25 December, 2011

un verset en 2 Samuel

Then the king said to Zadok,
“Take the ark of God back into the city.
If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, He will bring me back
and let me see it and His dwelling place again.
But if He says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready;
let Him do to me whatever seems good to Him.”
2 Samuel 15:25
________________

Cryptic this may seem - but I feel a little like David on the run at present, so this was a comfort when I found it during catching-up with the prophet Samuel...

L/T.

07 December, 2011

10 v. 28 .. (l'Évangile de Matthieu)

All year I've been plodding through Matthew's gospel, and at times I really do not understand him..

In chapter 10, Jesus sends His disciples out to "the lost sheep of Israel".
They are to preach that "the kingdom of heaven is near", just as He & John the Baptist began.
This preaching is to be accompanied by the same helping miracles Jesus did:
healing the sick, casting out unclean spirits, etc.

THEN..

..in chapter 28, Jesus sends His disciples to "all nations".

They are to go
~ baptising the disciples made in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit;
~ teaching them to obey everything Jesus had commanded.

What is the reason for the differences?
At the risk of being accused of cessationism (although my personal experience of Jesus Christ as Saviour & Lord makes that impossible)
- why, in His second & more global commissioning from ch.28, does Jesus SKIP the part about miraculous doings (cf. ch.10)?

We know, of course, in the days of the early church, there were miracles aplenty. Through Simon Peter and John Zebedee, a lame man is healed at the gate Beautiful (ACTS 3, verses 1-10). The casting-out of a spirit from a slave girl in Macedonia sparks a crowd riot (ACTS 16, verses 16-24). Eutychus, who is picked up dead after falling from a window, comes back to life after Paul hugs him (ACTS 20, verses 7-12).

So it's obviously not as if Jesus didn't intend for His disciples *not* to do these things. Did He just assume they would do these signs/wonders and, therefore, in His ch. 28 commission, He deliberately concentrated on the preaching/teaching command
- because He knew that otherwise this word-focus might take a back-seat?

Why is His emphasis on baptism [presumably for repentance/the forgiveness of sins] and teaching obedience to His commands?

Why not "go and make disciples, baptising..teaching..AND healing.." (etc.)?

This is all conjecture, of course.
But if we want to take God's word seriously, surely these are things we should ponder?

L/T.

07 November, 2011

1 vie seule

It seems that every year since 2008
I have gone through seasons of nothingness
- that is, where nothing much happened, & looking back on it all it seemed like just a waste of unfilled time.

I should like, in 2012, to be able to be doing something over the whole 12-month period;
something within my ability,
& something which allows me time/opportunity to develop further ministry skills
that I would need if any overseas ministry [not overseas teaching work] became an option.

Preferably before my life stage changes!
(Or, before I depart & get to be with Christ, which is far better.)

That "something" is not a full-time job.
Nor is it any kind of employment that takes me away from the mentors & coaches who have been so willing, under God, to meet with me & encourage me to seek our Father, to listen to Him & grow in Him.

And we only live once. Only 1 life.

It would be nice to have a year where everything balances a bit better than it has done since Dec.'08.

But may I be willing to accept whatever is in store - & to wait not for transient things but for anything that leads to sanctification & perfection in the Lord Jesus Christ.

*sigh*

L/T.

07 October, 2011

34 rue Lutetia

Am I really that OLD?
34 years and 17 days?

Well, as my life slips away without my noticing, let's reflect on 1 pertinent issue impacting what things would be like if God picked me up and hurled me into the French student ministry situation
- at this very moment of who I am and where I am in life.
________________
{replicated from a recent Note on my Facebook page}

Well, I know where I'm meant to be for the moment. 3 trips to Paris plus 1 trip to Strasbourg have helped to clarify it. So did a meeting with CMS in July this year.

A number of issues are at stake here, some of which will be discussed in future - though in random order. Solitude and loneliness, for one..
* because, when I go, I think it most likely that I will go alone.

Not that I won't know anyone - in fact, I'll be better off than most people I know who might go in my stead, because whenever I've been in France I've managed to make new friends among the locals.

What I mean is that if I go, I'm likely to go by myself - sent by a sending organisation, but without ready companionship in my langue maternelle. Because, simply put, I've been single all my life, & now that I'm past 30 it becomes rarer and rarer for Christian girls such as me to end up married.
And I am really, really OK with that, unless God isn't at some point in the future!! So no sympathy is required here..
;)



What implications does this have?
Let me paint a recent picture for you:
When in Strasbourg, I was part of a small team of fantastic people
- 3 French, 1 Italian, 1 Australian (who by virtue of having lived in France since 1991 is practically French anyhow).
Our principal interactions/communications, therefore, were in French.
And I was really, really OK with that, too..
..except for the time difference.

By 2PM each day (10PM AEST) I would be, well, let's say quite sleepy. Trying to concentrate in a 2nd language (French, for me) as well as concentrating on staying awake...something had to give.
So on a number of occasions in the afternoons, when my 3 French team-mates chattered to each other in French, I ended up not switching into the conversation due to exhaustion; this meant that I didn't really participate and therefore isolated myself. And yes, that isolation was hard - but don't forget the fatigue factor..

Thus the sense of isolation and loneliness could be quite strong, owing to my opting-out of the conversations at certain "down-times" in the afternoon.
Please be aware, however, that this was no-one's fault. No-one was to blame. (I always had the feeling my level of French surpassed their level of English, so it was more convenient for everyone that we operated in French.) Yet it was tiring - so very tiring.

In hindsight, I don't believe I am yet ready to cope with that level of isolation or loneliness in the long term.

Now I liked my French team-mates, I miss them all more than they probably know or care, I'd do another week with them in a heartbeat. But coping with long-term interactions in French (or any other 2nd language) - I think it would take around 2 years to get over the sense of loneliness and isolation
- the feeling that there's no-one in your own age bracket who you can really, really just talk to because of the existing language barriers.


And then, one backtracks - because what about God?

Am I saying, somehow, that God is not enough for me?
That He is not up to the task of dispelling any loneliness or isolation I might have to handle?
That He is not Someone whom I can really, really talk to without any language barriers?
Is it that I am not dependent enough on Him?
Not willing enough to rely fully on Him, to let Him be the companionship I know I'd need if I went back to France long-term?
Or is it none of this, and I'm simply just discovering my own limitations?

And yet in twisting and turning through all of this, I know the needs in France, the lostness of the people, the difficulties faced by those who serve full-time as ministers of the gospel. These things sharpen more into focus every time I visit.
So would I be willing, in the end, to face even the threat of loneliness and isolation for the sake of advancing the kingdom of our God and of His Christ?

L/T.

10 September, 2011

2011 début de semestre - à l'étranger

This month my thoughts and prayers rest particularly with the French Christians and their international mission partners trying to reach university students across France with the gospel of salvation in Jesus.

A few groups in cities like Paris and Strasbourg are running something like an Aussie university "O-Week" campaign..
..minus the postering, the walk-ups, the soapbox evangelism (great initiative from the SUEU a couple of years back) the actual being permitted a presence on campus property.
No such freedoms exist on any French university campus.

So keep them in your prayers, with reference to:
* COL. 1:28-29
* COL. 4:2-6

And pray that they will be reminded of 1 COR. 2:4-5 as they attempt to have conversations with local students about the only One that stands between them and eternal condemnation.

Because there is much less openness in this age group in France than in Australia - less willingness to engage, less willingness even to stop & talk..

L/T.

04 July, 2011

2 ans plus tard..

Two years ago at this time, my life was in the middle of radical upheaval.

At the start of 2009 (after six years flickering in and out of different teaching roles in Sydney schools), I found myself jobless and caught up in the inexorably swirling currents of the then-quite-new global financial crisis (not-so-affectionately known as the GFC).

As any person brought up in the fine traditions of a Protestant work ethic, I tried - without success - to find replacement employment throughout 2009. Through casual stints here and there, God provided me income that kept the scoreboard ticking over and 2 substantial tax returns (both pretty 4-figure sums).

In mid-2009, I went on a long-intended short-term mission trip overseas (to see the reality and difficulty of proclaiming Christ in a non-English-speaking context) and returned with a redefined idea of what I wanted my life to look like.

To ensure this was not just a phase, I went back in September 2009 and June/July 2010 for another look - and, as a result, decided to be more committed to praying, caring, giving, going or all four together.

Thus this year so far (6 months on a challenging class in a difficult school in a less-than-easy area) has seemed like a bit of a wilderness detour. A more than full-time demand on my life that has pushed quality time with my Father and with His people relentlessly to one side. Which I have not only resented, but been negatively affected by - because, after all, when one drifts further from God, it follows that one's conduct becomes significantly less godly and can even be a stumbling-block to unbelievers with whom one has to work. In particular, my students at school.

Apart from the income generation, I have found it hard to see the positives in this job. I feel as if the amount of pressure/stress I have been under has neither developed my Christian character further, nor has it contributed to any observable professional growth as a teacher.

Of course, I am sure the Father sees the last 6 months very differently. I just wish it was all over quicker. The pitfalls of living in an instant society.

Oh that the doors may open to develop what actually needs development - if I am ever to be useful in an overseas cross-cultural context with university student age groups!

L/T.

27 June, 2011

5 versets qu'il faut obéir

(English ~ ROMANS 12:17-21)

Ne rendez à personne le mal pour le mal.
Recherchez ce qui est bien devant tous les hommes.

S'il est possible, autant que cela dépend de vous,
soyez en paix avec tous les hommes.

Ne vous vengez point vous-mêmes, bien-aimés,
mais laissez agir la colère;
car il est écrit:
A moi la vengeance, à moi la rétribution,
dit le Seigneur.

Mais si ton ennemi a faim, donne-lui à manger;
s'il a soif, donne-lui à boire;
car en agissant ainsi,
ce sont des charbons ardents que tu amasseras sur sa tête.

Ne te laisse pas vaincre par le mal,
mais surmonte le mal par le bien.

________________

(Hymn time!)

To God be the glory,
Great things He hath done.
So loved He the world
That He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life
An atonement for sin
And opened the life-gate,
That all may go in.

L/T.

P.S. Merci, Père,
Qui m'a pardonnée mes offenses,
Qui m'a donnée Ton Saint Esprit pour me délivrer du mal/malin.
Tu es digne de toute louange!

06 June, 2011

5e-9e versets d'Éphésiens 6

No time to grieve the loss of our princess of cats, because in the job I have been given to do at school since start of February, it's Nightmare City (otherwise known as report-writing time).

So here's a snippet from EPHESIANS 6:5-9 to keep life in perspective.
__________________

Serviteurs, obéissez à vos maîtres selon la chair,
avec crainte et tremblement, dans la simplicité de votre coeur,
comme à Christ,
non pas seulement sous leurs yeux, comme pour plaire aux hommes,
mais comme des serviteurs de Christ,
qui font de bon coeur la volonté de Dieu.

Servez-les avec empressement,
comme servant le Seigneur et non des hommes,
sachant que chacun, soit esclave, soit libre,
recevra du Seigneur selon ce qu'il aura fait de bien.

Et vous, maîtres, agissez de même à leur égard,
et abstenez-vous de menaces,
sachant que leur Maître et le vôtre est dans les cieux,
et que devant Lui il n'y a point d'acception de personnes.

L/T.

15 May, 2011

1 tristesse

My sister's cat had not been well since February, though had been in spirits up until the start of May.

She went to the vet last Monday 9th, was fed at 6:45PM that evening before they closed up.

At some point during the night she went to sleep on her side and never woke up.

I know the world hasn't ended. But in moments of reflection like this, it sure as heck feels like it.

L/T.

27 April, 2011

1e semaine de T2

As one starts a new school term, it is always good to keep some of the Father's wisdom in mind.

I'm sure as heck going to need it!

ROMAINS 5,1-10
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character;
and character, hope.
And hope does not disappoint us,
because God has poured out His love into our hearts
by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

"You see, at just the right time,
when we were still powerless,
Christ died for the ungodly.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man,
though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

"Since we have now been justified by His blood,
how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!
For if, when we were God’s enemies,
we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son,
how much more, having been reconciled,
shall we be saved through His life!"

________________

L/T.

12 March, 2011

5 versets de JONAS 2

I dedicate this post to all those affected by the recent earthquake & tsunami in Japan.
________________

JONAH 2:2-6

In my distress I called to the LORD,
and He answered me.
From the depths of the grave I called for help,
and You listened to my cry.

You hurled me into the deep,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all Your waves and breakers
swept over me.

I said, ‘I have been banished
from Your sight;
yet I will look again
toward Your holy temple.’

The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.

To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But You brought my life up from the pit,
O LORD my God.

________________

L/T.

26 February, 2011

2 Psaumes

It has been an extremely busy month.

I have felt so rushed so much of the time, & it seems so hard just to sit still awhile with my Father.

Expressing almost perfectly my thoughts at this demanding time of work are two Psalm quotes..

PSA. 42:1-2
(or vv.2-3 if using French Bible)


PSA. 63:1
(or v.2 if using French Bible)

L/T.

02 February, 2011

1er des 4 Évangiles (Matthieu 10..)

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side*.

Listen to Him, for He shall be thy guide..
________________

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?
Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Whoever acknowledges Me before others,
I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven.

But whoever disowns Me before others,
I will disown before My Father in heaven.

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to turn
'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law
- a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.'

Anyone who loves their father or mother more than Me
is not worthy of Me
;
anyone who loves their son or daughter more than Me
is not worthy of Me.

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow Me
is not worthy of Me
.

Whoever finds their life will lose it,
and whoever loses their life for My sake will find it.
"

MATTHEW 10:28-39


L/T.

*[hymn words - source unknown]

20 January, 2011

3 jours (au lieu de 5)

I would really value your prayers that God might provide me with a job of up to 3 days per week.

NOT a full-time job (5 days/week, 1.0 load); I do not wish to be totally monopolised by work - & I know this WILL happen if I go back to full-time employment.

I would see a part-time one (ideally 0.6 load) as being least inconvenient in what I want to do with my life long-term.

So, a PART-TIME job prayer request.

Would you please pray about this with me?

L/T.

14 January, 2011

10 ans après: Réponses aux prières

It was nearly 10 years ago that I began adding students I taught to my prayer-list.

Back in 2001, on a practicum teaching block of time with a Year 4 class - an experience I enjoyed so much that it was impossible not to pray for the children - especially the majority of unsaved ones, mainly from unchurched families.

And as time went on & I moved from school to school, so were added to the number yearly those who were not yet saved (or those whom, as children, may/not have made a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ at the time).


Prayer points for former students included:

[unsaved]
* that God would place people/circumstances in their lives to challenge them with the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ - & that He would show them mercy, turning their hearts to repentance & faith in Him

[Christian families]
* that any faith they had in God might be proved genuine & that if calling Christ their Lord & Saviour, they would continue to walk with Him..

[all]
* that for those students whom God called to be His, He would also raise them up to be leaders of His people..


Such little prayers..
..prayed by a little shepherdess with little fitness for much other ministry..

There were times in more recent years where I wondered, should I keep these children on my prayer list? (..or should I give up..?)

________________


But this week I went, for the 3rd time in three years, to NSW Summer School
- a week-long conference run by the Church Missionary Society.
A conference full of mission reports from the harvest field of the world; full of prayer and praise and expository preaching from the Bible and..well, more prayer.

At that conference were at least 2 answers to my own personal prayers;
two former students, children I had taught who are now little brothers in the Lord.

One from an unchurched family background; one from a Christian family.
Both professing faith in Christ.
Both serving on the teams of leaders for the youth/children's programme
- helping teach a new generation of children about Christ & the call to follow Him.


Who could have imagined this?
What kindness, goodness and faithfulness - & all totally undeserved.

Père céleste - merci!
Que Tu, qui as commencé en eux cette bonne oeuvre, la rendras parfaite pour le jour de Jésus Christ!!

(PHIL. 1,6)

L/T.

04 January, 2011

6 danses

One of my stated recreational interests is dance, specifically classical ballet.

In general, there are about 6 dance sequences that I'd say (off the top of my head) are great fun to watch, in terms of escape/entertainment, cleverness and/or talent:


1. Kitri's Entrance
(from the ballet DON QUIXOTE - American Ballet Theatre version)
This excerpt is outstanding, in that Cynthia Harvey (dancer in pink) is performing LIVE onstage.
Brilliant!

Meanwhile, all other preferred dance clips referenced here are from films or miniseries & were edited in some way into their current forms.



2. Crown Inn ball dance: Emma Woodhouse & Mr (George) Knightley
(from the BBC 2009 televised version of Jane Austen's novel EMMA)


3. "What a comforting thing to know"
(from the Cinderella-style film SLIPPER AND THE ROSE)


4. A dance/song sequence at an Amritsar party
(from BRIDE AND PREJUDICE;
alternate clip here)


5. "That's how you know"
(from ENCHANTED - seriously cheesy though)
=> go to 1m03 for best results


6. An opening-credits street dance
(from one of the AUSTIN POWERS films)
=> go to 1m34 for best results


Sorry if this wasn't interesting enough for you..!

L/T.

02 January, 2011

43e chapitre d'ÉSAΪE

{Happy New Year.
Isn't this a lovely, suitable verse to kick-off my blog posts in 2011?)



"Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.

The wild beasts will honour Me,
the jackals and the ostriches,

for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to My chosen people,
the people whom I formed for Myself
that they might declare My praise."

ISAIAH chapter 43,
verses 18-21.

________________

Père céleste, que Tu fasse cela pour moi aussi!?
..que des eaux dans le désert soient mises, et des fleuves dans la solitude..
- Toi, qui m'a choisi,
afin que je puisses annoncer Tes louanges aux incrédules!

Toutefois, que ma volonté ne se fasse pas, mais la Tienne (LUC 22,42).


L/T.