Watch or Listen here
 MP3 Audio

Luke 13:1-9

Focus

There are times when I’ve blamed Michele for talking to me when I’m not listening. I’m so glad Michele has never used this to her advantage. It would be easy to claim that not only had I been told but that I’d agreed as well. Sometimes Michele knows that I’m distracted and she will ask me to focus.

I can remember being in the city and realising that I hadn’t been listening so I didn’t know where or when I was meant to meet up with Michele. This wasn’t a big deal because I realised my mistake and was able to ring her using my mobile. But I could have just as easily got on the bus thinking she meant to meet me at home or worse wandered around the shops (Myer) aimlessly looking for her.

I’m the same with Jesus. Even though Jesus says very clearly do not worry about what you will eat and drink I find myself worrying. He tells me life is more than possessions and yet I catch myself being caught up in a very hectic lifestyle that is distracted by the here and now. There is a very startling implication to my busyness. It is not that I’m doing too much but rather that I’m doing stuff which Christ doesn’t want me to do. This in turn affects what I am meant to be doing because I either do it too quickly, am too tired or am too distracted to focus properly on what is really important.

Jesus has been trying to help me focus on seeking the Kingdom rather than what I normally worry about. This week I’ve been learning to turn to Christ for my safety rather than protecting myself and fulfilling my real purpose rather running to my own agendas. May Christ enable us to focus on him as we apply his word to our lives. the Rev

Something I learned from Bear Grylls is that you cannot survive in the wilderness unless you let go of your life as you know it. If you want to live then you have to eat bugs and chew raw meat. You’re going to sleep in a tree not in a bed, you’re going to spend all of your effort and time finding your way back to civilisation. There is no leisure time in the wilderness.

Bear Grylls served in the British SAS in which he learned to survive in the wilderness. So if I was lost I’d want him there with me, showing me what was safe to eat, teaching me how to find my way back to safety and keeping my spirits up rather than panicking.

I want to survive 2012. First, I need to let go of any unrealistic expectations that I have. I live in a broken world full of broken people as a broken person myself. So I need to put aside my expectations that people are here to serve my needs and meet my expectations. There are going to be times when I’m going to be ill-treated and I will ill-treat people. Relationships are going to be messy and I need to learn to have a forgiving spirit and a servant’s heart.

Second, I need a guide, someone who can show me the way through the year. Jesus described himself as the Good Shepherd. Psalm 23 begins with a declaration, “The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.” Rather than being overwhelmed by 2012 I can face it knowing that I can follow my Shepherd. He will guide me and He will provide for my needs. I anticipate that there will be times when I will be travelling through the ‘valley of shadow of death.’ Courage will come from having Christ with me, leading me and protecting me. Psalm 23 teaches me to rely on Christ to be my provision, courage and blessing. I don’t need more stuff, or more pleasure, or more happiness to survive 2012. My need is not so much a ‘what’ as a ‘who’ – Jesus Christ. My survival guide for 2012 is Jesus Christ. the Rev

You can listen to my message on this topic @ www.gaplifechurch.net/survive

Watch or Listen here
 MP3 Audio
 Fast Broadband Video

Luke 12:35-59

Overcome Worry

For several weeks I’ve been doing a sermon series on worry. What I’ve discovered is that I worry a lot. To my distress and amusement I found it is possible to worry while preparing a sermon on worry. It is so common, so ingrained, so normal to everyday life that we can’t imagine what life would be like without worry. We worry about people; what they think of us and what they might do to us. We worry about money; whether we have enough to get by or we worry about losing what we have, if we have a lot of money. Lastly, we worry about our lives; paying the bills, providing food and drink on a daily basis. In Luke 12:22-34 Jesus tells us not to worry and puts a lot of effort into convincing us that we can actually live a life without it.

Worry is a peculiar type of thinking that involves the use of my imagination projected into the future. I’ve observed that what I’m trying to do is manage, with my thoughts, what ‘might’ happen. I’m trying to be prepared for different scenarios. Worry is me trying to control what I’m afraid of by using my thoughts. Jesus teaches me that worry is a form of unbelief in Luke 12:28. When I worry, God disappears from my thinking so that I am alone and have to rely on my own abilities. Worry is unbelief in God and a belief in myself. Jesus asks “if I can’t add an hour to my whole life by worrying, why worry at all?” Luke 12:26.  Jesus is right. I’ve never been able to change anything in my circumstances or relationships by just ‘thinking’ about it. Worry sacks God and puts me in charge, but the problem is it does not give me God’s wisdom or power. Worry is futile.

Worry is a spiritual poison that encourages me to think thoughts that have lost sight of God. This explains why worry tends to be negative; like the glass is half empty, a crisis is just around the corner or I can’t cope with this situation any longer. The antidote I’ve found requires as much effort as worry does but the difference is that I’ve found a greater sense of closeness with God and a surer sense of calmness that isn’t as easily rattled by circumstances or relationships. the Rev

Watch or Listen here
 MP3 Audio

Romans 8:31-39

A better promise

In the movie Finding Nemo Marlin promises his last surviving child that he will never let anything happen to him. Having held my own  infant child I know what it’s like to want to protect him from being hurt. My eldest turns 18 in a few months so it has been a long time since he was cute and cuddly.

In the movie, Marlin is very over protective of Nemo who has what they call a ‘lucky fin.’ Nemo is embarrassed by his dad on his first day of school. He feels he needs to prove himself and so accepts a dare to swim into open water. At that moment his dad catches Nemo swimming away from the safety of the reef. Marlin promptly has a complete parental meltdown. In defiance Nemo swims all the way to a boat against his Fathers threats and pleas to come back. Nemo is captured and an epic story begins. Nemo learns to cope while his Dad learns how to let go of his promise.

No matter how much I want to protect my son he is going to get hurt. Marlin learns in his journey that being hurt is a part of life and that preventing anything from happening to his son stopped Nemo from experiencing life. As a parent I know that this is easier said than done. Especially as my son has grown older I’ve had to let him make his own mistakes without frothing at the mouth.

As we celebrate Laura’s baptism let’s be reminded that we are safe because God commits Himself to us. We don’t need to fear being humiliated and rejected because God forgives us, covers our shame and accepts us. We don’t need to fear abandonment because we belong to God. A better promise to make to a child is to always remind them that they are safe, covered and belong because of God’s promises, His forgiveness and His love for them.  the Rev