Archive for September, 2010

September 23rd, 2010

Child Rescue – A Christian Responsibility

by Rodney Olsen

Tim CostelloHow do you teach a child to trust again when her own family has sold her into prostitution? How do you give hope to a child who has been forced to kill others, perhaps members of his own family, as a child soldier? How do you rescue a child who has been trafficked into slavery, exploited and abused?

Most of us couldn’t even begin to imagine our own children facing such horrific circumstances but maybe we need to try so that we can get a sense of the urgency and desperation of the situations that millions of children are facing.

Over many years Tim Costello has been the voice of social conscience for many Australians, having led debates on issues such as gambling, urban poverty, homelessness, reconciliation and substance abuse. He’s someone who takes the often talked about Aussie value of ‘giving everyone a fair go’ and gives it a practical expression.

As CEO of World Vision Australia, Tim leads an organisation of almost 600 staff, with an annual income of about $350 million.

Through World Vision, Australians are sponsoring a staggering 400 000 overseas children.

I phoned Tim during my radio program on 98.5 Sonshine FM today to talk about some of the children that regular sponsorship can’t reach. We talked about World Vision Child Rescue and how it is having an amazing effect for some of the world’s most vulnerable children. Tim oulined our repsonsibility as Christians to get involved in taking children out of these terrible circumstances.

Can I urge you to listen to our discussion and let your heart be touched by the need? Just click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

Can I also encourage you to click any of the buttons below this post to share the carnival on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon or any of the other sites represented. The need is urgent and it’s important that we get the message out.

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September 23rd, 2010

Christian Carnival 346

by Rodney Olsen

christian_carnival_lion.jpgWelcome to the 346th edition of the Christian Carnival. There is some great reading here and I’m sure you’ll enjoy working your way through the list of posts.

The weekly Christian Carnival is an opportunity for Christian blog writers to share their best posts from the previous week. The topic of the post doesn’t necessarily have to focus on Christianity but it must reflect a Christian worldview, and the writer must be Christian to qualify.

As always it’s a real honour to be able to present such a diverse range of great posts. I’ve hosted the carnival at my regular blog RodneyOlsen.net several times but this is the first opportunity I’ve had to host at my new faith blog, Beyond Belief.

Please take the time to read through each post … it’s worth it. You might also like to link to this week’s carnival so that your blog readers can enjoy the variety of styles and thought. Another way to spread the word about the Christian Carnival is to click any of the buttons below this post to share the carnival on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon or any of the other sites represented.

Let’s get started!

FMF presents The Jewish Phenomenon posted at Free Money Finance, asking the question, “Why is it that Jews are disproportionately successful?”

Charles Simeon didn’t appear to believe that Scripture could, in the end, be reduced to or fully comprehended by either Calvinism or Arminianism. Barry Wallace presents Charles Simeon’s embrace of biblical paradox at who am i?.

Esther Irish has written a post that talks about the value of prayer and God’s Word for even the youngest Christian. I encourage you to read A Child’s Answer to Prayer at Laugh With Us Blog.

BWL takes a look at some Biblical traits that God wants us to have in the post 5 Success Traits God Wants Us to Have at Christian Personal Finance.

Storms come to us all, but we can do more than endure; we can triumph. Joe Plemon draws on some lessons from Joseph to show us how in the post How to Triumph in the Middle of Storms: Six Lessons From Joseph posted at Personal Finance By The Book.

What are your thoughts on Christians and prosperity? It’s always an interesting topic and this week Anthony Delgado takes a look at King Solomon on Prosperity at eInquisitive.

Can we ever feel completely satisfied with our lives? Andrew is taking on this big question as he presents Constant frustration at the blog Rely on God in your personal development.

Is it possible that events in the life of Charles Darwin could teach us something about our relationship with the Lord? Do we make versions of the same mistakes he did? That is not my faith is a post at Disciple’s Journal by Dave Taylor.

It’s all beginning to come together for Michelle who has posted Missionary Visions Dancing Through My Head at Thoughts and Confessions of a Girl Who Loves Jesus.

How much of what we understand of the Scripture is what the writer really intended? Deano asks How Well Do We Know the Story? in his challenging post at My Jarrol Spot.

Scottyi says, “One of the major rifts in the church right now is the congregations taking sides over social justice vs. evangelism. We’re so short-sighted and prejudiced that we can’t even see that the whole Gospel cannot survive without BOTH parts working together.” He unpacks that thought in the post Putting the Gospel Halves of Evangelism and Social Justice Back Together at Sacred Raisin Cakes.

Crystal Rodli is a liar. Don’t take my word for it, read what she has to say about it herself in the post Self Justification 101: If it’s not there, I can’t repent at In A Clay Pot.

Charles Spurgeon died in 1892. Does he have anything to say to us today? Ridge Burns makes a compelling argument for us to take Spurgeon’s words to heart in Charles Spurgeon on Spiritual Revival at Ridge’s Blog.

Over at Just 4 the Planet you can read about the long connection between environmentalism and the Catholic church in the post Welcome Your Holiness: Catholicism and the Environment.

Sarah has found that a lot of people speak before engaing their brain. Find out more in her post Me, Myself and an Online Sermon at This is what Sed said.

Brian Marchionni tackles the creation story asking us, “How natural is it to read the days of Genesis 1 as 24-hour days?” Check out his post Somewhat Random Thoughts on “Natural Readings” at Boston Bible Geeks.

Deuteronomy 15 commands lenders to give even if the year of debt-release is coming, and the debt will almost certainly never be repaid. What does this have to do with us in 2010? Jeremy Pierce looks at the passage in the post You Shall Give To Him Freely at Parableman.

Rey Reynoso is looking at the differences between Romans 14-15 and 1 Corinthians 8 – 10 in an effort to show that participating in modern forms of idolatry is not a matter of mere freedom. Find out more by reading the post 1 Corinthians 8-10 Is Not Romans 14-15 at The Bible Archive.

What’s that smell? Is there something in your life that causes it to give off a foul odor? Violet N. asks the interesting question Are there dead flies in your life? at Other Food: daily devo’s.

That’s it for this week.

If you’re a Christian and you missed out this week, how about choosing something to contribute for next week’s edition? It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, just a post that outlines your point of view or is designed to get others thinking. Being part of the carnival could be a great way to gain a little extra traffic at your blog.

The easiest way to get involved is to submit your article through the Blog Carnival Submission Form. Otherwise, you can email the submission address.

Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to spread the word. Feel free to click any of the buttons below to share the carnival on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon or any of the other sites represented.

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September 19th, 2010

Christian Carnival at Beyond Belief

by Rodney Olsen

christian_carnival_lion.jpgWould you like the opportunity to have your blog promoted? Have you published a post that you’d like read by a wider audience?

I’m having some friends drop in this week. They’ll be visiting from all over the world and you’re invited to join us. The next Christian Carnival is being hosted here at Beyond Belief.

The weekly Christian Carnival is an opportunity for Christian blog writers to share their best posts from the previous week. The topic of the post doesn’t necessarily have to focus on Christianity but it must reflect a Christian worldview, and the writer must be Christian to qualify. You may wish to consider that the readership of the Christian Carnival will be more varied than your usual readership, and you might do better contributing a post with broad appeal.

I’ve already received a number of contributions and I’m looking forward to offering readers of this blog some great links when the carnival is published.

If you’re a Christian and you’ve never contributed before, or if it’s been a while since you have, how about having a look through your posts for this week and choosing something to contribute. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, just a post that outlines your point of view or is designed to get others thinking. Being part of the carnival could be a great way to gain a little extra traffic at your blog.

The easiest way to get involved is to submit your article through the Blog Carnival Submission Form. Otherwise, you can email the submission address.

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday evening at midnight, Eastern (US) Standard Time. That means it’s midday Wednesday here in Perth, Western Australia.

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September 13th, 2010

An Offensive Gospel

by Rodney Olsen

Mark Driscoll preaches what many would consider to be an offensive gospel. In an age where it seems every viewpoint is valid, Driscoll claims that Jesus is the only way to connect with God.

Does Mark Driscoll have it right or is it arrogant to claim that your way is the only way?

Is there still a place for absolute truth?

I’d love to hear what you think about the claim that Jesus is the only way but I do ask that before you comment you watch the above video so that you are informed about Driscoll’s position.

By the way, for what it’s worth, I can see no other way to understand the Bible than to say that Jesus does only offer one way to connect to God the Father. As politically incorrect as it might be in this day and age, I’m with Mark Driscoll on this issue.

That’s not to say that I feel any sense of superiority over those with different beliefs or that I can arrogantly say, “I’m right, you’re wrong”. I’m simply a fellow traveller on the journey of life who has discovered a great and beautiful truth which can set us all truly free.

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September 8th, 2010

Working with Dad

by Rodney Olsen

My dad was still working as a cook in a retirement village after his retirement.

I don’t know that I was ever really close to my dad while I was growing up. I was the youngest of five kids and dad was less than a month away from turning 44 when I was born. He worked as a cook on cargo ships so he was away from home for long periods. It’s not easy to connect with someone who’s not around most of the time.

As difficult as that early relationship was, some of my favourite memories from my growing up days are the times that dad’s ship was in port. Very early in the morning he would drive from our home in Scarborough to Fremantle to cook breakfast and prepare the day’s meals for the crew. Sometimes I’d join him for that early drive and then hang around the ship and wharf for the day. I’d watch him work then head off for a while then return to the galley again. Pretty exciting times for a boy. There were things to see and do …. and I was at work with my dad.

I’ll never forget one of the times that our whole family visited dad on a ship when he was working. One of the other crew members saw us children and told us that dad talked about us all the time. Wow! My dad talked about me to his workmates … in a good way.

Going to work with my dad meant more to me than I think my dad ever knew. I don’t think he ever knew how important it made me feel and how proud I was on the occasions when I was allowed to take a friend on one of those early mornings. I got to show off my dad.

Do you have memories of going to work with your dad?

These days I get to work with my heavenly father each day.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” – Romans 8:15 ESV

I’m still growing up spiritually and my relationship with God isn’t always what it should be but God still lets me watch him work every day. The scriptures tell us that God is not a distant, impersonal authority but someone who is close to us. We can call him Abba, Father. That’s a term that combines the appropriate respect with a remarkable intimacy. That’s how the dad / child relationship should be.

If I was excited and proud about going to work with my earthly father, how much more excited should I be about tagging along with God?

Even though I work in a Christian workplace, I need to constantly remind myself that what I’m doing is more than a job. It’s too easy to get bogged down in the day to day routine and not notice that God is opening opportunities, that he’s directing my day, that he’s the one who should be leading me. I need to ask his forgiveness for the many times I lose sight of who I’m working with and for.

In case you’re tempted to think that I have an amazing privilege that you don’t, remember that whether you’re in a Christian workplace or not, you have the same privilege of working with your heavenly father. And even more than that, when you clock off at night, you’re still working alongside Abba, Father.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24 ESV

No matter where God has placed you, you’re serving Jesus. That means that you’re working with your dad every day, at your job, at home, on the weekend, wherever you are. Does that thrill you? Does that change the way you think about your day?

If you believe that through God is working on this earth each day to draw people to himself through Jesus Christ, you have the amazing opportunity to watch him work, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, to play a part in that work.

Whatever you do today, take a few moments to consider that you’re working with your dad, and that he’s more than delighted that you’re his son or daughter. Even more than that, his name is on his lips …. in a really good way.

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September 6th, 2010

Workers Needed – Immediate Start

by Rodney Olsen

I could never be a farmer. I have enormous respect for those who work on the land but I’m not made of the kind of stuff it takes to run a farm.

Farmers are dependent on conditions completely out of their control and if the conditions aren’t right, there’s no harvest. Devastating. I can’t imagine how tough it would be to put in all the work and end up with nothing.

On the other hand I’m wondering how soul destroying it would be to put in all the work, see a bumper crop grow, and then see it rot in the ground or on the tree because you don’t have the workers to harvest the produce.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. – Luke 10:1-2 ESV

Luke’s Gospel tells us that the harvest is plentiful but there aren’t enough workers to bring it in. Now that’s really devastating.

As I was cycling to work this morning I started wondering why the labourers are so few. Why don’t we work alongside God to bring in the harvest? Why aren’t we introducing more people to Jesus?

I’m wondering if it’s our belief about how big the harvest really is. Do we truly believe that the harvest is plentiful? Do we trust the scriptures when we’re told that it’s not a ‘harvest problem’, it’s a ‘labourers problem’?

If we read widely online and keep an eye on the media we can get the impression that fewer and fewer people are interested in spiritual matters and that even those interested in some kind of spirituality certainly don’t want anything to do with Jesus, yet Jesus says that the harvest is plentiful. Was that only the situation in Jesus’ time?

If we don’t really believe that the harvest in plentiful we’re not going to even wander out into the field. We just don’t see the point. We’re defeated before we begin. Unless we believe that there’s harvesting to be done, and that there is plenty to be harvested, we’ll be completely ineffective as a labourer.

Has Satan fooled us into thinking that there is no harvest? Is that why we’re being so ineffective? Are we going to continue believing his lie or are we siding with Jesus when he tells us that the harvest is plentiful?

Examine your own thoughts on the harvest and share your thoughts in the comments section of this post.

We may need to repent of the belief that there is little or no harvest. Pray that God will radically change your perception of the harvest and that he will plant in you an urgency to get involved in his plans for this world, starting with your neighbourhood.

It’s time to pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest and to be bold enough to ask if we are the labourers that need to attend to the harvest.

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