“Dear 8 pounds 6 ounces... new born infant Jesus,don't even know a word yet....Help me Jesus! Help me Jewish God! Help me Allah! AAAAAHHH! Help me Tom Cruise!...Help me Oprah Winfrey!”
Just like Ricky Bobby in the movie 'Talladega nights', people have all sorts of weird ideas about prayer. I once offered to pray for my friend’s bad back and was quite surprised when he stopped me, fearing that one day he may need a favor from God and so didn't want to “use it up” on something trivial like a sore back.
So what is prayer and why do we do it? Does it work, or does it just make us feel better about ourselves? Some people seem to treat God like a fairy godmother – “Please God make my life perfect, fix everyone around me so that no one is in any kind of pain or has any problems and make my footy team win.” Others seem to treat prayer like a trip to the dentist – they only think about it when they’re in pain, otherwise it is the furthest thing from their mind. But surely there is more to prayer than this?
The obvious question – “Does prayer work?” may actually be the wrong place to start. That question sort of assumes that prayer is its own separate thing and has nothing to do with a relationship with God i.e. I'm going to pray for something and then God is obligated to do it because I'm doing “the prayer thing.”
I bet you don't ask president Obama for anything, even though he is the most powerful man in the world, yet I'm sure his kids ask him for things all the time (and they get what they ask for!) Prayer then is all about relationship. God wants to be involved in your life, in the good and the bad, just like a loving father. He wants you to ask and He wants to answer your prayer.
I have this friend who tells me stories every time we are together of God doing miraculous things in her life and answering her prayers. In direct contrast, I also know plenty of others who complain that God ignores them. So why would God answer one friend's prayers, but not the others? I'm sure it’s the same as the Obama thing, prayer is no science but it has to be about the relationship my friend has with God. She wants to follow God and she actually listens to what he says. She has given God the right to direct her life and welcomes him doing just that! When she prays for things, it is a natural part of her relationship with God.
God is not an impersonal force to be harnessed and manipulated for our own ends. Nor is he a genie in a bottle. Prayer is not about secret formulas or making sure you say the right words, it is conversation that comes from the heart of those who trust God with their very lives.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Religion
I'm not sure if you've ever counted how many churches there are in town, but we have stacks. There's gotta be at least 15 and most, if not all of them have seen better days.
I recently read a book called Pagan Christianity, which rigorously examined every common practice within the modern day church, questioning their origin and how they became part of mainstream religious practice. The main point of the book is that most of what present day Christians do in church each Sunday, has its foundations not in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals introduced into the church at different times in history. The idea of a weekly sermon, sitting passively in pews, identifying yourself as a Christian because you go to a Christian meeting, paid professionals, religious clothing, burning incense, any many more current traditions, all have questionable foundations that just can't be found in the bible.
In the not too distant past, it was highly inappropriate to question the institution. People did what they were told and accepted whatever came from the top down. Yet the world we live in today affords us the freedom to ask questions and not just swallow whatever we are fed. To stop and ask 'Why?' is one of the most powerful things someone can do. Therefore those of my generation must take this opportunity to ask questions of the validity of what we have inherited. It is not a sign of rebellion or disrespect; instead we are motivated by the thirst for what is real, authentic and trustworthy.
Karl Marx once said “Man is incurably religious” and I reckon he's probably right! I think people love the thought of a clearly defined set of requirements so they can tick the box and feel that God must accept them on the merit of what they've done. Yet people use their religion to justify themselves and their own behavior while condemning those who disagree or don't measure up to the same standards. Religion gives us man made laws, guilt, god in a box, restrictions on life and relationships, and hoops to jump through. It may be safe, comfortable and manageable, but it is not where God lives.
The apostle Paul once told the Jews that Jesus has truly set us free, therefore make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to religion. It interesting to see that while Jesus was on the earth, the only thing he attacked were religious systems of control as they actually keep people from finding God.
The Reality is that there is so much stuff within the Christian tradition that is seen as sacred that is actually a hindrance to people genuinely being connected to God. We need to take a fresh look at what it would be like to authentically relate with God - here, now, today.
I recently read a book called Pagan Christianity, which rigorously examined every common practice within the modern day church, questioning their origin and how they became part of mainstream religious practice. The main point of the book is that most of what present day Christians do in church each Sunday, has its foundations not in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals introduced into the church at different times in history. The idea of a weekly sermon, sitting passively in pews, identifying yourself as a Christian because you go to a Christian meeting, paid professionals, religious clothing, burning incense, any many more current traditions, all have questionable foundations that just can't be found in the bible.
In the not too distant past, it was highly inappropriate to question the institution. People did what they were told and accepted whatever came from the top down. Yet the world we live in today affords us the freedom to ask questions and not just swallow whatever we are fed. To stop and ask 'Why?' is one of the most powerful things someone can do. Therefore those of my generation must take this opportunity to ask questions of the validity of what we have inherited. It is not a sign of rebellion or disrespect; instead we are motivated by the thirst for what is real, authentic and trustworthy.
Karl Marx once said “Man is incurably religious” and I reckon he's probably right! I think people love the thought of a clearly defined set of requirements so they can tick the box and feel that God must accept them on the merit of what they've done. Yet people use their religion to justify themselves and their own behavior while condemning those who disagree or don't measure up to the same standards. Religion gives us man made laws, guilt, god in a box, restrictions on life and relationships, and hoops to jump through. It may be safe, comfortable and manageable, but it is not where God lives.
The apostle Paul once told the Jews that Jesus has truly set us free, therefore make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to religion. It interesting to see that while Jesus was on the earth, the only thing he attacked were religious systems of control as they actually keep people from finding God.
The Reality is that there is so much stuff within the Christian tradition that is seen as sacred that is actually a hindrance to people genuinely being connected to God. We need to take a fresh look at what it would be like to authentically relate with God - here, now, today.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Can you know God?
I recently stumbled across an article called "The Secret Life of Mother Teresa.". The story, in Time magazine of September 2007, based on letters between Teresa and her superiors tells of this beloved holy woman's 50-year crisis of faith. She revealed that for half a century she felt painfully distant and separated from God to the point of even doubting his existence. It is a startling contradiction that one of the great Christian icons of the past 100 years could feel so spiritually empty and totally isolated from the God she pointed countless others to. At one point she cried out to God: "If this be the way you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few of them."
To some, this makes her more of a saint because even in the midst of such pain and spiritual darkness she kept on faithfully doing the work of the Lord, while for many others her story proves that Christianity is a load of horse manure and that thinking about God is a waste of time.
If God is supposed to be so personal and loving, why didn't he make himself more known to one of his most devoted servants? If the most saintly person of our time can't connect with God, what does that mean for the rest of us? ? Is it even possible to know God or is He distant, abstract, and altogether unknowable?
I don't want to play judge on Mother T, but I think God was equally as devastated if not more so at their non-relationship. The point is that its not how He treats His friends at all, but it seems that in the midst of her fervent religious effort she sadly missed the friendship with God that is graciously and repeatedly offered each of us.
Relationship with God is not a formula. Religion sets us up for failure in this area because it says if you do this and this for long enough, then God must do this and this for you. It just doesn't work like that. His love, His presence, his nearness has nothing to do with performance. Even 60 years of your life given to helping the poor clearly still isn't enough to earn a place close to God.
The bottom line is that each one of us can know God, and as spiritual beings it is the only thing that will ever really satisfy us, yet no amount of religious activity or work can make God come near. Instead, when we abandon ourselves to God in a place of honesty and openness, desiring only to know Him and recognizing that even our best effort is never going to earn us any credit – in those moments it allows the God of love to become very real to us and it is the platform from which a real relationship is built.
To some, this makes her more of a saint because even in the midst of such pain and spiritual darkness she kept on faithfully doing the work of the Lord, while for many others her story proves that Christianity is a load of horse manure and that thinking about God is a waste of time.
If God is supposed to be so personal and loving, why didn't he make himself more known to one of his most devoted servants? If the most saintly person of our time can't connect with God, what does that mean for the rest of us? ? Is it even possible to know God or is He distant, abstract, and altogether unknowable?
I don't want to play judge on Mother T, but I think God was equally as devastated if not more so at their non-relationship. The point is that its not how He treats His friends at all, but it seems that in the midst of her fervent religious effort she sadly missed the friendship with God that is graciously and repeatedly offered each of us.
Relationship with God is not a formula. Religion sets us up for failure in this area because it says if you do this and this for long enough, then God must do this and this for you. It just doesn't work like that. His love, His presence, his nearness has nothing to do with performance. Even 60 years of your life given to helping the poor clearly still isn't enough to earn a place close to God.
The bottom line is that each one of us can know God, and as spiritual beings it is the only thing that will ever really satisfy us, yet no amount of religious activity or work can make God come near. Instead, when we abandon ourselves to God in a place of honesty and openness, desiring only to know Him and recognizing that even our best effort is never going to earn us any credit – in those moments it allows the God of love to become very real to us and it is the platform from which a real relationship is built.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Life is spiritual
For many years there was a scientific institute in Moscow where the brains of the great communist- leaders, scientists, artists – were preserved and analysed. The hope was that the secret of these great personalities would be found within the tissue of the brain. Yet even though the brain is an incredible piece of machinery, nothing of intellect, creativity, or character can be found inside it, and so the scientists search for the distinctions of greatness proved futile. If you had some rubber gloves, a sharp scalpel and a willing subject, think for a moment about exactly what part of the body you'd dissect in search for the essence of who they are. The eye, heart, brain and lungs are all vitally important yet they don't house our personality nor the things that truly set us apart as unique individuals. Is it possible that inside each one of us there is something entirely invisible and impossible to touch or feel, that at the same time is completely real, obvious and unquestionable ? Some may call it a soul, others a spirit and others still, life itself yet the common thread is we are more than just physical bodies, that much is sure.
Life is such a wonderful mystery. I don't know if you've ever stopped and pondered what life actually is. We know when life stops and starts but where exactly is this life contained within us and how can be be explained? We understand that if one of our vital organs stops or we run out of blood - that life stops. But these organs and the blood that supply them do not equal life itself. We are more than just the cells that make up our body. We are more than our ability to think and feel, run and jump, laugh and cry. We have this stuff inside us that separates from the animals and links us firmly back to God.
What if the life inside us was evidence of God himself? - The breath of God, the essence of God, the power of God? What if we were actually more connected to Him than we'd ever dared to believe, and nothing we could ever do could possibly change that. It is from Him that all life flows and though Him that all life is sustained and if it weren't for Him we would simply cease to exist. Life is spiritual. We are inextricably linked to the God who created us.
To those who are convinced that unless you can see it, feel it, touch it - it's just not real, what do you do with the thought that the essence of who we are as people cannot be pinned down to scientific rational? To maintain the idea of secular humanism by saying that I will only believe what I can see with my eyes and prove with my science text book, is a very narrow place to live that seems incredibly difficult to sustain.
Life is such a wonderful mystery. I don't know if you've ever stopped and pondered what life actually is. We know when life stops and starts but where exactly is this life contained within us and how can be be explained? We understand that if one of our vital organs stops or we run out of blood - that life stops. But these organs and the blood that supply them do not equal life itself. We are more than just the cells that make up our body. We are more than our ability to think and feel, run and jump, laugh and cry. We have this stuff inside us that separates from the animals and links us firmly back to God.
What if the life inside us was evidence of God himself? - The breath of God, the essence of God, the power of God? What if we were actually more connected to Him than we'd ever dared to believe, and nothing we could ever do could possibly change that. It is from Him that all life flows and though Him that all life is sustained and if it weren't for Him we would simply cease to exist. Life is spiritual. We are inextricably linked to the God who created us.
To those who are convinced that unless you can see it, feel it, touch it - it's just not real, what do you do with the thought that the essence of who we are as people cannot be pinned down to scientific rational? To maintain the idea of secular humanism by saying that I will only believe what I can see with my eyes and prove with my science text book, is a very narrow place to live that seems incredibly difficult to sustain.
Friday, April 24, 2009
TRUTH v's REALITY
Not everything that feels real is true.
I heard a radio prank call recently where the caller rang a women pretending to be her husband's boss. He called to let her know that they were forced to end his employment. The wife was understandably upset, arguing that he was a good man who worked hard to support his family, and that this was totally unfair. When the wife pressed the caller as to why her husband was being sacked, the pretend boss told her it was because they had caught him having sex with the secretary in his office. The wife responded with an outburst of fury at her husband and told the caller to tell him to collect his belongings from the lawn of their home, because their marriage was officially over. In an instant the wife's reality had totally changed. In her mind, she had changed from being in a loving, faithful relationship with a good man, to totally hating everything about him and ending their relationship on the spot.
The truth was very different from her reality. Her husband had actually done nothing wrong. Her feelings of hate and hurt were very real, yet they had nothing to do with truth. This sort of thing happens to us all the time. We also can be living out of a reality that is simply not true. “The Matrix” highlights this principal incredibly well. In the movie, everyone assumes that all they see and feel is totally real, yet they are being deceived and controlled by a clever system of lies that keeps the truth hidden from them.
Every day, people go about their lives with the assumption that if it feels real it must be true, yet sometimes we too live in a web of lies that we believe about ourselves and our world.
I spoke to someone recently who was convinced that they were worthless. She felt that others were important and valuable but she was of no value at all. This sad picture describing her reality was reinforced even by her family. Although her feelings are incredibly real and strong, they are based on lies not truth. She is an incredibly valuable person. The actual truth of her existence is still hidden from her. If only she could see what is true.
The same is true for you and I. We all live with the possibility that the story we tell ourselves is based on lies, or at least on something that is far less than the truth. It is possible that the actual truth of your existence, significance and happiness is still hidden from you and yet to be discovered. Just because we believe something is real doesn't change whether or not it is actually true. If you were to put aside all your well trained thought processes , ideas, insecurities, fears and hurts and seek what is really true about life, about God, about who you are and why you are here, you would never be the same again. The truth shall set you free!
I heard a radio prank call recently where the caller rang a women pretending to be her husband's boss. He called to let her know that they were forced to end his employment. The wife was understandably upset, arguing that he was a good man who worked hard to support his family, and that this was totally unfair. When the wife pressed the caller as to why her husband was being sacked, the pretend boss told her it was because they had caught him having sex with the secretary in his office. The wife responded with an outburst of fury at her husband and told the caller to tell him to collect his belongings from the lawn of their home, because their marriage was officially over. In an instant the wife's reality had totally changed. In her mind, she had changed from being in a loving, faithful relationship with a good man, to totally hating everything about him and ending their relationship on the spot.
The truth was very different from her reality. Her husband had actually done nothing wrong. Her feelings of hate and hurt were very real, yet they had nothing to do with truth. This sort of thing happens to us all the time. We also can be living out of a reality that is simply not true. “The Matrix” highlights this principal incredibly well. In the movie, everyone assumes that all they see and feel is totally real, yet they are being deceived and controlled by a clever system of lies that keeps the truth hidden from them.
Every day, people go about their lives with the assumption that if it feels real it must be true, yet sometimes we too live in a web of lies that we believe about ourselves and our world.
I spoke to someone recently who was convinced that they were worthless. She felt that others were important and valuable but she was of no value at all. This sad picture describing her reality was reinforced even by her family. Although her feelings are incredibly real and strong, they are based on lies not truth. She is an incredibly valuable person. The actual truth of her existence is still hidden from her. If only she could see what is true.
The same is true for you and I. We all live with the possibility that the story we tell ourselves is based on lies, or at least on something that is far less than the truth. It is possible that the actual truth of your existence, significance and happiness is still hidden from you and yet to be discovered. Just because we believe something is real doesn't change whether or not it is actually true. If you were to put aside all your well trained thought processes , ideas, insecurities, fears and hurts and seek what is really true about life, about God, about who you are and why you are here, you would never be the same again. The truth shall set you free!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
BEING A GOOD PERSON
If you want to try hard to be a good person and you do believe that God is real, don't let me tell you that's bad, but please don't call it Christianity. And please don't be lulled into the false sense of security often given at funerals that would lead you to feel confidently that being good is all that God requires of us.
I talk to so many people who assume that Christianity is simply about believing in God and trying to be a good person. All they feel Christianity offers, is what they've already taken – some sort of moral guideline about what's right and wrong in life, even though they seem to chuck it out it when ever it suits. It's kind of like the lifestyle equivalent of a mullet haircut - clean cut up front, but there is a party going on out the back.
Do we just need to believe that God exists, and that he's a good bloke for him to accept us? Does being a Christian have anything to do with the kind of person you are once you’ve decided that you believe the right things or can you go on living how you like? After all, doesn’t the bumper sticker say “Christians aren’t perfect just forgiven”
Does God offer some sort of legal transaction where he scans our brain to see if we believe in Him, and then if so, fills out some paper work, clears out some more space in the clouds and then sends out our prepaid ticket to heaven?
If all that mattered was working hard at being good, then most of us are, "OK with God"
right? Everyone knows 99% of people really are good folks trying hard to make the most of
their lives. It's only psychopaths and politicians that are really bad. If that were the case, Jesus could probably have saved himself a gruesome death and stayed in heaven while we carried on our merry way.
The point is that he did come, he was crucified and he now offers us everything we really need, yet as C.S. Lewis, the author of the Narnia series says
"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
To be connected to God here and now will never happen by just being a good person and believing some stuff about God. You need what he did for you on the cross. If you believe the chair can hold your weight, then sit in it. If you really believe that God is real, then trust Him and open yourself to him. God invites you to allow him to be present and powerful in your world today. It’s what we need. It’s what He offers. It’s why he came.
I talk to so many people who assume that Christianity is simply about believing in God and trying to be a good person. All they feel Christianity offers, is what they've already taken – some sort of moral guideline about what's right and wrong in life, even though they seem to chuck it out it when ever it suits. It's kind of like the lifestyle equivalent of a mullet haircut - clean cut up front, but there is a party going on out the back.
Do we just need to believe that God exists, and that he's a good bloke for him to accept us? Does being a Christian have anything to do with the kind of person you are once you’ve decided that you believe the right things or can you go on living how you like? After all, doesn’t the bumper sticker say “Christians aren’t perfect just forgiven”
Does God offer some sort of legal transaction where he scans our brain to see if we believe in Him, and then if so, fills out some paper work, clears out some more space in the clouds and then sends out our prepaid ticket to heaven?
If all that mattered was working hard at being good, then most of us are, "OK with God"
right? Everyone knows 99% of people really are good folks trying hard to make the most of
their lives. It's only psychopaths and politicians that are really bad. If that were the case, Jesus could probably have saved himself a gruesome death and stayed in heaven while we carried on our merry way.
The point is that he did come, he was crucified and he now offers us everything we really need, yet as C.S. Lewis, the author of the Narnia series says
"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
To be connected to God here and now will never happen by just being a good person and believing some stuff about God. You need what he did for you on the cross. If you believe the chair can hold your weight, then sit in it. If you really believe that God is real, then trust Him and open yourself to him. God invites you to allow him to be present and powerful in your world today. It’s what we need. It’s what He offers. It’s why he came.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
What is True?
While teaching a year 6 scripture class a few years ago, one of the kids told the class that while he definitely believed in God, he didn't believe in heaven and hell, and he certainly didn't believe that Jesus actually died and rose again. I responded by asking him if he thought you could just choose what you want to believe and then call it true? If His teacher was introducing the class to 12 x tables, and this bright spark put up his hand and said “Miss, I can cope with 12x1 and 12x2, but there is just no way in the world that I can believe 12x3=36, I'm sure his teacher would be upset with him for being so arrogant and tell him that you can't change what is true just because you don't believe it. Truth is truth, all we get to do is discover it.
My great ambition in life is to follow Jesus with all my heart and to help others do the same. My parents feel exactly the same, and I've always deeply admired that about them. Growing up in their house, I saw how real their faith was and wanted that for myself. But what If I was born in a remote village in Pakistan and my parents were devoted Muslims, would I now be a religious leader teaching the way of Islam?
So then if all religions claim to own “the truth” how do we decide which one is right? Are all religions basically the same? If you are in the market for a new religion, how do you know which one is best? Is it just about personal taste or preference like choosing cereal from the supermarket? Can you just choose the best bits from each of them?
Karl Marx said “Man is incurably religious.” People feel the need to be seen doing something to actively work towards their own salvation and to try and keep the God's happy. Yet I think our basic problem is that no amount of self control, hard work, and good deeds can ever make a person clean and new. We do actually need someone to help us, maybe even to save us from ourselves.
Look I don't know everything, but If someone were to ask my advice, I would always say that although Christians don't have a monopoly on truth or on God, there is only one savior and that is Jesus, so if our basic problem is that we do actually need rescuing its probably going to be a good plan to trust Jesus to save. I'm not going to tell anyone to trust in Buddha or Mohammad, not because they are dodgy blokes, but just because they never claimed they could save anyone
Whether you grow up in a Christian culture or a Muslim one, the question remains 'Do I blindly follow a religious system of beliefs and practices, or do I seek, ask, search, for what is real and true?' God is not insecure, He promises that if anyone really goes looking for him with their whole heart, they will find Him.
My great ambition in life is to follow Jesus with all my heart and to help others do the same. My parents feel exactly the same, and I've always deeply admired that about them. Growing up in their house, I saw how real their faith was and wanted that for myself. But what If I was born in a remote village in Pakistan and my parents were devoted Muslims, would I now be a religious leader teaching the way of Islam?
So then if all religions claim to own “the truth” how do we decide which one is right? Are all religions basically the same? If you are in the market for a new religion, how do you know which one is best? Is it just about personal taste or preference like choosing cereal from the supermarket? Can you just choose the best bits from each of them?
Karl Marx said “Man is incurably religious.” People feel the need to be seen doing something to actively work towards their own salvation and to try and keep the God's happy. Yet I think our basic problem is that no amount of self control, hard work, and good deeds can ever make a person clean and new. We do actually need someone to help us, maybe even to save us from ourselves.
Look I don't know everything, but If someone were to ask my advice, I would always say that although Christians don't have a monopoly on truth or on God, there is only one savior and that is Jesus, so if our basic problem is that we do actually need rescuing its probably going to be a good plan to trust Jesus to save. I'm not going to tell anyone to trust in Buddha or Mohammad, not because they are dodgy blokes, but just because they never claimed they could save anyone
Whether you grow up in a Christian culture or a Muslim one, the question remains 'Do I blindly follow a religious system of beliefs and practices, or do I seek, ask, search, for what is real and true?' God is not insecure, He promises that if anyone really goes looking for him with their whole heart, they will find Him.
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