Rangitata, Parachute & The Heart

Hey :) I hope you are all doing well. Let me just update you on some of the highlights of the past couple weeks! Last weekend 8 of us from the crossing (Amber, Kelsey, Joel, Michael, Bryan, Sheryl, Angela and I) decided we would experience Rangitata Rafting, so we went white water rafting for about four hours down the Rangitata River. It was a pretty awesome experience I would say. I shall put up some pictures up in the near future because while we were rafting they had a photographer going down the river to get some lovely action shots of us. Some of them are quite entertaining actually haha. The water varied from class 2 to class 5 on a scale of difficulty. Class 5 is the highest level for rapids, but the rapids progressed gradually from 2 to 5 most of the time, and they usually came in sections. For example, you would be a clam spot go through some rapids, get to a calmer spot, go to some rapids, etc. So it wasn’t a constant bombardment of crazy water the whole time. Also halfway through the rafting experience we went cliff diving which was pretty cool as well, the highest point which we jumped from was only 11metres, but I’ve never done it before so it was scary enough for me. It has inspired me to want to go bungee jumping now though so I am going to see if a bunch of us can take a car up to Queenstown some random weekend.

That was last weekend, and this weekend I actually flew up to the north island to Auckland then driving to Hamilton with Kelsey and Bryan and we went to something called Parachute. Parachute is basically this huge Christian music festival with over 130 bands and 30,000 people. It was pretty rad to say the least; we actually ended up staying with Bryan’s friends JJ and Alex in their tent for the weekend. There were actually areas reserved for tenting since the fee to tent was included in ticket prices so it was basically like a huge village of tents everywhere you looked. The first day we got there (Saturday) it was ridiculously hot around 27 I think. The next day on Sunday it poured rain so much, there actually was a bit of flooding because it was raining so hard. Some of the walkways were up to our knees in water, tents were flooded, signs were floating around. It was because the festival is right by this creek called Mystery Creek and it must have overflowed into the surrounding area. It was still bearable though and everyone seemed to stay. I will put up some of our pictures from Parachute sometime soon as well! Some of my favorite headlining acts were Leeland, Switchfoot, Parachute Band and Hillsong United. The very last band was Hillsong United at 10:30 P.M. on Sunday night and it was so amazing. Previous to their show the rain had cleared up for quite awhile, but soon after they came on it started pouring ridiculously. It was so cool though to worship in the rain like that and to me it just added a whole new element to me. I love rain, it just seem to be such a purifying thing to me.

Anyways those were my highlights for the past two weeks! Other than that we have just been learning as usual, hanging out together, and enjoying the sun when it comes around. I shall start updating more often again now that I am back on track with schedules and what not. I suppose I shall let you know a little bit more about what I have been learning this last little while. Werner Schreiber has been teaching us lately; he is one of our more usual teachers as this is at least the third time he has been teaching us. Werner’s favorite topic to teach about the condition of the heart and he usually integrates it into most of his teachings. We’ve been going through 2 Corinthians these past few days in which Paul is proving to the Corinthians that he was a true apostle of Christ when others were saying he was not.

The Corinthians were very well off and reflected much of the Western Society we live in today that is focused on individualism, materialism, the value of appearances, etc. In the culture we live in image is everything and as long as the outside looks good then everything is good. The outside needs to match the inside or else Christianity ends up looking like an empty shell devoid of any genuine meaning as there must be a balance of relationship and application. If someone sees a person act in two different ways i.e. in a church setting and then completely different at home, it just makes someone think Christianity must be a lie, that it isn’t legitimate. As Paul says, “We can say with honest confidence and clear conscience that we have been honest and sincere in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own earthly wisdom. That is how we have acted toward everyone and especially toward you”. Paul is laying out to the Corinthians that other “false apostles” who have been accusing him of being a fake have no grounds as he, inside and out, reflects integrity of the work Christ has done in his life.

Paul reflects a deep concern and love throughout his letter and by doing so reflects the mark of a true apostle of Christ. When Paul expresses his love it is a manifestation of Christ, as selfless love is Christ’s love. Human love is conditional, divine love does what human love never can: “love your enemies”. As Paul says “[T]he only letters of recommendation we need (to prove our authenticity) is you yourselves! Your lives are a letter written in our hearts, and everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you”. People who have been really changed and transformed are a stamp of authenticity as the lives of people Paul worked with were changed. The written code and law of religion is unable to change the heart. Many religions have a tablet of stone (written code or law), but if your heart is not changed the tablet is not real. You only find new ways to cover up what is in your heart, pushing it back.

When talking about the human heart in this sense it means the real person, the real inner being behind everything we do. It is referred to repeatedly in scripture. This condition of our heart is often hidden from us, but there are moments of difficulty, whether small or large, in which God tests us. The natural reaction that stirs up within us is a revelation of what is truly in our heart whether it be anger, jealously, insecurity, etc. When you put something under pressure that is when the contents will come out, when the real person will come out. Is it Christ who comes out in these situations for us? For Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13: 5, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is really genuine. Test yourselves. If you cannot tell that Jesus Christ is in you, it means you have failed the test”.

Of course this does not mean that we are to be perfect, but as God gradually reveals the condition of our hearts as he tests us and then we can learn from Him about areas he needs to work within us. As Werner often jokes if God were to completely reveal our hearts to us all at once we would probably be completely overwhelmed and have something along the lines of a heart attack.

The world today is all about compromise, all paths are right, all are possible, etc. Yet we shouldn’t get stuck on religious issues, rather LIFE issues. No religion in the world can change the human heart because that is the living God’s domain. All have the inability to change the heart. A change beyond the ability of mere psychology, education, etc. but truly changing the heart, not hiding it. There is no religion comparable to the relationship of the living God. Christianity isn’t a religion; it’s a relationship with the living God.

Yup, so that is just even a small taste of what I have been learning about. Quite marginal actually, but I just thought I could give you all a more thorough example of some things I have learned here. It’s just some things Werner has been teaching us through 2 Corinthians and how it can be applied to our lives today.

I am going to bed though so goodnight :) It’s probably about 3 a.m. back home so you’re probably asleep as I post this. So sweet dreams!