential partener/spouse. I might have to see what these were.

Ill post anything I find out here :-)

Nooma

I get real excited when I hear of people who try to communicate God in alternative ways or are being revolutionary in their way of connecting people with God, Erwin McMannus is one of these, the guys who are a part of XXXChurch (www.xxxchurch.com) are another.
One guy I heard about a couple of years ago is Rob Bell. Rob is a pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan. What made him stand out to me for a start was a story about one of the first sermons he 'preached' at his church.

The first book he decided to preach his way through was Leviticus, in one service the scripture was Leviticus 10:3, in this verse it says "Aaron was Silent" so Rob read out this verse at the start of the sermon and then sat down...

They sat there for 45 minutes in silence

While they were sitting there a powerpoint was playing that said "Some of you will be finding this really hard...tough luck"

Apparently this was the most profound sermon that the congregation had heard.

This guy is willing to try alternative ways rather than the bog-standard sermon.

Anyway this guy has released a series of DVD's called Nooma, each DVD is a talk on a topic, a talk is probally a bad way of explaining it, Rob is having a conversation with the listener. He has a website that is worth a look (www.nooma.com).

Picture taken from the discussion booklet that is available for free download off the website.

I am planning to have a closer look at the entire DVD set soon and I'll post here any thoughts that come from them.

Why go to Church?

I have talked to a few people about why they attend Church on Sundays, It has been interesting to see the variation in reasons. Here are some of them...

• Teaching - Sunday mornings are about the teaching that comes from the pulpit.
• Fellowship - Sunday mornings are about gathering with other Christians for social reasons.
• Ministry - Sunday mornings are about seeing others connect with God in a way that is significant.
• Worship - Sunday mornings are about coming into Gods presence and experiencing his spirit inside.

I read a sample chapter from a book that will be coming out in the next few months called "Starving Jesus" (http://www.starvingjesus.com) in this chapter the writer shares about his story and going through a time of not attending Sunday services.

Why didn't I go to church? The reason was simple: I didn't want to. So, one day I decided I would go. Because church is not about me. It is not about what I like, what I want to sing, what I wish I could hear and how short I wish the service was.

This is an example of what Church is about, Sunday services are not about ourselves they are about serving others like the big guy did.

Movie quote

I was watching a movie the other day and there was a quote that realy stood out to me.

...and it's very important to understand the difference between religion and faith. Because faith is not about having the right answers. Faith is a feeling. Faith is a hunch, really. It's a hunch that there is something bigger connecting it all, connecting us all together.
And that feeling, that hunch, is God. - Edward Norton.

Gets you thinking about the difference between Faith and religion doesnt it?

The movie was Keeping the Faith(2000) and was directed by Edward Norton.

It revolves around a Rabbi (Ben Stiller), a business executive (Jenna Elfman) and a priest (Edward Norton). I highly recommend this movie, it is funny yet still tackles some very real issues.

Just something to ponder...

Who am I?

I am sitting here at my parents old computer and listening to Third Day.

I have been thinking about how we approach God and how we do this thing we call 'church', I come from a christian background, I met Jesus at age 17 and have done the 'church' thing for the last 6 years. I have had a nagging feeling for the last year or so that there is something missing from the way we do 'church'.

...the real tragedy is that is not that churches are
dying but that churches have lost their resaon to live! - Erwin McMannus

I'm reading a great book at the moment by an american Erwin McMannus that is resonating with my soul (An unstoppable force). I feel the rumblings of what he is saying and I am processing what this means for this faith I claim. My wanderings have led me down different paths of late and I am unsure which path I seek. I am at a crossroads looking at the signpost wondering which direction I will take. One way accept the status-quo, the other way is to be different, to be reveloutionary. I believe that the church can be the light of the world that it claims to be but I wonder if it has gone into defense mode and as Erwin puts it 'built a Castle' to defend itself.

Just some thoughts from one wandering down the road....

Initial thoughts

Well this is a new experience, blogging seems to be a great way of expressing what is inside in a world that is soo busy and hectic.

The purpose of this blog is to express what is going on in my weird and often wondering mind, I am on a journey of discovery, I see myself as a 'wandering soul' and this blog is a log of the wandering that I am doing.