Tolerance

So, about tolerance - what is with that current buzzword?
Let's have a look:

Let's begin with a dictionary definition from my fave dictionary.com

tol·er·ance   
[tol-er-uhns
–noun
1.a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.
2.a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own.
3.interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint.

So generally we can see that tolerance is a broad idea for people to be okay with other people who differ from ourselves in many and varied ways, such as culturally, opinionally, and practically.
This, I understand.

But then I have a thought:
If so many people consider themselves to be 'tolerant' towards others, then why do they have a big problem with another persons point of view which happens to be 'intolerant' towards another person or group.
Why do people get intolerant about intolerance?
Why are you pressing your view of tolerance upon other people? Is that not being intolerant?

I just feel it is a bit of an oxymoron that's all.
Any thoughts on tolerance??

Yoga - it's the talk of the (US) town

So apparently there has been a lot of conversation going on in the US recently about Yoga and Christianity - whether the two can or should be mixed.
Here is a link to the article in the Seattle Times
(As a side note, Mark Driscoll is the senior pastor at Mars Hill Church, which is also where Rob Bell is a pastor. Just saying, because I thought it was interesting, because I think Rob Bell is pretty amazing, and it's interesting that he works under Mark).

And here is a blog post where I heard about this at The Church of No People

Well, what now? What of Yoga?
Can we take it as just a form of exercise without thinking of it's eastern roots? Or do they carry into any form of Yoga - changed or unchanged?

To be honest, I find it interesting that Christians do yoga. This is probably mainly because I wouldn't do it. I would like to think that I could do yoga and focus on God and not be adversely affected in any way, BUT because I would worry about that, it probably wouldn't do me any good at all - because then I couldn't focus on God for worrying that I wasn't focusing on God!

But for anyone who does, who am I to judge? Paul tells us in the Bible that "everything is permissible". But then he also goes on to say
"Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved." (1 Corinthians 10:23, 32-33).

So if we find that what we are doing is leading our brother or sister in Christ astray, should we still do it?? Well, it's a matter of your conscience and not mine, for I would endeavour to quit to not let my brother or sister fall.

Now, I do not want to sound judgmental in this: I know different people see things differently - I choose not to drink alcohol, but this does not mean that I condemn all Christians who do so - it is a matter of conscience.

So what would you do? Would you consider doing yoga, or does your conscience not allow you to?

hmmmm, life....

I always wondered about those people who start a blog, and then it just slowly the time between the posts get longer and longer.
Well, go figure, I have become one of those people, and I know exactly how it happens:
X. Life goes on, often, in a very un-exciting way.
You get up, you work/study/bum around the house, you eat, and go back to sleep again. This can go on for days, years even, without one taking notice of it. I guess that's why we journal, why we blog, (why we vlog even!), so that our life doesn't go past us without our noticing.
X. We don't appreciate the simplicity that life has sometimes.
Looking at trees, listening to the rain, or just studying something, not because you have to but because you want to. It's the simple things that make life full and whole. Without them, we would be sporadic beings lost in a void of dull.
X. And when life is 'exciting' we decide we have no time at all to write about it!
Why do we always suppose that we are too busy to do anything? One thing comes after another, but isn't that just because we live in time, and that happens to everyone? Even those who actually do seem to find the time to do the things they always wanted to do??

So let us make time to do all of those things.
For me, that's blogging, reading, talking with God, and writing poetry.
Focus on the simplicity, let God blow your mind with it.

It's been so long again

So it has been a pretty full on number of weeks since I last wrote to all you lovely people who read this blog.
But they have been a good few weeks too. Had our exams for last term (they went pretty well, thanks for asking). And then holidays last week.
Holidays were great! Got to see a lot of people, and just chill, which is fantastic. It was so cool to see the homeland with all its lovely green-ness. Thank God for New Zealand, and all you awesome people who live in it.
I've been thinking, just now, about worship songs that we sing in church and such. Having grown up in church, I just kind of sing any song that they are playing as a worship band, and that kind of worries me now. Since coming to Bible College, I guess I have become more aware of what we are singing in church and what it means to those who sing it.
One of our lecturers in term 1 was talking about the song "Indescribable". Now, one of the lyrics of this song is "Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go?" But if that is the case, then what about all those people killed and injured from being hit by lightning? Does God want people to be hit by lightning? I don't know, because sometimes, may be He allows it to happen, as He allows so many other bad things to happen in this world. But it does bring up a good point.
Another thing that I have been thinking about was a time I was in church and we were singing "Blessed be Your Name". As far as I can gather (and I have sung this song many times, and know all of the lyrics) this song is about praising God in the good times and the bad times. The pastor got up after singing this song, with an interpretation of the bridge which says:
"You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your Name"
and so it was interpreted that the way this works is that God will take away your sickness, and all those things that are going wrong in your life, and then He will give you healing, and all the good things in life.
Now, don't get me wrong, I do believe that God does that in life, and there are many examples of this through history and around the world. And the interpretation used for this church service may have been appropriate.
BUT, I do not think that this is what Matt Redman meant when he wrote this song.
The bridge I think should be interpreted in context with the rest of the song, which makes it mean that no matter what comes in life, the good and the bad, it doesn't matter, because I will bless the Name of the Lord, because that is the ultimate thing! That is a powerful theme to have for a song, and I believe it is right, and God loves it when we overcome the bad and rise over it in praise for our God who rides through it all with us.
Anyway, those are two thoughts/examples on worship songs in church. Now instead of just singing, I am trying to use my head with my worship and listen to and mean what I am singing to my God. It makes worship come alive, and helps especially for us younger generation who may find ourselves in a church singing hymns.
Why don't you try it one day soon?

Balancing

It seems like Christianity is such a balancing act. You can't go one way, or the other, without being 'wrong' in it. It certainly is a narrow path to walk and the Bible tells us to not take one step to the right or to the left, like a balancing act, a tightrope, you can't lean either way without falling off the wire! I kind of came to this while reading about the ecumenical councils for my church history assignment. The councils were discussing how Jesus had two natures, and two wills to correspond with those natures, but people were swinging one way by saying he had two utterly separate natures, or merging them completely by saying he only had one will. But in reality it seems likely (and this is what I believe) that Jesus does have two natures, but they are neither completely merged, nor are they completely separate. They are God-done, so that we cannot really perceive how they are put together, just kind of know that they are indeed put together. Just the whole balance thing. And tonight at KYB more revelation came: It is the Holy Spirit which is our great balancer! To keep with the illustration of the tightrope, the Holy Spirit is that big long stick that the people use to help keep their balance. Sometimes it is appropriate to swing slightly one way or the other, and it is the Holy Spirit which helps us see that. He is the one who keeps us steady. Now this is where the analogy falls short, however, in that a skilled tightrope artist can do it without the stick and still make it to the other side without falling. However, in life, we cannot make it to Heaven without the Holy Spirit in us, and that does not happen without belief in Jesus and that we need to cross the tightrope in the first place!

POEM Tuesday! Harrah!

Got very inspired in my class this morning, and so I wrote a poem :)
I'm quite proud of this one, so I hope you like it!

Darkness Falls, Light Prevails.

Darkness falls
The end has come
Jesus is dead
The curtain is torn
The earth shakes
The devil proclaims
He has won.

On that early morn
Light rose again
Sunday is here
The Son rises again
All through the world
Let it be known
Through and through...

Light Prevails!

Copyright 2010, Jo Wallace

SLEEP

I have to say, I like sleep, quite a lot.
Especially recently, because I have been quite tired.
The bulk of this poem came to me just before bed one night, so I scribbled it down, so that I would not forget it, and allow me to sleep (I find I can't really sleep if I am trying to remember something, so if I write it down I can forget it long enough to sleep. Just some sleep advice right there :)

Anyway, lets stop mucking around, and get to the poem. Enjoy!

Sleep.

Sleep is the lobby between one day and the next.
It divides the days that fall through the passage of time
Onto us mere mortals who wander through it all.
Sleep separates us from the past that binds,
And the future which has its fears.
It hems us in to focus on today,
On the now, which is freedom.

Copyright, Joanna Wallace, 2010.