Do a YouTube search for “Social Media 2012″ and you will be amazed with the statistics, numbers and facts surrounding the social networking phenomena. Social Networking is now the single largest “use” on the internet (overtaking pornography) which proves that human beings long for engaging relationships more than private pleasures.

I don’t think the internet or social networking sites created a relationship hungry society; rather, I think they exposed the truth of this most basic human need. Until the tracking prowess of web-based utilities measured how people intentionally connect with each other, we probably didn’t realize that this was a fundamental need of all people from every culture and nation.

I think life is the model for social networking sites. If you think about your life, you have all kinds of groups of  relationships; with friends, associates and acquaintances, colleagues, family and even strangers (authority figures for example). At different times we have a different emphasis on which relationships capture our attention, sometimes its social other times professional, but it is always something.

All the relationships in your life affect one another; they impact what you believe about yourself and the world around you, which impacts how you respond to all the other relationships in your life.  In that same way, you impact the world around you; affecting the beliefs, attitudes and actions of the people around you.  the question is what message are you sending out?

What Really Matters?

At the end of our lives when we are laid to rest, the stone at the head of our grave gives brief summary to the entirety of our days on this earth.

Serious, comical, poetic or simple styles all reflect one and only one element of life.

Regardless of our success, accomplishments and notable achievements, the only thing that seems to matter enough to be engraved in epitaph are the relationships of our life.

Loving Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Son, Daughter, Wife or Husband and Compassionate Friend are the kind of words most often inscribed. The final twitter post of our life seldom includes anything more than a simple summary of the relationships we had.

It seems clear that our relationships define us, so the question arises, are we putting the emphasis on them that they deserve?

How do you choose to relate?

I remember when I was in the Boy-Scouts, we were taught a simple principal when we went into the wilderness for camping expeditions. “Leave it better than you found it”, meaning if someone else had left some trash behind, clean it up though it’s not yours, respecting nature and the people who may come afterward. I think that is a great principle for relationships. Taking the time to clean someone else’s garbage and help the people we relate with in life become better and better, not just so you can enjoy their company, but so others can too.

There are a few skills we need to be able to do that, one is letting someone else help you get better at life, another, and probably the most important, is learning about life, it’s purpose and design, when we understand that, we can guide people towards it, and we are less likely to resist those guiding us.

I believe the Bible offers more than clues and hints to this stuff.. Why not read some if it today?

 

Could you imagine if every driver in Chennai followed the Road Rules

A friend of mine was visiting Chennai for the first time, as we drove through the city he was amazed at the careless aggression of all vehicles. Cars, Bikes, Auto’s, Lorries, Bus’ and even pedestrians use the road as though they are the only ones who need to get any where. My friend said ” I think I know why this Kolaveri Di”

Could you imagine if every driver in Chennai followed the road rules. I am convinced that if we all followed speed limits (minimum and maximum), as well as lane discipline and obeyed the traffic signals (red means stop, green means go), traffic would flow smoothly and we would all get where we wanted to go faster and with less frustration.

All of us drivers know the rules of the road, we expect others to follow them but we often make exceptions for ourselves; “I know its a one way, but I just need to go a little way to connect to my street”. The problem arises when everyone allows themselves these same exceptions and if you can do it, why not everyone else too.

For the most part, rules are established to create order. Laws and systems are not so much to take away freedom, but rather to offer a better freedom for everyone.

Galatians 5 offers this opinion.
It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom.

If you bite and ravage each other, watch out – in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then? My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day.

Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence? It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom. But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard – things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

 

Tribute Event on Saturday and Pastor Rob from Canada on Sunday

tribute press release

Surrendering Your Rationed Life

During the height of WWII the Japanese had taken control of the Philippine Islands. On December 26^th 1944  a young specially trained Soldier was dispatched to one of these islands called Lubang. His Orders were laid out to him by his commanding officer: conduct Guerrilla Warfare activities and gather intelligence information. The last instructions he received were these words.

You are absolutely forbidden to die by your own hand. It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens, we’ll come back for you. Until then, so long as you have one soldier, you are to continue to lead him. You may have to live on coconuts. If that’s the case, live on coconuts! Under no circumstances are you [to] give up your life voluntarily.

And that’s how the soldier Hiroo Onoda lived. In the jungles of this island he led a small team in sabotage type efforts… mostly burning crops and engaging in small skirmishes with local farmers.

They struggled to stay alive…. They rationed their rice; they ate bananas and coconuts and sometimes cows they would steal from the local farmers. In October 1945 Hiroo finds the first of many leaflets… news that the war had ended and urging him and his comrades to peaceably surrender.

The end of a war is great news to most people, But Hiroo could not believe Japan had surrendered, he refused to believe this leaflet, dismissing it as propaganda, and he refused to believe the hundreds more leaflets he had found, and the public broadcasts over loud speakers, even when they were the familiar voices of family and friends calling for his surrender, hoping their brother, son, friend would come home to them.

After 13 years, Hiroo Onoda was pronounced dead by the Japanese government, but  he remained alive and well and his battle waged on in the Philippines. Over the next 14 years, his battalion of four men began to shrink as encounters with angry farmers and police took the lives of 2 of his fellows and the third had slipped away into the night, choosing to end his part in this war leaving Hiroo Onoda as the last Japanese Soldier fighting a war that had ended 27 years earlier.

Then in 1974 a Japanese Student named Norio Suzuki set off on an adventure of mythical proportions… He was going to find the legendary Hiroo Onoda, a Panda, and the Abominable Snowman… in that order…

Somehow, he actually found the Soldier Hiroo Onoda and they became fast friends… Hiro said he would surrender only on the orders of his commanding officer…

So the long retired commander was flown to meet with Onoda and told him that the war had indeed been over for almost 30 years. Onida laid his weapons down and wept… having given most of his life for mission that was over and worthless.

Suddenly everything went black. A storm raged inside me. I felt like a fool for having been so tense and cautious on the way here. Worse than that, what had I been doing for all these years?

Meanwhile the surrendered nation of Japan had begun to enter into its new life, as a nation of prosperity and powerful global influence.

A funny, odd, sad story… but strangely familiar.

Like Hiroo:  We have been trained to: Believe a certain way, Act a certain way, Respond a certain way.
Weather you come from a Christian home or some other belief system, and even if you don’t really believe any of it for yourself, the beliefs and ways you have been taught and exposed to have become embedded into you and are now your default settings.

• Our approach to life is determined by these things.
• Our belief about God is determined by these things.
• Our beliefs about ourselves, our purpose and worth are determined by these things.
• Our beliefs about others are determined by these things.

The question is: Were you trained in the right way?
It was these types of beliefs that caused Hiroo to disbelieve all the evidences he encountered that the war was over… His belief in what he thought was the Japanese way caused him to refuse to surrender. Wasting 30 years of his life.

Almost everyone seems to default to a belief that God’s Blessing and Favor is somehow a reward for our efforts. We think God is the one who reacts and Responds to us, as though we are the dominant or primary factor. But God is the one we need to surrender to!

Hiroo Onoda found it difficult to surrender his beliefs about his importance to Japan, long after Japan left him for dead. And Like Hiroo: We can find ourselves doomed to a life we don’t belong in. Because we either have not heard or we have refused to believe that God’s way of surrender is true, and really is an entry into a new and true kind of life.

Many people are caught like Hiroo Onoda, Dutifully trapped by the orders of an imagined regime; Isolated from people; Living a rationed life; Unable to let go of their tradition, their way, their belief system, they hold on to the hope that what they have invested their heart, mind and soul into must be true.

1 Corinthians 1:18 I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God.

This week I challenge you to tell someone the story of Hiroo Onoda, not just the factual story, but how you were trapped in some way of beleif and how you fought to surrender, but when you did you found freedom … Who knows you might be their Norio Suzuki..

 

When Your Faith Hits a Wall – the Power of Fasting and Prayer

In 2 Kings chapter 5 we read the Story of Naaman, a powerful and revered general of the Aramean army. He has fame, fortune, power, favor with his king and with the people, he also has leprosy.

When he hears about an opportunity that might change his life and heal him from the disease that torments him, he jumps at the opportunity.

He makes his way to the prophet Elisha, who dosen’t even bother to come and meet him, let alone acknowledge Naaman’s position and power. Instead, the prophet sends a message telling him to go bathe 7 times in a very dirty river.

Naaman is furious, why not a different way…. why this way… why… why… why.

You and me are not so different from Naaman… we too have a prophet voice directing us, challenging us and calling us to act. The Bible is God’s Words that tell us God’s ways for life, success, health, prosperity, relationships, business and everything else.

Most of God’s ways require us to humble ourselves… forgive… give… turn the other cheek… pray for those who trouble you… etc. … Most often we settle into to this and adopt a lifestyle that to us is an acceptable resemblance of these ways. we forgive most people eventually, and we give a “fair” amount, and we turn the other cheek unless it’s an issue of justice or some other equally acceptable reason (bad day, enough is enough, etc).

But God being God has plans for us and thoughts about us that require increasing levels of obedience and we often find ourselves with very tangible experiences that shake our faith to the core.  In Mark chapter 9 The disciples found themselves faced with such an experience. After enjoying power over sickness, disease and demonic opposition, after they had settled into a way that was working for them, they were faced with a demon that they couldn’t cast out. No matter how they tried they were powerless… eventually Jesus himself handles the situation and the disciples, flabbergasted that what used to work for them now didn’t, ask Jesus about the whole thing…

Mark 9:26  28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

What kind is this… Scripture does not clarify a specific or definitive ”kind” of opposition represented here, but suffice it to say that that “kind” is the type of opposition you just cant seem to overcome. Be it bitterness, jealousy, forgiveness, pride, addictions, sickness, financial trouble, relational crisis, or whatever circumstance shakes your faith and causes your to question God about “what is going on here?”

This is the type of circumstance where “Fasting” is prescribed… There is no real Biblical “norm” for fasting either. There are single day fasts, partial day fasts, multi day fasts, fasts from food alone, fasts food and water, fasts from certain foods and fasts from certain behaviors, there were emergency fasts, public fasts, routine fasts, involuntary fasts ceremonial fasts and all kinds of fasts.

Matthew 6:16 presumes that we will fast.
“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, who try to look pale and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I assure you, that is the only reward they will ever get.17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.18 Then no one will suspect you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in secret. And your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

I’s like to draw your attention the the promise at the end verse 18… “reward”

A reward is usually an unknown benefit bestowed on someone for an act of heroism, or action “over and above” common duty.

The Reward of fasting can be help with decisions (Acts 13:2 and 14:23), Power to overcome temptation (Luke 4), and as mentioned above the power to move in greater faith (Mark 9:26-29)

So why wouldn’t we fast? Does it seem to hard or to simple or to strange to us?

When Naaman struggled with the prophetic direction to go bathe in the dirty river, he almost didn’t do it… his people urged him to obey

“Sir, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply to go and wash and be cured!”  2 Kings 5:13

Naaman did follow the simple instructions… His reward was a complete healing and a changed perspective on everything.

What about you?

Connecting with God by Fine-Tuning Your Beliefs And Thoughts

We Know that God Hears, God Answers, God knows what is going on…. He does not forget, he does not make mistakes and he does not neglect us… so why do we struggle for answers, or desperately look for signs that our prayers have been heard?

Remember that God is perfect in every way, so any communication breakdown or error in understanding is not on Him.. it’s probably on us.

Many people approach prayer as like they would a signal fire… a way to get God’s attention. We recite, we quote, we repeat, we follow the beads hoping they will focus God’s attention onto us.

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Matthew 6:7

The fact is we already have God’s attention – we are His children after all. He just can’t stop thinking about us and the life we are meant to live.

Psalm 139:17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

Psalm 40:5 O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.

We know God answers prayers – we have seen it in the lives of others and even experienced in our own lives… yet we often feel separate from Him and Wonder if he is with us…

Remember that God is perfect in every way, so any communication breakdown or error in understanding is not on Him. it’s probably on us.

Eph 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

His power is not in question… it us the “us” part of this equation that requires some attention.

The philosopher Anshelm described God as“That which nothing greater can be thought” -  If you are afraid of some problem or other power that might interfere with Gods plans for you, (curses or witchcraft, etc ) then that problem or other thing is your God. If there is nothing in your heart or mind that can overcome God’s plans – God is your God.

To adjust your thoughts and discover how to tweak the “you” part of the equation to maximize the God’s power at work in your life, I suggest watching the linked video of Pastor Mel Mullen, the founder of  our  Word of Life movement… take some notes.  http://wordoflife.ca/reddeer/?p=2692