The Best Years of my Life?

Where Does Your Confidence Come From?

Some say that your school years are the best years of your life. Even aunts, uncles and well meaning family friends encourage you to 'make the most of it, you are an adult for a long time and your childhood years are the best years of your life'. This gave me the impression that life is pretty dull and hard as an adult; work, marriage, kids and responsibilities are obviously no fun at all. This was a dilemma for me as I hated school and looking forward to leaving was a source of comfort, so these words did not give me much hope. My mission in life was bully avoidance, that was pretty much it. Every thing I did, where I sat in class, where I spent break times, which route I took home were all part of that mission. All in all not a happy time.

Perhaps I wasn't very brave. Perhaps there was something amiss that prevented me from dealing with it all. It's evident that saying 'just hit them back' doesn't work, because it didn't. I had no idea how to and when I tried, it was just pathetic. I felt I obviously deserved it, yet it felt unjust. I wonder whether if I had been taught that it wasn't me, but the bullies who had the issues, it might have helped. In any case it made me more resilient, which has served me well, and I learned to cope and I grew a thick skin. This did soften once I was a Christian, but then I was too eager to take people into my confidence under the mistaken idea that all Christians can be trusted to 'have your back'; how wrong I was. Maturity and understanding has served to equip me with a better understanding of why bullying occurs, but the damage doesn't magically disappear. I didn't suddenly become brave and gain a sense of my value and place in the world, this takes time and certainly my walk with the Heavenly Father has been essential in this process.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” [1]

An obvious downside to this constant barrage of abuse is that confidence has always been a problem for me; even at 48 I am plagued with self-doubt. As a result I have always been happy with mundane, routine roles in life, truck and bus driving, background support roles at church, all without out too much challenge involved. There have been some bright spots in which I could truly flourish and explore some of my potential. Worship leading, with all the organising, expressing your ideas and getting people to carry them through and confronting the fear of speaking from the front all helped to show that there was hope for me. I also formulated in my mind and brought to fruition three big youth events, replete with a website, Facebook group and all the promo materials one would expect; the events, with full light, sound and vision technical support, went down very well were appreciated by all involved and by all whom attended. With hindsight I look back at these achievements as my loving Heavenly Father showing me what I have in me, and what He can do through me, so that later in life my spirit would not be totally crushed when my abilities are called into question.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” [2]

By far the thing that has given me the most confidence is the trust I place in my loving, kind, patient and gentle Heavenly Father. He has seen to it that I have within me the absolute assurance of the calling He has placed upon me. Therefore, when doubt is expressed from other quarters, my own assurance does not waver. He has shown me that in fact my confidence ought not be in myself, but in Him. Confidence is replaced with trust in Him and by taking a step of faith and by watching what He will do. I can recall to mind many instances whereupon I initiate a conversation against my better judgement of my ability to carry it through, to then hear myself expressing thoughts, ideas and Scripture Truths in words and ways I could have never thought by myself. It is a huge comfort to know that because it's His work I am doing, He will be with me, because He lives in me and works through me. I can't think of anything more comforting, confidence boosting and powerful than having the God of the universe living in me and choosing to use me for His cosmic purposes; that of saving souls and of guiding them on their way to Himself by our pointing them to Christ.

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” [3]

And so, although I am not 'there' yet, I am faced with a role that requires the air, or appearance at least, of confidence and self assurance of my value and my place in an intimidating environment where bravery, bravado and purpose is normal, and weakness, timidity and fools are not easily tolerated. How will I do this? I go with God, with purpose and His assurance that He goes before me, will be with me and with the knowledge that the work is not mine, but His. So what could possibly go wrong? The fact is it could go horribly wrong, but that would be through my lack of trust in Him, in my forgetting to seek the wisdom[4] which only he can provide and not because I am in the wrong place, or in the wrong job. Faith in God is the key, not faith in my skills, abilities and accomplishments.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” [5]

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 3:5-6a NIV
2. Ephesians 3:20 NIV
3. Matthew 28:20c NIV
4. James 1:5 NIV
5. Joshua 1:9 NIV

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE

It shall greatly helpe ye to understande Scripture,
If thou mark
Not only what is spoken or wrytten,
But of whom,
And to whom,
With what words,
At what time
Where,
To what intent,
With what circumstances,
Considering what goeth before
And what followeth.

JOHN WYCLIFFE

Yembi Yembi - Jesse Low (Papua New Guinea)

YembiYembi: Unto the Nations from Jesse Low on Vimeo.

I recently watched this at NTM Conference and was blown away by how the Yembi Yembi tribe received the Word of God like it was so precious to them.  It made me think how there are so many Christians who don't take the Word seriously and yet for these tribes folk it is everything!  Now they can really learn to live according to God's standards and teach others to do so too.  They also continue to bring the good news of salvation and freedom from bondage through none other than our Lord Jesus Christ!  The missionary eventually puts himself out of a job by training the new local church of tribes folk to continue his work on into the neighbouring people groups!  Be inspired! 

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

(Matthew 28:18-20 )

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

(Revelation 7:9)

 

'DRAPETOMANIA'

I know that some of those with whom we once fellowshipped and left for reasons stated in article, think that we have fallen off the wagon, as it were! "Where are they now?" They exclaim! The truth is we found a wagon in which we are now firmly strapped in by His Word and guided by the Spirit of Truth. Not that we know it all, but in true Berean fashion we keep searching the scriptures to figure things out!  Occasionally we wave politely at the other wagon and get hesitant waves back. Sometimes I will wave a placard with scripture and sound doctrine on it in an effort to open their eyes to unbiblical errors prevalent within much of current church thinking and doctrine, but all I get for that is withering looks of pity and hecklers shouting out 'Pharisee'!!  Apparently we are suffering from a condition known as 'Drapetomania'.  We were told that if we 'tow the party line' there is a place for us; sounds like cutting off our big toes to stop us running away.  Needless to say we headed for the wilderness instead, found a different wagon, and made a journey which lead us to greener pastures!  The article by William Kimball below explains:

 

“Drapetomania”

I came across an old term that is seldom used today. It is a word which was coined by pro-slavery advocates prior to the Civil War. Dr. Samuel A. Cartwright created it in,1851 to provide a scientific theory explaining why a slave who was treated well by his master would still want to escape. His explanation was a product of the racists pseudo-science of the mid-19th century. He called the condition, “Drapetomania”. It described, what was to white supremacists, the irrational desire for a slave to flee from perfectly good living conditions. If the slave had a gracious master who provided for his every need, cared for his well-being, treated him kindly in word and deed and did not abuse or overwork him then it stood to reason that the slave’s desire to escape was a clear sign of mental illness. To Dr. Cartwright and others of his kind, the slave’s irrational behavior was contrary to the laws of God which ordained that the black man be subservient to his white master and content with his station in life as long as he was treated reasonably well.

Having said this, I must say that I have seen a clear spiritual parallel in the contemporary church today. When you consider the significant exodus of healthy Christians from the traditional church structure it is not uncommon to run into the equivalent pseudo-science, or should I say “spiritual drapetomania”, from church leaders and fellow saints who simply cannot fathom the rationale of why any sane, sensible or balanced Christian would leave the safe and comfortable confines of a perfectly good church. Neither can they find any legitimate justification for them abandoning the church system when they have it so well. After all, in their understanding of church, God was the one who ordained the church structure the way it is and it is the accepted way Christians have traditionally practiced church for 1,700 years. 

 

An inflatable church, who'd have thought!

The contemporary church in America has never had it so good when it comes to all that it has to offer. Today, it offers comfortable auditoriums, state-of-the-art multi-media systems, plasma screens, satellite telecasting, professional stage lighting, endless programs, exciting entertainment, novelty seminars, playgrounds for the kids, specialty events, dynamic personalities, rockin’ song services, innovative programs, sensational fads, titillating messages, prosperity guarantees, self-empowerment messages and seeker sensitive services. Some even provide valet parking, park-like landscaping, cappuccino bars, diet programs and health clubs - and on and on and on. Why then would anyone in their right mind want to escape from all the comforts and amenities of the modern “Cruise Ship Christianity” with all of the conveniences to the great unknown? To those who are sincerely happy and contended in a healthy church environment, have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, or have been lulled into a delusional sense of spiritual contentment and complacency, it just doesn’t make any sense. To their way of thinking, it is spiritually irrational, insane, self-destructive, indefensible, neurotic and rebellious.

But just like the slave who yearned to breathe free and taste the fruits of liberty, there are many sound and sensible reasons why an estimated 25% of Christians have left the church in spite of all the accessories, activities and conveniences it offers. Contrary to the “Drapetomanian” judgement that they have left because they are spiritually unstable, deceived, double-minded or backslidden, the majority have left not because they’ve lost their faith but because they want to protect it. This growing exodus are leaving because they’re looking for more of Jesus not less. 

"Study to show thyself approved.." (2 Tim 2:15)

 
A growing number of Christians have found themselves disillusioned, disenfranchised and demoralized by what the “structured” church has largely become. Many have reached a point in their spiritual maturity where they are fed up with all the man-made traditions, tampering and packaging. Many have found the traditional church becoming increasingly impersonal, inadequate and irrelevant in meeting their spiritual hunger and are looking for a more authentic expression of “Christian community”. A growing minority have grown steadily disenchanted with what they perceive to be the structured predictability of “church in a can”. They are tired of being passive spectators in a staged, weekly production with little opportunity to interact with others and the Word beyond just occupying pew space, listening passively to a lecture each Sunday. They don’t care about all the exciting “bells & whistles”. They’ve grown weary of all the fads, “dog & pony” shows and endless round of intriguing programs. They also have a rational reason for their apparent madness and, in God’s eyes, their reasoning is a sane and sensible response to the Spirit of God.

https://www.facebook.com/william.kimball.14?fref=nf 

Collins Dictionary:

An intense desire to run away from home.


Wikipedia:

Drapetomania was a supposed mental illness described by American physician Samuel A. Cartwright in 1851 that caused black slaves to flee captivity.

Getting back to the Gospel in 2013 - Rev Matt Stone

“I am not ashamed of the Gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith.” (Romans 1:16)

 

At the start of a new year, I want to direct your minds to the Gospel: the startlingly good news of Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and was raised again for us. Through him we have “the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting,” as the Apostle’s Creed puts it. Through him, we can “have life in all its fullness” (John 10:10).  

 It is by the Gospel and because of the Gospel that the Church exists. The very purpose of the Church is to live and proclaim the Gospel. Why is it necessary to say these obvious things? It is necessary because it is the obvious that is constantly forgotten. Christians and churches suffer spiritual amnesia, time and time again.

As we face an uncertain year ahead, I want to highlight three ways we can suffer spiritual amnesia:

First, the Church worries too much about things that don’t matter – like how big, small, successful, unsuccessful, popular or unpopular we are. 

The theologian and former URC minister, Lesslie Newbigin, put it like this:

“Those who do not believe in the Gospel — and they are the vast majority — see the Church as an organisation which belongs to the well-known category of 'good causes'. They see it getting larger or smaller. They discuss its successes or failures. They suggest that if something or other is not done it will dwindle and disappear. They ask whether one should be optimistic or pessimistic about its prospects. From their point of view these are natural questions, and they are not necessarily unfriendly.

"But from the point of view of a believer in the Gospel they are meaningless chatter. If Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, all this talk has as much and as little importance as the twittering of sparrows. I do not find anywhere in the New Testament any traces of anxiety about whether the Church is large or small, successful or unsuccessful, popular or unpopular. I find only anxiety about whether this or that community of believers is living in faithfulness to the Gospel or not. There is no hint of anxiety about the final outcome. How could there be? Christ has met and mastered all conceivable powers that threaten man. He reigns victoriously. He will come in glory as the Lord of the new creation. All this is sure, and to be anxious about it would be as absurd as to be anxious about whether the sun will rise tomorrow.”

Newbigin spoke those words 35 years ago at the URC’s General Assembly, but they are just as relevant today. We don’t exist to please secular society and politicians. All that matters for the Church is whether we are living and proclaiming the Gospel.

 
Secondly, we have to preach the Gospel – not the Law.

Christian ministers and preachers can fall into the trap of missing the point of the Gospel in their sermons. Indeed, I have done it myself. We can exhort people to love one another, to do good deeds, to take care of the environment, to give money to charity, to uphold proper ethical standards, and so on and so forth. None of these are necessarily ‘wrong’ in themselves: indeed, to the contrary, they are part of our response to the good news of Jesus Christ. However, we have to realise that there is nothing distinctively Christian about them. They are what Paul might call ‘the law’ and we can, if we’re not careful, fall into preaching salvation by good works.

By contrast, the Gospel is about grace: ‘God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense’. Both Christians and non-Christians alike know that we ought to love our neighbours and care for the environment and so on. What Christians have to proclaim is that salvation comes through Christ: “There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Jesus has fulfilled and satisfied the law in a way we never could. He has paid the price and suffered the penalty of our sin. This is the good news that “in all things we have complete victory through him who loved us!” This is the good news that makes us “certain that nothing can separate us from his love...” (Rom. 8:37-38).

 
We know that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17), but faith comes first. Contrary to popular thought and most funeral sermons, the Bible doesn’t teach us that good people will go to heaven. Believing the Gospel is the crux of it all.  

 

Thirdly, our communities need the Gospel more than anything else.

Following on from my second point, it is the Gospel that our communities need more than anything else. We mustn’t convince ourselves that we are doing our Christian service simply by hiring out our church halls for Pilates, putting on lunch clubs or running parents and toddlers groups. They can be part of our response to the Gospel, but we must not be ashamed of actually telling people about Jesus. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith!

Social action can be a brilliant way of building relationships and creating Gospel-sharing opportunities, but it can also be where many churches and Christians stop. We run the coffee drop in or donate to the night shelter, but we don’t step out to share the immense joy and hope they have in Jesus. We help people’s physical needs, but not their spiritual needs. We help people in this life, but not into the next.

 
“I am not ashamed of the Gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith.” (Romans 1:16)

 

Let’s not be ashamed. Let’s go back to the Gospel. Let’s remember why we exist. Let’s give God the glory.

 

 
Rev Matt Stone is a minister in the Norwich Area United Reformed Churches.

The views carried here are those of the author, not of Network Ipswich, and are intended to stimulate constructive debate between website users. 

 
Originally published on the Network Norwich website and used with permission

SMILINGLY LEADING YOU TO HELL [Excerpts]

One of these is unlike the others: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, niceness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. According to Paul's letter to the church at Galatia, all but one of these is what he refers to as the fruit of the Spirit, which is to say, visible evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian. If you are a Christian, your life will necessarily be marked by this kind of character. But which one is foreign to the list? Niceness.

Humans seem to be naturally drawn to niceness. Niceness is comfortable. To be nice is to be pleasant in manner, to be agreeable, to adhere to social conventions. We like to be around people who are nice at least in large part because we are comforted by their pleasant words or deeds and by their adherence to whatever social custom dictates. It is an attractive quality, but it can also be a deceptive one. It is, after all, an external trait, and one that has no necessary correlation with what is going on at an internal, spiritual level.

Brian McLaren may well be the nicest guy around. He recently faced a good bit of criticism for leading a commitment ceremony following his son's same-sex wedding -- a ceremony that included "traditional Christian elements." In the aftermath, McLaren was as nice as he has ever been. On his blog he answered a former fan who now understood that he could no longer see McLaren as a mentor....McLaren's answer was nice; it had the appearance of humility and genuinely sorrowful affection. Yet it was radically opposed to the Bible. He rashly changed the way we interpret Scripture, denying what the Bible makes so clear. If you allow him to, Brian McLaren will "nice" you straight to hell.

And he is far from the only one. Both the history of the church and contemporary Evangelical church are replete with nice people who are in complete rebellion against God. Is there anyone nicer than Joel Osteen? Yet is there anyone whose message has less of the gospel and more anti-biblical nonsense? You can watch him [online], sitting with Oprah, receiving accolades, nicely, smilingly leading an eager crowd farther and farther from the cross. He is nice, but he, too, will nice you straight to the gates of hell, flashing that brilliant smile all the while.

Christians are called by God to stand firm on what the Bible says is true, no matter how counter-cultural, and no matter how odious to the spirit of the age....It may be impossible to be nice when we stand with firm conviction on what the Bible says about marriage, about the value of unborn children, or any other area where culture conflicts with Scripture. We need to be okay with that, as long as the fruit of the Spirit is present in its place. If we are to be nice at all, we must first be full of love, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control, and the other character qualities that are genuinely reflective of the Spirit.

Niceness is not a bad trait. It is not wrong or sinful to be nice. But we vastly overestimate it and at the same time confuse it with those traits that matter so much more. It may be good to be nice, but it is so much better to be holy.

TIM CHALLIES

ROLL OF DAD AND MUM

This is interesting:

Proverbs 1:8 NKJV 'My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother...'

It seems that the role of dads and mums is laid down here. The dad teaches how to live and the mum lays down the law; sorta like laying the foundation which the dad builds on. Cool!

Any other thoughts on this?

WHO TEACHES WHO?

God's word is presented to all mankind. Never does the Bible suggest that a special rank of spiritual leaders must explain it to the rest of mankind; and that without such help ordinary people could not understand it. In fact, the opposite is taught in Scripture. Consider a few examples: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Deut 8:3, quoted by Jesus at Mat:4:4, Lk 4:4); "Blessed is the man...[whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night" (Ps:1:1-2); "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word...(Ps:119:
9).

Notice that in each case an ordinary man (or woman), and even a young man/woman, meditates upon and obeys God's word. There is no hint that the persons mentioned needed to consult any special teacher concerning the scriptures. Therefore, we must conclude that to be the case for everyone.

Dave Hunt

WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN?

And what is the reason that men who profess and call themselves Christians do often find fault with the doctrines they hear preached, and say they must be wrong, they cannot be the truth of God, they are too humbling, too strict: and yet they will not take the trouble of looking at their Bibles, to see whether these things be really so.-"The Christian Race and Other Sermons"

CONTEND THE FAITH

Jude exhorts us to "earnestly contend for the faith once [for all time] delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). Jude's epistle makes it clear that the faith (i.e., God's revealed truth, the gospel, which every Christian is to believe, obey and teach) never changes, that any revision or compromise thereof must be vigorously opposed and that contending for the faith is the responsibility of every Christian.

Perhaps most shocking is Jude's implication that the enemies of the faith ("certain men") will be influential church leaders. The phrase "have crept in" can only mean within the church; and "unawares" indicates that their betrayal of the faith is, astonishingly, no deterrent to their wide acceptance as Christian leaders!