Take a few minutes to reflect on the truth in this simple cartoon – I think it is very deep and profound!

Taken from nakedpastor

How much can we actually know about God and His creation?

I suppose the answer to this question depends on the perspective from which you consider it.

As for me, I like Donald Miller’s take on the question in a recent post on his blog:

When we begin believing there are simple explanations for the happenings of the universe, we are in dangerous territory. Physics is not simple. The complex nature and enormity of the universe is not simple, the ecosystem is not simple and so forth. So when I hear a theologian or philosopher talk about how simple reality is, I know He’s not talking about anything God made. When you analyze God’s art, it is not simple, it is extremely complex. In fact, the more we know about our reality, the more we understand it’s infinite intricacy.

We like simple explanations of reality because we like control. We want to stuff the complexity of the world into our little minds because if we can hold it all in our minds, there is no mystery. But God did not give us control over the complexity of the cosmos. He gave us limited control over ourselves, and those whom it is appropriate we care for, children and so forth. We get to choose where we pee, for instance. And to some degree we get to choose where our children pee. What we don’t get to control is who goes to heaven and who doesn’t.

In my twenties, I thought I understood God. I read a book or two and then believed my limited knowledge of God was all-encompassing. I defended my understanding of God with passion and even anger. I’d associated my identity with my answers and defended them as though they were part of my redemption, part of the portfolio I’d eventually show God that might impress Him so He’d let me into heaven. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to believe I don’t know everything about God. And not only that, I’ve had to admit and confess my desire to know everything about God was really about control. God does not give us comprehensive knowledge about all things.

Read the full article here.

For the record, I love the G.K. Chesterton quotation he uses:

“…mathematicians go mad, not poets, because mathematicians try to build a bridge across the infinite, while poets swim in the sea.”

Any thoughts?

Picture by Robert Sontheimer

HT: nakedpastor

HT: nakedpastor

What does it mean to live a simple life?  I’ve been thinking about this for the last few days after reading an article on The Resurgence blog by Dave Kraft.  He writes:

Simplicity. That word keeps popping up! It comes up in conversations I’ve been having. I hear it used in movies and in books. It’s something people desire but have given up hope of ever experiencing. But I long for it—long to live a simple, uncomplicated and focused life, a life that is not moving too fast where I try to do too much. A life that is not allowing the ‘Tyranny of the Urgent’ to take over and run me ragged physically and emotionally.

He longs to live a simple, uncomplicated and focussed life.  I think we all can relate to that in some way or other.  I certainly can.

About eighteen months ago, whilst having a coffee with a friend, I made a decision to do just that – simplify, uncomplicate and focus my life!  And what was my motivation?  Well, I don’t remember the conversation exactly, but I do remember that I had been meditating about the account of Jesus’ discussion with Mary and Martha given in Luke 10.

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”  (Luke 10:38-42 ESV)

What hit me was Martha’s busyness – running around serving and being distracted away from the most important person she would ever meet, Jesus.  Not that she was doing anything wrong.  Everything she was doing was good and needed to be done – just not right then!  Jesus was there!  The best thing to do was to spend time with him, sit at his feet, take time to talk with him and enjoy his company.  Mary got it right, she was there, sat at his feet – she had chosen correctly and Jesus wasn’t going to take that blessing away from her no matter how much Martha complained.

Jesus’ rebuke of Martha was not to put her down or to embarrass her.  She thought she was honouring Jesus by being busy and doing things for him.  She thought she was serving him.  But Jesus said Mary had the right idea.  Sitting at his feet, listening and enjoying his company.  Why?  Because Martha could have sat with her, and when the time was right they both could have gone and sorted out the serving together, and I like to think Jesus would have gone and helped them.

Is Jesus saying that being busy is bad?  No, I don’t think so.  In fact, I don’t think this passage is a comment on busyness at all.  I think it is a comment on priorities!  What Jesus is saying to Martha is that her priorities were wrong!

Being busy and organising the serving was important, but in this instance, sitting at Jesus’ feet was more important!

What’s incredible though, and I have no real evidence for this except my own experience, when we do start to get our priorities right, start putting our relationship with Jesus as the main thing – making sure he takes first priority in everything we do – then we develop a spirit of contentment, we become satisfied with what we have and where he has put us – and that in turn makes us reduce our busyness – or more importantly makes us realise the priorities across the rest of our lives.  As Dave Kraft continues in his article:

When I think of simply being myself, of operating simply in life and ministry, I am not thinking of being semi-retired, or of joining Henry David Thoreau on Walden Pond. I’m thinking of focusing on a few things in ministry and life, and practicing the advice of Steven Covey: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” It’s about priorities and concentration.

Leaders I work with struggle to consistently keep things simple—to clearly know what they are about, what they are called to, and gifted to do. They bounce from one thing to the next, filling their schedules with lots of activities, being more reactive than proactive. Author and speaker Fred Smith says that “busyness is the new spirituality.” Many leaders are not content with who they are, where they are, what they are doing, and what Jesus is doing. They long to be someone else, be somewhere else, and do something else.

Whatever happened to simple contentment? Life seems to hurl a lot at us. Go there, do this, buy that, help with this, commit to that. I find it so easy to be distracted from the simplicity of who I am and what I am about. I’m often tempted to cave in to the expectations and demands of others—especially those whose opinions matter deeply to me. At times it’s difficult to hear the voice of God in the midst of all the noise of life.

This for me is what simplicity is all about – getting our priorities right and being content with where God has put us, knowing that when we do so we will hear his voice – because we deliberately put time aside for him to speak to us.

I thought the quote from Fred Smith, “Busyness is the new spirituality”, was very significant – and very true.  What I think this means is that people are trying to find meaning in their lives by being busy – but this can so easily backfire when tiredness and dissillusionment kick in.  Trust me I know this is true because I have been there.

What is the answer?  Put Jesus first, sit at his feet and bask in his love, then get the things done that need to be done knowing that he is with you as you do them – but with a contentment that comes through knowing that he alone brings meaning to your life.

How wonderful is that, eh?

(Read Dave Krafts full article here)

Photo by annia316 (copied from flickr under the CC Licence)

Adam McLane posted an interesting article on his blog a couple of days ago about seeing adventure as a spiritual discipline:

For the last few weeks I’ve been thinking about how wimpy people are.

There is something strange to me that people allow the most remote possibility of getting hurt, lost, robbed, missing a meal, missing a flight, or even not a clean place to pee define their lives. What a boring life they live.

I want my life to be full of adventure.

Not just big adventures – day-to-day adventures too!

It seems to me that people who like to plan everything, take as little risk as possible, and pre-think too many details are really missing something in life. With an entire ever-changing planet to explore it is inconceivable to me that people like to eliminate discovery and adventure.

There is something spiritual about adventure. We are hard-wired to explore, discover… and depend on the goodness of others. As children we dream huge dreams! We devour books about adventure. Every adventure we hear about we want to go on. We wanted to go to the moon and mars. We wanted to go Africa. We wanted to live in Central Park in New York City.

Stepping into an element of the unknown provides an incredible feeling. It acknowledges how God is in control and we are not. When we make adventure the enemy we lie to ourselves – God is in control of every detail all day, every day anyways!

Read the full article here.

What do you think?  Should we view adventure as a spiritual discipline?

Have a look at this – powerful stuff!

If you don’t know the song then check out the version by the David Crowder Band on YouTube here.

Aren’t friends and family wonderful!

We are so blessed to have them – and yet we so easily take their love and companionship for granted.  Why do we do that?

This week has been a crazy one for me.  I have been away for a three nights on business and have driven more that 1100 miles in the last three days.  A very tiring experience.

Tuesday I drove down to Loughborough.  Wednesday down to just south of London and then across to Bath.  Thursday to Yeovil and then up to the Wirral.  Friday into Wales to Bala and then home to Northumberland via Rochdale.  That is pretty well a full tour of England – all in three days!

But I am home now, and this morning I have been reflecting on my journey.

The good thing is that although I was on business I had a chance to visit and catch up with a number of friends and family.  I stayed over night with friends in Bath on Wednesday and the Wirral on Thursday – and visited my parents and my mother-in-law on Friday on my way home.

And now, looking back, I am thankful that I am blessed with people that I can call friends, and with a family who love and care for me.

Thank you, Lord.