walk on water

I want to walk on water

but this boat is so much safer

and there's this thing about drowning that sounds so unpleasant

homeostasis

"the maintenance of equilibrium within a social group, person, etc."

we tend to revert back to what we know

whether good, bad or otherwise, we work to keep things the 'same'

I know this homeostatic effect
- it's comfortable
- it's predictable
- it's safe

(un)knowingly, I pursue this 'sameness'

as new variables are introduced, I adjust accordingly

anything to remain in control

...

but now I've named it - this tendency to revert back

let us not throw out the proverbial baby

however, let us not be afraid to drain the bathwater

...

because babies grow up

and maturity is the goal

and it's time to get out of the tub

...

are we merely homeostatic?

or are we willing for the sake of Christ to be uncomfortable, unpredictable and risky?

what time is it? (guest post)

a guest post from one, Ryan Mulligan

Check what time it is. Right now look at the time on your computer, iphone, ipad, iclock and remember it.

Next, ask yourself how much you have. Have you been blessed this year? No doubt your answer will be based on the success of your schooling, career, relationships, sporting activities, family life and so on. Many of us would not measure our blessings on our opportunity to drink enough water, drink clean water, or not spend up to three hours a day fetching water to drink.

Are you female? If so, did you know that in most developing countries women are the ones responsible for gathering water for their families? Imagine the difficulties you would have attending school as a young girl if you spent up to three hours a day retrieving that water. Imagine if your school was not equipped with a bathroom separate from a boy’s bathroom. Imagine if you were required to stay home from school once a week, every month because there were no facilities to give you privacy.

Did you flush the toilet today? On average a toilet uses 1.6 liters of water or more for every flush. In Mozambique, the average person uses 1.3 liters of water per day. You would use that 1.3 liters for all sanitation, cooking, drinking and any other needs you may have.

Every day, 2 million tons of human waste is disposed in to waterways.

In developing countries 70 percent of industrial waste is dumped, untreated into waterways, where those women and girls we spoke of earlier, return it to their families to drink.

Now look at the time. How long did it take you to read this? After you’ve done your quick math think about this… every 20 seconds a child dies as a result of a water related illness. How many children have died in the time it took you to read this?

Are you outraged? Are you experiencing the same pain that God experiences every 20 seconds? This isn’t just about leaving the water running while you brush you teeth. This is the death of God’s created children that were made in the same image you were. I long for Christians to unite in their outrage and empathy. I say empathy because it demands action. Action at the injustices these numbers show. After all, our scripture demands it:

Matthew 25: 34-40

 ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

 ⁴⁰ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

There is a worship song that has a line: “Break my heart for what breaks yours”

Look at the time again…

like a child (guest post)

a guest post from engineer-extraordinaire, Austin Rosom

“Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven…” 

Words like these resonate throughout the gospel as Jesus roamed, touching lives, loving, living..

So what stands out.. what stood differently among these children.  Was it their age?
But with age comes more understanding of the gospel and ability to grow… right..?
So what was so different about these children.  Was it how they lived?  Children are
dependent on their parents to look after them and they are fairly simple in the way they live…
But is that where the difference stands out?  Living simply…
As adults we like to make everything very complex and we look at everything much different than
a child would.

What sets them apart?

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of sitting down with a 2 year old named Ari, and throwing a ball against a wall. As
one would expect, every time we threw it, it came back.  To me, this wasn’t incredible or amazing, it was just..
normal.  But to Ari, this was spectacular.  His face grew with joy every time that ball rolled back into his lap.  For
a good… 20 minutes we threw this same ball against a wall.  Still, every time in awe of this magnificent thing. 
This got me thinking…
This joy that children have for simple things like balls bouncing off walls, is the same type of awe, and wonder when
they hear the story of Jesus.  The awe I saw in Ari’s eyes… was just a small glimpse of that awe.  To them, God isn’t normal, its something huge, that is incomprehensible.  They do not contemplate theology, split themselves into
denominational groups, or even try to comprehend, that is too complex.  When it comes to living, they live simply.

In awe.

Do we get lost in details?
Do we find ourselves forgetting to stand in awe of God?


Jesus make me…. Like a child.

living within the tension

I am being broken
yet being put back together

continually dying
yet being made alive

bringing the kingdom of heaven here and now
though realizing it can't be fully...yet

there is a tension

...

I want to fight it
I want it to go away
I want one or the other

and yet, there is an undeniable tension

I'm done fighting
I want it to stay
I want both/and

I must live within the tension

...

I see it all around

we run from it, swinging to one side or the other

but we find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of the tension

...and that's right where we need to be

how can it not drive us to Jesus?

how can it not drive us to humility?

...

and like a finely tuned instrument, may we make our song, living within the tension

and when you fall

we all fall down

it's inevitable - it's going to happen

but, as a good friend of mine pointed out:
- the question is, in which direction are we falling?

...

are we falling toward Jesus or away from Him?

in our falling, are we drawn back to Jesus in the light
or do we cower and crawl back into the darkness

in our falling, do we realize our desperate need for grace?
or do we resolve just to 'do better and try harder next time?

...

are you broken?
have you fallen?

- don't scurry back into the darkness
- but stand up humbly in the gracious light

we are dead to sin - but alive in Christ

come back

grace.
mercy.
forgiveness.

you have been offered them all freely

family.
love.
safety.

people have offered them to you because of what they have received

...

but you have turned them away

were you too scared of what it all meant?

have you been alone for so long that community disgusts?

...

there is still grace for you. mercy is yet extended. forgiveness continually offered.

what is family if they leave? what is love if not enduring? what is safety that harms?

...

come back my friend

...but do we have a quorum?

ah...church politics

two words evoking so much emotion and opinion

...

the separation of church and common decency
...

ah...church membership

valid or invalid?
an out-of-date relic or missing vitality?

...

I read an article this morning from RELEVANT Magazine which was quite interesting - please read it

...

but answer me this:

- are you a member of a local church body?
- why or why not?

tea is the catalyst for thoughts (a guest post)

another guest post by Nalanda Barber


Mayor of Casterbridge: possibly one of the most sobering books I’ve read in a while. Thomas Hardy can write tragedies, let me tell you.

And I say ‘sobering’ instead of ‘tragic’ because I felt the weight and sadness of the world, and of life itself, not of one man. Life is hard. It wrecks people. It ruins them, breaks them, steals from them, destroys them and eventually kills them.

Brutal.

So many things in philosophy bring me back to the Fall. Milton’s Paradise Lost will always have a special fondness to me – God used that, once, to restore to me faith I had lost sight of. Life and its brokenness makes sense because of Genesis 3. But God is good, and the Bible does not end in Genesis 3.

It ends in hope.



 then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away 

now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them

they will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God

the old order of things has passed away

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”



I think it’s called Revelation for a reason.

kudos (I see you)

a little encouragement for you today:

you love God deeply
you know God's love for you
you love people intentionally because of the love you have received

and I see you

you may think nobody knows and nobody cares - but you're wrong

you may never fully realize the implications of your service...and that's ok

God has chosen to work through you and He will reward you for your faithful obedience

is that enough for you?

don't give up
don't grow tired of doing good
delve further into faith - to the point where you NEED God

that person/ thing/ endeavour that you are feeling pulled towards - run to it

if this is where you're at - take courage, you are not alone

I know you do not serve for the kudos - but I'm giving them anyways

...

you are no longer a zombie and middle-management does not satisfy

middle-management for life

middle management is the worst (if that's you - I'm sorry)

you've climbed the corporate ladder, you've put in your time
you probably have a decent desk and possibly an office

someone's always telling you what to do, though you rarely have the authority to actually do it

...

but there's something comfortable about the middle, isn't there?

- it's rather noncommittal
- you don't have to make big decisions
- you get to boss around other people, further down the ladder
- there's a sense of entitlement
- and so on

...

it seems that in our attempt to find this 'american dream,' we've actually bought into middle-management Christianity Life:
- noncommittal, making few decisions, bossy, entitled and so on

...

but this is not what we are called to and definitely not what we should aspire to be

we are called to be janitors (with all due respect)
- cleaning toilets
- gathering garbage
- scrubbing floors
- humbling ourselves

Jesus is a servant, yet God

...

what is too beneath you?
- cuz there's some toilets needing some serious scrubbing in Jesus' name

...

may we take off our middle-management ties (pride), put on our work gloves (humility) and serve...because the secret is we're actually kings and queens in God's kingdom.

and get this...those we serve - they bear God's own image, deserving our utmost respect