Paul Long's Ramblings

The Task of Reconciliation What is our task in this world as children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus? Our task is reconciliation. Wherever we go we see divisions among people - in families, communities, cities, countries, and continents. All these divisions are tragic reflections of our separation from God. The truth that all people belong together as members of one family under God is seldom visible. Our sacred task is to reveal that truth in the reality of everyday life.   Why is that our task? Because God sent Christ to reconcile us with God and to give us the task of reconciling people with one another. As people reconcile with God through Christ we have been given the ministry of reconciliation" (see: 2 Corinthians 5:18). So whatever we do the main question is, Does it lead to reconciliation among people? Hope you had a blessed Christmas!  My family will be back tomorrow after 3 weeks of separation. Solitude has been good but interestingly in the midst of t...

To Be 6 Again! A man was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching his    wife, who was looking at herself in the mirror. Since her birthday was not far off he asked what she'd like to have for her birthday. 'I'd like to be six again', she replied, still looking in the mirror. On the morning of her Birthday, he arose early, made her a nice big bowl of  Lucky Charms , and then took her to  Six Flags theme park . What a day! He put her on every ride in the park; the Death Slide, the Wall of Fear, the Screaming  Roller Coaster , everything there was. Five hours later they staggered out of the theme park. Her head was reeling and her stomach felt upside down. He then took her to a McDonald's where he ordered her a  Happy Meal  with extra fries and a chocolate shake. Then it was off to a movie, popcorn, a soda pop, and her favorite  candy, M&M's. What a fabulous adventure! Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed e...

Haven't blogged much on personal stuff of late as I have been .... BUSY (what else? :-)) Been really tired too as so much is happening and working very hard so I can hopefully enjoy my long break to the max! Will be on leave from 20th Dec till the end of the year! Here's what I hope to do during my break, in no particular order - hope I can do most! 1. Sermon preparation / study on Leviticus. No choice as there is no way I can get my first sermon in the series ready before I take my break. But the silver lining is that at least I know there will be no temptation to neglect the study of God's Word while on my break! :-) Also hope that at least the bulk of the ground work for my Dec 26 sermon can be done by the end of this week ... getting there but it is not the priority as I have my Christmas service message (19th Dec) and my Gospel Magic show (17th Dec) to complete. Tough part about the 19th Dec message is that it is a special evening service and my message has to be...

For the 19th Dec 2010 bulletin This Christmas, I wish you Jesus! It’s the final bulletin for the year and I would like to end with the lyrics of an old favourite of mine “I wish you Jesus” by Scott Wesley Brown , and hope it will help you recall the thrust of my Christmas sermon as well. I could wish you joy and peace To last a whole life long, I could wish you sunshine, Or a cheerful little song, Or wish you all the happiness That this life could bring But I wish you Jesus, But I wish you Jesus, But I wish you Jesus, More than anything. I could wish you leaves of gold, And may your path be smooth, I could wish you treasures, Or that all your dreams come true, And I could wish you paradise, That every day be spring, But I wish you Jesus, But I wish you Jesus, But I wish you Jesus, Cause when I wish you Jesus, I've wished you everything.

Sent to me by a good friend who is a vet - "Dr. Haiwan" :-) Thought is was such a good read, it needs to be shared, as it is applies not just to medicine! (p/s what has been highlighted came to me that way) ------ Medicine is not just a career, but a calling. By Dr Lee Wei Ling, Lee Kuan Yew's daughter. I have always felt keenly the suffering of animals. Since I was a child, I had wanted to be a vet. My parents persuaded me to abandon that idea by using the example of a vet whose university education was funded by the Public Service Commission. When he returned to Singapore, he was posted to serve his bond at the abattoirs. That was enough to persuade me to select my second career choice – a doctor. I have never regretted that decision. There are still many diseases for which medical science has no cure, and this is especially true of neurological diseases because nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord do not usually regenerate. Hence, a significant percent...

For the 12th Dec 2010 bulletin A personal and physical Christmas! Matthew 1:23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." Here’s a Christmas story from my files (abridged)… Back during World War II, four young American soldiers who had been on the front lines of battle for some time, were sent back away from the fighting to a small French village for a little R & R. As it was Christmas Eve, they began to discuss how they would like to spend Christmas. One of the soldiers said, “You know, as we were coming into town earlier today, I noticed an orphanage on the outskirts of the village. Why don’t we go there in the morning and take some Christmas joy to those children?” They all liked the idea, so they went out and bought all kinds of gifts and early the next morning, they showed up at the front door of the orphanage with a wonderful variety of Christmas presents for all the chi...

Thanks for this Sivin! A Franciscan Prayer:   May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. - (Author unknown)

New Zealand is a beautiful and great country. Please don't let "political correctness" on personal rights end up allowing things like this! This article is disturbing! Parents 'put teens into sex work' Teenagers in South Auckland are being sent to work as prostitutes by their parents to pay for drugs, says an Auckland Council member. Sharon Stewart challenged fellow councillors this week to see what was happening for themselves during debate on a bill banning street prostitution in parts of Manukau. Mrs Stewart, who represents the Howick ward, said young girls and boys were often on the streets - some of them sent there by their parents. "Some of their parents are taking them there to get money for drugs." She told the council meeting that girls as young as 13 were working the streets and urged councillors from other areas of Auckland to join community workers and police one night. The view was supported by former Manukau City councillor Colleen B...

Straight shooting from the hip, calling a spade a spade thought provoking piece by Tawfik Hamid. Why the Arab-Israeli conflict has not yet been resolved   By Tawfik Hamid The Arab Israeli conflict has repeatedly proved itself resistant to negotiated solutions. Despite peace treaties such as the Oslo accord, hatred toward Jews and Israel has risen to unprecedented levels in the Palestinian areas and continues to rise in much of the Muslim world. This consistent lack of progress should lead us to think anew about the underlying causes. The view that solutions for the Arab-Israeli conflict have failed because of what some in the Muslim world call the 'expanding and colonizing ideology of Zionism' is unfair and devoid of truth. Israel proved its dedication to peace when they withdrew from Sinai, Lebanon, and Gaza in hope of peace with its neighbors.    What therefore are real factors causing the repeated failures of negotiated attempts to solve the Arab Israeli c...

I am feeling sooooo tired. Clearly not enough sleep BUT strangely am feeling so "hyped up"? So much "nervous energy" :- ) = mind is kind of over stimulated - and NO, it has nothing to do with coffee. I think my adrenaline glans (?) are pumping too much into my system. Guess it is due to so many things happening all at once. The week so far has not gone exactly as I planned. Was hoping to get my next week's sermon done - and be kind of one ahead? But that's all out of the window. BUT just because things have not worked out as I planned, doesn't mean it hasn't been a fruitful and exciting week (and it's not yet over - got people to visit on Saturday and then 4 hours plus of church games in the afternoon, church service and caroling practice on Sunday, full day of running around on Monday - due to my boys last minute stuff before they fly off! On leave on Tuesday too but my list of to do things is pretty long :-) And tonight home group's closi...

From the3 Family First Newsletter/ Now  is the  time to  tackle our binge drinking culture                  CHURCHES * COMMUNITY GROUPS * FAMILIES * 'PUBLIC ISSUES' GROUPS               Please speak up for families on this important issue Every report we have read regarding child abuse and family violence says that alcohol abuse is a major contributing factor. A child is hugely at risk when an adult is under the influence of alcohol, and a recent  survey by Massey University  found that more than half of our sexual and physical assaults occurred while under the influence of alcohol. Our teenagers are binge drinking at an earlier age, and our health and justice system is clogged up with the  fallout  from our drinking culture. The binge drinking culture has been spiralling out of control...

Another excellent article! But I wonder if his view will find much support within Islam. Calls in the past to base Islam on just the Quran has never been accepted as a valid option as if I am not mistaken Islamic practices and law depend mostly on the Hadith. God have mercy! Fighting Islam with Islam By Tawfik Hamid Unbiased observation of the Islamism phenomenon reveals beyond doubt that barbaric acts and discrimination against non-Muslim minorities are repeatedly practiced and conducted in the name of Islam.   Preventing Christians in Saudi Arabia from having a churches or even carrying Bibles, the recent attacks on Christian Churches as what happened recently in Iraq and   recent incident which could lead to the possible hanging of a Pakistani Christian Mother -of five in Pakistan for criticizing prophet Mohamed are just few examples of many that exemplify the inhumane discrimination that is currently practiced against innocent non-Muslim minorities in sever...

For the 5th December 2010 bulletin A reflection on hope and promise The recent Pike River Mine tragedy is indeed a national tragedy and I will be joining the nationwide observation of two minutes of silence at 2 PM today (Thursday 2 December). When news of the first blast reached the nation’s ears, there was hope of rescuing the trapped miners alive. That in time faded away to slim hope, replaced by reluctant resignation of no hope. The focus then shifted to promises and hope of recovering the bodies. But soon due to more explosions and fire, it became “hope of recovering the bodies are fast fading”. Now today, we have to have the memorial service without the bodies of the miners. But at the same time we are told to be hopeful that the bodies will be recovered, and that the mines reopened one day. The commitment level of commitment of the authorities, rescuers and the Greymouth community has not wavered and is to be commended. But there has been an obvious backlash of deep emoti...