Reflections for the New Year (tick tock)

Reflections for the New Year (tick tock)

Somebody once told me that time is the distance traveled between two points, simplistic but profound!

Time is important to us because we do not have much of it compared to God who is eternal and who is adversely affected by the passing of time. We however, have the side effects of aging. Luckily for us God has granted us all eternal life, the presence of Jesus in you life as Lord will determine whether your eternity will rock or suck ... it's that simple! But you will live in eternity somewhere, the choice is up to you. (tick tock)

In our present age, there lies a whole industry that is trying to keep us young and wrinkle free and it turns over billions every year. There are creams and lotions, tonics and potions, fashions and fads, pills and diets, you name it is there.

Recently I read about some of big name celebs who are popping placenta pills and puffing on oxygen in order to stay young! All this array of "stuff" is to make us look and feel younger, to give us the perception that for us, time is standing still. Because we look young therefore we are young! Bzzzzt thank you for playing! (tick tock)

But time marches on and it seems that for some much of the 86,400 seconds of one day is spent trying to look younger for the 84,600 seconds of the next! But no matter what we do, our bodies continue to age, and we just have to get over it, we will age and show signs of age util such time as Jesus returns, then we see Him face to face, we will be change to be like Him. (1 John 3:2)

And so the New Year approaches and we have been duly warned the coming year could be a doozy! 

Already we are looking at possible world wide financial disaster courtesy of US politicians whose failure to reach agreement by December 31 may put the US back into recession. Which will have world wide effects.

There is the ongoing gun debate in the US, this will get nasty as the NRA positions itself to take on all who stand in its way.

The Chinese economy is showing signs of growth which is good for Australia's mining industry and the Government's mining tax.

North Korea has a missile and Iran may yet have a bomb, and the war in Afghanistan just seems to roll on.

So what are you going to do in 2013? Get fit? Lose weight? Be a nicer person? Or is it time to put aside any obsession we have of trying not to age, and to pray and change the world instead of bodies? (tick tock)

The Tragedy in Newtown Ct gives us much to think about

The Tragedy in Newtown Ct gives us much to think about

The murder of young children and teachers in their school is an unjustifiable wrong. School is supposed to be safe place, we have started to weed out the pedophiles and now the mass murderers enter the fray. School is meant to be a safe place let's make it a top priority to make it such.

The Newtown incident has bought on the debate America has to have, how do we regulate guns and gun ownership. To the non American it may seem that the US has a love affair with weaponry, but this view is over simplistic, America has strong historical roots that guarantee the right to bear arms. The English colonial masters denied them this right in the lead up to the American Revolution. It was England's way to to suppress and oppress and there were serious penalties involved if you were caught with a gun in your hands.

The right to bear arms was enshrined in the American Constitution as the second amendment to the document; and fir some in the US this right is a guarantee of their freedom form any potentially corrupt government. But I have a problem here. Lincoln called America one country under God  and the Declaration of Independence talks about the unalienable rights God has given (to America and others) on which America is founded - so if the US is one country under God why do you need the bearing of arms to guarantee your freedom? God is in control, is He not?!

I think that this debate on gun control needs to center on who is in control of the nation that was set up to be one nation under God. If God is in control then gun control is possible without taking away freedoms if God is not in control then why is He not and what has happened to the one country under God?

The second issue raised by Newtown is that of respect. The shooter it seems had his problems and had been bullied. I think from memory the Columbine shooters were of a similar ilk. Bullying is an arrogant lack of respect for others and if we are going to solve these kinds of issues we need not only to control the guns but also to look at the way we treat others.

What may well be the case is that bullying at a secondary level brought about the events that saw children in an elementary school slaughtered. We have to change the values that are exhibited in our school grounds. School culture needs to change so that the brand being worn is not as important as the relationships to other students.

If Adam Lanza had felt more connected and accepted by his peers in the community would he have done what he did? We will never know; but we can say that a one sided debate that only looks at gun control without addressing issues of school peer culture and bullying will not begin to fix the problem.

I love carnivorous plants.

I love carnivorous plants!

Yes I have to admit it, I am not your ordinary gardener, I like growing carnivorous plants. They represent to me the quirky side of God's creation. Plants that hunt insects, now that appeals to me!

There are many kinds of carnivorous plants, the most famous is perhaps the Venus Fly Trap (dionaea muscipula) which closes its trap on its prey and they are no more. There are are plants that produce a sticky honey like substance that attracts insects, these are called sundews (drosera) and have many different forms.

There are other carnivorous plants that form pitchers into which the insets fall and cannot get out, (sarracinia) some of these plants give off an odor that is undetectable to humans but insects love it and they come running when they smell it only end up staying for dinner!

Perhaps my favorite carnivorous plant is a bladderwort - (utricularia) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrR9e99pic4 This plant lives in water and forms bladder traps. These bladders are empty and have a trap door that is activated by touching the very fine hair attached to it. A mosquito larvae or other water bug brushes up against the hair the door opens water rushes into the bladder as does the bug, the door shuts and the bug is digested.

I thank God for these types of plants, I get tremendous enjoyment our of growing them.

Sex Slaves - Part Two

Recently I had some feedback about the original blog I wrote on Sex Slaves. The writer fed back and said “I don't believe that poverty drives the sex industry.”

Now the aim of this second post is to explain how I came to that conclusion, not to disagree with someone publicly, we are all entitled to have a contrary opinion; but on rereading the post I felt that perhaps I was  a little remiss and unclear in what I was trying to communicate. I am not going to answer every comment on my blog but as I hold the commenter in high esteem I will, on this occasion, respond.

So does poverty drive the sex industry?

The market economy relies on several principles in order to be successful. One of those principles is that markets are driven by demand. So a market will not be a good investment if there is no demand for the item / service being sold.

Principle One - Markets
I believe that there are three types of market demand;

Opportunistic markets
Optional markets
Essential markets

Opportunistic markets exist where a person sells an item or service in order to profit from short or long circumstances that may have appeared in the market place. A marketer may find out that hundreds of Scottish tourists are coming to their town and may change to their labeling to include tartan patterns in order to sell extra wares to those tourists. Or a person may perceive an opportunity exists because the seller does not know the true value of their wares, and so the buyer buys the wares for resale or for themselves based on the opportunity that is presented to them.

Optional markets exist where people can buy an item or service which is non essential to their existence, tourists do this all the time buying  pencils and pens with flags and logos on them to remember a trip, or place.

Essential markets are things we cannot do without.  These may include things like groceries and telecommunications. Here multiple sellers try to win bigger market shares by emphasizing why their essential product is the best available.

Prostitution can viewed as either one of these markets. One man may see a prostitute on the street and use the opportunity to use her services.

Another man may be rejected by his wife and go to the prostitute as a second option. (In some cultures it is acceptable for the man to go to a prostitute if his wife says no to sex.)

Other men would see the sex trade as an essential service that feeds their selfish lust for sexual gratification. Indeed in parts of Thailand some 15 year old boys are taken to a prostitute as a rite of passage so that they don’t enter manhood as virgins. This view would see prostitution as an essential service.

The sex trade makes sure that there is an abundant supply of women to meet all types of services needed.

Principle Two - Returns
A second principle of the market economy is that the best place to invest your money is in places where there is low risk and high return. 

Sex slavery provides such an opportunity particularly if the women are cheap to obtain, and are not paid for their services. By employing poor men to make sure that the women are trafficked “safely” over borders costs are kept to a minimum. A businessman with no morals could easily invest in the sex trade because the returns are so high and the overheads low.

Principle Three – Maximize Profits
A third principle is to purchase your basic components / commodities as cheaply as you can so you can maximize profits. I feel sick referring to women as components or commodities but for the sake I example I will. (Please forgive me ladies.) Women are cheaper to source from poor villages than from the affluent cites of the west.

Another principle is this (although I am not sure if I can attribute it to the market economy); desperate people are more likely to take risks. Whether it is risks with money, as in the gambling addict who is trying to win back the money they have lost on the pokies, the person who is coming off one bad relationship and is entering into another risky relationship because they are desperate for affirmation and love, or the young girl who although she may know that there is a risk of sex trafficking, she will believe the stranger that promises her a high paying factory job in another country because she is desperate to help her family which is in poverty.

With sex trafficking we see all three of these circumstances come into play. We see markets established. It does not matter if is rich tourists, or local village men, or whether it is viewed as an opportunity, an option or essential service, the market is there.

The proliferation of the availability of cheap labor (prostitutes) caused by sex slavery makes it easy for this market to expand at a rapid rate and for more men to say yes to it.

We also see that the business investors are willing to invest in the sex slavery and reap the return and we see that there is a large population of available women who can be duped and tricked into this industry.

Take away the presence of the cheap components (the women) and your market is in crisis, take away the cheap labor that trafficks the women and your costs will rise and profit will be reduced. So we can safely say that poverty is a major force in what drives this industry? Yes we can, but for the sake of my commenter I will change the original blog to say that.

Is the economy failing?

Is the economy failing?

Gerry Harvey says retailers are in for a hard time and some traders will go broke after the Christmas sales. (http://www.smh.com.au/business/harvey-warns-of-more-failures-in-store-20121127-2a5pg.html)  I am not sure about this we hear news like this every year as if it is a goad that gets us to buy more stuff and save a retailer!

Yes the economy is slow and yes people are not spending as much as they normally do but does that mean the end is coming?

Responsible people who have solid business plans make room for slow years and unexpected changes in economic conditions. Like Harvey Norman they build in other income streams that help them get over the line. (In Harvey Norman's case a large real estate portfolio.)

I once saw a sign advertising a fictitious accounting firm called Grabbit and Runn! This does describe some people's business plans, sell make a profit and get out. Such companies will fail and are clearly not designed for the long term

So are we seeing and economic disaster or is the economic wheel turning and whilst some fall off a new generation of players waiting in the wings with improved business plans take over and so the cycle continues.

Me?! I think this is the Christmas goad to buy more stuff, (sorry Gerry) and I think that new ideas and products and stores will come into the market in 2013. What do you think?

Sex Slaves

I am reading a book called "Sex Slaves" by Louise Brown. It gives an expose' on sex trafficking. This book is so upsetting that I can only read 10 pages at at time.

Although this is not the author's intention, it is the kind of book that makes you ashamed of being a man because of the course vulgar and unrestrained acts of terror some women suffer at the hands on a small number males who think that the rape, physical abuse and murder of unknown women doesn't really matter!

If this book is only 25% correct what it describes should still be listed as a chronic emergency. Over two million women a year are trafficked into brothels in Asia, Africa, the Middle East as well as Western nations. Many end up dying of the beatings they receive or of sexually transmitted diseases. Others, when they are unable to sell sex any more are killed and their organs are harvested and on sold for transplants before their bodies are unceremoniously discarded. Women who were created in the image of God are abducted, abused, mistreated and after all profit has been extracted, are dumped like rubbish.

Those that survive this ordeal carry deep psychological wounds as they live out the consequences of their abuse on a daily basis.

Some Christian organizations have little sympathy for prostitutes as prostitution has always had a stigma about it. The Bible warns us about the woman of folly.

She is now in the streets, now in the squares, and lurks by every corner. Proverbs 7:12

The image here of a brazen hussy, who cares nothing for God's commandments, who through her solicitations tries to ensnare righteous men  to break covenant with their God and family, to turn aside from the path and enjoy the sexual pleasures that she can offer, for a price.

"Whoever is naive, let him turn in here", and to him who lacks understanding she says, "stolen water is sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant" Prov 9:16-17

But the Bible warns that the price that will be paid here is much higher than we would think.
¹⁶ 

Her house is the way to Sheol. descending to the chambers of death. Prov 7:27

We see these same arguments at work today. Our popular culture and advertising media carry clear messages that we need to loosen up and feel the love. Messages that try to desensitize us and that promote adultery and free sex without conscience as a valid lifestyle. It goes without saying that such a lifestyle is unworkable and untenable for the maintenance of stable and committed relationships and that is one of the reasons why it is offensive to God.

However, the worldwide sex trade has little to do with liberated love and more to do with misogyny and self gratification.

Sex slavery as described in this book is wickedness unrestrained where men seduce, dupe and  force children and women to sell sex for a living. Poverty struck young girls are led to believe that they have scored a well paying job in  a factory and are trafficked across borders into brothels where they are beaten, raped, drugged, psychologically manipulated and forced to comply with the wishes of the brothel owners to pay off fictitious debts by selling sex.

These are not the women described in the Bible - these are women forced on pain of public shame, physical abuse or death to live a life that is would normally be abhorrent to them.

The clients of many of these girls are rich men from both Western and local backgrounds. Affluent men who have children, and in some cases grand children who rape these women whilst claiming to live highly moral lives. 

Poverty is poverty is a major force in what drives this industry. People who are in abject poverty take risks that others in more affluent countries would never take.

I once met a man in Thailand who had sold his eight year old daughter into the sex industry so he could educate his sons. This really affected me because at the time I had an eight year old daughter at home. I have thought about this a lot since and cannot understand or justify this man's position but the fact remains poverty drives the sex industry.

Sex trafficking is evil. It is wrong and it is unjustifiable. We have to do something to stop this evil and we need to start now.

What will you do today to stop this evil on the face of the earth?!

More information can be found here The Donna McDermid Memorial Fund

Christmas Presence

In about four weeks time it will start, in the midst of the busy Christmas rush, pressured and tired as they are, millions of people will start being nice to each other.

There will be gifts and cards and food and wine, people will wear reindeer antlers, or Santa hats and will be nice to to each other until the Christmas hangover wears off and it will be some hastily made New Year's resolutions followed by 11 months of the same old same old until it all starts again in 2013... and I ask why can we not sustain the Peace on Earth and Good Will to others for a longer time frame.like all year round?

It is almost that at a certain time of year whether people are religious or not, they make an effort to be nice to each other. However there is a down side. I read recently that many people go into depression at Christmas because they are alone and have no one to be with.

The first Christmas was a celebration of the presence of God's Son in the world. Subsequent Christmases seem to be the celebration of the memory of that event even by some of those who are non religious although to be fair many would transfer their allegiance as it were to having having fun during the Silly Season rather than seeking to celebrate the presence of God's Son in human history.

I think we should do both, celebrate and have but remember the presence of God in our lives; after all he has not gone away.

... and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matt 28:20

Sexual abuse in the church.

Rape, pedophilia  sexual abuse are wrong, inexcusable and have no place in the church. Yet recent events clearly show that these things were present not only in the church but in the leadership structures of the church i.e. the clergy.

The Federal government's announcement of a Royal Commission into this matter is long overdue and we can anticipate that the pain inside the church will only increase before it subsides, as the public becomes more aware of what has been happening on church properties for years; in some cases without restraint and without fear of prosecution.

The Royal Commission will be a watershed of pain for the Australian church. Reputation and public perceptions will be damaged as the church and other public bodies are forced to listen to the litany of pain and suffering that will be laid at their feet by those who suffered abuse at the hands of those who should have known better, and of whom we should have expected and received better!

It should be of major concern to us that we are now at the point where we are forced to deal with this issue in the public forum because we would not or could not deal with it ourselves. The facts are that the church has been perceived to be unsafe and the government has acted accordingly.

It needs to be clearly stated here that the majority of Christians abhor such practices and are innocent of wrong doing, but because a minority of the leadership is in question; everyone is perceived to be a suspect.

There are several issues that I think the Royal Commission will have to face. One is that it is only in recent times that laws have made it easy for victims to safely tell of their experiences. 30 years ago such complaints would not have been received and the victims would have been seen as trouble makers or perhaps labelled as mentally unstable. So it has taken the law a long time to provide a platform for justice. Similarly it has taken the law a long time to grow the teeth with which to deal with the perpetrators. So the victims of the 1950s would have had less opportunity and less protection than those who were abused last week. Clearly law makers need to apologize for their oversight.

Another issue that the church will have to face is how is it that things could come to this? What has been identified as being endemic in some areas of the church has been handled badly to say the least.

One can understand that the church was trying to delicately balance several issues at the one time; such as the presence of sexual sin in the clergy, the grace of God to forgive, the reputation of the church with the general public and the need for justice for the victims. However, the inner handling of the these matters seems to have been done very badly.

Clearly for years the church has needed help with this problem but has not sought answers or even owned up to its occurrence or presence. Now we are faced with the forced fessing up and confrontation with the problem in the form of a Royal Commission and one can only assume that in the coming months the church in some

sections of the community will be perceived as being more irrelevant and it of touch than it ever was in real life because it has not addressed this issue in the past.

What is more the shame is that the name of Jesus is going to be sullied because of the actions and in actions of the church, and the only ones who are going to make good doubt of this are the lawyers who are already lining up for a piece of the action. In this sense the church is exposing Jesus to public ridicule.

I love Jesus and I love His church, but I see nothing but public pain for sometime. The bottom line is that no person who comes to Jesus for help should be exposed to a dangerous or unsafe situation. Now is the time for action. The church needs to be made a safe haven now not after the Royal Commission.

Policies and structures need to put in place whereby rape, paedophilia, sexual abuse, physical abuse, spiritual abuse, are rooted out of the church. Jesus came to give life not take it away from the vulnerable and weak. Reportable offenses need to be reported and not dealt with in house. In house treatment of offenses does not allow transparency and erodes public confidence. We need to raise the bar, be seen to be taking action and to be dealing with the sin that so easily entangles us.

Recovery from the discoveries of the Royal Commission will not be overnight but it can be shortened if we show true sorrow for the sins of the past, deal with the sin in our midst and become the safe haven we were made to be.

If we want out voice heard on issues such as sex trafficking and justice for poor communities then we had better make sure that sexual abuse has no place in our church, otherwise we are just the hypocrites that the world already thinks we are.

This Royal Commission may be the God's way of overturning the money changes in his Temple in preparation for all He wants us to walk in and to do in the years that lie ahead.

I

The Song

Recently I was visiting a friend of mine who came to Australia as a refugee ... let’s call them “Jim”. 

I have known Jim for years. One day I asked him tell me about how he met Jesus. Jim began to explain how he and his family had fled from their village and made their way to the refugee camp. Of how they had met some YWAM people there who had helped them and how he had prayed one night and Jesus had come into his life. “From that time on” Jim said, “ a song started playing in my heart and it has never gone away”.

Jim has come to Australia as a refugee, settled in , has a job and a Facebook page and goes to an Anglican Church. I see Jim’s Facebook updates go past every day, they are full of joy and sorrow kind of like a public blog, but about a month ago I began to be concerned at what I was seeing – so I contacted Jim and made an appointment to have coffee with him.

On the appointed day I went to see Jim, there were smiles and hugs and as we sat together Jim began to share the pain of a deep burden he has on his heart. Now that he has an Australian passport he wants to return to the refugee camp as a missionary and minister to the needs of the 50,000 others that live in that place. With song singing in his heart and tears in his eyes Jim told me that he just could not see how he could do this, he would need to raise missions support of $100 a month.

Personally I think Jim will need a little more than $100 a month but my heart broke for this dear man, who is living in safety in Australia and who now wants to return to the danger zone where he can reach out to those who have even less that he does.

I prayed with Jim and will look for ways to support his missionary efforts, but I have gone away deeply affected by the experience.

Jim's song remains strong, when I became a Christian my life was filled with a deep peace that remains there to this day, but I have met many over the years who seem to have lost their song or their peace and now seem to walk in a hard place. God wants to renew in them the song and the peace which was once placed in their heart.

There is a price we pay when we are too busy to follow Jesus on a daily basis, we need to stop and listen and as we do let the music play.

Oh God return us to the place where we can clearly hear the song that you have placed in our heart.