Year End BBQ

A BBQ with yummy food, great company and a relaxing environment, that's how we celebrated the end of the year.

It was a nice day, and people enjoyed catching up with one another or making new friends.  Over dessert, we watched a presentation and had a bit of a discussion about the Jewish nation and traditions and how they relate to Christianity today.  A good time for all, enjoying the opportunity to learn, it seems.

As the year is truly drawing to a close and Christmas only a week away, remembering what it's all about among the frenziness of parties and shopping. 

The Extraordinary

It was a beautiful morning.  Most people were still asleep.  I was sitting outside, looking at the blue sky, the green trees and birds dancing around.  In the quietness of the surroundings, I closed my eyes hearing the birds sing, quiet my heart and praised God for His great and wonderful works.

I remembered in high school once, our small group went to the University nearby.  It was a beautiful and calm day.  The grass was so thick and green and hardly anyone around.  I don't remember who suggested this, but we were all lying on the soft grass, looking up to the blue sky and started singing 'How Great Thou Art'.  As we were singing and focusing on Him, the sky seems like a big screen moving before me.  Its vastness and God's majesty overtook me.  It truly makes me appreciate the greatness and power of God.

How often in our busy life today do we get a chance to quiet down and appreciate the God that we love?  A message that I heard 3 months ago still stick in my mind.  The Pastor was speaking on Sabbath, the importance and reasons for it.  We all know that God rested from his work and we were asked to do the same.  But more than that, the Pastor explained, it is so that we can get connected back to God.

Lets face it, who wouldn't agree that we are surrounded by the world's ideas and views during most of our week?  They are like loudspeakers at shops or advertising plastering everywhere, all competing for the attention to convince you.  After some battling with the world, it really is a good idea to rest, reflect and prepare for the next round.  If we can't get back to the base, where do we get the ammunition or instructions to deal with more?

The Pastor puts it well, people are bored, looking for things that are different and extraordinary because they lost touch with God and can only see the things around them.  But when we are connected with God, the source of our being, we see, hear, think, speak and act with a purpose.  We can find the extraordinary out of the ordinary.

The Golden Compass

You would have seen either the preview or TV ads promoting this movie, which is opening on Boxing Day. On the surface it looks very similar to movies like Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. But The Golden Compass could be quite dangerous, especially since it's being blatantly marketed at impressionable young children.

The movie is based on the first book (The Golden Compass) from the His Dark Materials trilogy, written for children by outspoken atheist Philip Pullman. The books are strongly against Christianity and especially the God of the Bible. At the end of the trilogy, the main character and her companions kill God (the tyrant) and decide for themselves how to live.

There are some good Christian reviews/articles about this movie and the trilogy. Listed here are just some that you may find helpful.

'Golden Compass' movie opening to controversy
FIRST-PERSON: The sweet deception of 'Compass'
The Golden Compass -- A Briefing for Concerned Christians

Third Day/Foundry

Some songs including those from Third Day's first Christmas album now playing at Worship Together:

Born In Bethlehem - Third Day
Lord You Are Good - The Foundry
O Come All Ye Faithful - Third Day
Contagious - The Foundry
Jesus Light Of The World- Third Day
Pour Out Your Spirit - The Foundry
Holy Spirit - The Foundry

You can also download Born in Bethlehem's mp3 for free on their site.

Hilter & the Holocaust

I've been doing a bit of reading on Hilter and the Holocaust after a recent visit to Terezin, a ghetto and concentration camp in Czekoslovakia. The more I read about Hilter and the Nazis, the more I couldn't get over not only the cruelty, but the extent of their destruction and disregard for human lives. But at the same time, it doesn't cease to amaze me how one man could have such impact in the world. All because of his ideology, passion, focus and determination to fulfill his mission. In the same way, I wonder how much God can use and do through us to impact the lives of many if we have the same passion and determination that Hilter exhibits. Of course, in this case to fulfill God's plan.

In one of the documentaries that I watched, a German civilian asked a SS officer how he could do that (meaning killing the Jews). His reply was "We are Fuhrer's faithful servant. For Fuhrer, we will do even more terrible things". Put it in the Christian context, can we say we are God's faithful servant and do things that we find difficult because God asks us to and because of our love for Him?

New Song Jukebox

The latest streaming worship music at http://www.worshiptogether.com/multimedia/index.aspx

Oh The Glory Of It All - David Crowder band
O For A Thousand Tongues - David Crowder band
Now Is The Time - Delirious
O Praise Him - David Crowder band
For Your Glory - Matt Maher

Ignite Year Break BBQ

The year's gone so fast - Christmas is only weeks away! Ignite will meet for the last time this year for a BBQ on Sunday, November 25th. Don't miss this chance to hang out before the break!

The recent visit from Rabbi Greg has stirred up interest in our Jewish connection, and prompted lots of questions about how Christians should understand and relate to Israel. When we meet we'll have a chance to discuss these things together, and watch a slideshow of photographs showing Jewish persecutation under Hitler's Nazi regime. It promises to be a thought-provoking discussion!

We'd love to see you there before we break for Christmas! Here's the details:

What: BBQ Lunch
When: Sunday 25th Nov, 12pm
Where: The church house (Gold Coast Christian Family)
Cost: $7 (including lunch and drinks)

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus!

We've heard that phrase many times before! And we've all experienced it ourselves. It's official: men and women are different. And that's because God made us so! Because of sin and the effects of the Fall, instead of our differences always being complimentary, they can become a source of tension and frustration! Sometimes it seems like we're speaking a different language, as though we're both from totally different planets!

But God has given us His Word to show us how to live together in harmony, despite our differences. Next time we get together, someone from the Carearm ministry will be sharing with us some biblical principles and insights for relationships, whether friendship, courting or marriage. So come along! Here are the details:

What: Talk on Relationships
When: Sunday 28th Oct, 12pm
Where: The church house (Gold Coast Christian Family)
Cost: $7 (including lunch and drinks)

Recharge Camp

Hasn't this year gone fast?! Already, it's September. Winter has gone and spring has come.

The Recharge Youth & Young Adult Convention has crept up on us quickly! For those who haven't heard, it's on between 21-23 September at Mount Tamborine Convention Centre.

Make sure you check out their website for info on the programme, speakers, and how you can register. There will be a group of people from our church going up, either for a day or camping for the whole weekend. So give us a yell if you are interested in going.

Personally speaking, the Recharge Camp last year was great. It's fun to hang out with other Christians. A great place to meet and make new friends. A wonderful opportunity to learn and converse with others who love God!

So mark your calendar and get yourself ready for some serious fun!

Quick info:

When: 21-23 September 2007
Where: Mount Tamborine Convention Centre
Cost: Camping packages start from $40. Accommodation and meals packages from $97
Website: www.recharge.org.au

Self help church

Self help is big business. Everywhere you look, there's people, books, seminars, websites or dvds teaching you how to achieve your financial success, reach your potential, be happy, win friends and influence people, and the list goes on. The movies, songs and media also reinforce that idea of self fulfillment. We're persuaded to think that we are invincible, that we can achieve anything and dreams that we put our minds to. Like this song from the Disney movie Prince of Egypt,

"...There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe"

And so we believe in our abilities, our intelligence, our will and our own infallibility. This mindset encouraged by the world we're surrounded by each day is slowly creeping into our churches today. Going to church is like going to Bunnings or watching a DIY program to find the missing pieces and the tips for the project of 'me'. It's as if the church has become a centre for self help. 7 ways to handle conflict, 3 steps to spiritual contentment, 5 methods to unlock your potential... If you have a problem, the church has the solution. And often it's practical and doesn't conflict with our lifestyle, only improves it.

Ok, an example. In the book excerpt of Bobbie Houston's I'll have what she's having, it uses Diana and Mother Theresa as examples to encourage us that "We too can take whatever is in our hand, and believe for it to bring healing to others". Very well. Except that it's God who heals, not us. How about "Imagine a friend in need, and your immediate response being, "I HAVE THE ANSWER!" How awesome would that be?" It would be awesome to be so resourceful, but would also kill our need for God and make us God to others, if you know what I mean.

Churches are turning into inspirational self help gatherings. We go there for motivational speeches to heighten our emotions and lift our spirit. We judge it by whether we come away feeling good and positive and having our needs met. Rarely are we confronted and challenged with the bad, ugly and reality. A lot to tackle the problems we have, but not the problems in us.

To me, they seem awfully similar to the 'Secret' for positive thinking and the law of attraction. Ophrah says, "You can really change your reality based on what you think." You can see how she blends God and self help together in her interview with Larry King.

Another example is successful programs, courses and methods that spread like fire and are being used by other churches who are seeking the same success. Churches can easily slip into self sufficiency and human reliance, creating our own reality rather than submitting to God's plan. That's the difference between self and God reliant.

I feel that in our modern churches today, the fear of God's disappearing, the hunger for His word's diminishing and the desire for holiness got pushed aside. Churches no longer hold the attraction or the power in our world today not because it doesn't have anything to offer, but that the same offerings can easily be found somewhere else.

God's blessings

A friend was wondering this week if a random telemarketing offer of a bargain travel deal is God's blessing for tithing faithfully. In the face of consumerism and increased exposure to prosperity, I'm wary of any Christians making such an assertion. Not that I don't believe God could bless us in such a way, but it seems too hasty to draw that conclusion out of such circumstance.

We can easily fall into a trap of thinking that it's God blessing us every time say, for example, when I see something I want go on sale in the store.  Or something that I think is good happens. The danger of this is that we are making God our excuse for granting ourselves desires of our heart. What we think is good doesn't necessary mean that God thinks that it's good too. In Luke 6:20-26, Jesus told his disciples who are to be blessed and who will be in trouble. This clearly doesn't only include good things.

It's true that the scripture also says all good things come from God. But good in a way that causes us to ripe spiritual benefits and that include bad things in our eyes. Or else why would James asks us to count it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds? Because as he explains, it will build our character so that we may be mature spiritually.

So if something, however good it may look to us, if it doesn't deepen our relationship with Christ, I'm more inclined to think that it's from us and not God.

An old hymn "Count your blessings" sums it up well.

When you look at others
With their lands and gold
Think that Christ has promised
You His wealth untold
Count your many blessings
Money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven
Nor your home on high

Blood Diamond

The Ladies Beyond Diamond conference reminds me of a diamond of another sort and a conference of another kind.

Blood Diamond
Set in Africa and against the backdrop of Sierra Leone's civil war, Blood Diamond is a movie that shows us the workings of the jewelry industry and the human exploitation and bloodshed that's involved and so intricately linked to satisfying the demands in life. Whether it's basic survival (killing for diamonds, exchanging diamonds for money), power (trading diamonds for arms), accomplishing one's ideal (funding civil war with diamonds) or greed (smuggling diamonds, bringing illegal diamonds for higher profits).

Not only the imagery of child soldiers, but what the main character Danny said when he was confronted by his conscience lingered in my head for a while. He was reflecting upon his past and wondered sometimes "if God would forgive what we [Africans white or black] did to each other. And then I realised that God has left this place long time ago." I couldn't help but wonder if God could leave a place full of his creation behind. The country as portrayed in the movie clearly has no fear of God. And it's not hard to find such a place in our world today.

Has God abandoned them? I think not, but He won't and can't interfere when He isn't allowed to. Because they refused even to think about God (Rm 1:28), so God let these people go their own way (Rm 1:24), let them follow their own evil desires (Rm 1:26) and let their useless minds rule over them (Rm 1:28).

Child Soldiers
It's not hard to see how evil manifests itself in kidnapping and turning children into ruthless killers. It's not just in the movie, but in real life, there are up to 200,000 child soldiers in Africa alone.

It's hard to imagine how once happy, innocent and hopeful boys could turn into cruel people disregarding human life and gaining respect by killing. The scriptures came to mind about the influence that the people we surround ourselves with have on us. It says The righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray (Prob 12:26) and He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm (Prob 13:20).

This also reminds me of the movie Ripley's Game where in one scene, Ripley said to the "innocent" man he forced into killing that the good thing about doing terrible thing is: you don't remember it after you've done it. It speaks of the state of our evilness as in Romans, the more we entertain it, the easier it gets. And so it's the same in our daily life that the more we focus and surround ourselves with things and thoughts of the world, the easier it gets to be one of them.

Women's Conference
I've been to quite a few women's gatherings, but one that I attended 8 years ago stood out in my mind. In this weekend retreat, all women are divided into groups that they learn and share and look out for one another for the weekend. The talks are by different speakers and topics mirror the stages of our Christian growth followed by a discussion. There are also other activities where all women can have fun together.

I distinctively remember the volume of gifts we received throughout the weekend. We were all showered with gifts constantly and most evidently at the dinning table. But the difference is these gifts all contain messages that reminds us of God. I also remember very well one activity that was very powerful in helping to draw me closer to God.

The talks, the meals, the activities and the gifts during the entire weekend were designed to build up the body of Christ and growing stronger Christian women. To me, that's the kind of gathering that's worth spending my time in. And I wish there are more of this kind of conference in churches today.