the joy of creating

see some of my most recent artwork...
here
and
here (the one on the left)

I love painting - especially for a person, with them in mind.

prayer, provision and repentance

Friday College had a morning of prayer. It was great to spend a few solid hours praying. I also found it hugely encouraging praying for all the exiting students.

God's grace and provision continues to blow me away. I have been waking up quite early of late. I think it is because the sun has been getting up earlier and earlier. I'm looking forward to daylight savings starting tomorrow. But this past week, as I have been waking up between 5 or 6am, I stretch out, look at the ceiling and pray and give thanks to God. Try it sometime, it has been awesome.

--
I got to thinking over the last week about the pain and grief that comes with death. I then thought about the death of Christ. How painful that must have been for God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit in their perfect perichoretic relationship when Christ died. It has reminded me of enormity of what occurred when God sent his only Son to die for us.

I again come before my maker and repent, give thanks and turn my life to him for molding.

There is no sunshine without the sun and there is no sun in a cave but you will find darkness, cold and wet, nothing at all is like brew, you, fun, tea, cocktails and budgies go to the zoo to watch the tigers come from Africa does not like to watch us play violins and volitional moods go well together is the opposite of separate, but it does start with the same letter as today is gonna change the world for there is no tomorrow, there is nothing but sunshine on my fingers and toes, bending and stretching my back to front and topsy turvey mr men and women are swimming in the sea of love and happiness is good for the soul, spirit, life, just do it for the love of money doesn't rule my world pollution does not want me to go home tonight I have a date with some seaweed is good for your skin not nose piercings are hot and spicey food to cook tomorrowor else nothing will go away on holidays are coming soon but exams are sooner.

so they threatened

The waves threatened to overwhelm this week.

The week started on Monday morning with a tute on abortion and ended with a guest lecturer on the same topic.

It saddens my soul to tears.

I hope and pray that I will always be devastated by this topic, and never calloused or even apathetic.

--
It has AGAIN made me realise the importance of what we teach our young people. We teach about sexual purity, but often we forget to teach about the importance of life (a Christian perspective on abortion/euthanasia etc).

itty-bitty fishing boat

Today we looked at Christology in Luke-Acts. I continue to be amazed at Luke's rich and vibrant description of our Lord and Savior. There is just so much to be learnt. Sometimes I feel like a small fishing boat let out to sea in a storm. I'm being bombarded with information day after day, night after night. No chance to recover from the last wave when the next one hits!

I want to learn it all, but realise all too quickly that this is an imposibility. I know that college is only just a small part in what I hope is a lifetime of learning and loving God more.

And now it is time to turn back into those waves...

is it a 'gospel' issue?

Picking up on David's comment in the previous post, I thought I would ask the question: Is it a gospel issue when women preach/teach/lead biblestudy in a mixed setting?

By this I mean, is a woman sinning when she teaches a man?

I have heard it taught that it is a sin. That in fact it is sin in the same way that Eve sinned in the garden, ursurping the God-given order of creation.
I feel the tension. The jury is out in my decision making, but surely if it is a sin, then it is a gospel issue.

And what do we mean by gospel issue anyway?!

And if it is a gospel issue, how does that work itself out? Can a woman lead a service, read the bible in church or even pray in church? what about leading singing in church, is that teaching? and what about youth ministry?

pragmatics or theology

So the gender debate is being tabled at Synod. There are many facets to how this pans out. This post is not aimed at taking a position regarding the ordination of women to the priesthood, but at what we do with our position on certain aspects of the gender debate.

We need to let our theology dictate our ministry not pragmatics. This is all areas of ministry, but here for this post I am thinking about women teaching to men and women.

If a biblical pattern of male headship is being held to and women are not to teach in a mixed setting then this needs to be held across the board. Here in Sydney we are so blessed to have an abundance of well theologically trained people to teach in our churches. Elsewhere it is not the case. Yet why do our churches which take a stand against women preaching in mixed settings so willingly support and allow women to go overseas and teach in mixed settings?
Some people say that this is because there is a great need, and if there are no men to teach and there are women willing and able to go then they should. But I question what this says about our doctrine of humanity.
Are the men in those places somehow less 'manly' and it is acceptable for them to sit under a woman's teaching? What are we really saying when we allow women to preach 'over there' and not here?

We cannot allow pragmatics to rule our theology. If we take a stand against women preaching to a mixed setting here in the abundance of Sydney, then we have to take the line that they cannot teach to mixed settings overseas as well.

sporadic

My blogging has been a little sporadic of late.

There are so many thoughts swirling around in my head that I haven't had time to sit down and write (also dodgy internet and PC giving me grief). I do my best thinking when I am moving about. So one good thing to come out of all this thinking as that the house is clean and my bedroom is tidy. I even managed to rearrange and there may be room for another bookcase in my bedroom.
Now to find one within the budget!

I've been reading about abortion for the ethics tute today. I hope to post some thoughts on it after the tute.

Current thoughts consuming brain waves:

• women's ordination to the priesthood (it is being tabled at Synod over the next 2 weeks)
• women's ordination to the deaconate (is there a relationship between this and the above)
• 1 Tim 2
• contentment and blessings
• bioethics

the same old storage story

4 bookcases full of books. Crates of them overflowing under the bed, beside the desk and out of the wardrobe. Piles in the hallway, hidden under couches, above the fridge, under the table.

I have evacuated all non-essential literature to my parents house (and they thought that they had got rid of me).

Surely there are more spots I can find in my bedroom to put them!

the power of blog...

an interesting/amusing article on why you shouldn't blog - here.

What do you think?

artiste

Today brings about a new era in my life. I have my first commissioned piece of artwork (paid that is)!!!! Naughty has asked me to do something for her room. OK, so it isn't the first painting that someone has asked me to do for them, but it is the first time someone has given me cash up front to cover materials.
Perhaps it is time to be rethinking college....
--ok, so perhaps going from financially struggling theological student to financially struggling painter may not be the way to go.

But someone suggested I could sell them on ebay. Perhaps I should put some thought into that to help fund my final year and a bit of college....

God speaks - He is not silent.

You might was to read Psalm 19 first.

Have you ever hugged a tree and expected it to talk to you? I often talk to my plants and pets, but I never expect them to talk back. I read these verses and wonder what an earth is going on.
How can creation talk? How do the trees and rivers speak up? What are these verses claiming?

The Heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands.
It’s a bold opening. Creation cries out, declaring praises to its creator.
Creation has a voice. It declares the glory of God. It displays knowledge. There is no language that it does not speak, and its voice goes out to the end of the earth. God has spoken, he isn’t silent.

Heavens, skies, speech and voice. What do they remind you of? Think about it.
Where do they take you?

God created the heavens and earth. God spoke. It was with his word that the heavens and earth were created. David is not just reflecting on the expanse of heaven.
He is not merely sitting under the stars and looking at them for that moment alone. He has an understanding that goes all the way back to the creation of the universe. David is not saying anything new. This is no new and strange concept. God has always spoken.
Look at verse1. Look at the balance. It flows off your tongue. The Heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands. It has the effect of us seeing how the glory of God is the work of his hands.

Check it out. The story that the heavens is telling is not just contained to daylight hours, it is day and night.
Day AND night. This heavenly message speaks twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, for all eternity.
The nightly knowledge is the same is the daytime speech. Day and night. Morning and evening.

The work of creation may be finished, but it’s message continues.
God speaks, he is not silent.

David doesn’t mean that creation speaks in English, Aramaic, Hebrew, or even Greek. Even so, it is a profound communication. Just look at verse 3.

3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

If you are a tree hugger you don’t expect the tree to talk back to you. But just because we don’t hear it, doesn’t mean that it is mute. There is no part of humanity, no matter what language, that has escaped the proclamation, what the heavens declare about their creator.
This proclamation of God is so profound that humans are held responsible for not listening. Romans 1:18-23. Paul writes that no human anywhere has any excuse for failing to recognize God. Because of the testimony of creation.

In creation, God speaks. He is not silent.
His speech goes out to the ends of the earth. Verse 3 picks this up, and you can’t miss it in verse 4! Although the speech, words and voice of the heavens may be inaudible to human ears, they still have a voice.

So how does creation speak? How does creation proclaim?
David goes on in the next couple of verses to give an example.
He has described the big picture of what creation is doing. And here the psalm focuses in. From the general to the specific.

We see the picture of the sun living in a tent pitched in the heavens by God.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.


I went to a friends wedding recently. And as I was sitting there, the bridegroom came out the door from the side of the church to wait up the front. You couldn’t wipe the smile of his face. He was beaming with joy. Today was his wedding day. I’m sure many of you will have witnessed the same thing.
Now culture is slightly different these days, for we normally see the bride arrive and go the bridegroom. It’s the opposite here. The bridegroom is the one goes to the bride.

The triumphant sweep of the sun through the heavens displays the glory of God like a bridegroom. He is dressed in his finest and beaming with joy at the occasion. He leaves his tent, the place of preparation. The public nature of this occasion would involve everyone. EVERYONE.
NO ONE could miss this event.
And you know what it is talking about?

The revelation of God.

And to even take this one step further: if you were absent from the wedding it would show that you were either indifferent toward the family or had some type of badwill toward them.
God created the heavens and the sun. It’s through this that he making himself known to all, to everyone in joy and glory.
And the sun is not only described as a bridegroom, but also as a warrior, a champion. Someone who is fearless and stretching out to the end.
Through all this, God speaks, he is not silent.

David has the pointed reminder that the sun shines on all creation, on all humanity. We can’t live without sunlight. And there is nothing that can escape the watchful eye of the God who created the sun. The sun moves from one end of the heaven to the other. It warms and illuminates all that humanity does.
This is a subtle reminder. The word warm or heat actually has undertones of anger - the judgment of God. The sun is a constant scrutinizer and assessor of all human activity.
Even those activities that we think are hidden.

The glorious sun – which mirrors God’s glory – constantly arcs overhead so that none escape both the blessings and judgment implied by its heat. But we can’t stop there. We have this great proclamation of creation, but then again we haven’t responded to it.

HOWEVER, there is something even greater. And David writes of this in the next few verses.

Listen to what he says now:
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.

I just love those words.
God has spoken. He isn't silent.

We see a whole bunch of words describing the character of the Torah, the Law of God. Each description also has a phrase revealing how the Torah impacts humanity.
It is not just about what the Torah is, but it describes what it does. Can you see the subtle difference? The difference between what David has said about creation?

The law of the LORD is perfect.
It's whole.
It's trustworthy, it's right, pure, certain and precious.

Perfect… reviving. It calls the faithful to repent and return.

Trustworthy… making wise. Like the warning signs on the freeway telling you to slow down, or even those signs you see on the harbor bridge exits saying ‘wrong way go back’, the Torah warns of dangerous and slippery conditions.

Right… giving joy. These precepts are not described as restrictive, but bring joy.

Radiant… giving light. Like the sun descibed earlier, it describes God’s command as pure light, lighting the way.

Pure… enduring forever. The pattern has changed. No longer a list of attributes, but it introduces the theme of human response which the Psalm goes on to fill out.

Ordinances… sure and altogether righteous. God doesn’t change his mind. He is not manipulative. God is trustworthy.
He is reliable, permanent and faithful. There are no one minute this, one minute that with the LORD. There is only a secure and permanent view of what ought to be. These standards are in and of themselves righteous.

Not only that, they are more precious than gold, pure gold. Sweeter than honeycomb.
Think about those words for a second. More precious than the purest of gold. Sweeter than the freshest of honey.

The creation may cry out. But the Torah actually achieves something. It achieves something which creation does not do. Look at those descriptions again.
The Torah revives.
Makes wise.
It gives joy and light.

And we can see how precious the Torah, and of course all Scripture is, in verse 11.

11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

Scripture is so important because not only does it warn, but it guides.
God speaks, he is not silent.

Too often we think of the Scripture, and even more so the Torah, as being legalistic and purely restrictions of behavior. That it must be obeyed under pain of divine punishment.
This is an incorrect view. Psalm 19 declares the law not to be an onerous burden, but a source of wisdom, joy and light.
It is precious and pleasurable.
We need to incorporate this positive view of the law into our understanding of the Old Testament. Rather than it being a heavy burden, it was the guide to continued life and restoration of communion with the holy God.
Jesus himself accepts and upholds the goodness of the law when he says in Matthew 5:17 that he did not come to abolish the law or the prophets… but to fulfill them.

David’s spent time marveling at the revelation of God declared through the heavens and sun. And he’s rejoiced in the admonition and guidance of the Scriptures. He at last turns to the appropriate human response. “fear of the LORD”. Only on the understanding of the Scriptures comes this proper attitude.

David now moves to talk about himself. The I language makes this clear, and ever so personal. Then will I be blameless, words of my mouth, meditation of my heart, my Rock and my Redeemer.
People sometimes look at these verses and reckon that we can achieve a state of sinless perfection. That is not what the psalmist means in verse 13. Being right with God is not from keeping the Torah. It is not about what I do. It is about what God does.

We see this in verse 14. It provides a wonderful conclusion to the movement we have seen across the psalm. It is a plea for the way of submission.
The LORD is the David’s rock, redeemer and the one in who hope resides. The LORD is to be our rock, our redeemer, the one in whom our hope resides.

So I have to ask: what does it all mean for us?

How can I know God?
Creation declares the praises of God, but it is not enough to take someone outside and tell them to hug a tree in order to know God.
The sun, the work of creation all speak of the glory of God, yet this Psalm moved us to show how God speaks through Scripture. And of course, its Scripture that ultimately points to the revelation of Christ. Christ is the radiance of God’s glory, the exact representation of his being.

God speaks, he is not silent. The heavens have declared his praises. And even more than that.
He has spoken and given guidance through the Torah, the Scriptures, and the fullness of his glorious revelation has come in Christ.

God in Christ, is revealed through the Scriptures. People can’t know God by hugging trees or looking at the heavens. People know God through the perfect, sure, right and pure words of God in Scripture. Pointing us to Christ.
If we want to point people to Christ we don’t turn to trees. And we don’t tell them to turn to the trees. We turn to the Bible. It is the Bible that revives the soul.

In our Youth groups, it’s not that games that convert.
It’s the Scriptures.
In our churches, it’s not the flashy powerpoint that revives the soul.
It’s God’s word.
In our one-two-ones, or our small groups, or anything else, we can’t point them to nature, to hugging trees and tell them to find God. It’s through the Bible that God in Christ is revealed.

Everything that we do MUST come from Scripture. Because ultimately that’s where God speaks.

completed

my sermon is finished for Chick's Chapel tomorrow morning which is a nice feeling. I had hoped to deliver it with no notes, but it isn't quite there yet.
I'm trying to explore different delivery modes. (part of the whole no notes thing) I will at least stick clear of the lecturn!

I'll post it up sometime tomorrow...

go figure

I came home tonight to find that someone had broken into our backyard (not that it would have taken much effort) and stolen my weather worn tarp that was covering my beat up washing machine that won't fit in our laundry. I figure they must have been pretty desperate as it had many holes in it. I do hope that it keeps them warm and dry. I just wish they hadn't almost broken the whole fence down while they were at it.

--
just tying the threads together for tuesday's sermon on Psalm 19. Almost there!

libraries

One of the great things about living on campus and studying at college is the library. Who'd of thought I would say that 2 years ago??
There are so many books I want to borrow, only 10 books allowed at a time, and so few hours in the week!
I started reading The rare jewel of Christian contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs this morning.

You never learned the mystery of contentment unless it may be said of you that, just as you are the most content man, so you are also the most unsatisfied man in the world.

godly desires - idolatry?

One of the things that has stemmed out of my wrestle with the topic of contentment is the place of desire.
Is it possible to be content whilst still desiring something? I want to say yes. But I also know that the tension is hard to hold. I'm sure it is possible to hold that tension and not allow desire to consume and become an idol. I just haven't quite figured that one out yet!


But for now, my thinking on contentment must stop, as I finish writing my assignment on confession for class tomorrow.

YOU

I have been thinking a fair bit lately about the tension between contentment and desire and the place of human responsibility.
MPJ is planning to write a book. He has a blog where he would love for you to interact with him on the topics that he is posting. An explanation of what it is all about can be found here.

He has been writing some posts on dreams which have continued to provoke my thoughts on the topic of contentment.
Dreams, What do we dream about....?, Frustration, Being there..., The dream of God and Dreaming with God.

Go visit here and have your say. After all, the book is entitled YOU.

field of tulips

I spent some time painting this weekend. Painting with Jedi Master on Saturday. Finger painting with Charis this morning. And painting on my own this arvo. I am satisfied with some of my completed works. One being a 3 panel piece for JT, and this field of tulips for Dave O.

Bedroom is almost tidy, clean sheets on bed - the thought of sleeping through the night. That is contentment!