Kids with Swords

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:17

I turn 40 this year and I’ve been saving my pennies to mark the occasion. I recently went to the beautiful nation of Papua New Guinea on a surfing adventure…8 days on a remote stretch of coastline with nothing to do but surf and eat coconuts (if I haven’t shown you photos yet, let me know!). Aside from the natural beauty (and the humidity!) of the rural areas in PNG, one of the first things you’re immediately confronted by is that almost every person is carrying a machete…yep, 2 foot long bush knives, and even 5 year olds walk around like kids with swords! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intimidated at first, but that reflexive response quickly subsided when they smiled widely and waved enthusiastically with their other hand as our truck passed them by.

You see, whilst I might view a machete as a potential weapon, in PNG these bush knives are ’tools’ for clearing a path through bush, cutting fruit from a tree, or opening up a few coconuts for thirsty Australian surfers who’ve clearly had too much sun!

Obviously there is the potential for harm (both accidentally and intentionally inflicted), but no more so than the motor vehicles we were driving in. And when you’re handed your first knife at 5 years old, you get pretty skilled at wielding it…they’re taught to use them skilfully as a tool, not as a weapon against others.

In some ways, we’re also kids with swords. God has handed both weapons and tools to His sons and daughters - weapons for fighting evil, defending the weak, and taking ground from the enemy...and tools for building His kingdom, clearing paths less traveled, and growing communities that are safe and full of love. But rather than the approach many of us would take (i.e. keeping these things out of the hands of children), God has equipped and armed even the youngest among us with all they need to fight and build.

We’re all kids with swords - equipped with gifts, skills, abilities, and talents…and sadly, used incorrectly they have the potential to cause harm, but used as designed they have tremendous power and potential.

I wonder:

Is your blade freshly sharpened, or dull and in need of attention?

Is your blade ready for action, or set aside or buried under a bunch of rubbish?

Is your blade carried with care, or has often brushed up against some unsuspecting victim?

Is your blade clearing the way for and resourcing others, or is largely for decorative purposes?

You don’t need a licence to carry what God’s given you, but you do need to steward it and use it…God’s trusted us with His purposes, we’re His kids with swords.

Big love and grace,

James

When things don’t go as planned

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

Acts 12:5

Things don’t always go to plan.

On Sunday last week we were reminded of this when we turned up to The Chatswood Club (our Sunday venue) but no staff were there to greet us and let us in! But if Covid taught us anything it is a) that WE are the church (the people, not the building) and b) the ability to pivot at short notice!

We worshipped in the open air, revelled in God’s promises, laid hands on children and educators returning to school this week, and then split up into multiple groups to enjoy fellowship over brunch.

Things don’t always go to plan…that's true for the regular rhythms in our lives (like Sunday services) as well as long-hoped-for and long-prayed-for things. I was reading through Acts recently and found part of a story highlighted to me that I hadn’t clocked before. Preachers love Chapter 12 where Peter experiences a miraculous release from prison, and then turns up on the doorstep of the prayer meeting which is praying for his release! But the bit I had often missed earlier in the chapter is that Herod “... had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also” Acts 12:2-3.

Almost certainly, the same gathering of praying believers who experienced the miraculous recovery of Peter, had only just grieved the loss of James as their prayers for his release weren’t answered the way they’d hoped. They had been praying, interceding, and knowing that God could come through, and yet had to cope with the disappointment and grief of James’ execution…the same people, and same God, who saw Peter released also saw James die.

Here’s what that tells me - that you can’t embrace the power of prayer without embracing the mystery of prayer simultaneously…you can’t embrace the power of love in a human relationship, without embracing the mystery and potential pain that vulnerability in love opens you up to. We don't don’t get one without the other, it’s part of the human experience. There isn’t an equation that solves that, it’s just trust…and faith is predicated on trust not on understanding.

I doubt that those disciples understood why James died, but they trusted the character of God to keep praying “…but the church was earnestly praying…” Acts 12:5b

This world that we live in is the same world Jesus inhabited - a world full of mystery, conundrum, and tension:

Jesus cleansed the skin of a leper, in a world where leper colonies went on existing.

Jesus rehabilitated one tax collector, while a bunch of other tax collectors continued oppressing the poor.

For every Peter story, there’s a James story.

For everything breakthrough there, there’s a question of ‘why not here?’

“…but the church was earnestly praying…"

We’re gathering to pray this Sunday night from 7:30pm at Quinn & Michelle’s place in Gordon (reach out for deets)…we’ll enjoy God’s presence, seek to discern His heart, pray in the Spirit, and ask for breakthrough in the lives of individuals, in the church, and the wider community. Perhaps there will even be a knock at the door while we’re praying…

But whether we experience answers in the form of magnificent intervention, or answers in the form of God reforming and reshaping our hearts, let’s be like the church in Acts and pray with earnestness and passion.

Big love and grace,

James

When do you feel His pleasure?

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

Hebrews 12:14

You may not know the name…

Eloise Wellings is an Olympian and champion Australian middle distance and now marathon runner. She told her mother when she was just 6, that she would run in the Olympics. You can only imagine how excited she was to be selected for the Australian team for the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Yet her body would conspire against Eloise, and like other Olympics to follow, she had to drop out of the event due to an injury.

She was devastated, and it was clear to everyone, especially at the school she attended. One day a fellow student talked to Eloise to tell her that she was so concerned about how she must feel and that she would be praying for Eloise. This simple conversation resulted in Eloise going to church with her new friend and faith has been foundational for Eloise ever since.

...never underestimate the impact of showing love, offering prayer and extending an invitation. The outcome can be life changing, even eternity changing!

In spite of the challenges and disappoints, Eloise was recently quoted as saying:

“All of my disappointing results and disappointing injuries and heartbreak missing three Olympics, there was always this belief and faith that my identity is in Jesus and that’s my foundation. When you’ve got that, you can’t be shaken. Every time I get up to train, I just ask that he be glorified, that he give me the strength to do it, that he help give me the right thoughts to think – and not necessarily that I win but that he would be made known to people as I run.”

What Eloise is saying here reminds me of the classic movie Chariots of Fire, based on the 1924 Olympics and two prominent runners—Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. Both were gifted and successful athletes who carried the hopes of their respective nations on their backs when they raced.

Eric Liddell was a devout Christian who represented Scotland…he was a missionary, and some believed he should give up the sport to preach, but Liddell believed that God had called him to race and to race for the glory of God.

Harold Abrahams ran for Great Britain…he loved his country as well as the sport and was obsessed with winning. He studied the sport, threw himself completely into it, and made running his overarching passion.

Both Liddell and Abrahams run, but they run for very different reasons.

In one scene Abrahams says, “And now in one hour’s time I will be out there again. I will raise my eyes and look down that corridor, 4 feet wide, with 10 lonely seconds to justify my whole existence. But will I?”

In a different scene Liddell says, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

Harold Abrahams was weary even when he rested, and Eric Liddell was rested even when he was exerting himself. Why? Because there’s a work underneath our work that we really need rest from. It’s the work of self-justification. Abrahams seeks satisfaction and joy in the race, and it always eludes him. Liddell finds satisfaction in Christ and experiences His joy as he runs.

Whether we’re running for a medal like Abrahams and Liddell, or we’re kept out of the race because of disappointments and setbacks like Eloise, I pray that we’ll know the true and unshakable source of our identity and satisfaction.

When do you most feel His pleasure?

Big love and grace,

James