Use the future to shape today.

The story of Chad le Clos’ Olympic victory over Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly need not be told here. Needless to say, it has been celebrated repeatedly in the media and interviews with his Dad – who refers to Chad as “my beautiful boy” – have brought tears to millions of eyes. Indeed, one such interview seems to have gone viral on You Tube.

Be that as it may, I was struck by Chad’s reflections on an interaction he once had with a fellow student at Westville Boys High in Durban. The lad in question observed that Chad was very “lucky” to have been awarded full colours for swimming. Chad was clearly of the opinion, however, that success in swimming has less to do with luck than hard work and discipline. So he talked about his Friday nights when socialising with friends had to be sacrificed on the altar of Saturday morning galas. No doubt early Fridays were the tip of the iceberg where sacrifices were concerned.

As I watched Chad on the winner’s podium, his lip quivering and tears sliding down his cheeks, it occurred to me that a future hope will inevitably shape the present. The hope of winning gold must have shaped Chad’s life for months and years at a time, right down to the details of every hour, minute, second and in the case of the final, every hundredth of a second.

An image of Chad on the podium flashed across my mind’s eye a few weeks ago when I read:

1 Peter 1:13 ... prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

The “grace” you will receive when Christ returns is immortality and an eternal reward. These sure beat an Olympic gold medal, and you must allow the hope of eternity to shape your life.

In the Greek, the only imperative in this verse is “set your hope fully”. But Peter uses two pictures to illustrate how to “set your hope”.

The first picture is one of a man running. The phrase “prepare your mind for action” could be translated more literally as “gird up the loins of your mind”. The dress of Peter’s day included a long “shirt” that hung down to the ground. This “shirt” had to be tucked into the belt so that the runner would not get entangled in it.

If your focus is the return of Christ, you will be ever watchful and alert, making sure that your mind has not become entangled with lies, obsessions or worldly philosophies and values.

So the first picture was of a man trying to run but getting tangled in long flowing garments. The second picture is of a drunk. A drunk is not self-controlled. He is controlled by alcohol.

If your mind is focused on the winner’s podium, you will not allow anything to take control of you. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:12, “I will not be mastered by anything”. What is mastering you at the moment? Perhaps it is fear, or bitterness, or the love of money, or anger, or insecurities, or an addiction or problem behavior.

Larry Norman sings, “this world is not my home – I’m just passing through”. Do not live as though this life is all there is. It is a constant battle, I know. People must see the hope of eternity shining in the way you think, in the things you do or do not do and in your treatment of others. Therefore, set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed, and use hope to shape today.

God is for you

At the age of 19, Derek Redmond shattered the British 400m record. He went on to attend the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games but sadly had to withdraw from the 400m race with an Achilles tendon injury. Redmond endured numerous operations but was determined to recover his form and compete in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

True to his aspirations, Redmond qualified for the Barcelona Olympics and found himself at the start of the first semi-final heat. His Father, Jim Redmond sat on the edge of his seat in the grand stand, watching with baited breath as his son erupted from the blocks.

“Redman has got off very fast indeed,” declared the commentator.

Things were looking good, which made what happened next knock the breath out of the 65 000 strong crowd. Down the back stretch and less than 200m from finishing line, Redmond grasped at his right leg and stumbled to a halt before falling to his knees.

65 000 voices groaned in unison. But I am sure that there was only one person in the entire stadium exploding from his seat – Jim Redmond. As Derek began hopping along his lane, brushing away help and determined to finish, Jim was barging down his aisle, vaulting over security barriers and avoiding officials.

Derek had one thing on his mind: to finish the race. And Jim had one thing on his: to help Derek do it. As Jim ran up to his son, Derek steadied himself on his Dad’s shoulder, and they crossed the line together.

“Whatever happens (sic) he had to finish, and I was there to help him finish. I intended to go over the line with him. We started his career together. I think we should finish it together,” said Jim in an interview after the race.

Recently, I have felt as if I have pulled a muscle in the race of life. I am determined to finish, but like Derek Redmond I am hopping along on one leg. Perhaps you feel the same way. If you do, I would like to give you the same assurance that God gave me.

Your Father is not sitting up in the stands watching you hobble along. He isn’t cheering from a distance or asking himself “I wonder what he’s up to now, limping along when he should be running”.  No, your Father is on the track with you. He is holding you up with his arms. He wants to speak words of encouragement into your ear. Your Father is a GOOD Dad like Jim Redmond ... but even better.

Jim Redmond said, “We started his career together. I think we should finish it together.” The Bible says, “(God) who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). You must just be determined to finish the race. And God will help you to do it.

Cheers for now - Ian

Father's Day

I found myself day dreaming in church yesterday. It was Father’s Day, so I was imagining what it would be like to spend a morning with my Father who is in heaven. But in my day dream, He wasn’t in heaven. As it so happens, he was with me on a yacht in the Caribbean.

When I was a teenager, just about the only way I could impress the girls was by executing bombs from the 5m diving board at Mt Pleasant swimming pool. Desperate – I know. But though lacking in physique, flawless technique enabled me to convert a meagre 58 kilos of body weight into a thundering mushroom cloud of water that would drench anyone sunbathing within a 10m radius of the pool.

Sadly, my efforts to impress never failed to produce underwhelming results. Nowadays, however, I no longer need to impress the girls. This is a good thing because my physique has hardly changed since I was 17. I have put on a few more kilos but these seem to be concentrated in a hot water bottle shaped bulge just above my belt. Nevertheless, I have never lost the joy of doing a good bomb and still look for any opportunity to impress others with my rare talent.

Perhaps then, it will come as no surprise to hear that I decided to do a bomb off the side of the yacht.

“Hey Dad, watch this!” I shouted.

When I finally surfaced, water was still splashing onto the surface of the sea and a fine spray was drifting off towards some nearby palm trees. Oh yes! I looked up for approval.

“Brilliant, Ian! Now it’s my turn... woohooo!”

It’s hard to describe what happened next, but it suffices to say that my heavenly Father’s bomb emptied the entire Atlantic Ocean, let alone the Caribbean Sea.

“O yes, ahaaa!” He shouted. “What do you think of that one?” And He roared with laughter. At that point, my Dad must have seen the expression on my face because He added quickly, “Don’t worry; I’ll put it all back”. And He did.

I leave you to make of this what you will. As for me, in the words of John Wesley, “my heart was strangely warmed”, and I found myself longing for greater intimacy with my heavenly Father.

Cheers for now - Ian

Dealing with a dead hope

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).

I have been struggling with an obdurate sinus infection. And I have to say - and this is stating the case very mildly – that the symptoms are a tad unpleasant. Looking for relief, I went to the doctor, who prescribed an antibiotic and some other pills. So with great anticipation, I began taking the medicine (with a spoon full of sugar) hoping that in a day or two I would get better.

Reader, I’m afraid I did not get better. And a hope deferred does indeed make the heart sick. There is nothing worse than a sore head and a “sick heart”, even if the source of the “sick heart” is on this occasion fairly easy to address.

I’m sure everyone has experienced a deferred hope at one time or another. And a deferred hope is bad enough. But how does one deal with a dead hope? Perhaps you had hoped to grow old with your children and grandchildren but now they live in Australia. Or maybe you had hoped to live in Zimbabwe but now you must move to another country because you can’t make a living here. I know of people who have launched businesses hoping for job satisfaction, rewards and a secure retirement. I know of men and women who have entered marriage with high hopes and dreams only to find betrayal and disappointment.

Dead hopes come in many forms. And it is not that these hopes were ever wrong or misguided. They were merely uncertain hopes.

Question is: how do we cope when our hopes are deferred or die?

The antidote to a dead hope is the one and only LIVING HOPE. The Apostle Peter writes:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... (1Pe 1:3)

There is one living hope only, a hope that will never lead to sickness of heart but rather to joy and gladness. The joy of a living hope will give you strength to weather hardship. Since God has given you life through spiritual rebirth, and since He raised Jesus Christ from the dead, there is hope that you too will one day be resurrected “into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you” (v4).

So with the words of Priscila Jane Owens I ask the question:

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift or firm remain?

In answering this question, take a moment to affirm: I have a living hope. It will never turn to ash. It will not crumble in my hands. It will not blow away in the storms of life.

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
 Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.

Cheers for now - Ian

It is well with my soul

“Saved alone what shall I do?” These stark and poignant words, telegraphed by Ann Spafford to her husband, Horatio, marked the devastating climax to several tragedies.

Horatio Stafford was a successful Chicago lawyer and businessman and a prominent supporter and personal friend of the great preacher D.L. Moody.  Life was going well for Ann and Horatio. Then in 1870, calamity stuck: the Stafford’s four year old son died from scarlet fever. A year later, the Stafford’s fortunes sustained another blow when the great Chicago Fire wiped out their real estate investments on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Knowing that his family needed a holiday to get over their losses, Horatio arranged to take them to England where D.L. Moody was preaching. At the last minute, however, Horatio had to change his plans because of a business emergency. It was decided that Ann should go on ahead with their four daughters whilst Horatio attended to the emergency before following behind.

So Ann and the girls boarded the French steamer Ville de Havre. Several days into the trip, the Ville de Havre ran into an English ship. In the ensuing panic, Ann made it to the deck where she waited, baby in arms and older girls clinging to her in terror. The Ville de Havre sank in 12 minutes. The force of the waters tore the baby violently from Ann’s arms, and then she passed out. Later, part of the wreckage floated to the surface supporting Ann’s unconscious body so that she could be ... saved alone. All four of her daughters drowned in the wreck: Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta.

On hearing the unspeakable news, Horatio rushed to join his devastated wife in Wales. One day, as the ship cleaved through the Atlantic rollers, the captain called Horatio to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio returned to his cabin, pulled out pen and paper and began to write:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:

It is well, (it is well),

With my soul, (with my soul)

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:

If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave, is our goal;

Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!

Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

Amen and Amen!

Cheers for now - Ian

(This blog is based on material I read on http://www.biblestudycharts.com/A_Daily_Hymn.html)

Trusting God - is it safe or risky?

Without trust, it is impossible to have a relationship with God. How often must I learn this lesson?

Security is a myth without God, yet obeying God and keeping in step with the Holy Spirit feels like the riskiest thing on the planet – like bungee jumping without a chord. Leap and the safety net will appear!! In reality, though, walking in God’s will is the safest place I can be. But O does it take trust!

Here’s an example of what I mean from the Bible. Being an agricultural engineer, I would rather go for an irrigated crop than a rain-fed one. After all, who wants to depend on the elements? But true to character, God chose a rain-fed system for the special Land He chose for His people. Take a look:

10 The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven.12 It is a land the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. (Deut. 11:10-12)

Irrigating “by foot” is exhausting work though the farmer has the illusion that he is in control. But who can resist the appeal of “a land of mountains and valleys that drinks the rain from heaven”? Even our little garden of flowers and shrubs seems to leap with joy after a shower of rain. Water from a hosepipe just does not have the same effect. I read somewhere that rain contains dissolved nitrogen which has been “fixed” from the air by lightening. This nitrogen then fertilises the plants it falls on.

However, depending on rain meant that Israel would have to trust God to send it. Further, the reliability of the rains would hinge on their obedience to God.

13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today-to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul-14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. (Deut. 11:13-15)

Now one might be persuaded to think that God was arm-twisting His people. He wasn’t. He was establishing an early warning system intended for their safety. One can live independent from God and make things work without Him. It is tempting to do this even as a Christian. But because we are depending on ourselves it is possible to stray dangerously far from God without realising it. Would it not be better to have an early warning system? The Israelites knew that drought and crop failure was a warning that they had drifted from God, their source of true life and all good things.

We should live life in such a way that failure will be inevitable without God’s help. In fact, this is how God wants you to live. So may you allow God to lead you into that risky place of abundant blessing where obedience requires trust and success hinges on Him.

Cheers for now - Ian

The Theology of Border Crossings

We spent over four and a half hours crossing the border from South Africa to Zimbabwe. It was hot and sweaty. And I discovered that most of my fellow sufferers in the queue had no concept of personal space. At one stage, the person behind had established full body contact with me from my left ankle to my right shoulder.

It was staggering. But we got through in the end. One usually does. We kept reminding ourselves that nobody has ever spent the rest of his or her life at a border post. At times, however, it felt like we had.

Eventually, the exit was in sight, but we almost drove over a ZIMRA inspector because he had the temerity to jump in front of our car when we thought that there was only a gate guard between us and freedom.

“Why are you in such a rush?” he asked.

Oh, how delicious it was to be zipping along again at 120km/h in an air conditioned car, weaving around potholes and police roadblocks. In fact, we were so relaxed that we slipped into a theological discussion ... as one does on such occasions.

It began when I shared with the family my temptation to falsify our customs declaration. I was anxious that some unreasonable ZIMRA official would apply an unfair duty on something we had to declare. I did the right thing in the end, having decided it was more important to honour God by being honest than to save a few thousand rand. But my confession led to an interesting discussion about anxiety.

Gail had been reading a book entitled Redemption by Mike Wilkerson. Wilkerson makes the piercing observation that idolatry leads to anxiety. For example, if one idolises money, one worries about having enough. And when one has enough, one worries about losing it. And because of the anxiety one adopts all sorts of unrighteous tactics to either make or hold onto money – like falsifying a customs declaration.

The same could be said for finding a spouse. How many women have compromised God’s standards for fear of becoming an old maid? How many people live with an irrational, nagging fear of losing a loved one? Then there is anxiety over health related issues. Could health and security have become idols which prevent you from serving God with an undivided heart?

It certainly got us thinking... how about you? But before you go – is it obvious that I’ve put on weight during my holiday? Not that I’m worried about it...

Cheers for now - Ian