5Cs of Spiritual Survival Trailer

http://youtu.be/Irk4fEG32KU

Creation temple

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

 

My preference is to “leave the building” in order to seek God.

To leave the books or TV behind and head out

into the country;

to the woods,

the mountains or

to the beach.

 

I believe that creation clearly shouts “God is!”

 

That in the great outdoors many encounters with God are to be establish, many lessons about God can be learnt and many truths about ourselves revealed. For many people, the very thing that makes us feel alive helps us to connect with Him, to see His beauty and learn what He can do; to simply escape outside. For many the very thing that opens our eyes is nature and the world around us…

 

The Great Outdoors Temple

 

Isaiah 66.1-2

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. 

 

Creation is God’s temple.

The Bible, in Genesis starts by describing the building of this temple. All man-made temples were built to copy the heavens and the earth. See God “Surely, everything that comes from the hand of such a master-artist as God has something in it of himself!

There are inspiring places on this created world which ought to make even an unbeliever believe.

 

I have read regarding the mountains, ‘He who sees no God here is mad.’

 

“There are things that God has made which overwhelm with a sense of his omnipotence: how can men see them, and doubt the existence of the Deity?”

Charles Spurgeon

 

Psalm 19.1-6

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.

 

Psalm 104.1-4

Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendour and majesty. The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.

 

What we see in creation is what Yahweh is capable of,

• His imagination,

• His humour,

• His power

• His extravagance.

 

Time outdoors is awe-inspiring: “who are we in comparison?”

It helps us see how much we’re treasured and esteemed and yet sosmall!

 

A Place of Encounter

 

The Bible and Church history is full of people for whom the greatoutdoors was the place where they were confronted by God:

• Adam,

• Abraham,

• Moses,

• David and of course

• Jesus.

 

Psalm 23 & Matthew 6.25-34

(neither makes sense without us being outdoors!)

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. . . . . . .

 

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?

For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. . . . . 

 

Freedom in creation.

No phone reception, no email, you can’t look good, you’re at the mercy of the elements; cutting you free from addictions, from restriction & limitations, from expectations put upon us from others, from society, a society far from God but when we get the time, make the time to lose ourselves and find God in his place of worship, creation then life and its perspective are put into their rightful place!

 

2 Corinthians 3:17

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

 

Develop your biblical skills

Biblical tracking...

 

 

 

 

2 Timothy 2:15

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

When studying the Word of God I have adopted a similar skill set to understand the message as I use when in the field tracking wildlife.

Animal tracking lures us on an amazing journey into the world of nature, and encourages us to open all of our senses to its subtle clues hidden everywhere. 

Developing skills that teach you to track animals as an interpretive art one that sharpens our awareness of nature and deepens our understanding of our own behaviour.

The same routines that make for success in tracking can be easily carried over to our spiritual walk, enhancing the quality of our lives.

Trackers speak a language which is based not only on a self taught  knowledge of tracks, trails and sign but also on a rich foundation in the natural history and characteristics of animals and the ethnobotany of plants.

Building the essential background for sensory awareness and knowledge of land needed to track animals.

Tracking is a profound, life-affirming activity: I feel more at home in the woods than in my own home.

 

Begin at home

​If you want to learn how to track our foxes, deer, badgers and other native animals,

where on Earth do you start?

First things first: it’s vital to understand what this ancient craft actually involves. Spotting the prints of a dog fox on a muddy path is a far cry from being able to interpret the animal’s intentions, let alone being able to follow it.

 

This is very applicable when studying the scriptures, there’s a vast difference between reading the Word of God & meditating on them.

 

Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

 

Real tracking (as opposed to the alluring version you so often read about and see on TV) is not a glamorous activity. In fact, it’s quite dull to watch.

A tracker hardly speaks, must think deeply and use his or her senses to their fullest in order to read the mood of the landscape and pick up the tiniest of traces.

When tracking or studying the Holy Scriptures always be honest, the truth is there if you don’t understand or can interrupt that which lies before you seek the help of others.

It is the difficult signs and traces that have the most to teach us.

All bluffing does is generate unnecessary doubt about your skills & ability.

 

Above all, tracking is a fascinating way to study animals – it gets you under their skin. It is a particularly useful skill in Britain, where so many mammals are nocturnal.

 

Psalm 119:115 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

 

Reading the signs

When tracking, my aim is to find, interpret and follow a trail of clues that record the passing of an animal through the landscape. In places, there will be clear footprints that can identify the species – and sometimes even its sex.

The creature’s speed and gait will also be recorded, revealing its mood and intention. Where the trail is located within the landscape – along the brow of a hill or beside a stream hidden within a valley, for example – may indicate purpose, confidence, fear or even status.

Most of the time, I will be following only partial tracks or the tiniest hints of the animal’s passing: a bent grass stem, a strand of hair, subtle disturbances in the leaves on the forest floor.

 

When reading scripture try and have the same mindset, looking at details most skip over, treading carefully on your walk of faith, can you see the writers point of view, do you know the geography, the history of the setting? All this can add a depth to your study.

 

Read the tracks

To me, a trail is rather like music. Its rhythm and tempo can tell me a lot about the animal’s state of mind. For instance, the fine details in a footprint can tell me how tired or fresh the animal I’m following is.

When I examine a track, I don’t just see a footprint; in my mind’s eye, I have an image of the animal that made it.

 

Have a spirit filled imagination, can you imagine the peace and tranquillity of the garden before the fall or can you feel the hairs on David’s neck rise as he approaches Goliath, the electricity of Yahweh coursing through his body? The Word is living let it give you insight to men and woman of God who walked this world.

 

Fantastic faeces

One of the tracker’s most vital skills is to be able to interpret any droppings that you find. There are many practical guides full of delightful illustrations of scats, spraint and dung, but looking at pictures and reading descriptions should be just your starting point.

As well as considering a dropping’s shape, colour, texture, smell and location. It’s amazing how much information is stored in poo.

Nothing is wasted,

many people pick and choose the scriptures that apply to them and their walk of faith but that's not how it works, it's not always pleasant it's not always fun but all scripture is applicable to our walk!

Inner calm

By now, it should hopefully be clear that studying the scriptures or tracking doesn’t involve dashing around – it’s a sober activity that demands a deep inner calm.

You need an almost meditative state of mind to piece together the jigsaw of clues.

Some of my best results come at night, darkness means I need to use a torch and this focuses my sight & concentration, just as we are to be  light in a dark world  we need to be careful about what we illuminate.

The call of the wild

Tracking is a life-long pursuit. It has taught me patience, determination and to listen to the song of the wild. It has sharpened my senses. Most important of all, tracking has given me deep respect for the animals I have been able to follow.

 

Some signs I’ve learnt on my journey:

Deer couches

These depressions & scrapes on  the forest floor show where deer have slept or been resting. They are often found under trees in places that provide a good view of the surrounding woodland. If you come across a couch, search it carefully for deer hair, especially when the animals are moulting between their winter and summer coats. Deer hair is very brittle and breaks easily when pulled.

Deer droppings

Look carefully at the shape of deer droppings, known as ‘fewmets’.

In fallow deer the base is rounded in females but indented in males. Don’t be shy: pick up the dung to have a proper look.

Fox scats

Any slightly raised feature in the landscape, including grass tussocks, rocks or tree stumps, are  good places to look for fox droppings. Their coloration reflects the animals’ diet: expect to see whitish-grey droppings in summer, when the diet of foxes is rich in calcium from bones. Fox scats also contain rabbit and rodent hair.

Badger hair and prints

The lower rungs of barbed wire fences frequently snag badger hair, which is typically long and strong, darker towards the end and with a very light tip. Badgers are like walking brushes: they leave a wide, undulating trail of footprints. These are very distinctive due to the long claws on the animals’ forefeet, used for digging up earthworms.

Rabbit fur

Spring and early summer is the peak breeding time for rabbits. You’ll often find the fur and blood shed during fierce battles between rivals, and may even come across injured individuals.

Egg shells

By examining the broken edge of an eggshell, you can often tell whether the nestling hatched successfully or fell victim to squirrels.

 

Signs  in creation surround us, if we pay attention Gods Word is full of the same details & answers. 

 

As God-trackers we are called to base our life’s track on not just the objective Word or just the subjective acts of the Spirit but upon both Word & Spirit.

 

 

Christ in All Things

 

Colossians 1:15-20

The Supremacy of the Son of God

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him

and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

 

When are we with God?

 

Or rather, where do we need to be in order to be with God?

 

Many Christians, have shied away from maintaining that God is in nature, in plants and animals.

 

Some suggest this reluctance is due to our Hebrew faith forefather’s accurate belief in the one God, Yahweh but the inaccurate need to separate Him from the elements/creation.

Yahweh was infinitely more powerful than the gods of the surrounding peoples, such as the Canaanites.

Some of the Israelites neighbours connected their gods to natural places.

For the Hebrew people, Yahweh was different;

He was and is creator of those natural places yet in important ways separate from creation and so holy that even today Jews do not say the word God.

But with the astounding incarnation of God in Christ, the early Christians intuited this all had changed. Christ was in some sense in creation, no one understood this more deeply than Paul. In his letter to the Colossians he quoted;

Christ is the image of the invisible God,
The first-born of all creation;
For in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—
All things have been created through him and for him.  He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

The word of God says that the risen Christ is the source and sustainer of all things.  This means that the

rivers,

mountains,

fish and

wild animals all have their beginning in Christ and live in him. 

The church needs to proclaim this message. 

 

It needs to surprise us, to shock us, to respond respectfully to all of creation.

For if the world is the body of Christ, it is in some sense holy.

 

Reverence toward nature and Christ in all things.

 

How different would things be from what we  know?

 

We know that air, water, soil are polluted. 

We read and see on TV stories about the destruction of forests, grass lands and rivers,

to such an extent that plants and animals and fish are becoming extinct.

Many of us spend our lives in areas that were once home to many more of God’s creatures.

Here, around me, we are facing problems with

• polluted waterways,

• Road expansion,

• Housing developments,

• Deforestation, and

• Health problems related to environmental issues!

 

We know all to well that something is wrong.

Can faith be of practical use in this crisis?

I think it can!

 

The belief that God in Christ is holding the world together teaches us several things.

 

There is no competition between the love of God and the love of creation.

Our love is for God, creation is his & as part of him we also love creation!

Do not let our vanity dream up unbridgeable distances between our species and those with more fur and more legs or compound eyes.

We are all given life by the creator Yahweh 

Central to Christ’s ministry is teaching on the love of Yahweh.

That God loves all.

That God forgives.

That God in Christ suffered to bring all back together, reconciled in one spirit.

So that as Christ is in creation, then creation itself

(the eagles, otters, whales, and ourselves)

are connected to a spirit of reconciliation.

Creation is amazing, which helps us to appreciate how amazing is the God who created it.

The truths that the love of God the creator and redeemer can lead us to are no less amazing.

Christ is present in his hiddenness in all things his love and our love for him in return inspire us to care for creation because his spirit is within it in ways far beyond our understanding.

 

Things are not what they seem.

Things are much more than they seem.

They are more connected, more whole, and more holy.

For it is Christ who lives mysteriously all around us, hidden yet present.

We need only eyes to see and hearts to feel. 

 

Can God use Grumpy?

• Definitions

A bad-tempered person

• Synonyms

Irritable, cross, bad-tempered, grumbling, crabbed, edgy, surly, petulant, ill-tempered, cantankerous, tetchy, ratty, testy, grouchy, querulous, peevish, huffy, crotchety, sullen, sulky.

 

I want to delve into a modern misconception of faith & let’s get to the base of this:

 

I’m not a “chirpy” person, I don’t constantly wear a “jokeress grin” and run around throwing petals out to greet strangers, does this mean I’m “grumpy” as many would presume and does this mean I am not walking in Yahweh’s will?

 

• I don’t prefer the company of others and

• have no tolerance for fools or

• those who speak before thinking or

• those who play games or

• those who strive to outdo brothers in Christ!

Does this slot me into the “grumpy” bracket? Many would like to think so!

 

In the body of Christ many are called to be sheep, Jesus himself used this illustration to explain his leadership as our Good Shepherd but I choose to see  myself as a Sheepdog, let me explain.

 

While working as an adult tutor helping those in long term unemployment one of the topics we would discuss would be behavioural brackets of man:

• Passive

• Aggressive &

• Assertive

(There is a lot more detail to this subject but for now this is as in-depth as we need to go.)

 

PASSIVE BEHAVIOUR

This involves failing to express our wants, needs or feelings or communicating them in an indirect or apologetic way.

When we fail to communicate our concerns or wishes, or express them in a hesitant, joking or self-depreciating way, other people will not know how we feel or will misinterpret our actions. As passive responders we allow others to 'walk over us' (the doormat syndrome). We allow our rights to be violated in the belief that we have fewer rights, or more responsibilities than others, and that we have less personal worth than they do.

 

AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR

Hostile words or actions that communicate disrespect towards others constitutes aggressive behaviour.

It involves standing up for one's rights and expressing one's thoughts, feelings and beliefs in a way which is usually inappropriate and always violates the rights of the other person.

Superiority is maintained by putting others down.

 

ASSERTIVE BEHAVIOR

Characteristics of assertive behaviour include expressing your feelings, needs, ideas, and rights in ways that don’t violate the rights of others. Assertive behaviour is usually honest, direct, expressive, spontaneous, and self-enhancing. Assertive persons make their own choices, are confident, and feel good about themselves while being assertive and afterward. They usually achieve their goals; when they don’t, they still feel good about themselves because they know they have been straightforward. Acting assertively reinforces their good feelings about themselves, improves self-confidence, and creates free, honest, and open relationships with others.

 

If this pattern is applied spiritually the

 

• Passive become the Sheep

 

(The only power that we should submit fully to is Yahweh & never the world)

 

• Aggressive become Wolves & the

 

• Assertive become Sheepdogs

 

The world would expect Christians to be of a passive nature & most of the time we are, we silently stand by as corruption creeps into our government, our schools & our churches. We allow false gods and false teachings to be freely promoted and would never dare to speak out against these outrages in fear of offence to someone else. Our churches have become full of leaders who want to build numbers and not strength.

I am not going to be the happily bleating sheep, who will tread the path that others make, accepting the stench that infuriates Yahweh to be acceptable for todays church. 

 

Luke 3:11

John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same..

 

Unacceptable is the Aggressive/Wolves that wait in darkness to take the sheep, to prey on the unprotected & lost. How do you know a wolf, how can you be prepared for the attack from within,

Read the sign, know their scent.

A wolf will be causing problems in the church and amongst the believers.

An assertive believer should be building up the church, not tearing it down and causing divisions as the wolf from within will.

Perhaps he is a smooth talker (devious, cunning) and believes that his smooth talk will gain him follows and feed his own belly (pride). He is not looking to edify anyone but himself he is selfish and cunning. Look at these teachings and warning from Paul to several of the churches in his day; they are relevant in today’s churches also.

 

Matthew 7:15

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

 

Then we come to the Assertive/Sheepdog, yeah from time to time the sheepdog will nip at the heels of the sheep, he’ll bark & growl, chase with aggression but all done for the good of the herd, the sheepdog knows his masters will and recognises his voice but carries out this ministry on his own, yes the sheepdog is in the flock, working for the flock but never really part of the flock, he’ll risk his life to keep predators at bay and always in submission to Yahweh. 

 

 

Sheepdogs are mentioned in the Bible. Job 30:1 and they are “the sword” Paul mentions in

Romans 13:4, the protective and justice-seeking arm, which Paul describes as;

“a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”

Sheepdogs perform an important societal function, one that is ordained by God.

 

So yes God can use grumpy, standoffish people, (like me) God can use those who society would easily reject just look at the list of men & women who Yahweh called to lead and direct his people. All He needs is for that grumpy or happy, that hurting or loving, that peaceful or anxious person to submit to His will!