It’s been proven to me over the last few years that objective truth doesn’t actually matter anywhere near as much as opinion. Nearly everyone, including intelligent thinking people, are willing to ignore truth when it suits them. A brief survey of the landscape reveals the foundations people are building on instead of truth. It’s relative, and there is interplay - but what is weird is the heirarchy that’s develped. Truth somehow ended up not as the foundation, but as some kind of topping that can be rejected if it doesn’t somehow fit.

There’s stuff everyone wishes or thinks was true,


Stuff everyone thinks ,or wants to be true.

Stuff most people think, or want to be true.

Truth.

Many of our fellow Australians this week are facing immense pressure from flooding. Lives have been lost, up to $11b in damage, and there is more to come. A lot of us are left at home unable to provide any immediate help, and we wonder what we can do.



Some unhelpful people use events like this to talk about the judgement of God. What they’re really doing is using current affairs to help give a platform to their existing views and hoping for some additional exposure. The heart of a follower of Jesus during a disaster like this is to remember God is compassionate rather than vindictive. We need to recognise that His desire for us is to see his sufficiency and to seek Him and ask for His help. This is work we must all do together, and this is work we can do now.

Psalm 57 opens with the following:

Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.

It’s important in times like this to remember we serve a very big God. When we face the shock of seeing the power of nature, sometimes it takes a moment or two of meditation and reflection to remember the immense size and power of the God who stands behind all creation. As our picture of Him becomes clear again in our minds, we are reminded of the safety and refuge available within Him. Whatever we face, and whatever disaster it brings, there is always refuge within God.

We can’t control the weather, and we can’t change the circumstances that have been set in place within our country this week. What we can do is pray to God the way David did in Psalm 57 - feeling the full weight and emotion of the disaster around us, recognising that it’s virtually impossible to place any blame; but still feeling a need to cry out for the injustice and human cost. And as we do, we will be reminded of God’s sovereignty and His power and strength. We’ll be filled with a sense that prayer counts and that the hurt creation calling out to the creator for help and protection does not fall on deaf ears.



Palm 47 says:

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD Almighty is with us;

And even amongst all this, and as disasters occur and we feel the pain, God still says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (v10).

I encourage you to pray this week for our fellow Australians, and to direct your prayer to the God who is with us and for us.

He will magnify Himself within you, and His glory within the world as you do.

Donate to the Premier’s relief flood appeal here.

I love free books. One of the great things about ebook readers is the possibility of building a large library from FREE STOCK. For a limited time you can get a few great deals for free for your Kindle (or device with Kindle app installed - such as iPad). If you don't have a Kindle, it's well worth having a look at the software available for most platforms, especially with the free book deals below.

The DNA of relationships (Gary Smalley)

"Everything in life that truly matters can be boiled down to relationships." That’s why Gary Smalley says it’s so important to learn safe, healthy relating patterns. The DNA of Relationships will help you to understand how you’re designed to be in three exciting and fulfilling types of relationships. It teaches you the main barriers to great relationships and how to construct satisfying relationships with those close to you – your spouse, best friend, your son, even co-workers and neighbors.

The DNA of Relationships

Listening to God (Charles Stanely)

TALKING TO GOD IS EASY. IT'S THE LISTENING THAT'S THE HARD PART. Although most of us can talk with ease to our best friend, many of us aren't so good at keeping quiet and hearing what our friend has to say. So it is with God. For true communication with Him, we must learn to listen through understanding His Word. Dr. Charles Stanley's Listening to God, part of the Life Principles Study Series, presents a sound way to explore the Word and hear God's truths. You'll learn to identify with the passages, recognize your emotional response, reflect on the passages' meaning and take steps to apply what you've learned.

Listening to God

Life Lessons Study Guide (Max Lucado)

Revised and updated, the Lucado Life Lessons series takes the participant on a journey through the Bible, book by book. Inquisitive questions, "Keys to the Text" feature, and new material compose this useful and concise tool from renowned Bible teacher and pastor Max Lucado.

Life Lessons Study Guide: Acts

Luke (John Macarthur)

The MacArthur Study Guide Series continues to be one of the best selling study guide series on the market today. These brand-new releases will join the ranks of the previously released and repackaged study guides, offering readers a complete selection of New Testament Bible studies by best-selling author and theologian John MacArthur. For small group or individual use, intriguing questions and new material take the participant deeper into God's Word.

Luke

Holman Christian Standard Bible

This text edition of the HCSB has been optimized for easy reading on digital devices. Free from the visual clutter of footnotes, cross references, and other links, this edition is fast to navigate and easy to use.
The HCSB was developed by 100 scholars and English stylists from 17 denominations, who prayerfully translated what is one of the most significant Bible translations available today. The HCSB reflects linguistic advances in vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and formatting while it retains meaningful theological terms. In the HCSB you'll find God's personal name (Yahweh), the use of "Messiah" in the New Testament, and the use of "slave" in the New Testament, just to name a few examples. Also, you'll notice the contemporary speech patterns in the HCSB mean that words like "behold" and "shall" are not used. Instead, words or phrases that are common today can be found in their place.

The HCSB employs a first-of-its kind translation philosophy known as Optimal Equivalence, which seeks to achieve an optimal balance of literary precision and emotive clarity through a comprehensive analysis of the text at every level. This process assures maximum transfer of both words and thoughts contained in the original.

The Holy Bible: HCSB Digital Text Edition

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

This dense album from this husband and wife fronted Canadian outfit is full of gems. There is a definite connection to 80s new wave, but in a way that pays homage rather than just shamelessly apeing. The lyrics create a real sense of pain for those who still feel a crucial connection to the idealism and optimism of youth but find themselves facing adult realities. Brilliantly paced, you can listen to this album from track 1 through to 16 without getting bored. This one has been on my frequently played list for ages now and I’m not sick of it yet...

Best Coast - Crazy for you

Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno are the songwriting duo behind this refreshing album that is set to become a favourite for me over summer (as I drive with my roof down). There’s just so much to like about this album, from the simple production values (but intentional sound), through to the simplicity of the song construction and relative vacuousness of the lyrics (basically, boy/girl stuff). This is a short, simple, brilliant album that flushes away all of the pretension from the rest of your collection. Despite its simplicity, these songs will take a long while to become tiresome.

Laura Marling - I speak because I can

The striking thing about Laura Marling is her mature voice (she’s 20). I can’t listen to her without thinking ‘Joni Mitchell’. But she brings something totally original to the folk genre despite near vocal perfection. There may be a smidgen too much banjo for my liking, but her voice makes it totally worthwhile. The themes covered on this album demonstrate a life wisdom, especially around the often confused reality of womanhood.

Club 8 - The boy who couldn’t stop dreaming

Ok, so a couple of years old now, and I’m only just listening to this. I’m a sucker for introspective albums with dreamy, reverby vocals, and this album from Club 8 is perfect to reset the soul at the end of the day. Orchestral, etherial, deep. The album swoops through decades of influences, touching each lightly and creating a beautifully coherent sound. Club 8 is one of many projects from Swedish musician Johan Ångergard, who proves to be an endlessly talented and artistic individual (and label owner).

Deerhunter - Halycon Digest

This four piece US indie outfit have produced a wonderfully textured album with Halycon Digest. Their style is self described as “ambient punk”. There’s a strong pseudo-religious overtone to some of this album, which I’m still processing with lyrics like, “I'm saved, I'm saved!" and "I felt his presence heal me.” Yes, banjo and harmonica ruin this a bit, but overall a standout release in the latter half of 2010.

Check out a track below, or listen to it in it’s entirety until September 28 (US) courtesy NPR.

A friend who was pursuing a career in ministry several years ago explained in detail their logic for choosing to be part of an established, well known denomination. They believed the ‘brand’ was a critical factor for reaching people. In their case, it was Anglicanism. As a recognisable brand, they believed people would be more open. For a brief time, I agreed with their analysis. Today, I could not be more excited that I am not part of an established denomination. Not because I have anything against Anglicans or my many friends who work within the Anglican church, but because my friend could not have been more wrong regarding the world’s perception of the church.

In his book “The Twilight of Atheism”, Alister McGrath builds a great case for a causal link between atheism and the disappointing state of the church. McGrath pins the blame for the French revolution in 1789 in large part on the church. It was so overbearing and corrupt that it caused great thinkers to develop an alternative system of viewing the world. Perhaps not atheist, more deist, but still anti-church. Corrupt overbearance was a feature of the European church. To make his point, McGrath illustrates that the American revolution (which took place after the French revolution) did not feel the need to pursue an atheist agenda. The reason was because of the influence of the Puritan church, the likes of John Wesley, who had developed a church without hierarchy and corruption, but of life, honesty, and of the people for the people. The Americans did not feel the heavy burden of a corrupt church. To them, the gospel was actually good news to be embraced.

I have noticed that even today the likes of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens when debating their position regarding atheism feel the need to refer to the state of the church as a key part of their argument. So often the church is portrayed as a burdensome, controlling, corrupt, abusive institution holding society back. And fair enough, because it sometimes is (let’s be honest). But here’s the key point - if the church didn’t suck quite so much, atheism wouldn’t have quite so much traction. Atheism is required as an alternative to those who have experienced a broken church. Atheism builds an alternative to a hierarchical, controlling, clergy-driven organisation that robs people of involvement, truth, reality, engagement, and more.



There was another time in history where the people of God reflected those kinds of attitudes. It was the first century, and Jesus wrenched the church out of the hands of any class of person, caste, education, status. He handed it to ordinary people, in their homes and workplaces. He sealed it with the Holy Spirit. The hierarchy is simple, not complex. The truth is found in the word of God, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, not in the traditions of the human institution that is the church. The more the church reflects Jesus, the less traction atheism can gain. It is essentially unnecessary, as the vast majority of people begin with the view that there is a supernatural being outside our natural observation and experience. Atheism is often the last resort of the one who has been disappointed by a corrupted human institution, the church. Nearly every atheist I know (all?) have had a negative experience of the Christian church. A key basis for their current system of belief is, “the church obviously can’t be right, it’s clearly so wrong.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t naturally follow that therefore there is no God.

That’s why I love being part of Epoch Community. I was speaking to an academic from a local university campus (not a follower of Jesus) on the weekend, and explaining to them what Epoch Community was. I explained that we were investigating a Jesus centred life based on the bible. I further explained that we were doing so by unhitching the teaching of Jesus from Western history. The two were not the same thing. The church of the last 2000 years has sometimes perfectly reflected Jesus, and other times has perfectly reflected his enemy. We were experiencing God directly, through his word. We were discovering God was accessible to anyone, anywhere. We meet in homes. We encourage the intelligence and capacity of Canberrans to interact with God. We are not illegitimate sons and daughters of God because we aren’t part of a traditional structure created by men, but we are full co-heirs with Christ because we are passionately seeking his word, quietening our spirits before His Spirit, and building a genuine community of faith. To say he was impressed by this picture would have been an understatement. Canberran atheists are within reach of Jesus, by expressions of church like Epoch Community. Despite all the wonderful ministry that occurs within traditional denominations, the general view in the city I’m part of is that the traditional church is corrupt, abusive, backward and protective of itself for selfish reasons. Clearly, this isn’t a major selling point, and is not a ‘brand’ that is helpful in reaching people. Without realising it, the simple existence of a traditionally portrayed church in a city like Canberra is fuelling atheism. There is just so much baggage related to the last several hundred years of church.



Fortunately, an emergency for the traditional church is not an emergency for God. He is at work, and churches like Epoch Community have the opportunity to seep into every subculture in a city like Canberra, introducing people to Jesus in a loving, personal, customised way. Jesus centred community is being developed in the most unlikely places. And the glory goes to God.