How a brothel became a church

Two weeks ago, Mark Dickson preached at church on Joshua Ch 2. It was a ripper. Mark holds the C.S.Lewis Chair of Christian Thought at GWC. I've massaged some of his sermon into a post. I know it's a bit longer than usual, but do yourself a favour and give it a read. Joshua Ch 2 is a great story of rescue and intrigue. Was Rahab’s rescue a result of her quick thinking and ingenuity? Absolutely. But there’s more. Rahab’s rescue was because God had been preparing her heart to receive the good news. (“I know that the Lord has given you this land and a great fear has fallen on all of us . . . We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the red Sea . . When we heard of it our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God of heaven above and on the earth below . . .”) Out of everyone in the city, he picked a hooker. What it boiled down to was that Rahab was given 2 big realizations. 1. What was unfolding around her was the work of the true God 2. And anyone who stands against this God is doomed. Mark got us to ponder how the Kings soldiers managed to find their way to her brothel to look for the spies. Could it be that Rahab herself was the one who sent word to the king after hiding the Israelites? Why would she do that? By her own mouth, Rahab testifies that God had been softening her heart to receive him and his people. By dobbing them in, she could then create a situation where she could ‘rescue’ the spies and win their favor. In that way she would also win the favor of their God. There is no doubt about it, Rahab takes risks. She is full of cheeky gumption and uses every means at her disposal because she wants to be on the right side of God. God’s kingdom was bearing down upon her and she wanted in. It kind of reminds us of that story Jesus told of a man finding treasure in a field. He sees it’s value, and realizes that when compare to his life as it is, he would be a fool not to throw caution to the wind and do whatever he could to buy that field. Of course, there is always risk in that course of action. What if the plan went wrong? (Rahab would certainly die, either by an angry betrayed king or the marauding Israelites.) But as it turns out, Rahab’s house becomes an ark. A brothel becomes a place of rescue. So if God can turn a brothel into a church, what can he do for you? The kingdom of God is also bearing down on us and it is just as urgent as it was for Rahab in the city. Have you taken a risk to make sure you are counted as a friend of God’s and not an enemy? Did you once take that risk (at conversion) but have since been living a life of quiet ease? What risks can you take for the kingdom now?

Scott

Deep

I had a genuinely good experience on friday night. The kind of time that leaves you feeling deeply satisfied, content and full. I got it from spending a few hours in bible study with nine 13 year olds.

The soccer was great, but it was really only after that when I found the buzz. One of the guys, Ben, was so excited to be there with us, he was literally on the edge of his seat all night. We talked about 1 Peter 3:18. Which of course lead us to other questions like, "Did the dinasaurs come before or after Adam and Eve?" and "How did Cain have a family if it was just him and his parents?" (Although the question was asked by Tim in a way I have never encountered it before, "Did Cain do his mum?") But they weren't red herrings or trouble makers, the boys were really concerned about the answers and after we chatted, they left feeling calm and content that their God was trustworthy.

In the 6 or 7 weeks that the group has existed, one guy, Will, has already brought 3 friends. That does good things for my soul. I'm not sure if there is a deep lesson here, but I definately wanted to post it. God is drawing people to Himself despite their age, blindness and leaders who are, at the best of times, jars of clay. And that was more than enough to leave me deeply satisfied.

Scott

The test

The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out." Thomas McCaulay

Lost

Today was the day I got my voice back. I've been sick for a while, nothing deadly, but just enough to slow me down. But the real killer was that for the first time ever, I fully lost my voice. Now, for someone like me, that's quite a thing. To make it worse, this weekend was our Senior Youth Summer Camp. I was kind of hoping that it would mellow me out, get me to sit and listen better to some of the kids on a bit more of a one to one basis. And you gotta beleive me, I did really try. And a few chats kind of fell into this category. But as a general rule I struggled under my thorn in the flesh. I think that tells you something about me that is a bit sad really. Anyway - it was a top camp. Phumezo was our speaker and considering that he usually gives talks in Xhosa he did a fine job. Not really any photos to speak of I'm afraid. A bit to preoccupied in being sick to get my act together with the camera. But if it helps you visualize, we had a awesome game of sardines and managed to hide about 20 people under a ground level trampoline, we almost killed a neighbours chicken, and I discovered that some of the grade 12 girls are struggling to get dates to their matric dances. Guys? honestly, what is up with that??! I guess I'm going to have to draw them a picture . . . Scott

Out

It's beautiful, isn't it? Serene, romantic, mellow.

The only thing is that qualities like serenity, romance and mellowness can't be imposed upon you. You have to choose them because you want them. That's the whole point.

So when the nuclear power station in the Western Cape is busted and they announce 50 days of rolling blackouts - it's none of those beautiful things. It simply sucks. Not to mention we missed the last CSI for the season.

This is one attempt at a solution. It was one fo the last ones in Cape Town, everywhere is sold out of everything to do with power. I feel like I'm in Beruit in the 80's.

Or Zim . . .now.

Scott