'. . . let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works . . .' --Matthew 5:16
'Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them . . .' --Matthew 6:1
How do the two fit together?
John Stott quotes A. B. Bruce from 100 years ago:
Bruce sums it up well when he writes that we are to 'show when tempted to hide' and 'hide when tempted to show.'
--A. B. Bruce, Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels (London: Hodder, 1897), 116; quoted in John Stott, The Sermon on the Mount (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2000), 69
"Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house."
8. Do you own a van? _______ A truck with oversized tires?______ Do you have an earring, nose ring, or belly button ring? _______ Do you have a tattoo?_________ (if yes to any of #8, discontinue application and leave the premises)
"Unfortunately, owing to a few antisocial types as well as to a general extroverted bias in our culture, introverts get a bad rap. Mainstream American culture values gregarious, aggressive people who are skilled in networking and who can quickly turn strangers into friends. Often we identify leaders as those people who speak up the most and the fastest, whether or not their ideas are the best.
As a result, introverts are often defined by what we're not rather than by what we are. We're labeled as standoffish or misanthropic or timid or passive. But the truth is that we are people who are energized in solitude, rather than among people. We may be comfortable and articulate in social situations and we may enjoy people, but our time in the outer worlds drains us and we must retreat into solitude to be recharged. We also process silently before we speak, rather than speaking in order to think, as extroverts do. We generally listen a little more than we talk, observe for a while before we engage, and have a rich inner life that brings us great stimulation and satisfaction."
2.Introducing The Maverick....the world's first flying car, and, interestingly, designed by Steve Saint, the son of Nate Saint (one of the five missionaries martyred by the 'Aucas'). The "flying car zooms up to 90 mph on paved roads. Off road, it handles ruts like a Land Rover. Yet in six minutes, a pilot can unfurl its fixed parachute wing and take off into the wild blue yonder—at up to 40 mph. "The Maverick" aims to revolutionize transportation "where the road ends," helping indigenous preacher-pilots sustain the church in the remotest rainforests and other uncharted areas."
This is a cat that Anand picked up and brought home.
He was totally crazy about the cat. He gave it his food, and quickly began making the necessary arrangements.
"I'll sleep in my bed, and then the cat can sleep with you..."
and, then
"The cat can sleep in Namrata's crib"
After an intense, and very emotional, discussion, it was decided that it would be in the best interests of everybody, (the cat, included) for the cat to be returned to its mama.
Anand and I ventured out to find the cat's mama, and finally left the puss at a spot we mutually agreed would be the best, and the most likely for it to find its mama.
We had another tearful farewell.....("I am crying because I am sleepy")
When we got back home, Anand and his mama began praying that God would give us a bigger home, so that we would be able to keep pets (yes, plural! Anand's mom has plans to keep a goat, a few chickens, and a cow, as well).
With that sort of firepower on our side, what chance does the CMC administration have?
This last week, we had to be present in the family court in Bangalore. Stuffy sort of place, as you can imagine.
The high point, of course, was Anand getting into the witness stand with Arpita, and asking, (in a voice loud enough to be heard clearly), "Mama, can I jump from here?"
Two blog posts we read today from the world of adoption......
1. The story of this courageous family who have just adopted triplets, with one of the children having major medical needs. In addition to their courage, notice their 'foolhardiness' and willingness to take risks for love. Notice, also, how the system of adoption in the US is so different, and so similar, to the system in place in India.
2. News from our own friend, Ruby Nakka and his attempts to locate the families of three children who were lost
A beautiful poem/hymn by John Newton, the former slave-trader, who had now fallen in love with Jesus and wanted to "rather die than sin". Brutally honest, it captures the essence of Romans 7, and our own everyday struggles.
Sin, when viewed by scripture light, Is a horrid, hateful sight; But when seen in Satan’s glass, Then it wears a pleasing face.
When the gospel trumpet sounds, When I think how grace abounds, When I feel sweet peace within, Then I’d rather die than sin.
When the cross I view by faith, Sin is madness, poison, death; Tempt me not, ‘tis all in vain, Sure I ne’er can yield again.
Satan, for awhile debarred, When he finds me off my guard, Puts his glass before my eyes, Quickly other thoughts arise
What before excited fears, Rather pleasing now appears; If a sin, it seems so small, Or, perhaps, no sin at all.
Often thus, through sin’s deceit, Grief, and shame, and loss I meet, Like a fish, my soul mistook, Saw the bait, but not the hook.
O my Lord, what shall I say? How can I presume to pray? Not a word have I to plead, Sins, like mine, are black indeed!
Made, by past experience, wise, Let me learn thy word to prize; Taught by what I’ve felt before, Let me Satan’s glass abhor.
This was actually supposed to be a part of my other 'Links' post.....but, then I figured this was important enough a topic to warrant a stand-alone post.
I have been reading an article by Gene Veith on Work and Calling. It has made me think. I think I saw some things about vocation and work that I have never understood before, and in that sense, this article has been, for me, at least, paradigm-changing.
Do take the time to read the whole article.
Here are some excerpts:
"God “assigns” different kinds and places of service for each Christian and then “calls” each Christian to that assignment. The Reformation theologians fleshed out this concept with other biblical teachings about God’s workings in society and the Christian’s life in the world (e.g., Ephesians 5-6, Romans 12-13, 1 Corinthians 7).
The great theologian of vocation was Martin Luther, who developed the teaching in his battles with monasticism—the view that the spiritual life requires withdrawal from secular life—and in defining “the priesthood of all believers.”
For Luther, vocation, like justification, is ultimately God’s work. God gives us our daily bread through the vocations of the farmer, the miller, and the baker. God creates new human beings through the vocations of fathers and mothers. God protects us through lawful magistrates.
Vocation is, first of all, about how God works through human beings. In His providential care and governing of His creation, God chooses to distribute His gifts by means of ordinary people exercising their talents, which themselves are gifts of God.
Thus, God heals by means of doctors, nurses, and other medical vocations. He makes our lives easier by means of inventors, scientists, and engineers. He creates beauty by means of artists, authors, and musicians. He gives us clothing, shelter, and other things we need by means of factory workers, construction contractors, and others who work with their hands. He cleans up after us by means of janitors and garbage collectors.
God thus looms behind everyone who provides us with the goods or services that we need. In one of Luther’s many memorable lines, God milks the cows through the hands of the milkmaid. This means that all work and all workers deserve honor. Whereas the world might look down on milkmaids and garbage collectors, they actually bear the sacred presence of God, who works in and through them.
God created us to be dependent on others—meat processors, manufacturers, journalists, lawyers, bankers, teachers, parents—and, through them, we are ultimately dependent upon God Himself.
Just as God is working through the vocation of others to bless us, He is working through us to bless others. In our vocations, we work side-by-side with God, as it were, taking part in His ceaseless creative activity and laboring with Him as He providentially cares for His creation."
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"God doesn’t need our good works, Luther said, but our neighbor does. Our relationship with Him is based completely on His work for us in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. But just as God is hidden in vocation, Christ is hidden in our neighbors. “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers”—feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, visiting the sick and imprisoned—”you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). We love and serve God in our vocations by loving and serving the actual human beings He places into our lives."
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1. Once long ago, I was invited to speak to a group of 'Christian' young people.They were born "Christian" because their parents were "Christian", and one of the talks I gave was on the dangers of being a 'second-generation' "Christian" who has merely inherited the religion of his parents, without having had an encounter with Jesus, that has changed his life.
Turns out somebody has done some research into this, and my assumptions were not too far off. This article in CNN reports that More Teens Are Becoming Fake Christians.
Some excerpts.... (The researcher Kenda Creasy) "Dean says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls "moralistic therapeutic deism." Translation: It's a watered-down faith that portrays God as a "divine therapist" whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem.
(She) argues that many parents and pastors are unwittingly passing on this self-serving strain of Christianity.
The study included Christians of all stripes -- from Catholics to Protestants of both conservative and liberal denominations. Though three out of four American teenagers claim to be Christian, fewer than half practice their faith, only half deem it important, and most can't talk coherently about their beliefs, the study found. Many teenagers thought that God simply wanted them to feel good and do good -- what the study's researchers called "moralistic therapeutic deism."
Please go over to the article to read the interesting discussion.
Dean's recommendations?
"What can a parent do then?
Get "radical," Dean says.
She says parents who perform one act of radical faith in front of their children convey more than a multitude of sermons and mission trips.
A parent's radical act of faith could involve something as simple as spending a summer in Bolivia working on an agricultural renewal project or turning down a more lucrative job offer to stay at a struggling church, Dean says.
But it's not enough to be radical -- parents must explain "this is how Christians live," she says.
"If you don't say you're doing it because of your faith, kids are going to say my parents are really nice people," Dean says. "It doesn't register that faith is supposed to make you live differently unless parents help their kids connect the dots.""
The story of a device called "The Mosquito" that emits a high-pitched, headache-inducing sound that only the young people can hear, and that was installed recently outside the Chinatown entrance to the Gallery Place Metro station to ward off loiterers.
3. Advice from CS Lewis on Writing Well.
Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.
Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.
Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.”
In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us the thing is “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers “Please, will you do my job for me.”
Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.
(From a letter Lewis wrote in response to an American girl named Joan with advice on writing.)
"Have a horror of sinking into a tattling, twaddling, trivial sort of man, talking much and achieving nothing. Steer clear of a young man's rock, self-importance. Walk humbly with God." --Thomas Collins, 18th century Methodist preacher, in his personal resolutions; quoted in Iain Murray, Wesley and the Men Who Followed (Banner of Truth 2003), 212
5. Arpit's blog, which is turning out to be one of the most interesting Indian blogs I know, has a nice writeup on the Shillong Chamber Choir, and the inspiring story of its origin. Here's the video from "our local news channel of the choir with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, showcasing first the Khasi opera composed by Neil Nogkynrih and then, their 16 year old star, Ibarisha Lyngdoh. Watch for her solo at the end - it is said to be one of the most difficult pieces of music to sing."
6. Attention Grabbers: A collection of "headlines that grab the attention for one reason or another." like the ones below....
7. Bill Gates' speech at a high school on the Eleven Rules of Life (via Renu John on Facebook)
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
8. A solemn, powerful prayer for humility
O Jesus meek and humble of heart, Hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That in the opinion of the world, others may increase, and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
"The following illustration is fairly well known. But it represents one of the fundamental concepts of effectively managing yourself. So for those who haven’t heard it, here it is as told in Stephen Covey’s First Things First:
One of our associates shared this experience:
I attended a seminar once where the instructor was lecturing on time. At one point, he said, “Okay, it’s time for a quiz.” He reached under the table and pulled out a wide-mouth gallon jar. He set it on the table next to a platter with some fist-sized rocks on it. “How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?” he asked.
After we made our guess, he said, “Okay. Let’s find out.” He set one rock in the jar . . . then another . . . then another. I don’t remember how many he got in, but he got the jar full. Then he asked, “Is that jar full?”
Everybody looked at the rocks and said, “Yes.”
Then he said, “Ahhh.” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar and the gravel went in all the little spaces left by the big rocks. Then he grinned and said once more, “Is the jar full?”
By this time we were on to him. “Probably not,” we said.
“Good!” he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went in all the little spaces left by the rocks and the gravel. Once more he looked at us and said,”Is the jar full?”
“No!” we all roared.
He said, “Good!” and he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in. He got something like a quart of water in that jar. Then he said, “Well, what’s the point?”
Somebody said, “Well, there are gaps, and if you really work at it, you can always fit more into your life.”
“No,” he said, “that’s not the point. The point is this: if you hadn’t put these big rocks in first, would you ever have gotten any of them in?”
The point is: You have to put the big rocks — your most important tasks — in first, or you won’t be able to do them at all. The point is not to do more in less time, but rather to focus on doing what is most important. Covey continues:
With the “more is better” paradigm, we’re always trying to fit more activities into the time we have. But what does it matter how much we do if what we’re doing isn’t what matters most?
Our Quadrant II goals [important, but not urgent] are like the “big rocks.” If we put other activities — the water, sand, and gravel — in first, and then try to fit the big rocks in, not only will they not fit, we’ll end up making a pretty big mess in the process.
But if we know what the big rocks are and put them in first, it’s amazing how many of them we can put in — and how much of the sand, gravel, and water fits in between the spaces. Regardless of what else actually does fit in, the key point is that the big rocks — our Quadrant II goals — are in first.
I had two immediate reactions to this video.
1. I liked Liu Wei's attitude. He explained that he had only two options: to die quickly, or to live wonderfully.
On the other hand, often we tend to get bogged down by much smaller problems, rather than thinking of them as an opportunity to 'live wonderfully'.
2. My second reaction was a new appreciation of all we can gain from the disabled. (Even as I typed that last statement, I stopped to collect my thoughts. Let me emphasise that we do not gain only from the disabled who have learnt to cope and 'live wonderfully.' I do not want it to sound like those who are unable to live independent, productive lives are therefore living wasted lives)
The flawed thinking widely accepted today is that people with disabilities are also a nuisance, and that we (the 'normal' people) have no obligation to permit them to live.
That might sound like I am being too harsh, but isn't that what is accepted every time a woman undergoes an ultrasound to pick up anomalies in the fetus she is carrying, with an intention to undergo an abortion if the child is flawed in any way. It seems that 91-93% of pregnancies in UK and Europe with a diagnosis of Down's Syndrome were terminated in 2006. And Down's syndrome is one of the milder disabilities....many of the children I meet are the sweetest, most good-natured, friendly kids in the wards. Thousands of children are killed everyday for the most innocuous deformities. (One of the most deadly deformities that has killed millions of children is the fatal flaw of being a girl child!)
(In an aside, to Anugrah and Cheryl, when I mentioned the antenatal ultrasound findings to one of the neonatologists here, he said, "Why wasn't this picked up earlier? Then something could have been done about it...." He meant, of course, what is euphemistically referred to in India as Medical Termination of Pregnancy)
So read this article, No Wasted Lives, which also contains this great question....“Why would God make a life and not do anything with it?”.
O Love that will not let me go I rest my weary soul in thee I give thee back the life I owe That in thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be
O Light that foll’west all my way I yield my flick’ring torch to thee My heart restores its borrowed ray That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day May brighter, fairer be
Stabilizing lines, especially for those in darkness.
Do you know the story behind it?
At age 20 George Matheson (1842-1906) was engaged to be married but began going blind. When he broke the news to his fiancee, she decided she could not go through life with a blind husband. She left him. Before losing his sight he had written two books of theology and some feel that if he had retained his sight he could have been the greatest leader of the church of Scotland in his day.
A special providence was that George’s sister offered to care for him. With her help, George left the world of academia for pastoral ministry and wound up preaching to 1500 each week–blind.
The day came, however, in 1882, when his sister fell in love and prepared for marriage herself. The evening before the wedding, George’s whole family had left to get ready for the next day’s celebration. He was alone and facing the prospect of living the rest of his life without the one person who had come through for him. On top of this, he was doubtless reflecting on his own aborted wedding day twenty years earlier. It is not hard to imagine the fresh waves of grief washing over him that night.
In the darkness of that moment George Matheson wrote this hymn. He remarked afterward that it took him five minutes and that it was the only hymn he ever wrote that required no editing.
O love that will not let me go. Heartening hope for you and me.
Here’s the last stanza. O Cross that liftest up my head I dare not ask to fly from thee I lay in dust life’s glory dead And from the ground there blossoms red Life that shall endless be
