A non-anxious, salty light

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden..."

Matthew 5:14

Are you getting sick of my sports documentary references yet?

Heather and I have been watching Full Swing, golf’s answer to Drive to Survive. We’ve loved getting an insight into the different players' processes, to see the tension between the PGA and Liv Tours play itself out, and it’s also fascinating seeing the variety of different personalities that exist in the professional golfing world…sure, there are similarities as well, but they’re still a fairly interesting cast of characters!

To be brutally honest, we found the first couple of episodes hard to watch, and largely because we didn’t find the golfers that were focussed on particularly likeable…but then along comes Scottie Scheffler, a 26 year old winner of 2022 Masters, 2023 Players Championship, and the world’s #1 ranked golfer for 35 straight weeks in 2022. Heather and I looked at each other and said “He’s a breath of fresh air”…instantly likeable, big smile, humble and grounded, chilled and kind, I wanted to be his mate. Next scene showed Scottie reading his bible in the morning and talking faith with his caddie…aha, Scottie’s a Christian.

When others were spitting their dummies and throwing their clubs, Scottie was smiling and resting in God’s sovereignty…Crisis is a great revealer, it knocks us off our thrones, uncovers the weaknesses and brings to light our myths and idols…and in Scottie’s case, he just smiles, reflects, and moves on.

Sadly, from personal experience, I know that not all professing Christians are like that, or that likeable (and I know I’ve rubbed a few people the wrong way myself!). But as we watched Scottie carry himself in a world of ego and obsession, it kinda made sense…he was the classic non-anxious presence in, and to, his world. That doesn’t mean he isn’t driven - after all you don’t get the world #1 in a sport like golf without a hunger to win - but there’s something that ‘hits different’ about the non-anxious Christian presence in a secular setting. Something that Scottie may well not go out and try and self-consciously craft, it just happens to be. Something that’s due, in no small way, to the presence of the Spirit of God in his life. Something that Scottie takes with him wherever he goes.

…and that same Spirit is something that you take with you wherever in the world you go. It’s something that the world does not have, but that, if we just live our lives in that non-anxious Scottie Scheffler kind of way, is compelling to people even if they do not know why...particularly for a generation and age that are mired in deep anxiety.

Jesus said that “we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world” (Matt 5:13-16)…he didn’t say “try really hard to be salt and light”, he simply said that we are, by virtue of who we are and whose we are.

So let’s go be who God made us to be — a non-anxious, salty light!

Friday’s Good ‘cause Sunday’s coming!

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

Psalm 13:1

“What does the Holy Spirit eat?”

Sounds like the opening to a bad joke right, but this was a question that one of our girls recently asked us at bed time…fair enough too, if we eat to stay alive, and if the Holy Spirit is alive, then what does He eat?!

Children often ask insightful questions…here’s another one for you, “What is good about Good Friday?”

The verse above is the opening line from a psalm written by David…we don’t know the exact occasion out of which David wrote this, but it’s clear that David was experiencing a sense of lostness and doubt. Haven’t we all cried out like David at some point in our lives "How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?"

…and didn’t Jesus cry out the same way while experiencing physical, emotional and spiritual torment on the cross? “Father, why have You forsaken Me?”

So, let me ask you again, “What is good about Good Friday?” Randy Alcorn answered it this way:

"What is good about Good Friday? Why isn't it called Bad Friday? Because out of the appallingly bad came what was inexpressibly good. And the good trumps the bad, because though the bad was temporary, the good is eternal."

…or to put it another way, Friday’s good because Sunday’s coming.

David concludes the Psalm with "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me."

In spite of whatever the challenges were that were causing David to fret and doubt, he knew that he could trust in God’s unfailing love, rejoice in His salvation, sing praise to Him for He has truly been good to us.

We’ve all known dark Fridays in our lives, moments of confusion and despair, and you may even be in one of those seasons now…but one of the encouragements of Easter is that, on the cross, Jesus was forsaken so that we wouldn’t have to be. Just as He went through the trial of the cross to draw you to Him, He will not let you go now.

Easter is the high point of the Christian calendar!

Spread the Love!

We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19

Why it is that we’re capable of love?

If we’re just animals, surviving by instinct and wit, love seems unnecessary…and the idea of sacrificial love seems pretty much an impossibility!

Yet we love. And the Bible tells us why…we love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19)

First off, we’re made by God in his own image…we all reflect something about God to the world around us even if we don’t realise it. Every time you show love, you show off the signature of the Artist who designed you.

And God’s love for us awakens and enables our love for Him…and in this love, our relationship with God comes alive and thrives. Our love for God motivates our obedience to his command and to his voice, it draws us into an ever-deepening relationship with him, and it helps us to recognise His love.

On the cross, we saw love…in the stories of Jesus in the gospels, we see love.

When we see God show up today in both small and big miraculous moments, we see love.

Every time we see the chains of addiction broken, and the gentle work of the Spirit forming us more into Christ’s image, we see love.

When we witness the church in action, being the hands and feet of Jesus to a hungry and thirsty world, we see love on display.

Let's do whatever we need to do to keep receiving God’s love, and in fact this Sunday we’re reminding ourselves that His Love is Everywhere…let’s spread a little more of it and let’s keep giving it away! Before and after the service we’ll have a pop-up shop with simple but beautiful products for sale…each product is designed by one of our own (thanks Nanda!) and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to people in need to spread the message to them that Love is Everywhere. Bring some cash, choose some goodies, and either keep them for yourself or give them away as gifts…there’s no better time of year to spread the message that Love is Everywhere than at Easter!

Also, this Sunday our Kids are celebrating God’s love and faithfulness to them over this term with a Praise Party! Be prepared to hear the uplifting sounds of fun and laughter next door!