Fickleness

Posted on April 21, 2008
Filed Under God, faith | 4 Comments

I’ve been aware today of how very fickle my trust in God can be at times. Many of you know that we are in the process of emigrating to Canada. I regularly visit an immigration forum where fellow “hopefuls” share their journey so far. It seems that some who applied around the time we did are now being asked for medicals. This has really made me bouncy and positive for the past few days, as, usually within a month or so of medicals (providing you pass them) you get the lovely permanent residency visa stamp in your passport! After a long process now, it seems as if Canada is finally on our doorstep. I’ve been praising God and praying “bring on the medicals Lord!” I’m so excited about what God has in store for us in the future.

Zoom on in my day to a few hours ago, and my mood suddenly changes. We’ve learned, from said forum, that the Canadian government are proposing a change to their immigration system. It seems they are wanting to focus on particular skills they require, thus bumping the people who hold these skills up in the queue, and basically forgetting about the rest. Now, before anyone jumps down my throat, I must point out here that I think this is great, if a country is short of a particular skill then they should seek people out skilled in that area. However, I’m not so sure if it’s good for us, when this proposed motion will come into effect etc etc. My bouncy mood has deteriorated and I feel a little anxious. If we get a big no from the Canadian High Commission, then that will leave me questioning everything I have ever heard from God, even if I actually hear from Him in the way I think I do. There have been so many things that have happened over the past few years that indicate that Canada is where God wants us, that it would be very hard if it all fell apart.

I’m definitely like one of the Israelites. God sent the plagues, released them from slavery in Egypt, made way for them to cross the Red Sea (incidentally it’s passover week!) and they were only so far into the journey, found themselves in a desert, and suddenly the miracles that God had done for them are forgotten about, and they’re moaning because they are h0t and hungry, and asking why has God done this to them, they were better off as slaves etc (shheesh, it’s hard to please some people!). That is it really though, isn’t it, the simple fact is, as soon as it gets a little tough and isn’t running as smooth as we like, we simply forget about what God has recently said to us, done for us etc and start to doubt, whine or moan.

I guess faith is the main part of our journey with God, and I have to hang on to those promises I believe God has given us, and claim them. My mood is now getting bouncier again, yet I feel discouraged with how hot and cold I can blow with God.

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Forgiveness

Posted on September 8, 2007
Filed Under Christianity, God, faith | 4 Comments

forgiveness
noun
1. compassionate feelings that support a willingness to forgive
2. the act of excusing a mistake or offense


Jonathan and I were talking about forgiveness today as he is at a healing conference this weekend. He asked me if there were any things that I needed to forgive him for. I didn’t think there were, but as I’ve thought about it I realized that underneath there are a few things which I do need to forgive him for. The more I thought about these things the more I realized that these things were out of his control. I shouldn’t “blame” him for them. In the whole sphere of live these things are small, and I didn’t even realize until I thought about it that there was even a resentment there. Now they’ve come to the surface I will forgive.

On the larger scale of things I have read through a lot of blog posts recently where people are displaying pain and hurts. I think writing about these hurts is part of the healing process, as well as bringing the various pains and hurts to God. The healing process isn’t something which happens overnight, it takes time, for some people a few years.

A lot of the time the root of healing is forgiveness. When we don’t forgive then we can’t let go and move on. When we don’t forgive we become bitter, angered and resentful. It’s important that those who have been hurt through church forgive, heal and move on. The worst thing that can happen is for the emerging-missional-whatever you call it movement to be seen as a bitter and angry people. We have to move on. We have to celebrate the good things about church and encompass them in our journey and expression of faith.

I, like most of us, have my forgiving and healing to do - it’s a process, sometimes I think I’m getting there and, well, other times …….. The prayer synchroblog has actually got me thinking more about the foundation of Christianity, the roots of our faith, and how that can echo through my life today.

Now I’ve never studied Greek before, but from my research on the internet I have found a few words which feature in the New Testament when talking about forgiveness. Apoluein means “to release.” Charizomai means “to grace you.” (It hails from the Greek word Charis which means Grace). Aphiemi means “to send away.” Paresis means “to disregard” my understanding is that paresis is used when referring to God not seeing our sins, he will disregard them.

Therefore in a round about way we can say that in forgiving God wants us to send away the offense (pain, hurt etc), to release the people/thing we are hurting over and to extend to them grace. When I talk with Jonathan about church he often says to me “people within the church system really believe that they are doing what is right, their heart is to do what is right, and we have to extend grace to them because of that, not judge them and become bitter towards them. A lot of them don’t think like us, but they’re good people. We have to embrace the good things about church.” He is a very wise man.

I don’t know where you are at today, whether you are hurting or not, if you are then I pray that you will soon find peace. I think we should all try and extend a little Charizomai to others today.

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Let the little children come to me

Posted on August 30, 2007
Filed Under blog, children, faith | 18 Comments

Grace has written a really great post today.  In it she talks about whether her and her husband have done enough to help the kids have a passion for God.  She wonders if they are OK or are they slipping?  In her words:

“We have done a good job of raising kids that are not religious. Their BS detectors are keen to legalism and hype. But have we done enough to ignite their passion for the things of God? or have we leaked too much cynicism, drowning out that spark? These are the things that keep this mother up at night.”

It is a great post and there are some thoughtful and helpful comments.  I really resonate with what Grace wrote.  My children are not teenagers, they are eight and six, but I already find myself asking these questions.  Are we going to miss the boat with them?  Is our journey going to harm them, or will it end up enhancing their own faith?  They don’t like children’s church, we have the grumbles and moans each week.  Alan Knox pointed out to Grace that maybe she should live what God is showing her.  Maybe that is some of our problem as well.  We talk all of the time about what we believe in, how we would like to see the Christian community move, what we would like to do for God.  Yet here we are in a pastoral role which is only touching the edges of all of that.

I’m not sure what Jonathan is thinks about it, but I feel very drawn to YWAM at the moment.  Our permanent residency for Canada is taking much longer to come through than we expected, and we are really in limbo.  I think this is affecting the kids as well.

If there is one thing that I want to be able to say in ten years, then it is that my children have their own faith, they are walking with God in a strong way.  I am their mother, and I believe it is the most important thing I can teach them and guide them into.  It’s not the church’s responsibility to teach my children, it is mine and my husbands.  the church is a supporting role.  The question is, how do I get from here to there?

Any thoughts?

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Muslim-Episcopal priest

Posted on June 24, 2007
Filed Under current affairs, faith | 4 Comments

Whilst reading Scot McKnight’s blog yesterday, I came across a link to an article about a Episcopal priest who has said she is a muslim as well.  You can read the article, from the Seattle Times, here.  I’m not really sure what I make of this at all to be honest.  In fact, I don’t really get it.

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Faith and Healing

Posted on June 11, 2007
Filed Under God, Jesus, faith, thoughts | 10 Comments

 

This morning when I was reading Jesus Creed I became aware of someone who is in need of prayer for their health right now.  I felt drawn to pray for her complete healing.  When Jonathan came home for lunch he was talking to me about a man who comes to church, who is confined to a wheelchair, and does not communicate very clearly.  He saw him on the street and talked to him for a while, and prayed for him.

What followed was a discussion between the pair of us on healing.  Why is it we do not see or hear of many healings, when we know Jesus does heal.  Is it because we have a lack of faith or is it because Jesus chooses not to heal everyone?  I know in the past I’ve prayed for healing for people, and they have simply not been healed - was it my lack of faith, was it theirs, or was it just not God’s will for that person?  Sometimes now I wonder if I should pray for healing for people, what if they are not healed?  what if someone, like the guy in the wheelchair, has had people pray for healing in the past, and it doesn’t happen, then you pray for healing, and still nothing happens.  Humanly we feel stupid, the people who have been prayed for feel let down.  Do we not pray for healing so much now because, not only do we have a lack of faith, but because we are worried that if nothing happens our God will look weak and uncaring?  We must remember that healing isn’t always physical.

I read recently on someones blog - sorry, I can’t remember who’s now - about how they were in a coffee house recently and noticed someone on the table next to them was in a lot of pain in their back.  They had a word of knowledge from God that this person had one leg shorter than the other, so he asked the man if he could pray for him.  The man left the coffee house pain free with both legs the same length.  Should we listen for words of knowledge before we pray for healing?  Would we see more healing in the world if we really trusted in God, had a lot of faith, and prayed for who ever we came into contact with, believing that Jesus would touch them.  What are your thoughts?

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