CrimsonSnow

Simple Musings

One Correction To Sunday's Sermon.

 

Dear CommonGround InnerCity,

 

I feel that I need to make one correction to my sermon from this last Sunday. I said that based on Galatians 5, Paul argues that there is a war going on inside of us as Christ-followers. 

 

On the one hand there is the human side, the flesh, the sinful-nature which is wanting to pull us down and lead us to sin.

On the other hand, the Spirit of God within us, is calling and causing us to be more Christ-like, calling us to honour Christ and to serve him. And these two sides are at war; there is struggle between the two.


I think that, this is fine and biblical.

  

I then said that we know that one day, the one side (our humanness, flesh and sinful nature side) will fall away and we will united with Christ in heaven and our Spiritual side will reign free and victorious, but until that time, there is a war, a tussle going on and you can feed one side or the other.

 

And the point I was making is that if you feed your humanness and your sinful nature, that part of you will become stronger and more dominant in your life. If on the other hand you ‘feed’ or ‘sow’ to your spiritual side, then that will become stronger and your sinful nature won’t pull you down as easily.  I think that is (in very simply terms) Paul’s argument in Galatians 5.

 

However I think my previous statement about ‘one day the one side will fall away and only our spiritual side will remain’ is theologically incorrect. The way I said it sounded very much like the teaching of Gnosticism which teaches that the material world is bad, evil and defiled and that the spiritual or immaterial world is good, and therefore we look forward to the day when this material world is done away with and we are all spiritual and immaterial.

 

But that’s not the teaching of the bible. The bible teaches that all creation (including our human bodies and flesh) is good, because God made it, but that all creation is under the curse of Adam and Eve sinning, which is why there is pain, there is frustration, there is sin and evil in the world. Not because the material world is evil – the world is good but sin has entered the world. And that one day Christ will return, but when He does, he is not returning to take us away from this evil material world so that he can wipe out creation and leaving us to float around in a spiritual world called heaven. That is the Gnostic teaching. Rather the bible teaches that Christ will restore creation to its proper place, and we will spend all eternity on a new material earth. That’s what Revelation 21-22 clearly teaches, and as Christ followers we will have material bodies, but they will be made new, without blemish, without decay, without the affects of a fallen and sinful world.


What I said, made it sound like our bodies and this world is sinful and to be despised and that all that is spiritual is good and holy and one day we’ll leave this damned material world and go to the next which is all spiritual and holy. But that is more Gnosticism that Christianity. (If you want to read more about this, the first couple of chapters of NT Wright’s book ‘Surprised By Hope’ are very helpful).

So I repent and ask that you don’t think Gnostically about the world, but rather that we think Christianly and look forward to when Christ returns and we live with him in the new earth under the new heavens, with Christ as our king, and we his creation joyfully at work in his renewed and restored creation, doing everything we do to the glory of God.

 

For the fame of His name…

 

Kevin

 

Posted May 10, 2012

I dig this

I dig this.

 

The background image is courtesy of Drew Murphy (@murphydrew). 

The image is 2 photos of Cape Town's inner-city merged together with one photo of Devil's Peak, to create a great image. 

 

Super cool. 

 

 

Psalm_121

My Bible Reading Plan for 2012.

New Year is a brilliant time of the year. Each and every new year is a new opportunity to wipe the slate clean, to set new goals and to dream new dreams, to take stock of what has passed and to set your trajectory for what lies ahead. 

 

One of my great joys is to work out what my bible-reading plan is going to look like for the next year; what parts of the bible I'm going to focus on and how I'm going to go about getting God's word into me.  

 

Over the last few years, I've stumbled across two approaches to bible-reading which have really helped me, and which I've chosen to pursue; for the mean time anyway.

 

Firstly there's NewThu30. First developed by Evelation Church in Charlotte, NC, NewThru30 a bible reading plan in which you read the New Testament in 30 days. It works out to be about 15 chapters a day, but the great part of it is that there are breaks or 'grace days' built into the reading plan so even if you fall behind, you get the chance to catch up again. Some of us took the NewThru30, and expanded it into NewThru90: reading the New Testament in 90 days. Reading 15 chapters a day, means that you don’t get to wrestle with each and every verse, but you do get to drench yourself in the Scriptures. Each January for the last two years, I've started the year with NewThru30, to start off the year 'soaking' myself in the New Testament, which has been a great way to start the year.

 

Secondly, there's camping in one book of the bible for a prolonged period of time. Two years ago, I spent 6 weeks studying the book of Galatians and then 8 months on the book of Isaiah. Last year I spent 6 weeks on the book of Philippians. Each time I've used the BST (Bible Speaks Today) commentary series to help me in my devotional studies of these books and so I've decided that this year I want to do that again. This year I'm going to focus on Jeremiah and Matthew’s gospel for my prolonged bible-study times. Jeremiah, because I don’t really know enough about the book of Jeremiah, and Matthew because its full of so much difficult theology to grapple with.

 

That being said: here is my proposed bible reading plan for 2012.

 

January:                                      NewThru30

February - April:                         Jeremiah

May:               1 & 2 Samual

June:                                           2x Minor Prophet Books

July - September:                       NewThru90

October - December:                 Matthew

 

Here's to 2012 and God speaking to me, shaping me, challenging me and sanctifying me through his word...

 

 

Falsely Accused? How does the gospel respond?

This week I was falsely accused of being false and hypocritical: how does the gospel respond to these accusations?

 

Earlier this week, I fell for a “phishing scam”. Someone sent me a Twitter message with a link to view a so-called old photo he found of me. Being friends, I clicked on it to view the picture and in doing so, I gave access to a scammer, to my twitter account. They then sent a similar message from my account to all my followers, saying that I had a hilarious old photo of them that I wanted to share with them and the world – which of course wasn’t the case.

A number of people picked up straight away that it was a scam and informed me. One lady however, whom I hardly know, wrote me an email with the following:

 

Hi Kevin

You have sent me a twitter response from a photo you have found of me,  I take great offence of what you have said on your twitter post to me.

You profess yourself to be the greatest follow of god, I don't think so, after what you have posted on the twitter wall, you are a false person.... 

 

How do you handle this? Humbly apologise? Scoff at her embarrassment for misunderstanding you? Put your foot down and respond with equally hostility?

I first responded with an apology that she was sent a message which caused offense from my account. I then explained the situation, the phishing scam, and I ended that section with “please accept my apology”.

But I didn’t end there:

 

One other thing I feel like I need to clear up.

You mentioned that I'm false person because you perceived that what I had done was unkind and wrong, and that I claim to follow Christ. 

The truth is that I'm far worse than you imagine me to be: Fortunately or unfortunately, you don't know me very well, but if you did, you would find out that I'm arrogant and unkind, I'm selfish and opinionated, I generally look after myself, I'm insecure and I have lots of issues and I'm not the nicest person in Cape Town; but that is exactly why I follow Christ - because I am one of the greatest 'sinners' there is and I am in need of a great Savior.

That is exactly why I love the gospel - because God isn't for those who have got it all together and are perfect; God is for those, like me, who are broken, sinful, messed up, and have issues and insecurities. That’s exactly why I believe Christ offered up his life - for broken, messed up people like me.

So I'm sorry if I've created the wrong impression - where you think that because I'm a Christian I must have it all together. That unfortunately is very far from the truth. But my hope is that one day, maybe many years from now, I will be one or two degrees 'nicer' and more 'true' than I am today.

So from one broken sinner... I once again apologize.

Kevin Murphy 

 

My response came out of a conviction that I have around my own sinfulness. I wasn’t trying to play clever or use reverse psychology. This is honestly what I believe. Jesus said it like this: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2v17)

And that’s me. Unwell! Spiritually, emotionally, relationally. I’m sick and I need Christ’s grace all over my life.

 

 

 

 

When you’re disheartened or discouraged, you want these three weapons in your arsenal.

15 May 2011

 

Ever had one of those weeks, or maybe it’s been more than a week, when you feel low, dejected, discouraged or disheartened? Its been one of those this week. Its been a week filled with unnecessary relational frustrations, with key allies in my vocational work falling away, and key leaders in my team suggesting that they’re feeling that they’re not in the right place and its time to move on. At the moment, I feel lonely, and a little dejected. Its not that I don’t to ever expect to encounter difficulties of struggles, and I’m not wanting to give up the fight, but when it involves close friends, your ‘brothers’, you somehow feel it a little more.

On Saturday morning, my wife and I were driving along Cape Town’s coastal road past Camps Bay towards Llandudno. Its surely one of the most beautiful roads in the world, to drive along. Claire turned to me and said, “I feel like we just need someone to pray for us”. It raised the question in my mind, ‘what do you do when you feel like this?’ After chatting for a while, I turned to Claire and said, “In times like this, I’m grateful for two things”. These are the two weapons in my arsenal I turn to and I’ve added a third.

In times of war, you hope and expect that you’re always on the offensive, but sometimes the enemy gets a few good shots at you; and you need to know which weapons to use and how to use them in such circumstances.

These are my three weapons I’m pulling out at this stage in the fight.

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1)   My love for the Scriptures

There are few things in life I enjoy doing more than opening up my bible and soaking myself in the words of Scripture. The Scriptures really are life to my soul. They feed me, they energise me. They tell me of the glorious Creator of the universe. They remind me of the mercies that I’ve received and of the abundance of God’s steadfast and unrelenting love; they tell me that though I walk down dark alleys and though I find myself in situations I wouldn’t choose, that Christ is there with me, to comfort me and be my strength. The Word tells me innumerable truths about life and God and myself. It tells me that I’m in a battle but that this battle will be short-lived and then my God will lead me triumphantly and victoriously and we will dwell in perfect harmony for all eternity. It tells me that God loved me and choose me and named me and called me before the world began and he has a perfect plan for my life and is directing all my steps. It tells me how to love my wife like Christ loves me, how to reach out to the poor like Christ reached out to me, how to pour myself out for the sake of others, like Christ poured himself out for my sake. It tells me of the glory of God and the wonder of knowing him, the prize at the end of life and how worthwhile it is to reject worthless idols and pursue Christ.

When life is hard, I know where to turn; I know where to find food and nourishment for my soul – in the Words of Life.

2)   My love for the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God

Of all the rich treasures that the Bible teaches, one that I’ve grown to particularly love is the doctrine of the Sovereignty and the Lordship of God. To know that there is a God in heaven, and that every single minute detail of life is known to Him, and allowed to happen by Him, that truth is comforting beyond words. I believe that there is not a single detail of life, good or bad which is beyond his control. He is absolutely sovereign over everything. He knows everything, He controls everything, and He is not intimidated. What’s even more comforting, is that this sovereign majestic God of the universe is benevolent, loving, merciful and compassionate beyond measure. Its is one thing to know that God is in control; it is another to know that this God is loving and kind towards you, rather than an egotistical dictator. No matter how fierce the storm I’m facing seems, no matter how dark this road appears, no matter how lonely I feel right now; God knows about it and is in control. It is not beyond Him, he is not perplexed or confused or trying to work it out. He is not saying ‘I wish I could help but my hands are tied’. As one writer put it; there is not a square inch in the entire cosmos over which God does not say “It is mine!”.

3)   My belief in Romans 8

31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

It is particularly verse 34 that I want to focus on. Jesus Christ, Creator God, Sovereign Lord of all is alive and well and He is in heaven, sitting at the right hand side of God the Father and is praying for me. Jesus died, but that is not the end of the story. He also rose again! But in addition to that, he is before the Father and he is praying or interceding for us, God’s children while we are still on the earth. He is petitioning the Father, and he is bringing our case before the Father. As Jesus prayed in Gethsemane the night he was betrayed so he prays for us now: “Father, while I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. Holy Father, keep them in your name.” And again “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” And Jesus prays that the Father will “sanctify us in the truth”. Do you know that right now, Jesus is bringing you in prayer before the Father and He is asking the Father to protect you, to care for you, the guard you from being overcome by the evil one. I believe in Jesus, I believe He is alive and is seated next to the King of Glory and He's rooting for us, cheering us on, and bringing us before the Father in constant prayer.

 

So next time you feeling the battle heat, and you've taken a few bullets from the enemy, pull out your weapons and stand firm. However its good to know your weapons before you find yourself in that situation. Until that final day, onward and upward soldier!

 

Posted May 15, 2011

Read the Bible. Two Tools To Help You.

Most Christians know that reading their bible is a good idea. And most attempt it from time to time. However, centuries of Christian history teach us the same thing; that reading, studying, highlighting, searching and praying through one’s bible is more than just a good idea. It is essential to spiritual maturity and spiritual growth; no matter what spiritual-maturity base you come off.

 

In Willow Creek Community Church’s mammoth 2007 survey, in which they surveyed some 5000 people over 3 years, Willow Creek discovered that one of their fundamental assumptions regarding spiritual growth was flawed. Willow Creek describes how for years they had assumed that the more involved someone is in church programs, the more likely they are to grow spiritually. The REVEAL Research Report suggested that, that assumption was flawed.

Bill Hybels, described the research results as the wake-up call of his life. He confesses

"We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own." (Emphasis my own.)

 

This is all old news by now. It was amazing to watch this all unfold in 2007, but its no longer breaking news four years later. But maybe that’s just the point. We have a habit of always wanting the latest news, the latest research findings, the latest leadership technique to grow our churches; but Willow Creek’s research shows that we cannot depart from ancient paths of prayer, bible reading as well as some genuine relationships.

 

In light of this, here are two New Testament reading plans which you’re welcome to use.

The first is called NewThru30, and was designed by the guys at Elevation Church, in Charlotte, NC. The idea is to read the entire New Testament in 30 days; which works out to be around 12–15 chapters a day. What is clever about this little reading plan, and it’s the first time I’ve seen it, is that it is designed with two ‘grace days’ after 5 days of reading. At first, we might be tempted to wave our religious red-flags and shout, ‘you should read the bible every day, not just on week days’ – but lets be honest, how many times have you and those around you, started a bible reading plan, only to fall behind a few days and then never catch up. With two ‘grace days’ built in, it takes that out of it. The chances of finishing this bible reading plan are exponentially in your favour. Twelve to fifteen chapters a day can be intense but its worth it. You won’t get an intensive study of each book of the New Testament but you do get to the end of day 30 feeling full and saturated in the Scriptures. Reading Romans in a day, or Colossians and Hebrews in one day is quite incredible.

 

Myself and two friends did it in January this year, and concluded that each year for the foreseeable future, we’re going to start off the year saturating ourselves in the New Testament by going through NewThru30. If you want to hear other titbits on how much others have enjoyed it, search the hashtag #newthru30 on twitter to see the feedback.


 

While NewThru30 is a great way to drench oneself in the Scriptures, it is quite a mammoth task. That’s where NewThru90 comes in. We’ve taken the exact reading plan, and broken it down so that you get through the New Testament in 90 days. It’s based on the same principle of 5 days reading with 2 ‘grace days’ or ‘catch-up days’, and ends up being around 3 – 4 chapters a day. All credit needs to go to Elevation Church for the inspiration for NewThru90, while the design work was done by Nick Mills of CommonGround Church, Cape Town. So feel free to download either one, and stick it in the back of your bible. You won't regret it.

 

“Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6v16).

The ancient ways aren’t always outdated. Its good to keep asking, keep searching, keep longing for the good way is; even if it’s the ancient way, and to keep walking in it, for there we find rest for our souls.

 

Click here to download:
New_Thru_30.pdf (21 KB)
(download)
Click here to download:
New_through_90_A4.pdf (857 KB)
(download)

 

 

 

Filed under  //   Bible   Tools  
Posted May 9, 2011

Isaiah Comments On The Royal Wedding

Royal Banquets

Today is the 28th of April 2011, which is nothing special in and of itself, except that it is the day before one the biggest Royal ceremonies the world has seen in recent years; at least that part of the world which is vaguely interested in the British Royal family. Tomorrow, Prince William, the 2nd heir to the throne, will marry Kate Middleton, soon to be known as Princess Catherine.For weeks now, the world press and especially the British press have been fixated with what has been dubbed, ‘The Royal Wedding’.

 

Among much of the fanfare, has been all the speculation as to what the Royal Wedding will look like. What will the bride wear? From where will the bride precede? Who has the monarchy invited to the wedding and who has not been invited and who has rejected their invitation? Reports abound, regarding who in the political world will be present; those with whom the British government has ‘normal diplomatic relations’; both present and future allies. No doubt, former prime ministers, first ladies, ambassadors, government officials and other members of the royal family are all in the process of getting their finest attire in order, for the big day. The amount of money spent in preparation for this big day, has been extravagant.

 

As is to be expected, there is always an element of drama involved in such events. Having already received an invitation to the wedding ceremony, Dr Sami Khiyami, the Syrian ambassador to the United Kingdom, had his invitation withdrawn “amid condemnation of a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in the country” said the BBC, which Dr Khiyami described as being a little embarrassing.

 

No doubt, April the 29th will come and go, the media will be all over the event and most of the United Kingdom will celebrate the day, either at home or on the lawns of Westminster Abbey.

 

However, there is another banquet, which has attracted less attention over the years, however, we would do well to pay attention to. The prophet Isaiah, the mouthpiece for Yahweh, wrote about it 700 years before Christ. Listen to the invitation issued by this monarchy:

 

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” (Isaiah 55v1-2)

 

Notice how starkly different the invitation to this banquet is to the one which is going down in the United Kingdom this week? Notice firstly, how it is an open invite. “Come, all you who are thirsty.” The invite is not just to the allies, friends or close associates of monarchy; but all those far and wide are beckoned, invited to attend this banquet. Anyone who is thirsty or hungry, can come to this banquet. There is no special seating plan. The only condition asked for is that you be hungry or thirsty. Come! Delight in the richest of fare.

 

However, what grabs your attention as you first read is not just how wide-spread the invitation is, but how free and welcoming the invitation is. This banquet is not just for the rich and famous, not just for those who are able to afford such a banquet, but quite the opposite in fact; the invite goes out specifically to those who cannot afford to feast, who cannot afford to drink choice wines, or eat banquet buffets. The invite is spread to those far and wide; come and feast, without cost, without money. Your coming to this banquet is not based on whether you can afford it or not.

 

Lastly, this invitation admits that there are other things that vie for our attention and pull on our hearts; things which are costly and extravagant, that which demands our treasures. Many things demand our time and our attention; but as the writer of this invite has pointed out, they do not satisfy forever. Much like the canapés at a wedding reception; they taste good, but don’t satisfy our hunger. Rather come to this banquet, to this ceremony and feast on the richest of fare, come to this banquet and drink deeply, for not only is this feast for those who cannot afford it, but it truly satisfies. Deep, long lasting satisfaction.

 

What a remarkable invitation this is.

 

But there is one element to this banquet which we don’t see straight away. The truth is that, all banquets are costly. No one puts on a banquet without their being some cost involved. Either the guests pay their way, or the host does. This invitation, which Isaiah overhears in the throne-room of heaven, is issued by Yahweh, the maker of heaven and earth. And He paid the price, He covered the bill, He beckons and welcomes all those who cannot come to this banqueting table on their own terms, and he covers their bill. Jesus Christ died, he shed his blood to cover the required price for restitution to take place. But then He rose again. And just as the stone on the tomb was rolled away, so too were the doors to the grand banqueting hall of heaven thrown open; to welcome all those who recognise that they thirst and hunger for that which truly satisfies. Christ paid the price, and Christ welcomes us in; to come and delight our souls at his banqueting table.

Filed under  //   Isaiah   Royal Weddings