A Little Bit of Hardship...YES PLEASE!

How could I ever have thought the New Testamant book of Acts was boring?

It's full of the daring adventures....life-changing moments.....dramatic God-encounters....courtroom debates...near-death experiences and exciting Holy Spirit encounters of the first Christian missionaries and the people they spent time with.

As I have been reading Acts, I have also been ankle-deep in rain puddles as I deliver the local paper to a side of town where mozzies reign supreme, dogs are NOT 'man's best friend' and the weather can't decide if it wants to be scorching, sunshiney hot or bucketing rain!

How incredibly timely that I would be journeying with the great Paul through Acts at the same time that I am folding and delivering 550+ papers. Timely, because I am actually making those deliveries to make a bit of money to give to missions. And Paul was the father of missions!

And my thought this week was to give up and tell my boss...'No more! This is NOT for me. It's too hot...too hard...too inconvenient...too ...... !!!!!!!!!' 

But then, as I read Acts this morning at 6.20am and hit the soggy footpaths at 7, I realised that a tiny bit of hardship in my life is a must. 

I need to keep this little job. Here's why: I have become too comfortable and too soft. I like my life to be convenient, easy and cool. But the whole point of making the deliveries is to receive a paycheck that will help support people working with other people where life is NOT so convenient, comfortable and easy.

Surely, I can endure the smallest amount of challenge in order to better empathise with others less fortunate than me and have a little bit of $$ to give and hopefully both ease their burden and share the love of Jesus.

Unlike Paul, I will NOT be beaten, shipwrecked or imprisoned for the pleasure of serving Jesus and others. Unlike thousands of Christian missionaries, I will NOT have to leave family and friends, learn another language and go without electricity and McDonalds. Unlike millions of people in the world today, I will NOT risk losing my life to natural disasters, a strict government regime, famine, war, preventable diseases or the long list of other life-threatening challenges people in developing countries face every day.

So yes please! Give me a little bit of paper-delivery-hardship.

(PS. If you are a Gladstone local reading this and you'd like to join me in this 'adventure' please be in touch. I am willing to share the journey:))

Friday Friends & Faves #9

Friends:
My friends Heather and Cam work for Student Life - a Christian group at work on a number of university campuses throughout Australia. God used time in Student Life small groups and one-on-one with SL staff, way back in the mid-90s, to change my life forever. And Heather and Cam were at uni with me and involved as students with SL.

Now, years later, they continue to share the love of God, the salvation gift of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit with new generations of uni students. They do it on campus...and off (as you'll read below). And it is their heart to share the life-giving and changing message of Christianity that has challenged me in the past couple of weeks since I read the email below.

I hope that as we head into December...a time for remembering Jesus' birth and all that event sparked....we might take to heart Cam's example and have a real boldness and passion for sharing the faith we have.

A recent trip to Victoria by Heather and Cam was marked by this little gem in their journey. They shared it in a recent email:

Well, we’re not even in Victoria yet (still staying with friends in Sydney) but Cam has shared his faith multiple times – with servo dudes and a guy we met on the bus on the way to see the sights of Darling Harbour. Cam’s still dripping from the apartment complex pool where he shared his faith with residents Athol and Zumi. I’ve learned to substitute prayer for panic whenever Cam is taking longer than I thought in the shops, or down town or even in the toilet. He’s just sharing his faith (or in the case of the toilet, reading apologetics books). But Cam would be quick to remind you not to be in awe of his gift of evangelism (or ablutionary reading), but to ask God to give you courage to step up to bat. He would say that remembering to ask the Golden Question – have you had much to do with Christian things? – is a matter of practice and courage. So fresh from the pool, here’s how the conversation went 5 minutes ago...

Cam: Hi I’m Cam. Do you guys live here?

A&Z: yes. What about you?

Cam: I’m from Toowoomba and I’m on my way to Victoria to help Christian uni students reach out to schoolies and see if any of them want help connecting to God. What about you? Have you had much to do with Christian things?

A&Z (positively): we’re Hindus, but we’ve just been to Hillsong Church, our first experience of Christian things.

Cam: was that a positive experience for you?

A&Z: it was great!

Cam: what did you like about it?

A&Z: people were so alive and enthusiastic and loving. And we’ve got Christian friends now.

Cam: how does that affect what you think about Christianity?

A&Z: we like it, but we don’t think it’s right to just follow a religion.

Cam: you mean a religion where it’s all about following rules?

A&Z: yes. It doesn’t seem right to have to follow a lot of rules to get something.

Cam: I’ve got good news for you: the essence of Christianity is actually relationship, not rules. It’s all about having a friendship with God. Following rules can lead to problems like pride and thinking you’re better than others because you’re following rules well. But Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” So I had a close look at Jesus to see if what he was saying was true, and I learned that the way we go through Jesus to God the Father is through Jesus’ forgiveness for things we do wrong. This leads to us being humble, which puts us in a better position to extend friendship to others.

A&Z: wow! That makes sense. It would stop a lot of wars and things.

Cam: now, because I’m grateful for forgiveness, I make choices to do what God wants, not because it’s a rule, but because of my friendship with God. So are you interested in finding out more about a friendship with God through Jesus?

A&Z: yes!

Cam: do you have an iPhone?

A&Z: yes!

Cam: go to the Apps Store and get a free application called Knowing God Personally (gospel presentation developed by Campus Crusade for Christ)

A&Z: Great! I’ll do that!

Favourites:
My sister Megan has put her talents to work this year and been very creative....with material. I really admire her efforts, particularly as Home Ec was not my strong suit in school and I spend way more time unpicking than sewing if I ever do it. Megan's on-line store has lots of cute items for kids and if you're looking for a special Christmas gift, check out Tail Endz Even if you're not in the market for kids' clothes and bags, have a look anyway, just for the "Awwwww....cute" buzz:)

Where's David?

The Psalms...you gotta love 'em.
150 chapters of David pouring out his heart to God.
Every human emotion expressed - joy, gratitude, despair, desperation, devotion, anger, sorrow, love, adoration, fear, anxiety................
It's almost like Psalms is in the Bible as a permission letter for us to do the same in our own relationship with God.
So....how are you going with that?
Are you:
spending time talking to God each day?
walking moment by moment with Him?
expecting to hear from Him?
taking the time to stop! and listen?
being honest with God?
praising? worshipping? thanking Him?
asking? pleading? presenting each situation to Him?

David did all those things...and more. And he was considered by God Himself to be 'a man after my own heart.' Wouldn't you like that said of you? Imagine God looking at you, turning to the angels and with a wide, joyful grin declaring: "See (insert your name here!) down there? S/he's a wo/man after my own heart." It's my desire that God would think and say such things about me, but I need to give Him reason too.

I read Psalm 142 as part of my Year Thru the Bible readings today. It reminded me of a number of things, lessons that I have learned already but needed to recall....

• I have a great life! David wrote this Psalm when he was hiding out in a cave because his best friend's Dad - the king (and the one he had faithfully served for years!) was out to kill him. No such worries for me.
• I need to be so thankful and express gratitude to all those who help make my life great. David cried out to God in pain, desperation, fear and need. There will be times when I do the same, but so often I am ever-so quick to acknowledge God and ask for help when times are tough, but when they are good, I forget to say 'thank-you' to Him. I also need to express deep and frequent gratitude and appreciation to my husband, son, family, friends and others who bless me. I know the blessing of a timely and sincere word of thanks...so how about I return the favour....often?
• There is nothing I will ever face that can separate me from God's love and presence. Here's David, in a smelly, dark cave and far from those he loves. He is being pursued by evil men and feels threatened, imprisoned, troubled. Yet he knows God is there and has the answers to his dilemma. 
• Even in the darkest times or most dreadful moments of life, there is hope. For David, the cave was not the end of the story. He ends up in a palace. David acknowledged God could and would rescue and free him...protect and provide.....strengthen and guide.....save and restore. God is still about the same business today.....only this time, He's working on behalf of you and I.

There you go....a few thoughts triggered from writing that is thousands of years old, yet still so relevant to us today.

The Psalms....you gotta love 'em.