Good Headache!

I woke up on Saturday with a very debilitating headache, a rarity for me.  Located in the center of my skull, the pain throbbed continuously.  Sensitive to light and dizzy from quick movements, I lay in bed and wondered what had happened!  Cooking breakfast seemed out of the question, and besides I wasn't hungry at all.  For many this may be a common occurrence.  But for me, it was seemed more of a negative novelty.  I wasn't sleepy but lay wide awake with my eyes closed, trying to shut out the sunlight filtering into the room through the vertical blinds.

There was nothing I could do but pray.  My typical morning routine is about an hour and a half of combined prayer and Bible reading before I make breakfast.  But what a wonderful time I spent with the LORD for a while as I lay hurting in bed Saturday!  The pain wasn't the focus of my prayer, but the pain enabled me to focus better on the LORD.  Instead of being distracted by the activity of the house or thinking about what other things I could do, it was like I was the captive audience in the presence of God.  In those moments, despite the discomfort, I thought about how good God is to allow us times enter into His presence when we have little choice.  Though painful, that headache was not a pain:  it was a great blessing.  I thanked God for that headache because He used it to enable me to better seek and find Him.

Sometimes God will slow us down and allow us to endure illness for His purposes.  This is hard to comprehend, and our flesh rebels at this idea.  But God knows us better than we know ourselves, and will use all things for good.  How wonderful God is, that even a headache can be a good thing if we will seek Him diligently.  Whether sick or well the scripture rings true: Deuteronomy 4:29 says, "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul."  No matter our condition or geographical location, this promise of God will never fail.  Praise Him for that!

Quote from "The Soul Winner"

I have been reading The Soul Winner by C.H. Spurgeon, a book which emphasizes how the primary goal and focus of all believers is the salvation of sinners.  All the ministries of the church, all effort for the glory of God in the lives of a Christian, is that through our testimony people would come to salvation found only in Jesus Christ.  Having been a Sunday School teacher for many years, I found the following quote enlightening and invigorating.  As teachers of adults or children, we are not to be content with the mere transfer of information, but the transformation of a life committed to Christ.  Spurgeon describes how Elisha raised the dead son of the Shunammite in 2 Kings 4:29-37, and compares it to our work in saving souls.  The quote can be found on pages152-153:

The position of Elisha in this case is exactly your position, brethren, in relation to your work for Christ.  Elisha had to deal with a dead child.  It is true that, in his instance, it was natural death; but the death with which you have to come in contact is not the less real death because it is spiritual.  The boys and girls in your classes are, as surely as grown-up people, "dead in trespasses and sins."  May none of you fail fully to realise the state in which all human beings are naturally found!  Unless you have a very clear sense of the utter ruin and spiritual death of your children, you will be incapable of being made a blessing to them.  Go to them, I pray you, not as to sleepers whom you can by your own power awaken from their slumber, but as to spiritual corpses who can only be quickened by a power divine.  Elisha's great object was not to cleanse the dead body, or embalm it with spices, or wrap it in fine linen, or place it in an appropriate posture, and then leave it still a corpse:  he aimed at nothing less than the restoration of the child to life.  Beloved teachers, may you never be content with aiming at secondary benefits, or even with realising them; may you strive for the grandest of all ends, the salvation of immortal souls!  your business is not merely to teach the children in your classes to read the Bible, not barely to inculcate the duties of morality, nor even to instruct them in the mere letter of the gospel, but your high calling is to be the means, in the hands of God, of bringing life from heaven to dead souls.  Your teaching on the Lord's-day will have been a failure if your children remain dead in sin.  In the case of the secular teacher, the child's fair proficiency in knowledge will prove that the instructor has not lost his pains; but in your case, even thought your youthful charge should grow up to be respectable members of society, thought they should become regular attendants upon the means of grace, you will not feel that your petitions to heaven have been answered, nor your desires granted to you, nor your highest ends attained, unless something more is done,-unless, in fact it can be said of your children, "The Lord hath quickened them together with Christ."

Busy Week!

On the blog I enjoy sharing occasionally on a personal level what is going on "behind the scenes" as our family serves the LORD in Australia.  Nearly six months ago, our family moved to Sydney.  So much has happened in that time!  It has been exciting to see God's faithfulness in establishing us among amazing friends and family in Christ.

Laura has been homeschooling the boys and things have been going well.  Yet when a wonderful door of opportunity for our sons opened at Norwest Christian College (a local private school), we decided to go for it!  This week has been very busy in meeting for interviews, gathering the paperwork for enrollment, and Zed sat an exam for a scholarship.  Today we are meeting with a staff member to discuss enrollment and finances. We are thankful to have a God as a Father who knows our spiritual, practical, and financial needs.  We are also grateful to many who have financially aided us through donations.

As far as the church goes, it seems like things are gaining momentum in a hurry!  I was able to do some physical work at church this week which is a great blessing, enabling me to dust off some gifts and feel a sense of accomplishment.  I did some painting and assembled a new BBQ, a must for a proper Aussie church fellowship.  We plan to start hosting a BBQ lunch after service around once a month for starters, and hope that it will be a blessing and encouragement to those at our church.  With a ladies clothing exchange tonight, upcoming men's retreat and church conference, and a mid-week Bible study in the planning stages, there is no shortage of work to be done.  Pray for us!  We are very excited as we see God's plans unfold.

I have also continued service work outside of the church with the Pyjama Angel Foundation.  It is a volunteer organization focused on mentoring and promoting literacy with kids in foster care.  For one hour a week, my role is to go to the child's house and read with him, help with homework, and be a consistent positive role model.  I am pleased to say I have been placed with a 10 year-old boy in a local suburb and will pick up games and books next week in preparation.  Needless to say, I am very excited to start.

I recently (this Tuesday) began a workout routine from the book "Workforce Warrior" given me by my dad.  I bought a barbell and 70 kilos of weights off eBay.  Although I did my first workout three days ago, my body feels like I just finished!  I am ridiculously sore, but in my twisted mind that means it must be really effective.  What I like about the program is that it requires a relatively small amount of time and focuses on building strength and an intense cardio-workout at the same time.  The workout was not enjoyable by any means, but no doubt I will enjoy physical benefits if I stick with it.  Since I stopped working in construction and spend more time at the computer, I feel a commitment to fitness as a positive step to overall mental and physical health.

Thanks again for reading the blog and posting comments.  Feel free to browse through the old posts and read what catches your eye.  I pray that God ministers to you powerfully through the Holy Spirit, and that Christ would be your all in all!

Limes and Mandarins

When we first moved into our home in Australia, I didn't notice there were fruit trees in the back yard.  Because of their small size and the lack of fruit, they more resembled bushes than trees.  After a month or so, I examined the shrubs more closely and realized someone had planted two citrus trees in the corner of the yard.  One turned out to be a lemon tree, and the other seemed to be a lime tree. For several months I monitored the progress of the bumper-crop of limes and wondered how I could best use them.  Then seemingly overnight, much to my shock, the small green fruit turned bright orange.  I had misjudged the tree by its fruit.  I didn't know it at first, but my lime tree was a mandarin tree (tangerine for you American readers)!

 As I sampled a mandarin this morning (very glad it wasn't a lime!), I thought about how Jesus says, "By their fruits you shall know them." (Matt. 7:20)  The works of the flesh are very distinct from the fruit of the Spirit.  Fruit takes time to develop and grow.  When I first saw the tree, a cursory glance did not reveal any fruit.  But it was there.  And after a while I saw the fruit and thought it to be a certain variety.  But time and the miracle of growth proved that I again was incorrect!  Though I was wrong from start to finish, now I am the beneficiary of delicious fruit.  I didn't plant the tree, I didn't prune the tree, I hardly watered the tree, but now I enjoy God's results.

How true this is of our spiritual perceptions at times!  We look according to appearance and make judgments based upon what we can see or understand.  How wise we would be not to make such judgments concerning others!  Sin in scripture is clearly defined and must be seen as such.  But speaking for myself, I have misjudged fruit even as I have been blind to the hearts and intentions of others.  I am learning to leave all judgments to the LORD.  God grants time for fruit to ripen to maturity.  I think mandarins are more useful than limes, but God makes limes, lemons, grapefruit, and oranges too - different flavours, different colours, but all of the citrus family.  God has made us all different with unique personalities and ways we communicate.  A mandarin is no better than a lime:  both have been designed and crafted miraculously according to God's will.

Praise God Christians are part of the Body of Christ and Jesus is the Head!  He has saved us, forgiven, and purified us, ordained, called, and equipped us to serve Him and others.  Instead of judging, let us commit our ways and the ways of others to the righteous Judge, Jesus Christ.  Isn't all the fruit made by Him and for Him anyway?