COLD AND HEAT

                                                                        Cold and Heat

I have a confession to make. I think it was me that caused global warming! I used to live in Manitoba where the winters are long and very, very cold. Minus 40 degrees is quite common. So, to combat the cold, I used to pray to God that He would warm the place up. Of course, (I suppose to teach me patience) I would have to wait till spring for God to answer my prayer. Manitoba summers are beautiful. Very short, but very beautiful.

I then discovered the solution to my aversion to the cold. Thank You Lord! Move somewhere warmer! So, I moved from Manitoba to Queensland, the place where many people have the slogan “Endless Summer” on their car’s number plate. My brother-in-law used to say that you could plant an old stick in the ground here, and it would grow! Paradise! And that is exactly what it reminds me of. It was like something out of the Bible when I arrived in Australia. “The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with it” (Amos 9:13b). Australian wines are some of the best in the world. But I digress.

Sometimes it gets a bit too hot here in summer. But I don’t complain about the heat. I simply remember the minus 40-degree winters I left behind and thank God for answering my prayer about warming the place up. But not everyone shares my views. Some people hate the heat that much that they glue themselves to roads and valuable paintings to draw attention to themselves because they think that the world is ending because of global warming. They obviously have a different way of thinking to me. They’re all graphs, charts, and statistics. Me? I’m all Bible. They clearly live in a world without God. Me? I live in God’s world with God. They have an Atheist worldview. Mine is Biblical. This world is all they have. That is why they are so passionate about getting even the vulnerable and the elderly to turn off their heating and cooling appliances. As Hell awaits them, it’s all about the here-and-now, about saving the planet, their planet. But who owns the earth?

“The earth is the LORD’s and all its fulness, the world and those who dwell therein” (Psa. 24:1). So, the mountains dripping with wine are His. But so is everyone who lives here. Therefore, if you can’t see God in and among your graphs, charts, and statistics, you simply sound like the song title, “The Man Who Stole the World.” But God won’t allow you to steal the world. It is His world. And that is the world I live in. Sorry non-Christians. The earth is part of our inheritance as Christians. God is giving it to us (Psa. 37:11; Matt. 5:5; Rom. 4:13).

So, what about all this global warming? Well, as you’ve seen, like the old Marilyn Munroe/Tony Curtis movie, “Some Like it Hot.” However, like the old BBC sitcom series, you may be one who complains, “It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum.” But, and here’s the rub, if you have been neglecting to include God in your weather forecast, then you are part of your perceived problem. If you really believe that the land is being baked to death by human mismanagement, then rather than annoying your fellow humans (e.g., by disrupting their lives by gluing or chaining yourself to things or forcing up the price of petrol and electricity by insisting on taxpayer funded renewables etc.), then tug on the arms of the people of God and ask them to pray. Remember, it’s God’s world not yours.

“When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:13-14).

So there you have it. Just as Jonah was the cause and solution of a shipwrecking storm, so God’s people are the cause and solution to any problems with the land, perceived or otherwise. In other words, the planet earth all about God and His people. Therefore, if you do not factor God into your scheme to cure whatever your perceived planet ills are, then you yourself are a major part of the problem. So, I urge you therefore to be part of the solution. Humble yourself, pray and seek God’s face, seek His forgiveness for your sins. Turn from your wicked ways, and, while you're at it, ask Him to heal the land. In other words, repent and believe in the gospel. Trust all the promises of God which are fulfilled in the resurrected and ascended and ruler from heaven, Jesus Christ.

Ponder and be comforted by the following promise of God: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22).

NO MORE PAIN

                                                                No More Pain

As one who suffers from chronic pain, I jumped at the opportunity of attending a two days a week for six weeks pain-management course. The course is designed for busted veterans like me. We learned about the physiology and psychology of pain. For example, pain doesn’t necessarily equal physical damage.

I found the course very helpful. I had become pretty much the proverbial couch-potato, sitting in a corner since retirement, reading, writing, drinking green tea and coffee during the day, and watching news programs and movies with a glass of beer at night. Rising from the couch to fetch another drink or whatever only reminded me of my chronic pain as my lower back would jar.

“Mr Negativity” is my “pain” name! Though my cup ought to runneth over, the half full glass always tends to be half empty. I hadn’t expected any of the five other course attendees to be Christians. Mr Negativity wasn’t disappointed. Though we had a lot of other things in common, the inner loneliness, the glass half-emptiness, remained un-topped up. I began to feel sorry for my classmates. A contradiction? A paradox, you ask? Let me explain.

The course doesn’t promise you “no more pain.” It only helps you to manage your pain. However, the difference between my classmates and me, is that I believe the promises of the Bible, of which “no more pain” is one of the many. Jesus took away all my pain, suffering, and the anguish that goes along with it, when He endured eternal torments as His Father poured His wrath on Him as He hung on that cross, taking the punishment for sinners, such as me, who believe in His promises.

My classmates don’t know this pain-relief. All they have is the here-and-now. I hear it in their speech. They follow another belief system. They have a different worldview to me. They think that death is pain’s escape hatch. They think that they evolved from slime. They talk about lizard parts in our brains, and cavemen running away from sabre tooth tigers. They live in a different world than me. I live in God’s world with God. Clearly, they live in a world without God. Wow! I feel their pain! It’s true! Pain doesn’t necessarily equal physical damage after all.

When I die, it’s “no more pain” forever. When they die, their pain only increases. At the great resurrection on the last day, we’ll all get our bodies back. Mine will be completely renewed and pain free. There’s will be in pain worse than they ever experienced before death.

So, dear reader, don’t feel sorry for me in my present state of chronic pain. Rather, pity those who are facing an eternity of torments because they don’t know Christ as their Saviour!

I have cast out the fisherman’s net a few times as my heart goes out to my classmates. I may have to be content just to sow seeds and pray that the soil is fertile and await God to give the increase. Meanwhile, like Job I believe in God’s promises, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart years within me!” (Job 25:27).

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). I feel the pain leaving me already! Do you?

Click on the following link to find out more details for the Pain Management Program; 

Contact | GO2 Health

SILENT RUNNING

                                                                       Silent Running

The (Scottish) Daily Mail, Saturday, July 16, 2022, ran a wee article featuring my cousin Lorri (on my mother’s side), and her husband, Steve, who live in Scotland. I read the article with my morning coffee in the comfort of my home in Queensland. My children and my children’s children live mere streets away in the quiet suburbs.

There’s a war going on. Thank God it’s not here! I can hug my children and my grandchildren. We are safe.

A song began playing in her car, and as she listened to it, my cousin Lorri deeply felt the pain of the families in Ukraine, of those sheltering in and near the bombed-out suburbs.

“The song in question was an unreleased acoustic version of the hit Mike and the Mechanics song Silent Running, performed by the Scottish musician and songwriter BA Robertson, who co-wrote the track. Penned back in 1985. The lyrics are nevertheless hauntingly prescient, evoking a family barricading themselves against a war raging outside, and a country desperately calling out for help.” This version is being released as a charity single. “All proceeds will go to Mail Force’s Ukraine Appeal…”

Isn’t it wonderful that fellow Scot, BA Robertson, (who also resides in Scotland) not only answered his phone when Steve rang him (upon Lorri’s persistent insistence “through tears”), but also their request “to release [the song] for charity.” (BA Robertson, among other hits, wrote Cliff Richards’ Carrie and Wired for Sound, and also co-wrote Mike and the Mechanics’ Living Years.)

Upon hearing this great news, my brother, Stuart, quickly fired off to Lorri the following brief message: "Thank you Lorri and Steve for sharing that. It is difficult to know what to say. Like saying thank you Mr Boccherini for your string quartet: The compliment fails the quality of the work.

“I can only offer a string of thoughts — with apologies for lachrymose effusion:

“Silent Running is disquietingly plain and grows louder in its simplicity. It is the sound of dust falling in broken cellars as missiles wreak destruction above; the fearful voice of children and mothers and the piercing howls of their animals, too, all the things they love, all under murderous attack from Putin’s rancid insanity. 

“This is the agony of peaceful people announced, all justice gone, lost in smouldering rubble: Thanks to Silent Running, we can hear it clearly…and do more than fear and wait… 

“A bit flowery, but… thanks for the evocation. Stuart” 

Then he further wrote:

“A magnificent outcome from a simple chain of events, each a small intuitive step towards who can know what life-saving result: for hope, for breath in the hell of Putin’s insanity. It is as though this sequence of events was following a strong determination on an invisible, destined path towards the deliverance of people from the unfinished wars of decades ago. The stench of Putin is being snuffed out by you, and others with you, whisper by whisper.

“I’m astonished, yes, but maybe I shouldn’t be, given the talent and enterprise of you, Steve, and the palpable force of will backing your resolve. I will read this again, with a sense of gratitude that the dreadful frustration of ordinary people can be answered by a few in such a prescient way.

“I picked up a copy of the Mail only a few minutes ago from a newsagent wrapping up for the night, her second-last copy before locking the doors. I was out walking my cat at the time (yes, Ruaridh likes a stroll) and was fortunate to get the real, tactile version of the story. Extra treats for The Boy as I read it again. Thanks for telling me such uplifting news — and congratulations to all. x”

Link to sample of Silent Running by BA Robertson: BA Robertson - SILENT RUNNING Live - CLIP by Scary Biscuits Promotions (soundcloud.com)

ROMANCE

                                                                    Romance

Romance is a two-way attraction. If the woman is not enamoured by the man or the man by the woman, then it is not proper romance. All wining and dining will come to naught if the affections of the one remains unmoved by the other. Yes, to enter into the realm of romance is to explore the mysterious. When does like turn into love? Is it just a physical thing? Is it spiritual? Perhaps both?

When God made mankind, He made us male and female, and commanded us to multiply (Gen. 1:26-28). Therefore, sexual attraction has been built into us by our Creator. God married the first two human beings by marching Eve down the aisle and presenting her to Adam as a comparable helper (Gen. 2:18). Adam complimented Eve by saying, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man’ (Gen, 2:23). Of course, Adam’s romantic raptures about his wife were short lived. They soon fell into sin. Adam then began blaming God and Eve for his problems (Gen. 3:12). However, like the great Counsellor He is, God poured the good oil on troubled waters by promising them a Redeemer, One that would come from their own loins (Gen. 3:15).

To me a romantic evening with my wife consists of good food complemented with fine wine and soft music. Am I on the right track?

In the most romantic Book of the Bible, Solomon and the Shulamite show us how to do romance. They pay each other poetic compliments throughout The Song of Solomon. She says of him, ‘He brought me to the banqueting house [the house of wine], and his banner over me was love. Sustain me with cakes of raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am lovesick’ (Song 3:4-5). She says, ‘Behold, you are handsome my beloved!” (Song 1:16), “May the wine go straight to my beloved, flowing gently over lips and teeth. I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me’ (Song 7:9b-10 NIV). We wonder if this allusion to wine is a good translation, that is, until we remember that Solomon had immediately just said to his wife, ‘the fragrance of your breath [is] like apples, and your mouth like the best wine’ (Song 7:8b-9a). Yes, now we understand why she says, ‘May the wine go straight to my beloved.’ However, let us also remember that God has given us the ‘wine that makes glad the heart of man’ (Psa. 104:15a).

The Shulamite says of her husband, ‘Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—for your love is better than wine’ (Song 1:2). And Solomon says of his wife, ‘How fair is your love, my sister, my spouse! How much better than wine is your love’ (Song 4:10a). So, what are we to conclude? Love is better than wine! This means that a couple’s desire for each other is much stronger than any desire for wine, and, sadly, we know how addicted to wine some people can be. We must not let anything spoil the romance.

What does it all mean? Romance, as illustrated by Solomon and the Shulamite, is a picture of Christ and His Church. He overtures us, but not because we are beautiful. As the Shulamite had become ‘darkened by the sun’ (Song 1:5), so the fall has affected Christ’s bride. But she says, ‘I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon’ (Song 1:6). The Shulamite’s real beauty is in Solomon's love for her. Her beauty is in her praises of him! Likewise, the beauty of Christ’s bride is in her praises of Him. And remember, ‘Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases’ (Song 2:7b). If romance is to work properly, it must go both ways, ‘We love Him because He first loved us’ (1 John 4:19 NKJV).