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Fridays with Phil

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For all the Fighters

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
(Laurence Binyon, For the Fallen, 1914)

Today we remember the fighters. They are you and they are me. They are the Anzacs who fought with great courage, resolve and commitment.

On 25th April 1915, 16,000 troops surged ashore at the foot of rugged cliffs on the Turkish peninsula, intending to give allied forces shipping access to the Black Sea, bring help to Russia, and ultimately capture Istanbul. An eight-month-long campaign ensued.

From a population of less than five million people, 61,513 Australians were killed in the First World War, and 152,000 more were wounded (http://www.awm.gov.au). That represented over 1%, or 1 in 100 people, wiped out. What a valiant group of men and women who fought for freedom and, without doubt or hesitation, for the nobility of their cause.

Giving thanks for their sacrifice, we honour our Anzacs and those who have given of themselves in war and peace keeping efforts. Not only do we remember them, but we endeavour to live our lives in a manner worthy of their sacrifice.

As I think of my readers, I know that many of you are fighting your own battles, battles not unlike the Anzac soldier. It may not be a battle you have created, yet it is a battle you must dig deep to keep fighting for a better tomorrow.

Today, be inspired by the courage, resolve, and commitment that those Anzac soldiers embodied. The Anzac spirit teaches us to resist apathy and care about life and living. It teaches us commitment to the freedom we seek.

The Anzacs were relentless to make this world a better place. Faith, bravery, and love do not only look for the best, they make things better.

What is your battle? Are you fighting for your marriage, children, health, finances, job? Are you fighting anger, depression, anxiety, or loneliness?

Your battle is worth the fighting. Your fight makes a difference. You are not alone.

Not even the Anzacs went it alone. The Anzacs relied on each other for life and death, it was a powerful mateship in the face of tough times. We need each other, we need mates who have each others’ backs.

Greater still, the beauty of a relationship with God is that He promises to be “a very present help in time of trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Maybe today your first act of courage is to go to God as your helper. I can’t imagine battling my current health challenge without His very present help.

God is the one who goes with you and will not leave you. Even though you walk through a dark valley, fear no evil, He is with you. God is for you, not against you. You can trust God. He is your defense and your salvation. God will strengthen you, help you, and uphold you by His right hand. God will not fail you.

Fight on!

Phil

1

Why this couldn’t wait until tomorrow

The Bible tells us that love is from God. Love is the primary characteristic of God. More than that, God is love.

God’s love is a non-discriminating, sacrificial, unconditional love.

John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world (everyone) that he gave his one and only Son (Jesus), that whoever (that’s you and I) believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (life now and even if we die).

What does this mean? It means that God sent Jesus, His only Son, to die for you and I, so that when it comes time for us to face our own death, we have an answer in the Saviour, Jesus.

It’s the greatest love story ever told. Everything that Jesus endured was all for you and it was all for me. Love was the reason, the motivation, and it’s the answer to it all.

If something is only as valuable as how much someone will pay for it, consider this: Jesus gave all He had for us.

Whatever the highest height or the lowest low we experience, our value as a human being is not found in what we do, our position in life, or the challenges we face, but it is found in His love for us.

Jesus died for you and I before we ever knew Him, before we called Him friend. He loved us in our sin, through our sin, and exchanged our sin for His life.  Because we are created in His likeness, God made us with the capacity for love, both to give and receive it.

Why this couldn’t wait until tomorrow is because I want to encourage some of my readers who are going through some really difficult times. Some who are literally facing the reality of their own transition from this world to the next.

Today, I encourage you to find time this Easter to consider Jesus as your answer to death and its sting, its power, its fear. It’s only as we have dealt with the reality of our own frailty and impending death that we can freely live and live freely.

And for the record, 10 out of every 10 people in this world will die!  The question is not “when will I die?” or “will I die?” but “what will be my new address when I die?”  I have chosen life, heaven, and eternity in God’s presence. I have chosen Jesus to be my Saviour.

If you’re in Newcastle, Australia and you don’t have a church to call home, I invite you to join me tomorrow at Hillsong Newcastle, 10am, 669 Hunter Street.

For everyone else, why not find a church this weekend and consider the love that Jesus has and its relevance to you.

Phil

Here is a link to some services around the world: crossequalslove.com

Please share this with your friends, let’s together get the message of love out there this Easter!

Cross = Love On the streets of Newcastle
Cross = Love
On the streets of Newcastle

 

 

4

Here’s to a new beginning!

Life is a journey of necessary endings that are often also the beginning of something fresh and new.

New beginnings and necessary endings go hand in hand: how you start and how you finish have as much to do with your future as the other. In fact, gracefully letting go of the past (old) will enable our head, hands, and heart to confidently take hold of the future (new).

You may say, “but endings hurt”!  Maybe so, but it’s about focusing on the changes that need to be made, not what is going to be the perceived or real loss. It’s recognising that a new beginning is not only an ending, but an opportunity for you to live and thrive. It boils down to this: to experience new beginnings in your life, you need to remove some things (as good as they are) to create space.

Did you know that some beautiful plants actually produce more buds than they can sustain and if some buds are not removed then the space the bud needs to open and blossom is not provided? It’s a vivid image. Without pruning, we don’t reach our potential.

Parents know this when their children get married; it’s a letting go that has some pain but also an acceptance of the new that brings joy and hope.

I remember when living in New Zealand, my eldest daughter moved back to Australia and I was heartbroken. However, it was there she met her husband and a new beginning that has brought our whole family joy

Some of the things that we need to let go of are good but they are taking up space that other opportunity may now need. Let go of old hope and grasp a hold of new hope. In fact, every time we say “no” to something, we are saying “yes” to something else (and visa versa).

As you read this blog, I will be on my way to the Democratic Republic of Congo for possibly the last time, after having travelled there each year for the past 7 years.

On this trip I will hand over and release some very dear friends into the leadership of what’s called, “Business, Integrity and Governance” (B.I.G) – an organisation to help raise up and encourage business, education and government sectors.

One thing I had to consider and battle with when I finished my leadership of B.I.G was not believing that “in finishing, I had somehow failed”.

Sometimes the finish as you know it is just the next step in its ultimate success and growth.

Life is full of goodbyes and hellos, of yes’s and no’s, of closing and opening, of quitting and starting. Think about your world. What needs pruning so the bud of your life’s potential can open wide to all its beauty?

Phil

Recommended reading: “Necessary endings” by Dr Henry Cloud.

Very early this morning...flying out to the Congo today.
Very early this morning…flying out to the Congo today.
20

Help, I need somebody!

Lifou, New Caledonia. March, 2014.
Lifou, New Caledonia. March, 2014.

“Help, I need somebody, Help, not just anybody.”  They are great lyrics from the well-known Beatles song, Help.   They became a reality for me last week.

The picture above was taken after conquering a hike through thick rainforest to swim in a freshwater cave.  I was glad I had taken my walking stick, but even happier that my two son-in-laws and nephew were there to help me on this adventure.

I realised I would not have been able to traverse down or up the steep inclines without their help.  Without them I would have missed so much and never would have experienced swimming in an underground cave, taking a leap of faith and jumping into the black swimming hole.

With my legs and arms weakening from the effects of Motor Neurone Disease (read more via the “About MND/ALS” tab at www.fridayswithphil.com),  I have come to rely more and more upon the help of others.  This experience has highlighted that all of us need the help and togetherness of others to achieve things we could never achieve on our own.

As a leader of a Church, pre-MND days, I had no hesitation in asking for help and working together with others to achieve goals and vision that were for the benefit of others.  However, asking for help for myself was, and is, a different matter.  I have always found it easier to give than to receive.  How about you?

I have realised that not being able to receive help is not only a bad character trait but is also indicative of a very limiting and dangerous attitude: pride.  Living a life trying to cope all on your own, “She’ll be right mate”, or “I’m OK”, suggests that I don’t need your help or anyone’s help.  I have come to realise, I do and we all do.

None of us can achieve anything big, courageous or challenging without the help of others.  Confident and courageous people need help and need the togetherness of others to experience life to the max.

One thing I noticed, when those three strong young men took a slower trip down and a very slow trip back up from the cave, is that even though I was a physical burden to them, they found pleasure in helping me achieve what I could never have achieved on my own.  In other words, not only do people want to help you, but they are also encouraged by the process of helping.

All the way up the track, I had to pull myself up by holding onto a strap secured to a Shannon’s back while Kaiden pushed me up from behind (literally pushing on my behind).  This left Josh carrying two heavy bags up the incline.  All the while I had a cheer squad in Glenda, Rachel, Chloe, Belinda, Rebecca and Jessica encouraging me on.

I could have said, “Don’t bother with me, I will just wait here at the top until you return.”  However, I would never have the memory and all those who helped would never have had the joy of helping someone do something they could never have done on their own.

The Bible says, in Ecclesiastes 4:12, “By yourself you’re unprotected.  With a friend you can face the worst.  Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.”  Maybe today you could lend a helping hand, or maybe you could ask for one.

We all need somebody.

Phil

20

What would a complaint-free day look like?

Easy not to complain when here with my beautiful wife and family last week.
Easy not to complain when here with my beautiful wife and family last week.

What would a complaint-free day look like?

A monk joined a monastery and took a vow of silence.
After 10 years his superior called him and asked him, “do you have anything to say?”
The monk replied “food bad.”
After another 10 years the monk again had the opportunity to voice his thoughts.
He said, “bed hard.”
Another 10 years passed by and again he was called in before his superior.
When asked if he had anything to say, he said, “I quit.”
“It doesn’t surprise me a bit, you’ve done nothing but complain ever since you arrived.”

Would you be able to get through this day without complaining, either to yourself or to others?  What would a complaint free-day look like?

Complaining is an energy killer and it can be the catalyst for an unhappy day.  So, a complaint free-day would, at a minimum, be a happier day and a more energetic day.

Often the most difficult part of learning how to handle complaining is recognising it in yourself.  If someone recorded you for a week, what would it reveal about your speech?  How much time do you spend griping, grumbling, complaining, arguing, and saying “life stinks”?

Complaining is a habit.  Habits are only broken by replacement with something else. Take out the negative complaining and replace it with positive speaking.  Steve Penny, a good mate, says “happy people don’t have the best of everything, they make the best of everything”.  Happy people replace whinging altogether.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”   You cannot always be thankfulfor the circumstances, but you can be thankful in them.  God has a good pattern and He fits even the bad things in our lives into that pattern for good.

There are some things in your marriage that you don’t like, things in your business, habits in yourself, your spouse, your children, or your boss. But I believe there are also some things in those situations and people that you could learn to be thankful for. Consider writing down one thing to be thankful for in your boss, spouse, children, teacher.

There are challenges we all face, but the way you look at your challenges determines your attitude.   Look for God’s fingerprint in your circumstances.  Because God is working all things out for good in your life, the good that you’re going to get out of whatever you’re going through will be much more long lasting than the problem.

For those of you who are going through real challenges today, I’m not saying ignore them.  What I’m saying is that in the midst of great challenge, living complaint-free can give you the necessary energy you need to make itthrough and strengthen your ability to fight.

Could today be your day to give complaint-free a go?

Phil

11

MND: Pray for a Cure

Walking with great mates to help raise awareness and funds for MND research.
Walking with great mates to help raise awareness and funds for MND research.

Earlier this month, over 700 people walked the outskirts of Lake Macquarie to raise awareness of MND and help raise finances to find a cure.  The cure may be closer than we realise with the below article published Friday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.

Your continued prayers that a cure be found sooner rather than later for the 1,800 people suffering with this disease in Australia, and many more around the world, would be much appreciated.

We do not give up hope.
Phil

Friday, February 21, 2014

Culprit protein in spread of motor neuron disease discovered

A breakthrough study has revealed how the fatal neurodegenerative disorder motor neurone disease (MND) is transmitted between nerve cells, and suggests the spread of the disease could be halted.

“The agent of spread has been discovered,” says Dr Bradley Turner, of the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.

Motor neurone disease is the name given to a group of diseases in which the nerve cells (neurones) controlling the muscles that enable us to move, speak, breathe and swallow undergo degeneration and die.

Typically, MND starts in a finger or a toe and then spreads. Gradually, it is transmitted throughout the nervous system causing paralysis and death – usually within 27 months. MND affects around 300,000 people worldwide and two Australians die from the disease every day.

“By understanding how the disease spreads in the brain, we can develop new strategies to combat the progressive symptoms seen in MND,” Dr Turner says.

The research shows that a misfolded protein can spread throughout the nervous system. The culprit protein is known as SOD1. The misshapen SOD1 spreads inside a living cell, from one neurone to another, like an infection. Importantly, the study reveals that “wild-type” or normal SOD1 can misfold and transmit between cells, which has implications for the common sporadic form of MND.

Published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, the study also shows the spread can be neutralised using antibodies. Antibodies bind to regions of misshapen SOD1, and block its spread. If SOD1 misfolding is the common culprit in MND, as the study suggests, then the antibodies could arrest MND progression, the researchers say.

No human clinical trials have taken place but studies in mice have been successful in blocking the misfolded SOD1 using antibodies and slowing MND symptoms.

The research could also have implications for those studying other neurological disorders  including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases where spread of misfolded proteins is implicated. These diseases may resemble the most common human form of prion disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

This discovery is the culmination of several years of work by an international team involving Dr Turner at the Florey, Prof Andrew Hill at the Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Dr Justin Yerbury at the University of Wollongong and Prof. Neil Cashman at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver,

For media enquiries: Amanda Place at the Florey 0411 204 526

4

How to grow, not crumble, under the weight of criticism

What's your recovery time when it comes to criticism? This swing has copped its fair share of critics!
What’s your recovery time when it comes to criticism?
This swing has copped its fair share of critics!

A young boy complained to his father that most church hymns were boring and behind the times. His father put an end to his son’s complaints by saying, “if you think you can write better hymns, then why don’t you?”  Isaac Watts went to his room and wrote such hymns as, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”

All of us have been criticised, or soon will be. Well, those of us doing anything anyway.  When someone starts with “don’t take this the wrong way” you can be on high alert that you are about to get criticised.

Criticism rightly faced becomes a means of personal growth, but wrongly faced causes us to become angry and defensive.  In fact, this can be true of all trials.

So how can we make criticism work for us and not against us?  How do we grow from it and not crumble under it?

We are going to have to remember who we are.  I find my identity in the fact that nothing can separate me from God’s love.  His love gives me intrinsic value and a sense of worth.  I know that through His strength, I can face anything.

We also need to respond with love.  Love is the greatest force on this earth and the best way to cope with criticism.   Love may not always change the situation but it can change you for the situation.  You may not always love the criticism but you can always love the critic. 

The best example of someone coping with criticism, with love, is Jesus.  To be nailed to the cross was the ultimate rejection and extreme criticism, yet his response was “God forgive them”.

On top of all that, we need to rate the criticism.  Ignoring it, or becoming upset by it, won’t ultimately help us.  If we can look beyond the critic, look beyond the emotion, and consider what is being said, we may actually learn something.  And that very something may just propel us forward in our destiny.

Whatever you do, don’t use one of my all-time favourite defences, “well, what would you know anyway?”  Trust me, it’s useless.  Imagine if Isaac Watts said that to his Dad.  Instead, hear the criticism and honestly weigh it up.

Finally, measure how long it takes from the point of reaction to the point of recovery.  Meaning, how long does it take you to recover from a challenge, upset or criticism?

The Winter Olympics is on right now and those athletes have trained against their personal best for years to make sure they were getting better and faster.  Time was their guage for success.

So if last year it took you days to get from being hurt to forgiving, from offending to saying sorry, from being blessed to giving thanks, but this year it only takes you hours, then you’ve probably grown against your personal best.  In this way, time can also be your guage for success.

Do “getting criticised” well.  You’ll be blessed by it.

Phil

15

The Secret to Happiness

Single, Married, Sick, Healthy, Rich, Poor? Discover the Secret to Happiness.
Single, Married, Sick, Healthy, Rich, Poor? Discover the Secret to Happiness.

Last week I was telling my psychologist how frustrating the changes in my body are. The simple things, like I have to wait for one of my sons to come over to carry salt to the swimming pool.

She said, “change will happen, sometimes we must learn to live with change being the new normal”.

What is the secret to a happy and content life?  I think it is learning to be content in whatever situation you find yourself in: single, married, sick, healthy, rich, or poor.  It’s a contentment that comes from within.

Philippians 4:12 says “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.”

Contentment is not conning yourself, psyching yourself up, or pretending you like what you really don’t like. That isn’t contentment — that’s fake.

Contentment is taking stock of your attitude and deciding that with Christ’s presence in you, you can cope! You can handle it! You are sufficient for the problem!

Contentment is not apathy, laziness, or complacency.  If you can change a situation, you don’t need to be content and lay in it — maybe you need to get up and do something about it.

Where you really need to master the art of a learned contentment is in the situations that you can’t control: those things that are beyond you.

So how do you do that?  I have learned a couple of ways:

One is to avoid comparison.

There will always be people that make more money than you, who have greater opportunities than you have, or who have fewer problems. So what? That need not have any bearing on your own personal contentment.

Howard Hughes, a business magnate and Hollywood socialite, was once asked, “How much money does it take to make a man happy?” He said, “Just a little more.”

In stark contrast, the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “We don’t look around at what we see right now, the troubles all around us. But we look forward to the joys in heaven.”

You don’t need to have what others have, be liked by everyone or have more than what you have now to be content.

I can’t afford to spend time comparing myself to other people or in the futile pursuit of more.   I keep my eyes on a far greater hope and purpose.

Another is to adjust to change.

Life is full of ups and downs — emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially. One thing is certain in life: change.

Change is going to happen whether you like it or not and we must be flexible because circumstances usually aren’t.

How well do you handle change?  Do you get frightened? Moody? Angry? Uptight?

Your happiness in life will be largely dependant upon your ability to adapt, adjust, and be flexible.

What is the secret of a content and happy life? Learn to relax, trust God, avoid comparing yourself and adjust to change.

Phil

18

Heaven, healing and the in between

My neurologist just put me through my least favourite range of tests since being diagnosed with MND / ALS.

These electromyogram and nerve conduction tests are gruelling and painful.

They involve the signals to and from my muscles and brain being measured by using electric shock.

Other treatments, like the 3 hour immunoglobulin infusions I have once a month, are a breeze in comparison.

Light exercise to boost my happy endorphins, a drug for MND / ALS patients called “rilutek” said to increase life expectancy by 3-6 months, juicing for breakfast, and  a cocktail of about 40 vitamins I have self-prescribed through my own research have all become a regular part of my life.

Taking it deeper, daily I pray and believe for Jesus’ life, light and love to flow through my body, bringing life to my motor neurons.

I read my Bible and meditate on God’s word and His presence in my life, bringing my mind into a place of peace, not worry.

Why do I do all this stuff? 

Why do I fight this disease with medicines and subject my body to research? Why do I hang my hope on the life-giving power of God’s word?

It’s because I believe in the power of prayer and the word of God that brings life and transforms.

I also believe that God has blessed man with wisdom and knowledge to appropriate healing through medicine.

Is there a tension between me doing what I can and believing God for a miracle?

Yes, there is a tension and for the Christian living in a fallen world: there always will be.

I personally walk the line between doing what I can in the natural, and believing God to do what He can in the supernatural.

They are not mutually exclusive.

We don’t disqualify God from intervening in our situation by relying on man’s advancement in medicine.

I believe God is at work in a number of ways in sickness and health through:

  • the supernatural intervention of Gods miraculous power
    (e.g. defying doctor’s predictions and seeing a medical turnaround. like people healed from cancer);
  • the process of regeneration in our body that has been created by God
    (e.g. the body healing itself from scrapes and bruises);
  • medicines and medical advancements of our time, a gift of God’s wisdom and knowledge to man
    (e.g. antibiotics to treat an infection, or radiation to treat cancer); and
  • the comfort and wonder of one day entering heaven and eternity, a place God has prepared with no sickness or sorrow
    (e.g. death of our physical body causing us to pass from this life to the next).

All are expressions of God’s love, care and kindness towards a world that will continue to struggle against sickness and disease.

If you are sick today, I would encourage you to do whatever is available for you to do as provided by God through medical advancement and trust God to do what only He can do.

This will bring you great peace.

Phil

Me and one of the legends from our MND / ALS small group
Me and one of the legends from our MND / ALS small group
19

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