16 October, 2013
14 October, 2013
The Fine Line, When Gossip isn't Gossip
Of the many things we are taught as Christians to avoid, gossip is perhaps one of the most prevalent and obvious in our community. As a consequence it is a topic about which we are regularly warned, the Bible itself is pretty explicit; "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:39) and "Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not" (1 Timothy 5:13) both come to mind here. It seems pretty clear that gossip isn't a good thing, it tends to be damaging to communities and is generally unhelpful.
What on earth is this post about then?
There is a problem with the way the topic of gossip is preached on in churches. Because the Bible is not specific on what constitutes gossip and because society has changed a lot over the last 2000 years we are left to guess at what the authors meant when they referred to gossip. The context of the passages mentioning gossip also mention busybodies, foul or corrupting talk, slander, malice and lies. But because gossip seems to have it’s own category we tend to simply do as the scriptural authors did all those years ago and simply be vague and broad when talking about gossip.
What is the problem then?The problem is that modern Christians, especially teenage ones, are often left feeling like they can't seek counsel of their peers or leaders regarding grievances, problems, general complaints without stepping into the murky waters of gossip.
Why is this a problem?
It’s a problem because a community cannot grow and bond if it’s flaws are not addressed. And it’s impossible to fix a problem no one knows about. I have seen people move churches because there were things that they didn't like, approve of, feel comfortable with or even that just didn't work for them and because they didn't want to seem like they were gossiping they endured it until they couldn't anymore and as it got less and less bearable they began withdrawing until they were no longer a part of that community. For some people this means falling away from the faith, for others they simply find a new church. The end result is the same, the community is damaged because everyone was afraid of damaging the community by gossiping.
I’m not saying that gossiping is OK, it’s not. But there is a distinct difference between gossiping which is either inane, malicious spreading falsehood and raising a legitimate concern.
How do we not cross the line and fall into gossiping when raising a concern?
The key here I think is raising a concern with the right person. Either the cause of your concern or someone who is in a position to address the issue. There is a difference between raising a concern about the way your bible study interacts with someone on the pastoral team and bitching to a group of friends about how bitchy and shallow the group has become (this is an example only, just to be clear). Your friends can’t do anything about your problem, except tell someone else and end up spreading gossip like wildfire, your minister/pastor/leader on the other hand can give you guidance on how you can work through the concern and can help to address it at a senior level. It may also be necessary to raise your concern with a senior member of your ministry team if you have confronted someone about your concern and they are unwilling to listen or change. This must be carefully and lovingly done in order to build them up not cut them down.
Is it ever ok to tell someone who can’t directly address the issue?
Yes I think it is. Sometimes we need guidance and assistance, maybe we're unsure of what we should do or afraid to raise the concern or maybe the person who can best address your concern is the cause of the concern. In this case my advice is to seek assistance from someone unconnected with your concern or anyone affected by your concern. Find an utterly neutral party who preferably doesn’t know anyone associated with your concern, in this way you can seek advice and assistance without it turning into a gossip session.
HOWEVER!!
You need to be wary when doing this that seeking help doesn't turn into a massive bitching session because that doesn't do anyone justice and is just as bad as gossiping.
The take-away message…
It’s ok to have a problem with something or someone and I believe it’s beneficial to the community at large to address that concern before things get out of hand. Care needs to be taken in doing so however that we do avoid it becoming gossip by carefully selecting who we share our concerns with, preferably someone who can address the problem but if that isn't possible for you, isn't something you feel comfortable doing or if you're unsure of what to do then it’s OK to seek advice from someone however they should be someone completely neutral and unconnected to both the concern and anyone connected to the concern.
The Last Word:
This isn't about pursuing a personal vendetta, but about building up the body of Christ and working for your family’s best. You should do so out of genuine love for your family in Christ.
What on earth is this post about then?
There is a problem with the way the topic of gossip is preached on in churches. Because the Bible is not specific on what constitutes gossip and because society has changed a lot over the last 2000 years we are left to guess at what the authors meant when they referred to gossip. The context of the passages mentioning gossip also mention busybodies, foul or corrupting talk, slander, malice and lies. But because gossip seems to have it’s own category we tend to simply do as the scriptural authors did all those years ago and simply be vague and broad when talking about gossip.
What is the problem then?The problem is that modern Christians, especially teenage ones, are often left feeling like they can't seek counsel of their peers or leaders regarding grievances, problems, general complaints without stepping into the murky waters of gossip.
Why is this a problem?
It’s a problem because a community cannot grow and bond if it’s flaws are not addressed. And it’s impossible to fix a problem no one knows about. I have seen people move churches because there were things that they didn't like, approve of, feel comfortable with or even that just didn't work for them and because they didn't want to seem like they were gossiping they endured it until they couldn't anymore and as it got less and less bearable they began withdrawing until they were no longer a part of that community. For some people this means falling away from the faith, for others they simply find a new church. The end result is the same, the community is damaged because everyone was afraid of damaging the community by gossiping.
I’m not saying that gossiping is OK, it’s not. But there is a distinct difference between gossiping which is either inane, malicious spreading falsehood and raising a legitimate concern.
How do we not cross the line and fall into gossiping when raising a concern?
The key here I think is raising a concern with the right person. Either the cause of your concern or someone who is in a position to address the issue. There is a difference between raising a concern about the way your bible study interacts with someone on the pastoral team and bitching to a group of friends about how bitchy and shallow the group has become (this is an example only, just to be clear). Your friends can’t do anything about your problem, except tell someone else and end up spreading gossip like wildfire, your minister/pastor/leader on the other hand can give you guidance on how you can work through the concern and can help to address it at a senior level. It may also be necessary to raise your concern with a senior member of your ministry team if you have confronted someone about your concern and they are unwilling to listen or change. This must be carefully and lovingly done in order to build them up not cut them down.
Is it ever ok to tell someone who can’t directly address the issue?
Yes I think it is. Sometimes we need guidance and assistance, maybe we're unsure of what we should do or afraid to raise the concern or maybe the person who can best address your concern is the cause of the concern. In this case my advice is to seek assistance from someone unconnected with your concern or anyone affected by your concern. Find an utterly neutral party who preferably doesn’t know anyone associated with your concern, in this way you can seek advice and assistance without it turning into a gossip session.
HOWEVER!!
You need to be wary when doing this that seeking help doesn't turn into a massive bitching session because that doesn't do anyone justice and is just as bad as gossiping.
The take-away message…
It’s ok to have a problem with something or someone and I believe it’s beneficial to the community at large to address that concern before things get out of hand. Care needs to be taken in doing so however that we do avoid it becoming gossip by carefully selecting who we share our concerns with, preferably someone who can address the problem but if that isn't possible for you, isn't something you feel comfortable doing or if you're unsure of what to do then it’s OK to seek advice from someone however they should be someone completely neutral and unconnected to both the concern and anyone connected to the concern.
The Last Word:
This isn't about pursuing a personal vendetta, but about building up the body of Christ and working for your family’s best. You should do so out of genuine love for your family in Christ.
12 October, 2013
Why Christians should care about Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”
Exodus 22:21
"Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ."
Ephesians 2:12-13
Refugees are human beings. The Bible teaches us that human beings are created in the image of God. As such being Christians living under the Bible and its teaching we must treat God’s image with the dignity and respect it deserves, recognizing that every person on this planet is loved by God and that Jesus died for them how can we not care about the way they are treated?
As James 1:27 states. Religion that God accepts is to care for widows and orphans in their distress. It kind of speaks for itself. Especially with regards to refugees, many of whom fit into this category. To take it broader which I do and I believe the Bible does even though this passage is very specific, God calls us to care for all people in distress, even the foreigner specifically as can be seen in the Laws given to the Jews during the Exodus (Exodus 22:21). There is no wriggle room, God calls for us to care. Just as the Jews were expected to care for foreigners in the Old Testament we are called to care for all people and in doing so show our faith in Christ in the New Testament.
WE as Christians are asylum seekers in our own right. We are refugees in this world, seeking a better life and future in heaven according to the promises of God. We do not belong here: heaven is our home and where our citizenship is found “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20)
We are blessed with the good fortune of living in a stable, safe, fertile and prosperous land. Who gave us this land? God did. It is Him who allows us to live here and Him who created it in the first place. Who are we to deny others entry to a land over which someone else is sovereign? More than this, do we really ‘have boundless plains to share’?
The issue of refugees and their treatment by the government of Australia is one which we as Christians should be very concerned about. Here are people fleeing the terrors of their countries of origin, and they rotting in detention because the Australian government does not want to let them in. They are labelled as “queue jumpers” and “job thieves”. To this I say, Australia has one of the longest wait times of any western country, if they wanted to queue jump they’d go somewhere else. If they are taking jobs in Australia it is only because there are jobs to take, maybe the people so worried about their jobs should actually get jobs and they wouldn't be there for the taking. These are resilient people who care enough for their well-being to get on a boat to begin with, they are mostly eager to integrate and learn, if anything they would be a benefit to our society.
Our God is love and we are called to love as He does. Sometimes that is hard but there is no two ways about it (actually, that love is ALWAYS hard – His kind of love is not convenient, nor is it optional). To be concerned about refugees seeking asylum in the country we have been blessed with is to be concerned for what He is concerned about. I implore you to it clear to the Government, the refugees and the people of Australia that our God does not tolerate human rights abuses, by making it clear that neither do we.
"Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love”
1 John 4:7
Exodus 22:21
"Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ."
Ephesians 2:12-13
Refugees are human beings. The Bible teaches us that human beings are created in the image of God. As such being Christians living under the Bible and its teaching we must treat God’s image with the dignity and respect it deserves, recognizing that every person on this planet is loved by God and that Jesus died for them how can we not care about the way they are treated?
As James 1:27 states. Religion that God accepts is to care for widows and orphans in their distress. It kind of speaks for itself. Especially with regards to refugees, many of whom fit into this category. To take it broader which I do and I believe the Bible does even though this passage is very specific, God calls us to care for all people in distress, even the foreigner specifically as can be seen in the Laws given to the Jews during the Exodus (Exodus 22:21). There is no wriggle room, God calls for us to care. Just as the Jews were expected to care for foreigners in the Old Testament we are called to care for all people and in doing so show our faith in Christ in the New Testament.
WE as Christians are asylum seekers in our own right. We are refugees in this world, seeking a better life and future in heaven according to the promises of God. We do not belong here: heaven is our home and where our citizenship is found “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20)
We are blessed with the good fortune of living in a stable, safe, fertile and prosperous land. Who gave us this land? God did. It is Him who allows us to live here and Him who created it in the first place. Who are we to deny others entry to a land over which someone else is sovereign? More than this, do we really ‘have boundless plains to share’?
The issue of refugees and their treatment by the government of Australia is one which we as Christians should be very concerned about. Here are people fleeing the terrors of their countries of origin, and they rotting in detention because the Australian government does not want to let them in. They are labelled as “queue jumpers” and “job thieves”. To this I say, Australia has one of the longest wait times of any western country, if they wanted to queue jump they’d go somewhere else. If they are taking jobs in Australia it is only because there are jobs to take, maybe the people so worried about their jobs should actually get jobs and they wouldn't be there for the taking. These are resilient people who care enough for their well-being to get on a boat to begin with, they are mostly eager to integrate and learn, if anything they would be a benefit to our society.
Our God is love and we are called to love as He does. Sometimes that is hard but there is no two ways about it (actually, that love is ALWAYS hard – His kind of love is not convenient, nor is it optional). To be concerned about refugees seeking asylum in the country we have been blessed with is to be concerned for what He is concerned about. I implore you to it clear to the Government, the refugees and the people of Australia that our God does not tolerate human rights abuses, by making it clear that neither do we.
"Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love”
1 John 4:7
10 October, 2013
Saved by works?
Are we?
It's actually a tough question, and there is disagreement even amongst Christians. My Sydney Anglican friends would answer this with a vehement no, my Roman Catholic friends would say maybe. Many religions would say straight up yes. In fact it is a common difference used to argue about how Christianity is completely unlike other religions. We go so far as to label the requirement for works, for doing things, in order to get into heaven/the afterlife as religion and look down on it.
So are Christians saved by works?
Actually... Yes.
Just not their own. It is by the life, death and resurrection of the God-man Jesus Christ on the cross that we as Christians may enter into Heaven. We cannot do anything to get ourselves into Heaven, we cannot save ourselves from our sins, there is nothing we can do.
But wait, that seems to contradict itself. How can we be saved by works if there is nothing they can do, no work or deed that can get them into Heaven?
The answer is that works do get us into Heaven. But not our works, nothing we can say or do makes us right with God, or even more right with God. It is the works of Jesus Christ that enable us to enter into the Kingdom of God. I'm pretty sure that walking around the Jewish world, teaching, loving, doing miracles, being crucified, taking the sins of the world upon himself and then rising from the dead constitutes work by pretty much any definition you choose to use.
We are saved by the works of Jesus Christ, who's abundant grace and love shown on the cross is the reason that we don't have to. Nor could we if we tried—what good deed or kind word or lifestyle could possibly come even close to matching what Christ has done?
This does not mean that we should not do good things, we most certainly should. But our motivation is not so that God will love us, but because He already does. (James 2:14-25)
It's actually a tough question, and there is disagreement even amongst Christians. My Sydney Anglican friends would answer this with a vehement no, my Roman Catholic friends would say maybe. Many religions would say straight up yes. In fact it is a common difference used to argue about how Christianity is completely unlike other religions. We go so far as to label the requirement for works, for doing things, in order to get into heaven/the afterlife as religion and look down on it.
So are Christians saved by works?
Actually... Yes.
Just not their own. It is by the life, death and resurrection of the God-man Jesus Christ on the cross that we as Christians may enter into Heaven. We cannot do anything to get ourselves into Heaven, we cannot save ourselves from our sins, there is nothing we can do.
But wait, that seems to contradict itself. How can we be saved by works if there is nothing they can do, no work or deed that can get them into Heaven?
The answer is that works do get us into Heaven. But not our works, nothing we can say or do makes us right with God, or even more right with God. It is the works of Jesus Christ that enable us to enter into the Kingdom of God. I'm pretty sure that walking around the Jewish world, teaching, loving, doing miracles, being crucified, taking the sins of the world upon himself and then rising from the dead constitutes work by pretty much any definition you choose to use.
We are saved by the works of Jesus Christ, who's abundant grace and love shown on the cross is the reason that we don't have to. Nor could we if we tried—what good deed or kind word or lifestyle could possibly come even close to matching what Christ has done?
This does not mean that we should not do good things, we most certainly should. But our motivation is not so that God will love us, but because He already does. (James 2:14-25)
“
A man with leprosy[a] came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.Matthew 8:2-3
It could well be argued that there are two life changing events in this passage.
We tend to focus on the second one – the healing.
But did you notice what Jesus did alongside the healing?
He touched him.
He touched him.
Even though He could have cured the man with just an uttered word, Jesus went to the trouble to make contact with the un-contact-able.
Potentially, for years, this man would have gone without human contact due to his disease.
But Jesus touched him.
How would the world be different if the church, including you, went to the trouble of reaching out and making contact with those whom society say should be left alone?
”| — | Tiny Bible Bits (Facebook) |
09 October, 2013
"We accept the love we think we deserve"
I was browsing the Internet today and saw this quote:
"We accept the love we think we deserve."
-The Perks of Being a Wallflower
"We accept the love we think we deserve."
-The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Question: How is this somewhat ambiguous quote found on the internet relevant to God?
I think that this is actually a really important point to consider in how we approach Christianity. Why? Because exactly like the quote states, we accept the love we think we deserve, and more often than not, the love we think we deserve is so much less than what God intends for us. In doing this we limit God’s love for us, confining it worldly parameters that just aren't there when it comes to Him.
Often, while we accept that Jesus died for our sins we feel almost as though God’s love for us is grudging or a mere by-product of the universality of His love because we do not think we deserve His love. We avoid accepting it in its fullness.
But therein lies the problem… by believing that we are too wretched for His love we lessen the love of God; the love displayed on the cross.
Jesus lived the life we could not and died the death we deserved. In His death, He became separated from his Father (with whom He has been in perfect relationship with since before the dawn of time) and taking upon himself the agony of all the sin of all of humanity past, present and future and the consequent wrath of God.
We do not deserve this love. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, about us that deserves what Jesus did for us. But that’s the point.
If we only accept the love we think we deserve then no one will ever be able to accept the love and sacrifice of Christ because we do not think we deserve it.
This is grace, the very nature of love that is true. To accept a love that falls short of the complete and perfect love that God has for us is to deny the true power of God’s saving grace and merciful love.
So don’t accept the love you think you deserve. Accept Him, accept the love you don't deserve.
I think that this is actually a really important point to consider in how we approach Christianity. Why? Because exactly like the quote states, we accept the love we think we deserve, and more often than not, the love we think we deserve is so much less than what God intends for us. In doing this we limit God’s love for us, confining it worldly parameters that just aren't there when it comes to Him.
Often, while we accept that Jesus died for our sins we feel almost as though God’s love for us is grudging or a mere by-product of the universality of His love because we do not think we deserve His love. We avoid accepting it in its fullness.
But therein lies the problem… by believing that we are too wretched for His love we lessen the love of God; the love displayed on the cross.
Jesus lived the life we could not and died the death we deserved. In His death, He became separated from his Father (with whom He has been in perfect relationship with since before the dawn of time) and taking upon himself the agony of all the sin of all of humanity past, present and future and the consequent wrath of God.
We do not deserve this love. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, about us that deserves what Jesus did for us. But that’s the point.
If we only accept the love we think we deserve then no one will ever be able to accept the love and sacrifice of Christ because we do not think we deserve it.
This is grace, the very nature of love that is true. To accept a love that falls short of the complete and perfect love that God has for us is to deny the true power of God’s saving grace and merciful love.
So don’t accept the love you think you deserve. Accept Him, accept the love you don't deserve.
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