Archive for February, 2011

Winter Conference 2011

Saturday, February 26th, 2011

 

This past Thursday we held our Winter Conference at the Chapel. Our speaker was Whitney Kuniholm, President of Scripture Union (www.scriptureunion.org). I have used Scripture Union Bible Reading notes for fifty-five years. They are interdenominational and international so you are exposed to a wide range of devotional writers. I commend them to you.

 

Whitney is a great story teller, and illustrated his talks with vignettes about his own life. Since he has worked for Prison Fellowship as well as Scripture Union he has many interesting and compelling stories to tell.

 

His first session was on understanding where we are on our journey of faith. That requires being honest about who we really are and where we are at. He encouraged us to write down on an index card where we thought we were at in our faith journey and then discuss it with others at our table. I wrote that I was comfortable, but was that good? Perhaps I am too comfortable. We had a discussion about Christian teachers who make us feel guilty. Was that a good thing or not? Then I wrote that I was thankful for all my blessings. And I surely am. God has been so good to me. I am profoundly grateful. Then I wrote that I was concerned about the future, about family, about health, about the economy. There is no end to what I can be concerned about. The challenge is whether I can trust God for all those concerns?

 

The second session was on meeting God every day. He asked us how we connect with God. Then he asked us to think about how we have met God or experienced God in our lives. How are we aware of his presence in our lives? Psalm 42 spoke to us of our desire to meet God. He talked about making time for Bible reading and prayer each day, and looking for the deeper reality in life day by day.

 

The third session was on how we can find our God-given mission in life. And the last session was on how we can make a difference for God. Using the story of the healing of the paralytic in Luke 5:17-26, Whitney focused on the comment that Jesus saw the faith of the four friends who brought the paralytic to him: “When Jesus saw their faith….”. Jesus uses our faith to help others. But we have to be ready to take action as they did. We must be willing to accept forgiveness as the paralytic did. We must be able to spot ministry opportunities along the way.

 

Every one took something different away from the conference. God spoke to each of us according to our need. We are all at very different places in our journey. There is not one message for all. I was impressed by Whitney’s willingness to share so much of himself, warts and all; by his obvious love for his family and for others, as well as for God; and by his ability to respond to situations in such a way as to allow God to work in him and through him. My prayer is that likewise I can be open to the leading of the Spirit to be willing to respond to needs as they arise; that I may be ready to take action, and be able to spot ministry opportunities along the way.

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China and the Gospel

Saturday, February 19th, 2011

 

China is in the news! Recently it overtook Japan as the second largest economy in the world after the USA. Almost everything you buy seems to be made in China. A pair of Georgia boots I bought for yard work turns out to have been made in China. Politicians are complaining that China owns our national debt and is financing our deficit budgets, while manipulating their currency to their advantage.

 

Evan Osnos is a New Yorker staff writer who lives in Beijing and writes the Letter from China blog on newyorker.com. In an article published in the New Yorker on January 10, 2011, on psychoanalysis in China, he reveals some startling facts about China. Chairman Mao’s Great Leap Forward in 1958 resulted in a famine that killed between thirty and forty-five million people. The Cultural Revolution in 1966 unfolded on a scale of barbarity that traumatized thousands. Now economic rebirth has caused history’s largest human migration which has sent one hundred and thirty million citizens to cities in search of jobs. An affluent new class has emerged fuelling an atmosphere of brutal competition.

 

A startling fact, published last year in the British medical journal The Lancet, is that nearly one in five adults in China has a mental disorder, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a figure that put China in the ranks of the most mentally ill countries in the world. Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people.

 

A retired art-history professor, when interviewed, became haunted by a sense of loss: “What do I want in this society? Where do I fit in? Where is my place? These are the things that have always bothered me. It didn’t affect my work, but spiritually, I always felt that I was lacking something.”

 

She has come to see a symmetry in China’s lurch from political mania to capitalism at all costs. “We had a mission – to liberate the world! – and then, all of a sudden, that bubble burst, and none of it was true. So what were we to do now? That’s when we started making money, and now we cling to our money. But it can’t bring us spiritual satisfaction.” As she sees it, that’s the modern Chinese predicament. For all that separates her experience from that of a factory worker on an assembly line in Shenzhen, she empathizes with the factory worker. “We all need to know the value of our own existence,” she said. “If they don’t see the value of their existence, then they won’t see the meaning of living.”

 

David Aikman has written about the progress of the Gospel in China in “Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power.”  He maintains that the Gospel is winning millions of Chinese in their spiritual poverty. The spiritual vacuum of the secular culture and the courageous witness of Chinese believers is resulting in the growth of the Chinese church. When twenty to thirty percent of the population becomes Christian the nation will be transformed.

 

It is in the Bible that we discover the value of our existence. In Jesus we discover that we are loved by God and that he has a plan and purpose for our lives. In discovering that love, the gift of eternal life, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that Christ lives in and through us by faith, we have hope for the future. Living takes on new meaning when we discover that God is working out his purposes through us.

 

Money cannot bring us spiritual satisfaction but we are given the unsearchable riches of Christ which satisfy us at the deepest level. “Made in China” perhaps, but “Remade in Jesus.” “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

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Andrew Murray on Prayer

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

 

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) was a South African Dutch Reformed minister, who was educated in Scotland and Holland. Mystically inclined, he was greatly influenced by William Law and led a profound life of prayer. A prolific writer and speaker on devotional subjects he was the moving spirit in the missionary awakening in the Transvaal and Malawi. The most famous of his 250 publications was Abide in Christ, which appeared in numerous translations. Murray was the most influential leader of his own church in the nineteenth century, and an evangelical Christian of international stature.

 

Recently, friends of mine have recommended his books, and I have seen him referred to by other writers whom I respect. It has been many, many years since I have read him – probably, not since my student days. I found two titles in my library: With Christ in the School of Prayer, and The Prayer Life. In searching my files I found that I taught a class on Christian Spirituality at St. John’s Cathedral in Jacksonville in 1979 and recommended Andrew Murray’s books as resources. I have been rereading With Christ in the School of Prayer and it is proving more profitable than I can remember. I read one chapter each morning. The chapters are short and easy to read.

 

There are thirty one chapters on the following topics:

The Certain Answer to Prayer

The All-Comprehensive Gift

The Boldness of God’s Friends

Prayer Must Be Definite

The Faith that Takes

The Secret of Believing Prayer

The Cure of Unbelief

Prayer and Love

The Power of United Prayer

The Power of Persevering Prayer

Prayer in Harmony with God

The Main Purpose of Prayer

The All-Inclusive Condition

The All-Powerful Plea

The Holy Spirit and Prayer

Christ the Intercessor

Our Boldness in Prayer

A Life of Prayer

 

Each chapter begins with a verse of Scripture on the theme, an exposition of that Scripture, and closes with a prayer. Simple, clear, short, and spiritually enriching. I do recommend it to you.

 

This would make the perfect Lenten study. St. Paul urges us to “Pray without ceasing.” Andrew Murray can help us to do that. If we prayed more we would worry less. The apostles felt that they should give their attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word. (Acts 6:4) My desire is to become more prayerful about my life, and to turn my concerns into prayer. “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” (1 Timothy 3:1,2)

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Motivation

Saturday, February 5th, 2011

 

I have always believed that if someone could come up with a formula for motivation, packaged and sold it, they would make a fortune. No one has, because everyone has to find what motivates them, according to their own personality and need. However speaker, author, inspirational leader and coach Deb Cottle (www.worldonastring.com), has come up with an approach that resonates with me and parallels my own attitude.

 

Deb, and her husband Stan (who is in marketing), has recently joined the Chapel. Interviewed by David E. Wright, President of International Speaker Network & Insight Publishing, in the newly published Success Simplified: Simple Solutions, Measurable Results, she shared her unique formula GUTS. It is an acronym, of course.

 

G stands for Gain Knowledge. She counsels us to take continuing education seriously and to acquire more skills to enhance our own effectiveness. This has been true in my own life as I have attended courses, and studied regularly to keep myself current and relevant. In our fast-changing culture we need to re-invent ourselves several times if we are to find employment and keep our jobs. I am taking three computer courses at the University of North Florida to enhance my skills in Powerpoint, Microsoft Word, and Blogging. I need to become familiar with all the social media. I had an enquiry the other day from a preacher in Texas who reads my sermons online, whether I could put them on my Facebook page. I need to do that. I am also reading widely (as you can see from my reading list for the year), and find that there is so much more to learn than you can ever assimilate. Learning is exciting to me. I don’t think I will ever get to the point that I feel that I know it all. The book of Proverbs is full of our need for wisdom and knowledge. “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.” (Proverbs 3:13,14)

 

U stands for Use Positive Affirmation. This is what is called self-talk. Those of us who have counseled others know how important it is to help people to speak to themselves positively. I call this living by faith. Faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) It is belief in what is possible, for “nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37) Faith is the ability to take risks. We need the positive affirmation of faith to overcome doubt and the negativity of those who would discourage us.

 

T stands for Train Your Thoughts. We all need dreams and faith to believe that God has an important purpose and plan for our lives, despite the naysayers. If we carry negative tapes from the past we need to erase them and replace them with the words of faith. I memorize the words of Scripture and turn them into prayer. St. Paul advises “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8) I find walking on the beach, reflecting and praying, helps me to train my thoughts. God seems to speak to me in a special way as I seek his discernment.

 

S stands for Set Realistic Goals. One of the most helpful seminars I attended in my early years in the ministry was on Managing Your Time. I came away with a clear management by objectives approach that has stood me in great stead over the years. I learned about the value of SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.  “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14)

 

Deb Cottle has many more interesting and helpful tips to share. I commend her approach.

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