He is shaking what can be shaken by Phil Tiews
/
This past February Barb and I got a chance to go to New Zealand, and I have to say it is just as spectacularly beautiful as we has expected. While there we visited the city of Napier. In 1931 it experienced a catastrophic earthquake. The buildings were leveled, the bluff overlooking the town collapsed, the lagoon was lifted out of the sea and a new set of hills emerged. As you can imagine, life in Napier was totally disrupted. Not only were institutions destroyed, but the landmarks and established lines of communication were lost.
People sometimes describe what we have been going through for the last several decades as a cultural earthquake, with good reason. Key aspects of life have been shaken, and many are collapsing or damaged. Institutions people relied on and landmarks they used for guidance such as marriage and family are gone. They now seem dangerous to return to. It is small wonder that we see so much disruption in lives and in society.
As it turned out, there was a navy ship in Napier harbor that day. There was no tsunami, so it rode out the earthquake in relative calm. As the choking dust cloud rose and the fires began to sweep through the town, the crew had a choice. They could remain in safety on their orderly ship, shaking their heads over the tragedy, commenting on the faulty building practices which led to so much destruction, and criticizing the rescue efforts … or they could act. Fortunately for the citizens of Napier they came ashore and joined in the saving many folks from the fires and the rubble. The ship’s radios also provided the vital link to help from outside as the means of communication from Napier had been lost.
As we look at the seismic upheaval all around us from the blessed safety of our life in Christ and His Body, what is our response? Let’s be like those sailors and go ashore to do what we can to recue. And let’s communicate with the One who is able to save, even though those in such trouble do not themselves have the means of such communication.
Our God saves — and He uses us!
Looking for the KingdomFor a while now we have been focusing on the prayer Jesus taught us, ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven’. We have talked about longing for the kingdom, about being agents to bring the kingdom in the spheres where Jesus has placed us. We have prayed for the kingdom to come, joining with brothers and sisters across the County in the special time of the 40 Days of Prayer.
Interplay of Kingdoms
This is a guest article by Sam Williamson which is really helpful as we deal with trials in our lives. Check out more articles by Sam at his blog 
With the Lord speaking to us about being part of bringing His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven, the Band of Brothers has been asking, ’what more can we do?’ For the last several years we have met monthly and enjoyed great fellowship, (not a few pancakes!), and shared on topics which have helped us grow as God’s men. Along the way we have learned how to wire a house, shoot a flintlock, operate an MP3 player, brew a perfect cup of coffee—and a perfect pint of beer, join wood, and gaze at the stars, among other topics! We have had a great time and grown, but now we are asking, what can we do to have a Kingdom edge to brotherhood?
There was a moment in this year’s community Christmas pageant [one of the best ever, by the way, thank Rachael Varblow & Amy Campbell] when the shepherds and angels were all milling around the manger trying to get a look at the baby Jesus. The fact that his part was being played by a real baby provided the motivation for these young method actors. As I Iooked at these representatives of heaven and earth jostling and elbowing for position it occurred to me that this might be closer to that moment in Bethlehem than our usual static tableaux. We read in Luke 2 of the ‘great company of the heavenly host’ praising God and of the shepherds going off to see the baby and to our mind’s eye come the serried rows of a choir and an orderly hike ending in a reverent circle of kneeling shepherds. It may not have been so orderly!
After 2000 years and untold paintings, Christmas cards, crèche scenes and carols the shock value of Jesus’ birth has largely worn off for us. It is hard to imagine just how thunderstruck those shepherds must have been. Sitting quietly by the fire, swapping stories and gossip when KAZAAM!!! the heaven’s open and God’s glory blasts down on them and from the midst of it an angel shouts out his greeting. He could see the impact he was having because the first thing he says is ‘Don’t be afraid’! When they get over the shock of the first angel, a whole mob of them (biblically known as a ‘great company') belt out their message – and then are gone. As they are recovering their wits the shepherds begin to remember what they were told and then they realize this is all wrong! Hallelujah, the Messiah has come! Angels are proclaiming his arrival – that is as it should be. But what is this about the baby wrapped and lying in a manger, that can’t be right. He is the great king, greater than David. Where is the palace, where are the courtiers, where is the earthly glory? They rush off to see and I imagine that their curiosity and confusion caused them to press in for a really good look and press Mary and Joseph for explanations about who this baby was.
Years ago I used to work as a repair man at a local apartment complex. When I first started, the lunchroom talk was often vulgar and profanity-laced. It was pretty uncomfortable for me. On a couple of occasions I said something like ‘I’m not interested’ to an inquiry, but mainly I tried to ignore what was objectionable or change the topic and just be myself. I didn’t preach to anyone. After the guys got to know me and I had been there a while I noticed that the discussion often changed when I came in the room and sometimes someone would apologize to me for a comment – often half-jokingly, but an apology nonetheless.
What I was experiencing was not conversion or transferal from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God, but I would call it an example of the ‘infusion’ of the Kingdom of God. You may have made ‘sun tea’ at some time. You put a tea bag in a jar of water and put it out in the sun. Slowly the tea leaches out into the water and with the solar influence it begins to infuse the whole jar. You can see treads and streams of the tea spreading out in the early stages. Eventually the whole jar is tea!
A joyful thing, recognizing people as they wrestle their way through the red metal door of the Chalet at FaHoLo conference and retreat center, gaze around the room and ‘check in’. Some I saw only last week at a prayer meeting. Others self-identify that they “haven’t been around much lately,” which isn’t to say they have abandoned Kingdom territory or put down their spiritual weapons. In addition to a gently-aging population, there were children and babies, young families, a few people we got to meet perhaps for the first time, and two venerable seniors, Winslow Fox and Bren Quilter.
What about the people whose names I never checked off? Well, I missed them. And, I missed the people who weren’t on the pre-registration list. It was a very full weekend of wonderful things to do; some of us were doing other things. I trust you had a good time wherever you were, but you were missed. I especially missed our friends Terry Johnson, Mary Quilter, and Elizabeth Fox who were with us in recent years, are now gone to their eternal home, God rest their souls.