Signs of the Times - July 2024

Moesha Johnson: From rural Australia to Paris 2024 a christian perspective on the world today

In this issue July 2024 WHAT IN THE WORLD Pg 04 LONGING FOR THE LAND Pg 06 CITIZENS AND CARETAKERS Pg 12 DISCOVERING YOUR VALUE Pg 18

DIVING INTO GOD’S PLAN Moesha Johnson’s miraculous journey to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games PAGE 32

JUSTIN’S JOURNEY, FATHER’S LOVE Pg 24 ASK PASTOR JESSE Pg 30 WHO ARE YOU? Pg 38 HEALTH NEWS FOR EVERYBODY Pg 46 COUNTRY, COMMUNITY AND CONNECTION Pg 48

FREUD’S LAST SESSION Pg 54 18

SUDOKU AND CROSSWORD PUZZLE Pg 62 NAIDOC WEEK

#NAIDOC2024 #BLAKLOUDPROUD @naidocweek @naidocweek facebook.com/NAIDOC

Urapun Muy by Deb Belyea SAMUAWGADHALGAL, TORRES STRAIT ‘Urapun Muy’, from the Kalaw Kawaw Ya dialect of the Top Western Islands of the Torres Strait, means ‘One Fire’. The title of this work pays homage to Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal people everywhere, as we all have that one fire: our passion for our culture.

In this work, I have depicted the hands of our ancestors that have carefully dropped a burning ember on to a fire. This ember burns hot with intensity, stoking the flames, as it combines with the new fire. The linear detail shows the energy and power as cultural knowledge is transferred from our ancestors to us today. Culture is the fire that gives us knowledge, wisdom and purpose.

It is our responsibility to maintain, practice, and pass on our fire to our future generations.

Afterall, Culture keeps us Blak, Loud and Proud.

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Aboriginal Flag designed by Mr Harold Thomas.

Torres Strait Islander Flag reproduced by kind permission of the Torres Strait Island Regional Council, designed by the late Mr Bernard Namok

naidoc.org.au

@SIGNSMAG

Under My Skin I remember when Cathy Freeman won gold in the 400m event at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and in doing so, wrote herself into the history books. As an Australian, it was particularly exciting because we’re traditionally not very successful when it comes to sprint distances. She also lit the torch at the 2000 Olympics, so for her to win was fitting.

Yet, Cathy Freeman is more than an Australian Olympian. Today, she is a proud Indigenous woman who works in organisations that advocate for closing the gap in education between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. We are glad to celebrate Indigenous Australians when we can claim some part of their success—whether a gold medal or winning sports team. But what about the uncomfortable areas? Last year’s referendum showed that Australia is still deeply divided about the place Indigenous Australians have in this country, with the result leaving many feeling disenfranchised and undervalued. Yet the Bible reminds us that all human beings are “made in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27) and the call to love our neighbour is especially relevant when that person looks different to us.

As we head into another Olympics and the eyes of the world turn toward Paris, this month we’re once again celebrating our Indigenous brothers and sisters. We share Justin’s powerful story of overcoming with God’s help (p 24) and learn more about the faith of our Indigenous family (p48). We speak to an Olympic hopeful about faith and competition (p32) and much, much more. We hope you join us as we uplift our Indigenous brothers and sisters.

JARROD STACKELROTH Editor

VOL 139 138 NO 6 7

ISSN 1038-9733 EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brad Kemp EDITOR Jarrod Stackelroth ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jesse Herford ASSISTANT EDITOR Zanita Fletcher COPYEDITOR Tracey Bridcutt GRAPHIC DESIGN Theodora Pau’u Talia Valderrama PHONE +61 2 9847 2222 EMAIL info@signsofthetimes.org.au WEBSITE signsofthetimes.org.au ADDRESS Adventist Media PO Box 1115, Wahroonga New South Wales 2076 SUBSCRIPTIONS Kelli Geelan PHONE +61 3 5965 6300 Australia/New Zealand, $A28/$NZ30; South Pacific countries, $A41; Other countries $A51 Published since 1886, Signs of the Times is printed 11 times a year by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is registered as a periodical.

Seventh-day Adventist Church (SPD) Limited ABN 59 093 117 689 NOTE The inclusion of a person or their image within does not imply their endorsement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church or its beliefs.

Unless otherwise stated, Bible verses are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, Anglicised.

Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc®. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton. All rights reserved worldwide.

COVER IMAGE: Moesha CREDIT Johnson

WHAT IN THE WORLD

RELATIONSHIP SLUMPS UNITED STATES

FROM CLOTHING TO CLAY AUSTRALIA

According to the Australian Fashion Council, about 210,000 tons of clothing is thrown away every year in Australia. For the past five years, scientists at Deakin University in Geelong have been trialling different methods to figure out how to recycle Australia’s growing textile waste.

They have discovered they can grind up waste textiles and turn them into pigment paste, clay or powder to re-dye new textiles.—ABC News 4

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URIEL MONT, MATREDING—PEXELS, DAVID MARCU, DOUG LINSTEDT—UNSPLASH

A meta-analysis revealed intriguing patterns in relationship satisfaction across the lifespan. Typically, satisfaction hits a low point at the 10-year mark, hits another low around age 40, then gradually rises until age 65, stabilising in late adulthood. This decline is especially notable in early relationship years, with children often influencing these patterns. To weather these ups and downs and maintain relationship health, it’s advised that couples dedicate time to regularly reflect on their partnership.—Psychological Bulletin

110 YEARS OF WISDOM CAIRO

Fatima, a 110-year-old Sudanese refugee and mother of seven, was the first person to open a school for girls in her hometown of Maqal, Sudan. She is the oldest member of a group of women who moved to Cairo, Egypt, as refugees.

The women meet to pool their money and make financial decisions for the good of others. Their savings allow them to help vulnerable women, create financial security and support each other to set up businesses. Fatima is the eldest of them all and has affectionately been given the nickname “Umena” which means “mother”.—The Good News Hub

THE RUNNING REVOLUTION

MEGA HEALTH CLINIC

Record numbers of Kiwis have been attending run clubs and signing up for marathons this year, thanks to a so-called running revolution that has been trending on social media apps.

Run club coordinators say they’ve seen thousands of new participants commit to the early-morning meetups. Individuals are drawn to the affordability and that they can get some exercise and socialising in before they start their day.

—NZ Herald

The Seventh-day Adventist Church recently ran a health clinic in Togoba, Western Highlands, PNG. The clinic saw 10,435 patients and provided more than 18,000 services in areas such as dental, cataract removal and general medicine. People travelled from all over PNG and, for some, it was the first time they had ever seen a doctor.—Adventist Record

NEW ZEALAND

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

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Longing for

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the Land

Desire is a tricky emotion for all of us. But it can also motivate us to do great things—and give us a taste of a world we all yearn for.

STIJN DIJKSTRA—PEXELS

JOSHUA STOTHERS

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R

ecently, I started going to the gym again after a few years off. Becoming a parent can disrupt the best of intentions. While I felt a bit intimidated getting back into it, I’ve really enjoyed adding it back into my rhythm. My body feels stiffer and sorer than it used to, but at the same time, I’m feeling the continual progress and loving the challenge. One side effect I had forgotten about when adding a large amount of exercise into my routine is how hungry it can make me. I like to eat a lot normally and have to use great self-control to eat a reasonable amount of food, but exercising a lot just seems to make me ravenous. I feel as though I could just endlessly eat and not bat an eye—though anyone watching me no doubt would. The science behind it seems simple to me. Your body burns more energy exercising in addition to the energy needed to fuel your regular

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daily habits, so it fuels the desire to acquire more energy through food (kilojoules) to be able to prepare to continue doing this. More energy out, so the body needs more energy in. For most people, if you spend more energy than you store, you will probably lose weight as your body burns off your reserves (body fat) rather than food to fuel its functions.

If you input more energy than you output, your body will stockpile energy to increase said reserves.

The problem is that in modern culture, many of us find it easier to take more in than we put out, ending up with a stockpile of reserves we don’t really need. This doesn’t just go for food, though. Humanity seems to have an in-built disposition towards hoarding more and more—more than we really need. Just look at how many houses have double car garages yet both cars get parked in front because the whole garage is full

chronic state of unsatisfied desire.

Like an itch that just no matter how often you scratch it, it just does not go away.”1 It’s true. We see humanity has an insatiable appetite for . . . well, almost everything. Sometimes this gets horribly out of control and can cause major harm—not just for individuals, but for whole communities. Think about how corporate greed has led to huge amounts of worker mistreatment and environmental destruction.

Thankfully though, sometimes hunger manifests in positive ways, too. I love stories of someone catching a vision for a better tomorrow and becoming so hungry for it that they chase it with everything they’ve got. I think of figures like Martin Luther King Jr who caught a dream of a world where places that are “sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice” and where people “will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character”. He chased after this so passionately right up until his death. Likewise, his desire fuelled a hunger in so many others to run after this beautiful vision even today.

Desire is a great motivator. It gets us out of bed in the morning, inspires us to work out, build a business— you name it! Unfortunately, when it spirals out of control, we get in trouble. So, the big question is, what can be done about this? Does God have a plan here or is He just sitting

SHASHANK BRAHMAVAR—PEXELS

of stuff! Greed and fear often drive people to continue to amass more and more because they feel they never have enough—and if they don’t get it, someone else will.

Even when asking someone about money, the answer to the question “how much is enough?” is something along the lines of “just a bit more”. It doesn’t seem to matter if someone is struggling to live pay cheque-topay cheque or if they’ve got Scrooge McDuck levels of wealth. Everyone seems to have their eyes locked on clawing for just a bit more.

I really like what pastor and author John Mark Comer says about this: “Desire is infinite. Meaning it has no limit. There’s no point at which desire is ever satisfied. And because we are finite (we inhabit time and space, I’m in one body, one gender, one marriage, one city, one job, one family, one life, one story), the end result is restlessness. We live with a

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back to watch? I think CS Lewis in his beautiful book Mere Christianity hits the nail on the head by saying, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” Within us is a desire that cannot be fully satisfied by anything here on earth.

Well, at least not as it is now. The Bible talks about a time when God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

All our desires will be completely satisfied—not just for a moment—but forever. We will live in the endless satisfaction of life how it was originally intended. I hope you now have a little more hope that the best is on its way—but what if you are struggling with desire right now? Here’s some practices that have helped me.

I try to take time every day to write down or think about things I am grateful for. Whether it be great things that happened in my day; camels, strawberries, a TV show, a Bible verse that stands out etc. I just note a few things as often as I can, and it has made me so much more satisfied with the life I have.

Sabbath

This is a time when I do my best to stop consuming and stockpiling and 10

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LOCHLAINN RIORDAN, MICHAEL TUSZYNSKI—UNSPLASH

gratitude

just rest; 24 hours where I don’t shop and try not to dwell on all the things I wish I had but just spend time with God and the people I love and serving others. It regularly gives me a small glimpse into what the New Earth will look like as I practice that life weekly.

generosity

While it can feel good to receive something, it feels great to give. It also makes me less attached to all my stuff and more attached to what matters: people.

I struggle to even wrap my head around what a world without pain or suffering would look like because it is just so foreign to my world. There is so much that could be unpacked about this, but right now I just want to focus on desire. The promise here is not that God will take us away forever but that one day there will be a whole new earth. A restored earth. An earth that is not corrupted by fear, greed or evil as we know it now, but where there is no pain and no tears. A world that fully realises the good ways that God intended for His creation. A world where we all have all we need because we dwell with God, the Giver of all life. A world where we each live a life of perfect love for one another like Jesus showed us in His life here on earth.

Joshua Stothers is a musician, podcaster and pastor. He lives and ministers in Sydney, Australia.

1. John Mark Comer, “Sabbath pt1/Rest For Your Soul/Matthew 11v28-12v1”, <youtube.com/watch?v=FNkzlg-9_mY&ab_channel=Brian>.

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Citizens and Caretakers

As a non-indigenous Australian, I have often found it difficult to relate to the connection Aboriginal peoples have with the land.

As it turns out, the Bible has some surprising insights we can all learn from.

JESSE HERFORD 12

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OVERVIEWS—GETTY IMAGES AND IMAGE SUPPLIED

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f you’re reading this article in the month it is published, there’s a good chance I already have or currently am climbing Wave Rock.

Called Katter Kich in the Nyungar dialect, Wave Rock is an enormous granite cliff face in the shape of—you guessed it—a wave that protrudes from the surface of the earth in the middle of Western Australia’s Wheatbelt. It forms the north face of a hill called Hyden Rock—named after a nearby town.

The traditional custodians of the land, the Ballardong people, tell the story of how the rock was carved out by the Rainbow Serpent as she dragged her body along the land.

However, a geology teacher will tell you a very different story about Wave Rock’s genesis. It is just a tiny portion of a large craton known as the Yilgarn Craton. If you need to brush up on your geomorphology, here’s a simplified explanation. A craton is an extremely old rock layer consisting of the planet’s two top layers: the crust and mantle. The continental crust (the surface layer) forms around 41 per cent of the planet’s surface area and is typically around 30-to-70km thick.1 Wave Rock bursts through the continental crust to reveal the layer below—a layer most of us won’t ever see outside documentaries and diagrams.

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look at a landmark like Wave Rock as a place to own, leverage or exploit, an Indigenous person would see it as a treasure to safeguard. The same attitude is held by many Indigenous cultures around the world.

Unsurprisingly, the connection to land isn’t unique to Indigenous peoples. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, records the history of the earliest peoples to walk the earth.

In Genesis 12, there is a moment when the story shifts from what scholars call “the Primeval history” to the protagonists of the story—the protagonists we will follow throughout the rest of the Hebrew Bible. We are introduced to Abram and his wife Sarai who live in the land of Harran.

One day, God says to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS SUPPLIED BY AUTHOR

brother and sisters, exploring small caves, poking at lizards and avoiding the occasional snake. I had no idea that the land I was exploring was such a geological treasure.

For most non-indigenous people like me, the land is primarily associated with our finances and livelihood. The land is where we raise our families, host parties and, if we’re lucky, grow old. To Indigenous peoples though, land ownership is a foreign concept. The land encapsulates culture, family, identity and more. Most Aboriginal people think of themselves as part of the land, connected to it, even owned by it, rather than the other way around.

This is why Aboriginal people refer to themselves more as “custodians” or “caretakers”. In the words of Indigenous elder Bob Randall, “The land owns us . . . everything that has [lived] has died—but the land is still here.”2 Where another person might

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will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the people on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:1–3). What an offer! This is the starting point for the story of Abraham’s family; a family that would indeed become a nation. The history of the nation of Israel contains highs and lows, victories and defeats and many, many stories that are both incredibly human, but also reveal the character of God. The entire story is too long and complicated to relay here, but I want to focus on the relationship of the people and the land—and what it can teach us about the lands we all inhabit. Originally settling in the land called Canaan, Abraham’s descendants are eventually enslaved in Egypt—for 400 years, in fact. Led by Moses, the nation makes a dramatic escape and after 40 years of wandering in the desert, enter the Promised Land. Through a bloody war, they settle and take up residence in the land God had promised them.

Residing on the land wasn’t just a free ride though—there were terms and conditions. In Leviticus, God gives many such instructions: “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land” (Leviticus 25:23,24). In a sense that in many ways echoes an Indigenous perspective toward land

ownership, God seemingly limits the extent to which Hebrews can feel “at home” in their new home. God reminds them that it was He who gave them the land as a “possession” and that He is asking them to be caretakers, not landlords. God even goes so far as to remind them that they are foreigners in the land; a motif that may sound familiar to Bible readers who recall God’s commands regarding treatment of immigrants (Leviticus 19:33,34). However, all of this is not to say ancient Israelites were nomads, refusing to put down roots.

They built cities, planted crops, squabbled over border disputes, worshipped at holy sites and more.

Through it all though, their reverence for the land was not lost. In the rabbinic tradition, the land is called an ahuzza, that is, a “holding”—a gift from God. To Jewish people both anciently and today, there is no other land like Israel. The Talmud even goes as far as to say, “The air of the Land of Israel makes one wise.” Of course, we must acknowledge that Palestinian people also consider the same region their ancestral home.

We should all pray that both the land and its people find peace.

If, like me, you don’t have a blood connection to the land, it’s tempting to feel somewhat left out. But there’s good news for all of us! The apostle Paul, writing to a multi-ethnic group of Jesus followers, lays out God’s astonishing plan for those outside the blessing of Israel. “Remember that at that time you were separate JULY 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). By the time of Jesus, the Jewish religious system had become so exclusive that Gentiles (non-Jews) were reviled as “ceremonially unclean”. Imagine refusing to associate with your next-door neighbour on the basis of their ethnicity. Well, perhaps we don’t have to imagine too hard. Either way, Paul says that in Jesus, He has “made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (2:14). The aim? To welcome non-Jews into the kingdom.

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people” (2:19). In the Land the Lord Jesus reigns over, we are all welcome. Though we all come from different walks of life, He treats us like family.

This paradigm has shifted the way

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I think about not only my faith, but also the world around me. If “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1), then that means I am its caretaker, no matter my ethnicity.

As a grateful recipient of the good news that Jesus has welcomed me, a stranger into His land, I now have a responsibility to His land, as well as the people it supports. When I think of beautiful places like Wave Rock, I am reminded that if I choose to follow Jesus, I will likewise be invited into an exciting vocation—to be a caretaker of the land God has made, both for the benefit of those who currently live there, and in anticipation to the day when He will make all things new (Revelation 21:1–5).

Jesse Herford is a pastor and associate editor for the Australia/New Zealand edition of Signs of the Times. He lives in Canberra, Australia with his wife, daughter and their miniature schnauzer, Banjo.

1 <sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/ crustal-thickness> 2. “The Land Owns Us”, Global Oneness Project, <youtube.com/ watch?v=w0sWIVR1hXw>

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Discovering YourValue The days are shorter, colder and greyer.

If you’re finding it more difficult to stay cheery in the midst of winter, you’re not alone.

ZACH TAN

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MASTERCOWLEY—PEXELS

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H

ave you ever heard of the “mid-year blues”? Also known as “seasonal affective disorder” (which has a fitting acronym), it is a phenomenon not limited to but occurs mostly around winter where people begin to wonder if their lives have any value at all. It sounds a lot like an existential crisis, except that it’s not necessarily as dramatic or overly philosophical. Often, it can involve a decrease in interest or motivation towards our jobs, our school or any other aspect of our lives. As the temperatures cool and the days shorten in winter, many feel the effects, both body and mind.

It’s around this time when many people ask themselves: does my life have value?

Did it have any in the first place?

The extreme conditions make these existential questions seem more pressing. Every day we wake up to the same routine, day in, day out. When it feels as if we’re merely floating through the river of time, it’s easy to get dulled and lose sight of what made us once so passionate.

that we need to be reminded just how much we are truly worth. The biblical authors remind us that each of us are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) in God’s own image (Genesis 1:27). From our very conception, much care has been put into making us who we are. Even if everyone forgets us, or we forget ourselves, God promises that “[He] will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15).

The story of Jesus dying for our sins is one of the greatest love stories in the world. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). How spectacular is that?

No-one would die for something without value, so for God to be willing to pay such a high price for our eternal freedom proves that He finds something in us worth cherishing. No matter how we feel toward life in our ever-shifting seasons, God extends the invitation for us to be a “chosen people” (1 Peter 2:9). He has plans for everyone, “plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

There are so many promises in the Bible that uncounted books about them have been written and line the

FRANCESCOCH—GETTY IMAGES

It is when we are most down that we need to be reminded just how much we are truly worth

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purposeful design

It is when we are most down

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shelves of bookstores everywhere.

Isn’t that comforting?

Knowing how much we’re valued, however, doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll automatically snap out of the self-depreciating funk the mid-year blues enjoy putting us through.

This is where NEWSTART comes in. NEWSTART (Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunlight, Temperance, Air, Rest and Trust in God) is an ultra-practical set of tools designed to enhance every aspect of your life and help you feel the value you already possess. It can give you a “new start” in life, no matter what you may be going through.

nutrition

“You are what you eat” holds some truth. Everything we consume affects not only our health but also our mental state. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise that “a healthy diet” is one of the more popular cures proposed by health blogs to combat mid-year blues. Everyone’s body is different, so I’ll avoid prescribing an exact diet. As a general rule-of-thumb though, the more natural your foods are, the better they will be for you. You might want to lay off those sugary snacks for now.

health. Even small exercises like a simple walk release endorphins in your brain, which reduces anxiety, depression and negative self-worth while improving your cognitive function. It’s little wonder that more physical activity makes us happier and has been touted as a cure for seasonal affective disorder. After all, “A cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22) and who can resist a free cure that actually works?

water

Our bodies need water to work, lubricate our joints and protect sensitive tissue. With water constantly leaving our bodies through perspiration and other bodily functions, we need to replenish our internal supply of water to function properly.

Drinking two-to-three litres or eight glasses of water a day1 is recommended, though it can vary between individuals.

exercise

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sunlight

Sunlight plays a bigger role in our health than you might expect.

Exposure to its comforting rays encourages production of serotonin, a chemical that regulates mood, cognition, social behaviour, memory and a plethora of other benefits. Additionally, sunlight makes your body release nitric oxide, a compound that brings down blood pressure and promotes heart health.2 So, the next time you take a lunch break, feel free to get out there and soak up as much sunlight as you possibly can.

temperance

The word “temperance” is often used to describe abstinence from alcohol, tobacco and other harmful substances. Alcohol can decrease your life expectancy by four-to-five years3 with tobacco cutting it by about 10 years.4 Reducing or cutting them out entirely is generally a good idea. Temperance, however, can also mean “the quality of self-control”.

This includes self-control in what you watch, what you eat and anything else that might negatively affect your physical and mental wellbeing.

ALESIAKOZIK—PEXELS

air

Fresh air is incredibly invigorating.

One breath is enough to decrease stress and pump enough oxygen into your body to stimulate your immune system. In other words, air makes you happier and stronger. Perhaps this is why exercising outdoors is recommended.

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Some of us, however, might be living in areas where the air quality is not so great. If so, try planning a trip to an area with as much nature as possible, even if it’s only for a short amount of time. You’ll thank yourself later.

rest

Every day we burn energy, whether through physical labour, schoolwork or that project your boss suddenly sprung on you after you clock out of work. Taking time to rest and replenish your energy is incredibly important. Sleep deprivation alone negatively impacts your memory, weakens your immune system and increases your risk of cardiovascular disease.5 In Mark 2:27, Jesus says “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

In other words, we were made not to work 24/7 but to take regular intervals of rest. Make it a habit. The seventh day of the week, Sabbath, was designed specifically for this.

trust God

Research is now affirming that belief in God is good for you—not just from a spiritual perspective, but on a physiological level.6 As the Giver of purpose and the One who guides us into it, God wants us to put our trust in Him and walk beside Him through our everyday journey. It’s not a 100 per cent guarantee that we’ll be safe from all trouble. In fact, Jesus Himself tells us that “in this world you will have trouble”. However, He tells us

to “take heart”, for He has “overcome the world” (John 16:33). God also promises to never abandon you. If you ever feel lost, you are invited to “cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me” (Psalms 57:2).

our valuable lives

When life gives you lemons, perhaps it’s time for a new start

When life gives you lemons, perhaps it’s time for a new start.

A healthy body leads to a healthy mindset and will allow you to realise the worth you possess. So, the next time you’re feeling down, take a break, sniff some air, and remind yourself that you are loved and valued.

If you’d like to take the next step to living your life well, scan this code for a free course.

Zach Tan is a writer based in Melton, Victoria. He has an eccentric sense of humour and is constantly on the lookout for new things to write about.

1. <mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256> 2. <tricitymed.org/2018/08/5-ways-the-sun-impacts-yourmental-and-physical-health/> 3. <health.harvard.edu/blog/sorting-out-the-health-effectsof-alcohol-2018080614427 4. <theconversation.com/smoking-new-australian-data-todie-or-live-for-37962> 5. <healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-onbody> 6. <forbes.com/sites/nicolefisher/2019/03/29/science-saysreligion-is-good-for-your-health/?sh=16a716273a12>

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Justin’s Journey,

DELCHO DICHEV—PEXELS

Father’s Love

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Justin White has gone through incredible grief in his life, but thanks to God, his life has had a miraculous turnaround.

MARIE WORKER

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J

ustin White’s story is one of immense suffering, abuse, anger and grief, but is also a story of healing and God’s continual pursuit.

Growing up in Darwin, Justin described his mother as very abusive. She would whip him with a jug cord until his entire body was covered with welts and bruises; one time, fracturing his skull with a tyre lever. When he was five years old, his mother stabbed him, cutting his wrist to the bone, leaving him for hours after screaming at him to die. Hours later, she took him to the doctor’s office. “I heard him roaring at her,” Justin recalls.

Although he asked to be taken to his grandmother, Justin believes his mum wanted to hide him from her, so instead he and his three-year-old sister were taken to a place where they were left with a woman who brutally tortured and raped him repeatedly. “She wouldn’t even allow us to eat. They would cook food

When he was five years old, his mother stabbed him, cutting his wrist to the bone 26

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for themselves, but I had to feed myself and my three-year-old sister from a bin.” Justin explains that they survived on mango skins and the marrow they sucked from broken chicken bones. “I had the good sense to feed my sister first and whatever was left, I ate.” Eventually Justin’s mother and boyfriend returned to get them and took them to their grandmother. It was she who taught them about God. Justin’s childhood was peppered with memories of bouncing between homes and feelings of extreme fear and resentment—although there were some good times. He explained that he loved his mum, but “when she beat us, she beat us! Especially me, she said I looked a lot like my father, and I’ve heard that he didn’t treat her too good.”

kicking life in the teeth

One day Justin’s young cousin took him to meet a Tibetan warrior monk who had a temple in Darwin.

“He took me in. When I was about 17, he said to me, ‘I’m going to get you away from your family mate, they’re not good for you.’” Some months later, Justin headed to Sydney where he stayed at Kirinari—a secondary education hostel. His house parents were the uncle and auntie of Indigenous rugby league star Ricky Walford. Justin described them as “nice people”. Ricky would regularly give him tickets to attend games.

Justin explains that by this time, “I had a lot of abandonment issues and

other plans

During this time, he tried to take his own life six times. Four times he tried to shoot himself in the head.

Each time, although there were bullets in the barrel, the gun would not fire. Justin tells how he tested it by firing it at the wall. When that worked, he tried again, but again the gun would not fire. This happened four times. Sometime later he decided he would hang himself.

He threw a rope over a tree branch, put it around his neck and jumped.

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EXPRESSIONSWALA—PEXELS

a lot of anger.”

When he was 18, Justin walked into a sports store where he met his future kickboxing teacher.

Under his tutelage, Justin went heavyweight. One day he was put on a punching machine to test his poundage per square inch. “If you haven’t got enough strength, they won’t let you go up to that weight, because you’ve got to have a certain amount of power. It was actually a kicking machine I punched, because someone had broken the punching machine. I broke both sides, one with each punch.” This test showed that Justin had over 25 tonne of power in each hand. He was accused of being on steroids. They told him, “You’re only 18 and you’re punching over five times the power of [boxer Mike] Tyson! We can’t let you fight.” Justin ended up agreeing to two drug tests to prove he was clean, and told them, “You’ll owe me an apology!” When the tests came back negative, he was awarded his World Boxing Association heavyweight ranking and was told he needed to be careful not to kill anyone.

One day when he was training in a gym, he punched a 385kg punching bag. With just two punches, he tore it from the ceiling. He would train and train until he’d have to be carried out of the gym. One day he was asked what drove him. He responded, “Every time I see that bag, I see my mother’s face.” Justin explains that his issues continued into his mid-30s.

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The rope snapped. He stood there and shook his fist toward heaven, screaming, “What do you want from me?!” Deciding not to be bested, he tried again. This time the branch broke and hit him on the head.

Again, he looked toward heaven and demanded that God tell him why he wouldn’t just let him die.

At 35, even though he’d vowed never to return, he found himself back at the place where his mother had left him to be abused. He was given work there as a sports and recreation officer. “I did very well, they were proud of me. That’s where I met my beautiful wife, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met in my life! She was very slow to wrath but very quick to forgive. She had Father’s [God’s] way in her without even knowing the Bible, before I brought her to Father. She believed in Jesus, that He died, and He rose from the dead. She told me she believed and accepted Him into her life . . . I loved her more than anyone in my life.”

Justin described his wife’s community spirit and her desire to help children and families who had little.

Every person she encountered in need, she would feed and provide other necessities for them and each Christmas every child in town would be given a Christmas hamper. Horrifically, just over a year ago, Justin’s wife died in his arms after being king punched underneath the jaw by her niece. “It stopped my beautiful wife’s heart—she killed her. She died in my arms. She died looking into my eyes.

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I saw, felt and heard her very last breath. I still can’t believe it!”

from horror to hope

About a week after the death of his wife, Justin was crying and begging God for a sign that he would see her again. “Something made me turn around. There was a big tree with yellow flowers on it and when I showed everyone they looked and saw it too, it was in plain sight for everyone in the community to see.

The tree was literally glowing, it was emanating yellow. And then two men walked in the front gate of the community; it just happened to be Pastor John Beck and Andrew Johnson.”

They asked him what his name was, and when he told them, they

think I ask why anymore. Father has a plan. I’ve learned that Father will never put something upon you, you can’t handle. So, He must know I can take a lot. Sometimes it frightens me when I think, Oh my goodness, what’s going to happen next?

“The way the teachers here break things down is absolutely brilliant.

We get nothing but A1 treatment here. When we come to Mamarapha, Father supports us. I’ve come to all sorts of realisations. All the teachers are wonderful. I’m a hard nut to crack, but they still love me. Every teacher that comes makes it better and better. They speak about things I’m dealing with in my life and how to handle them. So, if Father wills it, the only way is up from here. Hopefully, if there’s enough time in the world, I will get to be a minister . . . that will be a good day!”

Justin admits he still has immense grief but being at the college really helps him. “I’ve come a long way . . . Father showed me something, the glowing tree, the two pastors walking through the gate, I knew what His message was to me, ‘Serve Me My son, and you’ll see her again.’

That’s exactly the way I took it. He answered me and I look forward to that day . . . now I’m focusing on how to serve Father better.”

This story has been provided by Mamarapha College. To learn more about the college, head to <mamarapha.adventist.edu.au>.

If this story caused you distress, help is available.

Visit Beyond Blue at <beyondblue.org.au>. For crisis support or suicide prevention, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (AU) or 0800 543 354 (NZ).

JULY 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

TACIO PHILIP—GETTY IMAGES

said they were looking for him. “I think they had come to console me, but it was more than that. When I was speaking to them about my wife, I told them that not only had we wanted to get married, but we had also talked about me getting into ministry. Pastor Beck said, ‘Mate, you’re talking to the right people, there’s a Bible college called Mamarapha, where we train you for that.’”

Justin subsequently started attending Mamarapha College in 2023.

Owned and operated by the Australian Seventh-day Adventist Church, it is nestled in lush bushland in the hills of Perth. It commenced operation in 1997 as a Bible college.

Today it offers courses in Indigenous Ministry and Lifestyle Health Promotion and Indigenous Pastoral Ministry and continues to live up to its name—Mamarapha—“God heals and makes whole”. Sharing a moment of transformation he explained, “I hated that young lady [his niece], and I wanted to destroy her of course, but in class one day through Pastor Dave, Father broke it down for me— all about forgiveness. I broke down and Pastor Dave stopped the class and prayed for me.” Justin and David left the classroom “and it happened right there. I think Pastor Dave knew what was going on inside of me.

When we went outside, I realised what I had to do. I felt it. I rang up the prosecutor, even though the case is still ongoing, and I told him I forgive her. I said, ‘Let her know her uncle loves her’. I still hurt. But I don’t

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As a pastor, there are questions I’ve encountered over and over again, sometimes about the Bible but usually about everyday life. If you’ve never had the opportunity to ask a pastor tough questions this is the right place. I’ll do my best to respond authentically and biblically!

How can I comfort someone who is mourning the death of a loved one without it being cheesy? Andy, Wellington, NZ “They’re in a better place”, “It’s all part of God’s plan”, “At least they aren’t in pain anymore”. Okay okay, I’ll stop.

When we’re confronted with pain, our natural human tendency is to try and alleviate it. Scraped knee? Bandaid. Headache? Panadol. Death of a loved one? Well, that one’s tricky. We inherently know that nothing we can

say or do will make things better, but that doesn’t stop us from trying—and often failing in the process. Probably the most helpful advice I’ve heard is from Rick Warren, pastor and author of The Purpose-Driven Life. Warren’s son Matthew passed away a few years ago from suicide following a long battle with mental illness. Warren later said, “The deeper the hurt, the fewer the words you should use.” In other words, not saying anything at all is often better than trying to reach for words of comfort that may end up being uncomfortable for the grieving person.

Sometimes a heartfelt, “I’m so sorry for your loss” is enough. If you can’t find the words, just be there. It’ll mean more to them than anything you could say.

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Who is Satan? Chris, Sydney, Australia The figure we call “Satan” has received many a caricature in popular culture. Probably his most famous representation is thanks to Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. However, the development of Satan in the biblical literature is much more interesting.

The Hebrew word satan means “adversary” or “accuser”. However, when paired with the definite article it becomes ha-satan, a personal name.

The earliest use of the word satan was in reference to human enemies (see 1 Kings 5:4). In other cases, God poses as an adversary (such as in Numbers 22:22). In Job, we see one of the first progressions of this generic term to refer to a specific person. Typically, your Bible will either translate satan in Job as either “Satan” or “the accuser”.

It appears this character is a member of God’s court and acts as some kind of divine litigator. Ironically, he’s more like a lawyer from hell. In Zechariah 3, we see Satan also standing close

by God, still fulfilling his role as an accuser. However, God rebukes Satan and vindicates the hero, this time the high priest, a man named Joshua.

As we get into the New Testament, Satan becomes more like the character we’re familiar with. The Greek word most typically used in the New Testament is diabolos, which appears 38 times. Most commonly it’s translated “devil”, but other forms of it are translated to “slanderer”, “gossip” and “false accuser”. It should come as no surprise, then, that all these characteristics become synonymous with Satan, as well as “wrathful”,

“tempter”, “deceiver” and enemy of God and His people. It is implied (but not outright stated) that the devil is in league with or in charge of the “powers and principalities” Paul speaks about in both Ephesians 6:12 and Colossians 2:15. Peter compares the devil to a “roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8), which echoes God’s warning to Cain about sin “crouching at the door” in Genesis 4:7. In both cases, sin and the devil are described as hungry, predatory cats with murderous intent.

Origen of Alexandria, writing in the third century AD, was probably the first to use the term “Lucifer” to describe the devil. Augustine of Hippo later expanded on Origen’s work, identifying Satan as the first and final cause of sin.

This would later be expanded further

by Protestant reformers like John Calvin and Martin Luther.

The most important aspect to Satan’s character though is that he’s a loser. In the book of Revelation, he is portrayed as a fearsome dragon, strong and powerful. And yet, he is defeated by Jesus and thrown into the Lake of Fire, along with death and the grave. As powerful as he may seem, he’s a “dead man walking”, so to speak.

Want to get your question published in the next issue? Ask Pastor Jesse a question by scanning this!

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Diving into God’s Plan

Gold Coast athlete Moesha Johnson is making her Olympic debut in the Paris 2024 Games in the gruelling sport of open water swimming. This was never her dream. Yet here she is.

WADE J BRENNAN

ZANITA FLETCHER

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n the choppy waters of Port Doha, Qatar, things weren’t looking good. Moesha was midway through a 10-kilometre open water race in the World Championships.

This was her chance to qualify for the Olympics. But she was trailing behind a pack of 30 girls and had been for much of the race. “I remember thinking, this should not feel so hard this early on.” In the final kilometre, she got a burst of energy and surged into the lead. The desperation of people to get to the Olympics is something she had never experienced to this degree. “It was like death row stuff for some athletes.” By the end of the race, Moesha placed fourth, qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, leaving even her coach speechless.

rewinding to the start

Growing up, Moesha’s aunty and uncle owned a swim centre that her mum worked at. Moesha would go along with her mum every day and formed a love for the water that remains today. “I love swimming because I love the water. I love how it feels, how it looks, I love how it challenges me. I love the silence it brings.” If she wasn’t swimming in the pool, she was surfing or playing in the creeks on the property she grew up on. She attended every swim lesson she was allowed to.

Her progress as happened naturally then, as did her progression through squads. It wasn’t long until someone said to her mother, “You’ve got to get this girl into some competitions.” Not 34

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only did she love to swim, she also loved to race.

During her school years, Moesha continued training, starting and ending her days at the pool. There were periods where she would wake up at 4am to be in the water at 5am, often returning in the afternoons.

But still she says, “I never dreamed of being an Olympian. I didn’t realise I could get that far.”

After school she went on to achieve a Bachelor of Biomedical Science and a Diploma of Business.

While she knew she loved to swim, she felt conflicted pursuing it professionally for much of her life. She saw a lot of people get jobs in nursing, teaching and counselling and felt the pressure to pursue a traditional career. Not only that, getting paid to swim seemed like such a far reach for a country girl who trained in a small 25-metre pool. Although she continued to swim, she said, “I never put my full heart and soul into it because I was nervous what people would think.”

So, she did what many of us do when we finish school: worked various jobs, got a degree or two and tried to figure out a career pathway she could get excited about. Yet, she never felt pulled to anything. She recalls a period where she heard sermons in church and spoke with individuals about the importance of pursuing one’s passions. For Moesha, swimming wasn’t something she continued doing throughout her life simply because she was good at it.

It’s something she loved. “I knew I was passionate about it because I was willing to do it for free,” she said.

Sometimes she finds herself thinking, This is ridiculous. Why do I like this so much? But she reminds herself that it’s what makes her unique. “Each of us are born with gifts, we all know that. But we also have passions, and our passions are what God has given you to make you, you,” she said.

This was the turning point for Moesha, when she decided to take the leap and step fully in. While there have been moments she’s questioned her decision, she is proud that she chose to pursue her passion. But she says she wouldn’t be where she is today without God. “I don’t fully understand the journey He has me on, but I know 110 per cent that I would not have made the Olympic Games without Him,” she said.

Prior to the big race in Doha, Moesha was at a real low and was experiencing burnout and problems in her home club that made her consider retiring from swimming altogether. But before calling it quits, she went to a training camp in Germany. She competed at the end of it, but didn’t reach her goals, meaning she lost a lot of support and funding.

She remembers feeling so alone and thinking she’d made a stupid decision. “I’d left everything. I didn’t have anyone to talk to. I didn’t have a coach or a support network because I wasn’t in any particular program.

WADE J BRENNAN

barriers along the way

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I never dreamed of being an Olympian I was living from one Airbnb to the next. It was a really challenging time.”

After a lot of prayer and consideration, she decided to finish the season. Her results were OK, but not good enough to warrant Swimming Australia’s full support. Not only was she disappointed with her swimming, she was also considered old for a professional swimmer. But God continued to pave the way.

To her surprise, even though she’d be told she was too old, Moesha was accepted and invited back to swim in Germany full-time . . . by a coach who infamously accepted no-one.

She also received an offer to live with someone in Germany and her visa came through in an instant. “All these little things started falling into line to get me to Germany. I was jumping the line on things I shouldn’t have been jumping the line for.” With that, she thought, You know what, we’re going to give this another go.

Another complication came when six weeks before the World Championship, she got extremely sick. This meant she was out of the pool when 36

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she should have been training her hardest. She returned to training just before the race, but couldn’t finish all the sessions her coach was giving her as she was still recovering from infections in her chest. For a 10-kilometre swim and a goal to get an Olympic qualification position, three weeks of sub-par training was nowhere near enough . . . especially when her competitors had been training for the past 18 months.

Still, she showed up to the race and got in the water. “I remember praying to God before and during the race: You know what I’ve gone through to be here. The years of people telling me I shouldn’t be doing sport, of telling me I was too old . . .

God, I don’t know what your dreams are for me. But whatever happens out there, just be with me throughout the race. I can’t see how I’ll get through it unless you’re with me.”

a miraculous comeback

The thing about open water swimming is that nobody tells you how brutal it is. “It was one of the toughest swims of my life. People were on top of and under me. I had elbows in my face and ribs. I was battered.”

Where the pool is predictable, open water has varying conditions. Add in the different factors—the waves, winds, flying limbs, varying water temperatures, different courses—and it creates for a challenging swim.

“There’s tactics of when to feed, when not to feed and where to sit in the pack and all that. So, you go

six to seven days a week.

Keep an eye out for her in the 10-kilometre open water race in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

There are many parts of her story where she can see God was involved in getting her to where she is today.

She reminds herself to thank Him daily for the opportunities He’s given her. “That sets my heart straight and keeps it aligned. It’s easy to forget and lose sight of what’s right.”

Zanita Fletcher is the assistant editor for the Australia/New Zealand edition of Signs of the Times.

She writes from the Gold Coast, Queensland.

WADE J BRENNAN AND IMAGE SUPPLIED

through two hours of emotions and problem-solving,” Moesha said.

While other swimmers pep-talk their way through the race, Moesha talks to God. She says it’s her saving grace. There might be the occasional profanity, she admits, and she’s ended every 10-kilometre race saying, “I’m never doing that again.”

But soon after comes feelings of accomplishment and she always finds herself back at the starting line again.

Currently Moesha is in full-training mode for the big swim through the heart of Paris in the River Seine— the first time in a hundred years it’s been swum in. Her mornings start a little later these days . . . “Thankful to Germany for that!” she laughs. But she’s still training eight hours a day,

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Who Are You?

It’s a simple question, but if it’s not one you can answer with confidence, you’ll risk missing out on your best life.

PEOPLE IMAGES—GETTY IMAGES

BRUCE MANNERS

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L

et’s begin with the introvert or extrovert question. We tend to be one or the other—or at least lean toward one or the other. Being either is not a problem, but it does impact how we handle life. Extroverts are likely to say that introverts are too quiet and introverts that extroverts are too noisy.

In her book Quiet, Susan Cain lists some differences between extroverts and introverts. These differences include the level “of outside stimulation they need to function well.

Introverts feel ‘just right’ with less stimulation” (think a quiet cuppa with a close friend, solving a crossword and reading a book). Extroverts ‘enjoy the extra bang that comes from activities’ (think meeting new people, skiing slippery slopes and cranking up the stereo).” She illustrates with introverts holidaying with a good book on a beach while the extrovert

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is probably partying on a cruise ship.1 Cain adds that introverts “may have strong social skills and enjoy parties and business meetings, but after a while wish they were home in their pyjamas”. Extroverts “are people who will add life to your dinner party and laugh generously at your jokes”.

Extroverts tend to be assertive and dominant, and in great need of company . . . They’re comfortable with conflict, but not with solitude.”2

where do you fit?

Therapist Chelsea Connors warns that there’s “so much middle ground . . . where we’re now seeing people describe themselves as introverted or extroverted, etcetera. It’s OK to be somewhere in the middle here and to not feel that you fall in one distinct category”.3 That shouldn’t come as a surprise when you consider the huge range of people and personalities we

helps to understand that if you’re an introvert, you can act like an outgoing extrovert when the situation demands it, but you will probably need time and space to recover.

Likewise, if you’re an extrovert you can act like a reflective introvert when needed, but you will probably want to do something active after— something that’s more in character with who you are.

the pressure of the ideal

come across. It isn’t hard to imagine introverted extroverts and extraverted introverts.

Where do you fit? From these brief outlines you will probably see yourself more as one or the other.

That’s good, because it allows you to understand yourself better. It also

The value of finding yourself

John Kim, the self-titled “Angry Therapist”, writes about the value of finding yourself but warns that “finding yourself is a continuous journey of self-discovery. It’s about exploring, learning and evolving as you navigate

ZOHRE NEMATI—UNSPLASH

Working out who you are becomes complicated when you’re “constantly fed pictures of what an ideal life looks like”

In a broader vein, working out who you are becomes complicated when you’re “constantly fed pictures of what an ideal life looks like: what we should wear, what foods we should buy and what we should look like”, as counsellor Beth Roberts says. That can include being the perfect parent, having a full-time job, exercising three times a week, “and still have time to do charity work and cook a vegan meal from scratch”.

Unfortunately, “what we are told we should strive for may not be what we really want. It takes great self-awareness and strength to say no to these images and to say no to family and friends” (See her note in the box within this article if you want to go further in this area.).4

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The best way to be intentional about who we are is to also be intentional about who we want to be through life. Embrace the process, be patient with yourself, enjoy the adventure of uncovering your true self.” He has several suggestions: Embrace your story. It’s your story that makes you unique and you should take time “to reflect on your life experiences, both positive and negative. What have you learned from them? How have they shaped you?” Embracing it means accepting it as your story, even the challenging times. Those experiences help you understand you.

Live authentically. Going deeper, be “true to who you are at your core” is Kim’s message. This includes recognising your strengths and weaknesses and “showing up in the world as your genuine self”. That doesn’t mean that you’ve “made it” but shows where you are on your journey.

Discover your purpose. “By understanding your values, passions, and unique gifts, you can identify the path that brings you the most fulfilment and meaning. Your purpose gives you a sense of direction and 42

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guides your decisions, leading to a more purposeful and satisfying life.”

Shift your focus from yourself to others. This not only helps you become aware of the needs of others, but as you act on those needs, it will also help you feel a sense of purpose.

Create meaningful relationships “based on genuine connections and mutual understanding”.

Embrace change and growth.

“Remember, it’s in the moments of not knowing and feeling lost that our true potential emerges.” This is a time to take up challenges that take you out of your comfort zone, that stretch you and really do help you grow.

Finally, knowing who you are is important. Kim says, “Knowing yourself helps you make choices that align with your values and aspirations.”5

life is about choices: your life—your choices

You and I—all of us must choose what we do with our lives. That freedom gives us the opportunity to plan who we want to be. Therapist Robert Taibbi suggests the best way to be intentional about who we are is to also be intentional about who we want to be. That could be by asking yourself what would you like people to say about you 10 or 20 years from now? That could be in your profession or in your personal life, within your community or in your extended family. This is not only about your reputation, but also about being the

person you are and want to be.

Ask yourself, what represents your best you? “Usually there are one or two [attributes] that represents the best of you on a good day, take centre stage, that represents the best of you.” The question is, “What about you do you appreciate and admire the most? How can you bring these to the forefront of your everyday life? What have you overcome? Is it a big thing—an addiction, perhaps? A medical challenge? A fear?” Take time to give yourself credit for your success in overcoming these issues. This acknowledges your ability to tackle and overcome life issues. Sharing your story may give you a chance to be a role model.

Here’s a question to chew on: “When you step back and look at your personality, passions, talents and challenges, what is your life telling you about what you were destined to be or do?” The answer may be clear and immediate, or for too many of us, it may be the smallest wisp of passion that you have felt but too quickly overlooked.”

Knowing what you know, are you living a purposeful life that fits you?

As adults, we get to create our lives, we get to choose who we are.

“It is the creating and choosing that is important.” It’s about “actively deciding who you want to be and become”. Ask yourself, “What are the five core values of my life?” That will help you make life choices, including who you want to be and how you want to treat others.

ERIC CARLSON—UNSPLASH

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Then, what do you want to be your epitaph? How you want to be remembered? What do you want to accomplish in the “short span that is your life?” “This is the ultimate point of it all,” says Taibbi, “Reflect, drop down into your passions and dreams and see what you discover. He gives a challenge: “Be you, the you, you want to be.”6 And being the you that you want to be is in your hands. It’s something only you can do.

Bruce Manners is an author, retired pastor and former editor of the Australia/New Zealand edition of Signs of the Times. He is based in Lilydale, Victoria.

1. Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That can’t Stop Talking, Penguin Books, Melbourne, 2012, page 11.

2. Susan Cain, Op cit.

3. Cited in Mercey Livingston, <cnet.com/health/the-difference-between-introverts-and-extroverts/> 4. <counselling-directory.org.uk/memberarticles/who-am-ithe-importance-of-identity> 5. <psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-angry-therapist/202308/what-finding-yourself-really-means> 6. <psychologytoday.com/au/blog/fixing-families/202108/ who-are-you-6-questions-help-you-find-out>

WHAT GOD says ABOUT ME I don’t need to be afraid. God is with me wherever I go (Joshua 1:9).

Nothing can separate me from God’s love (Romans 8:39).

If I lack wisdom, all I need to do is ask God (James 1:5).

I don’t need to be strong all the time, because God works best through weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

When I’m anxious, I can always talk to God. He’ll give me peace that transcends all understanding (Phillippians 4:6,7).

My mistakes don’t define me. I’ve been made new (Romans 8:1).

God doesn’t demand perfection from me. I can give myself a break and rest in Him (Matthew 11:28–30).

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HEALTH HACK: DON’T SKIMP ON THE WATERMELON The connection between food and mood was a major culinary topic in 2023 and studies showed that eating watermelon can actually bring us joy. That’s because it contains a unique ratio of tyrosine to other amino acids, which results in us feeling more alert, stimulated and clear-headed. It is also an excellent source of vitamins and antioxidants that specifically protect delicate brain tissue and help lower the risk of inflammation associated with dementia and depression.—Food & Mood

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SHIVANANDHA, ELLA OLSSON, TIANA, ZUN1412—PEXELS

everybody

WHAT YOUR FEET CAN TELL YOU Just like our skin and eyes can offer clues about our health, so can our feet. Feet are wired up to nerve tracts from the brain and plumbed by blood vessels from the heart.

Symptoms such as discoloured or blue feet, painfully cold sensations, raised swellings or rashes can indicate neurological disorders, viral infections or cardiovascular diseases. If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s essential to seek medical advice.—CNN Health THE MORNING SCROLL Evidence suggests that checking social media first thing in the morning spikes dopamine and lowers baseline dopamine levels.

This causes you to continue to crave checking social media throughout the day and primes you to be more stressed.—Healthline THE RISK OF MEAT-SUBSTITUTES Plant-based foods have been found to be very beneficial for overall health. However, when comparing diets based on plant-based meat analogues (PBMAs) and traditional animal-based meats, there are no clear advantages for heart and metabolic health. Many PBMAs actually fall into the less-healthy diet index category, meaning an increase in risks. If you’re following a vegetarian diet, it’s important to focus on eating mostly wholefoods and look for minimally processed meat-alternatives.—The Conversation JULY 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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Country, Community and Connection

How can Christians learn from Indigenous Australians, and vice versa? Pastor Darren Garlett has dedicated his life to answering that question.

JARROD STACKELROTH IN CONVERSATION WITH DARREN GARLETT

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IMAGE SUPPLIED

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astor Darren Garlett is a Whadjuk Noongar man—Whadjuk on his father’s side, Mineng on his mother’s. Whadjuk is the city of Perth region and Mineng is in the deep south-west corner of WA on the coastline between Albany and Esperance. Darren now resides in Melbourne where he is the director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ministries—otherwise known as ATSIM—for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia.

As a child and young man in the wheatbelt region of Western Australia, Darren was surrounded by farm workers and thought he’d end up shearing sheep. “I can remember very early in my life being in a shearing shed with my dad with the smell and touch of wool.”

After having children, Darren started reflecting on what their future would be like and what sort of value system he wanted them to grow up with. It was then he remembered his grandmother and the family’s history of Christianity. “For my family growing up, the Christian influence was [from] my grandmother. I remember her walking around singing hymns and doing all kinds of good works. She lived her

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faith out in the little things, going from door to door, taking people’s washing and helping them [with] any little jobs.” His grandmother’s influence set Darren on the path to accepting Jesus and eventually, through a set of amazing circumstances, he became a Seventh-day Adventist Christian.

“So that’s the journey— faith and how it sort of went right around and led us into the church.

“It’s#NAIDOC2024 always been something #BLAKLOUDPROUD on our hearts from the day we went to church [and] @naidocweek decided to serve God. For us, there’s@naidocweek no separation . . . I don’t understand the concept facebook.com/NAIDOC of going to church and not doing anything for God. What Urapunme Muywas

by Deb Belyea influenced this little SAMUAWGADHALGAL, TORRES STRAIT old lady who was a Christian.

‘Urapun Muy’, from the Kalaw Kawaw Ya dialect of the Top Western Islands of the Torres Strait, means She didn’t preach, she just did ‘One Fire’. The title of this work pays homage to Torres Islanders and Aboriginal people everywhere, as stuff. Strait That’s what influences we all have that one fire: our passion for our culture.

In this work, I have depicted the hands of our us today in that what we do.” ancestors have carefully dropped a burning ember on to a fire. This ember burns hot with intensity,attended stoking the flames, as it combines with Darren Mamarthe new fire. The linear detail shows the energy and power as cultural knowledge is transferred apha College, an Adventist from our ancestors to us today. Culture is the fire that gives us knowledge, wisdom and purpose. training school for Indigenous It is our responsibility to maintain, practice, and pass on our fire to our future generations. workers, heLoud knew Afterall,and Culturebefore keeps us Blak, and Proud. it, he was working in a minisAboriginal Flag designed

by Mr Harold Thomas. try internship role in Sydney.

Torres Strait Islander Flag reproduced by kind permission of the Torres Strait Island Regional “I hadCouncil, no intentions to share designed by the late Mr Bernard Namok anything with anybody. I went to Mamarapha College and all the way through, I wasnaidoc.org.au there for my own personal development. I just really wanted to understand, ‘What does it

NAIDOC WEEK

the calling

Darren didn’t recognise that God was calling him into a ministry of sharing his faith with his people until he was already three months into that first job.

“I didn’t see that happening to me because it just wasn’t on my radar.

It was happening and I wasn’t even aware of it. Which was a good thing because there was no resistance to any of it. But then to have the realisation that yes, it is God that’s called me to do what I’m doing—it started the journey of then understanding and accepting that, yes, God is in control of this and wherever He’s leading, that’s where we’ll serve.

That’s been good. Challenging—but good.”

Ministry has taken Darren all over the country, yet, as he explains, “place” still holds central importance for him as an Indigenous man. In his role, Darren has helped the Seventh-day Adventist Church include acknowledgement of country in events. “It’s important to acknowledge country when we go to a particular place—it’s vital.” Darren explains how, in the West, “we meet and greet” at the door before we go into a house and so for Aboriginal people, the welcome to country has

What influenced me was this little old lady who was a Christian. She didn’t preach, she just did stuff always been an integral part of greeting guests, introducing ourselves and introducing them to new places.

“It is something that’s been suppressed in many places and because of the displacement of Aboriginal people through the stolen generation. It’s not just about searching for the location of a particular place they’re emotionally connected to. People are searching for their country—where they belong.

“It’s searching for where their family roots are. Many of those connections have been lost. That’s why it’s important for us to have acknowledgement to country and welcome to country.”

spiritual middle ground

Darren rejects the idea that Christianity and Indigenous spirituality are at odds with each other.

“There’s a foundation among Indigenous people that there’s a Creator.

As soon as we identify that, we can draw links to the Bible and our own understanding of God as the Creator.

So that’s a good starting point that tells us there are things in common

NAIDOC CAMPAIGN

mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to understand God’s Word?’

That’s what I was there for.

“And then I learned that it’s about serving and sharing and preaching and teaching.”

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[between a biblical and Indigenous worldview]. And then you go through different aspects of an Indigenous person’s way of life and their values— the things they hold dear—to respect and honour, relationships and so on, obedience to lore and what place lore has in society.”

That doesn’t mean that everything fits. “There are aspects, like in all cultures, where there are elements that don’t align with Christianity or the Bible.” However, he says “we have more in common than what divides us”.

Darren says acknowledgment of God and a Creator has been part of Indigenous culture since before the First Fleet and before the Bible. “It shows that God was aligned with people all around the world, Indigenous people of every country.”

Even the presence of evil in the world, Darren says, aligns the biblical and Indigenous worldview.

“There’s also an element of fear and evil that is present in our stories.

So, it’s no different to when we look at the Scriptures where we see people’s actions who go against God’s will. We see things that take place in our own communities that go against God’s will so there are many things that align.”

rest and country

Another concept that Darren finds resonates with Indigenous Christians is the Sabbath.

“The Sabbath is a key thing for Adventists; rest and balance plays a 52

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big part in what we [Indigenous Australians] do. Like families that are on country today that still hunt and live off animals and plants and things like that. They understand the concept of balance, know when to [harvest] and when to refrain. So, keeping things in balance is a big part of life as we know it. Sabbath was given to us for that purpose; to keep us in balance so we’re not overworked, we’re not run down or worn out. But certainly, resting and knowing that there’s a higher power and that God will provide. Waiting on God—and when it’s His time—is something that fits easily with our mob.”

That expectation that God will work in the human experience, Darren sees as a strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

“There’s a tendency to simply rely on God. I see that in a lot of our Indigenous cultures, where [it is] easy to do.

And yet in our Western lives, we struggle with that. Even as an Aboriginal person living in the city— when we face some sort of hardship or something is going on around us—no matter how simple it could be, whether it’s lost keys or can’t find something in the house—sometimes prayer is the last thing that we’ll come to. But for our folks out there, that’s the first thing they do.

“Even if you’re reading this and don’t have Christian values, everyone has a desire to have a healthy and happy community. And that is really all about coming together and sharing and talking and looking at ways on how we can have that for the future.

“Our [Indigenous] community values are to work together, to hold relationships in high regard. And that means having community, having a sense of togetherness and unity.

“It’s about connecting people— people to stories and then ultimately stories that lead to God and our faith and things that make us better people.”

Jarrod Stackelroth is the editor of the Australia/New Zealand edition of Signs of the Times and Adventist Record. To connect with Darren and ATSIM, head to <atsim.org.au>

CHAMELEONSEYE—GETTY IMAGES

“It’s something that is just built-in—that you can go to God, the Creator, God who knows everything, God who is always present—no matter the circumstances.”

According to Darren, one of the biggest issues Indigenous people face is acceptance of their culture in the wider community. He says most Australians could tell you how to say hello in Japanese: konnichiwa—a greeting from a country that is half the world away. Yet most couldn’t tell you the name of the Indigenous tribe from the area they live in, let alone how to use a greeting in their language.

“I think one of the things we need to do is simply have more awareness and understand that we’ve got a shared history—so that we can have a shared future.

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Freud’s Last Session

The recent film starring Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode explores a conflict between two intellectual titans—and the two equally opposing worldviews they represent.

MARK HADLEY

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reud’s Last Session is a struggle between two intellects of David and Goliath proportions.

Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalytic thinking, is the giant—titanic in strength and a Philistine when it comes to belief in God. CS Lewis, the Christian apologist, is the shepherd boy—armed with minimal resources and hopelessly outmatched. They square off in a study on the eve of World War II. At every turn, Freud’s logic has Lewis on the ropes and the mild-mannered Englishman can only defend himself with aphorisms. The film’s creators certainly feel they have the measure of the conflict and award Freud the stronger case. However, there are more and deadlier stones in Lewis’s sling than the producers allow.

Freud’s Last Session opens with Sigmund Freud (Anthony Hopkins) in his home in Hampstead, UK, awaiting the arrival of CS Lewis (Matthew Goode). The future author of The Chronicles of Narnia is already becoming a well-known Christian author. His imminent arrival surprises Freud’s daughter and sets the stage for the conversation that follows. “The Christian apologist?” she asks. “Yes,” her father responds.

“He has a lot to apologise for.”

mind versus myth

What follows is an intellectual battle between an ardent atheist and a determined Christian. What prevents it from becoming a dry debate, though, is Lewis’s doubts and the fact 56

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that Freud has only weeks to live.

Freud’s Last Session is a thoughtful exploration of some of the key challenges to a belief in God. As such, it’s a worthy watch for any Christian faced with the same arguments today. What sceptics and believers alike need to take into consideration, though, is that this is a work of fiction and the story’s foundation is a fantasy. The film opens with a quote from John Bunyan from Pilgrim’s Progress: “As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a den, and laid me down in that place to sleep; and as I slept, I dreamed a dream”— and the writers have taken this as grounds for their own excursion.

Despite the film’s historical context, there is no evidence that Freud ever met Lewis, only the hint that an unknown Oxford don visited the great neurologist days before his death.

Consequently, the conversation they hold is just as fictional and from the outset it is pitched as an unequal battle. Freud is given the privileged status of a superior intellect and extensive life experience. Anthony Hopkins is at times sympathetic but ultimately unassailable as he unravels Christianity. Matthew Goode is silent by comparison. I could not help wondering what might have happened, though, if the real CS Lewis had turned up.

The good doctor asks his guest, “Why would someone of your supreme intellect embrace such a

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ludicrous lie?” Lewis, Freud explains, has created an approachable Divine Father to replace his own distant father. God, in short, is “wish fulfilment”. But if the real Lewis had been present, he would have pointed out that though wishing for something does not necessarily make it true, neither does it make it false. Hungry people may wish for something to eat but that does not make food unreal. Arthur Lindsley from the CS Lewis Institute says that we daily experience many desires that correspond to real things: “If you are thirsty, you may

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God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world desire drink; drink is a reality that corresponds to your desire. Similarly, there is sleep that corresponds to your desire for rest, and sex that corresponds to sexual desire. But what about other desires? Does a desire for meaning point toward a real satisfaction for this desire? What about a desire for dignity, or a desire for immortality or a desire for God? All these deeply human aspirations, Lewis argues, function as cosmic pointers to real satisfaction.”1

pain = no God?

Again, there’s a logical fallacy here.

Freud’s Last Session presents the idea that since pain exists there is no God, or at least no good God. But the problem with this line of thinking is that it assumes there is no such thing as good pain. A moment’s reflection undermines the argument. We put ourselves through all manner of pain for the sake of greater goals—just ask anyone who has exercised. We subject our children to pain in the hope that they will learn lessons—it’s an irresponsible parent who doesn’t see the need for discipline. Even medical procedures aimed at saving lives and restoring health frequently come with some type of pain. Suffering must be measured against what might be gained. Freud argues that the pain is too extreme; Lewis might have said that humanity’s danger is more extreme than Freud allows.

To his credit, though, Goode does manage a rendition of one of Lewis’s more famous quotes: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it isHis megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

the weakness of God

It should not surprise us, though, that Christianity doesn’t fare well in Freud’s Last Session. In his letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul wrote that the “wise” would always look on believers as fools because they could not understand how pain—Jesus’ suffering, in particular— JULY 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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Freud’s Last Session indulges in a logical fallacy. Freud goes to great lengths to explain to Lewis how he came up with the idea of God, but he does so without dealing with the central question itself: is there a God? The film’s Freud feels no need to think this through and responds blithely, “Why should I take Christ’s claim to be God any more seriously than the dozens of patients I’ve had who claim to be Christ?” At least on this occasion, Goode’s Lewis lives up to his name. He encourages Freud to follow the evidence and asks if any of his patients ever displayed anything like the rationality of Jesus. But the movie moves on without waiting for an answer. The next stop on this whistle-stop tour of objections is the problem of pain.

In summary, Freud raises three objections to the existence of God based on the world’s suffering. The first is the war looming over Europe and the Nazism that has already resulted in widespread persecution of the Jews. He wonders at the goodness of God that would allow such “beasts” to exist and makes the astounding leap that belief systems like religion are responsible. “There is no escaping the beast,” he says, “because our moral certainty is the beast.” Freud then turns his attention inward to the oral cancer that is eating away his mouth. Finally, he considers the untimely death of his daughter and grandson. “There’s so much pain in this world—and it’s God’s plan!”

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age have stopped their ears. They will only accept a God of their making, which is to say they will only accept themselves as God. Understanding will only come if they can accept that their wisdom pales in comparison to His. Freud’s wisdom (at least Hopkins’ Freud) falls to the ground because he fails to consider that the cross might be necessary. To him, it’s a symbol of an unfeeling God. To us, it’s the sign of a God who feels so much He would rather suffer and die than see us do so for eternity.

Mark Hadley is a media and cultural critic who lives with his family in Sydney. Please note that discussion of a media product in Signs of the Times does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation.

1. <cslewisinstitute.org/resources/c-s-lewis-on-freud-andmarx/>

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could be a good thing. “Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:22–25).

Freud’s Last Session is challenging to view because it asks us to consider the sorts of questions that will have us called fools. I would hope that I could offer better answers, but I will stop short of thinking that I will be able to argue someone into the kingdom of God. The philosophers of this

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Crossword Puzzle

How closely have you been reading? (Almost) every keyword in this puzzle is contained within this edition of Signs of the Times. Happy digging!

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crossword clues DOWN 1 Hebrew word meaning “adversary” 2 Says “we live with a chronic state of unsatisfied desire” 3 Acronym for a disorder that most often affects people during winter 5 The fourth principle of NEWSTART 8 Someone wishing they were home in their pyjamas ACROSS 4 Has played both Sigmund Freud and CS Lewis on the silver screen 5 Checking this in the morning can spike your dopamine 6 Where Abram lived before Canaan and after Ur 7 Traditional name for Wave Rock 9 Location of the 2024 Olympic Games 10 Means “God heals and makes whole” 11 Scientists from this university are trying to solve the problem of clothing waste

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SOLUTIONS AVAILABLE ONLINE SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU MONTH YEAR • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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See the movie. Invite your friends.

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