March 2017 - The Excellence Centre

Ambassadors for Christ

Mar 27, 2017 | Teds Thoughts

In 2 Corinthians 5:20 we read, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” To be an ambassador means to represent and to take the place of someone in their absence. The normal context of ambassador is of a national person representing his or her country in another part of the world. The ambassador speaks on behalf of the home country and is seen by the host country to be representative of the nation from which he or she has come. We need to consider the idea of ambassador in both the individual and corporate sense.

In the corporate sense, we can view our church or our Christian school as being God’s ambassador. As a Christian school, we need to understand the truth that God has revealed in a way that makes us good ambassadors for Him. We need to be His people in His world. We need to understand God through: His creation which we have so bountifully given to us in our country; through His Word, the Bible; through His Son, Jesus Christ; and through His Holy Spirit who teaches us His way. As a Christian school, we are to be distinctive in the way in which a Christian church needs to be distinctive in the wider community. We need to be salt and light. In order to achieve this goal, we need to become more like our leader, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, by listening to His instruction and following His example. We need to live as Jesus lived, to love as Jesus loved, to accept as Jesus accepted and to care for others as Jesus did. Within our Christian school, this type of relationship should be first within our own school community and then extended to those beyond our school community.

As individuals, our ambassadorship need not take us beyond Australia’s shores, although to go to another country may be God’s plan for us. We need to develop our adult community as individuals who know the Word of God and the mind of God and are gradually developing the likeness of the character of God. To do this, we need to support and be supported by our fellow Christians. Each of us individually has a responsibility, however, to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ so that we can be the best ambassadors possible for Him. As His church in the first few centuries of its existence turned the world upside down by the distinctiveness of its character as that was displayed by individual Christians, so we have a responsibility to do the same in our generation.

We need to pass on to our children, whom God has given us, a clear understanding of what it means to be an ambassador. This will happen in our homes, our churches and Christian schools. We should be able to give to our children appropriate examples of Christian ambassadorship. This should be seen in our character and in the way we care for others. Our children will learn values of a Christian nature that will be essential for them to be the right type of ambassador within their present situation and in their future lives. Together with our children, we should be able to represent the claims of Christ to all whom we meet, and thus make a difference.

BEING CHRIST’S PERSON MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Dr E J Boyce

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How to exercise authority wisely

Mar 27, 2017 | Teds Thoughts

As beings created in the image of God, we need to understand God’s purposes for us which include the reflection of His character in our lives. In certain areas of our lives, we cannot be like God. God is sovereign, our Creator. He is all-powerful, all-knowing and omnipresent. He is our Redeemer and He will be our Judge. In other aspects of His character, including His fatherhood (which we could apply as parenthood), we can reflect God’s character as He has revealed it to us.

The authority of God was evident in His revelation of the Creation story. In Genesis 1, we have stated several times that when God said something, it happened. That power and authority has never changed. Our God is all-powerful. However, God chooses to exercise His authority within the context of human response. For example, humans have been given the power of their wills so that they can respond to God in commitment and worship.

In the New Testament, we have this concept illustrated at the end of the Sermon on the Mount as recorded by Matthew. In Matt 7:28-29, we read the following: “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.” This authority that Jesus displayed was based on the integrity of His person and on the acceptance of His authority by those impacted by Him. In this description of Christ’s authority, we can see the difference between authoritativeness, which He displayed, and authoritarianism, which is often the human’s attempt to exercise control because of role based power which they and others believe they possess. Too often we, as parents and also as teachers, seek to control others by the perceived vested power that we have rather than developing, through the process of parenting and teaching, the integrity of relationship by which those within. our authority, respond.

An excellent book on this subject is Howard Hendricks entitled “Heaven Help the Home”. Another nook, “The Christian Family” by Larry Christenson, also emphasises this point. In order for us as parents and teachers to reflect something of the Fatherhood of God, we need to display the Fruit of the Spirit of God within our leadership. In consideration of this, it is obvious that such authority is not authoritarian. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in Gal 5:22-23, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

As those in authority display Christ-like authority and God-given authority, we will develop relationships that are distinctively Christian and that are for the good of all concerned. Our children need to respect us not because we demand it, but because we command it by our lives and words. God has given us stewardship of our children as they learn to become His people in His world. We provide them with a good service if we set an example and give instructions that are clearly taught in the Bible. May God help each of us to exercise authority as God intends so that we please Him.
AUTHORITY IS GOOD WHEN PROPERLY EXERCISED

Dr E J Boyce

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God’s Revealed Plan In Human Relationships

Mar 6, 2017 | Teds Thoughts

The Bible clearly states that in matters of worth, all people are equal. God created humankind in His image and our acceptability to God is not conditional on our colour, physique, language, ethnic group, intelligence, personality or even character. Before God, we all need to be restored to fellowship with Himself for, as we read in Romans 3:23, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

As God gives each of us equal worth, so should we give equal worth to each of our fellow human beings. In the letter of James, we are taught not to exercise favouritism and in the letter to the church at Philippi, we are enjoined to put the interests of others ahead of our own interests. Christ died for all and when anyone comes to Christ, that person becomes part of God’s family (John 1:12).

When Jesus was here on Earth, He displayed the love of God by His acceptance of all different types of people: from those who were religious, to those who were seen as great sinners. He also loved and cared for those with physical deformities, those who were alienated from the rest of society and people from different ethnic groups. We are taught (in 1 Cor 11:1) to follow the example of Christ, we are told to imitate God (Eph 5:1) and we are told that as Christians, we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to have attitudes and behaviours that represent our commitment to Christi as members of God’s family.

Yet, each one of us id different. That also is God’s doing. In 1 Cor 12 we are taught that there are different kinds of gifts, different kinds of service, different kinds of working, but the same God works all of these in all people (vs 4-6).

The Sovereignty of God in our differences is highlighted in 1 Cor 12, which says, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit and He gives to each one as He determines.” For us to fulfil the Second Commandment, which is called by James, “the Royal Law of Scripture” (Js 2:8), we need to accept others as they are and care for them. Loving oneself in this way, that is acceptance and care, is the complementary aspect of this Royal Law.

As we appreciate and enjoy the variety of the natural world which God created for us, so we should seek to appreciate and enjoy the differences of one another. As we spend time with those of a different colour, physical ability, intelligence, ethnic group or personality, we are reminded of the wonder of God’s creative power. We can learn much from each other person who impacts on our lives.

It must please our God when we accept other members of His creation and when we, as His representatives, care for them. We need to imbibe this mindset and attitude, so that it is fully ingrained in our attitudes, beliefs and behaviour. Then we will be able to pass on by example and instruction to those entrusted to our care, the purposes of God in relationships with one another.

WE ARE EQUAL BUT DIFFERENT

Dr E J Boyce

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The Key To Christian Living

Mar 6, 2017 | Teds Thoughts

What is it that is distinctive about living from a Christian viewpoint? How does a Christian represent the character of the One Who is the Leader of their life? For many people, the answer to these questions means doing good to other people, showing kindness or generosity and not hurting anybody. For others, the Christian life is gauged on the standard of attendance at church meetings and living by a list of do’s and don’ts. Christians themselves can bring great disrepute to the Name of Christ by their way of life, through legalism, negativism, control of others, pettiness, bitterness, unforgiving spirit, fleshly effort, hypocrisy and in many other ways.

In the Bible, in 1 Peter 4:10, we read the following statement: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms”. The key to Christian living is the grace of God. This is the grace that brings salvation to humanity (Tit 2:11). This is the grace by which people are brought into God’s family (Eph 2:8-9). This is the grace that was displayed in the life of Christ when He was here on earth (Johnn 1:14). This is the grace referred to at the beginning and at the end of each of the letters of the Apostle Paul.

God has reached down to us in grace: that is, by His unmerited favour He has brought us into His family and so it is by grace we have become Christians. It is God’s requirement that we become like Himself (Eph 4:24; 5:1). Throughout the Bible, the teaching is clear: to be like God means to reflect the grace of God in action. As God has given grace to us, we are toe exercise grace in all our relationships.

It is God Who has gifted us and those gifts have been given in order that we should serve others. In doing so, we will faithfully administer God’s grace in it various forms. For each one of us, there will be a different expression of grace according to our gifts and the circumstances of the time. What is not negotiable, is how we exercise our gifts in every situation. This must always be by grace.

To teach others, especially children, of the grace of God, we need to show His grace in action. This is our responsibility as Christian parents or teachers and should be our constant goal. We cannot achieve this by ourselves, but only as we accept the grace of God in our own lives, because our lives should be lives of graciousness to everyone always.

TO LIVE A LIFE OF GRACE IS THE KEY TO CHRISTIAN LIVING

Dr E J Boyce

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How To Use Our Talents

Mar 6, 2017 | Teds Thoughts

The Bible makes it very clear that God alone is the Giver of whatever gifts and talents we possess. These gifts have been given to us to exercise faithfully for the good of others. In doing so, we are pleasing God our Creator.

God has given different kinds of gifts and we have different areas of service, but each of us is responsible to God for the exercise of that gift which He has given to us.

In 1 Corinthians 12, we are given principles by which we acknowledge that our gifts come from God and that we are responsible to exercise them for the good of others (the common good). From God’s perspective, each of us is of equal worth, therefore, we should not see others either having greater worth of less worth than ourselves. The danger is that if we look up to other people and give them a value that God does not give them, we will also look down on others.

Therefore, we need to acknowledge and accept that people around us have been given gifts and talents that we do not possess. We should thank God that He has given gifts to those people and allow them to exercise these gifts for our good and the good of others. Also, this principle means that what may appear to be gifts of less importance are actually as significant in value as any other gift.

When we have this understanding of the gifts and talents of God has given to each one of us and exercise them faithfully, we will support and encourage one another for two reasons: first, to honour God and secondly, to serve others.

To communicate these values to our children is an important responsibility of parents and teachers, so that our children will learn to understand God’s perspective as they grow up.

The oil that allows the gifts to function individually and interdependently is love, as 1 Corinthians 13 goes on to explain. This love mans that we accept one another as we are and care for one another within that understanding. In his letter, James refers to the concept as the “Royal Law found in Scripture” (Jamess 2:8).

The Bible is sole authority for a right relationship with God and is the supreme authority for our relationship with one another. Therefore, we need to accept that God is sovereign in His distribution of gifts and talents and we are responsible to faithfully exercise the gifts we have in the service of others and in love. It is only by God’s strength and grace that this can happen.

Dr E J Boyce

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