A Certain Hope

I am so looking forward to warmer weather. We have had, apparently, the second warmest winter ever (by only one degree). As I heard someone else respond to this - "I would like to know where they were having it, it wasn't where I live!!"
As the cold wet days drag on, they dampen the soul, and weary the spirit. So many of our local retirees head North for a period of time each winter, and since moving here almost two years ago I am beginning to think it might be essential for good mental health!
Warrnambool IS North for the whales, and they have been showing up a lot lately, curiously checking out the surfers or putting on a nice display for avid watchers. I couldn't be a whale and have to head further south (brrr!) even with a flattering layer of blubber!! Am seriously considering a winter holiday savings fund so we can fly North each winter. Even one week of warmth would be helpful to break the monotony.
Greg's Dad had an oft used exclamation "Hate the winter!" that has been reiterated fairly often of late in this household.
Perhaps the cold, wet conditions exacerbate the monotony of the weeks. We are finding that one week relentlessly rolls into the next with little change, little to look forward to. Mercifully, God has ordained the change of seasons to give us something to look forward to, and even when they seem a long time in coming, our nectarine tree will suddenly burst into bloom and various shrubs will spout new growth, reminding us that it is not long now...
To many of us, change often comes as uncomfortable or unsettling, but this long winter (with apologies to those who live closer to either Pole) reminds me that without some change, we will wither mentally and emotionally - or go completely nuts!
Change usually introduces an unknown quantity, so while it can be daunting and uncertain, it brings with it the possibility that things will improve. We jump in, trusting, hoping that the other side will be "greener" so to speak.
What are the sayings? "A change is as good as a holiday..." being stuck inside gives you "cabin fever" a term which (I am guessing) originated on long voyages enduring monotonous conditions - ripe for mutiny.
Change can bring hope: life without hope is arguably not life. It is said that humans can endure great suffering when they know that it is for a limited time. Perhaps we cannot endure very much at all if we believe it will go on indefinitely.
HOPE - something to look forward to, keeps us moving forward, enables us to remain positive in the difficulties of the present, makes it easy to encourage others to do the same. In the Bible, it says "Hope deferred makes the heart sick".
I am glad to believe in Someone greater than me; a God who loves me. When life is difficult or monotonous, and change for the better seems less than possible, that belief holds me like an anchor. I can believe, often with current evidence to the contrary, that things will get better. So I can keep moving forward, pressing on, enduring... and inevitably, the cloud eventually passes, and spring turns into summer.

Food for thought...

Today I heard a lady on the radio - don't know who she was and can't remember what she was speaking about except for this statement:

"What is the point of being a Christian if you don't hear from God?"

That's it isn't it. God created us to be in relationship with him. We were separated from him by sin. We, now tainted by sin, could no longer exist in the presence of a Holy, Perfect God. Being an unsatisfactory state of affairs to God, he made a way for us to be reunited - there is nothing that we could do of ourselves. Jesus was perfect, pure, divine, but because of his love for us, the Bible says that he actually became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). That is amazing. It took Jesus' gruesome death (and his powerful resurrection) to reunite us with the God whose original purpose in making us was to be united with him.

OK, so hearing from God... prayer is our communication with God, an essential part of our relationship with him, and something I do not do enough of. Ideally it includes listening, and allowing God to direct and instruct us by his Holy Spirit. God loves us and wants to speak to us. I believe he really wants us to enjoy our relationship with him.

Today I want to change... to spend time with the God who loves me, learn from him and enjoy it. I have some reservations about what it might mean to completely submit to God, and wonder if it is even possible. As for the fear, the Bible says "perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:18) and I know that my God loves me... perfectly!

"Quiet Time"

This concept for spending time with God was plugged a lot in my youth group in the 80's. It is great to do but is something I have always struggled to maintain with any sort of consistency.
Guilt & Duty: Thankfully I am now past this stage where guilt is the motivator - well most of the time. I would end up doing a "daily devotion" just so that I could tick it off the "to do" list, however, the real purpose of connecting with God was being overlooked.
Catching Up: if you are following a Bible reading plan, such as the Bible-In-a-Year, more guilt can creep in if you miss a few days, or just can't keep up with the amount of reading. Trying to catch up again can again defeat the purpose of meeting with God.

Meeting with God is the point. A bible college in Adelaide used to have the motto "Knowing, Being, Doing". It struck me from my observations of growing up in the church that there was

• great pride in knowing: e.g. theology, Bible verses by heart;
  
• a great sense of obligation or duty to be doing: busy serving God in the church, or as a missionary; but
  
• little emphasis on the hidden discipline of being.
  

I believe that understanding how to be - understanding who you are in Christ is essential for healthy and realistic growth of the inner person (Ephesians 1 is good for this, and so is the Creative Living course at Tabor College).

Your value to God is not based on what you know or on what you do, it is based on God's love for you. If you exist, you bring glory and pleasure to God simply by being, because you are His creation.

Suggestions:

• If you get way behind while following a daily reading plan, it may be better to skip, and continue on the day you should be on, so you don't get put off by the impossible task of catching up.

• Get an undated reading plan, so that you can continue from where you are up to, without being held to a strict timeline. As a mother, I have really appreciated the verse in Isaiah "The Lord gently leads those with young". He knows the demands on our time and peace of mind.

• There are different reading plans available on the internet (just "Google" it). The Bible Society has a printable brochure that has a Bible reading plan which covers the Bible in about 4 years. This means you get more manageable "bite" size sections of scripture to read and meditate on. The readings, I think, follow the suggested daily readings in the "Daily Bread" devotional guide.

Journal: Having a small journal (I like the undated idea) where you can follow the SOAP acronym for daily Bible study :
Scripture: Does a small portion or verse of your day's reading jump out at you? Write that scripture in your journal.
Observation: What is the scripture saying?
Application: How does this scripture apply to you? What is God saying to you through it? How do you think the Holy Spirit is wanting you to apply it to your life?
Prayer: simply - Pray! ... about what you believe God has been speaking to your spirit about.

The above SOAP idea has been around for a long time, and various churches and organisations have produced their own journals specifically designed to be used in this way. UCB has also produced a similar journal (using the acronym SOAR) available through the "Word for Today" devotional, which lists daily readings if you want to do the Bible in a year.

I have been greatly encouraged by a book "The Divine Mentor" by Wayne Cordeiro. I think God brought the book to my attention, because I had been asking him for a mentor, and felt that I had lost some potential mentors when we left Naracoorte. The Bible needs to come alive to us in order for us to continue growing in our faith. The Holy Spirit was given to us to "guide (us) into all truth" and "remind (us) of everything (Jesus) said" (John 16:13 and 14:26). He is our mentor. Wayne's point is that God also uses the people in the Bible to mentor us. There is so much we can learn from the huge range of people who make mistakes, or get things right, who are blessed or who suffer greatly. (I know we don't really want to read the latter). Life is short. If we can learn the lessons from others' examples, it may save us a whole lot of time!! At least that is what I hope. I am finding that I do not learn as fast as I would like!!

Visitors

Thanks to those who have visited us already. Brian & Jo Zeitz have dropped in a couple of times. Greg's brother, Tony has visited twice as well. Some friends from Naracoorte have also caught up with us: Joe & Jenny Martin, Kevin & Julie Cooke came to a day conference (and prayed for me - thanks very much). Wayne Tanner & Louie came to kill some time. It was really great having Mum & Dad stay during Easter, the Adams family came for a few days, and the Lumsdens. It was great spending time with you... If I have forgotten anyone who made the effort, I am very sorry, but my brain just isn't what it used to be!
The Cookes and Zeitz's also came over for Greg's commissioning service in October.