What NOT to say at a funeral

This week I am performing two funerals for people we have known through our work in the church and I have been thinking about the significance of comments that are made at funerals. 

One of the temptations that ministers all over the world have is to say things that lean on the side of comfort.  So the temptation is to declare that someone is now in Heaven “with the Lord” and all their pain and suffering is finished.  With that everyone feels better, the minister has apparently done his job and he puts his cheque in his pocket and feels good about himself. 

There’s one terrible problem… let me tell you a real story of someone I used to work with. 

Craig was a contract carpenter who worked for us building homes.  I can’t remember but I think he may have had some Catholicism in his family somewhere, but anyway, one day we were talking about Heaven and Hell.  I was telling him what the Bible clearly says, that there will be a judgment and God will send people to Hell if they have not repented of their sins and turned their lives over to live for Christ. 

He was genuinly surprised and said “That’s not what the minister said at the last funeral I went to.”  He then told me about his friend who was a swearing, cursing, drinking man who apparently “was in Heaven.” 

You see, if we tell people that their friends or family have gone to Heaven, we are more or less saying they will go to Heaven too.  In fact we may as well just say everyone will go to Heaven.  When people hear false words of comfort, what it actually does is innoculate them from the truth.  They are then convinced that they only have to do the same as their friend or family member and they will be OK to God too. 

Words like that condemn a person to Hell.  Kind of sobering isn’t it. 

So I’m always careful what words I say at funerals.  I do want to comfort people in their time of loss and grief, but I also am mindful that the Lord loves these people and that a funeral can be a time when the gospel, properly explained can help open eyes to Jesus.  May the Lord give wisdom and fill his kingdom. 

In Summary:  Unless the deceased was a holy and committed person devoted entirely to Christ in a way that was widely recognised – be slow to declare that they are with the Lord.  This may result in false comfort for sinners. 

 

 

Are You Racist?

Yes Australians are racist, however I’m not saying what you think I am.  If we would be entirely impartial, objective, unbiased and sincere, then we would readily recognise that every human being struggles with racism in some form or another. 

When I say racism - I'm talking about something coming from right in the heart - from inside.  Most Australians DON'T seem racist to me - but inside we struggle with sin, pride and human nature. 

Christ said not to judge or you will be judged.  The Apostle Paul said "not to think of yourself more highly than you ought."  Why would such admonitions be in the scriptures unless they addressed basic human shortcomings.  The fact is, that we in our human weakness struggle with thinking that we, and OUR way (individual and corporately) of doing things is best. 

However people are smart - especially Christians.  We have been taught not to show favouratism.  We know that racism is bad and so we do our best to act in a way which shows we are not racist.  Some of us do very well and we treat others equitably and fairly.  some of us make friends of others from a variety of cultures and enjoy their company. 

I too have friends from other cultures - India, Sri-Lanka, Indonesia, European, Aboriginal - and I married an American wife.  (Americans are culturally different to Australians)  In my heart of hearts however I have always thought Australia to be the best place on earth. 

I have been to Haiti, the USA, Bahamas, Canada, India, Sri-Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, The Virgin Islands, the Maldives and lived in Papua New Guinea.  Not once have I thought any of those places, cultures, languages or ways of life to be better than my own.  I ALWAYS breathed a sigh of relief to come back to Australia saying "there's no place like home." 

Technically speaking I'm racist.  I think my own "race" (culture, language, place and lifestyle) is better.

Having said all of this, I don't attack people, put people down, belittle or act violently.  I dont denigrate or humiliate others.  I treat them how I would want to be treated. 

So my behaviour is definitely NOT racist.  And that being the case, I am NOT a racist person.  People around me don't consider me racist and my wife doesn't think I'm racist - but I am still learning to think of others more highly than myself.  This is a struggle every Christian faces.

If I was to extrapolate my thoughts out and generalise about Australians I would say that most people are the same.  Yes there are SOME Aussies who are racist in an obvious way.  But the vast majority of Australian people love their life their way - and don't mind others doing things another way. 

To illustrate - recently there was a rugby league game between the top Australian 13 non-indigenous players and the top Australian 13 Indigenous players.  Most people in my community of Mt Morgan and most people I know cheered for the indigenous team and were thrilled to see them win.  This confirmed to me that by and large we are not racist people in our action or intent. 

If Racism is evident in an obvious external loud way - I believe it is only so because of a lack of understanding of other people.  A great way to combat this is to inform, educate and explain. 

In Summary - I think we all (everyone reading this included) struggle with pride issues - which is racism in its smallest form.  However I think that in terms of our behaviour, most Australians are willing to "live and let live."  As long as others act the same way in return - everything seems to go well. 

Sermon Index - A Great Website

Just a short note to tell you about a great website called Sermon Index.  My wonderful cousing told me about this just a few weeks ago and I have been very blessed by this site.  Sermon Index is a website with sermons from hundreds of preachers, including many famous ones like Keith Green, Brother Andrew, Billy Graham, Bill Bright, David Wilkerson and many more.  Even William Booth has a 1912 (very hard to hear) recording made just before he died.  This site will be a great blessing to you. 

Do Not Eat Cadbury's Chocolate

In my previous blog which was a book review of Stop the Traffik, I mentioned that slavery and trafficking are huge issues in the world today. 

As it turns out, chocolate is based on 90% slave labour.  All of the big brands like Cadbury’s, Nestle, Hershey’s and others all buy cocoa from places like the Ivory Coast in Africa where it is grown on slave labour operated farms. 

In the words of one of these young slaves – “When you eat chocolate, you are eating my blood.”  Sobering isn’t it?

So the main issue here is that when buy most brands of chocolate, we are supporting slavery in the world.  It may not just be chocolate however. 

As it turns out, the T-shirt you are wearing was probably made with slave labour.  The mobile phone (cell phone) you use contains parts that were obtained from slave labour based sources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The Coffee you drink is most likely grown on slave labour based farms.  And the tea too.  In fact a LOT of food and products we consume may have some slavery. 

If you ever find something that is so cheap it is almost too good to be true – it was probably produced with slave labour.  For many years NIKE (a shoe company) indirectly utilised slave child labour to manufacture footwear.  Whilst NIKE has cleaned up is image and methods – many companies have not. 

So what to do:  Firstly arm yourself with knowledge – Read this book.  Secondly when you are buying products, look for items that have the FAIRTRADE logo on them, which is a guarantee that they have been made slave labour free.  They may cost a little bit more than other products, but that would be becuase people have actually been paid to make it. 

 

The Shack - Audiobook - Book Review

Recently for my birthday my wife gave me a $20 iTunes gift card.  I used that to buy “The Shack” as an audiobook.  I had heard so many things about this book - some really good, and some really bad that I didn’t know what to expect. 

I definitely lean towards the really good side. 

In this book God appears at one point as an African American woman – and I guess that was one of the reasons why the book was seen as “really bad.”  We all have a concept in our minds of who and what God is, and this book doesn’t do anything to reinforce whatever idea you might already have about God. 

This book was originally written by William P Young as a Christmas gift (at his wife’s suggestion) for their children.  There is a lot of heart in it.  There is also a lot of healing in it because it really helps us to trust Christ despite whatever extremely terrible events we might face. 

In the story the main character Mack certainly faces a terrible tragedy that nobody would wish on their worst enemy.  God has his wasy however of making bad events someone produce good.  That’s the kind of God we serve.

Why don’t you read “The Shack”  and be introduced to God as you’ve never seen him (or her) before.  Remember – don’t judge what you haven’t read. 

Our Thoughts with the Family Of Helen Smith

A lady in our church passed away this morning at about 2:30am. She had a bad bout with asthma and passed away. Helen was a seeker after the Lord and attended our church regularly and we have gotten to know her over the last few years. I ask you tonight to pray for the family. Keep Norman, (husband) Robyn, (sister) and Trevor. (brother-in-law) and Brian (brother-in-law) in your prayers.  At these difficult times, often the Lord is able to use the occasion to still bring a blessing.  Let us believe for that.   

The Ten Commandments in Today's Language

1. 
   
   God must be the most important thing in your life


2. 
   
   Don’t idolize other things other than God


3. 
   
   Don’t use God’s name as a swear word


4. 
   
   Set aside time for God in your life - take time to rest.


5. 
   
   Respect your parents and treat them well.


6. 
   
   Don’t hate anybody (which is the same as murder)


7. 
   
   Don’t lust after anyone (which is adultery)


8. 
   
   Don’t steal things (ie downloaded movies, a pen from work)


9. 
   
   Don’t tell lies (not even itty-bitty white ones)


10. 
    
    Don’t be jealous or envious because other people have got good stuff. Be glad for them.

Fast Food for the Hungry

No I’m not talking about pizza for the hungry people of Africa.  The logo at the left of Domino’s was just to make you think that.  In reality this article is about “fasting” food for the sake of the hungry and less fortunate.  This is a good thing to do and in fact the Bible has a lot to say about providing the needs of the less fortunate, and none other than Christ himself said “when you feed them, you feed me.” 

In other words, a good deed done, out of a genuine motivation for another, is a good deed done for God.

Our church is trying to start a fund for feeding poor people around the world.  about 500 million people live on less than a dollar a day.  If we gave up “fast food” just once a week - that would be the equivalent of their weeks income. 

So my proposal is this.  We “fast food” by giving up “fast food” once a week.  During this occasion we should actually fast – by this I mean, we should actually not eat for one meal, and use that occasion to both save money, but also to pray for the hungry of the world. 

Then we take the $7 we saved by not eating and we give it away.  By doing this we are feeding the hungry, and blessing the Lord who instructed us to do this.

You can join our fund by sending me an email – we still haven’t quite worked out the best way to do this yet.  But let me know you are interested and we’ll go from there. 

James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.” 

Isaiah 58:6a & 7a “Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice… to share your food with the hungry and to provide the wanderer with shelter.” 

Feed The World With McDonalds

Recently I had breakfast at McDonalds – my meal cost me $6.15 and I enjoyed it very much.  As I drove away I suddently realised something.  Millions of people around the world are in extreme poverty, living on less than $1 a day, and I just ate a weeks worth of their wages. 

Most of us could lose a dollar and not think twice about it – and certainly most people I know would spend similar kind of money on take away food at least once a week.  In comparision (and in reality) we are wealthy people.  Find out here how rich you are. 

If we all gave up the equivalent of one McDonalds meal per week – which is also the equivalent of a dollar a day – or also the equivalent of one weeks wages for those in exteme poverty, we could feed the whole world easily.

In fact the estimated cost to actually feed all the poor in the world for one year is a lot less than we realise.  I have read some figures that seem to suggest that the NASA budget for space research or other similar budgets would adequatly be enough to end world hunger. 

Either way, if enough people started giving a dollar a day to buy food for the poor, it would make a significant difference.  If you would like to do so – maybe our church in Mt Morgan can start a fund to organise this – if anyone is interested let me know. 

 

Book Review: On Becoming Baby Wise

My wife is having a little bub in March – and so we are reading up a whole stack of information about these little wonders.  I decided recently that I would always write up a book review whenever I read a book.  So as weird as it seems – here is my “baby book review.” 

Actually I didn’t enjoy this book very much.  On Becoming Baby Wise seems to have a great many good ideas in it, but is just a difficult book to read.  Some books are just not written in an easy reading manner, and to me this one seemed like one of those. 

In the introduction it says that when a baby is born, it should join your home and your way of doing things, rather than you changing everything to suit the baby.  This sounded like good advice to me.  Part of training children is not necessarily to do everything that they want, but to allow them to join in with what is already happening, and this begins with babies. 

The book then discusses the routines necessary to build security, self confidence and sleep in a baby.  This basic formula for the first 12 weeks is to feed them every 3 hours, then give them playtime (don’t let them sleep after feeding) and then put them down for a nap.  They may cry themselves to sleep at this point, but it teaches them not to need patting. 

Apparently the bubs become used to this routine and learn how to put themselves to sleep and it works wonders for parents everywhere. 

Sleep sounds like a good idea to me – so maybe it’s worth a shot.  So the book has good ideas – but I found it a bit tedious going.