20th Dec 2010

I will not be blogging my devotionals over Christmas and New Years.


Instead I will be:

• Concentrating on family
• Writing my second book
• The creative process with my friends Kevin and Ann Pimblott as they plant a church in St Louis.
• I would really appreciate your prayers!

16th Dec 2010

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 – A Time for Everything

• “The Gift of Time”
• The teacher of Ecclesiastes shares the polarization of life’s experiences.
• Life changes and time is an agent of change. Nothing stays the same except God and even our understanding of Him changes over time.
• Change is good; change is God.
• If our life’s aim is a moment in time then we will be very disappointed and ultimately ruined. If our life’s aim however is to grasp time as God’s gift then we may see much fruit in our lives.
• Time allows our minds to change and develop.
• Winston Churchill said “if you are young and not a liberal you have no heart; if you are old and not a conservative you have no brain”
• Time allows us to have second chances.
• Time allows us to invest our lives in different ways. I heard someone once say that when we are young our wisdom is like bullets but if we allow time to mature us then when we are old our wisdom can be like missiles. Bullets are spat out quickly and multiple times; missiles are launched far less often but have a much bigger effect when they reach their point of impact.
• It has also been said that some people live the first half of their lives better than the second and visa versa.
• David and Solomon had good first half’s and yet poor second halves; Moses and Matthew did better in the second half of their lives. Caleb did well in b oth – study him.
• Time it seems is an opportunity.
• I pray that my life is not wasted trying to get to a particular moment in time and holding onto it. I pray instead it will be a pursuing of the gift of time. A recognition of the goodness of change and the understanding that it brings.
• Bring on change!

12th Dec 2010

I really enjoyed teaching on 'Paradise' last night in Colorado

The teaching on the four levels of understanding is so important. 

The Bible transforms us, a shallow understanding transforms to a shallow level but a deeper understanding tranforms us much more deeply.

If you have not heard it - check out:

http://www.paisproject.com/index.cfm?i=2998&mid=1000&id=200504

10th Dec 2010

An excerpt from the 1st draft of my new book - The Cloud and the Line


knights

Where have all the Knights gone?

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.[i]

A long time ago, I read a magazine that said its greatest feedback had come from an article entitled; why are Christian men such wimps?

That bothered me.

I did not want to grow into a wimp. I did not want to be someone who would flake out and give up too easily. I wanted, and still want, to be strong. I wanted to live up to the motto of The Gibbs Family.

The Gibbs family has Scottish origins. The name Gibbs means “bright hostage.” In later medieval times, the family crest was created and to this day displays three battleaxes. When I was a little boy, my father told me that these battleaxes represented my mother and two grandmothers.  

It turns out that was not true.

The motto of the Gibbs’ knights was “firm of purpose.”

I don’t want to be a wimp: I want to be firm of purpose. But what is my purpose? What is the purpose of a Christian? Is it to wage war on those with a different opinion? Is it to extend the boundaries of our faith through bloodshed and crusades? Is it to demand that others agree to the rules of our religion?

Or may our purpose be found not on the battlefield but in the sky?

-----

[i] Ephesians 6:10-18

9th Dec 2010

Acts 28:17-31 – Paul Preaches at Rome under Guard

• “I’ve Started and so I’ll Finish””
• There’s a lovely sense of continuity as Acts [the longest book in the New Testament] closes.
• The book starts with Jesus commission of the Disciples and His inferred command to continue in the principles of mission that they were instructed when He was with them; namely Spread, Spot , Stay, Send.
• The disciples are seen on various occasions implementing this divine method of outreach.
• Then Paul after his conversion does the same, first to the Jews and then to the gentiles in places such as Philippi. He uses the exact same principle passed onto him by the disciples.
• Then in this very last section of the book Spread, Spot, Stay, Send appears again;
• Spread; there were an estimated 10,000 Jews in Rome at the time [after their return for a previous purge] and for various possibly reasons [most likely fear of persecution] the Messianic Christians had not reached out to them. But Paul does. In fact the first thing he does, even under house arrest is try to spread his word to as many leaders as possible. Spread is about strategically reaching as many potential converts as possible. So many youth workers for instance skip this step – it is too hard, they would rather immediately hone in on a small handful of people they are comfortable with. The scariness of Spread is that who knows who you will get to follow you.
• Spot; Paul is looking for those who will lean forward. He does this with the usual methods. Firstly; he connects with them using their terminology and a point of reference that they commonly know to be true and agree on. In this case ‘The Kingdom of God’ in the mishna we learn that Jews had to first accept the yoke of the Kingdom before they could accept the yoke of the mitzvah. So the Kingdom of God/Heaven was an understood concept. Secondly; he gave an option for those leaning forward to find out more; the emphasis being on their responsibility. In this case his door was open for them to return. So again after he strategically spreads, he then spots the people of peace.
• Stay; this was especially easy for him. Jesus told His disciples to go from town to town [spread], spot the people of peace and stay with them. He told them to invest in those whom took on the responsibility of feeding them and warned them not to move from house to house looking for a better offer or position. Paul of course fulfills this and keeps his door open for two years in the same place. He also incidentally is likely to have written several other books of the Bible whislt under house arrest in Rome.
• Send; the fourth and final part to this circle is Send. The disciples would find, disciple and then send their disciples out into the rest of the community who did not at first lean forward. We know from this passage that that is what happened here. Not only did Paul’s converts return they brought many others with them. They were the ones who outreached.
• The book of Acts is the story of the explosion of God’s Kingdom and at its end its message is I’ve started and so I will finish. The plces and people change but the principles at its heart do not.
• Maybe that is a key for our lives? Places, possibilities and people will always be changing but if our Godly principles stay the same them we will see success over a period of time.
• Some peoples hope is that they will see success depending on the places that they can get to or the people that they can get to know or the possibilities that open up to them but in reality success comes to those who stick with the right principles and it is these principles that shape everything else.
• Praying today that I will stay true to the truth.

Acts 28:11-16

Paul’s arrival at Rome

• “Once were were not but now we are””
• Paul eventually gets to Rome and for once something really nice happens to him.
• There are Jews who follow Jesus living there.
• Somehow they heard he was arriving and they showed up to greet and befriend him.
• Now Paul would not have known these people as he had never gone to Rome and the church there [according to external historical evidence] had started somewhere around 40AD.
• I love this! And can totally relate to it.
• I travel a lot and it never ceases to amaze me that I can meet complete strangers from a different background, race, ethnicity, colour, sex, class etc and yet almost immediately connect with them… why?
• Jesus.
• We share the same feelings and experiences. We can chat about things and know exactly what each other means because God has somehow mysteriously bonded us around Himself. As we known Him we know each other.
• “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God” 1 Peter 2:10
• God calls mixtures!
• Like us!
• It is a tough job because people naturally elevate to those like themselves.
• The choice of Greek words here is interesting; Laos is used not  Demos
• Demos means public - a group of people bound together socially
• Laos - a people - a group of people bound together by nothing but the spirit of God
• The unique thing about the body of God is that we are bound together by someone and something bigger than ourselves. Without that we will natural often separate from each other to find those more like us.
• This is why marriages succeed best when they are built around someone bigger than themselves. Sadly sometimes that is children and they shoulder incredible pressures.
• Thanking God today that I was once not but know I am part of His people.

7th Dec 2010

Acts 28:1-10 – Paul ashore on Malta

• “God sees the heart… thank goodness”
• Paul and his fellow travelers land on shore and whilst making a fire – he is bitten by a viper.
• At first the locals expect him to die and assume that he must be a murderer if he escaped the ship but then the gods caught up with him on their island.
• But he does not die.
• So quickly they go to the other extreme and now presume instead that he is a god.
• “People  look at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart” 1 Samuel 16:7
• Firstly I think we would all be glad that God looks at our heart but I must also be careful not to be fooled by outward appearances.
• The Phoenicians who lived on this island at the time had a primitive understanding of gods and yet don’t we often judge others in the same way?
• Does our fickle understanding of people based on their circumstances influence our opinion of them?
• And does that reflect to us something about our understanding of God Himself?
• We must be careful because in the same way that we judge other so God will judge us and in the same way that we measure others so he will measure us.
• Praying for an insight into God’s heart that will give me insight into people’s hearts.

6th Dec 2010

Acts 27:27-44 – The Shipwreck

• “Character versus Charisma”
• Paul the prisoner bizarrely continues to lead the captain and the centurion or at least influence them.
• As in the last passage and this one; he advises them and begins to make bigger and bigger decisions.
• He tells those in authority that the sailors are not allowed to leave in the lifeboat.
• He tells them when to eat.
• And eventually the Centenarian decided to overthrew the idea of killing the prisoners in order to save Paul – in Roman law the guards life would be taken if the prisoners they were responsible escaped.
• For Paul’s sake the Centurion takes that risk… why?
• I believe Paul was providing hope.
• But how?

• Not only so, but we[a] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4

• When Charisma walks into a room everyone notices. When charisma walks into the room everyone immediately follows. But if only charisma walks into the room eventually those followers drop away.
• When character walks into a room no-one notices and no-one follows. But after a while character brings hope and people begin to follow for a very long time.
• Character makes a difference to any kind of leader; a parent, a spouse or a CEO.
• Paul had character and character brings hope. Character brings hope because it is hard-working, trust-worthy, always fulfills what it says it will. The list goes on.
• And character is indirectly a fruit of the Spirit.
• Paul was a leader with character.
• Praying today for both character and charisma.

3rd Dec 2010

Acts 27:13-26 – The Storm

• “What Leaders do in a Crisis”
• The inevitable storm hits.
• After days of trying everything they can and every sailing technique of the time to rescue their ship they finally give up hope.
• At that point, Paul the Spiritual leader not the captain the ship’s leader, gets up and gives some direction.
• Paul’s actions here remind me of things I teach that leaders do in a crisis;
1. They Stand up and are seen.
2. They adopt juxtaposition: they paint the bad realistic picture but then offer hope.
3. They stick to the facts and don’t guess why.
4. They relate what is happening to the bigger story.
• "This is not the end; it is not even the beginning of the end, though it is perhaps the end of the beginning." Winston Churchill
5. They link the ordinary to the extraordinary
6. They make the target the development of those involved.
7. They never hide their conviction.
• These seven traits that I have learnt over the years have served me well. I may not be the best leader in the world but I have seen many a crisis. And I have survived and grown through every one.
• I hope those travelling with me have done the same.
• Plus…last time I travelled through a huge storm someone gave me $50,000.

2nd Dec 2010

Acts 27:1-12 – Paul sails for Rome

• “Some men are chosen to do...”
• Paul is shipped off to Rome.
• He is about to face trial in Rome in a time that was not kind to Christians.
• Even the journey there was turning out to be very difficult.
• They were fast approaching the autumn/fall and winter was right around the corner. The seas were becoming treacherous for the kinds of ships that existed 2000 years ago.
• The writer tells us that they were attempting to sail after the fast – this is key to understanding the travel problems they were facing.

• The fast was Sept/October
• The Jews believed it was only safe to sail between Pentecost and Tabernacles [May-June to 5 days after the fast so]
• The Romans believed that sailing after September 15^th was doubtful and after November 11^th was suicidal!

• Last night I watched the film “to kill a mockingbird” – it is a famous American classic about a white lawyer defending a black innocent young man accused falsely of a rape charge.
• He is threatened and his children are bullied.
• Eventually his children are attacked.
• In the film – when he loses the case and his children are crestfallen, his neighbor approached his son.
• She attempts to help him make sense of his towns terrible decision and his father’s courage.
• She says these words;
• “Some men are chosen to do the unpleasant things to help the rest of us”
• That is leadership and Paul understood it.
• I have to do the unpleasant things as a leader. Sometimes even those you love can’t understand. Sometimes your enemies won’t understand.
• But leaders have to do the unpleasant things to save their communities from something much worse than the unpleasant.
• Praying; yet again, for courage.

1st Dec 2010

Acts 25:23-26:32 – Paul before Agrippa

• “You cannot ignore the problem but…”
• So Paul’s 4^th trial [2^nd informal one] begins.
• With pomp and ceremony Agrippa and Bernice enter the room and Paul is asked yet again to defend himself.
• Over time it seems Paul has learnt how to do this and ironically it seems he has learnt that the best way he can defend himself is by being less and less defensive.
• We see a man who used to purposely annoy and even lash out a little in his arguments, now wise up a little.
• He had the same old problem, the same old accusations, the same old enemy and the same old issues presented to him.
• But he had learnt that…
• You cannot ignore the problem but you can choose how you address it!
• Paul chooses to share his story with the hopes of converting his audience.
• They see him on trial, yet he sees himself on testimony.
• He is positive rather than negative. He paints the bigger picture.
• There are many problems I face in my life and here are some of the things I am learning through Paul’s various trials:
1. No matter whom you are, frustration only gets you into deeper problems.
2. The devil’s plans will backfire if you defend yourself in a Godly Spirit.
3. You can choose how you address your problems.
4. Aim high! [Paul has suddenly turned this from escaping death to the firsts steps in converting a King].
• Margaret Thatcher was once asked to describe Christianity in one word.
• She said… “choice’.
• She may not be my idea model of a Christian but I think her answer was brilliant.
• I love Jesus because I love choice.