tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41129481858969904932024-03-09T12:01:24.992+13:00The Measure You UseDo not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Luke 6:37-38Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-90477391588111692162013-01-06T20:38:00.002+13:002013-01-06T20:38:43.401+13:00Pushing the (Mental) BoundariesThe biggest barrier we always have to overcome is the mental one.<br />
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Whether you want to build a V8 engine, build an 800m tall building, or run a marathon you will only be able to do it if you conquer the mind battle first. If you can believe it, then you can do it.<br />
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I have just finished reading two books that help me to let my mind expand:<br />
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Running to Extremes, by <a href="http://www.lisatamati.co.nz/">Lisa Tamati</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Lydiard-Master-Garth-Gilmour/dp/1458779645">Arthur Lydiard: Master Coach</a>, by Arthur Lydiard and Garth Gilmour<br />
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Both these books broke the limits of what I had believed about running. Both these books took down the fence in my mind about my own running possibility. The fact is, that I don't know what my running possibility is because I haven't experimented enough. <br />
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What I do know is that my 'lofty goals' were very mediocre and were based on all that I could conceive at the time.<br />
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Now I have read of Lisa running for 37 hours in a race and Arthur Lydiard breaking 3hrs for the marathon at 62yrs old.<br />
Now I have read of Lisa having such tremendous will to run, that she woke up running into trees during a 24hr race.<br />
Now I have read that Arthur Lydiard experimented by running 250miles per week when he was younger.<br />
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Now I have read that, I realise that my thinking is limited because I haven't made any more progress towards the edge.<br />
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If I have one goal in 2013 (apart from my stated New Years Resolution: <i>To eat more</i>) then it is to go closer to the edge. Running is a tangible place that I can start. Now that I know that there is a lot more reserve in our body than I previously assumed, I know that only I can stop me achieving more. Actually, up until now it was only me stopping me, but I didn't know that.<br />
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I believe that success in one area flows to other areas precisely because you train your mind to expand and then work towards your new belief. For me running is a proving ground for my mind more than my body. <br />
<br />Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-15260381208461154342011-08-15T20:08:00.001+12:002011-08-15T20:29:53.860+12:00There's no H2O like SnowIn New Zealand we have just had a big blanket of snow fall over most of the country. For many of us in the cities it has been a novelty and a talking point. <br />
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There are many things to say about snow but one of them has to be the beauty that it gives to even the most mundane of outlooks. Even a letter box looks cool with a slab of snow icing on top of it. Trees look great too either being laden with clumps of snow balanced on their evergreen branches or the deciduous trees like skeletons frosted white.<br />
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What adds to the beauty and mystique of snow is the silence with which it falls and the quieting effect it has when fallen. I like the way Simon and Garfunkel refer to snow in their famous song "I am a Rock" as " a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow". Isn't it precious to wake up in the morning and open the curtain to a snowy blanket that settled in the night without a sound!<br />
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I think in NZ right now, snow might just be our favourite form of H2O.<br />
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Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-78761674617665684822011-08-14T15:22:00.000+12:002011-08-14T15:22:55.518+12:00Jesus be the centre of my life - making it happen.I've just been to a couple of night meetings at the Arise Conference 2011 and while I was there booked in to <a href="http://www.ariseconference.org.nz/">Arise Conference 2012</a>. I enjoyed being in the Michael Fowler Centre with around 2000 people who were singing and jumping in worship to Jesus. <br />
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One song that stuck out for me from the Friday night was a song by Israel Houghton called "Jesus be the centre of my life"<br />
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I especially loved to sing this line:<br />
<blockquote>From my heart to the heavens Jesus be the centre. It's all about you, yes it's all about you.</blockquote> These are great lyrics to sing and a great sentiment to have and while you are singing it, you believe you will do it. Often, though as you return from a conference or a high point of experience, you can return to what you were before you went to the conference. John Cameron had a good word in this regard. He said to build a monument and give an offering.<br />
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In the old testament times the Israelites often built <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua+4&version=NIV">monuments</a> of large stones when something significant had happened to remind themselves of that occasion. Every time they would pass it they would see it and remember something great that God had done. It would also be a reminder to be faithful to the plan God had given them.<br />
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What can we do in our culture today to give ourselves reminders of what God has done and the plan he has for us? You can do tons of things but here is one idea. Use your phone. Many of us carry a phone around with us almost 24/7. Why not make a note about what God has done and set an alarm to go off each week to bring that note up.<br />
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Whatever you do, make the effort to appreciate what God has done and honour him by living up to why he did it.Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-5888601549351817812011-08-09T20:19:00.000+12:002011-08-09T20:19:51.200+12:00How do you know if you smell?Have you ever had the experience of realising too late that the garlic you had last night is pouring out of your pores into the noses of your friends or workmates?<br />
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What about the classic question - pooh! who stepped in something? Only to realise when you check your shoes who it was.<br />
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One of the greatest difficulties in life can be to get the right perspective especially about yourself. Because just as you can smell something and assume it is coming from someone else or you can smell of something without being aware of it yourself sometimes in relationships we can be off.<br />
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For instance, how do you know if you are a genius and have an idea that no-one else can see the merits in or are a fool and have an idea there are no merits in? When you have a conflict with someone is it them or you that is the cause? It is so easy to assume we are right. For some of us our default position is to think we are right. Unfortunately, sometimes there is a fault with our default and it is actually our fault.<br />
For me, my default position is that I am right. I cannot really help it, it's the default I have. I do need to be aware of it though and make sure I can get a perspective to see myself in the right light.<br />
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Jesus talked about this tendency to see other people's problems before our own when he said "Don't judge", "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" In other words, maybe you have the problem.<br />
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So, how do you know if you are at fault or the other person? Well here are a few clues from my own experience;<br />
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<ol><li><b>When it's everyone else, it's you</b> - If you are running into several idiots a day and not being understood by any of them... oops!</li>
<li><b>Get a third person's view - </b>If in doubt, take feedback, just make a pact with yourself not to shoot the messenger if you hear what you don't want to.</li>
<li><b>Use a mirror - </b>The Bible can be like a mirror. Looking into what God reveals in the words of the Bible is of value to us if we do it. If you genuinely read the Bible to follow what it says, it is hard to keep the planks (or be concerned about the sawdust actually). </li>
</ol>Ultimately you can still have the Garlic problem, where you don't even know you smell and no amount of huffing into your hand can help you to smell it because you are already desensitised. What you must realise in that case is what goes in, must come out.<br />
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Just like garlic, what we feed ourselves a diet of - in thoughts and desires and influences - will eventually come out of us, even without trying.<br />
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Smell you later.<br />
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Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-91852066350730543432010-09-20T21:44:00.004+12:002010-09-20T22:05:05.082+12:00What have you got to offer?The most you have to offer anyone is yourself!<div>It is easy to forget just how powerful it is when someone makes themselves available to you. Spending time is one thing, but when someone is willing not only to spend time with you but to be available to you, to help you, to encourage you, to enjoy life with you, that is a great gift. </div><div>In the day of so many portable electronic devices it is very easy to be partially there but partially away somewhere else. But often you are neither here nor there, you are in another place, a little bit like Playstation's 'third place'. Ultimately it is a world where you are the centre, where you straddle the divide between where your body is and where your mind is. It is a selfish place in many cases.</div><div><br /></div><div>Am I against cellphones, blackberry's, i-Phones and the like - no, of course not, they are very useful, but they are a neutral force - able to be used well or badly. In my opinion we can be tempted with devices such as these to retreat from the place where we are, where we may have responsibility, where we could interact with what is before us, where we could connect with another human in some meaningful way. We can be tempted to continue to be a receiver - of entertainment, of pastime, of input. And very often the muscle of output atrophies.</div><div>Check yourself, are you fully present with your wife, your kids, your friends, workmates etc? Or are you living in a flux between a cyber entertainment and where your body is?</div><div><br /></div><div>My final word, don't believe the saying; "it's the thought that counts", you know in your own life actions speak louder than words, take action today. </div>Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-57050632768516460512010-06-25T21:33:00.011+12:002011-08-08T21:38:13.371+12:00How do I keep track of all my passwords?If you are <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">anything</span> like me then you will have dozens of different online and other accounts requiring user codes and passwords.<div>
<br /></div><div>How do you keep track of all these different passwords? <div>Obviously writing passwords down is a no-no right? But that means you have to keep them all in your head. Unless you have taken <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four">George Orwell's 1984</a> to heart or you are my wife, you will figure that no-one can mind-read. So in theory keeping everything in your head would be very secure.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>It can sometimes be very secure. So secure in fact, that you yourself cannot recall what the password was for a certain account! That is where the trouble with passwords starts. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>In an effort to remember your password there are few fatal traps you can resort to.</div><div><ol><li> <b>Get lazy</b> - You can use passwords like 'password' or 'drowssap' (password backwards) '123456', 'abc123' or even you own name. This is like leaving the key in the door for any hacker wanting to get into your account.</li><li><b>Get sentimental</b> - you could use the name of someone close to you, but listen, there is no romance in being hacked because you used your loved one's name for a password. This is like leaving the key under the doormat.</li><li><b>Show your colours </b>- This is just a variation of being sentimental but about your favourite sports team instead of your favourite person. This is like leaving your key under the potplant by the door.</li><li><b>Use the same password for everything - </b>This is potentially the worst of all passwords sins. If someone gets hold of this password, they could get into everything and since you use it for everything, the chances someone getting it are much increased! This is like putting your name and address on your key ring with your master key</li></ol>So, if you find yourself described in one of those categories, you have low password security and would benefit from a change of habit. Here's an idea that may help you while also helping you to; </div><div><ul><li>avoid writing down your passwords</li><li>avoid using generic or guessable passwords</li><li>remember your passwords</li><li>increase your security</li></ul>Not all accounts have the same value. That is, your internet bank account probably has more value to you than your carpooling log in. Then there are some that are in the middle, like your gmail password or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/barclayanstiss">Facebook</a>, perhaps your WoW password is in the middle somewhere. Lets say you identify 3 different levels. To help you remember passwords for things that are not that important from a security point of view you could use a single hard to hack password for all those. For level 2 you have a completely different password, perhaps with variations for each application. Level 1 you have a different password for each level 1 account. </div></div><div>
<br /></div><div>Now, does all this make your memory better? No, but perhaps it gives you a framework to remember what password you chose based on the account and maybe the act of being more deliberate about setting the password helps your memory too.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Good luck and change regularly.</div><div>
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<br /></div>Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-8885194200879360092009-09-14T21:16:00.002+12:002009-09-14T21:39:32.268+12:00What we test and what we don'tYou know, sometimes when I am buying shoes or something of relatively low value, I spend months and weeks trying out different ones to decide what I want.<div>I put them on, walk around in them, look at myself in the mirror and ask my wife what she thinks of the shoes.</div><div><br /></div><div>The house I am living in - I didn't even sleep the night in it before buying it!</div><div><br /></div><div>What about new beliefs? Do I fully check them out before buying them? Do I test them, do I see if they check out, do I talk to others about them? </div><div>I Thessalonians 5:21 says "Test everything. Hold onto the good."</div><div><br /></div><div>Some things we do test. The thoughts and beliefs we actively choose to pursue are likely to be tested - that is the front door so to speak.</div><div><br /></div><div>But there are many other thoughts and beliefs coming to us that we don't seek out. These come through the words and actions of others (and ourselves), our culture, our church, our surroundings and media sources to name some. The unspoken assumptions and inferences that are behind what people say and do come to us and present themselves as the truth. They try to enter in the backdoor and windows of our heart and mind. They may not get the test unless we realise what we are receiving and measure it, test it, check it out to see if it is a truthful belief or not. </div><div><br /></div><div>II Corinthians 10:5 says "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ"</div><div><br /></div><div>Be alert to what you are building your life on and make sure it aligns to the Truth of Jesus</div><div><br /></div>Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-20276251965938872852009-09-08T21:29:00.002+12:002009-09-08T21:34:20.985+12:00Praying without ceasingI have been having some thoughts on prayer recently. It is the lifeblood of our relationship to God at a personal level and also corporate.<div><br /></div><div>Check out my <a href="http://www.cfuh.org.nz/launch/media.php">latest sermon on prayer</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-32911853159595403572009-06-28T21:44:00.002+12:002009-06-28T21:52:01.294+12:00The measure of greatnessWhether someone's leadership is great or not depends on what criteria you use to measure greatness. Jesus says the degree to which someone will serve others is the degree to which they are great in his eyes. <a href="http://www.cfuh.org.nz/launch/media.php">Hear my recent sermon on MP3 - The measure of greatness</a>.Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-56453152169773300652009-03-16T21:13:00.003+13:002009-03-16T21:29:39.469+13:00Living in God's will. Part IV - Prosperity?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Some people say that one way we can know we are in God's will, is when we are prospering, since God brings blessing. Let's have a quick look at this verse: </span></div><div><br /></div>"I can do everything through him that gives me strength"</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div>This is the kind of verse that sports people often put on their gear or person when competing (eg. <a href="http://www.evanderholyfield.com/">Evander Holyfield</a>) and others preach from or quote from to make a declaration that the world is their oyster. </div><div><br /></div><div>Taking a look at its context lets look at the 2 verses before</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Php 4:11b-13</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things though him who gives me strength"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div>So prosperity alone is not a guide. Also check Jesus: the son of man has no place to rest his head...</div><div><br /></div>Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-22433021414135061592008-11-12T10:39:00.003+13:002008-11-12T10:55:45.659+13:00Living in God's will. Part IIISo far I have danced around the issue of knowing whether you 'in God's will' or not. Firstly I have said we are all out of it to some degree ala the 10 commandments and other moral standards. Secondly there is the consideration of specific will and how far it's detail extends. Sufficed to say that whatever level you subscribe to, you will probably be aware that you are unable to perfectly live up to it. So I have gotten away with being able to say that we are always out of God's will to some degree but that would be such a dualistic view.<div>Accepting that we aren't perfect and will never perfectly live as Christians does not excuse us from following Jesus to the degree we can, and it is this degree that I now want to make the focus of the question of living in God's will. </div><div><br /></div><div>First we should note that the possibility of our ever being perfect is totally ruled out by I John 1 so the issue is not perfection, the issue is where we are pointing - what pilots would call attitude, what yachties would call heading, what John Mitchell would call journey. Boiling it all down to the moment - is what you are choosing taking a step toward Jesus or not? Here is where it gets interesting because this is where people have different views on WWJD and therefore what we should do. I will discuss some of the tools we have to judge whether we are stepping to Jesus or away and will also refer to views of what is holy and what is not.</div>Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-31674452543174892082008-11-10T21:17:00.003+13:002008-11-12T10:24:33.192+13:00How do you know if you are living in God's will? Part IILast post we looked at God's general will and our example was the 10 commandments as well as the way Jesus developed it in the sermon on the mount. Now we will look at what people most often mean when they talk about being in or out of God's will - his specific will.<div><br /></div><div>The concept of God's specific will is the idea that God has something or things that he wants you to do. It could be a task or a role. God wanted Abram to sacrifice his son Isaac (or did he) which is an example of a task. For a role you could look at Jesus - to be the sinless saviour or Paul to take the Gospel to the Gentiles.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, the range of what you could believe about specific will is huge - ranging from God has a task he wants you to do, to several tasks (like points on a map), to the exact path of your life all mapped out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Personally I find it a little to navel-gazy to analyse each and every action I take all day wondering whether it is God's will! I ask myself, is it God's will that I live in constant anxiety and concern to be perfect? and the answer I get is no! We have already established that none of us even keeps all the commandments let alone other descriptions of perfect behaviour so instead of wondering whether we have been perfect we can simply know we will not have been.</div><div><br /></div><div>That doesn't mean there isn't room for reflection and soul-searching however most of life should consist of living and then we will have something to reflect on.</div><div><br /></div><div>What I do believe is that God gives us a place in life where we can step up to serve him in a way that fits with our personality, strengths, weaknesses and accumulated experience. It is still our choice to do so, however whatever choice you make can be lasting. You can choose to go on a roller coaster for instance, but cannot choose to get off halfway through. This is a concept of freewill that I have not often heard talked about, but I think it is vital to understand that free choice does mean we are in total control it just means that we are responsible and we can start off and end processes in our life by our choices. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-72657745456808168552008-10-15T22:10:00.004+13:002008-11-12T10:23:08.430+13:00How do you know if you are living in God's will? Part IYour approach to this question will depend on where you are on the belief spectrum between God's detailed predestination of your life and his gift of free will to people. I believe in completely free will but know that I am nowhere near good enough, smart enough or wise enough to live without offering my life and choices to God. Furthermore, I can trust his judgement and desire to bless me more than I can trust my own judgement so I try to use my free will to be in the places and situations that God sees as best. <div><br /></div><div>In actual fact, to even have this question you must believe that you have free will, otherwise, what would it matter if you were in or out of God's will, you were predestined!</div><div><br /></div><div>So what measure or measures do you you use to determine if you are in God's will?</div><div>Firstly, there are the obvious things like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments">10 commandments</a></div><div><ol><li>Have no other gods</li><li>Have no idols</li><li>Do not use the Lords name in vain</li><li>Remember the sabbath</li><li>Honour you father and your mother</li><li>Do not murder </li><li>Do not commit adultery</li><li>Do not steal</li><li>Do not give false testimony</li><li>Do not covet</li></ol><div>Now most honest people will realise that they do not keep all 10 all the time, however it gets even more drastic when you take into account what Jesus said in the <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=5&version=31">sermon on the mount</a> that even committing these acts in your heart is sin. </div><div><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=69&chapter=1&version=31">1 John 1:8</a> says: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and truth is not in us. So at the first level we are always out of God's will, not just because we sin but because we aren't perfect... to be continued!</div><div><blockquote></blockquote><br /></div><div><blockquote></blockquote><br /></div></div>Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-3509612458293714422008-10-08T21:27:00.003+13:002008-10-08T21:36:45.994+13:00Good Quote"The State is the great fictitious entity by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else."<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- <a href="http://mises.org/about/3227">Frederic Bastiat</a> (1801 - 1850)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> 19th Century French Economist<br /></div>Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-73650423338799745212008-10-06T20:23:00.003+13:002008-10-06T20:39:53.756+13:00Spin<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_spin#Spin">Spin</a> is the euphemistic term we use to describe misuse of information. It was previously known as misrepresenting the truth or bluntly, lying. The trick of spin is it is a degree of lying mixed with a degree of truth. It purports to be the whole truth though.<div><br /></div><div>Politicians are well known to use spin as one of their tools, listed businesses also. When it is used from one country to the next we call it propaganda. But what do we call it when we use it as an individual?</div><div><br /></div><div>Pride, boasting, egoism, denial, twisting the truth, fibbing, lying!</div><div>It is not merely putting your best foot forward, it is claiming that your foot is better than it really is, that you are more that you really are. </div><div><br /></div><div>How often are you willing to let people think you contributed more to a project than you really did? That success was due to you more than it really was? That your faults are smaller and your strengths greater than they really are? If truth is your goal, then spin cannot be.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-4300735724113972212008-06-09T20:52:00.003+12:002015-08-29T21:22:02.928+12:00Do not judge and you will not be judged<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Do you find it hard not to judge people? I didn't think I did, that is until I started thinking about it. I was right about some areas, I am not very judgemental, in fact I probably don't care enough about some things I see to have to struggle about whether I am judgemental or not. But as I have thought about it in the last few weeks, I have seen that I am more judgemental than I first thought. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">For example, for a lot of things I am very non-judgemental, things like what people wear, believe and say. Even if it's not my belief or taste, I am happy for people to have their freedom.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">But there are 2 things I have noticed. I think I am smokist and fatist. I don't smoke and have never done so, nor have I ever struggled with weight/body issues. There is something about smoking and obesity that I just don't deal with very well. Of course I know people in both camps (some in both) and I do not sit there actively hating them, however, I find myself being very unmerciful toward them. "If I don't smoke why does anyone need to continue such a habit", "I can keep my weight under control, why can't everyone" etc...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">No doubt I have many more judgemental 'ist's', and I think the basis of being judgemental toward others revolves around one thing... me! Judging others, whether we admit it or not, is about seeing ourselves in a positive light and what better way to do that than to contrast other's imperfections with our perceived strengths, or at least to put them below ourselves. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">There are so many things wrong with judging others but here's just a few to think about: </span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Judging others means we take our focus off the perfection of God. - If we judged ourselves by God's standard, we would realise that his perfection is so far out of our reach that we would not even kid ourselves by comparing our 'goodness' to others weakness.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Judging others takes our focus on what God is requiring of us - We distract ourselves with the self gossip of judging others in our mind, keeping us from meditating on our own need to be conformed to Jesus.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Judging others sets us up in opposition to them. Whilst we are judging, we are providing ourselves with reasons why we do not have to love and support and identify with others.</span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Jesus said "why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?... ...you hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye" (Matt 7)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">When you go to take the plank out of your own eye, you soon realise your own warped view. Having compared yourself to God and started to rely on him for change you are then in a position to help others because you will be pointing them to God not your own virtue, and you will be in the same boat as them.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><a href="https://www.parentsinc.org.nz/who-are-we/">Ian Grant</a>, who is a Christian communicator in New Zealand often describes himself in this way when talking of his relationship with God and encouraging others to go to God: "I'm just one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">I like that. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">So next time I find myself judging, I will remember my place and look to God to help me with my own plank first...</span></div>
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Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112948185896990493.post-31857932345636270342008-06-04T22:00:00.004+12:002008-06-04T23:18:59.759+12:00The measure you use<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">How we think about and treat others will affect us.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Check this out:</span></span></div><blockquote></blockquote>"Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running, over will be poured into your lap. For with <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">he measure you use</span> it will be measured to you." - Luke 6:37-38</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Have you ever noticed how stingy people never have enough money. On the other hand, some people who are generous still seem to have an excess after all they give away. Now some may say, it is easy for those with a lot to give something away - of course they still have plenty left - but me, I haven't got much. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Someone once said, you cannot receive unless you have open your hands and this is one way I think of this verse. If you are in the habit of giving, money and resources have a way of finding their way to you. You will no doubt know people who exemplify this reality in their life.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">This is not all about money though, don't judge or condemn and you won't be either, forgive and you will be forgiven. These ones are potentially harder to quantify in a way that can be compared from life to life however the presence of judgementalism, grudgeholding and condemning people can certainly be detected as can those who are freeing, encouraging and generous spirits.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The big key about this passage though is that this isn't simply Karma ie. you do something good and the universe does something good for you, this is God. When it comes down to it, whatever we do will be seen by God and it is him who ultimately oversees what we receive. As the last half of the passage illustrates, what God gives to us always exceeds what we give.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">If I was going to sum this passage up in just two words I would say - Be Generous - be generous in allowing people the benefit of the doubt, be generous in building people up, be generous in giving to people what you have... be generous!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div>Barclay Anstisshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11225431648647794278noreply@blogger.com1