Musings

Article 2: The Wisdom of the Ant: Knowing the Season

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“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.” 

(Proverbs 6:6-8, ESV)

Ants are small, but they know their season. They store up food at the right time, discerning when to gather and when to rest. Jesus rebuked Jerusalem for not knowing “the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:44). Esau, in Hebrews 12:16-17, tragically missed his opportunity and could not recover it.

We live in a generation flooded with knowledge – the Word is published everywhere, on TV, radio, and the internet. Yet, are we discerning the season we live in? Are we storing up spiritual food, making the most of opportunities with our families, in our communities, and in our giving to God?

Let us pray for the wisdom of the ant – to know our weakness, to discern our season, and to act with timely obedience.

Prayer:  

Father, help me to recognise the season I am in. Give me the wisdom to store up Your Word and to act when You call. Open my eyes to the opportunities around me today. Amen.

A Series: Small Things, Exceedingly Wise: Devotions for Restoration

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Over the next period, I will share small bites of wisdom from small things, four small things exceedingly great wisdom…

1: “Think Big, Learn Small, Act Fast – Wisdom for Restoration”

“Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise…”

 (Proverbs 30:24, ESV)

In a world obsessed with the big and the bold, the Bible invites us to pay attention to the small and seemingly insignificant. Proverbs 30:24-28 lists four small creatures, each with a lesson for us in wisdom and restoration. These creatures – the ant, the rock badger, the locust, and the lizard – are not mighty in size, but their wisdom is profound.

Restoration in our lives often begins not with grand gestures, but with small, faithful steps. Jesus Himself wept over Jerusalem because they did not recognise “the time of [their] visitation” (Luke 19:44). How often do we miss God’s work because we overlook the small beginnings?

Let us learn to think big about God’s purposes but be willing to learn from small things and act quickly when God prompts us. The wisdom of the ant, the rock badger, the locust, and the lizard is for our day of restoration. May our eyes be open to see the wonder of the day we live in.

Prayer:  

Lord, give me eyes to see Your wisdom in the small things. Help me to act quickly when You speak and to value the lessons of humility and faithfulness. Amen.

Nations…where do you stand?

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Matthew 28:16-20

The Great Commission

16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.

17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.

18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”[1]

Make disciples of all Nations…what are we looking at?

Some of today’s and recent headlines read, ‘Make America great’, ‘United Kingdom separates from Europe’, ‘Rise of Nationalism’, it is the world as we know it. Some would say it’s the increase of modern tribalism, I am of this and not of that, I belonged to this group, not that, ours is better than theirs, us and them all the same root, politically, nationally or religiously. The rise of national boundaries. imagartion challenges.

Nationhood and identity have become large in peoples mind and the evidence are all around us. For many years what is Britishness has been a debate only fuelled once again with the rise of the 4 nations of the UK looking at separation sovereignty. I’m not sure if it is a cry for belonging or control and dominance, time will tell, probably both.  

I’m Welsh, I could not speak a word of English until I reached the double figures in age, so I’m told, or British or both or adopted South African having a permanent residency status to our beloved South Africa. Who am I? Who are you? Perhaps I should have included my Heavenly Citizenship as well. Therefore, I am a Christ-follower that has residence on Earth or Welsh who happens to be British or even UK born that holds a South African residency or yes to it all? I wonder how you would describe yourself, by your culture, by your language, by your colour or by nation, place of birth?

One of the great plights within our world is the refugee or migrant movements that now face us with millions on the move, which we are told with the climate issue this is only going to grow due to soil conditions, millions under enforced migration due to political, safety and economic reasons.

Population figures inform us that at least 79.5 million people have been forced from their homes and 26 million of these are under 18 (UNHCR). With all this movement I wonder what will be and what is Nationhood, what are Nations?

As a follower of Christ, we are probably impacted by some ‘lockdown’ process and are more aware than ever of the practical challenges to our practice of faith, on the one had much work in a food bank or similar to help but how do we practice faith as in the past. Perhaps we have realised the fundamental need to move from the entrapment of ‘platform celebrity’ forms of ecclesia (church) and the performance effort of each Sunday or whenever you meet to realize we do need to discover discipleship in life and all it entails.

Now as an aside before someone points a finger and goes off on one that I don’t believe in the gathered church, that is so far from the truth. I believe fully and am part of the ecclesia of God, however, I do see the liberty to express a people and community determined by culture and social expression, what does that mean it is not one pattern fits all, the body should be expressed diversely without feeling deficient if I don’t follow a pattern. In other words, the pattern is unimportant it is the life expressed, the life of God, from God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and through each person that is central, Christ central in it all. I see the church, the ecclesia as being a fluid, flexible community that fills wherever the people of Christ are, that fluid and flexile dynamic people group expressing Christ, living Christ, being incarnate to our world.  

The ecclesia is the apple of God’s eye, the vehicle of the Kingdom, the magnificent manifold wisdom of God expressed with no predetermined form or shape, Christ expressing. A community that seeks to inform our world and creation that God has a purpose and goal while sharing in and declaring God’s dream. A group of people with a relationship that brings about a changing world, including creation. A Nation from every tribe and tongue.

Now back to my reason for writing on Nations.

In reading Matthew 28:16-20 we are borough to an awareness of the Great Commission to disciple the Nations, I suggest this is not the one-to-one but something greater and grander is hidden hear. Not to say that bringing an individual through to Christ and beyond is nothing more than magnificent.   

How can I open this up, by firstly stating Christ came to bring back the Nations to their rightful place and this is why Nations are to be affected by our discipleship.

Matthew 28:18 has Jesus announcing, “All Authority Given To Me In Heaven & Earth”, but why “All Authority”?

Sadly, today many have reduced ‘faith’ to personal gain and advancement, to achieve their destiny and goal without reference to the dream or goal of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The gospel, our faith has much greater implications than this, a self-help environment.

God from the beginning has been after a family within the ultimate grand plan and at a significant time the children of God will be govern angels, that is on the final coming together of heaven and Earth the ecclesia will become those who will onwardly govern take responsibility for on God’s behalf, fully expressing the image and likeness of God. Unfortunately, many have never heard this and only see the cross redemptively from humanities perspective as a secure ticket to ‘heaven’. They only hear the instruction that is about the supply of personal need whatever that might be. However, within God’s scheme, a dream of a family, but you say God does not have dreams, it is only used as a figure of speech as God only really has a conclusion, a culmination not a dream which has still to fully manifest, arrive this is yet to fully come, but I can dream of it.

 To disciple the Nations, it is necessary to see that the redemptive resurrection of Christ was to redeem the Nations, bring them back into the family and authority of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christ’s authority was to remove the gods of nations, the authority that direct and controls nations now bringing the Nations into the disciplining of Gods people.   Isaiah 3:3 along with Mic 4:2 is another way of saying the Nations being discipled. All authority was to remove the lesser authorities bring then back to God and a fruitful garden within the authority of God Father, Son and Holy Spirit, returning to the family of God.   

The resurrection powerfully reverts the dividing of the peoples at what the biblical narrative calls Babel, the dividing of people by language. The story of Babel was not about languages, but the outflow of language was the outcome of the authorities over nations. As Deuteronomy 32:8 outlines that the peoples were set boundaries according to the unseen world, the sons of God. Christs’ resurrection was so far-reaching that redemption came to people, creation and the unseen as well as the Nations. Through the scripture, we have glimpses of all this, the unseen realms, the authorities over nations controlling and governing in different ways (Daniel, Psalm 82) Christ brought back the Nations to their rightful God. We see it demonstrated at Pentecost, it was not just about languages, drunkenness, falling over but the reversal of the authority set at Babel the one language of God brings back the Nations. Our Gospel has a Nationhood implication woven into it.

The New Testament writers understood this, Paul especially with his call to the Gentile world, was not in opposition to the Jewish world, it was the commission Jerusalem, Judea, and the nations beyond that Paul took up as he understood the resurrection was bringing back the Nations just as we have today to disciple the Nations, it is the resurrections narrative. In Romans 15:23-28, we find Paul eager to go to Spain, more than that he had to go. Why well in the list of nations at Pentecost Spain was the only nations not mentioned there that was under the then known world and rule of Rome so Paul had to reach as he understood Christ redeems nations to God, therefore, he must fulfil it.  

The Redemption of the Nations is part of our Gospel.

As followers of Christ, we too have a desire to see Nations instructed from dominant authorities to God, a self-emptying authority. I wonder today would we see the nations not only ethnically but in terms of business, art, media where people are finding their identity?

You have been called to bring Nations back to the garden of God, to the garden city of God back to the ’All authority’ of Christ. Discipling people and Nationhood more exact from every tribe and tongue correcting Babel and bring all back to the family of God. We are redeeming Nations and should be at every level it is correcting and removing authorities as we learn to be in union with Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Two ‘F’ of my Christian way

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Mark 2:22

No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.” 

Lessons from the Field 

While watching my childhood game played by such good international teams, I reminisced about the days I played back in my hometown.   Watching the back and forth of the match on televised, I eagerly observe the technical ability and the setting of set pieces, as they are called.  Watching team rhythms and individual brilliance, whether it’s the strength or speed.  However, undoubtedly, what will win matches are the push and thrust of individuals and teams that can be spontaneous, responding to the moment and keeping fluid and flexible.  

Fluidity and Flexibility are key to being able to respond with initiative and rugby sense.  So what’s that got to do with me, you may say, even if I like rugby or perhaps you dont like the game.   Let me outline the necessary characteristics that individuals and the cooperative church need is to be flexible and fluid.

I find that many live in the church with informed laws and regulations. Even the world knows what the so-called church cannot do, and the laws and regulations are rather about what the church can do: blessing, empowerment, enlarging creation, and people bring maturity, and filling of Christ. All in all,  

Religious prescription has taken away creativity; God desires that we become this heart and the expression of God in our inner being, showing what God is like.  Being the demonstration of God in whatever world we enter.   Faith, having the faith of Christ more accurately, is not about keeping prescriptions, but about being the image and likeness of God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have made us.     

That we are called to stand as demonstrations of God’s view and thought, not being law keepers but being demonstrators of life, the life of God.

Let not leaders be so caught up in prescriptive laws, but foster maturity and cultivate the life of God in individuals and the corporate church, so that the world around us is awakened to a life beyond. A quality of life that is attractive and filled with Christ.

As life surrounds us with events and circumstances, as situations hijack us, and as plans become distorted and must change, we are those who become flexible.    Ready to adjust, take a side step, slow down, speed up as our environment changes or experience changes before us.  As events come from straight ahead but enter from the side, they invade our world seemingly illegitimately, which is beyond our control.  We learn to be fluid, knowing the word of God is there to become our common sense, which enables our fluidity.   

Beyond Prescriptions: Embracing Spirt life

The word of God is so ingrained in us that it is the base from which our thinking comes from, not that it’s a law outside of us, but as the scripture says, ‘written on our hearts’ (2 Cor. 3:3), it’s our way of living, our common sense.   That is what flows from us, enabling our fluidity as our world sometimes throws all at us.

Keeping the Word of God at the forefront and centre, which if we live this way will enable our fluidity in progress. As Jesus encountered the religious leaders of His day, he would say “you say, but I say,” changing the prescriptions that govern their world, introducing us to fluidity. The woman caught in adultery—the law’s prescription says ‘stone her’, yet Jesus said ‘neither do I condemn you’.

Fluidity: The way of love

I could say that the law of love we are meant to embody, demonstrate, and express indeed requires us to be fluid; it truly does. There are no fixed laws, three instructions, two confessions, or four steps to get you out of every situation; otherwise, we will end up like on Jesus’ day when ten laws, the Ten Commandments, were not enough and resulted in over 700 laws, as faith was replaced by prescriptions. Rather than the liberty of fluidity, each new circumstance needed a sub-law to be made to help people live. Jesus and I both agree—there is only one way, the way of love: “love the Lord your God, love your neighbour as yourself.’ As the old Beatles song said, ‘All we need is love, love, love.’

If we are to be a Christ-centred ekklesia, we will be a love-centred church. Fluidity enables demonstration. Consider Jesus’ display of authority; power was not through domination but through a towel and a bowl. Bring self-emptying in washing feet, taking on the servanthood of humanity, he even said, as often as you gather, do this. Is not the breaking of bread, the communion, really yet another self-emoting, downhearted display of towel and bowl? Which is, alas, rooted in our ability to be fluid or demonstrate to every person and environment we find ourselves in, with our sleeves rolled up.

I often say that the church is not defined by its structure or offices to uphold, but by the life poured into people — the resurrection life — filling every shape it is poured into. Let me try to express it this way. Holding a wine glass of water as a picture of the church, we describe the glass in terms of its shape and size, its colour and smooth edges, the contours, and call it the church. Then we attempt to fit a mug into the wine glass, but it fails, declaring that it is not the right shape, as it is not the same. Proceeding to pour the water into a saucer, as the saucer cannot go into the wine glass.  We forget the water, the fluidity, is the church, not the shape that holds it, the fluid life.  The church fills all that it is poured into, not the shape, but homes, streets, offices, and buildings.  Being the expression of Christ filling all in all, the church by nature is to fill, not prescribe a shape.  The FLUID church is necessary.

Flexibility: Adapting for maturity

The other ‘F’ is Flexibility, being able to deal with every person and every situation that arises.  Being supple and able to stretch for flexibility.   What does it look like?

That is flexibility in the sense that it is adaptable to every culture and generation, adapting to a world without internet or word dominance due to all the technical advances.   Considering new ideas which show a willingness to consider change rather than being stuck.   I think the church and its leaders often show they are stuck rather than adaptable.   Flexibility for some is so difficult to entertain, especially for leadership, as it can involve adjusting your priorities and experiencing and bringing about new methods.

Flexibility is having an open mind rather than preconceived positions, in the same way as being able to have the flexibility to discover solutions when there are challenges to consider.  Which actually brings a people and individuals to the place of ability ot learn anew, adapting and realising there is not one way only.

Living Fluid and Flexible Lives 

A church that is mature, its maturity being fluid and flexible, which is an extension of individuals, functions that are maturing, and they too are flexible and fluid.

Consider

Where and with whom is God inviting you to be more flexible and fluid so you can first demonstrate the life of Christ, followed by being more creative this week?

Holiness Re Configured

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Unknown.jpegWhen thinking of Holiness in the past one thought of dark coated men with solemn faces, faces that as child I would fear as a smile could never appear on these faces, as i thought. These tall dark columns of people were holy, ladies with their black hats that drew their faces into a sharp demeanour, they dressed in colourless gowns that made me wonder if there was any colour at all in life. They walked with an apparent disconnect to life and all movement around them, solemn, removed, a higher life, this was the portal of holiness.

This is so far from what I have now realised and come to see, their religious straight jacket , kept me along with others away from a relationship, a relationship filled with colour, movement and adventure. Holiness was grey, holiness was somber, holiness was to be honest boring and we did not want anything to do with it.

I discovered that holiness was actually in wild and opposition to such blandness. Holiness in the Scriptures paints pictures, trying to create in our imagination a dynamic life that explodes with divine life. Story’s of wild fire, smoke, angels flying, during great deliveries, life of the edges radically brought with pace and power to center stage of view.

Holiness is being present with God ALIVE, LIVING, a live exploding far beyond what we have ever imagined. Colour, diverse, movement, sounds and holiness are far removed from the world when i first encountered them, holy people.

I have since realised holiness cannot be brought into control, being made manageable. We are invited into this life this holy life, and we have to receive it on its own terms not on ours. We are the ones that need to adjust and take up the invitation, we are the ones that need to reflect the colour splashed, the divine movement of this dance. Just as the people of the Book, the Scriptures reflecting the very life, fire, on fire them selves, a life emptying adventure of a life in Holy Spirit, a life manifest by the marks of Holy Spirit joy, not grey.

Not a life submitted to legalism and laws but a life expressing a holiness of dynamic enjoyment, being in the image and likeness of God.

So what does your and my holiness look like? What to we communicate to people as holiness in our lives style? Holiness did not make you something less than image and likeness of God, it does not make God small so we could manage God but explodes you, energizes you, enlarges you as the gift of God, being those who give out and display the very life, this holy life. A huge life expression, totally over the top, full of colour, spontaneous, by the way I am not talking of the extrovert, wether you are an extrovert of introvert this life is the same.

Let us do away with the cathedrals of sourness, the somber tall steeples, isolated towers of blandness, cold faces of tall cliff like sternness, none of these resemble this living holy God. Put back life giving, enhancing holiness. The life of creation expressed holiness, the life that put colour into the field, installed wildness, forest and jungles, the life that invented colour and paints continually the sky’s colour every night. How can holiness be that bland and sour? God has brought us to a holiness of colour, diverse, wild, uncontrolled life in its fullness, abundant life.

The world will see the depth and beauty of God, the beauty of this holiness I would even God on to say beauty is the vehicle of communicating the divine holiness, the the way we relate to holiness, lost in the beauty of creating we discover God, abandoned to the beauty in people, we find God.

God in holiness is creation, I think we now need to smell the aromas of Creation. In many places in Africa I walk by jasmine bushes as ground cover, as I do my nose is filled with an amazing aroma to the point where I want to linger, and thoroughly enjoy the aroma. I want to smell and engage with this beauty of holiness expression. Stop and smell the roses, let it awake holiness in you from within its holiness. Rubbing shoulders with our world, pressing our feet into the sand and earth, moulding its clay in order for us to worship God in the beauty of holiness.

This is not meant to be a theological search and defining of holiness but a desire to bring extravagant, exhilarating, spontaneous life to us, a showiness through which we might reflect that very holiness. Re read Psalms again especially 29 and see there holiness in the narrative of voice. The words in holiness expressed in wild, crashing sounds and movements, storms, God displaying movements. the play of great trees in holiness, with light illumination for us what holiness looks like, earthquakes, forest affecting shaking earth holiness choreographing movement. You have to conclude holiness has God speaking not being sober or silent, in the temple, the place of the church meeting creating all with a shout to a living God “the beauty of holiness”

Let us display the colour, let us embody the diversity, let us be the adventure and worship God in holiness. Holiness reconfigured I experience and reflect in my every day daily life, what i say, what a wear, how i live…

“Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”