Category: Jesus

Two random things about teardrops: 1) I’ve noticed teardrop tattoos underneath the eyes of some rough nuts while doing street work. They signify the loss of a friend or a loved one. Check out wikipedia for more specific info. Interesting. 2) One of my favourite songs from 1998 is Teardrop by Massive Attack. Watch the vid. Newtown Faulkner has a very cool cover of Teardrop. Watch it below. Here are 4 vignettes of ‘tears’ in the Bible:

1. Tears of the Oppressed – in Ecclesiastes 4, the Teacher looks and sees the “tears of the oppressed – and they have no comforter”. There are a number of examples in the Old Testament of tears. Often they are in the context of sin, despair and brokenness. (Revive have a song from this passage)
2. Jesus anointed by the tears of a sinful woman – from Luke 7. We don’t know her name, but this ‘sinful woman’ breaks down in front of Jesus, anointing his feet with her tears. Jesus declares her sins forgiven.
3. Jesus’ soul is overwhelmed with sorrow – in Mark 14 Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane. It doesn’t use the word ‘tears’ but I presume that Jesus shed many tears as he was ‘overwhelmed with sorrow’. Jesus knows the real pain of the cross he is about to endure. His body was broken, so that broken people – like the ‘sinful woman’ above and like me – can have their sin dealt with.
4. Jesus wipes every tear from their eyes – the final vignette in this ensemble is breathtaking. In Revelation 21, Jesus wipes away every tear from the eyes of his people. No more death. No more crying. No more pain. With God. Brilliant.

Are you one of his people? Do you long for that day?

——–

Newton Faulkner Teardrop vid below:

Continue reading “4 Vignettes of Tears in the Bible”

Since referring to Habakkuk in Thursday’s post, I’ve continued reflecting on the book. The ending of Habakkuk is stunning. The last 3 verses show an amazing joy in adversity. They’re quoted below. I actually quoted them a year ago. The photo in that post is of our then pretty much dead orange tree… ironically, I recently took to it with an ax!

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there is no fruit on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will triumph in the LORD;
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

Yahweh my Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like those of a deer
and enables me to walk on mountain heights!

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (HCSB)

“That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

“We are faced, then, with a frightening alternative. This man we are talking about either was (and is) just what He said or else a lunatic, or something worse. Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form.”

“And now, what was the purpose of it all? What did He come to do? Well, to teach, of course; but as soon as you look into the New Testament or any other Christian writing you will find they are constantly talking about something different-about His death and His coming to life again. It is obvious that Christians think the chief point of the story lies here. They think the main thing He came to earth to do was to suffer and be killed.”

~Quote from C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

What do you reckon? Lord? Liar? Lunatic?

One of the best ways to reach the world with the good news of Jesus is to train Pastors. I have a number of friends who have been involved in doing this in short-term stints in India and Africa with great fruit. My sister and her husband (Jen & Martin Shadwick) are taking a team over in about a week to teach a stack of Indian Pastors using Moore College notes. It’s really exciting. I’d love it if you’d consider partnering with them by prayer support and/or financial support. See their email below…

We write to let you know about an exciting way in which you can partner us as we go to India next week to train pastors from across the south of India.

We will be spending 2 weeks in India with 3 students from Newcastle Christian Students. Leaving Saturday 6th Feb and returning the 21st Feb (the 22nd is the beginning of O-week!!!). We are going in partnership with The Indian Gospel League. This organisation is doing amazing things in India – particularly in the area of Church Planting (1000s of churches a year!!).

The first week will be spent training pastors in Salem from the book of Ephesians (Moore College Preliminary Theological Certificate). Martin will be doing the majority of the lectures with 2 of our students teaching one unit each as well. We will all be involved in leading small discussion groups that are based around the lectures.

Continue reading “Help train a Pastor in India”

While in Clovelly last week, I walked through the massive cemetery at Waverley a number of times. I don’t know how many graves are there, but I’m reasonably confident that the population of dead people is greater than the population of alive people in the immediate area. I found it a sobering experience to walk and read about people now dead. I’m not sure what impact the cemetery has on locals.

I’m not sure what the 100’s of fitness fanatics are thinking each day as they do their health hussles through the cemetery. Are they ignoring the graves? Or are they trying to fight off death for that little bit longer? I’m not sure. I didn’t get a chance to ask any locals. Next time.

What am I sure of?

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:27-28)

We’re all destined to die. After that we’ll face judgement. The only way we can stand on that day is by trusting in Jesus: sacrificed to take away sin to bring salvation.

The above inscription says “In Memory of Bert”. I didn’t know Bert. He didn’t know me. What mattered for him was whether he knew Jesus or not. Do you know Jesus?