Money

(Note: The follwing is not written by me - but written by Os Hillman 2011 )


"He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income" (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

A successful businessman once confided in another businessman known for his wisdom. "I've made a lot of money. I will soon be able to retire comfortably and do just about anything I want."
"John," the wise businessman replied to the man, "I've noticed that every time someone thinks they've built a tree that is so tall it almost reaches heaven, God often decides to shake the tree."
The minute we start trusting in riches, God will, in fact, "shake the tree" to demonstrate who is the source of wealth to turn us back to trusting Him completely. He did it in my life, and He'll do it in your life too because He loves us too much to allow us to continue down this destructive path.

Money is mentioned more than 2,000 times in the scripture. Jesus used it many times in illustrating an important lesson to his disciples. He spoke often of being a good steward of the resources He entrusted to us. He wanted a return on His investment and He wanted us to stay away from making money an idol in our lives.
Jesus understood that He was here on earth only to do the will of the Father. "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; He can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does."

As we look at our relationship to our heavenly Father and our use of money, it is clear that we, like Jesus, are here to do the will of the Father in all areas of life. This means seeking to live a life that is totally yielded to His purposes -even in the financial area.
Money, independence, and security are often the reasons many start their own businesses or change jobs. Check your motives today and see if your financial life can stand Jesus' scrutiny. Are you operating as a steward of the financial resources He has entrusted to you?
Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.

see Prime Time with God

smile

...due to the negative nature of some of my recent posts I have decided to post a smiley cup of coffee - have a nice day:

bin laden

No doubt there will be more to come....but...as I write this, Osama Bin Laden has reportedly been shot dead by US and, well, 'buried at sea'.

On face value it is 'good news' for those who had suffered under his atrocities - and I don't want to minimise that- but there is a lot that I see and hear that leaves me uncomfortable too. I'm no fan of Bin Laden nor of any violence. And at this stage I'm not sure what I think of the reaction of the world at large. I only hope that good can out of this and not more evil.

If you are interested, here are a couple of immediate articles that caught my eye - if you have the time they are are worth a read:

An article by Robert Fisk who met with Bin Laden personally a few times:
"Was he betrayed...."

from the Christian Science Monitor:
"Was it legal for the US commandos to kill Osama bin Laden?"


From The Vatican:
"Vatican says bin Laden's death cause for reflection, not rejoicing"


Arab reaction gauged by UK Guardian:
"Osama bin Laden dead: Arab reaction"

Arab reaction gauged by Reuters
"Bin Laden killing prompts Arab anger, relief"

quiz night

QUIZ NIGHT

Saturday May 14th 2011 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start
@Australian Lutheran College Refectory Cnr Ward St and Jeffcott St, North Adelaide

*$10 entry

* BYO Drinks and Nibbles

*Cake and Soft Drink for sale

*Contact saevents@lsf.org.au to book or join a table

*Door Raffle Great Prizes Table Games

Who are you

Who are you?


You know who you are, don’t you? Isn’t that an obvious question? Of course you know who you are.

I spoke to an older person this week who only just discovered that they were adopted. I don’t know the whole story; but I could imagine that they will be questioning a lot of assumptions about who they are, where they came from and what this actually means for them now.

My own family have being trying to find out more about some of our not-so-far ancestors. Each discovery sheds new light on where we ‘came from’. Unfortunately for me, my ancestors fought on the “wrong side” of World War One and World War Two. So, as an Australian, I’m very proud of the Anzacs but their allies were shooting (and also killed) my relatives. I’m also basically a pacifist which makes this interesting - but that’s where I have come from - whether I like it or not.

So, who are you?
You might come from families with wonderful and proud reputations or families with ‘things’ that you would prefer not to be true, wished weren’t true.

Does this affect your identity? Well, yes it does. The ‘who you are’ also changes as the years go by. I still mostly ‘feel’ about younger than I actually am but I ‘look’ more my age. My face is starting to sag like a bloodhound and is gradually heading south. So the question of ‘who am I?’ is constantly in flux.

As you go through university, you are challenged with new thoughts and ideas and the ‘what do I believe’ thoughts get challenged. And so it should – that’s how we learn. What you believed is tied closely to the ‘who am I’ question.

Our identity and beliefs are in change and that is a fact of life. It gets uncomfortable at times.

On the swishing seas of existence I have found the best anchor, really, is faith in God who does not change. Keep receiving the gift of a relationship with him because he is always the same. Keep coming back to him again and again:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

I the LORD do not change (Malachi 3:6)

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
(Psalm 92:2)

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness" (Colossians 2:7).

Atheist charts and hearts

Well, I've got to hand it to them. Those Atheists have gone and done it again. They've come out with a really good chart called "Rational Debating". Their motivation is to show how non-rational Christianity and other religious foolishness is (see original article here), but I personally actually really like the chart as a guide to rational discussion. Have a look: (or the full size chart here)

Obviously, I DO believe in God, and don't go for Atheism, but the 'sharpness' of this sort of thinking is good in any human discussion or debate. A word of warning - don't try this out on your partner at home or members of your family, if you know what's good for you.

My one point of contention with the chart, as good as this chart is in theory, I'm not sure how well it actually works in real life when discussing 'god' or 'non-god'. I don't know about you, but any conversations I've had with Atheists do not start with -either party; not me Christian, or them the Atheist - asking ourselves in all honesty "Can you envision anything that will change your mind on this topic". I don't think that is "reality". An Atheist has already declared that they have no intentions of believeing in God by calling themsleves an Atheist; so how can they approach an argument envisioning anything that will change their mind on the topic? I find that a bit rich. If an Atheist really truly came to me with an attitude of 'maybe I can learn something new from Christianity', well that would be a first for me.

The other problem I have with the chart is that in reality, rationality is not everything. We live our lives in complex relationsips with other people, our enviroment and indeed ourselves. I applaud rational thinking for keeping some sort of sanity in the world - and don't get me wrong, rational thinking is ...very, very, very... important, but - and this is where we most likely part ways - rational thinking is not everything. What do I mean? Well, this is where some will roll their eyes but I'm asking for a bit of honesty:

Deep down inside of us is somone or something - whatever you want to call it, the real you -who feels strongly, who has passions, who has intuition that 'knows' things without being able to explain it in 'rational' ways, who has a sense that there must be 'more than this', who feels joy and sorrow who longs for connection and a strange feeling that they are actually worth more than a pile of transitory dust...

Some will balk at this as sentimentalism and being delusional. Leave this to church freaks and old ladies and their myths... But then again, when -you - are alone during those quiet times with no distractions, no other people around, no noise - what is your deepest heart of hearts telling you? Surely we are not all brain and no heart? What's going on in your heart? Do you ever sense something going on in there that can't be explained in dot points and diagrams?

Finally, Christianity is not ultimately a rational argument - it is about a relationship: From The Bible (1 Corinthians 1:20 - 24) "What happened to the ones who think they have all the answers? Didn't God show that the wisdom of this world is foolish? God was wise and decided not to let the people of this world use their wisdom to learn about him. Instead, God chose to save only those who believe the foolish message we preach. Jews ask for miracles, and Greeks want something that sounds wise. But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problems with this, and most Gentiles think it is foolish. Our message is God's power and wisdom for the Jews and the Greeks that he has chosen. Even when God is foolish, he is wiser than everyone else, and even when God is weak, he is stronger than everyone else. "

LSF Commencement Camp

Does God matter in the modern world? When do we think about God and why? Why are more people seeming to give less of a %#@! about God?

These questions and more will be addressed by Pastor Rob Schubert over this fun weekend, where we'll explore more about God, our society, and ourselves as well as making new friends and finding our feet in the big wide world (if we're new to uni!)

Just $45 for First Time LSF Campers (Students), $65 for Students and $75 for workers! - Register online here

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