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One of America’s leading churches came to this realisation back in 2007 after conducting extensive research amongst its people to see how effective the church was at making disciples of Jesus.  Willow Creek Community Church Senior Pastor Bill Hybels said, “We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become self-feeders. We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their Bible between services, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.”

In other words, spiritual growth doesn't happen best by becoming dependent on elaborate church programs but through the age-old spiritual practices of prayer, bible reading, and relationships.

That’s why this year we’re focusing on teaching people the daily devotional approach to the Bible.  This method is concerned with what the Bible has to say ~ especially what it has to say to me personally. What does the Bible tell me about God? Jesus? The church? My relation to the world? What does it tell me about what to believe? About how to act? About social responsibilities? How can the Bible help make me closer to God? How does it help me to live? Daily devotions help us to read the Bible in order to find out what to believe and how to live our life in a way that is pleasing to God and the best for others and us.

When Willow Creek were looking for help with this they turned to Wayne Cordeiro, Senior Pastor of New Hope church in Honolulu. Many years ago Wayne developed the SOAP method of Bible reading.  Watch this video where he explains how to do daily devotions using SOAP.

I’ve taught SOAP daily devotions several times over the years at Bayside Church, but it’s time to refresh it and teach it again and get everyone on the same page ~ literally!

In a nutshell, SOAP in as acrostic that works like this:

S – Scripture – From your daily reading write down a verse or two that particularly speaks to you.

O – Observation – Write a brief observation from this verse as to what you see in it.

A – Application – What truth can you apply to your life from this scripture?  How will you be different today because of what you have just read? (Use words like: me, myself & I)

P – Prayer – Finish your time by writing a prayer using the verse(s) through which God has spoken to you.  Then take the scripture with you through the day; read it regularly and meditate on its truth.

Here’s an example from my own journal:

S: “Do not be afraid Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son…” (Luke 1:13)

O: Zacharias, as a priest of God, was going about his daily work of serving God and His people.  Zacharias and his wife were elderly, and his wife Elizabeth was also barren.  This was no doubt a point of distress and disappointment to them both and a matter of regular prayer that, until now, had gone unanswered.  But that was about to change… “For your petition has been heard!”

A: A lack of immediate response to my prayers does not mean that God hasn’t heard me.  It does mean that the time has not yet arrived to answer them.  As I continually and faithfully serve God and His people each day, God will answer my prayers at the right time and in the best way ~ not just to bless me, but also to bless others.

P: Jesus, help me to exercise faith and patience in life and not to see divine delays as unanswered prayer.  Amen

When reading the Bible, look for lessons to be learned, examples to be followed, promises to be enjoyed and Jesus to be revealed.

Finally, here are some things to help you on your disciplined journey of feeding yourself on God’s Word.

Download the reading plan from the Bayside Church website or download the New Hope Oahu App.


Don’t try and read the whole reading every day (unless you want to).  Read until you get something and then start journaling.  Make it work for you – don’t bite off more than you can chew.  Better to read, remember and practice one verse than to read and forget four chapters!

If you’re new to the Christian faith focus on the New Testament readings and Psalms.  If you find something that you want to study further, make a note of it and go back to it when you have more time.  If you miss a day, skip it.  Don’t try and catch up.  Make it doable so that it is a blessing not a burden.  The goal of your time with God is to grow closer to Him. It’s not to check off your list. You can get together and “SOAP” with others too.  Take an hour ~ 20 minutes to read, 20 minutes to journal, 20 minutes to share.

The Christian life is not rocket science.  It’s wonderful to belong to a vibrant Christian community and to be taught God’s Word on a regular basis, but who would only want to eat once a week?  Learn to feed yourself on God’s Word everyday, put your roots deep down into eternal truth and become steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the Lord's work!

The Global Burden of Disease Report – a massive research effort involving almost 500 scientists in 50 countries – also concluded that we have finally got a handle on some common infectious diseases, helping to save millions of children from early deaths. But collectively we are spending more of our lives living in poor health and with disability.

Across the world, there has been significant success in tackling malnutrition, with deaths down two-thirds since 1990. But increasing prosperity has led to expanding waistlines in most countries as people eat more and get less exercise everyday.

Dr Majid Ezzati, chair of global environmental health at Imperial College London, and one of the lead authors of the report, said: “We have gone from a world 20 years ago where people weren’t getting enough to eat to a world now where too much food and unhealthy food – even in developing countries – is making us sick.”

But although obesity is a bigger problem, we still have a long way to go in the fight against malnutrition.  With this in mind a hundred charities have joined together to call on world leaders to tackle the "scandal" of hunger. 

The “Enough Food for Everyone IF” campaign is the biggest mobilisation to address poverty since Make Poverty History. 

The campaign has the backing of philanthropist Bill Gates and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as well as organisations like the Church of England, Tearfund, Christian Aid, Bond, Oxfam and Save the Children. 



Together they warn that almost a billion young people will experience a childhood of hunger and malnutrition by 2025, despite living in a world where there is enough food for everyone. 

A report by the groups says that the life chances of some 937 million children and people between the ages of 15 and 40 will be permanently damaged by the impact of childhood hunger.  Although 14,000 fewer children are dying each day than in 1990, the groups warn that unless hunger is addressed, progress will falter. 



The campaign calls upon David Cameron to make the most of the UK's G8 presidency this year to unite world leaders in addressing the root causes of hunger. 

Campaigners say that the hunger crisis can be solved if:

 

- Governments keep their promises on aid and invest to stop children dying from malnutrition (noting that the Australian Federal Government just cut foreign aid by $375 million).



- Legal loopholes are shut down to stop big companies tax dodging in poor countries.



- Poor farmers are not forced off their land and the available agricultural land is used to grow food for people and not biofuel for cars.



- Governments and investors are "honest and open about the deals they make in the poorest countries that stop people getting enough food."



Archbishop Tutu said hunger could be ended if leaders and individuals take action: “Hunger is not an incurable disease or an unavoidable tragedy.  We can make sure no child goes to bed hungry. We can stop mothers from starving themselves to feed their families. We can save lives. 
We can do all of this, if we are prepared to do something about it … we can make hunger a thing of the past if we act now.”

And “act” is the responsible of all of us who “have” in order to help those who “have-not.”  We’re living in a world where there is enough food for everyone.  The problem is some people have too much while others have way too little.

With the season of Lent starting on February 13 why not make a commitment to cut back on your food intake for 40 days, and then donate the money you save in order to combat poverty and hunger?  Let’s fight overeating and malnutrition at the same time – and make a difference to those in need.

Early Christians decorated their homes with evergreens during winter as a reminder that, even though everything else dies in the cruel, cold months, evergreens live on. For those Christians, evergreen decorations represented the steadfastness of faith and symbolised life in the midst of death.
In the eighth century, when Saint Boniface explained how an evergreen tree’s triangular shape symbolised the three Persons of the Holy Trinity ~ Father, Son and Holy Spirit ~ Christians began decorating the trees; this tradition has continued to today.

Paradise Play

From the eleventh century, religious plays called “mystery plays” became quite popular throughout Europe. These plays were performed outdoors and in church buildings. One of the most prevalent of these plays was the “Paradise play.” The play depicted the story of the creation of Adam and Eve; their disobedience to God, and their banishment from Paradise. The Paradise play was simple by today’s standards. The only prop on stage was the “Paradise tree,” a fir tree adorned with apples (to signify the forbidden fruit) and wafers (symbolic of communion, life and redemption). The Paradise tree was later placed in homes and round objects such as shiny red baubles eventually replaced the apples.
From this tree, at the appropriate time in the play, Eve would take the fruit, eat it, and give it to Adam.  The play would end with the promise of the coming Saviour and His Incarnation (cf. Gen. 3:15).

Christmas Lights

Another custom was to be found in the homes of Christians on December 24 since the late Middle Ages. A large candle called the “Christmas light,” symbolizing Jesus, who is the light of the world, was lit on Christmas Eve. In Germany, many smaller candles were set upon a wooden pyramid and lit. Besides the candles, other objects such as glass balls, tinsel, and the “star of Bethlehem” were placed on its top.
It is widely held that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree.  Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens.  To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.

Right Royal

The Christmas tree made its royal debut in England when Prince Albert of Saxony, the husband of Queen Victoria, set up a tree in Windsor Castle in 1841.  Five years later the royal couple were sketched in the London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. After this the tradition grew in popularity, though in 1850 Charles Dickens was still referring to it as a “new German toy.”
In 2004, Pope John Paul called the Christmas tree a symbol of Christ. This very ancient custom, he said, exalts the value of life, as in winter what is evergreen becomes a sign of undying life, and it reminds Christians of the “tree of life” in Genesis ~ an image of Jesus, the supreme gift of God to humanity.  In the previous year he said: “Beside the crib, the Christmas tree, with its twinkling lights, reminds us that with the birth of Jesus the tree of life has blossomed anew in the desert of humanity.”

Tree of Truth

For many Christians the Christmas tree still retains the symbolism of the Paradise tree. The tree reminds us of the tree in Eden by which Adam and Eve were overcome and which thrust them into sin. But more importantly, the tree reminds us of the tree by which our sin was overcome, namely the tree upon which Jesus was crucified.
Is it a stretch to refer to the cross as a tree? Hardly, for this is the language of the New Testament itself! The apostle Paul writes in Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”  And Peter writes, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.”
Therefore, the Christmas tree is a wonderful symbol and reminder of salvation and forgiveness through Jesus Christ!  This Christmas, every time you see a Christmas tree may it remind you of Jesus.  He is…
  • The one who is evergreen, the giver of life, and the one who never dies.
  • The one who redeems and restores us to fellowship with God.
  • The one who is the light of the world. Who said, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
  • The one the angel announced as “good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in [Bethlehem] a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Joy to the World, the Lord is come! 
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room.

There are a number of problems associated with technology addiction:

1. Chronic Multitasking: An experiment at Stanford University revealed that heavy media multitaskers were less efficient, had difficulty ignoring irrelevant information and became faster but sloppier with work.  Chronic stress from multitasking can also make your brain’s memory centre more vulnerable to damage.

2. Diminished Social Skills: The addicted person “drifts away from fundamental social skills, such as reading facial expressions or grasping the emotional context of a subtle gesture” – Dr. Gary Small.

3. Techno-Brain Burnout: This term describes the fatigued, foggy, irritable and distracted feeling you get when you’ve spent hours in front of a screen.  This is because your brain alerts your adrenal glands to secrete the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Over time this can impair the areas of your brain that control thought and mood.

In iBrain, Dr. Gary Small includes this self-assessment so you can gauge your level of technology addiction.  Answer each question and give yourself a score from 1 to 7 based on this scale. 

1-2 USUALLY, 
3-5 SOMETIMES,
6-7 RARELY:

• Do you snap at people when they interrupt you while you're online or using a mobile device?
 • Do you use technology to escape uncomfortable feelings or situations in your life?

• Does the time you spend engaged in tech-related activities interfere with your work or social life?

• Are you defensive or secretive about your computer gaming or other tech-based activities?

• Do people complain about the time you spend on the Internet or using other technology?

If you score ABOVE 25
 you are not a tech addict. 

15 TO 25 
you show addictive tendencies. 

BELOW 15
 you just might be hooked

What can you do if you are addicted to technology?

1. Learn to live for the moment.  In other words, resist the temptation to tweet or update your Facebook status while you’re enjoying something.  Do it afterwards.  And remember, not every random thought that enters your head needs to be uploaded onto social media.

2. Create quiet moments.  Have times when all screens and mobile devices are turned off.  Don’t take phones into meetings, switch them off while having dinner or catching up with friends, turn off alerts and alarms and ban screens from the bedroom.

3. Live a healthy lifestyle.  This includes at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise each day; minimising stress by staying connected with family and friends; eating a brain healthy diet (fish, fruits, vegetables), and balancing online time with offline time. Which reminds me, I think it is almost time for me to sign off.


Supplement: Technology Addiction in Children

Technology addiction is not just an adult problem either.  One in five Aussie kids spend so much time surfing the Internet that they miss out on meals and sleep.  Edith Cowan University researchers have revealed that "excessive internet use" is twice as common in Australian children as British kids.  More than half the children confessed they waste so much time online that they "have spent less time” than they should have with family, friends or doing homework.  Sixty per cent said they had caught themselves surfing when they were "not really interested".  And half "felt bothered" when they could not get online.

Child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg advises parents to ban all "screens" – from TVs to computers, tablets and smartphones – from children's bedrooms, and no screen time for children younger than two.  KICK the kids outside – for every hour in front of a screen, they should spend an hour in active play.  Make sure your kids get sufficient sleep.

The saying originates from the 1700s and began as an expression used by sailors after a long spell of bad weather. 

Just grin and bear it! At some point, we’ve all probably heard or thought something like this when facing a tough situation.  But is there any truth to this piece of advice?  Feeling good usually makes us smile, but does it work the other way around?  Can smiling actually make us feel better?  The answer is “yes.”

A study at the University of Kansas recently investigated the potential benefits of smiling to help people recover from stress.

Smiles are generally divided into two categories: standard smiles, which use the muscles surrounding the mouth, and genuine or Duchenne smiles, which engage the muscles surrounding both the mouth and eyes.  The researchers asked people to maintain a neutral face, a forced smile or a genuine smile in which both eye and mouth muscles were engaged, as they performed stressful psychological and physical tasks. 

The results of the study suggest that smiling may actually influence our physical state: compared to participants who held neutral facial expressions, participants who were instructed to smile, and in particular those with Duchenne smiles, had lower heart rate levels after recovery from the stressful activities.  These findings show that smiling during difficult times can help to reduce the intensity of the body’s stress response, regardless of whether a person actually feels happy.

What the researchers at the University of Kansas discovered was written in the Bible 3000 years ago: "A cheerful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit makes one sick" (Proverbs 17:22).  Sometimes we don’t want to “grin and bear it” because we feel that we’re not being honest or transparent, but the Bible encourages us to engage our will in order to practice joy even when we don’t feel like it – "This is the day that the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps 118:24).  When we do this we invariably find that joyful feelings follow.

So, the next time you’re stuck in traffic or are experiencing some other type of stress, you might try to hold your face in a smile.  Not only will it help you “grin and bear it” psychologically, but it might actually help reduce your stress levels and fill your heart with joy!

Ah, the eternal question – Is there a God or isn’t there? And, if there is, how do we know that he (or she or it or they) exists? Of course there are those who categorically say there is no God. We call them atheists (a = without; theos = god). In my teen years I called myself an atheist until I realised that to do so was to say that I knew everything. How did I know that God didn’t exist outside of my knowledge? Atheists, if they are honest with themselves, will realise this flaw in their logic and upgrade themselves to agnostics – those who are not sure if there is a God or not (a = without; gnosis = knowledge).

At the age of 19, through a number of dramatic incidences, I realised that I had been wrong. God did in fact exist – and that he was not just real but loving, caring and personal. Now, 32 years later – and a whole lot wiser – I am living my life to help others know this loving, caring, personal God. It is my hope that this blog will help you in this discovery. I believe there are four basic ways we can know that God exists:

Creation
“Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities … have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Romans 1:20).

The internet features a number of sites that instruct you on how to make a model of the Solar System. Imagine that you made such a model and then invited a friend around to watch it in action. Of course your friend would be amazed at this phenomenal working model of the real thing – planets rotating on an axis and all revolving around the sun. He may ask, “Who made this?”  You answer: “No one made it!”  Would he believe you? Of course not! Someone had to make it. How is it that we can look at the real thing and believe that it’s a random-chance accident with no designer or creator

Conscience
“Since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness.” (Romans 2:15)

Human beings are set apart from the animal and plant kingdoms in many ways – not least by the existence of the human conscience. We are not just aware of our existence but we are also very aware of what is right and what is wrong.  On the basis of this we have established an entire system of justice, reward and punishment.

Christ
“In these last days he (God) has spoken to us by his Son…”(Hebrews 1:2)
“Jesus answered: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”(John 14:9)

How easy it would have been for God to remain aloof and distant from His creation.  But God came to earth as a human being … Jesus! Jesus’ existence is a historical fact reported not just by the Bible but also by secular historians like Josephus. Jesus not only claimed that God existed but that He was in fact God in human form!

Change
“We…are being transformed into his likeness.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) When I became a Christian at the age of 19 a radical transformation took place in my life – and that transformation process is still happening. Right now on planet earth there are billions of people who call themselves Christian.  Many of these people have experienced this same transformation.  No, we’re not perfect, but our lives have been changed for the better and, through us, this world is a better place.

God really exists.  He really loves you. Why not love Him back!

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As I write this blog on Wednesday 31st October 2012, Hurricane Sandy (dubbed “Frankenstorm”) has smashed into the American northeast, leaving 16 dead, millions without power and parts of Manhattan underwater.  Conditions remain dangerous as this one-of-a-kind storm moves inland bringing blizzard conditions and massive amounts of snow.

While Sandy is still blowing cold air, predictably we have a “Christian” preacher blowing hot.  Author and chaplain John McTernan has said God’s judgment of gays caused the hurricane.  On this website http://defendproclaimthefaith.org the preacher says the storm must be God’s judgment on gays, and punishing the president Barack Obama for coming out in support of marriage equality.  He also believes “America has been under God’s judgment ever since George Bush Senior signed the Madrid Peace Process to divide the land of Israel in 1991.”  McTernan said: “Obama is 100% behind the Muslim Brotherhood that has vowed to destroy Israel and take Jerusalem.  ‘Both candidates (Obama & Romney) are pro-homosexual and are behind the homosexual agenda.’”

His reasoning for this is that it has been 21 years since the “perfect storm” of October 1991.  He says, “21 years breaks down to 7 x 3, which is a significant number with God. Three is perfection as the Godhead is three in one while seven is perfection.”  The online preacher also blamed Hurricane Isaac on homosexuals.  He said gay festival Southern Decadence was to blame, as God was “putting an end to this city and its wickedness.”

It saddens me greatly that every time there is a natural disaster somewhere in the world there’s always at least one self-proclaimed Christian minister who will get up (after the event) and pinpoint the reason for it – and it’s always God’s judgment and it’s usually because of gay people.

I disagree with these judgment preachers for three main reasons:

Firstly, New Testament prophecy isn’t about proclaiming the reason for a disaster after the fact.  In Acts 11:27-30 a prophet by the name of Agabus “predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius).”  Armed with this knowledge the Christians gave financial gifts in order to help those who were affected by this famine.  Please note that there is no inference in this prophecy that this event was God’s judgment on anyone.  In His love, God gave a warning so that His people could be ready to help NOT judge.

Secondly, the Bible teaches that God always removes His people BEFORE He judges the ungodly.  Lot and his family were taken out of Sodom before the judgment fell, Noah and his family was safely in the ark before the flood.  Abraham got it right when he said to God, “Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike.  Far be it from you!  Will not the judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25).  I know many Christians who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy.  It is not the judgment of God.

Thirdly, right now is the time of God’s favor not vengeance or judgment (see Luke 4:19; Isaiah 61:2).  There will be a time of judgment in the future, but right now is the time of grace and a message of good news of Salvation to EVERYONE.   People like John McTernan seem to miss this truth, and their unbiblical proclamations end up turning people away from God rather than to Him.  That saddens me greatly.  How about you?

With this in mind, in research that Bayside Church conducted last year, one of the “words” that we asked people to comment on was the word “priest.”  Fortunately many people still view priests in a positive light using adjectives like wisdom, good person, values, guiding, dedicated and devoted.  I dare say this describes the vast majority of priests.  But others used words like suffocation, rules, cover-ups and molestation.  How sad that any man or woman “of God” should ever be viewed in this light.  But that is the sad reality and the Roman Catholic Church worldwide now has to face the fallout from decades of abuse and cover-ups.

Sexual abuse of any kind is a great offense, but the abuse of children by those who are in a place of religious authority and trust has got to be the worst of the worst.  My heart goes out to the victims and their families and I can only begin to understand their pain and frustration with the church for their lack of justice with these criminals.

Decades of quietly moving abusing priests to another parish where they reoffend has finally caught up with the Catholic Church, and now it’s time to face up to the wrongs, apologise, admit fault, cooperate with authorities – do everything to try and right the wrongs and heal the hurts.

According to The Age newspaper, Professor Des Cahill, the intercultural studies professor at RMIT, told the current inquiry that the Catholic Church was incapable of reforming itself because of its internal culture.  He said the Church's Melbourne response abuse protocol had to go, and the state would have to intervene to achieve it.

In other key testimony, Professor Cahill:
• Called for priests to be allowed to marry.
• Described the Church as "a holy and unholy mess, except where religious Sisters or laypeople are in charge.
• Called for an "eminent Catholic task force" of lay people to work with the Church on reform and transparency.

Professor Cahill said child sex abuse had existed in all ages, cultures and religions, shrouded in secrecy and poorly responded to by religious authorities.  He said a church council in 309 AD was concerned about child sex abuse in monasteries.

And other religions are not immune from child sex abuse, including credible evidence of two incidents within Melbourne's Hindu community where the offending monks were "shipped back to the home country".  In Sri Lanka, child sex abuse is rampant in Buddhist monasteries, and more than 100 monks have been charged in the past decade.  Child sex abuse has been called "India's time bomb", especially the plight of street children, while many Muslim communities are in denial.  Melbourne Jewish groups are making their own submission to the inquiry.

The tragic thing about all of this – other than the lifelong pain that is inflicted on precious people – is that this behaviour gives people an excuse to think less, or not at all, about God.  “If that’s the way God’s people act then I don’t want to have anything to do with Him.”  The Bible addresses this in Romans 2:24, “No wonder the Scriptures say that the world speaks evil of God because of you.”

No one is perfect, not even the religious, but the sexual abuse of children is never acceptable and those who commit such heinous crimes need to experience the full force of justice – with no cover ups from the church or anyone else.

Interestingly, those that were in the church saw it as only negative: “dead, repetition, ritual, legalistic, boring, tradition and rules” were amongst the list of adjectives.  This is because often within the contemporary church the word “religion” is used negatively in order to distance itself from the more traditional, and generally declining, churches.  You’ll hear statements like, “we’re not religious, we just love the Lord” and, “God’s not into religion He’s into relationship.” 

While I understand what is being communicated here and why, this attitude to the word religion is not completely accurate. 

The truth is that everything that is good, true and real can also be counterfeited.  Those who make forgeries of money, for example, don’t make $7 notes (unless they’re Irish ).  The reason is that a $7 note would be easy to pick as a forgery because there’s no such thing.  When it comes to money it’s the real notes that are counterfeited – $20, $50 & $100.  And those involved in this crime go to great lengths to make their product look exactly like the real thing so that only an expert, who spends years studying the real thing, can tell it apart.

It’s the same with religion: that’s why the Bible distinguishes between true and false religion.  In the New Testament three different Greek words are translated “religion.”  One means “superstition,” another “ceremonial observance,” and the third means “to love and worship God and to give respect and caring support to others.”  

When the people who engaged with our research viewed the word “religion” as negative they were talking about false religion: the superstitious, ritualistic, ceremonial observance that turns so many people off.  The positive view of religion is what the Bible calls “Pure and genuine religion” – the kind that loves and worships God while also being respectful and supportive to others.  

This is the kind of religion spoken of by the apostle Paul: “Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim 5:3, 4, 8)

Another Bible writer puts it this way: “If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.  Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:26-27)

I understand people being confused when it comes to religion.  I spoke to a man this week that said he’d believe in a religion if there were only one of them.  Truth is, there are over 20 in the world today, and, in Christianity, there are over 40,000 different groups.  The only way to find the true is by studying it – by looking out for the qualities the Bible gives for the genuine article: the kind that loves and worships God while also being respectful, caring and supportive to others.

“Born again!” It’s a familiar term that’s been done to death in recent times.  If you google it you come up with all sorts of things from movies to songs, albums to books, and of course the Abba tribute band Bjorn Again.  “Born again” is a hair product, a beauty mask, a motorbike restoration business and a fashion show.  It’s an American activist group and a comic book. Right here in Melbourne, you can even cover your concrete slab with “Born again floors.”  Born again is an Elvis impersonator in Sydney, and rapper Snoop Dog said he was born again after visiting a Rastafarian Temple in Jamaica earlier this year where a High Priest told him, ‘You are the light; you are the lion.’  He now refers to himself as “Snoop Lion”. I kid you not.

But when you mention “born again”, most people think of the Christian term – and it’s not always positive. In research that Bayside Church conducted last year, those that don’t attend church saw the term as fanatical, cultish, brainwashed, the vocal minority, a crutch or as referring to the American Bible belt.

Those that were in the church saw it as somewhat more positive:  renewed in Jesus,

Jesus as Saviour, saved, life-changing, forgiven/redeemed, freedom/new start and restored.  Some in the church viewed “born again” less positively as meaning: I’ve arrived, powerfully divisive, misunderstood, polarising, confusing, confronting, severing ties, isolating, segmenting, or a 70s and 80s term.

So, what is being born again really all about?  It’s first found in the third chapter of the book of John in the Bible where Jesus is having a discussion with a senior Jewish leader, Nicodemus, who recognises Jesus as “a teacher who has come from God.”  Jesus ignores the flattery and tells Nicodemus, “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Nicodemus understands the term because it was well known in the Hebrew culture of his day, but he was confused by Jesus’ use of it because Nicodemus had already been born again four times.

There were six ways a person was considered born again in Jesus’ day:

1. When a gentile converted to Judaism

2. Being crowned king

3. At the Bar Mitzvah (coming of age ceremony) at age 13

4. Being married

5. Being ordained as a Rabbi (at age 30)

6. Becoming the head of a Rabbinic academy (at age 50)

“Born again” referred to all of these major life stages after which one would never be the same again.  The first two of these didn’t apply to Nicodemus but the last four did.  There was no other way, in his thinking, that he could be born again and so he asks Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time when his mother’s womb to be born!” (John 3:4)(NIV).  In other words, the only way I could be born again was if I entered my mother’s womb and started the process all over.

It’s at this point that Jesus starts to help Nicodemus with his confusion: “Jesus answered, ” I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again” (John 3:5-7) (NIV).

Jesus refers here to the two births – natural birth and spiritual birth.  “Born of water” (referring to when a woman’s waters break) is the same as being “born of the flesh,” that is, natural birth that makes us a part of a natural family.  When your parents conceived you, you became part of their family. You became their son or daughter.  But Jesus goes one step further and says there’s a second birth, a spiritual birth where “Spirit gives birth to spirit.” At that time you are adopted into the family of God and become His son or daughter (see Ephesians 1:5).  God becomes your Father and Jesus is your older brother.  That’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven” – He included us in the family of God.  What an honour. What a privilege.

The apostle Paul reflected on this amazing truth in his letter to the Galatian church, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son … that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir” (Gal 4:6-7) (NIV).

When you accept God’s Son, Jesus, as your Saviour, you are born (again) into God’s family, you receive the full rights of a son or daughter, you call him father (“Abba” is an Aramaic word which denotes warmth and relaxed familiarity), and you also become an heir inheriting all that God has for you in this life as well as the life to come.

I hope by reading this you realise that Jesus’ use of the term “born again” was intensely positive. If you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour, then delight afresh in who you are as a child of your Father God. If you aren’t born again, what’s stopping you?

 

 

One "friend" didn't agree with me quoting a "secular" source and wrote, "Rob Buckingham, you have all the discernment of a lump of mud."  Nice hey?  I'm not easily offended and I chose not to be offended by this comment.  After all, Jesus healed at least two people by making mud out of dirt and spit, so maybe it was really a compliment – but I don't think so.

You see, the quote was taken from an article that Jeff Kennett wrote called "Australians must embrace gay marriage."  My Facebook "friend" took exception to this concluding that any article condoning gay marriage must be all wrong.  But I didn't quote the whole article, I just quoted one section in which I thought Jeff Kennett was spot on – his desire for a compassionate, uplifting and exciting church – as opposed to uncaring, dull and boring churches that are a major turnoff even to Australian Christians.  That's why, in the latest census, two thirds of Aussies describe themselves as Christian but only 7% regularly attend church.  The rest have probably been to a church and decided they have enough problems in life without adding a boring hour on a Sunday morning!

But my unkind Facebook "friend" is missing an important truth and buying into the lie that there is some great divide between the sacred and the secular.  The Hebrew worldview (from which the Bible is written) saw the earth as the Lord's and everything and everyone in it.  In fact the Bible writers often quote from "secular" sources.

The apostle Paul quotes from a number of ancient Greek poets in his writings.  In Acts 17:28 Paul gives two quotations: "'For in him we live and move and have our being.”  As some of your own poets have said, “We are his offspring.” The first quote is from the Cretan poet Epimenides (c. 600 BC), while “We are his offspring” is actually quoted by at least two different poets, Aratus (c. 315-240 BC) and Cleanthes (331-233 BC) in his Hymn to Zeus.  That's right, Paul quotes from a Hymn written to a pagan god and relates it to the worship of the One True God. 

We also find Paul quoting secular sources in two of his letters.  In 1Corinthians 15:33 he warns, "Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” This is a quote from the comedy Thais written by Greek poet Menander.  In his letter to Titus, Paul quotes the Cretan poet Epimenides a second time, "Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’” Paul goes on in the next verse to say emphatically, "This testimony is true.  Therefore, rebuke them sharply so that they will be sound in the faith …" This quote is why calling someone a "Cretan" is considered an insult even today.

Jesus used well-known sayings of his day and brought them into his teachings.  In John 4 he uses two such sayings: "You know the saying, 'Four months between planting and harvest’” (v. 35).  Then in verse 37, "You know the saying, 'One plants and another harvests.’” And it's true."

Jesus also used stories from everyday life – things that his audience would be well acquainted with – and drew spiritual truth from them, to take people on a journey from what they knew to what they needed to know.  We would do well to find modern day parables that are applicable to life in the 21st Century.  And that's what I was attempting to do by quoting from Jeff Kennett's article: not trying to be as discerning as a lump of mud but rather trying to find a point of identification with people who may be looking for a relationship with God and a church that is compassionate, uplifting and, yes, maybe even exciting.

One of these is gluttony and it’s rampant amongst Christians.  A few years ago, Christie and I were in Queensland working on some evangelistic meetings.  In the Green Room one evening there were three evangelists chatting with each other.  Their combined weight must have been close to 500kg.  “Bless God, we don’t drink, smoke or swear” – but you should see them eat!  They reminded me of Friar Tuck in the old Robin Hood series.  They tuck in a bit too much.

The word “gluttony” is derived from the Latin gluttire meaning to gulp down or swallow. It means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth to the point of extravagance or waste. In some Christian denominations, it is considered one of the seven deadly sins—a misplaced desire of food or withholding food from the needy.  The Bible describes this as one of the sins that led to the destruction of Sodom (Ezekiel 16:49).

This week some Australian researchers have linked religion to obesity.  They found Christians had a higher body mass index (BMI) – or were fatter – than non-Christians. Doctor Michael Kortt, of the Southern Cross University on the Gold Coast, and Professor Brian Dollery, of the University of New England, found the connection when analysing data from the federally-funded Household Income Labour Dynamics (HILDA) survey.

Their findings, published in the Journal of Religion and Health showed Christian women had a one unit higher BMI than non-Christian women.  Baptist and Catholic men also had a higher BMI than men with no religious affiliation.  Further studies will be done to see if religious organisations could play a greater role in fighting Australia's obesity epidemic.

I find it strange – and hypocritical – that we can pronounce judgment on some people in society while committing acts that are equally wrong in the sight of God.  I guess that’s what the apostle Paul was addressing to the Roman Christians when he said, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things” (Romans 2:1). 
That’s why Jesus commands us not to judge and to leave judgment up to him, because He is the only one who can make a judgment based on truth.