For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain

We in the Home Circle started going through Philippians and in chapter 1 we find these words "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain". Wow, these are deep words just to utter and never to understand them. As for me do I really understand these words and what they actually mean? How would I feel if I come to a life or death situation?

Today I was shocked to get a message from my cousin in Durban if my brother had been shot. I was grappling with these words "to live is Christ and to die is gain" when I got the message. Wow talk about a shock to the system. I quickly phoned my brother and he told me that it was the first time he heard about it. I messaged my cousin back that we are trying to keep it a secret and may his soul rest in peace. That should teach her to mess with me.

It is lightly that we take these words "to live is Christ and to die is gain" but do we mean it. I mean really mean it. In other words do we understand these words when we say them?

God's Word translation puts it as "Christ means everything to me in this life, and when I die I'll have everything". This sounds a bit easier to swallow than to say "to live is Christ and to die is gain". But I don't think it is all sugar coated easy. How often does ourselves get in the way of God and when things don't go our way how easy it is to question God.

A few hours before Jesus died for us He said to His Father "Not my will be done, but yours". Not easy is it knowing that you are about to take all the sins the world upon His shoulders.

If we not ready to die for Christ, then we are not ready to live for Christ.

Thou Shalt Be Free

Three thousand five hundred years ago God gave us his rules to live by from a mountain in the Sinai desert. These rules aren’t conditions of a relationship with God but a confirmation of one. The first four rules are about honouring God and putting Him centre of all. The next six are about honouring the people around us. It is about liberty and equality of all. Everybody is on an equal footing because we are all made in God's image.

In the final part of The Sinai Code series, Thou Shalt Be Free, Andy tells us that God took His people out of Egypt and at Sinai raised them up all on the same level. They were slaves no more. In God's nation He did not want any king to rule but with Him at the centre. This was a hard concept to understand for the ex-slaves and soon they begged God to allow them to have a king. They threw out equality to have what they thought is more liberty

In 1776, America tried to get back to what God had in mind at Sinai. I think America did a good job with liberty and equality under God but now they seem to have lost the plot and think they can go it alone without God. They are trying to weed out God from every aspect of daily life.

No God in schools.

No God in work.

No God in church.

Two other countries also changed the world with their throwing off the shackles of kings and queens. In 1789 saw the French Deists sweep away all authority and turned to the rights of the people under a supreme being. God had to step aside to liberty and equality. Closer to our time but still eons ago, saw the Gnostics change mother Russia in 1917 when they threw out God along with the Czar. Both countries were noble in their end view but with no God at the centre they too missed what God had in mind at Sinai.

America who is battling to have both liberty and equality at the same time surprised me at the inauguration of Barack Obama when Rick Warren prayed over the nation. But it doesn't surprise me when America cried foul when he used the name of Jesus in his prayer.

Almighty God
Our Father, everything we see, and everything we can't see, exists because of you alone.
It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory.
History is your story.
The Scripture tells us, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one."
And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.
Now today, we rejoice not only in America's peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge point of history with the inauguration of our first African-American president of the United States.
We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequalled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership.
And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.
Give to our new president, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity.
Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet and every one of our freely elected leaders.
Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.
When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us.
When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us.
When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us.
And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches and civility in our attitudes – even when we differ.
Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all.
May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet.
And may we never forget that one day, all nations, and all people, will stand accountable before you.
We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.
I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life – Yeshua, Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus – who taught us to pray:

Our Father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil,
for Thine is the kingdom and
the power and the glory forever.
Amen.

Liberty and equality for all under one God is what God has in mind for us with our many problems and imperfections.

We shalt be free.

Thou Shalt Do Nothing

What?

What was my first question that flew through my mind when I heard this. Can this actually be one of God's rules? What is Andy smoking when he wrote part four of the series The Sinai Code? Going a little way into the sermon I got where he was going with this. He was doing the fourth rule,

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." Exodus 20:8-11

This is a rule that I myself have broken many times in the past even though it was drummed into me at a young impressionable age. Yes I understand the concept of what God was saying by keeping one day a week aside but what stands out for me is the word Remember. Remember. Remember. We as humans find it easy to forget the things that we feel are not good for us. God took forty years trying to get His people to remember the Sabbath but they tried to find loopholes in resting in God. Today it is no different. God in His infinite wisdom knew that we will become so busy that we forget putting aside a day that is holy.

The question that was asked way back then at the foot of Sinai is the same today, how can we just stop for a day and do nothing? If we miss a day we will lose money and our families will suffer. Andy gives us the answer why we find it difficult to take a day off. He says that we do not trust God. We don't trust God to provide what we need if we were to stop for a day.

Remember that it is in God that we must trust not our own selves.

What's in a Name

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet

Raise hands those who knows where this quote comes from. Shakespeare would be a good guess and Romeo and Juliet would to thine own self be true. I can draw many parallels between this tragedy and the love of God of His people. Okay you must be asking what has Shakespeare have to do with this posting. Well we are doing Andy Stanley's series on the Sinai Code and part three is called "What's in a Name". It could have come straight out this tragedy of lovers who are members of the opposite sides of the tracks.

But this "What's in a Name" comes to us from Mount Sinai deep within the desert of the Sinai Peninsula where God gave His people His set of rules. These rules are not conditions to be His people but a confirmation of belonging to Him. "What's in a Name" covers the third rule; you shall not misuse the name of the Lord.

Myself like many thought that this rule is simply warning to us not to use God's name in vain. Since watching "What's in a Name" my view of this rule has now been turned on its head. Instead of using God's name carelessly it means not use His name for leverage to get what you want.

Leverage God!

Yes we actually play God against God and try find loop holes to dodge his rules. Andy says that like the Pharisees if we get into a habit of leveraging God to our own agendas then we will miss God. So that is how the Pharisees missed the Messiah. We too can spend our lifetimes talking to God and miss him completely all in the name of God. This has made me realise how easy it is to hurt others in the name of God. Religion is man made to bend the rules of God to suit our own needs and wants. Are we using God for our own glory and not His?

Wow! With some deep thoughts raised this has opened my eyes to how I misuse the Lord's name.

The One and Only Box

How often we heard that we must not put God in a box. We as humans find it easy to put things into compartments because it helps us understand them. So when God of the universe becomes our personal God don't we also try to put Him into a box? Andy Stanley in the second series of the Sinai Code says that God is bigger than the box we try to put Him in. God wants to be in front and centre of our lives yet we try to downsize or marginalise Him by putting Him in box, well trying to that is.

I have a teeny small problem with this but maybe it is just my lack of vision and understanding. Okay I would tend to say that trying to put God into a box is part true by my understanding. For me, by saying that God cannot fit in a box is saying that God has no limitations. Before you shoot me down, let me explain. God is limited by His own nature. For example He cannot lie nor sin therefore He has limits. Elementary dear Watson. I do not have the answer to this myself but I have two ideas that I could leave with you.

God can be in all the boxes that we make. This effectively means that God cannot be contained in boxes but is present in all the boxes. Omnipresent.

The other idea is that we are trying to put God into a box of our own limited design. I think that God has His own box and it is the biggest and greatest box there is. So big that our limited minds cannot even comprehend. In our own minds God cannot be defined.

So when God comes along and says to you that I want to be your one and only God. What do you do? Do you put God in a box of your own understanding and put him among the other gods of your life? Are we guilty of shrinking God down into an idol?

God does not want to be shut out of any part of your life that includes activities and relationships; past, present and future.

If you do manage to put God into a box of your own understanding then your god is too small.

Rules of Engagement

Our home cell started this year with The Sinai Code by Andy Stanley. I was not sure what to expect with the Bible Code and Da Vinci's Code bellowing out there in the world. But going by the first part of the series Rules of Engagement I think we are going to know God differently by seeing Him through the rules that He gave us. It came clear to me listening to Andy that God wants a relationship with us.

My pass view of the Old Testament was God revealing Himself but it never sank home that He wanted a personal relationship with us. To me it was only in the Garden of Eden and way later in the New Testament was the love character of God revealed. But here in Exodus 20, it becomes clear that the rules were not given as condition of a relationship with God but rather as a confirmation.

In other words God is not saying here are some rules to live by if you want a relationship with me. Get it right and then we can talk. No says that we are already in a relationship with Him and the rules are just for your protection. Andy went on and gave an analogy about his black Labrador and the fence. If the dog gets out of the yard doesn't mean the dog isn't his anymore. He has purchased the dog and the fence is just there to protect the dog from the dangers outside.
It is impossible to obey God's commandments so that we can be perfect to have a relationship with Him unless somebody does something. What is impossible for us is possible with God. God came to the party and purchased us.

TUG

Well I just got another big shove towards the dream that God has laid on my heart, the Salted Lightly Project. As I mentioned in my last post every time I move forward on the dream I get distracted and God has to intervene and push me back in the right direction. The question that was asked of me this morning at a Christian men's meeting was "Is God asking me or is He telling me?"

Let me bring you up to speed, last night I watched the movie "The Ultimate Gift" and was moved. I then brought the issue of how I am easily distracted from the website which I believe God wants me to build to my friends this morning. One of my friends reminded me of the "Screw Tape Letters" by CS Lewis where the devil tells his cronies to "Keep them (Christians) busy in the nonessentials of life and invent countless schemes to occupy their minds." Coming back home with a lot of thoughts in my mind, I decided to watch the movie "The Ultimate Gift" again for the second time.

WHAM! Right between the eyes, it all fell into place. God gave me another push. This must see movie is based on a novel by Jim Stovall and has spawned a movement of the same name. Please watch the movie (rent or purchase the DVD) or better still read the book. When you have done that then come back to me and we can discuss your gift or even the gift of the dream which God has laid on my heart. The dream which the devil is trying his hardest to stop me doing by keeping me busy. This movie has given me a gift.

In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts

2009, I feel is the year God will reveal himself in Africa and he blesses us so that we may be a blessing to others. 2009 is the year when the Salted Lightly project will start. I have spent the last few years trying to start it but whenever I do I tend to get rather bogged down in secular work and next the Holy Spirit prompts me back to the project I am amazed how much time I've wasted.

Okay, a little about Salted Lightly which is about to go into the development phase. Salted Lightly, Africa's Good Works Portal, gives the glory back to God in light of all the good works in Africa. In other words it will highlight the good works done in Africa by Christians so that others may find and support them. It is a huge project and in a way impossible but that is why I can't do it without God. God is the solution to Africa.

"As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God" by Matthew Parris is a refreshing article about the practical work of mission churches in Africa. "Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good."