I have a wife, and…I read her letters to me.

Not just her letters.  I save every e-mail, text message, online chat record.  Everything she ever wrote to me I keep, and go back and read and re-read it because she wrote it for me.

At the beginning, I would read it over and over looking for deeper meaning.  “What did she mean by that word?”  “Why did she call me that?” or “What is she trying to say?”  (Of course that might just be me.)

I love her words, because I love her.  And each word she wrote was written with me in mind, and written because she loves me.

Do I treat my study of the Bible as seriously?  Do I treasure each word that God wrote to me, and go over it again and again looking for deeper meaning?

I have a wife, and… we spend time together.

Sometimes I talk to her. 
Sometimes she talks, and I listen.
Sometimes we both talk.
Sometimes we do not talk, we just sit in silence together.

It is AWESOME.

I love my wife, and I love spending time with her.  Not just once a week for an hour, or ten minutes of talking before I go to sleep at night. 

I want to spend all my spare time with her.  In order to build a relationship with her, I need to share all my experiences, all the time.  So I can really say I am spending quality time with her.

Sometimes when I am very busy, I will just send her a quick text message on her mobile ‘phone, or SKYPE, to say “I’m thinking about you.”

Am I treating my prayer life with GOD the same way?  Do I take spending time with Him as seriously?

 

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

GOD loves his Church.  Heaven alone knows why, but He sure does.
Sadly, we in the Church seem less inclined to love each other, or ourselves.

Ever since 1908, The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (technically an octave of 8 days) has been observed between The Confession of St Peter and The Conversion of St Paul. 
Book-ended between two of the most faithful saints of the Bible, we find a time to remind ourself as the Church that Christ loved us, and wanted us to be united. 

Whatever divides us, whatever differences we have, yesterday reminded us that we are united by one common confession.  And next week, 25 January (St Paul’s day) will remind us that we don’t get to pick and choose who we serve when Christ calls us.

So for now, I am going to be Faithful In Serving Him by praying for unity in his Church.

Join me.

Faith and Writing - The Creative Spirit

We are told in the Bible that GOD made us in his image.  Male and Female he created us, and then he breathed his Spirit into us.

In his image.

With His Spirit.

But what does that mean?

Well, the first thing we see of GOD in the Bible is in Genesis where he is creating the Earth, and everything in it.  GOD is a creator.  More than that, he is a loving creator, who loves each beautiful thing he brought forth.  He created the peacock because he loves beautiful things, he created the Hippopotamus because he has a sense of humour.

And he loved each thing he created.

In my writers group at the moment, we are working our way through a book called The Artist’s Way.  The book is subtitled “A Spiritual path to Higher Creativity”. 

I like that. 

I like the fact that the author, Julia Cameron, says that GOD is a creator, and when he calls us to be like him, he is calling us all to be creators as well.  Suppressing your creative spirit is not only suppressing what GOD gave you, but also suppressing part of his purpose for your life – to create.

I have always felt a strong connection between my writing, and my spirituality, and I think this is one of the ways GOD wants me to express not just myself, but also Him.  I remember a line from Chariots of Fire, where Eric Liddell says, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.”

I believe God made me for a purpose, and it might not be to be a writer.  But when I write, I feel His pleasure.  Because then, I am using his creative spirit.

And I hope I can learn to love everything I create, not because it is beautiful, or humorous; but because it is my creation.

Water

A few years ago I did a bible study based on Finding Nemo.  I think I may have mentioned it before.  Maybe a few hundred times.  It’s kind of the reason I use the name Sharkbait.

One of the weeks we talked about GOD being like the water in Finding Nemo.  He is all around the fish, even when they can’t see him.  Water is life for the fish, and if they try to break “free” they will die. 

So I guess the idea of GOD as water is often with me, and I have ever done a few posts where I compare him to the ocean, or a bucket of water.

Well a while ago I was sitting staring at a river while doing my Bible study, and I got to thinking.  I got to thinking about the different “faces” of GOD.  How people will talk about the wrath of our Old Testament GOD, or the love of the New Testament GOD, as if they are different people.  And we find it hard to accept.

But we accept it in water.  Don’t we.

If you go out to the ocean, you see the pounding waves.  They crash and rage, and destroy pretty much anything that dares to get in their way.  You can take a huge rock and throw it in, and the power of the waves will cause it to be pounded to dust eventually.

But it often stops before it crushes it completely.  The rock will be broken, but not destroyed.  Instead, as it is battered under the force of the waves, it will become smooth.  The edges will wear down, and it will be made beautiful. 

Then it will be carried down a river, until it lands on the shore.  The slow, steady wash of the tide will shine that stone until it is more beautiful.  And it will lie in that still water, being made clean.

I thought of this as I picked up smooth stones on the river bank.  Not a single broken or jagged one there.  All smooth, and shiny.  As I sat there, enjoying the peace of the smooth water, I realised this was the same water which had come from the open sea. 

The water which thundered and roared, also lay still and peaceful.   The same water had broken these stones, and was now making them perfect.

Sometimes in my life I try to throw my own strength against GOD, as if I could overcome him.  He takes that, and breaks what is not of him.  But then that same GOD, that same water, will smooth me, and shine me, and allow me to rest in his peace.

GOD is both the ocean, and the river.  The raging water, and the still.  He is what we need HIM to be, and he will do with us what we will. 

We can’t find peace, until we have found our shape.

When we need a mighty GOD, he is there, guiding us in his way, and molding us. 

When we need to find peace, he is there as well.  Infinite and peaceful, able to smooth us and make us shine.

Biblios Hokku - Amos

"Prepare to meet thy God, Oh Israel!"

Sounds like something we'd hear Clint Eastwood say if he was starring in The Ten Commandments doesn't it?

In actual fact this was a warning given by lowly shepherd Amos in 760BC (give or take.) Amos sees visions of GOD's displeasure at Israel for falling back into Idol worship again. As always with Biblical prophets, he is given a message of hope; and a warning.

AMOS
Seek justice for all,
Like a never-ending stream;
and you shall meet God.

You can see the whole Bible here, or learn more about Biblios Hokku here.

Is GOD like a cell-phone?

I have terrible skin. 

I always have, and probably always will.  When I get stressed, I break out in acne, and you can always tell my emotional state by looking at my complexion.  Quite sad really.

One day at church, a few months after I started work, a friend of mine who is also a lawyer commented that my skin was looking good. I discovered that she had prayed that when I started work my skin would clear up, because she said she knew how hard it was to start a new job and be taken seriously, without the added pressure of teenage skin.

WOW!

Why didn’t I think of that?

I mean I prayed hard over each job interview, and hard over which job offer to choose, and hard that God would sustain me in my chosen career.  It just never occurred to me God might also be interested in my skin.  Talk about small-minded.

I think we sometimes do that with God, we treat him like his attention is free minutes on a mobile phone contract.  You know, where you get 120 free minutes to use in the month.  2 whole hours of free time, but you’re afraid to use it to phone your friends, because what if you need to talk to someone urgently on the 29th of the month, and have no minutes left.  Shouldn’t you save it until then, just in case something more important comes up.

Do we think God will refuse to hear our “serious” prayers later if we bug Him with too much of the “petty” stuff now?  Or do we just think he is too important to deal with this?

So next time I’m in need, hopefully I’ll remember to put in a call.  No free minutes on this package - God’s already got the bill covered, and we can talk as much as we like.

RDM #9 – My Idiot Brother Keeps putting his foot on My Side.

Monday again, and thankfully it’s not really raining.  (At least not when I am writing this.)

One of the blogs I follow is The Church of No People.  I like the premise, and the name, which derives from the fact that, in the words of the author Matt “in the real world, I pastor a church. People show up on Sundays to hear the brilliant thoughts pour out of my mind. This blog is kind of like a church. Except that there are no people. It's the Church of No People.”  His theory is that since no one comes to the church, he can say what he really thinks, without having to worry about it being “fit for Sunday consumption” 

Unfortunately this theory is rather destroyed by the fact that he has over 200 followers. 

However, once upon a time, he had none.  And back in the distant past (last November) he posted a pretty cool post called My Idiot Brother Keeps putting his foot on My Side.  It’s very similar to the sermon we had in church this week, and is still fresh in my mind as I type this.  I hope you like it as much as I do.

My Idiot Brother Keeps Putting His Foot on My Side

Today, I was contemplating the great times I had with my family when my brother and I were kids and we went on family vacations. Mostly, these vacations consisted of going to see the grandparents, who lived several hours away. We went on only a couple of real vacations, but those are another story.

Now, with two boys sitting in the back seat of a car (no minivan, something I'm very proud of my parents for in hindsight) with a small dog and several items to keep us occupied, space was at a premium. There wasn't a lot of room for stretching out. Naturally, we did what any civilized eight year olds would do. We drew an imaginary line down the middle of the car, which neither of us was allowed to cross or allow our stuff to cross on threat of severe penalty.

And naturally, the line was always crossed. One of us would feel the need to stretch out, or my brother's stupid stuff would fall over the line into enemy territory. This breach of personal space was always quickly met with a punch in the arm. Then a quarrel would briefly break out, causing Dad to yell at us. He always addressed us as 'boys,' although I always contended that he should be addressing just my brother, as he was the always the culprit.

So we'd return to our sides, not touching each other. One would go back to his book or game. But something would stir in the corner of his eye. He would turn to find a finger pointed at him, less than two inches from his face.

"Not touching. Can't get mad."

Of course, the phrase 'can't get mad' never really seemed to work, as this phrase always incited carnal rage. We'd pull this on each other, following the letter of the law our Dad had laid down but not the spirit of the law. The spirit of the law was to sit down, shut up, and keep your mitts to yourself for the rest of the trip. We chose to simply 'not touch each other.'

Thus we felt we were righteous for following instructions, even while inflicting delicious suffering on each other. Jesus chided the Pharisees for trying ever so hard to follow the letter of the law, but always missing the spirit of the law. Now Christians are under the New Covenant, where there is no law, but we find ourselves often in a similar situation on the other side of the fence. It is easy to throw out the law, but what we forget is that many of God's laws still have relevant life applications today. We ignore the spirit of the law, because we believe we are not under the letter of the law.

What rules have I throw out in my lust to 'assert' myself as a free man of Christ?

Please leave a comment here, or go visit Matt’s blog.  If you are taking part in Rainy Day Monday, collect the badge, and put your link in Mister Linky.  (Assuming Mister Linky is working today.)

 

RDM #6 - Higher Ground

After posting guest posts from friends of mine for the last few weeks, it is time to do another Rainy Day Monday post from my own archives. Here's a little something I put together in February called Higher Ground. It is something that has been on my mind again lately, so I thought I would share it with you.

HIGHER GROUND

And every hour of every day I'm learning more
The more I learn, the less I know about before
The less I know, the more I want to look around
Digging deep for clues on higher ground...
(Higher Ground - UB40)

I used to love this song when I was at school. I don't know whether it was the cool melody line in the chorus, or the fact that the lyrics made no sense. I could nod my head and pretend I understood, and that this was just too deep.

Now, many years later, I think that these words kind of describe my relationship with God. Over the last few years I have been trying to learn more about him, but I find that the more I learn, the less I understand. Or, the more I learn, the harder it becomes for me to understand. As a child I was content with what I had, now as I learn more, I start to realise that God wants more from me, and less. All he really wants is a relationship, and then for everything to flow out of that. So simple, but also so difficult. Following rules I can do. Reading and learning I can do. Being kind to others, well.... I can try. Loving God and wanting him only for him? Can I really? I don't know. It's a hard one.

Over at my other blog I did a post titled "It's not just about the chocolate" in which I talk about the fact that as Christians we need to be focused not just on eternity, and what God has done for us, but also on the now, and who he is to us. At least that's what I was going for, it might just be a post about chocolate. I never can tell.

In theory, the idea that God is seeking a relationship with us first and foremost, and that this is more important than our actions, is so liberating. But it scare me too, because I don't know whether I am up to the challenge. I have never been good at relationships. I am getting better, but there is still a long way to go. So I guess the more I learn, the less I know about before.

But I'm still digging deep for clues on higher ground.

Don’t forget to leave a comment in the comment section below, and if you are also taking part in Rainy Day Monday then put a link to your RDM post either in the comment section, or in the Mister Linky Widget.

You got mail

Over at my other blog, where I pretend to be a writer, I entered a contest recently. The mandate was to write a letter we would really like to receive.

My entry, which you can see here, read as follows:

My blessed child,

I’ve been thinking about it, and have decided that you’ve had enough confusion and consternation in your life.

So from today, I shall be answering all your questions directly, and audibly, and using small words so you can understand me.

Signed,

GOD

How cool would that be?