Marching Forth!

After writing a post of the necessity for a "hands on" approach to Christianity, I decided it would be important to develop the concept a little further.  While "hands on" training is important for honing skills in a trade, the work done in the classroom is not necessarily what you will face in the field.  In fact, it is safe to assume the work done in a classroom will always be different than the field!  The concepts could be applied, but the differences are many.  The level of fitness required to be a mechanical insulator (potentially climbing up and down a 10 foot ladder hundreds of times in a day, for instance) is not addressed in the confines of a classroom.  In a classroom, the material needed for the job is on hand.  Specialised tools are easily accessible to fabricate metal.  Pipes and vessels in class are not energised, unlike in the field when repairs need to be made on "live" steam pipes.  In class therefore, no care is required to avoi...

Something I've been mulling over lately is the value of "hands on" experience.  When I was in training to be a journeyman mechanical insulator, my classes were broken into two basic parts:  book work and hands on.  We spent a good deal of time learning about hydronic systems, four and three pipe systems, chillers, boilers, and identifying what pipes or surfaces required insulation.  A bit dry at times, but valuable information.  But hitting the books did nothing to develop the eye, hands, or gain any practical experience of actually doing the work.  Hands on training was the primary part of our training so we could familiarise ourselves with layouts, cutting styrene, metal jacketing, fiberglass cloth, and rubber.  The high quality our teachers required was obtainable only after much practice, repetition, and the development of learned skills. In the church today, I think the tendency is to have things backwards.  In my view, there is a real poss...

" Now these are the nations which the LORD left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan 2 (this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it), 3 namely, five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath ." Judges 3:1-3 When the people of Israel neglected to drive out the inhabitants of the land according to God's command, He allowed the people to remain to test the Israelites.  In Judges 2:22 God revealed one purpose why He allowed the nations to remain:   "... So that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the LORD, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not ."  By allowing nations that did not fear God to remain, He effectively provided His people a choice.  The Isr...

I learned a new word today:  nimby.  It means, "Not in my backyard!"  It reminded me of something I've been thinking of lately.  The messages at Calvary Chapel Sydney lately have compelled me to do some personal examination and inventory.  As a parent or leader, we are to be circumspect in our conduct and that of our children.  There is always the potential that we will be personally offended when kids we are supervising (especially our own!) fall into destructive or sinful behaviour.  We can forget that we too are imperfect, and sin ultimately is not against us but God. It has been revealed to me by God that I tend towards a "nimby" or "Not on my watch!" mentality.  When we make the struggles of others focused on primarily how they affect us, we have ceased to walk in love.  If I grit my teeth in frustration because of the inconvenience of an internet filter installed for the safety of my children, I am walking in selfishness - not love. ...

We are living in a day when point of view is king.  People see what they want to see, and hear what they want to hear.  The internet has transformed the way we view information, a place where we decide whether the information is credible or not.  If you disagree with the "facts" presented, it can be explained away as irrelevant propaganda - despite any research or support for the view.  Whether it is news being reported on TV, books, magazine articles, or blogs, there seems to be a constant and growing suspicion of an underlying personal bias or political agenda.  We may not even notice that the one with the bias could be ourselves!  I wrote more on this point in a previous post in titled, " Particularized Trust ."  The field has been leveled to such a degree that a claim substantiated from 20 years of research can be instantly debunked by a web surfer who doesn't know a test tube from a beaker. I recognise this blog is one among hundreds of millions...

Some people say their primary hindrance to sharing their faith in Christ is a lack of knowledge.  Faced with the prospect of arguments they do not feel equipped to answer, sharing Christian beliefs with others may appear a daunting task.  It is important to recognise Christianity is more than facts but a real relationship with God.  If we have Christ we can share Christ, even if we do not have the academic background to match others.  Knowledge is valuable and reasonable, and for Christianity it is an imperative.  Our minds are convinced of the truth by evidence in scripture.  Our hearts are moved to receive the truth, and our will responds to walk according to it.  These three things in that order - the mind, heart, and will - must unite together to be born again by grace through faith. Facts are like keys, but we must realise only God can fit them into a locked mind and turn them to open the understanding of an unbeliever.  That is why facts a...

I've been thinking lately about the parable Jesus told about the "Good Samaritan."  When tested by a man who sought to justify himself by asking, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus told a story about a man traveling the road to Jericho who fell among thieves.  He was beaten, robbed, stripped, and left for dead.  A priest who walked by ignored his plight, as well as a Levite who passed by on the other side.  It was the Samaritan, a man hailing from a group of people despised by the Jews, who showed compassion on the man when he stopped, lifted him from the ground, anointed his wounds, and took him to an inn so he might recover - all at his own expense. Perhaps it is more ironic still that Christ alludes to Himself through the care of the foreign Samaritan who helped the wounded man.  Jesus has done for us far more than the Samaritan in the story did for the wounded man.  Jesus was despised and rejected by His own.  He revealed love and compassion for all peo...