Storms of Life

Ever been in a major storm?  Maybe a hurricane?  Or tornado?  Or massive rainstorm?  Scary isn't it.  But in life, we will all go through storms.  Some are massive hurricanes and others are gentle drizzles.  But we all go through storms.  In Mark 4, we see the disciples going through a major storm on the Sea of Galilee - the winds and waves were threatening to sink the boat.  Let's read....

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."  Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" - Mark 4:35-41

Let's look at some facts about storms...

• Storms are inevitable - we can't avoid them.  As we journey through life, we will eventually encounter storms.  And it seems like they come at the most inopportune and inconvenient times, don't they!


• Storms can happen even to those closest to the Lord.  Who was in the boat?  The 12 disciples, those who were closest to Jesus.  In fact, there were other boats following Jesus and the disciples (V36) and they too got caught in the storm.  Followers of Jesus are not immune to storms.


• Storms can also come from God.  Jesus said 'Let us cross over to the other side' (V35).  Jesus told them to go over the sea to the other side. And because they obeyed Him, they ended up in a storm!  This storm came as they were right in the middle of the Lord's will!


• Storms can be life-threatening.  'And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling' (V37).  The storm was so massive, the wind so strong, the waves so high that the boat was about to sink!  And everyone aboard was at risk of drowning!  Your storm might be cancer or some other illness.  Or it can be financial debt that threatens to sink you.


• Storms can cause us to doubt.  At the height of the storm, the disciples cried out to Jesus 'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?' (V38).  They doubted His care and control.  And they questioned His Word - He said they were going to cross OVER, not go under!  Haven't we cried out to God in the midst of our storms - 'where are You?  Don't You love me anymore?  Don't You care?'  Doubt.
  

You ever been in a storm like that?  A storm that comes upon you even though you know you are right in the middle of God's will?  Or because you have been obedient?  Maybe it's a storm that comes upon you at work - your boss asks you to fudge a few numbers on the annual report and you say, 'no, I can't, that would be lying'.  And now your boss brings the hammer down on you.  And perhaps this storm even causes you to doubt God's goodness or justice.  Yep, we all go through storms.

Let's look at a few things we can do...

• Take Jesus along.  The disciples at least took Jesus with them!  Look at V36 - 'they took Him along in the boat'.  Good job guys!  Knowing that we will eventually encounter storms, shouldn't we always take Jesus along?


• Remember that Jesus is in control, not us.  Remember, there were several fishermen in the boat.  And maybe they thought - we can handle this!  Maybe they even said to Jesus - 'Lord, You're tired, go take a nap.  We'll take care of this - we're expert fishermen!!  Been there, done that, got the T-shirt!'  In the midst of our storms, we need to remember that the Lord is in control, not us.


• Remember that the Word of the Lord brings calm.  The disciples, with great fear and perhaps some irritation, woke Jesus up from a good nap.  He stands up, rebukes the wind, calms the waves.  How?  By His Words - 'Peace. Be still!' (V39).  He simply speaks and the wind and waves obey!  In the midst of our storms, shouldn't we turn to the Word of God to find rest, peace and calm?


• Have faith.  The disciples should have had faith in Jesus.  In fact, Jesus rebukes them for their lack of faith - 'Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?' (V40).  Remember, they had just previously seen Jesus heal, work miracles, confront the Pharisees.  They had just heard Him teach several parables - one of them being the parable of the mustard seed.  They should have had faith, even mustard seed faith.

1. They should have had faith in Jesus' presence - with Him in the boat, they wouldn't sink!


2. They should have had faith in Jesus' power - they saw Him do miracles and healings.


3. They should have had faith in Jesus' promise - He told them they were crossing OVER the Sea.


4. They should have had faith in Jesus' peace - He was asleep, at peace.  They should have had faith that things were going to be OK!

• Worship the Lord.  V41 says they 'feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"'.  That word 'fear' there means awe and respect and reverence.  It is in fact a healthy fear of the Lord.  It is worship - when we give to God the reverence and respect He deserves.  The disciples were beginning to see that this ain't no ordinary carpenter!  This is God in human flesh!  And thus, they feared exceedingly.  They worshiped.

So what storms do you face at the moment?  Take heart and remember to take Jesus along, let Him have the controls.  You be still, be at peace, have faith.  And worship Him for He is mighty to save.

The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. - Zephaniah 3:17

Please Pray...

FOR BLOG FOLLOWERS AND FB FRIENDS WHO DON'T GET OUR EMAILS, HERE ARE THE LATEST PRAYER REQUESTS....

Hi all,

Hope you are having an awesome start to the new year.  Can you believe it’s already the 2nd week of the year?!  Here are a few prayer requests, please pray…

1.    Permanent visas – as you know we applied for our PERMANENT residency visas back in August of 2012.  I called Immigration NZ and discovered that they haven’t even assigned our paperwork to any case worker yet!  So it’s still sitting in some pile of applications on someone’s desk somewhere!  And our current TEMPORARY WORK visas expire in 21 days!  So I am in the process of filling out more applications to renew/extend our current temporary visas while they process our permanent ones.  But Immigration said that can take a month or 2 to process!  So while they are processing our temporary visas, we need an INTERIM visa just to stay in the country.  Ahhh!  Please pray that we get the INTERIM visa so we can get the TEMPORARY work visas so we can eventually get our PERMANENT residency visas!

2.    M – the recipient of my kidney has agreed to go through the Gospel of Mark with me!  He still hasn’t made a decision for Jesus yet, but he is close!  He says he wants to ‘learn more’ before he makes up his mind.  Pray that we have awesome times in God’s Word and that God will speak to him and bring him to the point of accepting Jesus.  We will start in Mark in a couple weeks and hopefully will do it weekly or every other week.

3.    Z’s friend – our 8 year old son had shared the Gospel with his classmate a couple months ago and his friend had prayed to accept the Lord!  For Christmas, Z bought his friend a bible.  And now his mom and him read it often at night.  She said it was a very special gift for them!  I talked to her about her son’s new faith and she said she thinks it’s great – she wants him to learn Christian values and morals.  She said she grew up in a nominal Christian home, but never practiced her faith.  Her husband is agnostic.  Pray that we can continue to be an influence in their lives as we seek to point them to Jesus.

4.    T’s friend – T had also prayed with her schoolmate and teammate (basketball) a few months ago to accept the Lord.  But we haven’t had a chance to talk to her parents about her faith.  Now that basketball is over, we don’t see them as much.  Pray that we can talk to them soon about faith and Jesus.

5.    School – the kids are on summer holidays at the moment (it’s summer in the southern hemisphere now) and will start school in less than 4 weeks.  T will start middle school (year 7)!  J will start his last year of middle school (year 8)!  And Z and D are still in primary/elementary school – years 4 and 2 respectively.  Wow!  Pray they start well and  that they can be light and salt for Jesus with their schoolmates.

A Day at the Park

One of the things that the Director of the Mango Tree Centre tries to do when they have outreach teams come by is to take some of the disabled people for outings in the local area.  They take them to the beach or for a drive along the coast or to a cafe for a meal out or out to a park for a picnic.  They do this with the teams because often, they need the extra hands to help with all the wheelchairs and lifting and pushing and feeding.  And they normally have to bring 2 vans - just in case one of the disabled people has a health issue, they can then get them back to the Centre or home without having to take everyone back.  On this trip, J and I got to tag along and help out as we took three people t the park for a picnic.

That might sound so basic and simple to us but that is because we often take such things for granted.  We can hop in a car or on our bikes or a bus or train or simply walk and pretty much go anywhere we want, any time we want.  But not so for them.  First, none of the families have cars or vehicles - they just simply cannot afford it.  Second they don't have anyone who could drive them.  And third, it often takes so much work to get one of the disabled people ready for an outing that the families simply have a hard time doing it.  The 3 that we took out that day were actually relatively easy to get ready - they are all able to sit in a wheelchair.  But many of the others are bed-bound, so they would need a 'mobile bed' or they don't go at all.  Can you imagine being in bed your whole life?  So for most of them, they rarely go out of their house!

So these outings are a special treat for them - just to get out of the house and experience something different.  And you could see it on their faces as we sat at the park with them - they were looking around, gazing at the kids playing on the playground, watching the people walking by, hearing the waves on the nearby beach and the cars and the birds and the conversations around them - things that we take for granted!  Makes me really think - maybe I should be more grateful for the simpler things in life!

Here are a few photos of the day at the park - click on the photos to enlarge.

 

[caption id="attachment_1876" align="aligncenter" width="450"] We had a great time at the park with the whole gang.[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1879" align="aligncenter" width="449"] One of the staff member brought his brand new guitar and sang a few worship songs - in Tongan![/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1877" align="aligncenter" width="444"] One of the special treats is to have a special meal with them. Often they are malnourished and so any extra food is a blessing for them!  J also got to help feed this man.[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1878" align="aligncenter" width="449"] Often, it's just the little things that mean so much. Here we just go for a stroll around the park.[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1880" align="aligncenter" width="446"] J said this was one of his favorite days - just to see the people so happy![/caption]

Before and After...

One of the main reasons for this outreach to Tonga was to build a small house (more like a shed from our western perspective) for a family who has a blind child.  The Mango Tree Centre for Disabled People ministers to about 80 families who have severely disabled family members.  And this is one of those families.  Not only do they have a blind daughter, but this family lives in a tiny, run-down 'house' that is literally just a few boards and pieces of wood nailed together (see photos at bottom of post/article).  And there is no floor - the 'house' sits directly on dirt and is situated next to a small community rubbish dump/tip!  When it rains (and boy does it really rain in Tonga!) the house gets flooded and literally sits in 20-30 cm (8-10 inches) of water constantly.  Imagine what that dirt floor would be like with 20 cm of water sitting on it for days!  So you can see the need for this family to have a house that is out of the flood-waters and can stay dry!

So that is what part of the team did during the two weeks they were there - build a small, simple one room house that is on a 60 cm (24 inch) high concrete foundation that will definitely provide a dry home for this family.  Our church, Calvary Wellington and another church in northern NZ, Calvary Whangarei provided the funds for the building materials and the building team (all from CC Whangarei) devoted many loving hours into this house. During the days of building, we all had lots of opportunities to share the truth and love of Jesus with this family (we think they are Catholic or come from a Catholic background).  When the guys were painting the new house, I got a chance to share the gospel with the father.  I told him I love to see new houses being painted (his was painted white) because it reminds me of what Jesus does for us.

I told him - 'The new house with the new white paint job is clean - there are no dirt, stains or markings on the brand new paint.  It's super white and clean!'  Then I pointed to his old house and said - 'that house has lots of stains and dirt on it, doesn't it?  Can you see the difference?  That is what Jesus does with our sins (which are like dirty stains)!  The Bible says Jesus cleanses us white as snow, like your new house!  So every time you look at the new, clean, white walls of your new house, remember that Jesus died on the Cross to bring us forgiveness from our sins (the stains and dirt) and gives us a brand new life - clean and white!'  He was silent - I don't know if he could really understand that or accept that, but I know a seed has been planted.

And to top it all off, on our last day there, the family cooked a wonderful meal for us all as we celebrated not their new house, but their new HOME!

Here are a few photos so you can get an idea of what the old and new house is like...

[caption id="attachment_1849" align="aligncenter" width="371"] This is what they live next to - a rubbish dump / tip[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1852" align="aligncenter" width="369"] Old house - just a few boards and pieces of wood and tin nailed together.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1855" align="aligncenter" width="368"] This is their kitchen - they cook over an old tire and some wire mesh[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1857" align="aligncenter" width="383"] New house - dry and solid![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1858" align="aligncenter" width="400"] New paint job - white as snow![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1863" align="aligncenter" width="394"] Interior of the new house - 27 sq.m. (290 sq. ft.). It will be divided into 4 'rooms' with curtains to house 6-8 people.[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1860" align="aligncenter" width="409"] Proud owners of a new home - father and daughter[/caption]

 

Servant's Heart

Well, we've been back for a week and a half now from Tonga and are getting settled back into life in New Zealand.  But there are so many memories and experiences that are engrained in our minds and hearts.  Our main purpose for the trip was to build the house for the family with the blind daughter and also to participate in the home visits and pastoral care of the disabled.  We stayed at the Mango Tree Centre for Disabled People which ministers to 80 families with disabled family members who live in the community around the Centre

Over the next couple of weeks, I will share some of the experiences so that you can get a taste of what life was like in Tonga for us during the week-long outreach.  In this post, I will start with what J experienced.  Actually I will let you just read what he wrote about the time in Tonga and what God was showing him.

While I was in Tonga I experienced the LORD working through me and the others around me, helping me and encouraging through the whole trip.  I felt like I had a real purpose, to serve the LORD.  The only things I gained while I was in Tonga were wisdom, friendship, and faithfulness.  I met some great people who showed love and affection to me.  The girl and her family who we built the house for were a great family, the girl we built the house for was blind, (but you wouldn’t know it) she was at a real disadvantage because of all the rocks and junk where she lived.  So when we built the house for her family, we built a ramp so that she could get into the house without hurting herself.  One of the most rewarding things while we were there was the looks on the family’s faces and their joy when we finished the house.  All in all I think the best thing while we were there was the feeling of serving.  - J -

A young man learning servanthood. :-)  He helped do a little painting on the new house and digging the pit for the sandbox and building the shelves.  And he went with us on all the home visits - he bought little balls and toys for the kids and helped to keep them entertained while the adults visited with the parents and the disabled family members.  Almost every home that we visited had kids so he was pretty busy!  He also played a lot with the director's 5-year-old son - who was only lonely because he is the only kid at the Centre for Disabled People.  Overall, it was a an experience he will never forget!

Make Your Mistake Work For You!

And it came to pass when all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of the Great Sea toward Lebanon--the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite--heard about it, that they gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord. But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy.  And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us."

Joshua 9.1-6

Have you ever made a mistake?  In Joshua 9, we saw that the Jews made a huge mistake in their dealings with the Gibeonites!  Remember, the Gibeonites had tricked the Jews by dressing up in old clothes and sandals and bringing old dry, moldy bread and worn-out wineskins.  They used all this as ‘evidence’ that they came from a far country, and thus the Israelites should make a peace treaty with them because they were not the enemy from the Promised Land.  What a bunch of lies!

And the Israelites fell for this trick because they ‘took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the LORD’ (Josh 9.14)!  And imagine how foolish the Israelites must have felt afterwards, when they found out they had been duped by the Gibeonites into making a monumental error!

Yet, the story doesn’t end here.  Even though they made a mistake, they didn’t allow that mistake to stop them.  Read the last verse of the chapter - ‘And that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, in the place which He would choose, even to this day’ (Josh 9.27).  See what they did!?!  They made their ‘mistakes’ work for them!  The Gibeonites became woodcutters and water-carriers for the Jews!  They learned from their mistakes and turned it into something useful.

Perhaps that speaks to you - you’ve been taken off guard by the enemy.  He has tricked you into making a mistake and now you don’t know what to do.  Or perhaps the mistake was of your own doing - simply bad decision making.  Ask God to use your mistakes for your good.   For ‘we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose’ (Rom 8.28).  Our mistakes are not mistakes in God’s plan – they are opportunities to see God’s sovereignty and power at work!

Alexander Whyte writes – ‘No matter what mistakes we may make, the worst mistake of all is not to try again; for the victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings’.

So don’t make the mistake of not trying again.  That’s what the enemy wants – for you to give up, to walk away in defeat.  Instead, learn from the mistake and put it to work for you!  And continue walking in faith with God!

Our Spiritual Citizenship and Ambassadorship

In Phil 3.20, Paul tells us that we are citizens of Heaven.  And that is a glorious thought to meditate on!  But in 2Cor 5.20 Paul tells us that we are also ambassadors of Christ on earth!  See, not only are we citizens of heaven and foreigners on earth, but we are also ambassadors of Jesus while on earth.  Citizenship in heaven describes who we are and where we’re really from (I can hear some of you slapping your foreheads and exclaiming - 'I knew he was from the heavens, from outer space!').  But ambassadorship describes our duty while living here on earth.  It is what we are called to do while living here.  Look at some of the characteristics of ambassadorship…

Ambassadors must live in a foreign country, even though they are citizens of a home country.  That’s what they are called to do - live in the foreign country. They must also remember that it is a temporary home.  For the Christian, we are called to live on earth although it isn’t really home.  Our true home is heaven, we are in fact citizens of heaven.  But we live temporarily in a foreign land called earth (and yes, it does seem foreign at times!).

Ambassadors represent their homeland and its leader to others.  As Americans, we represent the USA the President.  As Kiwis, you represent NZ and the Prime Minister wherever you live.  And as citizens of heaven and ambassadors of Christ, we are to represent heaven and Jesus to others.

Ambassadors are under the authority of their home government, even though they temporarily live in foreign land.  For instance, a US ambassador must obey the US President - if he says leave, come home, then the ambassador must submit and obey.  Are we as Christians, submitted to our ultimate Authority, the Lord Jesus Christ?

Ambassadors are ultimately under the laws and customs of their home country.  We as citizens of heaven are not under laws and customs of earth - yes, we must respect and abide by them.  But ultimately, we are under the spiritual laws and principles of God’s Word.

Ambassadors should have a true love for and a loyalty to their homeland, its citizens, and what it represents.  In fact, they must defend it and them!  As citizens of heaven and ambassadors of Christ, do we have a true loyalty to heaven, its citizens (our brethren) and it’s Leader - the Lord?  Are we willing to defend heaven - to even die for it?  Are we willing to die for its King of kings and Lord of lords?

So remember, we are citizens of heaven!  But while we live on earth, we are also ambassadors of Jesus Christ! So let's live out our identity and fulfill our duties!

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. -- Colossians 3.1-3 --

 

It Is Finished!

I am sure like most of us, you have unfinished projects laying around the house (especially in the garage or workshop) - projects that you ‘will eventually get around to finishing’.  Maybe it’s that jigsaw puzzle that you will ‘one day’ complete.  Or maybe it’s the dining room chairs or that bedroom door that need to be painted ‘one of these days’.  Or maybe it’s the book you are ‘working on and eventually publish’.  Or perhaps it’s the quilt that you ‘just need to sit down and finish it’.  Whatever the case, most of us have unfinished projects.  But you know what, God doesn’t have any projects that He ‘will one day finish’ or ‘one day get around to’.  No!  What God starts, He finishes!  Always.  Every time.

Paul writes in Phil 1.6 - ‘being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ’.  Let’s break that verse into 4 parts, but slightly out of order.

The Meaning of the Work - First, we see that there is ‘a good work in you’.  What is this good work Paul is talking about?  I believe we can all agree that this verse can be applied to our walk of faith and thus the work is the gift of salvation - that we are saved from hell, saved unto God; that we are forgiven of all our sins and have eternal life.  So how does this work become ‘in you’ as Paul writes?  Simply by faith in the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you know your ABC’s of salvation?   (A)dmit your sins and that you are a sinner.  (B)elieve Jesus died for you.  (C)ome to Him and accept His free gift of salvation.  That simple!  It must be ‘in you’ because God’s work of salvation isn’t superficial.  It is not the external things that we do that saves us.  It is not doing more good than bad, not our Christian parents or upbringing, not our service or tithing, not our religiosity that saves us.  None of those is the good work that Paul is writing about her.  No, it is the work of salvation and it starts in our hearts (it’s personal) and then moves out into our lives (it’s practical).  And it is a good work - God can only do good!

The Person of the Work - Paul writes ‘He who has begun’.  So who is Paul talking about, who has begun the work?  Pretty obvious that in context, it is God!  Almighty God, Creator of the Universe!  It is He who spoke the world into existence.  It is He who hung the stars and the moon and the sun in the sky.  It is He who set this universe in motion, who spoke and it was.   It is the Almighty, all-powerful God, the Lord of Hosts, Jehovah Sabaoth.

And it is the same God who has begun His work in us!  See, it is not man who initiates the good work of salvation - no, God does!  Yet, man still thinks he can do enough good to earn God’s acceptance or His love or approval.  Maybe some of you have grown up being taught that - ‘keep these rules and regulations.  Be good, do good and you’ll get to heaven!’  Absolutely not!  The only way to get to heaven is through Jesus Christ (John 14.6) and the only way for God to save anyone is by faith in Jesus Christ.  It is God who began this work, not man.

The Certainty of the Work - next, Paul writes ‘will complete it’.   God WILL complete this work.  That is His Word and it is His promise - He is faithful to complete the work in us.  Paul also writes that he himself was ‘confident’ of this - he’s 100% sure!   Now, there are 2 key implications of this.  First, we won’t lose our salvation because God promises to finish it.  He is working on us now and will complete it in the future one day.  God holds us in His hands and we are secure in Him and in His work.  We as humans might start a project, work for a while, lose interest and eventually stop.  But God never does that w/ us - it is not in His character to leave any work unfinished. We have security knowing that what He started in us, He WILL complete.

Secondly, it is God who finishes the good work in us, not us.  It is not God starting the work, then sitting back and allowing us to take over and finish it for Him while He has a cup of coffee!  No, God not only begins the good work, He finishes it.  In fact, Jesus, God the Son cried out while on the Cross - ‘it is finished’!  Feel the burden being lifted off your shoulders?  God completes the work He began in us!  Not us.  (To balance this, we must also remember that SANCTIFICATION does depend on our obedience in living out the Word of God.  Paul writes in Phil 2.12-13 that we are to ‘work out our own salvation….for it is God who works in you both to will and to do…’.  We do have a part in our sanctification!)

The Timing of the Work - so when does all this take place?  It starts the day we accepted Jesus into our lives as Savior and Lord and it continues ‘until the day of Jesus Christ’.   It is complete when we stand before God in heaven!  Either when Jesus returns for us and takes us up to heaven.  Or if we die before Jesus returns, we go immediately into the presence of God in heaven!  Either way, it is the day we meet Jesus again!  So come quickly Lord Jesus!

In closing, imagine with me a master potter taking a lump of clay.  It’s basically just dirt and water, right?  Just mud..  He puts it on the potter’s wheel and starts it spinning.  Then he works that lump, up and down, in and out - pulling, molding, shaping the lump.  Until it begins to take shape and becomes the vase or pot he imagined in his mind.  But he’s not finished.  If he stops then, the lump would deform again, fall in on itself and be ruined.  He must let it dry and then fire, bake it.  Perhaps paint it.  And then finally glazes it and bakes or fires it again.  And then - finished!  A masterpiece.

That is what God the Master Potter is doing with each of us and He won’t stop until we’re formed, baked, glazed and finished!  A masterpiece!  Amen!

Sowing and Reaping

Over the last few days, I have been studying this biblical concept of sowing and reaping, and have been very challenged (and scared - see last point below) by what I have learned about this principle.  I have never really stopped to think about all the different aspects of this principle, but am glad I did!  As I said before, it's a very challenging principle to live out daily!  Anyways, below are some highlights I have gathered during the study...

You reap WHAT you sow.  Apple seeds produce apples (not oranges).  Corn seeds produce corn (not kiwi-fruits).  Tomato seeds produce what?  Tomatoes, obviously!  At the creation of the world, God said let the grass, herb and tree reproduce ‘according to its kind’ (Gen 1.11).  And so it has been ever since (sorry evolutionists, that's just the way it is)!

So if a person sows evil constantly, then eventually he/she will reap evil back, in the form of consequences, even direct judgment.  Yet, so many people (even Christians) sow in one field but want to reap in another!  They want to sow in the field of worldliness and sin, but they want to reap from the field of righteousness!

Take for example Princess Di and Mother Teresa - remember back in 1997, both ladies passed away in the same week in August?  Remember all the media Lady Di got - front page on every newspaper and magazine for weeks!  And Mother Teresa got perhaps a couple paragraphs in a few newspapers.  The first lady lived a life of often sowing to the flesh and the world.  (Yes, she did a lot for charities, but her personal life was pretty worldly, with her marital affair and divorce).  The second lady lived her life for others, sacrificing all.  She truly sowed love and compassion. 

And see, most people want to live like Princess Di in luxury and style, but die like Mother Teresa in sacrificial giving!  They want to sow to the world and the flesh but reap the blessings of sacrifice, compassion and love.  It don't work that way - your reap what you sow!  The Bible says ‘For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life’ (Gal 6.6-10).

You reap AFTER you sow.  Harvest comes after the plowing and sowing.  You never reap before you sow, do you?!   No, you must plow the field, sow next and then you will reap in time, when the harvest is ready.  Not right away.

The Bible states ‘And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in DUE SEASON we shall reap if we do not lose heart’ (Gal 6.9 - my emphasis). There is an appointed time for harvest.  So when a person sows evil now, they might not reap judgment immediately because God is longsuffering and is waiting for people to repent.  But there is a future time when they will reap what they sow!

Yet, people mistake God’s longsuffering for acceptance.  They think that if God hasn’t done anything yet, then it must be ok; He must accept it!  No, nothing happens immediately because God is longsuffering and patient.  But in due season, when sin is ripe, God will judge and people will reap.

You reap MORE than you sow.  When you plant one apple or corn seed, do you simply reap one apple or one corn cob?  No, normally you reap more!  Likewise, when we sow evilness, in time, we will reap - and more!  The judgment and consequences can often be more than what was sown!

You might say - unfair!  But God is just; He will mete out discipline justly.  Think of it this way - if you sow tiny evils over a lifetime, it adds up.  So don’t be surprised when judgment comes, that it is intense.  It might seem like more than the sin, but actually, sin has been adding up for years.  This is what is implied when Hosea declares ‘They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind’ (Hosea 8.7).  For years Israel sowed sin and evil and soon they will reap the consequences of those years!  They sowed the wind, but soon will reap the whirlwind!

What are we sowing in our lives, marriages and families?  Are we sowing to the flesh or the Spirit?  This principle applies in the positive also - we can sow good things and reap blessings!  Maybe not immediately, but we will reap one day.  And more than we have sown!

So let us sow to the Spirit, let us sow goodness, kindness and compassion.  Let us sow truth, mercy and life!  Let us sow into the lives of our spouses, children, co-workers, neighbors, friends and acquaintances.  Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap the fruit of our faithful labors!

Phamily's Residents' Visas

Well, to update you all on the whole visa application process - we have been officially invited to apply for our residents' visas (got the invite while we were in the USA).  So we have been in the process of gathering all the documentation - medical exams, blood tests (so sick of blood tests and needles!), x-rays, police reports, employment history, finance, bank statements, birth certificates, high school and university diplomas and transcripts, etc. Lots of paperwork and things to do!

We even have to prove that we have been married AND living together for at least the last 2 years or so.  They want photographs of the two of us together at various functions, events, in public, etc.  Also bank statements showing we have a joint banking account and any other proof of our 'commitment' to each other over the length of our marriage.

So that's where you can help us - if you by any chance have any photos of the two of us (Becky and me) together, could you email it to me?  And can you tell me where (occasion, event, location) and when (month and year).  And also pray that we can get all the paperwork turned in on time - we have until the beginning of Sept to get things turned in, but we would like to turn it in early, perhaps in mid-August.  Thanks for your help!

Rainy Day Fun...

It was a stormy, wet and rainy Sunday afternoon here in Welly, but at our house it was nice and warm from all the body heat!  After service, we had the church over to our house for potluck - an awesome afternoon of 'phood, phun and phellowship' at the Phamily's!  ;-)   And it was amazingly peaceful, even with 15 kids cooped up in the house.  Thanks to everyone for all the food - there was sooooo much that I think we will be eating it for the next 2 weeks!  Here are a few photos...

Are You Soaring, Running or Walking?

For all those who wanted the mp3 of the teaching that I did at our home church (CC Murrieta) while we were in the USA, here it is.  It was recorded during the 2nd service - and i think it was also live on the radio in SoCal on that day.  For those in Europe, this is a longer, more in-depth version of what I shared at CC Freiburg. Hope you enjoy it - it spoke to me!

David Pham - Isa 40.31 - 10.June.2012

 

Runner's World - The Human Race...

As I mentioned a couple months ago, Runner's World magazine (Australia and New Zealand edition) had written me an email about including me and the kidney donation in their June issue.  The section of the magazine is called 'The Human Race - What It Takes To...' and features just normal average every day runners (not professionals or Olympic class runners!!) and their unique stories.  It's a great encouragement to read these stories of people like you and me and how running has played an unique part in their lives.  In any case, here's my story of the kidney donation, from their perspective.  Below is the cover of the mag and the article itself - just a couple short paragraphs, but hey, it's in RUNNER'S WORLD!  ;-)

PS - click on the fotos to enlarge and read....

[caption id="attachment_1718" align="aligncenter" width="614"] here is the article / blurb about the kidney donation...[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1717" align="aligncenter" width="424"] and here is the cover of the June issue.[/caption]

Star Wars and Weird Al?

Here's one for all you Star Wars and Weird Al fans - especially those with the last name of Pham!  Love it!  I think I'm gonna have to try this hairdo?  What do ya think?  ;-)

PS - for those of you too young to remember, this is the a parody of Don McLean's American Pie song from 1971.

 

Challenge Weekly Interview

For those of you who follow us on this blog and not on Facebook, here is the article that I mentioned last month (in case you are reading this on FB, don't be confused - posts from our www.phamilynews.net blog automatically appear on FB also).

A Christian newspaper here in New Zealand interviewed me about the whole kidney donation process and how it all worked out.  It is similar to the article that came out in the Dom Post last month (click here).  But obviously, being a Christian newspaper, the Challenge Weekly article had more of a Christian perspective.

But in any case, here's the article (click here).  Enjoy!  And yes, that IS Jello that I am eating in the photo from the article - one of my favorite foods!  Yum!

PS - here is a photo of the recipient and his wife and me that didn't make it into the Challenge Weekly article.  Maybe they were afraid my mug might break the printing press?  ;-)



 

Spaghetti Trees?

I know I'm a little late with April Fools but I am teaching on deception this week and found this video from 1957.  It is pretty funny and very well done for its time - check it out.  I think this was the first time that TV was used to propagate an Aprils Fool joke.  Gotta love the BBC - they have such a subtle and classy sense of humor!

 

Runner's World - All Those KM's Paid Off...

I just got an email from Runner's World magazine (the Australia and New Zealand edition) saying that they would like to include my story of kidney donation in their next issue.  It will be just a short blurb, a paragraph or two describing the kidney donation and how running was a big part of that for me.  It will be featured in their 'HumanRace: What It Takes To...' column which "is dedicated entirely to you, regular runners doing inspiring things.  It's a platform where we will share your stories to help inspire other runners" (quoted from the March edition of Runner's World - Australia & NZ edition).  It will come out in the June issue - only in the Australia and New Zealand version as far as I know (other regions of the world will have their own version of Runner's World and their own editorial team).

Cool, huh?  I guess running all those kilometres in the last year and a half paid off!  NOT!  I'll have to get a copy of the mag when it comes out and post the article here.  I subscribe to the mag as a digital version, but only get the USA version for that.

 

9th Freiburger Marathon & Half Marathon

Man, I should have planned my trip to Germany better - I could have run this race! It looks like so much fun - 10,000 people took part in it and it ran right by the church where I used to pastor! Next year maybe...

Here's the official video from their website...

Afternoon Tea With His Excellency

As you know, this past Tuesday, we were invited to Government House to have afternoon tea with the Governor General - Lieutenant General, The Right Honorable Sir Jerry Mataparae.  The tea was in honor of those who had donated a kidney in the last 5 years or so - there were 25 of us donors there that afternoon, some coming from as far as 2 hours drive from Welly.  All the live donors were personally thanked by the Governor General and presented with a certificate - pretty formal stuff.  Coming from America, we're not used to the ceremony and pomp and all that!  But we had a great time - after we relaxed and weren't so panicked at meeting the Queen of New Zealand's Representative - and a knight at that!

In fact, His Excellency has a great sense of humor, but I was so nervous that I didn't quite catch on at first.  We were chatting during the tea and I can't remember how we got on this topic but His Excellency commented that he knew we were Americans by our shoes.  Both Becks and I quickly glanced down at our shoes in horror, thinking that perhaps we had our jandals/sandals on, before realizing that His Excellency was joking.  Whew!  I think I was too busy trying to think of something witty and insightful to say that his comment caught me off guard!

After the tea, we were allowed to walk around the Government House and have a look at the rooms and artifacts (this would be akin to walking around the White House, but without all the security and Secret Service glaring at you behind their sunnies!).  That was fun!  We got to see the Throne Room - where His and Her Excellencies have their 'thrones'.  Well, actually it's called the Ballroom officially, but I like to call it the Throne Room!  ;-)  And I really wanted to sit on one of the thrones and have a photo taken, but alas, we had to make do with a photo of us in front of the thrones.  Anyways, here are a few more photos of the event...

 

[caption id="attachment_1652" align="aligncenter" width="462" caption="Governor General presenting certificate"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1654" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="The Live Kidney Donors, the Governor General (front center) and Drs."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1656" align="aligncenter" width="522" caption="Governor General, Missus and Me, Head of the Renal Services (dr. in chage of my case)"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1657" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Becks next to photo of Queen Elizabeth II, about as close as we're ever going to get to royalty!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1658" align="aligncenter" width="461" caption="In front of the 'Thrones' - I wanted a photo of me sitting in one so badly!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1661" align="aligncenter" width="502" caption="Norrie State Dining Room - where visiting Heads of State dine"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1664" align="aligncenter" width="645" caption="Government House from outside"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1663" align="aligncenter" width="645" caption="Bird's Eye view of Government House"][/caption]

En Garde!

Jesaiah had his first fencing competition today and actually did very well.  Especially having only started fencing lessons about a month ago.  He came in 4th in his age bracket, just one place out of earning a medal.  But he did get a medal for the top beginner!  Cool!

But boy was he exhausted - the competition lasted over 5 hours!  Obviously, he wasn't fencing the whole time, but still, it's almost a whole day of fencing!  Anyways, here are a few photos.  Enjoy...