Feb 24, 2021 | Uncategorized
Talk 3: Is Truth Stranger than Fiction?
If a number of doctors examine a sick patient and correctly diagnose their medical condition, they may have differences of opinion on what is the most effective course of treatment, but they will have a common understanding of what it means for that person to recover and be healthy.
If, however, you put together a group of social scientists, educators and politicians and asked them what constitutes the good life that leads to happiness, there would be no such common understanding.
There is no doubt that there is a cosmic spiritual battle happening between competing worldviews. In the advanced modern world, there is a profound loss of hope, a sense of dread and paralysing anxiety around what is the meaning and purpose of life. Reality isn’t what it used to be – we are now in a world of our own construction.
The world has become post-truth because it has ruled out the eternal – Jean-Paul Satre is reported to have mused “Life has no meaning the moment you lose the illusion of being eternal” (2019, p. 62).
Therefore, basic to an understanding of Christian education is the role of a school that unfolds a Biblical Worldview to their students. Dr B Ramm insightfully stated “College is the centre of warfare because it is a place where principle confronts principle. Each of the enemies of the truth of God is itself a life system and can only be combatted with a life system … a (college) built on a minimal creed is unrealistic in view of the greatness of the battle … (it) must be founded on a Christian life system” (1992, p. 2).
A world ‘without windows’ says we only need reason to live well. It is not a surprise that many contemporary educational practices have been hollow in relation to the promise to deliver education that is going to transform students. In The Silver Chair, by CS Lewis, the children are trapped beneath Narnia in the land of the ‘Underworld’ where its wicked Queen persuades them to believe there is no such thing as Narnia and so they are not Narnians. She throws a green powder into the fire which produces a fragrant and drowsy smell. In their enchanted haze, the world they thought they knew begins to disappear. But Puddlegum stomps out the fire clearing the heavy air and declares that he is on Aslan’s side. Coming to themselves, the children begin to realise who they were from the beginning. Likewise, Christian education is to awaken our children to the reality of their true identities given to them all along and a view of the world through God’s eyes.
Living in truth is freedom because we are engaging our students in reality as it truly is. In Christ all things hold together and it is only in relation to Him that we can make sense of life (Col 1:17).
As teachers, we must ask: What story does our curriculum content tell? How does this learning contribute to the school’s vision of the good life, lived under the Lordship of Christ in worship of God and for His glory?
At the heart of every subject is the fundamental question of origins. Not only has God designed the physical creation with laws that govern its existence and preservation but “God’s ordinances also extend to the structures of society, to the world of art, to business and commerce” (Wolters, 2005, p. 25).
The Biblical story orientates us to living wisely in the world, gives us a sense of what is the right way up and what is wrong in the confusion of events and phenomena that confronts us. It enables us to envision redemptive solutions. As students learn to articulate and embrace a Biblical view of life, they will develop the capacity to apply the categories of the Biblical narrative: Creation, Fall, and Redemption to their learning and all areas of life – personal, social and cosmic life. Story becomes the way we remember the past, makes sense of a world that is both beautiful and ugly and imagines the future God has in store for us.
As students are led to apply God’s truth to their learning and their culture, meanings can emerge as questions are addressed and new insights are discovered for the times in which they live. We are seeking to raise students to live wisely as disciples of Jesus where every part of their lives becomes a place of nearness and service to God, where truth and character are displayed.
There is creative tension for us as Christians in this task because schools in western culture are structured to embody a worldview story that is largely antithetical to the Gospel.
May the Lord inspire and lead you in this spiritual battle for the minds and hearts of the students for as Jesus said “If you hold to my teaching you are my disciples, then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31).
Grace and Peace
The Team, The Excellence Centre
References
- Satre, J.P. in Mangalwadi, V, (2019). This Book Changed Everything. Sought after Media.
- Ramm, B. (1992). Biblical Christian Education: Liberation for Leadership. G Martin’s lecture, Sydney.
- Wolters, A.M. (2005). Creation Regained. Eerdmans Publishing
Feb 24, 2021 | Wens Pen
Hello Everyone
Our small hand in God’s mighty hand becomes a powerful instrument for influencing and impacting the Kingdom as we join our hand with the most powerful hand in the universe. Isaiah 41:13. When we read about the many heroes of the faith, in each story we see them partner with God, placing their small hand in God’s mighty hand, which resulted in God doing extraordinary things with ordinary resources. In every instance where God asked these heroes to do something unconventional, the end result was phenomenal. As they each stepped up and placed their small hand in God’s mighty hand, God miraculously advanced His purposes and moved the redemptive story forward. Take Moses; God tells him to take his staff, lift it up and the Red Sea waters would part, allowing the Israelites travel on a dry sandy seabed to escape the bloodthirsty pursuit of the Egyptian army. The Israelites were no longer slaves and their captors were upgraded to the status of “deceased” after the torrent Red Sea waters swallowed them up. Then there’s David who takes a sling and five small stones and annihilates a taunting giant who falls and shakes the ground with the thunderous force of an earthquake. Goliath is then upgraded to the status of “defeated” and literally loses his head. And what of Joshua? God gives Joshua the peculiar battle strategy of marching his army around the walls of Jericho for seven days, with priests playing their trumpets, all giving a mighty vocal roar on the seventh day and just like that, the fortified city walls crumble and become rubble on the ground. The citizenship of Jericho was transferred to God’s people and the Canaanites were upgraded to the status of “disinherited”. Each one placed their small hand in God’s mighty hand and the unconventional acts became phenomenal acts of God. Should the Red Sea have parted just because Moses held up his staff? No! Should Goliath, dripping in his suit of armour have been knocked out of the fight from one small sling and a stone? No! How does a fortified city wall crumble because an army marches round it, blowing their trumpets and letting out a great shout? Theses shifts from the unconventional to the phenomenal were because each one placed their small hand in God’s mighty hand, and the spiritual realm shifted, strongholds were torn down, God’s purposes were enacted and God was on display as the God above all Gods.
It is quite miraculous to think that we get to join hands with the Hand that fashioned and formed the universe. It is also somewhat inconceivable to think that God who is so great would even want to use our small hands for His mighty purposes, as He engages us to move His redemptive story forward and towards the close of the age. Yet we are invited to place our small hand in God’s mighty hand. God then takes what is unconventional and transforms it into something phenomenal. Think about what can happen when we place our small hand in God’s mighty hand. What strongholds can be broken? What opportunities arise where God is showcased as the one true God. What person can be influenced to turn their face to Jesus? What prayer can be answered? What word can be spoken that will encourage others? What shifts can take place in the spiritual realm when we place our small hand in God’s mighty hand? There is a string of endless possibilities that can lead to miraculous transformations. God still parts the waters of trouble, He takes down the taunting giants of fear and crumbles walls to open the wide fields of our destiny, when we place our small hand in God’s mighty hand.
So, friends, get your hands in God’s hand today.
Best days to come.
Wen
Feb 24, 2021 | Care Conversations
5. Confusion about Sexuality Issues
We, and our young people, live in a highly sexualised culture. The multiplicity of technology devices and freely available internet access means that there is almost unencumbered access to digital pornography.
The prevalence of dating apps and the prevailing assumption that sexual relations are simply to be seen as recreational fun is starkly different to the belief that sexual relationship is an expression of physical unity within a covenant relationship.
We are all immersed in a culture that values hyper-sexuality over chastity and respect. Young Christians are struggling with how to live meaningful lives in terms of sex and sexuality; where many find identity in their sexual “freedom” and the encouragement to choose their own gender identity.
One of the significant tensions for many young believers is how to live up to the expectations of chastity and sexual purity in this culture, especially as the age of first marriage is now commonly delayed to the late twenties. Research indicates that most young Christians are likely to be as sexually active as their non-Christian peers. This often results in sexual guilt being repressed and a potential double life of pretending purity but secret promiscuity.
Young people are also confused about attitudes to LGBTQI people and are perplexed about the relationship between love, acceptance, and affirmation. Our 2021 culture is shaped by a reverence for open-mindedness, tolerance, and acceptance. There seems to be an inability to realise that we can love one another without affirming wrong relationship and behaviour.
Many young people are trapped in a seeming conflict of choice between faith and friends. The pressures are enormous, and the genuine conversations are few.
Blessings
Brian
Feb 16, 2021 | Hope_Tina
The Journey Begins – Hope with Contentment
Putting pen to paper for the first time to write about our 2021 theme feels like a new adventure. Our bags have been well packed after being treated with such excellent teaching over our 3-day Hope Conference where we gained a Biblical perspective on Hope with Contentment. We have now set off to trek through another year, embracing our call to be content in Christ.
As we navigate our journey this year there will be pathways of beauty and fulfilment as well as the tough terrain of difficulty. We have set our course to head north towards the life God calls us to; to be content in all circumstances.
Setting out on any journey requires the right resources and this year our source of supply or the 2021 theme that will sustain us and lead us into glorious discoveries of truth is from Philippians 4:11b, 4:13 (para). “I have learned to be content in whatever the circumstances. I can do all things through God who gives me strength.” Whilst we have read this verse many times in Scripture, it feels like we have only just taken the first step towards understanding the true nature of Christ-centred contentedness. The immensity of the words is only just beginning to settle into our spirits like a fine mist that will infiltrate our souls and permeate our entire beings.
We have learned so far that Christian contentment as echoed by Paul is ultimately needing nothing other than God for our continued existence – that we become God-sufficient (Davis, 2019, p. 32). Being God-sufficient means we come into an understanding and grow in our experience of having everything we need, every single moment, in every single part of our lives within our relationship with Jesus. Contentment is found by dwelling in God’s presence and trusting His perfect love as our Father in every nook and cranny in the journey of life. Whilst this is the foundation for understanding Christian contentment, the scaffolding is love; the perfect love of God that enables us to embrace our sense of completeness. In loving us perfectly, God adopts us as His children, defines our identities, our meaning, and our purpose as He leads us through life. In other words, Christ-centred contentment learns how to see things from God’s perspective. Our identities will be undeniably distinct, our value as a child of God will be deeply imbedded, our meaning will hold together and our purpose in God’s kingdom will be profound. Discovering this secret of Christian contentment will lead us to a place of peace amid every circumstance because we will come to understand the reality of being genuinely and perfectly loved as God’s sons and daughters.
As we begin this journey, it is a relief to understand that Christian contentment is a secret of the faith to be learned and experienced in an intimate relationship with our all-wise, all knowing, perfectly loving Father. It is not instantly accredited to us at our conversion (Davis, 2019, pp. 28-29). Rather, as we relate to this beautiful Father we come to embrace and grow in Christian contentment. It becomes a mindset that is fostered by the love of God and the grace He extends to us in Jesus. It is not a ‘grit the teeth and endure anyway’ mindset or a bitter response to feeling short circuited or curtailed or chastened by God. It is a disposition of sweetness that understands the Father heart of God, shaping us and causing our response to Him to be an authentic, confident acknowledgement that our hearts are held by Him, which enables us to quietly keep moving towards His perfect love and to trust His perfect wisdom (Davis, 2019, p. 45). It does not exempt us from the emotions of life when we experience suffering, loss, or disappointment. It is a lens through which we can process life and find contentment in the only true and final source, God. It is when God crowns us in those moments when we delight in God’s choices for our lives, no matter what the circumstances may be (Davis, 2019, p. 51). It is exactly in this space that we find hope that the world does not have – contentment in Jesus, in all pathways we walk upon.
As with any adventure, reaching the mountainous summit is not instant. It is a journey of discovery that is both delightful and overwhelming. But this journey affirms it is possible for us to discover the secret of Christian contentment as we dwell in the presence of God and find our place in His redemptive pilgrimage.
And so, our 2021 journey begins, and it is full of possibilities that will lead us to the secret place – contentment in Jesus, our loving, personal Lord and Saviour where we will learn that no matter what the circumstances, we can do all things through Christ who will strengthen us.
Every blessing
Tina
Reference
- Davis, A.M., (2019) The Power of Christian Contentment: Finding Deeper, Richer Christian Joy. Baker Books
Feb 16, 2021 | Wens Pen
Hello Everyone
Bragging about our Daddy. I was recently walking through my local parkland and as I passed two little girls playing, I could not help but tune into their conversation. One little girl was proudly bragging about her daddy, giving credential after credential about her hero dad. Not only did this little girl brag about how wonderful her dad was and how much he loved her, she boasted about how good he is at cricket and his job and how he can lift heavy things and build things out of Lego. The list was endless. According to her description, no other father could ever hold a candle to her daddy. This little girl had pinned a supreme badge of super dad on her daddy’s shirt and nothing was going to stop her bragging and boasting about him as her undefeated champion. She painted such an incontestable picture of her daddy that I found myself thinking, I really want to meet this dad.
I was reminded that we also have a Daddy; a Dad who holds the position of unrivalled, unflawed, ultimate, Father. He permanently takes out the award of Father of the Universe with incontestable credentials. 1John 3: 1. I wonder if we are found bragging about our Daddy the way this little girl did? Are we boasting about our Father whose very heart pulsates with perfect love for His children? Are we bragging about His credibility and His character credentials? Are we unashamedly telling people our Daddy loves us unconditionally, accepts us unreservedly, holds our hurting hearts in His merciful hands, teaches us, equips us to reach our God-given potential, listens to our chatter, hears our cries, wipes our tears, makes us smile, speaks into our pain, comforts us, tells us stories from His special story book, keeps us company, protects us, fights off our tormentors, leads us, believes in us and showers us with gifts. Oh, and then He crowns us daily with His goodness and drapes His robe of righteousness around us. He trumps all other fathers because He holds the position of perfect Father. We get to brag about our Daddy because He is really good at His job and He hold so many hats. He is an artist who exquisitely paints the sky at sunset for us every day in gloriously, blended colours. Every night He captivates us by stretching out the sparkly stars like a string of diamonds in His hands. Every morning He lights the day by lifting up the sun and every night He hangs the moon out as a beautiful bright light in the darkened sky. We are bragging about our Daddy because He is so talented at making things. He creates life, making people and animals and lots of enchanting creatures. He is the Grand Gardener and the flowers He plants for us transform into bouquets of popping colour. Our Daddy has created the most beautiful home for us, and He has promised us that one day we will go and live in His eternal mansion where He has paved the streets with gold. God is everything and more that our earthly fathers aren’t, and He outstrips the best fathers on earth. We boast about our Daddy when He earnt His stripes as our ultimate Father by sacrificing Himself when He came to our rescue after that nasty enemy tried to snatch us from His hands. He loves us so much He was willing to die for us and every single day our Daddy autographs our lives with his love, writing over our lives in His Royal blood ink and marking us as His. Now that’s a Dad worth bragging about and as we are bragging about our Daddy, perhaps we will find that others will want to meet our Dad and find Him to be an irresistible Father.
So, friends, get your brag on today.
Best days to come.
Wen
