.Dear Friends,

Next week we shall be in September and the season of spring will have commenced.  In chilly Melbourne we are looking forward to the signs of warmth and green that spring promises. Wherever we live, we are increasingly aware that the seasons, the weather patterns and the climate of all our countries, has been changing, not only bringing more frequent and extreme weather conditions, but also belying the wisdom of farmers who can no longer reasonably predict how their crops or livestock will fare from season to season. How good it was that the Op Shop could send such a generous amount to drought relief ($10,000).

The ABC has been promoting a series called War on Waste, which has a message for us all. Just recently I ordered an orange juice in a café and it was served in a Mason (?) drinking jar and it came with a metal straw.  I pondered whether somebody had used the straw ahead of me (undoubtedly so), but then comforted myself with a reminder of dishwashers.

As we think about changing our habits and doing without plastic shopping bags, disposable cups, straws, etc we might remind ourselves that we live in absolute comfort still. I think of the Maldives, the world’s lowest country, which aims to be carbon neutral by the end of next year, yet will its highest point at 2.4m be sufficient to save it from rising sea levels? How will my changing habits help the Maldives?

So while green action can be perceived as a privilege of upper middle class inner city dwellers, ecological injustice impacts most heavily on those far away from me. [Be it in Australia or The Maldives or some third-world country.]

All the communities and cultures we belong to are challenged– our church, our town or city, and our families.

We must make our prayer lives more mindful of the impact of our lifestyle choices on the environment and on the most vulnerable people. God hasn’t finished with us yet.  Listen to what he has to say to you.

Philip

Friends,

The headline read, “In this moment, I thought, what do I believe in?” [1]  So thought Tammy Mills as she sat on high ground, huddled amongst other holiday-makers and Indonesian nationals, in the Gili Islands wondering if a tsunami would strike and as she waited for further after-shocks from the earthquake.  With each fresh tremor people would call out to Allah.

In the article Tammy Mills doesn’t give us the answer to her thoughts. Did she reach a decision?  Did she throw in her lot with Allah?  We are left pondering.

It is often an emergency that drives us to think about the end times. We figure we have this life worked out, but will there be another chapter somewhere else? Waiting till the last page of this chapter might leave us in a panic and unable to think clearly.  Give thought to those end-times now.

We are currently reading through John 6.  Several times Jesus refers to himself as the bread of life. Jesus is ready and willing to feed us spiritually. Determine now to put your trust in him and then should a future emergency be experienced you won’t be left wondering what you believe in.

What do I believe in? I believe in the only triune God who has revealed himself in the person Jesus Christ and that through his sacrificial death I can rest secure in the knowledge that I shall spend eternity with him.  I take comfort from scripture and in particular:

Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgement, but has passed from death to life.  John 5.24
Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.  John 6.47

My prayer is that at all times I will be able to recall these promises and hence never find myself in a time of doubt.

Bless you as you consider what or who you believe in.

Philip

[1] Tammy Mills, The Age, Thursday 9th August 2018. Page 8