user-avatar
Today is Sunday
May 19, 2013

Tag: Jesus

April 19, 2011

Seasons – an update from the Stewarts

by arthurstewart — Categories: Arthur, cape town, Favorite Blogs, Kids, leadership, Melissa, Mission, South Africa, the warehouse, Updates — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Leave a comment

The seasons are turning. As things are warming up for those of you in the northern hemisphere, we are moving toward winter here in Cape Town. For our family, this isn’t a time for hibernation at all. In fact, there are a number of new things to tell you about…

Iain’s baptism

Iain was baptised on March 12! He invited quite a few friends to join us for this special time and it was a true celebration of God in his life. Iain did a great job sharing about his commitment to following Jesus and says he is glad that each person in our family helped with scriptures and blessings for the day. Thank you to everyone who has prayed (and continues to pray) for our children with us – God is doing such amazing things in their lives.

Grandpa Lee’s visit

Melissa’s dad – Lee Liddle – visited us for the first two weeks of April. We had a lot of fun introducing him to our new city, neighbourhood, the kids’ school, and friends. It was hard to see him go, but we are thankful for the time together. I think the kids are already talking about the next time Grandpa comes to visit.

Melissa’s latest

When I was younger I always pictured myself having both a career and a family, but was naïve about HOW I would do it all!  During our last year and a half with NieuCommunities in Pretoria I realised that I had been operating beyond my relational capacity for quite some time.  So, I have been seeking a new vision about how to live as a Jesus follower who is a wife, mother, friend and neighbour.  Since returning to South Africa I have been hesitant to take on significant ministry commitments outside of our home and the kids’ school community.  Thankfully, God understands me fully.  He has surrounded me with caring, welcoming, like-hearted people who are beginning to become wonderful friends and mentors.

I have joined a weekly prayer group currently consisting of women who previously worked for The Warehouse, but have stepped back from those roles in order to be present with their children.  A couple of moms from the kids’ school and I have begun walking for exercise one morning a week in a nearby park.  I even enjoy most of my regular household duties while the kids are away at school, primarily because I get the house all to myself and no one is saying, “mommy?”  I am also able to get to the gym for a class or two each week (I can flex my triceps now;)

Tomorrow I begin volunteering two hours a week at my kids’ school with a non-profit organization called help2read (http://www.help2read.org).  Currently there are about 500 volunteers in over 125 schools in the greater Cape Town area.  I have been assigned two students who I will see one-on-one for 30 minutes twice a week.  As an early childhood educator I resonate with help2read’s child-centered philosophy and am thrilled to have an opportunity to help children learn to love books and become confident readers.

Leading worship & blessing leaders

The last few months have been very fulfilling for me (Arthur) as I’ve had the opportunity to lead or coordinate the morning prayer and worship times at the Warehouse (http://warehouse.org.za/). Each morning, we gather for an hour with God together – absolutely necessary for those working in the difficult realities of poverty and injustice. We believe that our direct encounter with God is THE thing that connects our hearts with God, shaping us more into the image of Jesus and giving us God’s heart for those all around us. It’s just one of the ways I get to pour into the lives of these amazing leaders. In the upcoming months, I will turn more of my attention to working with local church leaders. There is such a huge need here to care for, encourage, and listen to pastors. These men and women are given the responsibility of guiding God’s people, yet who looks after their hearts? Because the Warehouse’s mission is to serve the church in its response to poverty and injustice, one way we can help them is by ministering to their leaders. Please pray for me as I move into this important (and exciting) role.

A great way to keep up to date on what God is doing through the Warehouse is to sign up for the newsletter mailing list: http://warehouse.org.za/newslettersignupform

Mairin is turning 7 on April 28th!

“We are going to have my birthday party at a park. My friends and I are going to play and have a cake with butterflies. I am very excited to be seven :) ”


Arthur Paul high school update

“I’ve sent in all of the applications and am waiting for a reply from either. It’s pretty boring just waiting for news :/” – AP.  Just a note to say thank you to everyone for praying with us through the high school visiting and application process. We have applied for two schools and will hear back in the next month or two on acceptance.

We are missionaries

God has asked us to live in Cape Town, South Africa, and we have said yes to this and all that He asks of us. We are sent and supported by churches and individuals who believe in us and are investing in the Kingdom work we do while partnering with and working for local ministries. We need prayer, encouragement, and financial help to do this. I point this out because while many are encouraged (inspired?) by what God is doing with our lives, they don’t know that we raise our own support to do this. Maybe God wants you to be part of this with us. If you are feeling a nudge, email me.

Two links for you to check out

May this season bring good things in your life!

Arthur for the Stewart5

January 24, 2011

Meek – one of those Bible words we use without really thinking about

by arthurstewart — Categories: Bible, God — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — 1 Comment

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)

Who are the meek again?
When I hear that word, I think mild (meek & mild always go together, right?), gentle, simple.

A friend was asking me today what that meant, and I decided to look up the word as it is used in the New Testament.

Put into our alphabet, the word translated as meek is praus [prah-ooce].  The concordance defines this word as “mild, gentle.”  The word study goes on to say, “this difficult to translate root means more than “meek.” Biblical meekness is not weakness but rather refers to exercising God’s strength under his control – i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness.” In other words, meek as we use it in modern english is not the best translation for the word.  However, that second definition (which I think I have heard elsewhere) is not very accurate for the greek word as used in the New Testament. It sounds great theologically, but is it correct?

This word occurs 4 times in the New Testament. The first is the passage I started with. Matthew 5:5 – “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”  We’ll come back to that. So looking at the other passages to see what “meek” means…

1 Peter 3:4 is talking about a wife’s true beauty, which comes from the inner self, the unfading beauty of a praus and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.  In other words, this characteristic is an inner one (as opposed to simply an outward action). Inner strength. That helps a little bit, the the next two really help.

I think the other two passages in the New Testament that use this term are a little more helpful, and both are spoken by  Jesus.  In Matthew 11:29, Jesus uses this term about himself. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am praus and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. I take your burdens, I labor with you, I help when it is difficult.  And then in Matthew 21:5, Jesus is instructing his disciples to get a donkey for his ride into Jerusalem. Quoting Zechariah, “see, your king comes to you, praus and riding on a donkey”… on his way toward the cross.  Again, Jesus is willingly taking difficulty upon himself.

This word praus, which we translate as “meek” does not mean wimpy or anything of the sort.  Rather, it is adjective describing one who labors, suffers, and endures without making a fuss. It is Jesus offering to bear our burdens.  It is Jesus riding to his own death. Blessed are those who are praus!  Of course, this also make sense Jesus gives in Matthew 5:5 to those who are like this.  They will inherit the earth. Who gets an inheritance? One who waits.  One who lives. One who does what needs to be done now, knowing that only later will they get their  greatest reward.

I don’t think this implies any sort of passivity. Rather, is carries the meaning of trusting God to make things right, and faithfully enduring trials.  Not giving in, not giving up. But knowing that even if things don’t seem perfect right now, they will come right.

December 20, 2010

Emmanuel

by arthurstewart — Categories: advent, God — Tags: , , — Leave a comment

Jesus sees

the person on the edge of the crowd
the stooped over
the hurting
the distracted
the lowly
the poor
the unimportant
the lonely
the outcast

And yet, we try so hard

to be noticed
to be worthy
to be impressive
to get his attention.
I want him to see me!

And in my striving I forget that He already has,
He already does.
And what’s more,
he comes to us…. to us.

Emmanuel – God with us.
God for all of us.
Amen.

December 1, 2010

It’s ok to cry when you’re hurt

by arthurstewart — Categories: Arthur, heart journey — Tags: , , , — Leave a comment

I’ve learned that having a high pain tolerance isn’t always a good thing. Yes, it allows you to endure when under duress. But sometimes this comes at a high cost in the long-term. How much damage is done before you get the help or healing you need? How much suffering takes place needlessly because you ignore the pain? I also think of sports injuries I never treated properly that continue to cause me problems now.

When you hurt, it’s ok to cry. It’s what we’re meant to do! I think, “don’t cry” is one of the worst things to say to a child who has fallen and scraped her knee. Yes, cry! You are hurt, and I know you are hurt because you are crying. Now, we can do something about it together. May I never again hide or dismiss pain – mine or yours – physical, emotional, or spiritual. God doesn’t.

It’s ok to be strong. Yes, persist through difficulty. Run hard and fast and long. But it’s ok to rest when you need. And it’s ok to cry when you hurt. Jesus did. We can too.

October 6, 2010

Partnerships

by arthurstewart — Categories: leadership, Mission, South Africa — Tags: , , , , — 5 Comments

As we move toward making commitments to specific ministry opportunities here in Cape Town and seeing how that fits under a broader organization, I have been thinking a lot about partnerships.  I have to tell you, I have a love/hate relationship with partnering in its many forms.  But I am convinced that it is actually critical to my next ministry steps to do this in very specific partnerships.

Being in partnership reminds me that I don’t know everything and can’t do everything myself.  Sometimes I forget that.  I need other people who are strong where I am not.  I need other people to teach me.  I need other people to say, “let’s go” or “slow down” as appropriate.  I also believe in partnering because we are in a new city in a country that is not our own.  God is at work here in LOTS of amazing people.  Partnership says, “we aren’t the only ones trying to do something good.”  Honestly, I don’t see partnership enough.  So, part of being in partnership is living out what I say I believe and hoping that it serves as a model to others that we need less one-man-shows (especially in the Church/ministry business I am in)!  And finally, Jesus seemed to send people out in groups and pairs quite often.  Must be something to that…

I have been pretty fortunate over the years to learn a lot about myself – personality assessments, gifts tests, team styles, work styles, etc.  So, I know what I bring to a team or work relationship.  I say “let’s go.”  I see the big picture and how things all connect together.  I like to see other people do what is on their heart and can often help them move into that.  I can analyze.  I gather people for a cause.  I am a thinker.  I train and inspire.  I ALSO know that I desperately need others who can keep my ego in check.  I need people who can share other perspectives.  I need people who see how everyone is feeling.  I need people who keep it light and fun.  I need people who move quickly to action.  I need people who remind me to serve more.  I need people to remind me that’s not all about me.

Where do I see partnership opportunities developing right now?

  • helping start a new faith community with some friends here
  • helping with people already living and working in our new neighborhood (Woodstock)
  • meeting up and strategizing with others also praying/working toward a church planting movement
  • working with people who are also serious about discipleship and exploring different ways to do that
  • helping a few local ministries do what they do better
  • coaching and encouraging local leaders to follow their hearts and respond to God’s call

I can and will do none of these alone.

I do not consider this a sign of weakness or lack of vision.  Rather, I am intentionally saying, “I am here to help.  How can we do this together.”  By my reckoning, that’s the strongest kind of leadership there is.  This hasn’t always been the way I’ve operated.  But it’s how I want to be, how I believe Jesus wants me to be, and I give you permission to hold me to it.

March 27, 2010

An Undivided Heart

by arthurstewart — Categories: Arthur, Bible, heart journey — Tags: , , , , — 1 Comment

Re-posted from a piece I wrote for today’s CRM Lent Devotional

SCRIPTURE READING – DAY 39 (March 27)

Psalm 86:11-12

Teach me your way, O LORD and I will
walk in your truth; Give me an undivided
heart, That I may fear your name. I will
praise you, O LORD my God, with all my
heart; I will glorify your name forever. (NIV)

MEDITATION

Our world lives under a curse that is so pervasive in our lives, we seldom recognize it. I call it the curse of the divided heart. In me, it manifests in good intentions not being as noble as I think, well-made plans that are fatally flawed, and words or actions that betray what is deep inside me.

We all, from our first ancestors onward, are torn between good or evil, black or white, today or tomorrow, win or lose, me or you. These are the polarities we find ourselves between, often faced with choosing one or the other. The tricky part is these choices are not nearly as extreme or obvious as they might seem. Deep down, our heart struggles with itself, because it wants to choose or do more than one thing. In Romans 7, Paul compares this to a war within ourselves.

David—Israel’s greatest king—anguished over this dilemma himself. We know his life was full of people and opportunities that could—and did—pull him in different directions. The Bible recounts his victories and travails, often the result of choices he made from his heart. We also find his honest wrestling with this condition throughout the psalms.

I join David in crying out, “Transform me Lord! Your way is different than ours—beautiful, mysterious, holy.” If we could only learn this way, we could live differently, better. I could get out of this struggle I have against my own self. I could live the way he created me to be. The key, as David knew so well, is our heart. But the wholeness he desired can only be given by God. We can’t will it; our hearts must be healed by One far greater than us. This is more than just learning to do right instead of wrong. This is a heart transplant!

David is asking for a heart like God’s. If we were to possess one, we would know God deeply, fear and honor him, praise him with all our heart…forever. It would resonate with God’s, sing to it, dance with it. This is what we all want because this is what we were made for. Our hearts are meant to be undivided and eternal, connecting us to our Creator at the deepest level possible.

Jesus shows us what it can and should look like. I’ve often asked how Jesus chose who to heal (or not), where to go, what to say. Maybe he didn’t choose. Perhaps he knew because his heart was not divided but completely given and bound to the Father. Indeed, the way, truth, and life is the One we join with David in seeking. He is the One with the power to transform our hearts, not simply by instructions or actions, but by perfectly living out the heart of God and making the way for us to do the same.

Teach me your way of undivided love; wholehearted for all, no internal struggle, no favorites—this is true and eternal life. Free me from this curse of needing to choose, except to choose you. Join me with your limitless heart of love, changing mine to be like yours. May it be so, now and forever. Amen.

REFLECTION

  • Re-read the psalm several times slowly. What divides your heart? What might God be saying to you about these things?
  • Take some time to picture what life with an undivided heart would look like for you.
  • Write out a prayer in response to God.

March 11, 2010

Seeking the Giver

by arthurstewart — Categories: Arthur, God, marriage, Melissa, prayer, South Africa — Tags: , , , , , — 2 Comments

My wife Melissa is demonstrating an amazing amount of maturity these days.  I am both in awe and frustrated!  Here’s why…

As many of you know, we are finishing up our sabbatical.  Entering our last months, we are making multiple decisions – big ones, small ones, and many that open up a multitude of other decisions. These decisions relate to where we will be, what we will be doing, when… little things like that :)   So, important stuff.

And the PROCESS of these discussions and decisions is as telling as the results.  We are giving some of the work we and God have been doing in our lives and marriage a pretty good exercise.  How is our intimacy, how is our trust, can we say what we think, can we hear things we don’t like from one another, can we apologize?

I have to admit, I am a little more anxious than Melissa to get these conversations and decisions happening.  And although I wish we knew everything yesterday, I am proud that she is committed to waiting until she is confident in some things before moving forward.  Frustrated a bit, but proud.  She is bringing her strengths of thoughtfulness and discernment to our shared process.  And as I was telling a friend on the phone the other day, in watching her process I am reminded of a very good maxim… Seek the Giver.

back-story: when I was growing up in church, one of the principles that always came up when talking about spiritual gifts (those ways God supernaturally empowers people to serve) was, “don’t seek the gifts, but the gift-giver.”  In other words, don’t get overly-fixated on these specific gifts God can give (essentially a self-centered approach). Instead, seek God, and let His Spirit give gifts as God deems appropriate (see 1 Corinthians 12).

This came to mind as I was saying how one of the ways Melissa is discerning God’s desire is by being involved in a local Bible study on Jesus.  She isn’t only sitting with God and asking, “should we move to X?” every day.   Instead, she is connecting well with God, for the sake of their relationship alone.  I’m pretty confident that as she does, God is and will speak to those specifics because God loves her and knows they are important questions.

Thank you beloved for this reminder.  So glad to be doing this with you!

January 20, 2010

In Between

by arthurstewart — Categories: Arthur, God, heart journey, Kingdom of God, sabbatical — Tags: , , , , , — 1 Comment

I’m learning to live better in the time/space between… aka “now.”  This is a strange place for me.  I tend to clarify and plan for what is ahead, then move toward that.  “Without a vision, the people perish.”  Generally, this is an acceptable practice.  However, I find that I can be too focused on what lies ahead, ignoring or minimizing the present (especially when it doesn’t fit with the future I see).  Further, it is easy for people to become secondary to plans.  Never my intention, but too common when I get so focused on the future that  achieving it becomes my only aim.

Part of what makes my sabbatical so good for me is the necessity to live in the now.  Yes, this time will end and we will move into the next season soon enough.  And yes, we will have to do certain things – even make a few plans – to begin the next adventure.  But for now, I am living where I am.  Spending lots of times with my wife and kids.  Seeing friends.  Reading.  Resting.  Getting caught up.  I believe all this and more will indeed prepare me for what’s next.  But I’m not doing all this SIMPLY TO GET READY, as if this is only a means to an end.  It is all good for what it is.

Hear me – I’m not just biding my time or waiting until something better comes along.  I am enjoying each day for what it is.  True, it’s not my dream place or situation.  But there is so much I CAN enjoy.  I am reminded of when Jesus ascended to heaven in Acts 1 and his disciples were looking into the sky where he had disappeared.  Two men in white (angels?) appeared to them and said, “men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky?”  In other words, get on with life.  Not because Jesus isn’t coming back.  He is.  But there’s a lot of life to be had in the meantime.  Don’t just wait around for the future to arrive.

Every day matters:

  • a habit can change
  • a word can lift someone’s spirits
  • an accident can be prevented
  • something big can be accomplished
  • decisions can be made that affect everything else
  • a million moments take place that will never come again

God wants us to live now.  Yes, there’s forever too.  But it doesn’t start when we die.  It’s starts now.

January 11, 2010

Out with the old, in with the new

by arthurstewart — Categories: Arthur, God, heart journey, sabbatical — Tags: , , , , — 1 Comment

Doing anything new with the start of 2010?  On one level, I am looking at this year as an opportunity to start everything new…. moving to a new city, loving my wife and children as if for the first time, new ministry.  But on the very specific level, I am committing to read the Bible through again during the year.

I am severely restricting the making of new plans for my life because I generally do that too much.  I make plans.  I have sets of plans, often overlapping.  I have so many plans that I take a stab at several and succeed at few.  And they are all good plans!  Then I feel bad that I am not following through with all my good plans…

Furthermore, I am realizing how much I lean toward always adding new things, never stopping negative things.  I have a friend who says that all of life is starting some things while stopping others.  The Bible describes this as putting off and putting on (Ephesians 4).  I like the putting on part – fits with planning.  Problem is, you can’t keep adding and adding without making room AND getting rid of the stuff you don’t want.  It’s like having a bucket with some sediment in the bottom, and thinking that if you keep adding more and more of what you want, it will push the bad stuff out.  It doesn’t work that way though!  You have to get that crap out – my mechanic calls this a system flush.  You can’t just keep adding radiator fluid.  At some point, you have to clean out the whole system to eliminate the dregs.

I know this, but I don’t do it enough.  I need to.  In a way, this is one of the things God is doing in my life during this sabbatical – helping me clean out all the junk.  Not just adding new good stuff, but doing the hard work of rooting/tearing out what needs to go.  Sometimes painful – yes.  But cleansing and good.  I think this is one aspect of “working out your salvation” as the Apostle Paul calls it (Philippians 2).  There is work to be done – work of making ourselves available to our loving God to change us.  And often this change means getting rid of the things that get between us, Him, and our destiny.

I see it with my children more easily than myself.  I can see what they need to stop doing in order to start doing the better thing.  I am learning to better identify this in myself, and respond to others who help me to do the same.  I am sad that this doesn’t come more naturally for me, or that I don’t more readily embrace the input of others.  God has put so many people into my life that can aid in the process, and I still seem to resist at times.  But I am growing.

I am also facing the disconcerting (frightening?) truth that the great joy in life I have always craved doesn’t come through my schemes, but through a much more simple, humble, unassuming life.  This would seem to require cleaning house, wouldn’t it?  So for now, this is what I am committed to.  Yes, God has put a few pictures into my mind, and I am excited about what is ahead.  But I am holding these loosely and avoiding working out all the specifics…. at least for now ;)

December 31, 2009

I love this book: “It’s Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian” by Samir Selmanovic

by arthurstewart — Categories: Arthur, books, God, heart journey — Tags: , , , , — 1 Comment

Due to my self-imposed ban on new book purchases and my family’s voracious reading appetite and therefore constant trips to the library, I decided to look up some books from my Amazon wish list on the Fresno County Public Library’s website.  I scored on this one – It’s Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian by Samir Selmanovic.  This book was published in September 2009 and I just got to read it for free from the library!  I have to tell you, I liked it so much I am going to buy it.

I will spare you a book-report-style summary except to say the book relates the author’s journey of faith, focusing especially on family, culture (he is originally from Croatia), and religion.  Each of these are significant and Selmanovic weaves these throughout his book so well that I can only ask that you read the book to hear his heart for and in each.  We also find the postmodern pillars of the call to embrace God and honestly face our uncertainty at the same time, not making our own religion an idol in place of the God our religion follows, and the value each religion can bring when we enter into meaningful dialogue.  While these are no longer revolutionary ideas to me, the author does a good job of providing relevant story and insight to these fundamental concepts.  You’ll have to read the book for all this good stuff.

The 2 parts that I DO want to talk more about are areas that have challenged my own heart.

The first is a fundamental question to my faith (and I suppose all others), but one that we spend too little time attending to, or answer too quickly.  Q: What was Jesus promising to his followers?  If you’ve been involved in this Christianity thing for a while, you recognize that your answer to this question might differ from what you first believed (or were taught.  When you read Jesus, he talks about being without a home, seeing disruption in the state of our relationships, being persecuted…The author says it this way of Jesus… “Follow me and you might be happy – or you might not.  Follow me and you might be empowered – or you might not.  Follow me and you might have the answers – or you might not.  Follow me and you might be better off – or you might not.  If you follow me you might be worse off in every way you use to measure life.  Follow me nevertheless.  Because I have an offer that is worth giving up everything you have” (p. 210).  My experience would agree with Selmonovic’s reading of Jesus’ call.  What does Jesus say we will get from following him?  Learning to love well.

Would you trade everything in exchange for learning to love?  I am haunted by this question for several reasons.  First, I do not love as well as I would like.  If that is the point, what have I been doing instead?  Not that doing it perfectly is the validation, but it should at least be a main focus.  Loving God, loving my wife, my kids, those I am responsible for, those I work with, the needy right in front of me.  There is no shortage of opportunity!  Do I see each person as an opportunity to learn to love? AND, am I helping others in the same pursuit?  Are my means of discipleship, training, mentoring, or simply relating actually helping others learn to love well????

I want this to be true – more true of my life.  I feel like I am on this path, especially right now during our time of Sabbatical.  What does it mean to remain on this path regardless of place, job, or other responsibilities?  What I love about this call is that it deals with life now.  My focus is not on a reward that comes later.  Rather, it has affect on my life, and the lives of others, now.  I need this.

The second part of the book that relates quite a bit to some of what God is teaching me concerns how we go about “doing.”  This is very significant to me as I learn to separate my sense of value, being loved, and identity from what I accomplish.  In a sense, it’s basic and I would espouse and teach that.  But I am only BEGINNING to truly believe and live by this truth.  The author, also a vocational minister, relates that ever since becoming a Christian, he has been taught to give, love, minister, care.  This is what we are supposed to do, right?  So, he asks, why isn’t this working?  “Since we have been teaching and acting in our Christian churches to love others and to organize others and to organize our lives to love others, how curious, I thought, that polls report that non-Christians perceive Christians as not loving!  How can that possibly be?” (p. 240).  His answer speaks right to me.  We don’t really love because we don’t know how to receive.  In other words, we are not willing to let others affect us, especially in areas (like about God) that matter.  We like to give because givers are in control.  We bless because blessers are in control.  “To receive, on the other hand, means to lose something.  Everyone wants to teach and no one wants to learn.”

For me, I can only be in a position to receive when I don’t equate my value with what I do.  How could I?  If what I know, accomplish, and teach is what gives me my identity, how could I possibly take myself out of the driver’s seat?  And so, as I am learning (again) who I am (and am not), I can be with you and just be.  I can hear.  I can learn.  I can change.  Heck, I can RELATE without trying to fix you.  I want that, and am pretty sure that you do too.  So, when I am with you, I give you permission to check that.  Am I with you, or just trying to “help” you?  I feel like God is really teaching/changing me.  I hope you experience me more this way and invite you to let me know how I am doing.

© 2013 Stewart 5 All rights reserved - Wallow theme v0.46.5 by ([][]) TwoBeers - Powered by WordPress - Have fun!