Days....

....this is definatly one of them.

Forgotten Perspective?

Crucifixion was reserved for the scum of society such as slaves, traitors and barbarians. It was a hideous public death that was sure to send a shudder down the spine.

In our world today, our churches are adorned with the cross. It graces our bishops, shows up on many a uniform and label, and hangs from gold chains around our necks. It is a universal symbol of hope.

In the first century it was far from this. In fact the cross in the first century was obscene. To wear a peice of jewlery fashioned as a cross would have been grotesque, a bit of revolting humor consiterably more shocking than, say, in our century, wearing a bit of jewlery fashioned like the mushroom cloud of an atomic bomb.


No wonder Paul can write, "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing." (1 corinthians 1:18)

Church

Each week as I prepare for the church rush I find myself with an "off" attitude. What do I like about church? The fellowship of hanging around other christians. I think that summs it up...pretty sad. I enjoy taking part in "playing" the music....but even that brings a whole jumbled mess of hypocricy and other stuff of the like that I strugle with. The message? Honestly, I cannot remeber the last time that I heard a message that did not contain a main vain of, "love yourself, love your neighbor, love God.....and.....go tell the whole world about it." I am not dimminishing the importance of these commandment, as Christ Himself stated that they were the most important, and His last "physical" charge before ascending into heaven was the great commission. But for me, these terms are so over done and portaryed as elementary that they become a habit like breathing, yet breathing (for example) is so far from being elementary! With out breath life would cease. The oxygen we need to breath is taken forgranted, we know its there (or so science has told us) yet it is unseen and hardley appreciated, untill it is gone. GOD BREATHED LIFE INTO US! That is huge! As Christians we are conditioned to love, love love and then love some more, ("....and they will know we are christians by our love, by our love...") so you live and breath love, but never recognise it for what it is, and never comprehend your life or the world with out it.

If I heard a great sermon on God's hate for evil, and his anger and wrath for the disobedient in the background, the cross would naturally stand out in the foreground. The cross must be put in its place. Because for for myself, church has made it this kind of safty net. Example: "love, love, love, love, love, and if by chance you forget to love, God's love has compensated through his loving gift of the cross.......love"


Its funny, I have had such a bad attitude about the repetative christian love, (hearing it at home, church and school since I could crawl) that I went out and purposely bought a book that is called, "love in hard places." It's by D.A. Carson. I knew that if there was something more to this love thing, he would be the one to spell it our correctly and in perspective. He did. Carson does a fantastic job of covering all the elements of God's love, but, it is always portrayed in light of His anger and wrath which is the foundation of His love.

Thats enough....

God keep me in a place where I will never take your love forgranted, or treat it as a safty net for when I forget to love. Never let me forget my place....for all are worthy of hell, and that includes me. Please teach me to accept my humble (yet glorified) postion and recognise that you breathed life into me, and you have the power to take that breath away, but it is only by your grace that you allow me breath. And God, lastly, please open my eyes to the good in our western minded churches. (and correct me when I steriotype...ha!)

God Suffering?

"For faith to be praiseworthy, it must repose in a faithful God."

One reason we are so sure that God is to be trusted is because he sent his Son to suffer cruelly on our behalf. God in whom we have faith and on whom we rely, knows first hand what suffering is all about, not only because He is God and knows everything, but by experience. Many times the Psalmist cries out in his injustice and calls on God to vindicate. When we plead for justice we want justice NOW! Usually it is a selfish justice with the singular goal of reducing our own pain and suffering, perhaps without the bigger picture, or God's ultimate purpose in mind. But justice instantaneously applied when it only favors "me" is not justice at all. Infact this selfish justice intended to releave my sufferings is rather just another name for corruption. If you really want nothing but totally effective and instant justice.....then go to hell.

One important and common error in the church is the view that God the Father is characterized exclusivly by His justice and wrath, while the Son Jesus Christ is characterized exclusivly by mercy and grace. Some how in this view the Son won over the Father by His sacrific of death, whereas with out the Son, God would have just wiped us all out. Remeber, it was the Father who "loved the world" so much, as to send His Son, so that we might surpass our rightly justified destination of hell. Christs death for us, is God's pronounced love for us, provided through His own suffering.

Me

So where are you Robin? Where are you in your walk? Where is your heart? Where's your head at? These are questions I always think when I am reading blogs of friends. Yet reading my blog----- I am extreemly cold on the subject.

Well I am here, in Victoia. I am not sure how it was that I ended up here. Two years, even 8 or so months ago, I would have never thought. I think it had something to do with a whale!!

God has provided all my basic needs, and then 10 thousand more. A great job, where my gifts can be used to their fullest. The opportunity to worship using piano, flute and voice. The opportunity to teach others how to use these amazing instruments and use them for God's glory. An awsome bunch of kids who have welcomed me back into their arms. Community, family....its all kind of erie how everything played out. I guess thats the bottom line of obedience. HA! If you only knew! None the less, obedience hurts. I will not down play that statement. But in the end, when you have fully committed areas of your life back over to Christ, the blessings flow. Sure consequences still cause pangs at times, but that is life in general, I am experiencing no different.


My head.... is full of new ideas and a thirst for knowledge. I could not beg for anything more. Each day I feel I am reading and learning more about the subjects to which I am so attached! I know that I am in God's hands, I know that He is pleased with my obedience. I know that I am secure in His love.

My heart? Well, its on the right track. A minister once told me that it was obvious I had left my heart back in Africa. My heart that remains in Africa is thriving. The rest of me, that is held here, against its will, is suffering, but not hopless.


Since moving back "home" I have been covered by the showers of God's blessings (Aside from my black and blue knee) The bruised knee on the other hand, was God's punishment, for my boasting so loudly (while running very fast) about beating someone down a moutain. Sure I won(or so I thought), but how strange that I be the one rolling on the ground in agony, and the looser bent over me laughing them selves silly! Okay, so I deserved it.


Robin

Turkey Vulture!

What an amazing day! A great opportunity arose to spend the day, morning till night, at this amazing resort far out on the west coast. Crashing waves below, a luxurious accomodation, a brilliant sun warming our toes and faces, great company, awsome food, jammin guitars (and a bango! that was cool), a large pod of killer whales passing in the not far distance......the tranquility, the serentity and then.............WHAT!?!?! A TURKEY VULTURE!


It was a picturesque scene, until this (at first) small black dot comes gliding (rather emergency landing style) in from the ocean, increasing in size. A distraction from the pod of killer whales, at first we though is was a herring, then a hawk. A bald eagle? No it was far toooo large for any of these. A pelican? a plane. At last this massive awkward bird obstructed our view comletely landing in our yard at what was it? a TURKEY VULTURE! What on earth was God thinking in His creative mood? This obscure creature can only be described as an oversized turkey (ugly neck and all) with enormous awkward wings hardly capable of keeping it in flight!


In all it was a fabulous day. A great smooozing opportunity, and hey I was even offered another job by the "other side." Of course I am thrilled about the Beacon of Hope House, I would never betray, but the thought was nice anyways, specially considering it came from the head of this "other" organization, and began with the statement "I am looking for a woman." With my bleek sence of humor I could hardly stifle a response, and ended up bursting out with laughter. Thankfully he had the sense to see the humor in it, and laughed along side.

God is GREAT! He must have some sense of humor, TURKEY VULTURE AND ALL!


Robin.

Suffering and Sin

"All we have to do is live long enough, and we will suffer. All we have to do is live long enough and we will die."


Strange....this statement is an undeniable fact. Yet why is it that we are always caught off guard by death and suffering?


What a great start to an incredible chapter in Carson book on suffering and evil! I love this man! There has always been so many truths in my mind that I dare not share due to steriotipical christian confessions and beliefs! Carson has nailed so many of my thoughts and actually published them for the christian world to marvel over these "new thoughts." (As old as our God--and before creation itself, they existed) Just hard to swallow in a society which seeks comfort, correction and justification for hardship in every nook and crany.

So how do we define death in the christian faith? It is quite plainly not the supreme instance of a cosmic lack of fairness, but rather God's well considered sentence against our sin.

"we are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation.

You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.

The length of our days is seventy years- or eightly, if we have the strength;

yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

Who knows the power of your anger?

For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you"

(Psalm 90:7-11)

Death is God's limit on creatures whose sin is that they want to be gods. (Gen 3:4-5, Rom 6:23). We are not gods, and by death we learn that we are only human. At the same time we cry out against our limitation. Not only because of our rebellion but because we are made in the image of a perfect God whose days are eternal. Death keeps humility close at hand and arrogance at bay as the greatest mystery still unknown to mankind, will conquor each and everyone of us, usually preceeded by suffering. It is our sentance, it is our consequence, blessed be the name of the LORD.

Its facinating to think of it in this way, "I have attracted the just wrath of God." Death is not something that simply happens to me, it happens to me because I am a sinner. I have caused death, I am deaths subject, not just is object. In conclusion sin merits punishment and it is by God's mercy alone that we are not all instantly punished when we sin.

Illness and death are of course not necessarily the immediate judicial consequence of a specific sin. There are many instances in the bible where death or illness is the direct cause of a sin, but not ina ll cases. (Again go back to Luke and the tower of silom.)

But think of the world today how many illnessess are the direct result of surpressed hatred, anger, jealousy, bitterness, guilt? What about high blood pressure, ulcers, heart failure due to self inflicted (sin inflicted) stress? How many emotional problems are directly caused by dysfunctional families? Perhaps emotional problems that lead or escalate into even more sin, as example, rape, murder, adultery, pornography. And what of the AIDs virus or other sexually transmitted deseases? Sure it is commonly known that many individuals contract the virus not by homosexual activies or promisquity, but it is a common denominator in those engaged in such a tendancy. All have sinned, all fall short of God's glory, all have been given a sentance of death, if it were not by God's grace who, once conquoring death, offers eternal life to those who know and love Him and are chosen by Him. God reveals His powers in all sort of manners. His Wrath is no exception. From the horrifying power revealed through the just deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, to the natural process of death bound up with in the organization of creation and its continuing functions.

Still, the fact remains, suffering is not a pleasant ordeal. Yet we all seem to be caught off guard, and shocked that it could invade our homes and our personal lives. We are shaken to the core when a young life is lost, weather it be to an early illness, or a sudden tragic death of circumstance. Why are we suprized and so caught off gurad by suffering that has occured in this way since the fall of man. For what of Able who was murded by an own family member far before his golden years?

There is a cultural factor also at work in our western world. Death is the last mystic "taboo" still waiting to be disected, discovered, and solved. We can publically advocate for a breast cancer cure or of the sort, yet to publically advocate for a cure to death is obserd! Sure we have imagined our time machines, or special pills to keep death from invading, but all we have achieved is a prolonged life, which requires medical procedures and organ replacment to keep death from taking life, when naturally it would occure. Infact we can even "create" (still with God's tools as we cannot make sperm and egg) life out side of a human body! But we cannot keep death from its final say. In our culture corpses are wisked away to be "prepared" in a secret place. Then they are set on display, avoiding the most embaressing had hard to gripe facts of death. The grieving process is done in private and the grieved only seem to return to the rest of the world when they can once again step out in public with a brave "I am over it now" face. Then they are accepted back into a hustling and busting society.

Surley I believe that there are worse things than death. Carson himself states that he would rather die that cheat on his wife. He would rather die than disown the gospel. I agree with him whole heartedly. Being unfaithful is worse than death. Disowning the gospel, or being guilty of ending the life of another is worse than death. Death is something that is endured with suffering (in most cases) But this sort of suffering is cause by something that is natural and that will eventually take place sooner or later. To live with the knowledge of your guilt in an affair or you role in the significant suffering of another, is far far far far worse than the suffering of the temporal finality of death. You must live and breath air that you are not worthy of recieving. You must walk among your fellow brothers and sisters with the knowledge in your head that you have cause suffering as compared with the suffering of death. Only you must live a life or this drawn out suffering.

Death brings end to suffering.

Guilt

Taking on guilt or responsibility for everything that goes wrong, also proves that you believe yourself to be all powerful.




I love it!

Feddish

It is not unknown that I tend to have a fetish, (Ok definatly an obsession) with the anger wrath and judgment of God. In training college the question was possed on many ocations, "Where was God in the Tsunami?" Answers such as, "He was in the relief workers, He was with the millions who remained unharmed, He was with the small baby who was found unharmed floating in a bucket...." Yet I never heard the response, "He was in the waves."

The truth of the matter is that most Christians are uncomfortable with a God that actually may have ordained such destruction such as the Tsunami or the hollocost or the genocide that has recently taken place in Sudan. In most churches I have ever attended, war, cursing and holy war was minimized by "spirituallizing" it, or presenting it as a metephorical Bible stories that was written to scare and encourage obedience into God's chosen. It is easy for Christians to accept a Father that is full of mushy love and hugs such as described by Zephania (3:17), or psalm 23. But what of a God that ordains destruction as punishment to those who refuse to obey His law? What of a God who instructs genocide to be carried out as a commandment, with consequences for those who do not completely obey this anialation order? "Praise be to the LORD my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for Battle." (Psalm 144:1)

"But in the cities of these peopes that
the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance,
you shall leave alive nothing that breaths,
but you shall devote them to complete destruction."
Deuteronomy 20:17a

God then goes on to specify six specific nations that are to be completely wiped out, as God is commanding. Then He goes on to explain His reason for the anialation.

"So that they may not teach you to do according to
all their abominable practices that they have done for
their gods, and so you sin against the LORD your God." Deuteronomy 20:18

When Saul refuses to obey Gods command to completely destroy the Amalekites. The result, "Because you have rejected the LORD, he has rejected you as king." (1 Samuel 15:23) Habakkuk has some amazing insight as well on the topic, only the Israelites are the tagets of Gods wrath verses the Israelites carrying out Gods wrath. God speaks to Habakkuk telling him to watch, for He is about to do an amazing work. Habakkuk recogninzes that God is raising up the Babylonians who are to carry out God's judgment and wrath against the Israelites for their wickedness and disobedience. Habakkuk replies,

"O LORD, you have ordained them (babylonians) as judgment,
and you O Rock, have established them for reproof.
You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong,
why do you idly look at traitors and are silent
when the wicked swallowes up the man more righteous than he?" Habakkuk 1:12b-13

Habakkuk also recognizes than God has ordained a nation far more wicked than God's chosen people to destroy them, or carry out God judgment. On a weekly basis we hear of countless threats comming from a few (okay, many) Arab extreemest (or not) who have proclaimed destruction on the western civilzation, (and those of the same mind) in the name of their false god. IS this God's wake up call to the "christian" western world? I know that from many western perspectives, the sin that goes on in our area of the world seems a speck (In my opinion an enormous one) in our eyes. But to God, it must be a plank, especially comming from nations who has put, "In God we trust" on their currency. Or publically claim to be a christian nation with christian based ethincs and laws as we were birthed from the "christian" church. But God has given us so much, thus we bear more responsibility, thus we are even more accountable. God has entrusted us, and we fail. ( This is not a black and white view, I do recognize that our western world has a ton to offer in the way of aid and support, etc.)

So has God ordained the Arab countries to carry out His judgment on us? Did God ordain Hitler? Was God in the Tsunami wave? (Remeber the flood of the OT!!!!!!!) These are difficult questions that I dare not to answer with certanty. But what I can say, and what I do believe, is that God has ordained strickingly similar situation in the Old testament, He ordained it in the New testament, (Yes, even after the death and resurrection of Christ!) And I believe that He ordains it today.

As an encouragment we are reminded of Hebrews 12:5-12

"For if it is discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sones. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?...but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness...Therefore life yout drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for you feet, so that whart is lame may not be ut out of joint but rather be healed...."

Fittingly one of my favarite verses in the Bible is as follows,

I know, O LORD,
that the way of a man is not in himself,
that is in not in man who walks to direct his steps.
Correct me, O LORD,
but in jusctice;
not in your anger,
lest you reduce me to nothing.
Jeremiah 10:23-24

GRRRRRRRR

I am SOOOOO ANGRY RIGHT NOW!

I just wrote a whole essay through this stupid web site! As I hit the save button I noticed a little note at the bottom of the page stating that connection with the server had been lost.

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All my work was swallowed whole by the, "this web page cannot be displayed!!"

I hate computers, I hate the internet, and (as someone I used to know frequently said), I hate my life!



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I wonder if this was how God felt when He made the earth swallow those Israelites whole! Or when he destroyed Sodem and gomorrah and all its inahitants. He must have gotten quite the rush all those people in their dying misery....of course it saddened him, but I initally would get quiet a rush by smashing this computer to bits right now....later I would cry.


I think I will am going to play God and make the ground swallow this computer whole....I of course will resort to using a shovel.

OLD and NEW

In our disposable society when you go out to buy a "new coat," you are usually doing so for a number of reasons. First to replace the old one that does'nt quite feel as "nice." It could have faded, or perhaps the stiching is starting to come undone. Your old coat may still have the same form as the new one, after all they both are coats, but you could be just plane tired of the old one and how it made you look. Your new coat is vibrant and crisp. When you wear it our in public you feel kind of like you are showing it off, and better yet, you feel "great" when you wear this new coat. Sure you new coat probably functions in the same way as the old. But there are probably a few new stylish features. Like that mp3 pocket on the sleave, or the sippers under the arms for extra air flow on muggy days. In all you are proud and satisfied with your new coat, and alas the old one will probably become forgotten about, collecting dust in the back of the closet. Or else it will be passed on as a second hand, hand-me-down, something that was, but is now just a memory with no real relevance in you everyday life. After all your old coast served its purpose, and now it has been put to rest.



Sometimes I feel that we as Christians treat the Old Covenant like an old jacket that has been replaced by the newer, fancier, more features, New Covenant. Infact, the Old and New covenants of the Bible are nothing like the description above. The New covenant is completely founded and based on the Old covenant. The New could not exist with out the Old. I would callenge you to read a book of the New Covenant that is not based or does not quote the Old Testament, even word for word! Its even kind of ironic that the book of Revelation quotes the Old Testament more that any other New Testament book.



The Old Coventant was built over at least two thousand years. The New, over no more that 70. (A liberal or a conservative may argue differently-I took the average.) We are living the New Covenant now, 2000 years into it. But our knowledge of Gods revelation is based on the Bible, two covenants, one with a written account of 2000 years. The other, 70.


Its funny. I was in a class once when a comment was made that under the New covenant God does not pour out His wrath and anger as He did in the Old. This professed fact was owed to the arrival of Jesus Christ. What a life saver He was! Now we can engage in all varieties of sin, recieve eternal life, and not be struck dead by God's wrathful anger when we do screw up. NOT TRUE!!!! (oh yes there the whole repentance thing too)

Again 70 verses 2000 years. Of course there is more examples of Gods judgment being poured out in the Old Testament. BUT you will also find it under the New Covenant, even after the arrival of Christ. Check out Acts 5. Ananias and Sapphira are both struck dead for their sin. And how was it that Herod died? Acts 12:23 "Immediatly and angel of the Lord struck him(Herod) down because he did not give him the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last."

OOPS I GUESS THAT WAS A BIT OF A TANGENT!

So lets not toss the Old covenant with all of Gods revelation, judgment, wrath, grace, love....as if it has been totally replaced by a newer, brighter, more pleasing covenant. God is the same God of the Old Covenant, the New Covenant, and of today.