Divorce & Remarriage - God's Design? (part 1)

This subject has been on my mind a lot lately. We are all surrounded by people who are in either of the situations or affected by it. And it doesn’t seem to be slowing at all. If any, it’s on the rise. What’s scary is that the church isn’t immune from society’s ills. We too, the bride of Christ, are taking the stand of our world rather than God’s it seems at times.

As I ponder upon the reasons for the state of our churches today, the very fact of Christians getting divorced is very evident. Even Easterfest this year has an extra ticket type, which is for single parent family. I’ve witnessed Christians divorced and remarried and wondered how that impacts their walk with Christ. But recently, my thoughts have been on the role of the church on this issue.

It’s not hard to see many churches today, while not encouraging divorce, are accepting it and not discouraging remarriages that follow. I seriously thought about this a few years back when this subject was brought up in the BSF (Bible Study Fellowship, an intensive bible study group) class that I was attending. They uphold the teaching from the Bible and believed divorce is wrong and remarriage isn’t acceptable. There were group members at the time presenting a counter viewpoint supporting remarriage. I searched through the scriptures and came to the conclusion that indeed divorce and remarriage are not in God’s design and should be avoided.

Marriage
In Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4-6, Mark 10:9 and Romans 7:2, it clearly tells us that God created marriage, that marriage is a life long union/commitment and that what God puts together no man or woman is to separate or break that bond. In other words, when a man and woman come together in marriage, they promise to be together for a lifetime. It is a contract that they agree before God and friends and family. The contract doesn’t have conditional clauses saying if you feel like you can’t handle the job anymore, or you realized that you aren’t the right person for the job, or you’re fed up by it that you can terminate this contract anytime. In fact, there’s a conditional clause saying if one of the parties chose to dishonour the agreement by abandoning it, s/he will be denied of further privileges to be involved in a contract of the same nature.

Keys to Fulfilling Relationships

We were made to have relationship with God and with one another. Before the fall, we didn't have any relationship problems, either with God or with each other. How things have changed since then!

It doesn't take much to see the effect of the Fall on human relationships. We have all experienced the hurt, the brokenness and the frustration. Thankfully, God didn't just leave us to struggle without help. He has given us His Word and His Holy Spirit to guide us into fulfilling relationships while we are living in this fallen existence.

So what are the keys to those fulfilling relationships? Come to our next event for some insightful answers, drawn from a biblical perspective! The talk will mainly focus on the relationship between a man and a woman, the first human relationship God created. However, the principles will be useful and applicable to other relationships as well.

What: Ignite relationship talk, "Keys to Fulfilling Relationships"
When: Sunday 20/4 after the service
Where: The church house
How: Lunch and talk, fellowship and discussion
Cost: $7 for lunch (including drinks and dessert)

Mark your calendar, and we hope to see you there!

Matt Maher's Free MP3

For this week only, you can listen to the whole album of Matt Maher's new CD "Empty and Beautiful" free on Worship Together's new song jukebox at www.worshiptogether.com/
multimedia/index.aspx.

The Sound of Music

Someone asked about Easterfest last night, and we got talking about the sound level of music. Christian music in live performances is no different to any other concerts. They are loud and sometimes makes me wonder if my ears got damaged. I remembered going to a Rebecca St James concert and the opening gig performed from another band was so loud that it literally pounded my chest with every beat. It made me feel sick.

I also remembered the much loved band Petra at AGMF 3 years ago. It was so loud that you couldn't hear the words, but only high pitch sounds screeching in your ears. It was obviously unbearable for some who left after a while. I just had to fend off the sound with my hands on my ears.

One thing I don't understand is why music has to be loud to be enjoyable. It doesn't make sense at all. Music when too loud becomes just noise. It becomes irritable rather than enjoyable. The thing that got me is, it's not even necessary to have it loud. For what? Don't think I've got a satisfactory answer from anyone yet other than the difference in generational preference. It's not like we can't hear it. But what really got me is churches are following the lead of the youth culture and our music in churches is getting louder and louder. It's not like God can't hear us, so what is the reason behind the need for high volume? I heard of churches handing out ear plugs for those who desire, doesn't that sound terrible?

And if we're talking about worshipping God that requires focus and a quiet heart, isn't loud music distractive and counter productive? It's a concern to me not purely because of the sound level, but the indication of churches following world's practices without thinking it through. Rather than being an influence to the world, the church today like the Truth project says, is conforming to the world. What hope have we then to be salt and light of the world if we're losing our saltiness?

Easterfest Weekend

It was a great weekend in Toowoomba. The weather was nice, hardly a drop of rain. Although it was a bit cold at night. But with the presence of the world famous bands, nobody seemed to care too much.

Among the many musicians and bands there, the most prominent would have to be those at the Main Stage. The Lads from New Zealand definitely has a big following and after a 3-year absence at the festival, people just don't want to let them go. But none beat the Newsboys. The venue was jam packed. It was quite an experience being in the midst. People loved the music, but more so find a connection with them when they presented a short history of the band. Some of us don't know that Newsboys is actually a Queensland band and started up from Toowoomba. It was a great night.



Another biggie was Jars of Clay who sounded like they haven't been to Australia before, at least Easterfest. Their music was different but equally good. And the mix and sounds were excellent. There were couple songs that really spoke to the heart. The fans were elated when they stayed not only for a song at the encore, but in their graciousness sang a few more songs because as they said, they rarely came over.

Of course, there were those who are the Easterfest favourites, and who didn't want to see the Lads, Alabaster Box and Compliments of Gus? Compassion was bigger than ever this year, and there were over 300 kids got sponsored compared to the 70 last year!

What was really awesome was the combined church service Sunday evening with a whole orchestra and ended with a closing song of How Great Thou Art. There were thousands of people there all singing together. Could you imagine how it's like? It gave us a taste of how heaven will be like with the saints and the heavenly hosts all praising God! I wonder how far it reached and if people at their homes would feel the awe of God through that.

The organiser had done a great job this year. There were a variety of activities including an Iona Passion Play, political forums, womens and guys only forums, focus on the family, free rides, yummy food and all that we didn't get a chance to see it all!

Legalising Drugs

A few days ago on the news, a minister was calling for the legalisation of drugs so that few will die of overdose and there could be more control. It was a Wayside Chapel minister and I gathered from the name that it must be a place helping drug addicts or people off the rail. So I had a search and confirmed my hunch about Wayside Chapel.

They are famous for running the first injection/needle exchange centre in Kings Cross, Sydney a few years ago when it wasn't legal to do so. There is no doubt they've done a lot for the down and out in society and those who are struggling with addiction of any kind. Very well you say on compassionate ground. But no amount of legalising can make the problem go away. What is harmful is still harmful, what is wrong is still wrong. By making it lawful doesn't mean that it won't hurt. On the contrary, it gives the opposite signal because it's legal and easily accessible. Just look around the world and we'll see no amount of legalising brothels, drugs, or same sex marriage actually improve the situation.

The laws are there for a reason. The Bible says that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And that the law is to help us become conscious of sin, and God's grace. (Romans 3:20b, 7:7, 21) Accepting and loving a person is different from accepting and allowing the person to continue to do what is not right and harmful (Romans 6:12-13).

In their recent newsletter, the Pastor said

“I'm sick of having my heart broken when I learn that some young person has made a brave attempt at life, made real progress in a rehab programme only to fail in the first few weeks after discharge. At least half of the people who have taken this brave journey, fail in the first couple of weeks. Imagine if we could cut that failure rate in half? I reckon we could do it. We have the passion and the skill and one day, we'll have the resources to do it.”

This is all the more evidence that we're battled against the spiritual forces rather than the physical of this world. We could try whatever human methods and would succeed to a certain extent. But it won't last. Because no matter how hard we try, it only addresses the superficial level that relies on self, rather than the transforming power of God that cleanses and reaches to the core of our being (Romans 7:22-25).

Young but not weak

How great it was to catch up with Beka and listen to her real life experiences in Central Asia in our small group this week. We were all curious about the place, but more particularly the life of a believer in such a hostile environment. We were particularly interested in the role of women in that society and how a female believer survived under the watchful eyes of men.

But what made the most impact on us is the strength of Beka's faith, her undying devotion and trust in God, her obedience to God's calling and her sacrificial service to God. When one has such focus on God, our actions, plans speech and thoughts become a reflection of God himself. Everything else in this world becomes irrelevant. All that matters is fulfilling God's mission for us.

It humbles, encourages and challenges me at the same time. Humbled to see the power of God at work in someone younger than I am. Encouraged to know young people with such passion and earnestness for God. Challenged to have the same level of devotion and obedience in doing whatever and wherever God called me to.

Easterfest

Only 3 weeks to go!

This year's big acts include Newsboys, Jars of clay and Alabaster Box. There's also forums, combined church services, night concerts, street festival and more during the weekend.  Check out the Easterfest website for more details.

Where: Queens Park, Toowoomba
When: Friday 21/3 - Sunday 23/3
Cost: 3-day pass with camping $120, 3-day pass only $90, 1-day pass $45

There's a 10% discount for groups of 10 or more.  This only applies to 3-day pass though.  If you're going for 3 days and don't mind a bit of discount, let us know and we can get tickets together as a group.  

If you're going for 3 days and not camping but need accommodation, let us know too.  But you've to be quick, 'cause we're making bookings end of this week and you need to tell us by this Friday for us to include you.

Great Night Together

It was a pleasant evening outside on Wednesday night. There were people from all the small groups and we all had a great time of fellowship and meeting new people.

There were some uninvited guests - the mosquitoes, but it didn't spoil our night with plenty of laughter and opportunities to get to know one another.

It's such times as this that gives us the joy and a taste of what it means to be brothers and sisters in Christ.

Scientology

People in my small group were interested in knowing more about Scientology after seeing it on the media a bit lately. I was doing a bit of research on it, and while it's still fresh in my head, I decided that I should share it with others at work. So I went around and told people that I'm a pre-clear and I need to get rid of my engrams so I can be clear and become an OT. People just looked at me frowning, looking bewildered and asked me what I was talking about. It was actually pretty funny.

After learning more about Scientology (you can view the BBC video at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3681938.stm) and heard what the founder Rob Hubbard said, it really was unbelievable how anyone could have believed such crazy things. It sounds like something you see in movies like Matrix, where people use a machine to detect and erase images/pictures (engrams) that part of your mind (the reactive mind) scanned in so you become clear of bad and undesirable things. And allow the spirit (thetan) to reach the state (operating thetan) where you can control the physical universe (matter, energy, space and time) and separate from your body.

I guess all these shouldn't come as a surprise if you know that Hubbard was originally a popular science fiction writer. He was quoted as once saying,”Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wanted to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion.” The following year, he published “Dianetics: A Modern Science of Mental Health” that became the basis for Scientology's beliefs and practice.

Scientology came about as Hubbard discovered the common denominator of man is survival and the discovery that man's primary purpose is to survive. Therefore, the scientific method of helping people to increase their IQ (which he talks about a lot in his video interview) and more able to fix their own problems thus leading happier lives. He also claimed the discovery of man being spirit that established Scientology as a religion. Unfortunately, Scientology as Hubbard put it, is for the capable and not for failures.

I wonder why so many people were attracted to Scientology, and came to the conclusion that it fits into man's fallen nature of self focus and self help with the promise of immortality.
• It places 'man' as the object of focus.
• It elevates man as having unlimited potential and abilities.
• It gives you confidence and makes you feel good to be recognised as intelligent.
• It doesn't condemn sins. They are simply undesirable behaviours and emotions.
• People aren't responsible for their actions. They are but results of the reactive mind that caused them to go insane.
• Salvation is effortless. It doesn't require sacrificing of oneself, but only through auditing therapy to become a better person.

All these are so completely opposite to Christianity, and so not make sense that you can't help but question the intelligence of those who believe. Oops I'm risking being an SP (suspicious person)! ;-)

Ignite board

The Ignite notice board beside the church kitchen disappeared last Sunday morning, after a few years' residency there. After some asking around on Monday, it was revealed that someone saw it in the food bin Sunday night and thought it strange. Unfortunately by then, it was too late for it to be rescued as it was already emptied out that morning. Not sure who or for what reasons the notice board was trashed. We'd very much like to find out, so if you saw or heard anything about it, please let us know.

Young Adult Small Groups Get-together

Things are starting to get busy again and it's only February! Home groups, courses and other church programs are all re-starting. Let's get together for a time of food, fun and fellowship to kick off the year refreshed and encouraged.

Young adults small groups get-together
Where: 1 Lacerta Ave, Robina
When: Wednesday 20/2, 6:30pm
What: Pizza and fun time together (please come prepared to contribute to pizza cost)

Not yet in a small group? Come along anyway, so you can meet us all and join a group!