(91)  “NEVER A DULL MOMENT”

As I write this WORDS, I am daily attending a cancer centre, where for 35 consecutive weekdays I am undergoing radiotherapy for cancer in my body. The thought of driving to and from the Cancer Centre to go through a precise medical procedure that is supervised by trained staff, was not something I was looking forward to; until I read of Paul’s experiences in a Roman jail as explained in his letter to the Philippians.

Paul wrote, “And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For EVERYONE here, including the whole palace guard knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.” Philippians 1:12-14

Prison life for Paul was anything but a dull moment. For even in prison, Paul……

• was still free to live out his calling of spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.
• by his example, was encouraging other Christians to speak fearlessly and boldly God’s message.
• was having an amazing impact as we read at the end of his letter. “And all of the rest of God’s people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar’s household.” Philippians 1:22

And it was this very picture of Paul in jail, fully alive and fully free, that God used to challenge me, as I began my regular treatments at the Cancer Centre. In a critical moment the Lord spoke to me, “Rod, remember Paul in a Roman jail, still free to live out his life’s purpose. Like Paul, you will have a captive audience on 35 occasions and the Holy Spirit will be there to create opportunities for you to speak to the staff, just as He did with Paul so many years ago.

So now I look forward to my daily visits to the Cancer Centre with great expectancy and I go prepared to follow the prompts of the Holy Spirit as conversations unfold. Like the one recently with a nurse who in her consult session with me shared her life story of the death of her husband two years ago.

Paul had perspective in that he saw his life from God’s purposes and so he could write, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” Philippians 2:13
I encourage you to live your life with a similar perspective and if you do, I can guarantee that you will never have a dull moment.

_________________________________________________

(92)  “DO YOU THINK GOD WOULD CREATE JUNK?”

I will never forget the lady who came to me one day to talk about some difficulties she was having with her son. It soon emerged that the bigger problem she was having, was that of accepting herself and realising she was a person of great value. The breakthrough came when I told her how special she was because she was unconditionally loved by God, and was of great value because God created her, and that He would never make “junk”, and even more He sent Jesus to die for her.
The next day I received the following note from her:
“Dear Rod, at our last meeting I came to see you about my son but somehow you helped me realise that maybe I was worth loving and that maybe God could think I was worth knowing. I came from our talk feeling that I had insulted God all these years for thinking someone He had created was worthless. And I was suddenly convinced God loved me as I am, and I wanted to shout it out to everyone. It took the rest of the day for me to calm down. What a lovely feeling that was. I still have days of self-doubt, but then when I am thinking clearly I remember your words to me , ‘Do you think God would create junk?’ I always find myself laughing at these words. They stick in my mind and help me when I am down.”
And over the years I have had the opportunity to mention these words to many people who have found it difficult to accept that they are highly valued and esteemed by God. I trust that these words might be of value to some who read this article.

________________________________________________

(93) “WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS, NOT HUMAN DOINGS”

The issue of identity is possibly the most important issue leaders have to resolve if they are going to be rightly motivated to serve in their role.
This was recently brought home to me when I watched an unusual video clip of a teacher in his classroom. He held up a twenty dollar note and asked his students, “Who would like this note?” They all raised their hands. He then did his best to crumple up the note and again asked his class, “Who would like this now?” They all raised their hands. He then threw the twenty dollar note on the floor and trampled on it and again asked his class, “Who would like this note?” Not to be put off, they all raised their hands again.
The teacher then pointed out that the twenty dollar note maintained its value no matter how downtrodden or damaged it had become. And so it is with us.

It took me a long time to realise that my value as a person had nothing to do with what I would achieve in life. There had to be something that was unchanging that I could establish as a foundation for my identity and value as a person. And there did come a time when I was set free to realise that my identity was not based on what I did, or what I earned, or my IQ, or my accumulated assets, or my ability to play sport, or my titles and qualifications or what people think of me, or what my body looked like.
I remember a leader saying, “The loneliest moment in life is when you have just experienced that which you thought would deliver the ultimate, and it has let you down and left you wanting more.”

There came a time when I realised I was a human being, not a human doing. It didn’t matter how downtrodden or damaged I might become, my identity as a person was now based on something that was independent of what people might think about me. It was then that no one could make me feel inferior without my consent. It was not what I did in life that made me a person of significance, rather it needed to be who I was that mattered. It had to be something that was immovable and unchanging. And it happened this way. There was a time that I realised that God saw me at my worst and loved me unconditionally and sent His son Jesus Christ to die for me. And when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour, I became a child of God and there was nothing more important in this world than that.
In this I was secure because there was nothing that could separate me from His love and nothing that could change my value as a person who was created in the image of God. It was this rock-solid foundation that changed my life and gave me a newfound unshakeable security for living. I no longer have to prove myself, but I am motivated to live a life of excellence so that I might honour the One who gave me the gift of life.

The psychologist, Lawrence Crabb said, “There is no way a person can belong and have a high sense of identity until they know and belong to the creator of the universe and His son, Jesus Christ. For you cannot know who you are until you know whose you are.”

I now live with the certainty that when problems develop, my deep needs for security and significance are never threatened. For I know that the most important person in the world created me to be a person of value and loves me unconditionally, both now and forever more, and will never leave me or forsake me.
In this I am content.

_________________________________________________

(94) “PASTOR YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD”

Sometime after I had finished pastoring in my last church, as I was walking through my neighbourhood, I sense the Lord impressing upon me these words, “Don’t forget Rod, that you are still a pastor in your neighbourhood.” These words have stayed with me and brought to mind the words of Jesus when He said we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth and His witnesses in the world in which we live, in our neighbourhood, school, workplace, local shopping centre, extended family or wherever the world in which we live takes us.

With this in mind, as pastors in our neighbourhood, Sue and I…….

• always have time to stop and talk to people we encounter.
• pray for our neighbourhood. We ask for God’s kingdom to come, for His light to shine in the darkness and for Him to show us where He is at work.
• become students of our neighbours and build relationships with them. We do this by asking questions and then following up on the things they share with us.
• take opportunities to serve individual neighbours in a practical way, by mowing lawns, or taking in an older neighbour’s bins after pickup. I (Rod) even helped a senior neighbour by being available to put eyedrops in her eyes when passing by.
• look for opportunities to share practical gifts with our neighbours. When Sue is cooking tasty biscuits, there are times she would make extra to share with neighbours. During the COVID pandemic we wrote to our neighbours and asked them for prayer points and included a pack of face masks on one occasion and a bottle of hand sanitiser on another.
• look for natural opportunities to share our personal journey (testimony) with Jesus, how He has provided for us, answered prayer for us and given us the grace to handle the challenges that have come our way. Our relationship with Jesus is something that influences every part of our lives and always opens doors of communication.
• are always expectant that God is at work. We are growing to discern the prompts of the Holy Spirit that can come at the most unexpected times as we walk around.
• are learning not to be discouraged when people react to our Christian witness. One lady from another religion confronted us one day and said, “I have heard that you pray for our neighbourhood. You don’t need to do that because people can pray for themselves.” We tried to explain that our intention came from a caring heart, but it didn’t change her attitude. That night Sue and I prayed for her, and we were somewhat surprised the next day to see her come to our home and apologise for her behaviour and hand us a lovely arrangement of flowers. She is now a very good friend, and we can talk freely about God to her.
• want to always be ready to share the story of Jesus with people. We do this casually but also by keeping a copy of Rick Warren’s helpful booklet, What On Earth Am I Here For? to give to people who start to show an interest in Christianity. We invite them to read it and then to meet with us to tell us how it impacted them.
• never forget what a privilege it is to be pastors in our neighbourhood, living in our community as Ambassadors for Christ.
  “The greatest injustice in the world is never to hear about Jesus.” Nicky Gumball

PRAYER
On behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are commissioned to pastor your neighbourhood. And as you go, let your light shine that people may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

_________________________________________________

(95) “YOU HAVEN’T COMMUNICATED UNTIL…….”

We live in a world where there is an oversupply of words with a corresponding undersupply of learning.
John Maxwell made an interesting observation when he said, “The illiterate are not those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn.”
Speaking as a pastor, I came to the conclusion some years ago that if all I did was preach about what people should be doing, I was in danger of hardening people’s hearts and causing them to become sermon tasters and sermon critics. My words were just the beginning of the process of communication.
I now have come to understand that there are three steps to the process of communicating.

1. WHAT is it that I want to communicate in a way that people will clearly understand? This is the content of the matter.
2. WHY do they need to know what I have communicated? This is the motivation to put into action what has been heard.
3. HOW can they apply what they have heard and take practical steps to put what has been communicated into action.

Experience has revealed to me that most speakers are reasonably competent with the WHAT, not quite as competent with the WHY, and most lacking in the HOW. In fact, if the HOW does not begin with the speaker modelling the message in their own life, it is quite difficult for real learning to take place at all.

Consequently, the provision of training classes are important for people to put the practicalities of what has been said into action. Failing that, it is the responsibility of the motivated student to find ways (usually by way of a mentor) by which they can put into practice that which they have learned.
I remember one of my leaders came to me and said, “Rod, I am watching your life to see how you are putting into practice, the things you are teaching us. So, make sure you practice what you preach.”
I came away from our conversation deeply stirred by the responsibility that came with the opportunity to teach. Edgar Guest wrote a poem many years ago that reflects the wishes of my leader. He began the poem that stresses the need for leaders to practice what they preach with these words:
“I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way….”

Don’t forget, you haven’t communicated until you have moved a person’s head (WHAT), heart (WHY) and hands (HOW). Only then does leadership become INFLUENCE.

“If you learn how to communicate you will increase your self-worth 50% more than any other skill you could learn.”  Warren Buffett

________________________________________________