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Instruments of His Peace

Instruments of His Peace

By Monica

Original post by Becoming Fully Alive blog site

“Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.” Psalm 106:3

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9

As a church we tend to focus on promising a hope in the life to come, but what about the life we are still living? Jesus didn’t just come to prepare us for our death, but also to teach us how to live. Jesus cared about the hurt and the brokenness in this world. He cared for the widows and orphans. He talked about unjust judges way more than He did about the afterlife. Jesus cared about justice, in fact Jesus is justice, just like He is love. It is integral to His character.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He wept over Jerusalem because they didn’t know ‘the things that make for peace.’ Ironically, the world’s logic says that we must make peace, but we use violence; but Jesus defeated violence with love and peace. Peacemaking does not mean passivity. It is the act of disarming evil without harming the evil doer. Peacemaking starts with what we can change; ourselves. But it doesn’t end there, being a peacemaker also means interrupting the violence we see around us, in our streets and in our worlds.

I see my Facebook flooded with pictures and outraged statuses, but when will we be moved enough to actually move? When will we start becoming instruments of His peace? Because, it’s a heartbreaking fact that in the world Christians have become known more for what they are against, rather than what they are for.

We wait on God to act, but God is also waiting on us. We ask God why there is so much suffering in the world, but maybe God is asking us the same question. We forget that we have spent our Sunday worshipping a homeless man because we ignore him on a Monday. We are His hands and feet. We ask God to move a mountain, but God has already handed us a shovel. We need to pray and act. The world needs our protests and our prayers. The world will continue to suffer if we continue being either inactive believers or unbelieving activists. We need to pray to be people who hold God’s hand in one and our neighbour’s in the other.

We need to pray intentionally to be arrows that strike specifically, because He promised that; ‘each man’s work will become evident’ 1 Corinthians 3:13, so let us write His promises on the walls of our hearts and pray that He reveals to us His perfect pre-planned work for us. Maybe we can’t build a wall, but when each brings his brick, brick by brick, the wall will be built.

C.S. Lewis wrote: “We must picture hell as a state where everyone is perpetually concerned about his own dignity and advancement, where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives with the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance, and resentment.”

“Who, in the midst of the preoccupation of hell, would have the energy and generosity for the larger battles? What might it mean if we resolved to abandon every petty, small, and unworthy battle? What if we resolved to give ourselves fully to larger things that matter, to things of God and His kingdom? In fact, in a world of so much acute suffering, hurt and need, for what purpose have you and I been granted so much?” Gary Haugen

Prayer: God please comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. Let us be disturbed to the point where we cannot accept serving at a distance but that we become active about making a difference.

Original blog found at- http://becomingfullyalive.com/instruments-of-his-peace/

Did I Make The Right Choice?

by Sandra
Original post by Becoming Fully Alive blog site

“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantine and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn’t quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”― Sylvia Plath

Last September I had a pretty big decision to make about where I was going to accept a job. I called up the people who knew me best to get their insight, asked my father of confession for his wisdom and spoke to people working in the same field for their perspective.

Whether it’s deciding over relationships, colleges, schools or jobs, sometimes we might find ourselves with two seemingly great choices, and so we find ourselves in a dilemma. Each choice will come at a cost; each choice will have positives and negatives, and ultimately no choice will be perfect.

I’ve never been a fan of pros and cons lists – I find that life can’t be categorised that easily. However, a friend gave me advice that helped. I was told to assign a value to each point under my two options. When I started writing the values I held, I started to see that while both choices were in line with the vision I had for my life, there were some values that were more significant than others. And while one option had way more values than the other, the other which only had a couple were much more fundamental to me.

A few of the things I’ve learned this season…

“We don’t know what to do but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12). In the midst of his crisis, King Jehoshaphat acted by praising God. We also in the midst of our confusion and turmoil over decisions, need to learn the art laying our anxieties and restless thoughts down, being still and opening our heart in worship. The voice of the Holy Spirit can be so gentle that it’s only when we spend time in his presence that we can discern His Voice from all the noise.

Pray and learn from whatever happens on the other side. No matter what you choose, there will be struggle, and there will be trials for we know “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Sometimes those are a result of our choices, but in the end, they will be used by God to sanctify us and purify us. Living with our eyes on eternity is important in those seasons to understand that nothing is outside of His never-ending and unfailing love and mercy. There is no such thing as Plan B or Z with Christ. He will use all for our deification; it might take us longer on certain paths but even then, all we need to do is repent, and we are restored.

There’s a principle in radiology that says even if you find the fracture on an x-ray you should keep looking for other signs because you don’t want to be blindsided. Bring your decision before the Lord in prayer and meditation but challenge yourself to be curious and look deeper into your intentions, motivations and reasons for each choice. Give yourself time, patience and space and trust that the Holy Spirit will examine you, try you and reveal what is in depths of your heart.

Sometimes God’s will is clear and other times, most times, God allows us the freedom to choose and become whoever we want, though He may certainly have a direction for you. Submission is hard as we deny our self that we may be dedicated to Another. The hardest part in all of this is asking God “Who do you want me to be?” I think of Mary, called to be Mother of God; Abraham called to be Father of Nations and the disciples called to be Fishers of Men. God revealed to them who they were in His eyes and with that promise He gave them the strength and grace to become. Sometimes we don’t know how to choose because we don’t know who God is asking us to be. That may not be a question that gets answered overnight, it needs silence and self-awareness and time alone with Him. Sometimes it’s a process – it takes making one choice faithfully, and waiting faithfully and then making another and waiting to see what is revealed. But it’s a question we all desperately need the answer to – more than what we do God wants us to know who we are. It is only in knowing that, can we then make the decisions about what we do, how we spend our time, money and emotions. Because where we invest our heart, there we invest our life.

What if there is no such thing as the perfect choice? Because choosing means we can’t have everything. Because we don’t know how things will change and how those things that change will change us. Because we don’t know who we will be or what we will need in the future? Because we can sit here and play “what if the the grass is greener over there?” all day and it won’t bring us any closer to an answer – only further from being satisfied. And what if none of that matters because the point is to grow and seek His kingdom regardless of our choices?

So trust yourself. Most of our choices are not made in isolation. Where we are now and the choices we are making today is a culmination of all the choices and experiences in the past that have led up to this point. Trust that the God who has knit you from birth, has been guiding you and shaping you like clay can lead you today in this choice. Sometimes it’s fear of not having the perfect picture of our future figured out that holds us back.

A year later I’m fighting to find peace in the unknown road I’m on, but I want to continue to fight and continue to hope in Him because when I put the pieces in front of me, they don’t fit. Before me lays the back of a colourful tapestry and I have little idea what the canvas is going to look like. There are some dark threads from the past and some strange shapes from the present. But if I let Him just take all the colours, threads and pieces, I don’t have to sit and stare at them. The root of every untrusting feeling is the fear that He is not in fact good and that His love will end, especially when I feel I have no clue or answers about what to do. But if I forfeit my desire to know every outcome, if I forfeit the need to have physical evidence or feeling as evidence, then I will trust in His Word that He is with me, and that He is weaving stars and gold from what looks like odd patterns to me. And doesn’t that make all the difference?

C.S. Lewis — ‘I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?’

One choice we can always make, even in the midst of painful uncertainty, the simplest place to start is with this: “Love the Lord your God … and love your neighbour as yourself. No other commandment is greater…” You will always be where you need to be as long as Love is your aim.

Original blog found at – http://becomingfullyalive.com/did-i-make-the-right-choice/

The Relevance of Orthodoxy

The Relevance of Orthodoxy

by Marc Bastawrous

It’s one of my earliest childhood memories. It’s a Saturday night and the whole family is together when my Dad asks those words us kids always dreaded hearing, “why don’t we all go and get dinner?”

Family dinner nights meant sitting around at some restaurant arguing with my sisters and fending off questions about school from both my parents. It almost felt like we were being punished for something. Although, every now and then on the way home, Dad would ask the only question we longed to hear from him, “who wants to rent a movie from Civic Video?”

You could not describe our joy! That feeling of running down the aisles of Civic Video looking for movies we would binge together that night over popcorn and ice-cream was so exhilarating. The process of finding a movie would often take about an hour; trying to find one that catered to everyone’s taste was not easy (I had to learn to enjoy Romantic Comedies).

Nights like these were so joyful in our family because they were so rare. The reason for this was due to a combination of school nights and more so, the sheer effort it took to go and rent a movie.

Enter: Netflix.

Since Netflix entered the scene, places like Civic and Blockbuster have fallen into an abyss of absolute worthlessness. In fact, the Blockbuster right beside my school burned down and we didn’t hear about it until we returned from our summer holiday. Such was their insignificance. However, that’s not to say they went down without a fight. Perhaps you would have noticed a few Blockbuster ‘vending machines’ whilst walking on the street. They downsized from large shops to vending machines in order to make it easier for the public to rent movies and more importantly, to stay relevant. Nonetheless, it was still no match for the simplicity and accessibility of Netflix.

Throughout all of history, you will find that businesses, the entertainment industry and even world leaders will have taken steps in order to remain relevant. In fact, life itself demands us to stay relevant if we are to thrive.

If you look up the definition of ‘relevant’ here’s what you’ll find:

def: Relevant /ˈrɛləv(ə)nt/

– appropriate to the current time, period, or circumstances; of contemporary interest.

So then, how does the church fit into this picture of relevancy?

Well, throughout the history of Christianity, many churches, like Blockbuster and Civic video, have tried to mould themselves to suit the interests of their times (hence the Protestant movement). One church has remained stubborn though. The Orthodox Church.

Orthodoxy means ‘right’ or ‘straight worship’ and the Orthodox Church represents the earliest church founded by the Apostles on the belief of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection over 2000 years ago. Thus, Orthodoxy embodies original Christianity. It is not a denomination; it is pre-denominationalas it has existed since before the schisms of Christianity. Through the course of these past 2000 years as such, the Orthodox church has held fast to its traditions, maintaining the sacraments and important elements of the liturgy.

Therefore, the obvious question that comes to us is, how does a church that holds so tightly to a 2000-year-old tradition, instituted by a bunch of old dudes preaching about the need to bear the heavy burdenof the Cross, stay relevant in an era that functions on simplicity? The answer: it doesn’t. And that’s what makes it relevant.

It is relevant in its need. As the cliché goes – “the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” The fact that the Orthodox faith has not deviated even in the slightest from the earliest church means it tailors to the needs of the world in the purest form of Christianity.

It is relevant in its worship. If I wanted to get the most out of my car, who would be the best person to talk to: the creator of the car, or the creator of a different car? Christ Himself established the Orthodox church and passed it on to the Apostles, hence providing us with the most unblemished way of worshipping God.

It is relevant in its universality. In our Creed we say, “in one, holy, universal and apostolic church.” There are no boundaries. The Orthodox church is open to all people from all different walks of life.

The church today has grown, been established abroad and progressed to the point where the liturgy and Gospel are spoken in many languages; but the fact that it remains unchanged until today is part of its beauty.

It is an ancient faith in a modern world!

So then, is Orthodoxy relevant? The simple answer is:

It’s not supposed to be.

But, here’s the thing. That which is timeless will always be relevant

The Struggle for Victory

The Struggle for Victory

By Archbishop Angaelos

There are many Christians in the world… and we are all trying to find the right way to live. We’re all trying to find a way to be a faithful, committed Christian, and that’s going to mean many different things. Our Lord says, “if you do not take up your cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.” And for us, “taking up the cross” can mean different things. Sometimes we visualise “taking up the cross” as being this incredibly different feat, this challenge, this constant struggle… and that’s how we see our Christian lives. For others it will be this glory and this grace and this victory… and that’s how we see it.

The problem is, if we live in either of these extremes, it becomes difficult, and it becomes problematic for us as Christians, because if we just look at the “challenge” and the “struggle,” it becomes burdensome. God has not come to give us a burden, in actual fact He comes and says to us, “Come to me if you are burdened, if you are heavy ladened, if you are tired, and I will give you rest.” But then… if we look at the other side of the Cross just being this glorious, victorious symbol of authority, that is also problematic because that could quite easily slip into us becoming quite proud and arrogant… and there is nothing worse than an arrogant Christian, because that again, is the furthest thing from what we are supposed to be. We are supposed to be meek and lowly and humble and giving and sacrificial. All of those things. None of those things equate to arrogance and self- righteousness.

So what is the reality of our journey then? The reality of our journey is the Cross, that it is sometimes… a struggle, but at the end of it, it is a glorious victory. In our lives, we will struggle. We will struggle daily. Sometimes they’re large, significant, sometimes its crippling struggles, otherwise, there will be your daily struggles that just happen as we live life. Neither of those should overcome us, none of that should make us feel that we have no source or strength or foundation to go back to. We remember at that point that while there was pain and struggle and even a sense of ill-repute in the Cross, when our Lord was there crucified. Yet before He left this world, He left us the glory of the resurrection. He told us that there was something to come afterwards… no matter how strong, how significant, how even crippling the struggle, there is always the glory of that resurrection of the Cross. And that is the reality of our journey.

It is a complete, holistic journey. It is not one that is rooted in an absolute, because our journeys continue to shape and unfold. The only absolute is the presence of God and the salvation to which He calls us. The way we live it, the message and the hope and the victory and even the struggle is going to be shaped daily by our experiences and the presence of God in our lives. So… we give thanks for the struggles, we give thanks for the glory and we give thanks for the victory, knowing that when we “take up our cross,” we follow in the footsteps of our Saviour. Just as He suffered, we will sometimes suffer, but just as He, at the end of that journey, experienced and shared with us the glory and victory of the resurrection, so too will we, at the end of our struggle rise in glory and in the beauty of His kingdom and His promises.