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Fridays with Phil

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The Dirty Truth

Look around you. Everything you see came from the raw materials found in dirt.

You’re sitting on, living in, driving and eating a product of dirt.

When we look closely at dirt, we find many things: manure, air, moisture, dust, nutrients, hard things, rocks, minerals and resources.

To us, dirt is something we want to wash off straight away.  In its rawness, we often don’t see its potential or beauty. It’s just a pain and an inconvenience.

Dirt is messy.  Likewise, our world is not perfect and neither are our lives. They can be messy.

One thing we can count on this New Year is that dirt will appear in our lives.

Our first reaction will be to want to wash it off and get rid of it. But, let me encourage you, God can take our dirt, what we see as inconvenient, even painful, and make something beautiful with it.

In fact, consider this – humanity originated in the dirt!

The Bible in Genesis 2:7 says, “God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!”

Isaiah, a prophet of old, said we are like clay on the Potter’s wheel, in the Potter’s hand.

So, don’t be so quick to remove the dirt from your life before God gets a chance to show you His handiwork.

God can take our imperfect, messy and muddy lives and show His genius and masterpiece.

He is famous for making beauty out of ashes, creating life from dirt.

Corinthians. 4:7 says “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”

We are earthy and imperfect vessels carrying hope and God’s light to a messy world.

Our prayer this year, from the imperfect to the Perfect, may simply be, “Take this dirt and let it live, let it carry Your presence and breath Your excellence on it.”

You see, we all have cracks, we all have hard pieces and dead things in us. Dare I say, we all have smelly manure in our lives.  It is humanity’s common factor.

None of us are perfect. No matter how hard we try, we never will be.

If we allow others to see our imperfect lives, it may just be what God uses to let them see that God is not looking for perfection.

Allow your imperfections to be a means to connect with others who also know they are imperfect.

In doing so, we release the light of God through our lives. We could very well inspire faith in others. Our cracks could reveal the treasure of Jesus’ perfection and excellence within.

Something worth sharing.  Someone worth seeing.

Phil

2

Enough is enough

If you’re anything like me, you probably came to the point over the course of Christmas day where you had had “enough.”   Even if you were offered one more slice of meat, one more chocolate, or one more drink, you couldn’t do it.

When you have had “enough”, it can be a very satisfied feeling, there’s a fullness to it.

I encourage you, even just for a day, contemplate the fact that you are enough.

Enough change has taken place this year, enough growth and stretching, enough personal bests, enough reaching above and beyond where you have ever been before, and enough striving.

Be satisfied in you.

New Year’s resolutions can wait, what you may be or could become in the future will have their time.

Take a moment or two to rest in all you’ve done and all you’ve become, and who you are right now because you are “enough”! You are lovable, loving, kind and generous, trustworthy, and unique in your own skin.

Psalm 4:6-8 says, “Why is everyone hungry for more? “More, more,” they say. “More, more.”  I have God’s more-than-enough, more joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees.  At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep, for you, God, have put my life back together.”

Even beyond today, consider the fact that God can use whatever state you are in right now to outwork His purposes.

You may think you need to be more for God to use you but God specialises in the “enough”.

Look at the boy in the Bible with the two fish and five loaves. Everybody else thought it wasn’t enough to feed thousands of people, but it was.  We read in Mark 6 that Jesus took that offering, looked up to heaven and blessed it.

God takes our “enough”, blesses it, and causes the miraculous to happen.

When we come to the place of realising that we are enough, offer ourselves to God to be a blessing, He takes who we are and uses it for good.  You are His “enough” right now and it is amazing what God can do with your “enough”.

So, enough from me 🙂  Go and enjoy being you, just the way you are!

Phil

12

Tell me why I shouldn’t fear

I was saddened along with so many others this week as we witnessed the horrific situation unfolding in Sydney, hostages held and two killed. Then in the same week, 132 children tragically massacred in Pakistan.

This is frightening and disturbing any time of the year, let alone at Christmas.

The rawness of life and death draws you towards issues of substance, humanity, faith and meaning like little else.

I wonder what your reflections over the past week produced in you? We all felt something.  Was it fear, hope, compassion, hate?

Could it be possible that we produce in our life the fruit of what or who we worship?

If the object of our worship is materialism, selfishness, or an angry, vengeful god, then we don’t need to look much further to find that fruit outworked.

However, if we truly know God, we find ourselves familiar with a loving, peaceful and kind divinity and in the same way, that will bear fruit in our lives.

If the fruit of your faith produces fear in you or others, then I would suggest it is not a faith that promotes the heart of God towards humanity.

Christmas reveals to us a facet of who God is! When we refer to Christ as “Emmanuel”, it means “God with us.”

Jesus came to us as depicted in the Christmas story to reveal to humanity who God is.

The Good News in a nutshell is this, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for ALL the people.” (Luke 2:10).

There’s no question the message that God sends to us through His Son Jesus is one of peace on earth and goodwill towards ALL humanity.

Jesus talked about love, but more importantly reveals the power of that love in our lives. He exhibited that love by forgiving His own enemies even as He was hung on a cross.  It was personal.

The promise of Jesus and message of Christmas is both universal and personal.

In knowing Him and in turn, being like Him, our personal responsibility is to love and be peacemakers.

Peace between man and God is the primary reason for Jesus coming to earth: not fear, not hate, not selfishness.

The Bible says that perfect love casts out fear. So the answer to fear and the presence of peace is the love that comes from God.

When social media shared the phrase “I’ll ride with you” this week, I believe it reflected the heart of the God I know.

No cultural or religious divide can separate a man or woman from God’s love, and in knowing God, nor will it separate another from mine.

This has to be the message that resounds loud and clear to a world that is at times held in the grip of fear: “God loves you and so do I”.

I don’t think we can hear it enough. I don’t think we can demonstrate it enough.

What is your response to God’s love this Christmas?

Phil

Let me also take this opportunity in wishing all my readers across 106 countries a very happy, joyful and safe Christmas.

If you have suffered loss this past season, in your tears and grief may you find the ever-present comfort of God. My prayers are with you.

And if you’re looking for a Church to celebrate Christmas, I can recommend mine – visit www.hillsong.com/christmas for service times.

 

8

Hang in there

The picture shows my grandson Lucas holding onto my finger the day after his birth.

Throughout life, something that we all need to learn to do is hang on.  In some respects, it is a natural, rather than learned instinct.  The part that is learned is to recognise what we are holding on to.

We need to be sure that the things we are hanging onto are the things that will help us to make it through.  It is about recognising that there may be times in life we need to let go of something to be able to hang on to something else more beneficial and make it through when times are tough.

In recent times, I’ve had to let go of some things, even some dreams, to hold onto health.  I have had to let go of ego to instil significance, let go of some opportunities, for family.  We all have choices to make – as teenagers, as young adults and throughout our lives – to hold onto what is right.

Psalm 107:27   says, “They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end.”

We can be at our wits end for an array of reasons.  My mum used to say she was “at my wits end with you kids.”  Or it could be more serious – when the seemingly sure things become unsure, when tragedy, financial strife or sickness strike.

In response, often people become frantic, searching for something to put their trust in, for something to hold on to: careers, relationships, substances – a state of restlessness.  Others become discouraged, buying into the lie that there is no hope for them to the point where they are willing to let go of everything.

But let me encourage you, at your wits end, don’t let go, hold on with all your might to what is right.  

In a world filled with brokenness, when we are brought to our knees, we can be found holding onto the One who holds us in return.  In standing, we can stand.

Charles Spurgeon said, “If hunger brings us to our knees, it is more useful to us than feasting; if thirst drives us to the fountain, it is better than the deepest draughts of worldly joy….”

I have found at our “wits end” is a great place to cry out to God.
When you do, He doesn’t only hear you, He responds.
In the middle of our stress, He brings peace.
In our sadness, He brings comfort.
In our emptiness, He fills us with purpose.
In our disappointment, He helps us dream again.

When we turn to God, His arms of love and grace are open to embrace us, regardless of what we have done, will do or can do for Him.

If you find yourself at your wits end today, I pray you begin to trust in God.  Hold on to Him and He will hold onto you, unfailingly.

Phil

12

Phillip Hughes and my mate Lloyd

Australia lost one of its national cricket stars last week.

For those of you who don’t know much about cricket, it is enough to say that it is one of Australia’s most loved national sports. During a recent game, Phillip Hughes was hit with a cricket ball and never recovered.  He was just days off his 26th birthday.

In the same week, I had a friend die from the effects of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) or ALS to those in the States. As I also have this disease, I met Lloyd and his wife Adele at our local MND support group.  I had the privilege of sharing my faith with him and praying with him to begin a relationship with God just weeks before His death.

I have written blogs about death before, but today I want to focus on those left behind. The ones who sit in funerals, sort through clothing, write eulogies.  I want to encourage you that in life’s most desperate moments that you can acquire a newfound value in life.

Our Prime Minister said this week, “Phillip Hughes’ passing is a reminder that life is both precious and fragile.”

I wonder, if that is true, do we live like it is? When we hear the words “precious and fragile”, many of us reflect on the fact that life in general is precious or fragile or that someone else’s life is fragile and precious.

It’s easy to hear these words without personalising them.

Let me do that for you: You are precious and you are fragile, you are one of a kind, valuable, not worthless.

By fragile, I’m not talking about the resilience of the human spirit, in fact, I am constantly blown away by people’s resilience. I am talking about our earthly body, amazing in complexity and also not infallible.

By precious, I’m not talking about lovely or superficial, I’m talking about rare, one of a kind, and uniquely destined for great things.

I have been to many auctions in my life and I like watching auction shows on TV. It is true that the most fragile and precious articles more often hold the most value.  Even if I wouldn’t buy it, someone else is willing to pay large sums– it’s all in the perspective of the buyer.

If our value is found in what others would give for us then consider this: Jesus gave His life for us. The Bible says, even when we were seemingly worthless, He put worth on us by paying the highest price a friend could pay: His own life. [Romans 5:8]

Have you noticed how people treat things that are precious and fragile? It is with respect, with a sense of awe, wonder and love.

The Bible also teaches us that we are wonderfully made and precious to God, and that we are His treasured possession.

If we would understand our intrinsic value today, it would change the way we treat ourselves and the way we treat others. We would love our neighbour like we were made to.

My challenge to you today is to see yourself as one-of-a-kind, and handle yourself with care. Then, see the people you are doing life with as equally valued, they are precious and fragile too.

Phil

0

You can’t handle the truth!

How do you handle the truth? Have you stopped to think about how you receive it and how you communicate it?

As important and beneficial as truth is to our relationships and society, like anything good, if used in the wrong way, it can be abused.

We all have a responsibility to know when and who to deliver the truth to or whether to deliver it at all. Learn when to speak it and when to keep it.

While it’s important for us to always tell the truth (be honest); it’s not always important to share the truth (spread it).

You see, truth needs to be delivered to the right people at the right time for the right purpose.

Truth shared with the wrong people at the wrong time or for the wrong purpose is often hugely damaging, and worse still, cheap gossip.

A sure sign that someone can’t handle the truth, is if they share what is said in confidence. Sharing truth with the wrong people is indicative of ambitious drive, a need for power or an unhealthy fascination with the tantalising.

Another sign someone can’t handle the truth is if they excuse hurtful or demeaning remarks with a flippant, “well, it’s the truth!”

In a world where we can communicate so much to so many so easily, we need to be careful that even when speaking truth, we exercise wisdom, integrity and love.

You want the truth? How do you handle it?

As in all things difficult to navigate, the Bible gives us some clear guidance.

In Matthew 5:21-26, Jesus encourages us that if we have an issue with a friend, we should go and make it right with that person.  He explains that words are powerful and have consequences.

I have found a good principle of thumb is that truth should be shared with the people immediately affected and someone who can do something about it: go upwards, not sidewards.

If someone offers to tell me something in confidence, I will often say, “You can tell me but depending on what you are about to say will determine who I will share the information with.”   More often than not, I redirect their truth-telling to the appropriate person or authority.

Proverbs 3:3 says, “Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart…”

We see here another principle found in the Bible is that if you need to share truth with people, make sure the motive is not power or ambition but mercy and love. In love, we need to learn to deliver truth with grace or mercy.

And finally, Ecclesiastes 3:7 says, there is “…a right time to shut up and another to speak up…”

Many times the best thing you can do with truth is keep it to yourself.  Sometimes the truth needs to stop at me because to go any further is to continue the gossip train. Some truth is just none of my business.

My encouragement to you today is to be a safe place when it comes to truth. Be someone who CAN handle the truth!

Phil

7

Give me life

On Sunday, I became a grandparent and I have barely stopped smiling since. Lucas James is a joy-bringer and a gift. As I hold him, I am filled with the deepest sense of awe and love.

I wonder if this is true of life, that as we nurture those around us, both the lovely and the unlovely of this world, we live with a greater sense of wellbeing. Just from my own observation, the most giving people I know are also the happiest people I know.

It’s true that to live, we need to exhale, to inhale. In the same way, we need to give, to receive. Not only is this a principle to live by, but it is a principle for life flow. It is oxygen.

In pouring out ourselves, we are not depleted, we are filled. In fact, my motive for giving is partly the purpose it creates within me, the energy and life it brings.  I have found that a peaceful “inner” world (my mind, will and emotions) is greatly impacted by how I reach out into the “outer” world around me.

Since being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), Lenore and I have become actively involved in the MND community. We endeavour to offer words of comfort and care to those suffering and their loved ones. It has forced me to face my own feelings in order to bring life to others. And I wonder if, in turn, it has given me back life.

By helping others through their suffering and giving of ourselves, we receive the ability, that is beyond ourselves, to stand in the face of trial.

When we give to others, we are saying, “I have abundance, I have resource that is not based on scarcity.” For me, that abundance is the overflow of God’s love and care for me.

When we do not reach out and care, we start to believe we are bankrupt, we are saying “I give nothing because I have nothing.” The truth is we have nothing of real value or substance because we choose not to give.

Take gravity for instance. Even though it pushes against us, it is the very force that enables us to stand upright and walk on earth.            

When in the face of the very thing that is pressing against us, we decide to reach out to others, our pain becomes the vehicle for God’s grace to reveal itself in and through us.

Today, I believe that your suffering and brokenness is an opportunity for God to reveal Himself.  In the middle of your pain, you can find joy because of how it touches the hearts and lives of others. But only if we choose to give.

My senior pastors recently told me that the recorded footage of me telling my story of MND in Australia has been replayed to thousands in London and New York and has been encouraging many people.

All I could say was “thank you”. You see, it did as much for me as it did for others to know that my pain was not in vain, was not fruitless or pointless, but has been used to somehow help others.

Einstein said it this way, “only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile”. Jesus said, “it is more blessed to give than to receive”.

Giving is oxygen. Remember to exhale.

Phil

15

God & Disneyland

As a father to daughters, I remember sometimes they would question my love for them based on my response to their demands.

They thought if I didn’t do what they wanted, when they wanted it, then I didn’t love them or want what they wanted.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

One occasion was when they wanted to go to Disneyland. They didn’t know where it was or how much time, effort, and money it would take to get there. They just wanted to go, now!

I knew that to take them was a big deal for us and would mean saving up, and making sure they were old enough (and tall enough) to experience and remember the rides.

When we did end up going to Disneyland, it wasn’t exactly when they wanted to go but my perspective as a dad who loved them and wanted the best for them guided me. And we had an incredible time!

As kids, they had little choice but to trust me to help give them what they dreamed of. As adults, the reality is it can be harder to trust our heavenly Father to give us the desires of our heart, whatever they may be, even though God’s nature is love and He is supremely trustworthy.

Over the years, I have heard people defend their disbelief in God or in His loving nature by saying that “if there was a God, then why wouldn’t he stop wars and make this world a better place?” (“Make Disneyland come true now!”).

We can assume that just because God hasn’t done what we want yet, that He never will or doesn’t want to.

I believe that not only does God exist, but God cares and His perspective guides Him to our best future.

Let me encourage you, just because God hasn’t rid the world of famine, wars and disease, doesn’t mean He doesn’t intend to, maybe His timing is just different to ours.

My Bible tells me that God’s ultimate intention is to create an existence where what we can so easily use as an excuse not to believe (i.e. heartache here on earth) will be no longer.

2 Peter 3:9 (MSG) says, “God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.”

You see, God wants what we want: peace, no disease, no hatred, no famine and He will get what He wants – in time.

Maybe like me with my daughters and Disneyland, it’s not an angry, hateful God causing Him to wait, but a loving, gracious God who wants us to know and trust Him. He is giving you and I the opportunity to be present with Him when He does eventually remove all the hell from this world.

While we live in these times of grace, we will continue to see man destroy what God created for good, but this is not the end of the story.

In your life, I pray today you would experience His grace in your situation, trust His perspective, know His love, and believe for His best. This is not the end of your story either.

Phil

6

Find your energy sweet spot

Do you need more energy in your life? Are you tired, run down or lacking drive?

Maybe all the energy you need is available to you but you haven’t yet tapped into it. Maybe your best energy is being wasted on the small stuff, and maybe the key is not more energy but the discipline of when to use that energy and on what.

You see, this week I have had a solar system installed. How it works is energy is produced through the solar panels on my roof and is then available for consumption. As long as the amount being consumed is less that the amount being produced, I pay nothing for it. It’s astounding to me that this option was available before but I am only just now tapping into it.

My solar system makes me think about life. Do we try and live in the deficit, on empty tanks, and inefficiently when it comes to energy, or do we live out of the overflow of what is available to us?

Jesus puts it like this in Matthew 11:30, “Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

The reality is if you can work out when your optimal energy levels are for each activity in your life, then use that energy at the right time, on the right activity, you will find a natural rhythm to your life.

For me, if I’m preparing a message or writing a blog, I like to do it in the morning because that’s when my most creative energy is available to me. I tend to wake up with fresh ideas and inspiration. As the day goes on, my emotional energy is strongest so it’s the best time for me to be with others.  If I tried to do these things in the reverse, I would feel drained and frustrated.

So that’s me, but what about you? Could you fit cleaning, emails and other repetitive tasks into the “in between” times, when you have 10 minutes here or there, waiting for meetings to start, or on public transport?  Doing that means you save the best times for your most significant activities in your day.

The truth is we all have energy available to us: physical, emotional, spiritual energy and all three areas impact on the other – 

  • Physical energy is available to us by the food or fuel we consume, exercise we do and the sleep we get.
  • Emotional energy is received through our relationships, our caring for others and their care for us.
  • Spiritual energy is received from our belief and faith experiences with God through the bible, prayer and relationship with Jesus. I love this verse – Colossians 1:29, “That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.”

Like my solar system, we can only use what we have received.  If we use these types of energy wisely, I wholeheartedly believe, we will better our life experience.

Why not take a moment to look at what you do and when you do it, and if needed, make a small adjustment in timing to redistribute energy and in doing so, help you live life to the full!

Phil

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