God’s Right to God

I was remembering this morning, when I was a teenager I used to love science fiction. I would read every science fiction story I could get my hands on. And that was a lot because on my way home from school I used to go past 3 libraries and 2 second hand book shops every day. And I stoped at most of them every day too.

One day my mum challenged me on my reading, she said that these books were anti God and that a Christian should not read them. I thought she was crazy. I replied that these books had nothing to do with God, for or against, they did not deny his reality in the real universe, they just described universes where He did not exist. At the time this seemed perfectly reasonable to me. 

 

This morning I realised that to imagine a world where God does not exist is the same as saying that you wish God was dead. It’s what murders do before they go and kill the person who is inconvenient to them. 

 

Then I started thinking about the characters who come closest to a God figure in various sci fi worlds. For example Q in StarTrek. What is the difference between God and Q?

 

They are both all powerful beings, able to create and destroy on whim. But apart from the fact that Q is imaginary and God is real, how are they different? The first thing I thought about is character, God is Good, while Q is at best amoral. God loves and uses His power for the good of all beings in the universe. Q loves himself and uses his power only for his own pleasure and convenience. Yes there is some character development due to his interactions with Picard and others but still at base he is a selfish amoral being.

 

So then I thought, what gives God the right to be God? While Q is just an all powerful being? Why can’t Q be a god too? He has the powers. And as I thought about that what came to the fore is creation. God’s only right to claim our love and worship and honour and reverence is that He created us. If He had just been wandering through whatever exists outside our universe and discovered us in our expanding universal ball (I imagine the universe as a beach ball sitting on some cosmic beach that we are completely unaware of and unaffected by.) He would have had no right to do anything to or with us. The only reason He has a right to be our God is because He made us. The fact that He loves and cares for us is an added bonus. 😸 This realisation made me feel very small and repentant for my younger self and her ignorant ideas.

Not 1 Jot

This morning I was reading this passage, 

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 5:17-18

Then I started thinking about the law, and something I’ve thought for a long long time.

I’ve always thought that the difference between old covenant and new covenant is our view of the law, who keeps it. 

If I see the law as a list of requirements that I must perform then I am indulging in old covenant thinking, and I’m striving towards improving my performance for salvation. 

If I see the law as a list of promises that God performs in me then I am partaking in new covenant thinking, and I’m resting in God’s performance for my sanctification and salvation. 

It’s possible for a person to have both kinds of thinking. Sometimes it is in different periods of life, or surrounding different issues. 

Abraham for example. He had new covenant thinking when he took God’s promise of a land of his own and headed out without knowing where he was going. He trusted God to keep His promise and it was counted to him as righteousness. But then there was the famine and he took his family to Egypt and fell into old covenant thinking. He forgot Gods promise to care for him and tried to save himself by giving up Sarah. And the amazing thing is that even in Abraham’s lack of trust God was still faithful to His promise and rescued Sarah and took them all back to the promised land. 

Then God made a promise of a son and Abraham had old covenant thinking, he tried and tried to produce that son, and failed. He produced a son, but it wasn’t the one God had promised. And again God was faithful. He fulfilled His promise and gave Isaac to Sarah and Abraham. 

Then God asked for the son back, and Abraham did not resist. He immediately took Isaac to the mountain to sacrifice him. That’s new covenant thinking. Abraham recognised that God’s promise was not complete, Isaac didn’t have offspring through which the world would be blessed, and he trusted that promise enough to do what God said, trusting that God could raise Isaac from the dead. 

So how does this relate to this mornings passage?

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

Jesus is saying the law will not change, not one tiny bit. 

If I’m an old covenant thinker then I know the law is strict. I must work harder to meet its standard. I must not kill or hate or even think of people as being unsave-able. I must keep the Sabbath perfectly, I must be careful to honour both my parents and God, the list of things I must do is infinite. This view of the law is demoralising. 

If I am a new covenant thinker then I look at this verse as another promise, not even the tiniest bit of God’s promises will be forgotten. He will fulfill everything He has promised in His law. He will give me that new heart that hates sin, that doesn’t want to steal or kill, that loves every one, that thinks everyone can be saved. I can take those promises to the bank because it’s Jesus doing it, not me. And I can rest. 

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

“I haven’t come to tell you to disregard the law, I’ve come to keep it perfectly for you, to change you so that you keep it perfectly too, without even trying. If you let me do it my way it will come naturally to you. You have just one job, don’t resist the working of my Holy Spirit in you.”

How Big is God?

I was thinking about biochemistry this week. How our human body operates because of many many many overlapping chemical reactions that are shepherded by enzymes and corralled with feedback mechanisms. Even simply reaction pathways and cycles are barely understood and incredibly complicated. The Krebs Cycle for example that gives us the energy to get up in the morning or to run a marathon is a complicated reaction cycle that requires a bunch of study to understand. Or the female reproductive cycle? It's responsible for the existence every single human being on the planet and we still don't really understand all it's intricacies. Or how about the production of vitamin D? That's a reaction pathway with several steps, one of which requires the action of sunlight as a catalyst on chemicals in the skin, without it we can suffer from depression or insomnia or a number of other problems. Our bodies are made of hundreds of thousands these reactions, all carefully controlled by other chemicals, all coded in the DNA, and capable of interacting with the environment to change that coding.

Imagine the mind that is able to hold and understand all that biochemistry, imagine the being that could design those systems, and then make them adaptable so that every single human is different and yet their systems still work.

Now humanity is just one type of organism. Our world is populated with hundreds of thousands of species, each with their own unique biochemical design. The designer, He keeps all these designs in mind, every single one of them, from the tiny ant in its colony to the giant redwood in its forest, from the human in its self determination to the jellyfish floating on the tides.

But lets step back, look at the bigger picture. All these species live in community, they interact with members of their own species and they also interact with other species, a giant ecosystem, the web of life. That ant, its an efficient little cleaner, collecting and eating dead matter, building its tunnels under the surface of the earth and aerating the soil, when they move on fungi and bacteria grow in the empty tunnels, further breaking down the decomposing material. These actions provide nutrients for that redwood to grow. Then the redwood, it processes carbon dioxide, turning it back to oxygen for us humans and all the other animals to breath. And the jellyfish, even it is a benefit to the world around it, as it moves it stirs up the water, it and the other fish, they are responsible for keeping the ocean moving, yes there are tides, and the wind, but once we go down below the surface we don't have to go far before the effect of the wind and tides is minimal, without jelly fish and all the other sea creatures the oceans would become stale and stagnant, our continually moving oceans, they are full of algae, tiny plants that take carbon dioxide dissolved in the water and turn it into oxygen for the fish to breath through their gills, and then the fish in turn become food for humans.

Imagine the mind that not only designs the biochemistry every species in the world, and codes in in a 4 letter alphabet, but this mind also designs the web of life where all these different species interact and benefit each other.

That's a big mind. A big creator. A big God.

Is God Really In Control?

The last two weeks have been interesting. The coming together of a lot of different input into my brain has resulted in the crystallization of some ideas I've been mulling over for a long long time.

First, I've been in isolation since I got off the plane having arrived back in New Zealand from Korea, I've been planning my trip home and onwards for over a year. Since going into isolation I've been joking to my friends and family that my timing is terrible, this virus has disrupted all my plans. And then I tell myself God is in control, I will trust His timing, everything will be fine.

Second, while in isolation I've had plenty of time to read up on Covid-19 and see the response of governments, of the general public, and of my friends, both the Christians and the non-Christians. And then I tell myself God is in control, I will trust Him, everything will be fine.

Third, I've been listening to a series of lectures about Revelation. Really interesting, thought provoking. The prophecies in Revelation give the big picture, and they confirm that God is in control, we can trust Him, everything will be fine.

God is in control. All things are under His power. Nothing happens unless God wills it. He has planned all things from the beginning.

But here is the thing, all these thoughts and inputs in my brain have been banging around and the conclusion I've come to is that my idea of God being in control is nothing more than a comforting lie.

We tell ourselves the various versions of this comforting lie, and we tell each other “God either did it, or He allowed it.” In my mind allowing it is the same as doing it. But we see that so many of the things that happen on this world are terrible. How can a God who tells us He is both loving and just do or allow these terrible things to happen? So then we seek to justify God’s seemingly terrible actions by saying things like, “It is God’s Will.” Or “It’s all in God’s Plan, we’ll understand it when we get to heaven.”

And, our comforting lie gives rise to much harder questions.

Consider,

If God is in control then He is allowing this virus to spread around the world and kill thousands of people and in His infinite wisdom He is standing back and doing nothing, even though he has the power to eradicate it with a word. Why?

If God is in control, why did He do nothing except watch when my 12 year old student was held down and raped by four men?

If God is in control, then He chose not to intervene when my high school friend committed suicide. Why did He make that choice?

If God is in control, why didn't He step in and heal my grandmother who was dying from cancer?

If God is in control ...

My list of the injustices of a God who chooses not to exercise His power to right the wrongs in my life, in the lives of my family and friends, and in the world in general, is long.

Long!!

If God is in control then He is responsible for all the evil in the world. It all comes back to Him. And, He is choosing not to fix it. His choice. That god is neither just, nor loving.

I would not want to be connected to a god like that.
A god like that is not worthy of worship.

But ...

What about if He's not in control?

What if there are things in our universe, in our lives that are out of His control?

Then God is excused from responsibility, other factors are in play, other entities are responsible.

Is it possible for God to be all powerful, all loving, completely just, and yet not be in control?

My thought is that yes, it is possible that God has found Himself in a position where His hands are tied, where He has both the power, and the desire to change situations, but He is unable to do so.

How can that be?
It comes back to Gods nature, God is both loving and just.

One facet of love is that it does not force itself on the focus of its affections. Love requires consent. God is a gentleman, He requires consent before He acts in our lives. He tells us what He desires from us, He tells us the glorious results if we consent to be united with Him, and He warns us of the terrible consequences if we reject His offer and go our own way. And then He steps back and He lets us make our own decisions. And He honours those decisions. In all things.

Also consider, the devil is a living being. A creature that God created just like us. God’s nature requires that He cannot disregard the devil’s freewill the same as He cannot disregard ours. God requires consent from the devil just as much as He requires it from us. And the devil refuses to consent. (Exploring the implications of that are for a different essay.)

Another aspect of God’s character is His justice, and justice requires that beings with freewill have the opportunity to exercise that freewill. All beings must have a real opportunity, no matter how small, to chose either to go along with God's will or to disregard it, to consent to His plan or to reject it, to trust His will or to make their own way. Even though the devil has enslaved us, even though he hides from us the truth of our God given choice, it is still there. The Holy Spirit is charged with the task of gifting us with the knowledge of our choice, gifting us with the desire to choose God, and gifting us with the ability to surrender to God even in the midst of our enslavement. And so, in this manner, God's justice is preserved.

Now I have another question for you, is everything that is happening, or has happened in this world God's will, God's desire? Because if God is in control then only His will can occur. It is my utter conviction that the answer to that question is and must be no. Many many things that are happening, or have happened are not God's will and are in fact against His very nature of love and justice.

It was not God's will for my grandmother to die.
It was not God's plan for my high school friend to commit suicide.
It was not God's desire for my student to be raped.
It is not God's will for Covid-19 to kill thousands of people.

God desires none of these things, they are not in God's will, He does not desire them and He did not plan them.

"But," I hear you thinking, "You're just saying that because you want it to be true." Ok, then lets examine a couple of Bible stores.

Was it God's will that Adam and Eve ate the fruit that caused this whole mess? (Genesis 3)
No, it most definitely was not. He explicitly told them not to eat the fruit, and He warned them that if they did they would die. He did not will, plan, or desire their fall from grace. But, He did not stop them when they chose to go against His will and eat the fruit. In fact, He planted the tree in the garden, He set up the opportunity for Adam and Eve to decide to go against His expressed will and do the one thing He had told them not to do, because His justice required that there had to be a chance, however small that Adam and Eve could choose against God and His sovereignty.

Was it God's will that Cain murdered his brother Abel? (Genesis 4)
No it most definitely was not. He warned Cain about the consequences of His thoughts, what would happen if He continued to think a long those lines. Cain chose to ignore Him, Cain chose to kill his brother.

Was the flood that destroyed the earth and killed the entire population of the earth except for Noah and his family God's will? (Genesis 6-9)
Actually yes, this one was God's will. In fact He caused the flood. He caused it in response to the wickedness He saw in the world. He desired to cleanse the earth. It was not part of His original plan, if Adam and Eve had not eaten the fruit the flood would never have occurred. But, he also announced a warning that the flood was coming, and He prepared a way so that anyone who wanted to could escape from the flood. While the flood was God's will, It was not His will that anybody should die in that flood. However those people chose to ignore the opportunity of salvation that was offered to them, so they died, against His will.

There are many stories in the Bible that tell of things happening against God's will, stories that show events where God's will was thwarted and not carried out, things happening that were expressly against His will. Therefore the only conclusion we can come to is that God is not in control. If He was, then only His will would be carried out, we would be experiencing Heaven on earth, and we are not.

So where does this leave us?

With a loving and just God with no power?

My answer to this is "No, He has the power, but He is constrained." He is constrained by two things, first our lack of consent for Him to act on our behalf, and second by the devils lack of consent and utter enmity towards God and humanity. (Both of these are topics for another essay.)

So He is a powerful, loving, and just God who is constrained. How is that any better than if He had no power?

It is immensely better.

While God cannot act on our behalf without our consent, He is still free to act on His own. Like with Noah, He made a plan to cleanse the earth and still retain the life of the earth. He communicated that plan to Noah, He prepared a way for humanity to escape the results of His actions, and then He did exactly what He said He would do.

The Bible is full of Gods promises. Some of them require our consent, they are conditional on our asking, on prayer. Some of them do not require consent, they are His actions alone and He will carry them out whether we ask or not. For example. the second coming. It has been promised that Jesus is coming again and the word will be cleansed again, this time with fire. This is going to happen, but like with Noah a way has been prepared for those who wish to escape this destructive event. However that escape package, it requires our consent. God will not save us against our wills when He does exactly what He has said He will do.

And in the mean time, while we wait there is one promise we can hold on to. An anchor in the storms of life...

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

He's not in complete control in our world, there are going to be many things that happen that are both unjust, and unloving, He has to balance the needs of all of humanity, and work around the actions of the devil, but if you have consented to be united with Him then you can expect Him to be at work in your life, you can trust that "all things [will] work together for good" for you. He will take those terrible things that happen, and he will work with them, add actions of His own that don’t require our consent and one day we’ll look back and say, “That terrible thing that happened, it’s still a terrible thing, but I can see the good that came from it.” And we will praise our loving and just God.

God and the Law

This morning I was reading the story of Daniel being thrown into the lions den. (Daniel 6)  And I was thinking that God respected the unjust law that the King was tricked into making. God didn't try to break the law. He didn't try to avoid the law. He obeyed the law to the letter. And then He used His power to overcome the law.

The law said, "Anyone found making a petition to any man or God rather than the King for 30 days must be thrown into the lions den." (Daniel 6:7)

Daniel is honoured as someone who disobeyed the king's law in order to obey the higher law of God. He went home and he continued his practice of praying to God at his open window towards Jerusalem three times a day just like he always had.

And, God does NOT save him from the consequences of breaking the king's law. Daniel is arrested, he is taken before the King, and he is thrown into the lions den. Just like the king's law demands.

God respected the king's authority and allowed the law to be preserved, even though it was unjust. But the moment that law was fulfilled God acted. He closed the lions mouths. Daniel spent the night in a pile of lions and in the morning he was released from the lions den. The law had been fulfilled. There was no reason to keep him there any longer.

God respected the king's law and then over came it.

Then I started thinking of other times in the Bible when God did the same thing.

Moses. In this story God is not mentioned, but we can see His fingerprints all over the events.

The events surrounding the birth of Moses are recorded in Exodus chapters 1 and 2. Long story short, the Pharaoh made a law that said that any Israelite baby boy that was born must be thrown into the Nile river. When Moses is born his mother hides him for three months. But eventually she has to act because she will be discovered. So she obeys the law. She puts Moses in the Nile, just like the law demands. But, she is clever, she obeys the letter of the law, and circumvents the spirit of the unjust law by placing Moses in a basket before she puts him in the water.

Then God acts. At exactly the right time the daughter of the Pharaoh shows up, rescues the baby and adopts him as her own son, and then hires the baby's own mother to be his nanny. God could have acted on any day of those three months before Moses' mother obeyed the law, but he didn't. He waited until after the law was obeyed and then he acted to save the baby.

Another example, in Daniel chapter 3 we read the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. King  Nebuchadnezzar has made a giant golden statue and has decreed that when the music plays everyone must bow to it or else they will be thrown into the fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to bow. And God allows the King to carry out his law. The three young men are thrown into the furnace. And, Jesus joins them there. Their bindings burn off but nothing else burns or is even singed. God allowed the unjust law to be carried out and then displayed His power to save the three men from the consequences of the law.

There are others, Jesus and the temple tax, (Matthew 17:24-27) Jesus paid the tax even though He did not have to because He was the Son of the God the temple was built to worship. However the rulers in Israel refused to recognise Jesus' authority. So Jesus paid the tax because He didn't want to offend them, but not from His own money, God performed a miracle for Him and provided the money by way of a fish.

Jesus, Jesus himself was victim of an unjust application of the law of man. And God did not save Him. God allowed Him to die. And then three days later He resurrected Him, and as a result we are also saved from the consequences of God's law.

I can't think of any examples where God disregarded a law that was unjust or inconvenient to Him. Always He respects the laws of man, even when they are plain wrong. He keeps the law and then uses His power to overcome the consequences of the law.

If God does this with our laws, then it is only logical that He will keep his own laws. He won't be breaking or disregarding or changing His own laws. But for those who ask, He uses His power to save us from the consequences of those laws. Maybe those consequences mean death. But death is not the end, because after death comes the resurrection.

Walls

I’ve been thinking about walls. I think walls are good. They keep us safe from others - and others safe from me. And more importantly walls have doors in them. 

When I think of walls and people I imagine cities and castles. 

Like I am the princess who lives in the top of the tower in the centre of the city. There’s a whole series of walls between me and the outside world. 

People I don’t know walk around outside the city. 

Acquaintances come through the first set of doors into the city. 

Friends come through the second into the castle. 

Good friends get into the courtyard around the tower. 

And, Best friends get into the tower. They are heart friends. 

The best thing about doors, and the worst thing about doors, is that I’m the gate keeper. I get to say who comes in, and who leaves. Actually it’s more like a negotiation. People knock on the door and indicate they are interested in coming in - knowing me more, I get to decide if that’s going to happen. Or sometimes I’ll invite people to come further in. They get to decide if they want to come. 

Sometimes a person comes in looks around and says this is not my kind of city and leaves again. That is sad, but allowable. 

Sometimes I make mistakes. I let a person into the castle or further who should never have been that far in and they cause damage because they don’t respect the privilege. 

Or sometimes I push a person out who I should have let stay and I hurt them. I always regret that when I realise I’ve done it. 

Sometimes I close all the doors and go hide for a while. I think this keeps me safe from monsters, but in actuality the monsters in my imagination are far worse than the monsters outside of the city. 

And sometimes I just need alone time to heal. 

My thought is that I open and close doors in response to fear or to love. 

If my door opening and closing is fear induced then their will be problems either way. Although I suspect with fear the doors stay closed most of the time - either to keep people out, or to try and hold them when they don’t want to stay. 

But if I open and close the doors in response to love then it is a joyous thing, and I expect those doors mostly stay open. 

My thought is that most of the damage that occurs in relationships - from simple friendships to the closest of heart ties - occurs when we try to protect ourselves. We start to fight the monsters we fear, to protect our city from damage, but the city is damaged anyway, and so is the person I’m fighting, the one I have mistaken for a monster. 

I think that as people learn to trust love they become less defensive and they are willing to accept that there is something of a monster in all of us. In me and in you and in everyone we know. 

When we trust love we stop fighting to hide the monster inside, we start to trust that maybe the monster can be loved in spite of it’s scaley skin and bad breath. 

Love allows us to accept the monster inside ourselves and inside everyone else. It allows us to stop fighting. To say “Yes, I am this terrible thing, but I am still loved.” “Yes, you are this terrible thing, but you are still loved.”

And over time as we hold onto this love, to live in this love, and to trust this love more fully, the monster we see inside others starts to shrink and finally to disappear. And we take the doors off of our city walls because it’s safe to allow people to come and go as they wish. That kind of freedom makes more people visit the city and so the city rejoices. 

It takes a special kind of love to bring this kind of change. It takes the love of someone who doesn’t have a monster inside. It takes the love of God. It is as we look into His love, as we accept His non defensive goodness, as we dwell in His presence that we learn to trust His love. And then that love changes us. It turns the monster into a princess. (Or a prince.)

A Contract or A Promise?

It's been a long time since I've written in this blog. That is something that will be changing I think. Time to reactivate it for my four faithful readers. 😆

When I'm doing mindless tasks like cleaning, or washing dishes, or ironing, or if I'm sitting on a train I like to listen to other peoples ideas. Sometimes I listen to TEDtalks, sometimes to music or comedy news shows on Youtube, and often to sermons.

Today I was listening to this sermon Is It OK To Doubt? One thing that I love about listening to sermons that doesn't happen when I listen to other stuff is that it triggers new thinking that forces me to re-evaluate myself and my relationship with God.

These are today's thoughts:

1. As humans we often view our relationship with God as a contract. I obey and do what He asks, and He makes sure I have a good life, and answers my prayers by giving me what I ask for.

2. Generally we think we are good people.

3. So, when things go wrong, when we don't get the things we prayed for, we get angry with God. "I kept my half of the contract, I did XYZ, and I didn't do PQR. So why aren't you doing your part God? Are you a liar? Are you even real?" Left to spiral out of control this thinking can lead people to abandon God. This is because the contract view causes me to respond from duty or from the motive of selfish gain, and this fosters entitlement in my heart. So when God does not come through with His end of the bargain I feel ripped off, cheated and angry. I want to abandon the contract and go and seek my own way to self satisfaction. So I walk away from God. Or maybe I stay, but feel rebellious because I feel that God asks too much and gives too little.

I know I have indulged in this kind of thinking much too often. And have gotten perilously close to walking away from God once or twice. Thankfully God is merciful and He brings about events that show us truth if we are willing to accept it.

Today I saw what for me is the answer to those doubts. But I'll need to think about this often so I don't forget!!!!

What I am thinking is that our relationship with God is NOT a contract. It's a a friendship based on a promise. God promises to save me.

NOTHING is required of me except my belief, which leads progressively to trust, willingness, and love. That means I am entitled to nothing. Everything I receive is a gift from the one who loves me.

I believe that He exists and He loves me. This leads me to trust that, no matter what appearances may say, all things that happen in my life are ultimately for my good, that they come from the hand of a loving friend, Saviour, and God. Then I am willing for Him to work out His will in my life, for Him to burn out the bad stuff in my character, and replace it with His good stuff. (The proper Bible terms are death of self and sanctification I think.) And finally, I respond to the love He gives me with love.

Notice all of these things are heart things, they are not actions. Belief that God is real and God is good leads to trust that He will guide me through life on the path that is best for me. Trust leads to willingness to surrender to the process He uses to remake me in His image, even when it's painful. And, His care and love makes me respond with love, and that fosters a spirit of gratitude towards Him in my heart.

Today I recognised a lot of that contract thinking in my own mind today. But thankfully I can also see how God has been trying to lead me to the other way of thinking. It's taken a loooooong time because I'm not very smart when it comes to God/life stuff. I keep trying to do that definition of crazy - repeat the thing that doesn't work and hope for a different outcome...

Coincidence? I Think Not!

I have two stories to tell that join up at the end.

Story Number 1

My Mum sent me a box of goodies from home recently. Now Korea has a rule that if the value of the box is over US$150 you will be charged duty. So Mum carefully made sure that the box was not worth more than that.

I got notice that my box was being inspected by customs on a Monday and by the Wednesday of the same week I was informed that I would be charged approximately $50. I called and discovered that when they calculate the value of the box they include the cost of postage. That seems incredible unfair to me, but there is nothing that I could do about it. So I paid the fee and my box was delivered later in the week. 

And I am now enjoying the goodies :-) Thank you Mum.

Story Number 2

On the same Monday as the story above a friend messaged me and said that they had agreed to help someone on Monday and something had come up and they were unable to do it. Would I be willing to go and do it for them. Now the task was to stand at a school gate and hand out leaflets to the students as they left school for the day. I hate, hate, hate handing out stuff. I always feel like I'm forcing people to take something they don't want. So I said "NO, I don't want to do it."

But then I started thinking about Jesus says that if someone asks us to go one mile we should go two, or if they ask for our cloak we should give them our coat too. And I knew that this was something I had to do. Sometimes to be the person I want to be I have to do things I don't want to. Anyway I messaged my friend back and said "Yes, ok I'll do it." And I prayed that God would change my heart, and He did.

Now the handing out stuff was on Wednesday - the same Wednesday I was being charged for the box from my Mum. I went to the school and it turned out that what we were handing out was these really cute fans which had whistles in the handles and the advertising was a sticker stuck on the fan. The kids actually wanted them, they were lining up and asking for them. 

Stories Joining Up

The lady paid me. I had not expected that, I was just doing it as a favour. And after I took out the tithe from what she gave me, the amount was almost the exact amount that I was charged for my box.

God is Good.

Today

Today ...

I was trying to get to church extra early today and had two trains and a bus to catch to get there. So praying to get each I set out from my house. 

Made the first train with 3 seconds to spare - was opening it's doors as I ran down the steps to the subway platform. 

Was despairing of catching the second train until I arrived at the station and realised I had about 5 mins to make a 6 min transfer. So with a prayer I decided 'let's give this a go.' "God please make the train leave late." 

Raced along as fast as I could, up the stairs, along the corridors, up the escalators, and into the main hall of the KTX train station. (Those are the express non-stop extra fast trains.) and saw the clock tick to my departure time - but the train was still on the board. "God make the train leave at the end of the minute not the start, please." 

Made a point of remembering the platform number in case it was removed from the board and kept running. Got to the steps down to the platform and the train was still there. With the conductor by the door and a whistle in his mouth. Picture me running down the stairs waving at the guard trying to indicate that I want to be in this train. 

Was almost at the bottom when I saw two other people casually strowling along the side of the train, suitcases in tow looking for their carriage. God bless slow people. Climbed in the train directly behind the slow slow people but before the guard and paid for my ticket as the train pulled away from the station. 

Amazingly I was able to get a seat and not a standing ticket which was an added bonus. 

Got off the train an hour later and hurried through the station towards the bus stop. Didn't see the Korean man who started to follow me. 

Outside the station saw an unexpected friend who had also arrived early. We walked to the bus stop together, unobserved Korean man somewhere behind us. Climbed on the bus and the man got on too. Chatted until we got to our stop then got off. 

I did notice the man get off but thought nothing of it because I didn't know he'd been following me. Thought nothing of it when he turned off the main road at the same place we did. However I did think it was strange when he turned into the building where our church is located in the third floor. Was even more strange when he climbed the stairs to the third floor. And then he waited while I unlocked the church and he followed us in, sat down and started to pray ...

At lunch time our Korean Pastor was talking to him and found out the other half of the story. 

The man had been planning to come to our church but wasn't sure how to get there. He saw me walking through the train station and thought "She looks like an Adventist." So he decided to follow me....

I'm not sure what an Adventist looks like but apparently I'm it. 

So many things could have stopped this man from getting to church today, but God is in charge of timing and we can trust Him.

Definitely Not A Happy Day

So I am of course having lots of happy things happen I just haven't been blogging about them.

However today is already definitely not a happy day - am blogging about it because it is so funny, and also kind of very grossly horrific!!

Last night I dreamed a dream ...

I dreamed that some ultra religious people I know here in Korea (not naming any names ^^) had started a business, and they wanted me to join them. It was a cooking business. But after a short time I discovered the true nature of their business.

They were kidnapping people and turning them into pies.

(Also, strangely, their kitchen was set in a jungle gym...)

I'm not sure what horrified me more, the idea that possibly I might become a pie, or the thought that maybe they wanted me to help them produce more pies.

Suffice to say, today I do not want to eat anything remotely pie-ish!!!!

Kings and Priests

Exodus 19:6a

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. 

The job of a priest is to be a go between between God and a person who does not know Him. To bring restoration and unity to the God/man relationship. 

God's intention was that Israel was to be an entire kingdom or nation of priests. Imagine that many people interceding and bringing others to God. If it had been done the way Good intended I think the whole world would have become Israelite.

I  think that is still his intention now. That every person in His church is a priest, interceding on the behalf of others and increasing the size of God's Kingdom on earth. 

Revelation 1:6a And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father...

100 Happy Days Revisited - #16: Plumbing

So here is something I never expected to make me happy, Korean bathroom design. I have been amused, bemused and sometimes out right mystified by it, but never, until today, happy.... Although possibly I'm misidentifing relief as happiness ...

Anyway, in my apartment the washing machine does not have its own plumbing, instead when I want to do my laundry I have some rather long pipes that stretch from the washing machine around corner, into the bathroom and onto the the tap or down the floor drainage hole. 

The pipe that goes onto the tap is supposed to clip tightly into a position that gaurentees it can't come loose, but my hands are not strong enough to actually push the clip into place. So it is always with some trepidation that I do a load of washing. Generally I push the parts together as tightly as I can, (about half way), turn the tap on about 1/4 of the way so the water pressure is not too high, and get ready to do a runner if things go wrong and start spraying everywhere. I tend to get an unexpected shower every second or third load that I do. 

Well today I left my whites soaking in the machine, and merrily went off to work, totally forgetting to turn the tap off. Something I've never done before. Imagine my horror on approaching my door this evening - 12 hours later - to hear the sound of water spraying. I totally expected a tidal wave to wash me away when the door opened. 

However to my great relief and happiness there was not a drop of water outside of the bathroom!!! That floor drainage pipe is a wonderful marvelous thing that should be immediately added to all bathrooms in New Zealand!!! In fact because Korean bathrooms are designed as total wet rooms the only thing I had to do was empty the water out of the rubbish bin. 

Not looking forward to my water bill this month, but at least I don't have to replace all the contents of my apartment. 

Thank you God!!!! <3

100 Happy Days Revisited - #15: Love

There is a Grade 1 student in my current school who comes to visit me almost every lunch time. Sometimes she just puts here head through the door and waves, sometimes she comes into the room and draws pictures on my board, or steals nuts and raisins from my lunch, and sometimes she climbs up on my knee and lies back, contentedly resting her head on my shoulder. This makes me happy, and for the first time in my life I think maybe I have missed out on something by not having children.

100 Happy Days Revisited - #14: Friends

So something that makes me happy are my friends. 

Currently I'm working to a self imposed deadline, trying to finish my thesis in time to submit it and graduate with my masters in December this year. This means cutting about 4 months off the time I would have to complete the thesis if I was happy to graduate December 2016. Therefore I often find myself feeling rather stressed and overwhelmed. 

Today I just want to thank God for my friends who offer encouragement, support, good advice, to help me keep going. And who put up with not seeing me for much longer than normal but also make me take an occasional break to just go and play and unwind. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, just for being there!!!

I love you all!

100 Happy Days Revisited - #13: Knock Knock

So I'm just about to sit down to dinner when the gate slams at the top of my stairs and I hear a man shouting "외국인" (that means foreigner) as he walks down the stairs. This is followed by a knock on my door. 

Upon opening it I find a mail man who is struggling to read my name (Cat) from the front of a BIG box. After I confirm that this is indeed me and sign the portable electronic checking machine (very StarTrek which thrills my nerdy little soul) I get to clasp the battered box to my chest and bring it inside whereupon I proceed to rip it open. 

A friend in South Africa sent me goodies :-) Only took 5 months, hahaha. The best thing she sent me is fruit mince which can not be found in Korea for love or money. Now I can have a go at making Jamacian Black Cake. Something I've been wanting to try making every since I got my one and only taste of it. 

Today I am feeling loved!!!! <3 Thank you my lovely friend!!!!!!!!!

PS I obscured the address with this cool little app I have because I don't think it's a great idea to tell the entire world my address. But if anyone wants to send me a care package just send me a message and I'll totally tell you my address. As long as you're not creepy. ^^

100 Happy Days Revisited - #12: Things That Make You Go Umm....

So my current classroom management scheme goes something like this:

Students names are on the board according to their assigned seats, I give them points for anything I think deserves positive reinforcement.  25 points equals a small prize. They get a prize about once every 4 weeks.  I also have magnets with pictures of the Internet sensation 'Grumpy Cat' on them. If kids annoy me - mainly by talking when I'm talking, or being off task - then they get a Grumpy Cat by their name. That means they have to stay for 1 minute after school in complete stillness and silence. Is a terrible punishment for overactive boys and talkative girls. Each GC equals 1 min, so two GC means they lose 2 mins of their recess. Is a system that is working really well for me. 

Today I came into class to find that someone had added this to my board ...

Or in more detail ...

The half rubbed out bit used to say, 'by teacher.'

I am wondering why they gave the GrumpyCat two tails, one was not enough???

Then on my way home I was wandering along being nosey and I discovered this in a very expensive wine store ...

A lot of these are the kind of thing that would get put in a kids lunchbox. It's like someone heard that wine and cheese is a popular pairing, but didn't quite understand the concept ...

Disclaimer: I don't drink, but I do like to explore, I really wasn't looking for wine!! Promise. 

100 Happy Days Revisited - #11: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Not much scares me these days, but today I found something that does. It was one of those 'Only in Korea' moments, which are as amusing as they are scary.  

So I'm wandering through my local store topping up my groceries and out of the corner of my eye I spot a very strange thing in the ice cream section of the freezer...

Anyone brave enough to try corn ice cream? I'm normally willing to try anything once as long as its vegetarian, but I'm pretty sure I'm never going to be brave enough to put that in my mouth ...

100 Happy Days Revisited - #10: Laugh and the World Laughs with You

Two things that made me laugh today:

Apparently one of my Third Graders thinks I look like Wolverine...

They asked me to edit the school newsletter, in it each class had written a report about their field trip. This one made me laugh because the language is just soooo very old fashioned....

100 Happy Days Revisited - #9: Making Ice Cream

A while back I bought a teeny tiny ice cream churn ...

Today I used it for the first time. Made melon and coconut cream ice cream. Was 'interesting' ... wouldn't make it exactly that way again ... Think I'll stick to pineapple and coconut cream in the future. But it was still fun to experiment. 

Here is the finished product, 100% natural fruit and nuts (cocoNut, it's a nut right?), vegan, no added sugar etc.

I also had a go at water melon ice cream. Another 'interesting' result. Fresh crunchy watermelon bitten straight off the rind is infinitely better!!!

More experiments are obviously needed :-D 

Next time I'm going to do apple and mint! I've done that in a blender before and it's great!!!! Am hoping the ice cream churn will give it a creamier texture. 

Am also considering grape with caraway seeds, in my mind it sound fabulous but my tounge is not quite so sure it will be a good mix. 

100 Happy Days Revisited - #8: Bye Bye Ghay

My lovely friend Ghay is leaving Korea forever in just over a week. So another friend and I wend to visit with her one final time. 

We also got to make some new friends :-) and meet again some beautiful ladies we had met before. 

A happy time ^^