I've just been working my way through Timothy and had to post this - I love the picture it paints of our Lord:-

15 For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. 16 He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen.

1 Timothy 6:15-16 (New Living Translation)

How amazing that such a person exists and wants to engage us in a personal relationship! 

We're a happy team at Hawthorn!!

I love my footy team!

What a sensational effort to smash the Saints tonight in the prelim!

Look out G'bangers, here we come! The Grand Final will be quite a spectacle. Here's hoping I can score a ticket!

CARN THE HAWKERS!!!!

Jubilee

I might be flogging a dead horse with this one.

Put simply, the rich are too rich, and the poor are too poor.

It boggles my mind that one can be on the treadmill at the gym watching one TV screen showing a world vision ad with hungry kids living in a disease-ridden cesspit and another TV screen is displaying advertorials for designer cat clothes or a holiday retreat for dogs where they can enjoy a spa or a dip in the pool.

DOGS DO NOT NEED SHIATSU MASSAGES!

I feel like I'm once again on crazy pills! (see earlier blog entry)

Back in the day, folks in Israel redistributed their wealth (and set slaves free etc.) every 7 years. That 7th year was called Jubilee. It's a great concept. It means nobody gets too rich or too poor, and ensures the weak aren't painted into a corner for life while the strong get all the choices.

An epiphany came to me the other day:
No monopoly game picks up where it finished. Everyone starts off with the same amount of money and there are no hotels on Mayfair. Imagine if one person started the game cashed up and owning half the board, and everyone else began with little more than their prize for 2nd place in the beauty contest! Would that be fair?

It turns out the great monopoly game of life isn't fair. And we're all in it, like it or not. It challenges me to use what I've been given wisely. I imagine what it would be like if Jubilee happened in our time. It would be a pretty crazy shake-up. But a lot more just. Bring it on, I say!

Next time you're tempted to get your guinea pig a pedicure, or your pony a guitar lesson, stop and consider Jubilee!

Darwin

Last weekend saw me and 4 others (Cath, Mike, Claire and Andy) headed to the northern end of our big, brown country for the Love4 conference. It was basically a get-together of all the corps in the NT region, like when we had Connections here last year.

In many ways the weekend was really tough:
- we had to sit on a plane for 4 hours to get there
- the weather was oppressive: it was warm and sunny, forcing us to change into shorts and t-shirt for the whole weekend
- the only escape from the heat was to subject ourselves to air-conditioning indoors or by getting wet in a swimming pool. It was even harder for myself as I was openly mocked for my method of entry into the pool (ask Mike or Andy about that one)
- if you think that was tough, consider also having all your meals paid and cooked for you, enduring tedious sunsets on the beach, and being forcibly driven around and billeted by nice people.
That's what we had to go through!

Of course, I'm being facetious. We actually had a great time, and the hospitality extended to us was first class.

The adults part of the love4 conference was based on 4 themes of love for life, love for God, love for others, and love for the army and mission. While this was going on, the five of us from Reservoir experienced a different perspective. We were in charge of looking after the youth and children's activities. The sessions included going on a trip to "Crocosaurus Cove" and learning all about all things reptilian. Then there was a God and Pizza night for the youth and kids church on the sunday morning. It concluded with an all-in session in the afternoon.

Despite a smaller turnout of youth than we had expected, we had a great time sharing God with them. There was a mix of cultures represented including aboriginals from Alice Springs, African kids (many of whom were born in detention centres after their parents arrived as asylum seekers from Liberia) and of course run-of-the-mill white Anglo/Aussie kids.

The aboriginal kids were a joy to be around - great smiles and full of energy. A couple of them had disablities, were in foster care or needed special attention, but their faces radiated a level of joy which you don't often experience among church folks.

The African kids were also great. A bit more challenging than the others though. Apparently Darwin corps has regular African morning services (fortnightly or monthly, I can't remember) and so when the African choir sings in the meeting, sunday school is inundated with their kids and struggles to function (there is only one leader there, we had 5+!). They had some really cool names, including Blessing, Peace, and Little Sista! Peace was a young lad whose name belied his behaviour! He was anything but peaceful - the first words to me were during a game of fruit salad where he said "I'm angry! I'm out and I'm angry!". Claire did a great job with them at kids church, inspiring me to become a better human being.

Our time with these people was short but intense. Having only a weekend with them only really allowed us to scratch the surface in terms of building relationships. However, talking with some of the local youth leaders revealed a lot about where the kids have come from and what they have gone through. There were many sad stories from their childhood, with many carrying the scars caused by exposure to war, broken relationships, rape and other injustices. I counted it a privelege to be able to share God with these people, and really felt blessed to be there.

God showed me a verse one night (1 Peter 1:24) which reads:

"People are like grass;
their beauty is like a flower in the field.
The grass withers and the flower fades.
But the word of the Lord remains forever."

On a personal level, my hope is that God will take our time and efforts and use them to bring some long-lasting impact into those kids lives, and ultimately God's kingdom. By encountering people who don't have a lot, I was once again reminded how easy it is to become materialistic and selfish in my own life. God challenged me to focus less on earthly things and more on eternal things that last, such as sharing Jesus with people and reflecting Him in how I live.

Booth Quote

Was reminded of this quote while reading On Fire mag recently:

"I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be:
- religion without the Holy Ghost
- Christianity without Christ
- Forgiveness without repentance
- Salvation without regeneration
- politics without God
and heaven without hell" - William Booth

Anyone been confronted by one of these dangers lately?!

Very prophetic!!!

Update

Hi, person who checks this daily hoping for an amazing new post despite my complete abscence from blogging for the past 3 months! Your dedication to my groundbreaking blog has not gone unnoticed.

How are you?

Since last time I have moved to a house devoid of free internet. As a consequence, I have been a tad slack with the posting. But, praise the Lord, I am on holidays and hope to get a few done before the week is over. But not until I watch some serious Alias...

Haiku about Poetry

My housemate has been studying poetry at Uni, meaning she has to read 20-page-long poems about nothing and write essays on them. I feel sorry for her. So to cheer her and everyone else up I dug up my own relic effort I did when I was in high school and bored in English. It captures my own thoughts and insights on poetry in Haiku form (Haiku is an ancient Japanese poetry form, typically, but not always, following a 5-7-5 syllable verse layout):

HAIKU POEM ABOUT POETRY:

Do witicisms

or words assembled random

constitute a poem?

 

Poets make the mess

then poetry analysts

try to tidy it

 

The hidden message

could more easily be told

in far fewer words

 

But then what purpose

what niche in society

would poets assume?

 

Incessant whingeing

hiding feelings in word games

is their employment

 

Evil poetry!

Useful as Pauline Hanson's

One Nation Party

 

He who can't write songs

thus composes poetry,

inspiring his breed

 

Take rhyme and reason

add a funky beat and tune

and then you have art!

 

But no! The poets,

veins filled with venomous stuff,

resort to boredom...

Try this...

Those unable to attend Reservoir Salvos' sunday worship tomorrow can console their disappointment with this sneak peek of a prayer segment I'm running tomorrow. There's nothing new here, but I like it:

Prayer isn't just about saying things to God...

God wants to speak to us constantly througout the day... 

We don't always hear Him because of all the noise and distractions around us...

He has messages for us that we miss because:

we aren't listening

we aren't aware of His prescence

we aren't ready

we can't hear him above all the noise and distraction constantly happening around us

Find a quiet place by yourself...

Get in a comfortable position... 

Close your eyes and remove any distractions...

Listen to all the sounds around you... 

How many different sounds do you notice?

Spend a moment becoming aware of your own breathing...

Now become aware of God's prescence...

He is all around...

For those who believe, He is also in our hearts...

This means He doesn't leave us after we're done at church or bible study or prayer...

He stays with us, everywhere we go...

Become aware of His prescence right now where you are...

Listen for God...

Maybe he is saying something to you through:

- the bible – God's word to us

- a song

- something that's happened at church

- another person

- nature – God's creation

- our thoughts

- some other way!

What is he saying to you?

Is He telling you to do something?

Obey Him...

Thank Him for speaking to you...

Remember to always be listening...

Listen.

There is a new world coming. A new society. A place with no need for politicians or borders, money or police. In this place, faith is our anthem. Grace is our currency and love is the law. Justice and mercy rule. The small are lifted up. All are brothers and sisters in Spirit. It is the Empire of the throne of love. The dominion of divinity. Where heaven and earth touch. This place is Kingdom. It is coming. It is here. It is all around us. It is within us.

Believe and change.

Pass it on...

(thanks Anthony C)

Christianity is like flossing

Being someone who still has all his original teeth, and has never even had a cavity, I never used to understand why some people possess such a paralyzing fear of the dentist. I actually quite liked them. I always found them to be intelligent, friendly and clean - very admirable qualities in a person. However, recently I have noticed a darker dimension that lies beneath the pristine minty whiteness of the dental profession...

I better not build this up too much, it's actually not as sinister as I'm making it sound. Basically, since moving to Melbourne, I've been going to this foreign guy who looks like he's straight out of year 10, and who is constantly telling me I need to floss every day. Now, for a moment let's overlook my redneck Hobart upbringing, the fact I don't trust blokes whose names end in "-oski" scraping away inside my mouth, and my bias towards medical professionals who are actually experienced. Flossing every day is a struggle for me...

I just never got into the habit of flossing as a kid. My olds never made me do it. All I did was brush morning and night, and the school dentist always seemed impressed with the state of my mouth. The result: 28-year-old Radspank can't see the point, and isn't looking forward to learning new tricks. They say to form a habit for good, you need to do it for at least 28 days. Don't ask why, it just seems to be the magic number. Problem is, my efforts to become a flosser have only ever lasted 4 or 5 days at a time tops.

Why is it so hard to make flossing part of my daily routine? Well, there's no single, easy answer, but I thought of a few clues:

- I wasn't brought up to floss as a kid, and mum and dad never did it

- It hurts. Especially to start with. After not doing it for months, my Serbian (or whatever)-trained dentist did it for me while I was stuck in the chair. It left my mouth feeling sore and just wrong. Even the next day, the residual pain successfully deterred me from flossing a second time

- It involves blood. Ewwww, some might say. But it's true - for the first few days your gums bleed so much that you're left looking like a dodgy b-grade horror movie villain.

- It takes time. I leave it till just before bed and am always too stuffed to care, so I just don't bother.

- It takes discipline. A concept I haven't really had any kind of grasp on since my uni days

If you're a dentist and reading this, perhaps you are tearing clumps of your own hair out in frustration. After all, there must surely be benefits to flossing. Prevention of gingivitis for starters. Less plaque, therefore reduced chance of cavities, therefore reduced chance of extractions, therefore reduced chance of serious dental surgery and nasty complications such as endocarditis and death... 

To paraphrase Romans 6:23:

"For the wages of not flossing is death, but the gift of oral hygeine is eternal dental life in Christ Jesus our Lord"

Sounds ridiculous, but maybe there's something to this.

Some of these things remind me a bit of my own spiritual life.

Is it possible that Christianity is indeed like flossing?!?!

- The Great dental physician himself, God, knows what is best for us, and we have the opportunity to accept his advice, or ignore it

- Starting out with Jesus involves pain - the agony of turning from sin

- Being a Christian involves forming new habits and disciplines of prayer and bible reading etc.. which don't often come naturally

- Apparently, most people get saved before they turn 18 - after that age it's a lot less common and maybe more difficult to get into. 

- Having parents who set a Godly example can make Christian habits easier to form

- There's blood involved. Jesus made life possible through the shedding of blood!

- Following Jesus won't happen unless we make it a priority. In fact, it demands all of us - our time, effort, gifts etc..

- The costs of following Jesus can blind us to the benefits of fulfillment and eternal life

- Jesus, like my own dentist, probably spoke incomprehensively in some weird language other than english too!

I like it. Even though it seems like a slender thread to hang a sermon on, in my opinion flossing really does hold many deep theological insights!

Cheers - Nath

Crazy Pills

Occasionally I like to unwind with a viewing of a mindless, but nevertheless, hilarious movie on DVD and gorge on junk food till I feel like munting. One such occasion was the other day, when I decided to pull out an old favorite, Zoolander. As a pharmacist, one of my most loved moments is when Mugatu (his part ingeniously interpreted by comic mastermind, Will Ferrell) exclaims: 

"Who cares about Derek Zoolander anyway? The man has only one look (Lord's name taken in vain deleted)! Blue Steel? Ferrari? Le Tigre? They're the same face! Doesn't anybody notice this? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!" 

Having spent a few hours at work today, I can relate to how he may have felt. Once in every blue moon, there are moments when I wonder if I am the only sane person alive. Most of the time our customers are great, or at least ok to deal with. But today felt like Rudd had declared a nationwide "idiot day", in celebration of all things ignorant, half-witted, and self-absorbed. To aid my recovery from this shocker of a shift, I thought it may be therapeutic to publish a list of things I'd love to say as a pharmacist, but can't cause I really shouldn't:

Things I'd love to say as a pharmacist, but can't cause I really shouldn't:

- please control your children

- will you just stop talking?! or Can I please get a word in?!

- your prescription took this long because we keep going over the same point/how are you not getting this?!

- who cares what flavour it is? It's medicine! It isn't supposed to taste good!

- the generic is the same. Same drug, dose and strength. Equivalent, No different. Identical. Parallel. Analogous. Synonymous. This means the different writing on the box will not improve your condition, since each tablet is composed of the same number and type of atoms arranged in matching configuration! 

- the generic didn't cause that reaction. It's all in your mind

- spare me the victim routine

- it's such a minor problem - you don't need this medicine/it will go away by itself

- you need to wash more often

- it's disgusting when you eat fish and chips while I'm trying to talk to you

- you don't look cool when you wear sunglasses indoors

- put a shirt on. Nobody wants to see it

- Hey kid! This is a pharmacy, not a playground

- I can't sell you this sudafed since I believe you will sell it to an unlicenced backyard amphetamine lab

- I'm having a hard day, just gimmie a break

- I'm not sorry at all - that wasn't me, it was my colleague

- You're rude. Why should I put you ahead of everyone else who is waiting/I'll do yours first if you can get all these people who have been waiting 30 minutes agree to it

- if you're gonna talk on your mobile, then I'll serve someone else

- that guy is a bad doctor. You should get a second opinion

- just cause it helps you lose weight doesn't mean you can eat more

- instead of the morning after pill, I would prescribe self control and ditching your jerk boyfriend

- not you again!

- That's the price, and that's it! I didn't study for five years to work in a shop and argue with you about whether or not it costs less in Greensborough

- Just because you've been coming here 30 years doesn't mean you can have anything you want

I'm sure I could come up with more, but am starting to feel better. Maybe the crazy pills have a shorter half-life than I originally thought!

Cheers - Nath

From www.philbaker.net

Progress on Goals for 2008

So I've been doing some ruthless self-analysis and I gotta say I've done a lot better so far on this years goals than at the same time last year, when everything kinda fell apart! Maybe the goals I set were more realistic this year than 2007's. Or maybe I'm well on my way to becoming a truly goal-oriented person. Who knows? Anyways, here's a summary report of my progress thus far:

Read one Christian book a month - on track, ready for next month's book which I'm gonna source in the next day or 2

Involvement in social justice - I'm enjoying this so far - only touched the tip of the iceberg though - I've gone Fairtrade (there's a dedicated cupboard for coffee, tea and chocolate in my house now), encouraged workplace and others to do so too, spent less/donated more, read up on SJ topics. Looking at writing some letters and campaigning type stuff soon.

Recommit/stick to soldiers covenant - the recommitting part was easy, sticking to it is hard - have messed up on a few of the articles, enjoying the battle though

Cooking hobby - learned how to do a lamb roast and it was delicious. Need to investigate more recipes and ideas to add to the repertoire

Savings - worked out a system where my savings can grow, while simultaneously being able to donate more each month

Healthy/environmentally responsible lifestyle - been running (bought new shoes and ipod earphones that don't fall out every 5 seconds) a bit but slacked off when it was hot, need to eat better foods, got alarmed after watching that Al Gore doco about global warming, using less power/water, recycling better, offset my carbon emissions (sounds suss doesn't it?!) when booking a flight recently 

Can't believe nearly a quarter of the year's gone already! Hopefully the next progress report will have even better results...

Cheers - Nath

Quote of the Day

"You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want togo to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named 'Bush', 'Dick', and 'Colon.' Need I say more?"

  Chris Rock

Elevated!

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

  Though he was God,
      he did not think of equality with God
      as something to cling to.
  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
      he took the humble position of a slave
      and was born as a human being.
   When he appeared in human form,
     he humbled himself in obedience to God
      and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

  Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
      and gave him the name above all other names,
  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.

  Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.  For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Philippians 2:5-13 (NLT)

Bottled water is bad, mmm'kay?

We have become accustomed to being told that things are bad for us. As a kid, it was junk food. Growing up, suddenly drinking, smoking and other habits were identified as being harmful. Despite his fictional nature, Mr Mackey (of South Park fame) has opposed illicit drugs, declaring passionately and often that, "Drugs are bad, mmm'kay?" These days, we are told it's bad to use too much water or power, or to buy Nestle, Cadbury, and other products that are not Fair Trade certified. 

Now, with good reason, the Victorian Government wants to add bottled water to the list of things we must avoid. I never would have imagined such an apparently innocuous item could be considered detrimental to the environment. That was before reading this recent article from the Herald Sun, which quotes some alarming statistics, and encourages folks to switch to simply drinking plain water from the tap:

- studies showed it could take up to seven litres of water and a litre of crude oil to produce one litre of bottled water.

- discarded water bottles accounted for almost 38 per cent of general waste, with thousands of plastic bottles fished out of the Yarra River each week

- TAP water had only 1 per cent the environmental impact of bottled water.

- BOTTLED water production generated an estimated 600 times more CO2 than tap water.

- AUSTRALIANS spent more than $500 million on bottled water last year.

- ONE bottle of water had the same impact on the environment as driving a car 1km.

- MORE than 65 per cent of water bottles end as landfill.

- AUSTRALIA'S love affair with bottled water was costing the planet 314,000 barrels of oil a year

- About 76,000 tonnes of plastic bottle waste went to landfill or ended in our environment as rubbish in recent years

Through all this, Mr Mackey whispers to my conscience: "Bottled water is bad, mmm'kay?" The choice is clear for me! I will drink tap water preferentially to bottled water wherever possible, and will encourage my mates to follow suit.

Cheers - Nath

The Suffering Servant

Who believes what we've heard and seen? Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?

The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, 
   a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him, 
   nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over, 
   a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away. 
   We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried— 
   our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself, 
   that God was punishing him for his own failures.But it was our sins that did that to him, 
   that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole. 
   Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. 
   We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, 
   on him, on him.

Isaiah 53:1-6 (MSG)

The eastern divisional youth meeting at Mitcham tonight was excellent. It's been a while since I have seen so many young people confronted by the cross, and challenged to respond in the light of Jesus' sacrifice. Matt Kean delivered a prophetic word from God about the reality of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Using the example of Peter, he concluded that we are not a true follower unless we are prepared to stand in for Jesus on the cross, and join with him in His suffering. Then, what an amazing time as the choir sang words like, "...the wonderful cross bids me come and die..." and "...love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all...". Simultaneously, youth from the division all but drowned out the singing with the hammering of their own polaroid photo to a large cross - to signify their willingness to be a true disciple. It was so great to be there - praise God for being able to reveal something new every time I revisit the story of the cross!

Cheers - Nath

The Wonderful Cross

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

See from his head, his hands, his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live
O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace draw near and bless
Your name

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all

Isaac Watts originally composed this hymn in 1707, and it has been recently updated by Chris Tomlin who added the chorus. I love the words to this song - it is so meaningful - from the introspection of the first verse, to the confrontation of Christ's sacrifice in the second, and the humbling conclusion that Jesus' love is so huge and my efforts are so insignificant. I've reflected on these words leading up to Good Friday, and continue to find blessing in them. And challenge too. It puts me back in my correct place - a reminder that it's not just about me. And it illustrates the perfect love that God has for his people, calling me to follow.

Why not spend some time looking through these words for yourself, and meditate on their meaning? I reckon it's a great way to prepare for easter!

Cheers - Nath

A Jihad on The Veronicas!

Grrr! I can't believe this puerile and unmusical piffle is the latest thing shaping the minds of our teenage girls:

"Untouched"
I go ooh ooh, you go ah ah 
lalalalalalalala
lalalalalalalala
I wanna wanna wanna get get get what I want
Don't stop
Give me give me give me what you got got
Cause I can't wait wait wait any more more more more
Don't even talk about the consequence
Cause right now you're the only thing that's making any sense to me
And I don't give a damn what they say, what they think think
Cause you're the only one who's on my mind
I'll never ever let you leave me
I'll try to stop time for ever, never wanna hear you say goodbye (bye bye bye)

I feel so untouched
And I want you so much
That I just can't resist you
It's not enough to say that I miss you
I feel so untouched right now
Need you so much somehow
I can't forget you
I've gone crazy from the moment I met you

Untouched
And I need you so much

See you, breathe you, I want to be you
Alalalala alalalala.....

They bang on a bit longer, read the rest here if you want

My issues with the song and the "artist" are manifold:

- The song lacks musical inspiration. It is not even really a song, I'd classify it as a "track". The melody in the chorus is infantile and in the verse is absent - chanted gibberish forms the bulk, employing pesky stammering for added impact

- It is being played everywhere. This ubiquitous drivel has defecated all over the perceptions of ordinary unsuspecting Australians in all manner of radio and TV shows, printed media and even my own workplace

- The Veronicas skanky image. Embarking on a simple Google search for "Veronicas pictures", one is instantly aware of an unwholesome pretense - every pose is the same: the girls typically in a quasi-sapphic embrace (often with a kiss thrown in), wearing excessive makeup. It is a terrible image for teen girls to aspire to, and perhaps also designed to arouse males far too old to appreciate the music

- I have mates who won't stop singing it in my prescence, all too aware of my hatred for it

- The whole thing is symptomatic of a market seemingly aimed at an audience too young to comprehend the manipualtion and deception they expose themselves to by listening to such excreta. 

Let's hope the next release is an improvement

Cheers - Nath

No drink? No porn?

Nobody's left a comment on my blog since Jan, so I guess I can write about whatever I want, confident that nobody actually reads...

Once a week, a good mate (who is also a Christian) and I go for lunch, since it's the only day we are both at work together. It's a tradition which goes way back. Originally, the marketing guy from work would also join us, and we'd talk about the footy and get a counter meal at the pub and exchange jovial banter. Sadly he left for another job a few months ago, and was replaced by a female. We kept the lunches happening though, and the newbie chick (let's call her Kim) has joined us on a semi-regular basis since. 

This week, the three of us took ourselves to Hungry Jacks for some hearty grub (a side note: they couldn't possibly get more red colouring in red Fanta if they tried). It was a fun time chatting, gorging on food, swatting flies with the newspapers provided, and analyzing the nutritional content of our meal. On the way back to work in the car, we got onto the topic of drinking, then to my recent soldiership recommitment, and finally onto the Articles of War, which happened to be sitting on the rear seat next to Kim. Halfway through reading the document, partly astounded, partly amused, she exclaimed, "You can't drink, or use porn?! What's with that?". I was caught off guard a bit, and I'm pretty sure my answer was pathetic. I was a bit annoyed at myself. If I signed the thing, surely I should be able to explain explicitly why soldiers abstain from drink and porn. 

The conversation ended and we got back to our jobs. Of course, five minutes later, all the things I should have said before flooded my mind! I decided in order to be better prepared for next time, I better do some research and list my ideas on why soldiers avoid:-

Alcohol:

- we agree in our covenant to not drink. It's only one of many points in the soldier's promise and abstaining for life is a low cost considering the potential cost of not signing up at all

- It dulls the mind and spirit and reduces our ability to communicate with God

- It reduces inhibitions, potentially resulting in anti-social, uncharacteristic and regrettable behaviours

- Many alcoholic drinks are high in energy content and can cause weight gain

- Hangovers cause nasty symptoms like nausea, headaches, and light sensitivity

- Once under the influence, driving is out of the question, transport becomes difficult/become relient on others to drive

- Time is wasted sobering up, lack of sleep after a big night out reduces productivity the next day at work, or can affect relationships

- Our organisation rehabilitates people recovering from alcohol addiction. To drink would be hypocritical, and may cause such people to be tempted to drink again

- To drink would be to support an industry that cares little about the people affected by adverse effects of its product

- My body is God's/not mine/I was bought at a price therefore I am to honor God with it

- It is expensive - the money would be better spent supporting a cause

- Tolerance develops, more drink is needed to achieve the same effect, due to proliferation of alcohol dehydrogenase enzymes in the liver (which metabolise it), thus exacerbating many of the above reasons

- The above apply to mild-moderate drinkers; heavy drinkers can become addicted, and the effects are potentially catastrophic, to the individual, their relationships, employment and society as a whole

Porn:

- ditto many of the above eg: addictive, wasted time, financial cost, enslaved soul, tolerance develops, it's in the covenant, honour God with your body

- It demeans women, treating them as objects, altering one's view of women - focus is on the image, not the woman as a unique and emotional/spiritual being loved by God

- The women depicted may be under oppression 

- Inflames lust and sexual feelings, which result in the sin of adultery and separation from God

- progresses from soft to hardcore, mild to obscene

- It is tacky, and lacks class

- Images can be difficult to erase from memory, providing Satan with grounds for accusation

- It causes shame and hiding the sin becomes a preoccupation

- Damage caused to relationships and marriages

- As morality in society has deteriorated, availability/accessibility of porn has increased

- Extreme cases lead to more extreme and often illegal perversions and paraphillias, such as child pornography, violence, and others that are less mentionable

I'm sure there are plenty of other reasons I've left out (and gentler ways of communicating them to non-believers). But these ones would have been a good start, had I been able to think quickly enough! Seriously, hang out with non-Christian folk more and have these conversations. They will challenge you and cause you to grow!

Cheers - Nath 

Recommitment

Today was an exciting day at Reservoir Salvos as myself, along with 3 others, re-signed our Articles of War, as a re-commitment to being a soldier of the Salvation Army. Two others also joined as adherents. While I could have spoken for an hour or more regarding my thoughts on the subject, my 2-minute-abridged testimony went as follows:

"My decision to recommit as a Salvation Army soldier is one I have made after a lot of thought and prayerful consideration. I first became a soldier in 1996, aged 16, at Hobart. I did all the classes studying what soldiership was about, and most of the time I kept a similar standard to the soldiers I saw around me. But I never really revisited the promise I had made on any kind of regular basis, and seemed content to leave it hanging in a nice frame on my wall next to my uni degree and other assorted certificates. 

"Having re-studied the doctrines and the words of the soldiers promise last year, it means much more to me now than merely a qualification to join the brass band and songsters. The last eleven years of my life have added to my understanding of what it means, and the practicalities it involves. When discussing soldiership here last year, the point was made that what our church needs is not a great number of soldiers, but a few soldiers who wholeheartedly commit themselves to diligently living the covenant out every day. And it is my desire to be one of those few here at Resi.

"For me, the whole basis for being a soldier is a desire to know Jesus, and to love and follow Him. I see Jesus as the ideal person to imitate, and in Jesus I find an example of how God wants me to live my own life. I've been a Christian since I was a kid, so it's hard to describe exactly how my life is different because of Him. However, there have been lots of times when I have been apart from Him, temporarily choosing to go my own way, and trying do life in my own strength. Those times never go well, and they have always seemed to result in negative feelings and bad consequences. I end up hungry and thirsty to experience Jesus again, and wishing I had just followed His way in the first place, instead of being dumb, selfish and lame.

"In being a soldier, I not only commit to aligning my life with God, but also the Salvation Army. I see the Salvation Army as a great organisation that, in its ideal form, strives to please God and help others. However, it is obvious that, being comprised almost entirely of humans, the Army often falls short. There's been many times when I have had issues with the Salvos, disagreeing with stuff, or just felt disappointed or let down by certain people or attitudes they have had. I guess I am recommitting to the Salvation Army in it's ideal form, how it was intended by God to be, and recognising that it will never be perfect.

"The fact that I have decided to re-sign the soldiers covenant implies that I want to know God more deeply and do better in my relationships with others. I want to get better at helping other people know Jesus, which is what soldiership is all about. I've only ever really scratched the surface with these things, and intend to do them a lot better. It's important for me to strive to be pure and holy, and also recognise that I may come under opposition, or generally just have difficult times. I also intend to be more relient on God to help me, knowing that I will fail if I try and do it all on my own.

"So to sum up, I'm excited but scared at the same time. If I follow Jesus too closely what if he completely rearranges my life? I really have no idea what lies ahead, but I know following Jesus will bring fulfillment. I'm priveleged to have friends and family who support me, and Jesus as an example. In the end, I just hope I can do my best, and hope my efforts are pleasing and useful to God. Thats it..."

'nuff said

Now I just have to get on with it!

Cheers - Nath

Hunger Fairies

The whole "small things with great love" theory was confirmed for me again today in an unexpected circumstance. And I was on the receiving end! 

I work a sunday shift every month and it happened to be today. I start at 8 in the morning and am usually too disorganised to get myself brekky, let alone lunch. So when the 12 o'clock hunger fairies brutally attacked my stomach and I had nothing to eat, I was left with no option but to visit Safeway for some tasty and nutritious 2-minute noodles. 

I only had 10 minutes to eat lunch. To put that in perspective, my break on a regular day is 50 minutes, and I spend the majority of those minutes ingesting various edibles. Basically, I was in a hurry, needing to select, purchase, cook and eat my meal in no more than 600 seconds. However the supermarket was packed and the queue for each aisle was upsettingly long. Selecting my one item, and avoiding the so-called "express lanes" I strode the length of the store to find the shortest checkout line, finding one with just 2 people. 

The lady in front, immediately aware of my situation, let me ahead of her! At that moment I felt really cared for. Like there are actually people out there who do consider others, and put the needs of their neighbor ahead of their own. A few thoughts came to mind:

- the "small things with great love" is a top concept

- I really don't practice it enough, I should be on the lookout for chances to do it

- it shouldn't take a non-Christian to teach me this - we should be leading the way

Cheers - Nath

A little shrine of quietness

Time for a longer entry today. 

Following the departure of 3 housemates, January this year found me living in a big four bedroom house all on my own. Far from feeling abandoned, however, I have relished the solitude! It's great to be able to come home and hear yourself think. It's also much easier to focus on God in the absence of noise and distraction. 

Today, after an all-too-short four-hour night's sleep, the operating system of my consciousness required a more protracted booting time. It took much longer to realise who and where I was, in other words, and I lethargically prepared my disheveled facade for the day ahead. Soon after embarking on the short journey to work, I noticed the traffic on Dalton road was slower than usual. My initial reaction was frustration. Admittedly my threshold for road-induced vexation is usually significantly diminished during the morning hours, and the self-inflicted sleep deprivation didn't help either. But discontent turned quickly to confusion as I approached the Western Ring Road underpass. All the traffic lights were out and it occurred to me that I had best proceed with caution. 

I came to a stop and surveyed the chaotic scene. Lines of vehicles were coming from all angles with nothing to govern who should stop and who should go. Horns sounded as some drivers impatiently and dangerously attempted to weave a right-hand turn through oncoming traffic. Other folk, obviously in two minds, changed their course without indication. To my left brakes squealed as a collision was narrowly avoided. To my right, wheels spun in frustration as someone finally got their turn. Fearing for my life, I forced myself to pause,  and collected my thoughts. It was far too much anarchy for such an early hour! After a while I finally had my chance to move on, but not before absorbing the abuse from the bloke behind me, who had obviously expected me to simply close my eyes and plant my foot!

The parking area behind the pharmacy where I work was in similar disarray. It's a 200 metre stretch of car spaces in between the rear of our shop and the local school oval on the other side. Parents, whom I contend are the worst drivers of all, drop their kids off there to avoid the congestion in front of the school. They randomly zoomed into and reversed out of car spaces, changed direction at random without indicating, and tooted away on their horns. Small and vulnerable children running energetically back and forth across the road were met with oblivion by mums and dads in SUV's obviously late for work. I settled for an outlying parking spot, and trudged the remaining distance on foot. I had made it to work intact!

Somnolence plagued the entire day, reducing my ability to cope with the demands of making important decisions regarding people's health. Difficult, multiple and simultaneous tasks demanded my attention for the whole shift. Doctors with illegible handwriting. Dodgy folk shopping around for Sudafed to manufacture illicit amphetamines. New staff members who couldn't tell a Predmix from a bread mix, or an Amoxil from a Coloxyl! Whilst constant interruption is usually tolerable to me, I kinda struggled today. There was only so much I could endure before I began to yearn for the peace and quietness of home. 

Once I finally made it back to the house I realised just how precious it is to just spend time in silence. To be still and know He is God. For me (an ISFJ for you wacky Myers-Briggs enthusiasts out there) it was replenishing and energizing. I was reminded of an old hymn (which my former Songster brigade butchered brutally one time) and it blessed me to read these words:

’Mid all the traffic of the ways, 

Turmoils without, within, 

Make in my heart a quiet place, 

And come and dwell therein.

A little shrine of quietness, 

All sacred to Thyself, 

Where Thou shalt all my soul possess, 

And I may find myself.

A little shelter from life’s stress, 

Where I may lay me prone, 

And bare my soul in loneliness, 

And know as I am known.

A little place of mystic grace, 

Of self and sin swept bare, 

Where I may look upon Thy face, 

And talk with Thee in prayer.

Cheers - Nath

Country and Western Music

Recently my mind has been devoid of anything resembling an original thought, worthy of publishing on this site. As a consequence, I give you an entry from an old blog that continues to amuse me: 

"SHE GOT THE RING AND I GOT THE FINGER......and 11 other great redneck song titles:

1. I Haven't Gone To Bed With Ugly Women, But I've Sure Woke Up With A Few

2. You're The Reason (Our Kids Are So Ugly)

3. Get Your Tongue Outta My Mouth Cause I'm Kissing You Goodbye

4. She's Actin' Single and I'm Drinkin' Doubles

5. My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend, And I Sure Do Miss Him

6. Mamma Get a Hammer (There's a Fly On Papa's Head)

7. Her Teeth Was Stained, But Her Heart Was Pure

8. You Darn Tore Out My Heart And Stomped That Sucker Flat

9. She's Lookin' Better After Every Beer

10. I Still Miss You, Baby, But My Aim's Gettin' Better

11. I Sold a Car To a Guy Who Stole My Girl, But It Don't Run (So We're Even)"

Can you imagine Troy Casser-Daly or Willie Nelson pumping out any of those? I believe it would be quite an achievement if one day I actually managed to get acquainted with the whole country and western genre. I'm sure there's some good stuff out there to listen to. But for now I'll stick to my beloved Chili Peppers and fighters of foo...

Cheers - Nath

Write this down...

Nearly finished Shane Claiborne's book. In it yesterday I was reminded of one of my favourite quotes, from some dude called Brennan Manning:

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians

who acknowledge Jesus with their lips

then walk out the door

and deny Him by their lifestyle.

That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable"

"Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?"

James 2:14-17 (Message)

2008 will be a great year if...

So last year I got all excited on New Years day and made a bunch of goals for 2007. I did really well with them too. For a while, then May happened, and it all fell apart! I completed the year having achieved none of my six main aims! Although I did get close on a couple...

Well this year I took a bit longer to work them out, but finally (almost a month into 2008!) here they are. I believe for me, 2008 will be a great year if I:

1. Read one Christian book a month (the last book I read was the Da Vinci code and it took 14 months to finish. I am a bad reader, but want to improve!)

2. Get involved more in social justice and poverty issues (by reading up, donating more, writing letters, encouraging others to get involved, praying, keeping my eyes open)

3. Re-commit and adhere to my soldiers covenant (I signed mine in 1995 and its meaning has profoundly changed for me since then)

4. Take up cooking as a hobby (I wanna be better than Jamie Oliver!)

5. Reach my savings target (which I won't disclose here)

6. Live a healthy and environmentally responsible lifestyle (eat well/exercise/recycle stuff/use less power and water etc...)

Anyone who reads this is welcome (nay, encouraged) to keep me accountable to these!

Cheers - Nath

Heath Ledger vs Westborough Baptist Church

Like most Australians, it was shocking and sad for me to hear the news of Heath Ledger's death. Even worse was the revelation that a so-called Christian minister from the US, Fred Phelps (who gives himself the title, Reverend) planned to gather members of his "church", Westborough Baptist Church, and stage a hateful protest at his funeral in Perth. They planned to preach against his appearance as a gay cowboy in the film, Brokeback Mountain. The location of the funeral was not disclosed to the public, prompting WBC to hound Ledger's family with a letter (displayed on their website, www.godhatesfags.com) in hope that they could travel to demonstrate. 

Fortunately, the funeral details were never revealed. Four members from WBC did however, protest at the recent Screen Actors Guild awards against Ledger's role in the movie, displaying placards with hateful and anti-gay slogans. My reaction to that news report was a mix of anger, sorrow, and shame that I too, profess to be a Christian. The whole thing is wrong on so many levels:

- The attempt to deprive Heath and his family of a dignified funeral

- The fact that the subject of their protest was not alive, therefore unable to receive the message anyway, only his grief-stricken family

- Ledger wasn't gay at all, he only depicted a gay character once

- The theory that watching a movie depicting homosexuality will cause the viewer to also become gay

- The twisted theology of Phelps and his church

- The embarrassment caused to Christians worldwide who are by default associated with Phelps, and the subsequent judgement which will no doubt result from non-believer observers

I saw Brokeback myself, including the intimate "man-love" scenes. Two years later, I still remain not-gay. To be honest I found the movie slow-paced and unremarkable, and have no desire to view it again. But that's beside the point.

 

I did some preliminary research into WBC and Fred Phelps. Be warned, those of you considering visiting www.godhatesfags.com - don't go there unless you are relatively strong in your faith. Or if you are easily offended. It's an ugly, unjustified vehicle of hate which left me shuddering for the first few minutes. There are significant holes in their theology which they defend viciously, passionately, and often with intelligent reasoning. At other times, they are simply profane and offensive. It's all very misleading, and before long I left the site, concerned that I might too, fall victim to the brainwashing so obviously involved.

Interesting to note that the Phelps wikipedia article reports two of his sons regard the church as a cult, and four (out of a total 13!) children "insist that Westboro actually serves to enable a paraphilia of Phelps, wherein he is literally addicted to hatred". Something's obviously wrong if his own family is against him.

I just really think that this is the type of media coverage the worldwide Christian church body can do without. Let's spread a gospel of love, mercy and forgiveness, and always be on guard against false teaching. Matthew 7:15-16 says:

15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.

Cheers - Nath