My King wore a thorny crown

The King of the world, Creator of the universe, hung stripped and beaten, dying on a cross.

On His head, a crown of thorns, place there by those who mocked and scorned him. 

When we look back in the Biblical book of Genesis, we see the reason for Christ’s suffering. Adam and Eve, the first humans, who were given free choice to obey God or choose evil, chose evil. As a punishment, God pronounced that they and through them, their descendants, would be banished from their life in Eden- a life of relationship with God.  There would be suffering and enmity between people. Death and disease would afflict them. Even the physical earth which provided food would be cursed with thistles and thorns. Humankind was forced to toil for its sustenance.

Yet so great was God’s love that He provided another chance. He gave His Son Jesus, His perfect Son, who came to earth in human form to teach us of His Father’s love. Through Jesus we can come back into relationship with God. The Bible tells us that there is no other way through which we can find forgiveness and faith, except through repentance and commitment to Jesus Christ.

On the cross, Jesus bore all the sin of this world, for all time. He was crowned with a symbol of the cursed nature of our physical earth. But that was not the end of the story, for He rose, triumphant over sin and death. He wears not a crown of thorns, but a royal diadem, seated forever in His throne on high, a crown of life, more precious than the diamond encrusted crowns of earthly monarchs.

Every human born into this world has a sinful nature. If we choose to commit our lives to Jesus we are blessed with His gift of a second birth, a new life in Christ, and the infilling of His Holy Spirit to be our earthly counsellor and guide until we join Christ forever in heaven.

Praise be to God, our Father, maker of heaven and earth, and Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.     

“Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne,
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless King
through all eternity.

Crown him the Lord of life,
who triumphed o'er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife
for those he came to save.
His glories now we sing,
who died, and rose on high,
who died, eternal life to bring,
and lives that death may die. “

(“Crown Him with Many Crowns”,  verses 1&2, lyrics by Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring)

Cause and Effect

“When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.

 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’
1 Kings 2:1-4

There is a Biblical principle that if we want our lives to be blessed by God, we are to walk in His ways and keep His commandments. Throughout the Bible, when nations honoured God, devoted their lives to Him and forsook foreign idols, those nations prospered. A read through the books of Kings and Chronicles reveals that when they became complacent and began to introduce other gods into their cultures and daily lives, they faced trials, including invasion, enslavement and what we would term natural disasters.Godly leadership caused whole nations to turn to God, conversely evil rulers brought destruction and misery on their nations.

Much of our western culture was founded on Christian principles – systems of law and law enforcement, business principles, medical and educational systems that originated in church parishes and social systems which revolved around Christian morality. It’s been a long time since the church was the most impressive building in our towns and cities and many children today grow up in families where the gospel is unknown. Some people would say that they have a belief in God, but have no personal relationship, knowledge of His word, or sense of living according to it.

Peoples as individuals, people groups and nations are not necessarily blessed because of expectations, past history, or simply because we ask Him to. God may choose to bless even the ungodly but when we call ourselves Christians, the expectation is that we will increasingly be discerning in our knowledge of right and wrong, and live according to God’s will.

So, what are the principles of Christian living?

Commit your life to God through a prayer of repentance and faith. Commitment is also expressed through baptism and by taking communion. Many people want faith without repentance- which means stopping doing those things which are wrong according to God's word. These principles can be explored in more detail in courses such as Alpha or by talking with a minister or Christian friend, or exploring online.

Read and study the Bible- there are lots of online resources in this area.

Pray – talk with God

Praise – worship God through singing Christian choruses, hymns or songs. It’s an uplifting experience to sing to God with others in a church congregation

Minister- we each have a ministry- a way of serving Jesus through our gifts and talents.

Share Christian fellowship with others – in a church congregation and other groups- bible study groups, fellowship groups e.g.

And what are the commandments that God wants you to obey?  The Bible gives us ten in Exodus 20:1-17, which I will paraphrase:

Have no Gods other than God, our Father – the God of the Bible – God the Father, Jesus Christ His only Son, and His Holy Spirit – three in one.

Don’t make a god out of anything else, or worship anything else.

Reverence God’s name. Don’t misuse it in any way. Don’t use it as a curse word or exclamation.

Follow God’s example in having one day each week given to rest. This provides physical and spiritual strength as we have time to meditate on God’s blessings.

Show respect to your mother and father. For some this may incorporate compassion and forgiveness, rather than approval of their actions. It is also a reminder that those of us who are parents are to strive to live lives that honour God, that model His standards to our children.

Don’t murder. Don’t plot to take anyone else’s life. As the Bible includes many passages referring to the wonder of created human life growing in the womb, this includes abortion.  Jesus raises the bar much higher according to Matthew’s gospel, chapter 5:21-22, by stating that if you are angry with your brother, speak words of condemnation to him and harbours bitterness against him is guilty of murder in his heart.

Don’t commit adultery – sex is for within marriage, with one partner only. Again, Jesus raises the bar on this in His teachings – whoever looks at another person other than their spouse to lust after them is guilty by the intents of the heart. Watch your heart.

Don’t steal. Be honest and fair in your dealings. Give rather than take.

Don’t lie. Don’t misrepresent anyone else, gossip or tell untruths about them. Don’t give false or misleading information.

Don’t be jealous or envious of what anyone else has. God knows what He wants to supply in your life. Don’t envy another’s spouse, or house or success or material possessions. Trust Him to supply – He often does so over and above all we need. Thank Him for His many blessings, including the precious gift of His Son, Jesus, and His Holy Spirit.

Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment, recorded in John’s gospel, chapter 13, verse 34- that we love one another as He has loved us. Various Biblical passages exhort us to love one another, love your enemies, and love one’s neighbour as if they were ourselves. The parable of the good Samaritan demonstrates that our neighbours include those who are strangers, enemies and foreigners. This demonstration of love is one of the greatest witnesses of faith 

Fakes and Phonies

Who, or what is your God?
 What do you need to give you a sense of self-worth? Money? Prestige? A career? Family? Relationships?
What are the trappings that enhance your image? A toned body? An expensive car?
Looks can be deceptive. The lady in the designer outfit might have a credit card that is filled to its maximum. The man in the SUV might be working so many hours in the week that his marriage is falling apart and his children have forgotten what he looks like. Things may not be what they seem, yet that still does not stop many people from buying into the deception that they have to be wealthy, successful and sexually active to be satisfied and happy.
For the past few weeks I've been involved in a church wide study based on a series by Tim Keller called "Counterfeit Gods".   We've looked at the things which often replace God in our lives, requiring the commitment of our time, effort and resources to achieve them - love and sex, money, power and success, and the acquisition of things which is so prevalent in our modern western culture. Spiritual values, if they are considered at all are often firmly on the back burner.
"Whatever you make an idol of will break your heart." says Tim Keller. Idols create slaves - people riddled with jealousy over what others have; or with anxiety that what they have will be lost, or superseded or taken away. Stock markets crash. Companies fail. Relationships break down. Beauty fades and wrinkles appear. New kids move into the block.
Sometimes it takes a crisis to demonstrate how frail and fallible our idols really are. I recently read the story of a father whose life was completely changed when his young son was diagnosed with autism. All the hopes and expectations he had for his family life and for his son disappeared, as he came to terms with a life that would be profoundly different to what he expected. He wrote of how much the social norms changed for him and how he learned to live in the moment rather than make longer term plans.
"I guess we're all one phone call from our knees." writes Matt Kearney in the song lyrics for "Closer to Love". How true. In the hospital emergency room or oncology clinic, is anyone really worried about what car they'll drive this year? Or what label is on your handbag?
Every Christian struggles with idols and they can be some of the most devious and subtle imaginable. Pride can creep in where humility in the face of God's enormous grace should be. Christians can be judgemental towards those who don't yet know God. Leadership can seem so much more attractive than servanthood. We can be so preoccupied with the medium that we neglect the message. We can transfer all the world's standards to the church community - power, success, finances, individual stardom.
Tim Keller is at pains to point out that many things which can become idols are not necessarily bad or wrong in themselves. It's good to have a healthy marriage and relationships. It's good to work honourably and with effort. Money can be used for beneficial purposes. It's good to study and learn. Godly leaders are needed in many walks of life. It's when aspects of these lose their balance that problems begin.
It's not good to rely on any of these things in place of a relationship with God. We all have a soul that needs nourishing and exercising, as much as our bodies need food and exercise to function. As Plumb sings:

" There's a god-shaped hole in all of us
And the restless soul is searching
There's a god-shaped hole in all of us
And it's a void only He can fill"

We try to fill this hole with all sorts of other things that don't satisfy. Only when we know the triune God of the Bible - God our Father, Jesus Christ His Son and His Holy Spirit, can we know the true joy and relationship that we were created to experience.
In the concluding part of the series, Tim Keller discusses ways to discern and replace idols. Discerning may just involve asking yourself a few pertinent questions. What do you daydream about? What do you spend your money on? What do you want? What happens when things go wrong or you don't get what you want? What's your most uncontrollable emotion?
Replacing idols with God, naturally involves knowing the gospel and committing your life to Christ if you have not already done so and learning to practice spiritual disciplines such as prayer, meditation and Bible study . Idols can be replaced by repentance and rejoicing. We repent when we realise that we've put someone or something ahead of God. We rejoice when we realise that nothing can compare to the greatness of knowing Jesus as Lord. There's no greater love on this earth. No mansion can compare to what He has awaiting us. No power can stand against Him. He supplies our needs and often blesses us with so much more than we need or want.  Yet even beyond this, when we truly know God, we just love Him for who He is and what He's already done and given for us.

"Counterfeit Gods : When the Empty Promises of Love, Money and Power Let You Down" Timothy Keller Hodder and Stoughton 2009

Congratulations Elissa!

My lovely daughter- in- love Elissa gave her long blonde locks in a good cause today - to raise money for the Leukemia Foundation's Shave for a Cure appeal. She was supported by family, friends and church family at Keperra Baptist Church.

Before- the tee shirt says it all.

During - hairdresser Hannah, husband Rob and brother Tim add their support...

And after! A beautiful young lady, inside and out.

Random prayers

^“ Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

I wonder how often we pass up opportunities to pray. The Bible verse above from 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 is a reminder that prayer is always an option, that God is ever ready to receive our prayers. Prayer can be a formal routine in our days. We should take the time to withdraw and focus solely on God. I like to begin each day with the Lord’s prayer, and prayers for my family and myself, relevant to what I am doing that day, including where I’ll be working.

I also have a small area in a spare room in our house where I have a prayer notebook, in which I jot down specific needs of my immediate and extended families, my friends and others that I know. These include salvation for the unsaved, healing, provision of employment and other needs. I try to spend time alone bringing these needs to God, but must confess that I don’t do this as often as I should .  

If I know someone has a particular need coming up, I try to put this on the calendar to remind me to pray on the day e.g. for a job interview or surgery.

I believe though, that the above verse also indicates that prayer need not be so formal. In the course of my day I try to direct thoughts to God in an attitude of prayer. Prayers need not be long, complicated supplications on our knees. They can be simple whispered or thought requests “God, please be present in this situation.” “God, I need the counsel of Your Holy Spirit to guide me in this decision.” “Lord, please give me the right words that You would have me speak to this person.” “Thank You Father that I was so aware of Your presence when dealing with that conflict.” How often I’ve regretted that I rush into decisions or problem solving without thinking to pray for guidance first.

We can even pray for strangers. When sitting in the traffic, why not pray for the person in the car in front of you, or behind or beside you? “God, I don’t know that person, but You do. If they are someone who doesn’t yet know You as Lord of their lives, I pray that they will have an encounter with the gospel in some form. Bring Christian witness into their lives today.”  

Being able to pray is really a reason to rejoice. It’s a joy to be in communication with our Heavenly Father. We truly can be thankful that in any circumstance, God is ready and waiting to hear our prayers.

Book Review - Angel in the Rubble by Genelle Guzman-McMillan with William Croyle

Genelle Guzman-McMillan was the last person to be recovered alive from the debris of the World Trade Center's twin towers, after they were destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001. This book is a riveting account of her experiences on that day prior to the attacks and of the twenty-seven hours she spent trapped in the rubble, awaiting rescue.
This book is fast-paced and gets to the scene of the action straight away, with some background information regarding Genelle's life history included as the story progresses. The chapters are kept quite short and the style is fluid and easily readable. I found it hard to put down and read the entire book in two sittings.
Without being preachy, this book examines how one person placed in an extreme situation had the opportunity to reexamine her beliefs and faith. Genelle had some interesting, some would say miraculous, experiences during the hours when she was trapped and these are simply and coherently documented.
Genelle devotes a chapter to the lessons that she has learned from her experience and one is struck by her positive and hopeful attitude. Finding joy and contentment with what you have in the here and now is good advice for anyone and this is just one of the suggestions in this chapter.
Included is a chapter entitled "9/11 Stories", some brief accounts and transcripts of communications on that day,  which demonstrate the courage of many people as they sought to assist others or to do their jobs under extreme duress.
"Angel in the Rubble" is a surprising and inspiring read for anyone and I thoroughly recommend it.

"Angel in the Rubble" Genelle Guzman-McMillan with William Croyle,  Allen and Unwin,  2011