THE DAY IT WON’T MATTER

Perhaps more so around this time of year, life seems to get busy. There are time pressures, the financial pressures of Christmas, the relationship pressures of catching up with family we haven’t seen enough of through the year, the shopping that needs to be done, the deadlines, and the disciplines that fall through these cracks. But it doesn’t just have to be the end of year silly season when we get distracted and even a little disorientated. But if what Christ said was right, there is coming a day when none of this will matter anymore. 

 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day.
John 6:39

Jesus talked about a last day. This will be the day when everyone’s distractions from what ultimately matters will be over. It will be the day when those who have fought through the distractions of life’s pressures and invested their lives into eternity, will be welcomed into eternal bliss with the One who fills it. 

For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:40

Jesus also described this present time as being a series of devastating distractions which can ‘choke’ the life out of a person. 

As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
Matthew 13:22

According to Jesus, life’s goal was not the accumulation of stuff, the attainment of achievements, the biggest bank balance, the highest acclaim. Rather, life’s point was to know and enjoy God. 

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
John 17:3

After Saul of Tarsus went from being religious to encountering Christ and becoming His follower, he wrote to the Philippians that he now made it his life goal to know Christ – not just in an intellectual way, but in a deeply intimate way. 

that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death,
Philippians 3:10

This pursuit by Paul had already cost him dearly. He tells the Corinthians that he had been whipped, beaten, flogged, slandered, and humiliated in the course of his pursuit of following Christ. Why was Paul prepared to endure this? Because a day was coming when none of these difficulties and distractions would matter anymore.

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14

What enabled Paul to forget what he had gone through and look forward to what lay ahead? Precisely what lay ahead for him! When the last day arrives, and all of humanity stands before the royally seated Christ, eternal judgment will begin. On that last day, those who have followed Christ into eternity will all appear before Him and be eternally rewarded, they will come to know Christ and the Father with the fulness of human satisfaction for all eternity. In that day, the things that caused us worry in this life will not even rate a moment’s reflection!

But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
First Corinthians 2:9

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:4

But for those who reject the Father’s offer of Christ’s sacrificial forgiveness, that day will be like an eternal ‘Ground Hog’ daywhere they will be given what they want – an eternal life without God – and the anguish that comes from the bitter regret of wasting their days on earth on things that ultimately didn’t matter for eternity.

The one who rejects Me and does not receive My words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
John 12:48

The next time you’re feeling flustered and life’s distractions have caused you to ignore the spiritual disciplines that build your eternal reward, remember, a day is coming when none of these distractions, deadlines, or detours will matter anymore.  This is why taking time out with your family each Sunday to come together as the church is an investment of your time and heart which reaps dividends for your soul now, but especially for eternity.

¶ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21 

Your Pastor,

Andrew Corbett

OVERCOMING THE OVERWHELMING, Part 1

OVERWHELMING BURDEN BEARING
Part 1

It’s a horrible feeling to feel out of control. There are many things in life in which we each get a say and can directly effect the outcome. But there are just as many things – and for those who feel as if they have lost all control – even more things, in which we have no say, get no vote, and can do nothing to change the outcome. It is in these times that a person feels overwhelmed. To use an aviation analogy, it’s like flying at night in overcast and foggy conditions when you have little idea where you are or what’s in front of you. This sense of feeling overwhelmed is a burden too great for some. It clouds a person’s judgment. It robs a person of confidence. Yet some people have learned the secret to overcoming the sense of being overwhelmed. After watching some of them closely, this is what I’ve noticed.

¶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
First Peter 5:6-7

OVERWHELMED BY GRIEF

The shock that comes from losing someone close can be debilitating. Therapists generally talk about the six stages of grief that every human experiences at varying rates and degrees. When it comes to grief there is no ‘one size fits all’, yet we will all pass through these six stages. The early stages of grief include shock, denial, anger, depression. Grief doesn’t come with a schedule but does come with a sequence. For some the initial stages of grief linger for years and years. This is especially so when there is no warning – such as a road fatality, or cold-blooded criminality. It is most especially so when it is suicide (which therapists describe as ‘complicated grief’). Such tragedies cause grievers to suffer trauma which is where the grief keeps the memory of the tragedy at the forefront of the griever’s mind. For those of us who have never suffered this kind of trauma it can be difficult to understand why a traumatised griever doesn’t just “move on”.  

¶ Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
Second Samuel 1:11-12

It takes those traumatised by grief longer to process their grief. The final stages of any grief includes acceptance of reality and appropriate compassion for others. Because trauma distorts reality, it is often very difficult for a sufferer to process their grief through to grief’s final stages without some assistance. This kind of overwhelming grief can generally only be overcome by the griever teaching their heart to ‘file past memories’. Trauma keeps a tragic memory fresh. Trauma constantly battles reality with shock and denial. This is why writing the sequence of events with as much expression as possible is so therapeutic because retrains the mind to take the memory of the tragedy and file it away in the appropriate collection of memories as a past event that really occurred. Skilled counsellors can guide a traumatised griever through this process so that they are no longer overwhelmed by the memory of the tragedy and all of the associated feelings of guilt (one of the stages of grief). In this healthy grieving process, ‘moving on’ looks like living with a degree of sorrow for what has happened and has now been lost, and, being able to feel empathy and sympathy for others who may also begin to grieve without it causing the recovered griever to retreat from these grieving people. ‘Moving on’ does not mean forgetting or never feeling sad about the loss. 

OVERWHELMED BY DESPAIR

The other night I was watching one of late-night investigative crime-reporting shows produced by Vanity Fair where they featured an extremely intelligent young lady, Sandra Boss, who was a corporate lawyer earning nearly two million dollars a year, fell victim to a con-artist. At a dinner party held by friends she met a charming man named Clarke Rockefeller, who shared that he was a member of the Rockefeller dynasty. She fell in love with him and they married and eventually had a daughter. Their marriage turned sour and this led to an awkward custody arrangement with Clarke, who was identified in court as Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter. After kidnapping his daughter and being tracked down by Police, ‘Clarke’ was identified as the chief suspect in a double homicide which had happened several years earlier. 

“There is a difference between intellectual intelligence and emotional intelligence,” Boss said in a firm voice, as the lawyer for the man authorities say is really Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter asked how such an accomplished woman could have been fooled.

“I’m not saying I made a very good choice of husband,” Boss said. “It’s pretty obvious that I had a blind spot. All I’m saying is that it’s possible that one can be brilliant and amazing in one area of one’s life and pretty stupid in another.”
THE BOSTON GLOBE, June 3rd 2009

Consider Ms. Boss’s words, “It’s possible that one can be brilliant and amazing in one area of one’s life and pretty stupid in another.” 

She said she believed his claim that he was a Rockefeller and was involved in the Trilateral Commission, or “the Group,” as he called it. The commission is a private organization whose aim is to generate closer cooperation between the United States, Europe, and Japan.

And Boss accepted numerous other fantastic stories, including that his mother was a former child movie star and that he was mute as a child, regaining his speech only after spotting a dog and blurting out his first word in seven years: “woofness.”

Being highly intelligent in one area of life can make a person feel all the more overwhelmed when it comes to navigating relationships. “There is a difference between intellectual intelligence and emotional intelligence”, Sandra Boss admitted. This shouldn’t be surprising. Professionals work tirelessly to pass increasingly difficult exams over five or more years. They then often have to work as interns for another year or two where they are supervised and scrutinised while being subjected to criticism and humiliation. Yet, when it comes to relationships, even the brightest and most professional people do little to nothing to develop their emotional skills needed to get along with others. This is why a lawyer can be an amazing lawyer but a terrible boss, or a doctor can have an amazing bedside manner but be riddled by isolation and loneliness.

Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman.
First Samuel 1:13

Learning how to emotionally connect with another requires developing the three levels of listening. It is governed by the goal of understanding before being understood. When someone feels that another person understands them, they are involuntarily drawn closer to that person. This is achieved by learning to practice reactive listening where the listener reacts in such a way that they disarm and invite the one they are listening to speak freely. It is complemented by active listening which combines empathy with clarification questions. It is completed with responsive listening where the listener demonstrates that they have heard what has been told to them or asked of them. This also requires the skill of learning that when someone shares their heart, they are not merely sharing facts. They are sharing how they feel using words that are interpretted as wooden-literal facts by those trained to pass exams involving precise language.

[continue to Part 2]

The Secret To Handling Overwhelming Burdens, Part 2

OVERWHELMING BURDEN BEARING
Part 2

Pilots are trained to be able to fly at night in thick cloud over mountainous terrains. If they ignore their training and become overwhelmed they run the risk of losing their bearings and their life. But if they can remain composed and rely on their training, they will trust their cock-pit instruments and be able to navigate their plane through these treacherous conditions. Despite their lack of visibility, their instruments will tell them their altitude, their location, their attitude, their speed, and other vital information. This is great metaphor for managing what would ordinarily be an overwhelming situation in life where God's Word acts as our flight instruments.

Flying in such conditions often leads to a pilot having to fly counter-intuitively. If you've ever watched an episode of Air Flight Investigation, you will seen instances of where a pilot thought their instruments were broken because their senses were deceiving them. When we are prone to being overwhelmed, our senses often tell us to flee. But if we would trust our instruments, as revealed in Scripture, we might avoid making matters worse and thereby lessen our annoying pattern of always being overwhelmed whenever this trigger appears.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Second Timothy 1:6-7

“Take My yoke upon you!” summoned the Christ. Perhaps in the First Century A.D. this sounded appealing. But in the 21st Century A.D. the last thing many of us want is not another weight on our shoulders! We are each at times weighed down by the complexities of our modern fast-paced, highly demanding, relationship straining, lonely, debt-festering, burdens. We get tired. We feel unwell. We fail to meet our own expectations let alone those of others. These multiple burdens can genuinely feel overwhelming. But there is a secret way to navigate these overwhelming demands and it’s easier to do than you might think.

Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:29-30

When I feel overwhelmed and I sleep too little, exercise too minimally, fret too much, I employ the secret. Rather than adding to my intolerable burdens, Christ’s yoke is not in addition to what is weighing upon my mind and draining my strength. No, it is instead of. For when I heed Christ’s summons to be yoked to Him, He takes the weight of my burdens from off my shoulders, puts them on His own, and replaces them with yoke designed to be worn by two beasts of burden. It’s not a fair deal though. God’s grace is never fair. Typical of how the ancient Orientals introduced a novice oxen to the task of jointly pulling a plow, when I am yoked to Christ I am yoked to the One who does the bulk of the heavy lifting. Christ unfairly takes my share of the yoke’s burden upon His own shoulders. It reminds me of the story of the toddler who wanted shoot baskets with his uncle the basketballer. There was no way the visiting nephew could even get the ball the nine feet in the air required to shoot a basket. To avoid the disappointment, his uncle lifted him and the ball up above his shoulders where all the wee one had to do was drop the ball into the hoop. He went up and the ball went down through the hoop. “I did it!” he exclaimed, “I did it – all by myself! I did it!” And his uncle just smiled and celebrated with him. Christ has been like an uncle to me many times and I have been like a self-absorbed wee one to Him too many times. But He still bears my burdens.

O Lord my God, when I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hand hath made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy pow’are throughout the universe displayed
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin
When Christ shall come, with shouts of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, “My God, how great You are!”

How Great Thou Art,  Stuart K. Hine, 1949

No matter how overwhelmed you may feel at the moment, He will gladly bear your burdens. He invites us to depend upon Him as the Source of all our needs, and to continue to cast all our burdens onto Him.

¶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
First Peter 5:6-7

Pastor Andrew

YOUR OPTIONS COULD BE STRESSING YOU

You Have Options...

When I was growing up, we thought we had the option of three careers: fireman, policeman, or an astronaut. (I added the little-known fourth option, professional tennis player, to this list, even though I was "junior cop" for an embarrassing season.) While I was committed to the fourth option, many found a fifth. But that was then and this is now. Sometimes we face situations where we think we only have one or maybe two options. This is rarely, if ever, the truth of the matter. You have options.

When someone is particularly tired, it often feels like they have no options to the challenges before them. (And if you are tired and stressed it is difficult to see any options at all.) Understanding what your options are determines how what your level of stress is. It's not just the lack of apparent options which causes increased stress, multiple options can similarly result in increased stress for someone. In our technological age where it is often easier to communicate with someone on the other side of the planet than it is with our physical nextdoor-neighbour, people are now faced with more options than ever before - and not just regarding their employment opportunities. 

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 

THE MENTAL HEALTH OF CHRISTIANS

The other day I was having breakfast with some other pastors in our city. We were discussing what the greatest needs of our city were. We noted that the Launceston City Mission was doing an outstanding job with in working with the city's poor and homeless. But we wondered whether there were any greater practical needs in our city that we as Christian leaders might need to be aware of and respond to. My colleague shared how he was now dealing with increasing numbers of distressed people. He said that this seemed to be indicative of our community's mental health becoming unhealthier. "We have solutions for homelessness. We have solutions for family-breakdowns. We have solutions for teen-pregnancies. But we are yet to adequately grapple with the deteriorating mental health of our community" he said. Shortly after this I had several medical doctors tell me that most of their patients now present them with significant mental health issues. One GP even told me that much of what he now does in his consulting rooms is actually clinical mental-health, rather than medicine. And Christians are not immune from this. Here's why. 

HOW CHRISTIANS CHOOSE THEIR OPTIONS

Some understand that the Bible teaches believers to seek God for every decision they have to make. Seeking God is indeed what the Bible teaches. But rather than seeking God for His decision on the options before us, we are told to seek God for the wisdom so that we can wisely decide between our options. For believers who do not understand this and expect God to make their decisions for them, this lack of certainty regarding what His decision for them is can even be an added source of increased stress! This is potentially very damaging to a person's mental health. Not only does the believer face the stress of selecting the best option before them, they often add to this stress by thinking that God has to reveal the right choice to them. This leads them to believe that hearing from God is supremely mysterious and tricky. When they struggle to hear from God it raises niggling doubts that maybe God doesn't love them, or hasn't fully forgiven them. They read the Scriptures, which talk about the peace of God, and the renewal of their mind, but their own experience of anxiety and confusion conflicts with what they see promised in the Bible. This shows us that mental health, even for Christians, is not a trivial matter and certainly does not have simplistic answers. But when Christians are given simplistic solutions (as distinct from Biblically "simple" solutions) is it any wonder then that more and more Christians are now experiencing mental anguish to the extent that they require prescribed medicating? I am not suggesting that Christians diagnosed with mental health challenges shouldn't take prescribed medication, but I am questioning whether it should be the first response and immediate course of action.

¶ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2

CHRISTIANS AND THE WILL OF GOD

Strangely, what is supposed to be a source of comfort and assurance for all believers has become a source of anguish for many. The confusion has come from those who taught that the Word of God is insufficient for a believer to discover the will of God for their life. If a believer was to simply read the Bible, they would read, learn and discover the will of God for their life - without the need for a particular extra-revelation from God. Of course, there are some individuals whom God graces with a very special commission - but even in Scripture we discover that this was extraordinary not normal! Therefore, every believer can walk in the will of God by reading, learning, and applying the Word of God to their life and simply blooming where they are planted. That is, rather than seeing and agonising over their various options as to how they should serve God, they see that Scripture generally describes God placing believers into situations and contexts with the right gifts, talents and abilities at just the time. In other words, the will of God for every believer is to be fully devoted to God, to be committed to, and serve in, Christ's local church, to shine the love of God through their witness and good deeds. I hope you can see why I say this should be a source of comfort and assurance for every believer rather than a cause of anguish. 

¶ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 
Philippians 4:8

CHRISTIANS, THE GRACE OF GOD, AND MENTAL HEALTH

Peace with God is made possible by the grace of God. This grace is made effective in our souls from the moment that God in His grace reveals Himself and His offer of forgiveness for our sins through Christ to us. We do nothing to earn this revelation. We do nothing to qualify for this associated gift of repentance. We do nothing to regenerate our dead and dormant spirits to life and union with Christ. We do nothing to now be considered the adopted child of God. If we did anything to merit any of these benefits and components of salvation, our salvation would not be by grace! Therefore, once we have been made alive in Christ what can we do to "un-earn" something we never "earned" in the first place? If more Christians understood that the basis of God's love toward them is not whether they are good enough or not, but the righteousness of Christ bestowed graciously upon them, there would literally be more Christians enjoying God rather than trying to appease Him. Understanding God's grace does wonders for your mental health. 

The second dimension of God's grace toward the believer is His provision for our needs. If more Christians understood that God's answers to our prayers are expressions of His grace, not rewards for our spiritual earnestness, there would be far less anxiety over seemingly "unanswered" prayer. Can we recognise that healing, provision, blessing are acts of God's grace - and therefore, if we don't get what we want from God He is not being unkind or even ungracious toward us.

It was one of the other GPs who said that he also has to deal with more mental health patients than patients with a physical condition. He insightfully said, "People today have so many options and this stresses them and causes great anxiety." Sometimes we feel the stress of not having enough options to deal with the challenges before us. But there are other times when we feel stress because it seems like we have too many options before us. This is where I remind you that in these instances you need wisdom - not a revelation - from God. That is, God wants you to make an informed choice. Even if you choose an unwise option you can be assured from God's Word that He knows how to guard you, lead you, equip you, and use you, both because and despite of the choices you make. So quit being so worried about whether you will select the right option!  You have options and if you sincerely base your decisions in what you know God's Word instructs, your options become increasingly obvious and far less confusing.

Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
¶ Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act..
Psalm 37:4-5

Ps. Andrew

Under Pressure Yet In Control

Reading John 13 this morning, I am deeply moved by two outstanding yet subtle observations. Firstly, Jesus knew exactly what was about to happen. Secondly, the one non-Galillean disciple did not know that Jesus knew what had been going on - or what was about to happen! I see Jesus at this point in a totally new light. Just as in friendship (and especially in courting the idea of whether to marry a person) you never really get to know someone until you see them up close and under pressure! In fact, the more pressure they are under, the clearer the picture you'll have of who they truly are. In John 13, The Christ is under pressure. He is minutes away from being grievously betrayed. And it is at this point that we see an even clearer picture of the most exquisitely unique being who has ever been among us.

During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him,  Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
John 13:2-5

Someone in Christ's innermost circle of trusted leaders has been working behind the scenes to undermine Him. Added to this, he has been stealing from the group's treasury for his own personal expenses. And in addition to these crimes, he has now all but sealed the deal to have his Master brutally tortured and executed. All this has been done in secret. Or so he thought. Just minutes before he cashed in on his wicked scheme, the One he was about to demise, now half-naked so that the ordour and grime didn't spray onto his clean garments, took his betrayer's aching, tired, dusty, smelly feet, and began to caress them with a warm, wet sponge, then dry them with a towell. It was a scene that only an outside observer could have fully appreciated for the betrayer didn't even notice it happening! Why? He was too engrossed in a heated discussion about why he would be the greatest in the Kingdom to come-

¶ A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
Luke 22:24

As Jesus removed the animal manure from the festy feet of Judas, He knew full well what His betrayer was about to do. Upon reflection of this profound moment, John opens this chapter with an introductory statement about what we are about to read.

¶ Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
John 13:1

Later, as his betrayer was securing his blood-money, Jesus would leave that dining room for a garden aptly named, The Press. It was in the midst of an olive grove and it was where the harvested olives would be pressed to produce an oil used for medicinal purposes. In their tongue, it was referred to as Gethsemane. Shortly, Jesus too would be harvested and His life would also be pressed, and He too would then produce a healing oil (that it is still flowing today). The thought of what was about to happen to Him, being orchestrated by Judas Iscariot as He knelt there in prayer, caused His capillaries to dillate and exude blood through His sweat glands. Jesus was under the most intense and literally unimagineable pressure. Yet He remained composed. He breathed His prayer of renewal of dedication to His Father and entrusted His soul to the One who was worthy of it. To His disciples, seeing Judas leave the room and the door closing behind him, He began to speak sweetly and softly in a manner they had not previously heard. John carefully takes the next three chapters to retell these words. When you read John 14, 15, 16, read them quietly and softly - the way Christ tenderly uttered them. They begin with these startling words that only made sense two months after they were uttered.

So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he (Judas) immediately went out. And it was night.
¶ When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 
John 13:30-31

After Judas left, Christ declared that His disciples would now see Him begin to be glorified. Jesus had an utterly different perspective from others! He spoke intimately with them about waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He was concerned about them. Truly strong men, when under pressure, keep caring for others - especially those they are responsible for. Weak men, when under pressure, blame others and lash out at those they should care for!

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
John 13:35

No matter what dark hour you are facing - no matter what kind of pressure you are under - Jesus understands. No matter how lonely you feel, the One who begged those whom He considered His closest friends - yet was let down by them in His hour of greatest need for them - knows what you're going through. Even when it feels like no-one understands at all, Jesus "knowing all things" knows what you are going through. You can experience His comfort, His care, His friendship, because He - more than anyone else - knows how much you truly need it. When He looks you in the eye through the mist of your tears and tells you, "Trust My Father", He alone is qualified to say it - and He knows what He's talking about. Far from being under pressure and feeling out of control, because He trusted His Father, He was both under pressure and enjoying the peace that comes from knowing that God is in control.

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me."
John 14:1 

Ps. Andrew

HANDLING MORE PRESSURE

INADEQUACY UNDER PRESSURE

In the last week I have spent time with a few very special visitors who have each asked me how I manage my different roles. I won't bore you with the small list of hats that I have to wear that seem to take up most of my time. Needless to say, I'm not left wondering whether there's anything left to do. For those who have got to know me over the years, they have discovered that I really do care about people and have a general policy that no matter how busy I am, I will always take time to be with people. But tonight I was asked if I ever feel overwhelmed or inadequate?

Second Corithians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

I smiled. Yes. There are times when I feel overwhelmed and inadequate. A few years ago I felt the Lord beginning to teach me how to increase my capacity to handle pressure. Not that I'm a rock-star of pressure management now, but there was a time not that long ago when I was a relative pressure-phobe. I began praying that God would radically increase my capacity to handle pressure and get things done - despite obstacles. Shortly afterwards, I learned my first lesson about increasing my capacity to handle pressure.

Second Corinthians 4:8 We are experiencing trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed, but not driven to despair;

I love pastoring our church. I delight in the pastoral mission of discipleship to which I am called. It involves teaching, preaching, counseling, training, planning, praying, and studying. But it also involves helping people solve problems and deal with some of the difficulties of life in a Biblically guided way. In my experience, the times of the most intense pressure come when there are task deadlines and urgent people needs. Because I seem to increasingly experience this combination of pressure-causers, and I have had a desire to be equal to the task, I had to learn the first lesson of my journey of how to increase my pressure-handling abilities.

Second Corinthians 11:28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

The first thing I had to learn about increasing my ability to handle pressure was that not everybody should. I have seen too many wives carrying emotional, financial, spiritual burdens that they are not designed or meant to handle (while their husbands refused to take up their responsibility of being a their family's burden bearer). I have also seen some assisting pastors take on the role of a senior pastor and not cope because they didn't have the pressure-capacity to handle the responsibilities involved. There is no shame in this. In fact, there is great honour is accepting your strengths and your weaknesses and knowing what your realistic potential is. But I have discovered that God calls some people to greater burdens of servanthood. These servants have greater load-bearing potential. But they nearly all feel overwhelmed and inadequate. Yet at the same time, despite the mounting pressure, there is a desire to fulfil their potential. According to Philippians 2:13, this desire comes from God and is meant to prompt us to pray to God for His help.

Phil. 2:13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

The second thing I've had to learn about increasing my capacity to handle pressure is to keep first things first. That is, don't let the urgent override the important. Do the important things first. I have found that the basics of Christian discipline, Scripture reading, prayer, fellowship and witnessing are important but rarely urgent.

I could go on about my growing list of Improving Pressure Handling tips, but I would rather conclude by picking up the conversation I began with. Do I feel overwhelmed trying to keep up with the demands of being a husband, dad, pastor of a thriving church, president of a premier distance education Bible College, manager of revitalised radio station, with weekly broadcasting and writing commitments? Yes, at times. If I thought I could continue to hold your interest I would share some of the other tips that I have found helpful to increasing my capacity to handle pressure such as resting well, delegating appropriately, commitment to finish, and so on.

Perhaps you've also found that life has its seasons. There are seasons of intense busyness. There are seasons of welcomed quiet and ease. Maybe one of the best things we might discover in these seasons of life is that pressure often comes from how we are relating to others and that despite the attractive temptation to withdraw from others to try to avoid such pressure, this is actually one of the worst things we can do. The next time you are reading through the Gospels note how often Jesus was under intense pressure and in those moments He knew when to withdraw from people - not to be alone - but to be more particularly with His Father - but take note of how often He was interrupted by someone just when He was at His busiest (and note how He handled it).

Psa. 34:8 ¶ Taste and see that the LORD is good.
Oh, the joys of those who trust in him!

Ps. Andrew

What Your Kitchen Sink Says About You

There is an ancient art used by the most sophisticated analysts of human behaviour that is not well known among the general public. You may have heard of "Divination" which is used by occultic practitioners to make proclamations. I am not advocating for this kind of witchery. However, the ancient art of discerning of which I am writing, is no less revealing in its pronouncements - indeed it is considered by those who know to be far more reliable.

Not Divination but Sinkination. Divination and Sinkination do have one thing in common though: they both use tea cups. The wizard-diviner uses the tea-leaves at the bottom of a enquirer's tea cup to 'divine', whereas the Sinkinater uses the whole cup (although, unlike the Diviner, the Sinkinator is not restricted to tea-cups though because they find coffee cups, mugs, and empty glasses of water just as useful).  The Sinkinater is able to form an amazingly accurate picture of a person without ever having met that person merely by examining their kitchen sink (it is not even necessary for the sink to be in their own home, it works equally well with work-place, or any, sink also).

What the trained Sinkinater is able to ascertain is uncanny. They can learn the most insightful things about their subject. It is believed, by those who know, that Sherlock Holmes was the first to develop this art. His manuscript was published under the pseudonym, Sir Kelvin Ater Caroma. MI-6 incorporated his research into its Agent Training program and the observant will readily recall that the second most famous MI-6 agent, Agent 007, was a deft Sinkinater in his pursuit of bad guys (take a close look at James in any of his movies and notice the subtle but deliberate fleeting glare he gives in the direction of a kitchen or bar sink). Many a villian to the Mother Country was unwittingly brought down ultimately by Bond's little known Sinkinater skills.

One of the immediate things that a trained and qualified Sinkinater can ascertain about a person is how they handle pressure. It's a little complicated to the uninitiated, and space prevents me from divulging all of the procedures that lead to these inerrant conclusions about a subject, but it goes something like this. If a subject drinks from their cup/mug/glass and places the said item into the sink to either be washed up by another, or to be washed by themselves at a later time, the Sinkinater can quickly employ their skills to analyse how the subject handles pressure. Drawing on ancient Egyptian wisdom which was also known during the times of the Babylonians and the Dynastic Chinese, the Sinkinater seeks to learn whether a person is someone who deals with things:

(i) themselves, when it is in their power to do so, or whether they expect others to their work for them;

 (ii) immediately, or whether they procrastinate and let little things like cups/mugs/glasses build up to be a sink full of such items. 

From our Primary and Elementary School days we well remember the Great Controversy of 1876 when the London Academy of Sciences was split down the middle over Sir Kelvin Ater Coroma's findings into Sinkology. This ugly and undignified scrap almost brought down the House of Lords, until Sherlock Holmes himself wrote to the London Times validating the findings of Sir Coroma. Those who had scoffed at the idea that people who left cups/mugs/glasses in their sinks were slightly irresponsible procrastinators were now publicly humiliated and removed from their position of public notoriety. The connection between those who treated the trivial mundane matters of life with the important consequential matters had now become undeniable.

In much the same way that Astrologers loosely base their craft-iness on the work of credible Astronomers, Leadership Experts soon realised the phenomenal benefits that Sinkology could deliver to their leadership clients. Leadership Experts, such as John Maxwell, Zig Ziglar, Bill Hybels, all now teach their clients (many who pay big money to attend their Seminars) to wash their cups/mugs/glasses up immediately - and don't just dump them in the sink! In the old days, they used to teach interpersonal skills, management techniques, vision-casting, goal setting, strategy implementation, to these CEOs - but with the discovery of Sinkology, they can now achieve all that and much more by simply training these leadership elites to wash up their cups immediately. We haven't got time here, and copyright restrictions prevent me from giving too much of the substance of these Seminars away for free, but I can say that these Leadership Trainers show the clear link between how a person handles the little things when there is no pressure with how they will handle the bigger things of life when there is pressure. One skeptical CEO said two weeks after attending one of these high-priced Seminars-

"I was very skeptical at first. In fact, I was a little outraged that I had taken 3 days out of my schedule and paid $23,000 to attend this training Seminar, and all he talked about was how I treated my coffee cup! I was outraged that he suggested he could tell how I generally handled pressure by looking at my sink! He didn't know the time pressures I am under. I haven't got time to wash up my cup! I was about to demand my money back when I said to myself- 'Self, why don't you try it first?' So I did. And I have to say that I'm now a believer. I've been washing up after myself straight away and it's changed the way I see other little time demands. I now reply quickly and immediately to emails. I now keep an up-to-date To Do List and constantly check off completed tasks. I view interruptions from people as mysterious opportunities. This sinkology stuff really works. Try it for yourself! I'll definitely be doing the $46,000 Teaspoon Leadership Seminar next month!"

How we treat the little things in times of relative ease says a lot about us but it also shapes us for how we handle times of pressure in life, at work, in the home. In Romans 5, there is a "Pressure Progression" that ultimately reveals that it is pressure which exposes who we really are.

Jer. 12:5 ¶ “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?

If you want to handle pressure better, don't let little things build up. Deal with those things, within your power to do so, immediately. This new lifestyle may seemingly slow you down, after all, taking an extra 37.5 seconds to wash your cup up does slow you down. But looking at a sink piled with cups, plates, cutlery, and feeling overwhelmed may slow you down more.

Spiritually, the time-proven lessons from Sinkology can be readily applied to taking up our Bibles each day and reading them. Sure, starting your day with a little Bible reading can seem like a slow way to start your day. But when confronted with a pile of problems of varying magnitudes in which you desperately need to hear from God, changing your lifestyle to get still enough to hear from God's Word my also seem overwhelming. Sinkinaters have a lot to teach us about the correlation between how we view and treat the "little" things in life, like cups and children, with the apparent weightier things of life. Perhaps though, the problem for the pressured Christian is that what has become regarded as "little" things to be done later, were never really little things and certainly should never have been for later.

Ps. Andrew
10th February 2012

A PENNY, A SPLINTER, AND A HIDDEN STAR

Prov. 22:25 lest you learn his ways
and entangle yourself in a snare.

Samuel Grafton once said- "A penny will hide the biggest star in the Universe if you hold it close enough to your eye." It's amazing how big a small problem becomes if you focus on it and let it fill your vision. Yesterday I had a tiny little piece of something stuck microscopically in my jeans. It was occasionally rubbing near my knee. I felt it at the start of the day but didn't worry too much about it. But as the day unfolded and I had several stressful (and immensely far more important issues than a tiny splinter in my jeans) arise, I increasingly noticed that this teeny-weeny, tiny, splinter had grown. I scanned the outside of my jeans searching for the offending splinter, but to no avail.

As the day went on and the stress of even newer difficulties were thrust upon me, I was duly distracted by the splinter in my jeans which now had a hyperdermic needle tip. Once again I searched for the pesky culprit. But it must have seen me looking since it was no where to be found.

I was trying to help people in very sensitive situations yesterday. But I was continually distracted by this splinter which had now been possessed by a demon-goth-lord-of-the-underworld and had stepped up its campaign of annoyance to a fully fledged war on my inner knee and thigh by no longer rubbing itself occasionally into my normally super-humanly tough skin, but now it was deliberately, yea: maliciously jabbing itself demonically into my leg.

Forget the fact that I have the greatest job in the world. Forget the fact that I work in with a talented loyal staff team who are committed to the Cause of Christ and are prepared to do so sacrificially. Forget the fact that I have a loving God honouring family. Forget the fact that I live in one of the greatest places to live on the planet. Forget the fact that I could eat today. Forget the fact that I woke up in a comfortable bed in a comfortable house in a comfortable street in a comfortable neighbourhood. Forget the fact that unlike 80% of the world's population, I actually had something to eat today. Forget all these things- there was a microscopic splinter somewhere in the seam of my jeans causing hell-on-earth-demonic havoc with my leg!

Heb. 12:1 ¶ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.

Of course I should have known better. I should have realised what the old NY Times columnist, Samuel Grafton, meant when he said that with a penny you could block out the biggest star in the universe. I should have known that when you focus on a problem, even a trivial one, you "feed" it. It grows with attention.

I was reading the book of Nehemiah that other day and was reminded that Nehemiah had many problems in rebuilding Jerusalem. At one point his enemies requested an urgent meeting with him to discuss the rebuilding program. But Nehemiah refused to meet with them.

Neh. 6:3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”

Nehemiah knew how to ignore life's "splinters".

Near the end of the day I determined to rid myself of this splinterous distraction. I changed my jeans. I now reflect that there are probably more times than I care to admit when I have lost sight of the big (read: "important") things in life, and sweated on the small stuff. An older and wiser pastor than me once said to me, Your are only as big as the problems you deal with. Yesterday I was reduced to the bigness of a splinter!

Jesus said-

Matt. 6:25-28, 31, 34 ¶ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ¶ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Sometimes we hold our small problems so close to our eyes that we block out our vision of the brightest Star in the Universe (Rev. 22:16).

Rev. 22:16 ¶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”