Be still and know that I am busy... And I don't mind! But...

I like being busy! There is an element of my ego that is bound up on productivity - call it the Calvinist work ethic (perhaps one of the only things that I like about Calvin ;-)

Of course, anything other than God that one relies on in order to give shape to one's true identity needs to be dealt with! I find that the only way in which I can overcome this weakness is to withdraw from my natural proclivity towards activity, and just "be still". Of course the Psalmist urges us to "be still" in order to come to "know" that God is God. The interesting thing is that the word "know" that is used in this passage is a Hebrew word that refers to intimacy.

Intimacy, truth, and relationship require time. I'm not too good at it. I long for it, but I am not all that good at it!

Here's a little video reflection on being still:

The examen of conscience, from the spiritual exercises of St Ignatius (to which I refer in this video) are the following:

St. Ignatius' General Examination of Conscience

1. Give thanks to God our Lord for the favors received
2. Ask for the grace to know your sins
3. Examine how you have lived this day
4. Ask forgiveness for any faults
5. Resolve to amend with the grace of God

Quite a useful little exercise to measure each day's activity in relation to God and those whom God loves and I should love!

Hearing God's voice and acing upon it. Video reflection.

I work with a wonderful Christian man, Graham Power, he is the business guy who started the Global Day of Prayer after watching the George Otis 'Transformation' video at a Bible study I used to lead back in the day (1999). Just as an aside we've just finished writing the story of the Global Day of Prayer (Diane Vermooten wrote the text and I edited it - it is due to be published by Strang Publishers in the USA and will be on the shelves in March 2009).

However, one of the things that struck me as I read the book again (it had to be sent to the publishers this morning so I spent a few hours working through it last night) was Graham's incredible obedience and courage! Here's a businessman (not a pastor) who has only been a Christian for less than a year when he hears God telling him to call together 45 000 people for a day of prayer and repentance for the City of Cape Town. And, he does it!

I once asked God (while I was shaving!) "Why don't you speak to me like you speak to Graham". On that morning God spoke to me very clearly. I heard God saying "I don't give you instructions like I give to Graham because your probably wouldn't listen!" Yikes! It is true! Not only do I lack courage, but I also get so twisted that I sometimes struggle to hear God's voice.

Well, here's a little reflection that I recorded this morning about hearing God's voice... Nothing profound, just a few thoughts that came from my quiet time this morning on 1 Kings 18:41- 46 (for those who read the Upper Room daily devotional you'll recognize the reading).

What do you think? Can one hear God's voice in the ordinary things? AND, how do you guard against hearing the wrong things?

I would appreciate your feedback and thoughts!

UNIX (geek) humour do you mget it!? Perhaps you should grep your funnybone?

You know you're a GEEK if you find this funny!

better !pout !cry
better watchout
lpr why
santa claus town

cat /etc/passwd > list
ncheck list
ncheck list
cat list | grep naughty >coal
cat list | grep nice >gift
santa claus town

who | grep sleeping
who | grep awake
who | egrep 'bad|good'
for (goodness sake) {
be good
}

Or how about this classic!

C://dos
C://dos.run
run.dos.run

ha ha! I laughed so hard that I almost developed a hernia when I read
that one!

And a final, oldy, but a goodie...

1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 a l1f3...

The cost of reconciliation

A thought for the day... Much like any other gain in the world, to break the inertia of our world takes great sacrifice and energy (I am trying to get fit at the moment... It is not easy!) Here's a challenging quote about the work of mercy and justice.

Reconciliation should be accompanied by justice, otherwise it will not last. While we all hope for peace, it shouldn't be peace at any cost but peace based on principle, on justice.

- Corazon Aquino,
political leader and president (1986-92) of the Philippines.

PS. My Kenya trip has been put on hold for this week. Thanks God! It will be good to be in Cape Town until Sunday to spend some time with my wonderful family and catch up on some work in the office. The reason for putting the trip on hold is that the corporate airplane had an engine fault and they could not get parts here before Friday. So, the boss and two of the directors have flown up commercially to do the most necessary meetings. I am grateful!

Here's a little QIK video with one or two thoughts on this... Once again, nothing profound, just a thought or two that may spark some ideas and reflection.

As always, I appreciate feedback!

Be courageous! Be faithful! Be Christlike!

Neurologist recounts a time when he was conned.

Paul J. Zak, a neuroeconomist and director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, explains the psychology of cons using himself as an example. When he was a teenager, he was taken by the "pigeon drop."

Here's what happened to me. One slow Sunday afternoon, a man comes out of the restroom with a pearl necklace in his hand. "Found it on the bathroom floor" he says. He followed with "Geez, looks nice-I wonder who lost it?" Just then, the gas station's phone rings and a man asked if anyone found a pearl necklace that he had purchased as a gift for his wife. He offers a $200 reward for the necklace's return. I tell him that a customer found it. "OK" he says, "I'll be there in 30 minutes." I give him the ARCO address and he gives me his phone number. The man who found the necklace hears all this but tells me he is running late for a job interview and cannot wait for the other man to arrive.

Huum, what to do? The man with the necklace said "Why don't I give you the necklace and we split the reward?" The greed-o-meter goes off in my head, suppressing all rational thought. "Yeah, you give me the necklace to hold and I'll give you $100" I suggest. He agrees. Since high school kids working at gas stations don't have $100, I take money out of the cash drawer to complete the transaction.

You can guess the rest.

He goes on to explain the psychology of cons. In short, :The key to a con is not that you trust the conman, but that he shows he trusts you."

(Here's a video of the pigeon drop.)

How to stream live video to twitter or your blog with a cell phone.

A while ago I heard about a great FREE tool for the Nokia S60 series phones (E90, N95, E71, E51 etc.) that allows you to stream (or post) live from your cell phone to the web. Yesterday I discovered how to stream that video via Twitter or Blogger.

Here's a video that will explain most of the steps that you can follow to stream video to your blog or notify people via twitter (and if you have the twitter plugin installed on facebook, it will also update your status on facebook to notify your facebook friends):

If you're on a narrow pipe, or accessing this site from an iPhone or a browser that does not have flash installed then these are the steps:

1. Make sure you have a phone that supports QIK (I use a Nokia E90, but any Symbian S60 phone will work, such as a Nokia E51, E71, and even some Sony Ericsson phones).
2. Go to www.qik.com and sign in for a qik account.
3. Download and install QIK on your cell phone.
4. In the user profile add a Network for twitter (put in your username and password for twitter).
5. On your phone start QIK, once you are streaming, simply press 55 and it will upload a link to twitter (and facebook if you have the twitter app update your facebook status).

Just a quick word of caution - uploading video from your cell phone can be expensive! It uses more than 1MB per minute of video, so make sure you have a data plan loaded, and DON'T use QIK while you're roaming!

I hope that helps! Let me know if you start using QIK, I would love to follow your QIK stream (Gus, Steve Lottering, Stephen Benvenutti, Paul Steyn and ALL the other Nokia users out there!)

Reflection on work and worship. Qik Video.

This is a first attempt at posting a short daily (or not so daily, as the case may be!) reflection on my blog. I find that my days get so busy that the only time (and place) where I can record a short reflection is whilst I am driving between meetings! So, take a look at the scenery as I drive!

The scripture that is mentioned here is Col 3:23-24. This is one of the paradigms for National Transformation - you can make your work worship! And in doing your work for the Lord you can reclaim your sphere of influence for the Kingdom of Christ, which is a Kingdom of justice, mercy, and grace! If we truly believe that Christ wants to save all of creation, then we need to live and work to see people, systems and place brought into loving submission to the will of Christ.

I would love to hear your feedback!

Living in the inbetween times

'Living in the inbetween times'

God clearly has a purpose for the time between when you get saved and when you die! If God did not have a plan for this time God would simply 'fedex' you out of here the moment you get saved!

Ephesians 2.10 is the key, we are here to participate in the same work that Jesus did, namely, to redeem and restore the world. Some Christians seem quite good at the 'redeem' part (they're often called evangelicals), others seem quite good at the 'restore' part (they are often considered to be liberals, part of the social justice element of the Gospel).

On the flight home from JHB to Cspe Town today I was listening to a recording made by Willowcreek, it was an interview between Bill Hybels and Brian MClaren bearing the title of MClaren's book, 'everything must change'.

Bill Hybels calls this the time between the cross and heaven. The Kingdom of God is all about this time. Note that Jesus taught us to pray for that Kingdom to come on earth, not just to get us to the afterlife.

Micah 6.8 is another important text to consider. Most Christians have no problem with the idea of walking humbly before God, but few of us make it to mercy and justice! MClaren suggests that mercy is a bit like pulling drowning people our of the river, justice is making sure that there is no system that will get them thrown back into the river again.

So, personal salvation is just the start of the story. The next step is to form us in the image of Christ (Phil 2.5) in order to get to step three, where we join Jesus in His work of transforming the world.

I want to grow to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. I want to get out of casual Christianity!

I want to be passionate about redemption and restoration! I want to see us break down the walls between evangelicals and liberals, for the sake of the Gospel of Christ, and his love for the world!

Liam's second birthday! Let's give thanks!

Dear friends,

Thank you for all of your prayers, joy, and care over the last two years. Liam turned two years old today (16 November 2008)!!

His life is truly a testimony to God's healing power and gracious care. We don't know why he was spared, but we are thankful that he was!

To read about Liam's birth (at 27 weeks of pregnancy) and his development since birth please search for 'Liam' on the top left of this blog (or simply click here and here for posts about Liam's birth, his brain hemorrhages, lung problems, and of course all of the moments of joy, victory and love!)

Below is a little video of Liam on his second birthday. Megie, Courtney, Liam and I are in Johannesburg with Megie's sister Gwennie and her husband Rhys and their BRAND NEW baby, Christopher (a.k.a. Stoffel) at their home in Bryanston. It is great to be able to celebrate this event with friends and family! We'll be flying home tonight so that I can fly out to Kenya.

Here's the video of Liam while we were having breakfast this morning.

Please could I ask you to take a minute or two to offer a prayer of thanks to our Lord for His love and care for us as a family, and for Liam's healing and growth? Could I also please ask you to pray for all those parents whose children did not survive birth, and those who have children in hospital today? I would encourage you to join us once, or more frequently, by fasting one day a week (we fast on a Friday). It reminds us to pray, and helps us to remember those who are facing tough circumstances. The spiritual discipline is very helpful in a world of instant gratification, gluttony, and hedonism. We choose to pray for parents and children who are in need on that day, but you can choose to offer that sacrifice for anything that is important to God!

Thanks so much!

Dion, Megan, Courtney and Liam

Thanks for nothing! Led astray

The headline in The Star newspaper on Friday the 14th of November reads ANC may give OBE the chop! I wonder how many decades it will take for South Africa to recover from the Outcomes Based Education debacle - we have wasted millions of Rand and ruined the educational prospects of many South Africans.

What do you think about OBE? I think that the theory is wonderful! Heuristic learning is a good thing, but it is costly and requires far more than our educational infrastructure could cope with!
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Barack is Mac (and Pac!?)

Now, this is good news for American politics ;-) from boingboing.

Apparently, America's president-elect is a Mac user, a Pac Man fan, and likes sticking stickers on one's laptop. I really dig the pac-man eating the Apple logo. Is that a Speck clear MacBook cover? Commenters: let the Apple/Obama fanboy flamewars fly!

Incidentally, he also uses a Crackberry. And Biden is evidently a fellow Mac user, at least on the road. And as long as we're on the subject: I met Al Gore briefly last week, and he was packin' an iPhone. Although, I was so star-struck at the moment, I may have hallucinated that part along with the swarms of solar-powered United Nations black helicopters. DISCUSS.

POTUS uses a Mac (9to5mac.com, via friends list)

God is not great: How religion poisons everything. AND kissing with bad breath...

I have reading a fascinating book over the last few weeks.  It is entitled "God is not great:  How religion poisons everything" by Christopher Hitchens.  I started reading it out of curiosity and have enjoyed reading it a great deal.  In short, I do NOT share the author's view!  Hitchens describes himself as an anti-theist, rather than an atheist.  Richard Dawkins could be considered an atheist in the popular usage of the term (i.e., he does not believe that God exists).  Hitchens however takes this a step further, not only does he not believe that God exists, but he believes that the belief in God is bad for society and individuals (hence the sub-title of his book 'How religion poisons everything').

Hitchens' book is filled with whit, it is well researched and the argument is largely sound (I would not say that it is valid, but simply that it is sound i.e., it is in keeping with his prejudice and within that context it is carefully pieced together to make his point).  Hitchens sites a number of examples of how religious belief harms freedom of choice and enslaves people to abusive systems of authority and power (whether it be a form of religious belief in a transcendent deity, such as that in Christianity, Islam or Judaism; or some form of 'emperor' worship, such as that in North Korea).  This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest weaknesses of the book - it is devoid of all wonder, mystery and grace.  It assumes that the human intellect is the most noble of all realities, and that everything else in society can somehow be quantified, explained, and reasoned out of the realm of the mysterious.

What makes the book so enjoyable is that Hitchens has put together an admirable collection of injustices on which we would both agree!  I frequently nodded my head, smirked, and thought 'how true' when I read of his accurate and articulate deconstruction of abusive religious practices and inconsistencies between faith and reason.  Hitches is correct, in this point at least, there are so many elements of our human nature that destroy, debase, and denigrate the majesty, beauty and wonder of creation!  In this sense I would carefully venture that I would hope that such a destructive God is indeed dead!

However, I would venture that these are not elements of true faith, rather these are perversions of true faith.  Neither is the god about whom he writes, the true God.  The loving God I have come to know in Christ, the One that I have experienced through the grace of other persons, whom I have marveled over in nature, is not the God of Hitchens' book.  Christ would probably also agree with much of the underlying concern that Hitchens expresses about abusive and destructive religious practices he lists.  I'm sure that God's heart is broken daily by the abuses that we perpetrate in God's loving name!

So, I enjoyed what I have read of the book so far, because it confirmed for me that my experience of the loving God, that experience that is most real in the loving community of the Church, is not the god about whom Hitchens writes.  I hope this doesn't sound smug...  But, the God who lovingly grasped me is NOT dead!  That God is lovingly alive in Jesus Christ.

Should you read this book? Sure!  Why not?  But, don't get caught in the hype - it is entertaining, but that's about all.   If you do read it, do not read it as a dialogue, or to try and disprove Hitchens' argument, since I would venture that his argument is not about true religion, rather it is about the worst of human nature, our capacity to take the most beautiful, life giving, and gracious of all realities and abuse it to divide, discourage, enslave, and destroy.  In conclusion this has been an interesting book that has made me appreciate the glorious love and grace of Christ, and the wonder of his love, even more.  It has also challenged me to think much more carefully about Christian community, what we get right, and the many things that we get wrong.

I long for a Church that attracts people!  A Church that lives the reality of Christ's love!

Ed Silvoso commented in his book 'Transformation' - Preaching the good news without tangible acts of love is like giving someone a kiss when you have bad breath.  No matter how good the kiss is, all the person will remember is that you had bad breath!

Perhaps my faith, and our Church, needs a loving breath mint?