ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

(Continued)

     2. The second area of FORGETTING WHAT IS BEHIND concerns the area of PAST SINS AND FAILURES.
Romans 2:4 says that it is God's kindness that leads us to repentance.
In 1 John 1:9 in the New Testament, the encouragement to each of us is: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Psalm 103:11,12 says: For as the heavens are high above the earth,
                                           So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
                                           As far as the east is from the west,
                                          So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Question: How high are the heavens above the earth? How far is the east from the west? From God's perspective, as the Creator of the universe, they are infinitely unfathomable distances.
Micah 7:19 reads: Who is a God like you,
                                  Who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
                                  Of the remnant of His inheritance?
                                  You do not stay angry forever
                                  But delight to show mercy.
                                  You will again have compassion on us,
                                  You will tread our sins underfoot
                                  And hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
Again, Micah paints a word picture for us showing something of God's amazing grace towards us, when he says He will tread our sins underfoot, and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. The word 'hurl' means to throw violently. Imagine the logistics of trying to find something which has sunk to the depths of the ocean in its deepest part. The use of the word 'hurl' to picture God forcefully throwing our sins into the deepest parts of the ocean, to me would seem to show something of how much His act of love and forgiveness is towards us.
If you are reading this, and have committed your life to Jesus Christ, having been "born again" by the work of the Holy Spirit in you as a response to your surrender to Him, acknowledging your sin and your need of a Saviour, then you would know that at that point of your commitment to Him that as it says in 1 Corinthians 5:17 , ... you became a new creation in Christ, old things having passed away, and all things becoming new. Where there is true repentance from sin, at the point of salvation, many experience a real sense of newness, where it is actually like being born over again. But, that does not mean we are perfect, and that we will never sin again. Would that it were so, but, alas, we are, as the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:7 "jars of clay". We are imperfect vessels, still capable of stumbling and even falling into temptation and committing sin. BUT, we have the assurance from the Word of God in 1 John 2: 2 where John the apostle says: If any one sins, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. NIV.
Maybe you have been a Christian for some time, and feel that you have failed the Lord too many times for Him to still use you. The enemy of our souls, Satan would love you to believe that, but let me tell you, if that is what you believe, you are believing a lie. Jesus said in John 10:10 (NIV): The thief comes only to steal, and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it to the full.
As someone has well said: The man or woman who never made a mistake never made anything. Don't let past sins or failures be the measure for your future life of fulfillment in God's purposes for your life. Don't just be content to peck at the crumbs on the ground like a chicken, but rise up on eagles wings and soar on the Holy Spirit thermals of His anointing for your life.
I am believing for my wife and myself and our family that our best days are still to come, and that, like Abraham of old, we are and will be blessed to be a blessing!
For you, who are reading this - I am believing for God's best for you as well!

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

(Continued)

In my previous blog post on this current theme, I mentioned the fact that, in the New Testament of the Bible, the Christian life has been pictured by the apostle Paul in terms of a race, possibly a chariot race in the context of the popular Roman sport of the day, as well as a running race in Hebrews 12, with the possible context being in reference to the Ancient Greek Olympic Games held in a stadium.

A further reference of Paul the apostle to the Christian life as a race is pictured in 1 Corinthians 9:24-26 (NIV) where he says: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly.....

Again, the picture is of a well disciplined athlete who has the goal in view as he runs the race with purpose and passion in order to gain the prize. As stated by Paul, the runners in the Ancient Olympic Games ran in order to receive a perishable crown - usually a laurel wreath, but we run the Christian race to gain an imperishable crown. There are a number of verses relating to this in the New Testament.

As I stated in the previous Post, in any race, whether it be a foot race , a chariot race or whatever kind of race, for the participant to look back could be very costly. 

There are TWO ASPECTS of what Paul and Jesus, as well as the writer to the Hebrews (whom, by the way, many consider to also be Paul the Apostle), meant by NOT LOOKING BACK or FORGETTING WHAT IS BEHIND. The first of these I will address briefly in this Post.
     1. Looking back to the good things of the past when it stops us from seeing what God is doing now and what He is wanting to do in us and through us now, and where He is wanting to lead us in the future.
From my personal experience again, as outlined in my blogs "Chasing My On Air Dream" (Parts 1 & 2), I had the opportunity to fulfil a desire to be involved in Christian radio on air for a little over ten years, firstly in Christchurch, NZ, and then in Launceston when we moved to Tasmania. Then in 1992, the Lord closed that door. I enjoyed working in that environment, particularly when I was in Christchurch, where I also met and married my wife, Tessa.
In the period between leaving WAY FM in Launceston and moving to Hobart in the year 2000, I was unemployed for extensive periods of time. There were times when I seriously considered going back to the radio station, even if just on a part time basis. Even though I believed in my heart that God had closed that door, there was still at times a drawing back to that part of my life which, in reality was a hindrance to my forward progress in the purposes of God for my/ our lives.
Without going into detail of the circumstances, there was a period of one year when we were not, as a family going to church, between around 2003 - 2004. During that time, I did present a three hour music-based Christian program on Sunday mornings at Huon FM, a community radio station at a country town about forty five minutes drive from where we were living in Hobart's southern suburbs, and although it seemed that the Lord allowed me to do this, there was no discernible fruit from this "ministry" time. The only feedback, which was positive, was from three or four of the station's other volunteers.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1, Solomon wrote these words: There is a time for everything,
                                                                           and a season for every activity under heaven.
Sometimes it seems that there are seasons for even certain ministry activities where God's blessing rests upon us - that come to an end, and He beckons us to MOVE ON. Again, in my own experience, I played drums in churches in three Australian states where I have lived and also in two cities in NZ - spanning some thirty years. I also have led worship regularly in several of the churches I have been involved in. But it seems that season of my music ministry came to an end about eight or nine years ago, and although I would still love to have the opportunity to play drums and lead worship, that door appears to be firmly shut.
King David in Psalm 31:14,15 says: But, I trust in you, O Lord;
                                                               I say, "You are my God."
                                                               My times are in your hands.......(Emphasis mine)
To be continued.
To find out how you can become a Christian and discover a life with purpose and direction and Hope for now and the future, go to www.vision.org.au. Click on Resources at the top of page, then click on Christianity from the drop-down menu.
    

ONWARDS AND  UPWARDS

(Continued)

As I quoted in my first part of this blog, Jesus says in Luke 9:62 No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
I mentioned that the word NOSTALGIA is made up of two Greek words: NOSTOS - A Return Home, and ALGIOS - Pain, so the word NOSTALGIA could be literally said to mean: A Painful Return Home, or a painful yearning to return from where you have come. Interesting, eh!
In Paul's letter to the Philippians in the third chapter, the apostle gives a concise summary of his pre-Christian resume, as it were, as a "Hebrew of the Hebrews", with an outstanding pedigree in the Jewish faith, and so zealous for the Law that he literally sought to wipe out all who would not conform to Judaism. His encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus was such a dramatic encounter that his life could never be the same as before. What were once considered assets in his life lived in the Jewish faith were now liabilities for his forward progression as a Christian, born again by the Holy Spirit. Read Philippians 3:7-11.
Paul's resolve in Philippians 3:12-14 is this:.....I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me.
Brethren, I do not consider myself to have laid hold of it; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Italics mine)
The Book of Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul to the Church at Philippi, a Roman colony - at about 61 AD during his first Roman imprisonment.
Horse racing with light chariots was a popular sport with the Romans, and some Bible commentators believe Paul's words in Philippians 3:13,14 were written with a chariot race in mind. Paul pictures himself in a chariot - knees pressed against the curved bar, his arms and body stretched out over the front of the chariot, holding the reins. In such a position, and situation, it could well prove fatal to look back!
Another very graphic picture of the Christian life as a race is found in the familiar (to Christians) verses in Hebrews 12:1,2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
LET US FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS, THE AUTHOR AND PERFECTOR OF OUR FAITH, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
RUNNING was one of the most popular of the Olympic Games sports of the Ancient Greeks. The place prepared for the race was called the Stadium because of the length, which was a stadium, which was 600 Greek feet. This was equal to 625 Roman feet or six hundred and six and three quarters feet English. Do we assume from this that the Greeks had bigger feet than the Romans and the English? I don't know.
The stadium was oblong in shape with a wall at each end, and tiers of seats on either side of the stadium for the spectators or witnesses.
The starting place was designated by a square pillar at one end of the stadium. At the opposite end was the Goal or the Finishing Point where the judge sat, holding the prize, a crown or a wreath of leaves.
As with the chariot race, for a runner in the stadium to look back while running could prove at the least to be a costly distraction, and at worst could cause him to stumble and fall.
As Bible believing committed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our "forerunner", in order for each one of us to make significant progress in seeing the unfolding of God's plans and purposes for us - ongoing - we need to have our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, not looking back, longing for the past to be revisited in our minds with a drawing sense of regret!
Each day brings new challenges , new opportunities, new potential for us to draw closer to Jesus and to continue the journey of faith we have embarked upon in life.
To be continued soon
If you are not a Christian and would like to know more about how you can come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, as suggestions, you could go to www.vision.org.au Click on the Resources button at the top of the screen, then from the drop-down menu, click on Christianity, or livingwaters.com (wayofthemaster.com)

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

Until earlier this year, I did not do much on Facebook. In fact, for some time, I only had a few Facebook friends, and thought that spending time on Facebook was pretty much a waste of valuable time.
Then, after connecting with an old friend from my Bible College days (2 years) in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, and realizing that she had a number of Fb friends from that era that I could reconnect with, I began to become more interested in utilizing this particular form of social media. Within the space of about three months, my friends went from about five or six to well over one hundred, made up of friends from Bible College, another year of Bible College in Katoomba, Blue Mountains in New South Wales, old friends from my almost twenty years residence on the Gold Coast, friends and relatives of my wife in New Zealand, as well as a number of current friends and acquaintances particularly from the churches we have been involved with since living in southern Tasmania.
As well as being Facebook friends with now over 140 individuals, recently I have joined several special interest groups on Facebook relating to my time at Bible College, as well as two separate Gold Coast groups, helping to recapture past memories through photos - Black and White, and Colour, and anecdotes concerning specific people, places, and events with which I had personal involvement going back some fifty years.
As much as I have enjoyed reconnecting with long lost friends from the past, and reliving memories of times gone by which held great significance to me, I also realize that those times, places, experiences, and for the most part, close friendships, are gone forever, and cannot be recaptured. The danger, I see, for me, and for others as well, is that we can get so caught up in trying to relive the past that we stop living for now, and with an expectancy for the future.
That is not to dismiss the past as providing all that was necessary to shape us for the challenges of today, but I have come to realize that if we are not careful, looking back at both the positive and negative aspects and influences of the past can stifle our progress now and for the future if that is our focus.
There is an interesting verse in the Bible in Ecclesiastes 10:7, where King Solomon wrote these words: Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?", for it is not wise to ask such questions. Again, do not get me wrong! I am not saying we should despise the past, but we should not cling to it, as if somehow, we can like Doctor Who, think we can travel  back to times gone by, and relive them in real time. That is just not possible.
On this same point, it is very interesting and enlightening to consider the word NOSTALGIA.
One dictionary definition is 'A sentimental yearning for the past". The word NOSTALGIA comes from two Greek words NOSTOS - A Return Home, and ALGIOS - Pain, from which we get the word ANALGESIC or pain killer.
Whole industries have been built upon nostalgia. Those who have known me for a number of years, and those who have read my recent blogs will know that I grew up with a love for radio broadcasting, and eventually had the opportunity to personally be involved working full time in Christian radio for around ten years. Thinking about the whole aspect of nostalgia, and marketing to people's nostalgic emotions, some of the most popular radio stations in the larger capital city markets of our nations, at least in the Western world, are stations which play solely music from the 50's to 70's, because many in Baby Boomer and older generations have a longing for the way life used to be.
As a committed Bible-believing Christian, however, I am having to come to terms with the fact that God is NOT sentimental. He is the God of the NOW! He is as the Bible affirms the GREAT I AM!
The Director of Christian Life Bible College in New Zealand where I spent two years in the mid 70's used to love quoting the verse from Luke 9:62 where Jesus says: No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
The same verse in The Message Bible, the Bible in Contemporary Language by Eugene H. Peterson reads: Jesus said, "No procrastination.No backward looks. You can't put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day."
This is the first part of my blog which I have titled: Onwards and Upwards. Please look for the continuation of this theme in upcoming Posts, the next of which I hope to have out later this week.
If you are a Christian, and are reading this, let me encourage you to know that God's plans and purposes for you are for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)
If you do not know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, go to www.vision.org.au Click on the Resourses button at the top, then Christianity, OR
go to www.livingwaters.com to find heaps of resources to help you both discover new life in Christ, and also how to effectively share your faith. God Bless

A VISION TO PONDER

This was given by the Holy Spirit to a woman of God in a Charismatic Baptist church where we fellowshipped in Northern Tasmania just before the year 2000. Her prophetic words were welcomed and accepted by the then church leadership, as she was a stable, committed member of the church fellowship living a life of personal and spiritual integrity. We believe it still has relevance to the church today.

The King who was King over all things sent to the earth many, many diamonds. In every place and in every kingdom of the earth He placed His diamonds so they could be treasured and polished and shaped. He had special places in His eternal kingdom for each diamond to return to.
The King watched in pain as those He entrusted with his diamonds saw only how they could use them for their own pleasure and gain. Many of these were even blind to the beauty present in each diamond, seeing in them only a reflection of their own darkness and a target for their anger and greed. Some of the diamonds were smashed to pieces as again and again the entrusted ones hit them with huge rocks. Some were drilled through and put on necklaces as trophies to be worn.
The King looked further down the streets of the nations, looking for those He had made ready to come to the aid of the diamonds.He saw his redeemed people, His bride, sitting in shop fronts with big windows. Looking through the windows, it looked more like a pub. The people were drinking, taking drugs, laughing and eating. Every now and then they would look out of the window and say: "It's not very nice out there. Have another drink, friend." The longer they stayed, the foggier the windows became and the less they could see. Sometimes they seemed to stop for a few minutes and look at each other as if something had disturbed their activities. They looked confused but soon went on with what they were doing.
The King's pain increased as He watched His Son, the Risen Saviour, stand among His people and call them saying, "Worship Me. I am Righteousness and Justice." At times, one or two would hear His voice and see His tears and leave the shop front. This pleased the Lord and He cleared the fog from their eyes and minds and gave them assignments. Some of the assignments were to clear the fog from the window. This annoyed or amused the people inside.
The King watched. His pain increased until it nearly tore the universe apart. His anger burned as He watched. In the dark streets He saw that some of the redeemed had gone out and they were forcing holes through the diamonds and making necklaces with them. Then they went to the evil one who lived in the streets of the nations. They bowed to him, took off their necklaces and offered them to him to add to all the others he wore. The evil one was pleased and greedily snatched them.
The King called to His Son, "It is time. Smash the windows, shake My people. No longer will they sit and become blind, callous and oblivious to what is outside their fogged vision. It is time for them to rise up and see, to use their authority, to call on their Lord, to feel, to go, to pray, to love. It is time, My Son. Call them to pure worship, to see straight, to see Truth, to see Your Righteousness and Justice. My Son, call them."
The Son turned from the Father and pulled from its sheath a huge, brilliant sword. It looked like a bolt of lightning. The sword is to be used in response to the righteous prayers of the redeemed. Written on the handle are the words Righteousness and Justice Belong to the Lord. It is also a warning to the redeemed. The voice of the Son rang out around the nations, "Awake!"

The writer of the above admonished the readers to ask the Lord to show the full meaning of this and what it requires of us.

Here is what she personally believed to be something of the interpretation.
The Diamonds represent the ones who have been lost because the church has been so blinded by seeing its own needs fulfilled, staying in comfort zones, and idolizing traditions of man. These ones are especially the millions of children in the world who are abused, in slavery, orphaned etc - also the millions who are helpless because of economic injustice. This is not an exclusive understanding because the Lord wil speak different things to different people with a vision like this.

MUSIC - Ode to the Mighty Creator God (Genesis 1:1 - 2:10)

Hush!
          Listen...
                   the soft wind whispers through the leaves
                   stirring gently the harps of the trees,
                            Mysteriously,
                                              throbbing,
                                                              swelling...

Hark!
         Tremble...
                         the storm - wind rages, tossing trees
                         crashing thunder of surging seas
                                  Grey - white,
                                             foaming
                                                Stay, and afraid, wonder...

Hear, again
                  Falling
                            rain
                                 pattering
                  Little streams chattering
                  Broad rivers murmuring
                  Flowing to the mighty sea
                  Dashing on the shore
                  Leaping on the cliffs
                  Dancing on the rocks

Try to recall
                     the music of dreams fading ...
                     elusive, first beyond reach -
                    The haunting cry of a wild bird, clear and lonely
                     The distant sound of the sea, or the wind,
                              Whispering in a shell ...

Remember when
                              a mother 
                                            softly sang to her child
        While the kettle spluttered hissing by the flick'ring fire
         Unheeded by the cat, drowsy - purring on the hearth,
          Or the clock slowly - ticking on the wall.

Music is woven - part of our lives
           Like patterns of flowers embroidering the roadside,
                                    heard
                                              in sound, in silence, in memory, in dreams ...

           Look!
                     The lovely rainbow leaping
                      across dark, stormy skies,
                      Covenant of promise.

           Daffodil carpets where dark firs tread
                wind - ruffled, close to the lake ...

                          wild roses, lost from heaven
                            and caught upon our thorny hedges
                                     with their hearts of candlelight ...

           a gay, red ribbon fluttering
                          in wreaths of dark hair ...

      butterfly emerging from the chrysalis
                resting, wrinkled, wings unfolding,
                             drying, shimmering in the sun ...

   Silver birches by the stream
              Slender, sun - lit, silent ...

   A bird poised motionless, high in the sky,
       Perhaps waiting to pounce, on its quivering prey ...

  Casquading fall of a mountain stream
       Framed in summer's tracery of 
                            green - curtained fern ...

  Gleaming fish unmoving, suspended as though frozen,
  Above the gravel banks, gold - fleck'd, in clear pools
                                   deep and calm ...

  The lights of a city at night
      Hiding the blemishes, transforming
                the grey, grimy bustle of day
                      into a fairyland of colour.

  Music is God's song to us,
             Let's sing the high praises of God in our lives ...
                              a song even in the night ...
                                  discerning the song of the Lord
               in the hearts of others
                       filling the earth with the glory of God.
                                                                                    Hebrews 2:14