Who Do You Think You Are?

“Doesn’t he know who I am? Who does he think he is?  He can’t treat me this way!  This is not how it was supposed to be.  This was not how I expected things to be.”

That’s how it begins – ‘offense’ that is.  We get to thinking that we should be treated a certain way, with a certain level of respect.  When we don’t get treated that way we get angry and offended.

That’s how it began with the General.  He was, after all, a General of one of the most formidable armies of his day.  People trembled around him.  He wielded authority and power in a way that few men on earth ever experience.  He really was ‘the man’.  But right now, he was not being treated like ‘the man’.  He was not getting the respect he felt was due him.  This could easily end in death for the one not meeting his expectation.

However, the General was over a barrel.  He was sick and needed help.  He needed healing.  He came a long way with his gloriously pompous entourage to be given the utmost of respect, care and attention.  He even carried a letter from the king demanding he be treated exactly the way the General expected.  But this encounter was not going according to the plan.

General Naaman had leprosy.  He was commander of the armies of Aram and was used to being treated a certain way.  Elisha apparently did not get the memo that a VIP was coming by for a visit.  Elisha had heard that Naaman had leprosy.  Naaman had heard that Elisha had the power to heal him.  He first came to the palace to see the king and was then told to go to Elisha’s house.

This was where things went sideways…

Elisha didn’t even bother to come out and greet him.  He sent a messenger to tell him to go wash in the Jordan River 7 times in order to be healed.

“What??!!?  You have got to be kidding me!”  Naaman was enraged!

“I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.”, ranted Naaman.

His was ready to take off offended, resentful and unhealed until his servants convinced him to at least give Elisha’s directions a shot.  Who knows?  It could work…

So, Naaman swallowed his pride and washed in the Jordan 7 times.  Guess what?  He came out totally healed.  He returned to Elisha a different man – a humbled man who submitted to the Lord, experienced His grace and power, and now considered himself Elisha’s servant.

Elisha did to Naaman what the Lord often does to us: he offends our mind to reveal our heart.

Is there a situation you are in the midst of that is not going the way you thought it should?  Are you angry?  Are you getting resentful and offended?  That’s arrogance.  You are not being treated the way you think you should be and it’s ticking you off.  Just like Naaman.

We can often have expectations for how God should deal with us, or how the people of God should deal with us.  When those expectations are not met we can either get angry or get low.  We can get mad in our arrogance, or get low in humility and surrender to a bigger story the Lord is leading us in that we may not even see.

“Lord I surrender to your will.”

You never gain weight swallowing your pride.  You know if you have a servant’s heart by how you respond when someone treats you like one.

If things aren’t working out the way you thought they should, take a lesson from Naaman and submit to the Lord’s will and direction even though it may seem ridiculous.  God may be offending your mind to show you what is in your heart – pride or humility?  Humility leads to healing, but pride leads to offense, resentment and alienation.

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  Who do you think you are?

2 Kings 5: 11-14

“But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’ Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.”

James 4:10

“Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Sep 22, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Who Do You Think You Are?

Good, But Not Easy

My mom suffered a minor stroke recently. As strokes go it was a good one. No long term effects. No real damage or debilitation thankfully.

What it did do was prompt my mom to recognize that she and my dad, who suffers from the early stages of dementia, need to make a change in how they were living. They have lived in the same home for 30 years, but just could not do the work necessary to maintain their home and property. In addition, due to the stroke, mom is not allowed to drive.

So, everything pointed to mom and dad moving to an assisted living residence. My sisters live on the North Shore of Vancouver, while my parents lived in White Rock, so we thought it best to look for a facility on the North Shore. All the siblings kicked into gear to make this happen. And, most importantly, the grace of God kicked into gear to make everything happen as seamlessly as possible.

To cut a long story short, roughly 2 weeks to the day from mom’s stroke, mom and dad were sitting in their new chairs in the living room of their beautiful 10^th floor 2 bedroom unit in an amazing assisted living facility 5 minutes from my sister’s home in North Van. We had moved out and moved in the furniture they wanted to keep; bought, assembled and moved in the new furniture they needed; packed up and moved in all their clothes and household necessities; separated everything from the old house the children and grandchildren wanted; set aside everything we were giving to MCC, and filled a container full of garbage.

We interviewed 4 real estate agents, picked the one we wanted to work with, cleaned the house, staged it, and hadn’t even formally listed it before someone wanted to see it and put an offer for full price. To accomplish all of this my brother came out from Winnipeg so the two of us could do all the heavy lifting while my sisters did other necessary tasks.

Ron and I worked long hard days. We were bagged. We were beat like rented mules, but getting my parents happily in their new home and well cared for was worth all the effort.

While Ron and I were pounding it out during one of our 12 hours days we realized this was a demonstration of a profound spiritual truth. It was clear that God’s grace was all over this move. This kind of thing just does not typically go this smoothly. And, it all coincided on the only week Ron and I had free to be able to do it. It was very evident God’s hand of grace was very active – His finger prints were all over this move.

However, His purposes required our engagement, our effort. In order to reap the benefits of God’s purposes and grace we had to choose to engage. I will not bore you with the details of how much work went into this by the family, but suffice it to say there was lots and lots of work put in. And that is the lesson we recognized in this situation: God’ will is good, but not easy. God’s grace is great, but He demands our engagement to experience it.

We can often erroneously think that if it’s God’s will then it will be easy. That has not been my experience. Sure, there are some occasions when God simply makes a way and we enjoy the ride. That tends to be the exception, not the rule though. Story after story in scripture demonstrates God’s will and grace in action, but demands the engagement of God’s people.

Paul in the epicenter of God’s will suffered beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonment, and many, many difficulties. God’s will is not easy, but it is good.

Whatever you may be facing, whatever God may be inviting you into will demand your engagement and effort. God never promised things would be easy, but He did promise to be with us. He promised to provide His grace and strength. He promised He would never leave us or forsake us.

God’s will is good, but not easy. Don’t give up. Don’t grow weary in doing good. His grace is sufficient for us in the midst of the difficulty.

Deuteronomy 31:6

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

II Corinthians 9:8 (NASB)

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;”

Philippians 4:13

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Galatians 6:9

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”

Sep 15, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Good, But Not Easy

Out Of or Into Prayers?

Have you ever been in a very distressing situation from which you desperately wanted to escape?

You know, one of those gut-wrenching, overwhelming, soul-crushing scenarios that brutalize your body, soul and spirit? It could be the death of a loved one, a sickness or disease of some kind, losing a job, financial distress, a business going down, a broken relationship, betrayal, or the exposure of your own sin. There are many, many scenarios that can grip us so deeply we may not even want to get out of bed, or worse, we may not want to continue living.

I have known a few situations like that over the years. I have had days when all I wanted to do was run away from my life and start all over again somewhere else. I have also had days when all I wanted to do was die. I have had seasons in my life when I felt I was falling into an emotional black hole – I saw no way out, and no hope for any positive resolution.

I have also walked with friends through a wide variety of life’s tragedies: death of a spouse, lost jobs, lost businesses, betrayal, divorce, and reaping the harvest of their own seeds of sin. These are all situations no one wants to find themselves in, and no one wants to repeat them – ever.

Many years ago I went through a particularly horrendous 7 year crucible of the soul. It involved broken relationships, a broken marriage, unemployment, betrayal, a lost career, lost hope, homelessness, and the harvest of my own seeds of sin.  Thankfully God’s wonderful grace is far greater than anything we may ever face and the Lord used this incredibly painful death to usher me into His resurrection life with a new heart. I call this my million dollar experience that I would not trade for anything, but never want to repeat.

Through this experience and my experiences with a number of friends in their crucibles I have realized there are 4 critical factors that enable men to overcome their “deaths” and enter into the resurrection life God has for them. I have also seen other men who did not embrace these factors and, therefore, didn’t enter into the life God had for them.

1. They humble themselves and choose to surrender and lay down on the cross for God to put the old man to death.
2. They choose to believe what God says is true.
3. They walk in openness, transparency and vulnerability with other men.
4. They pray “into” instead of “out of” prayers.

Let me elaborate on the 4^th point: “Out of” prayers are those prayers that focus on begging God to get us out of whatever overwhelming situations in which we may find ourselves. They are escape prayers. They focus on getting out of whatever uncomfortable situation we are in so we can begin to feel good again. They are self-centered prayers: “I want to feel better, so get me ‘out of’ this.”

There is certainly room to pray prayers of deliverance. Even Jesus, when confronted with the reality of the cross, expressed His desire to escape the cross, but submitted to His Father’s will knowing God had a bigger purpose than simply His comfort and well-being.

The prayer of a surrendered heart is to invite God “into” our situation so we can discover His purpose, His plan, and His heart for us and through us. “Lord, I really want to be free from this situation, but I want You and Your purposes in me and through me more than my own comfort. So, would you work your good will in me and give me the grace to die to myself and discover your resurrection life. Lord crucify me so I can experience Your resurrection life.”

Humility is the key to unlocking the grace of God in the midst of our sufferings. Praying God-centered prayers by inviting the Lord into our sufferings will enable us to discover Him, His purposes for us and through us, and receive His grace for whatever we may be facing.

Praying “into” prayers focuses us on the heart and purposes of God, and speeds our death to self so that we may live in Jesus’ resurrection life.

Luke 22:42

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Philippians 3:10-11

“I want to know Christ-yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”

Matthew 10:38-39

“Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

Galatians 2:20 (The Living Bible)

“I have been crucified with Christ: and I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the real life I now have within this body is a result of my trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Sep 07, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Out Of or Into Prayers?

Time for a Shine

Do you own any silver?  Something in your home you use or have on display that is made of silver?

We have one article made of silver.  It sits on the hearth of our fireplace.  It’s a silver cylindrical container, 6 inches in diameter, with a hinged lid and ornate edges.  We keep matches in it to light the fire in the fireplace.

It has sat there for years doing its job, but not looking very good. It’s all tarnished.  It has become a combination of black, steely blue and dark grey.  You wouldn’t even know it’s silver.  It just looks like a dirty metal container because it’s completely covered in a thin layer of corrosion known as tarnish.

In our pastor’s message this weekend he mentioned something about silver and how his mom used to shine up their silverware.  I thought of this container and figured I would try cleaning it.  I scoured through our cleaning supplies and discovered a little metal container of something called “Silvo Metal Polish”.  You pour a little out on a cloth, wipe down your silver and when the cleaning compound has dried you buff it off with a clean dry cloth.

Simple enough – kind of like waxing a car.  So, I gave it a shot.

Wow.  I was amazed at the results.

Our grubby little match container was transformed into a brand new glory.  No more was it the forgotten, drab, lifeless metal “box” covered in dust sitting on the hearth beside the firewood.  No way.  It is now stunning.  It is brilliant.  It is eye-catching.  It is glorious.

The transformation is really quite miraculous.  I have it beside me now while I write and am astonished with its brilliance.  Previously it had no capacity to reflect or shine, but now you could use it as a mirror.

I think this little match container is a metaphor for you and me.

James encourages us not to be polluted by the world.  Not to become tarnished by the world.  The writer of Hebrews also exhorts us to lay aside that which hinders us and the sin that entangles us and run the race set before us looking to Jesus for life.  In other words, to get rid of that which tarnishes us and shine in Jesus.

Just like silver we get tarnished.  It’s part of life.  Yes, we can choose to resist and not engage in sin, but we are not going to bat 1000 on that.  We are going to mess us.  We live in an imperfect world and will not be perfect this side of heaven.  So, even though we are brilliant, glorious, redeemed sons of God, we get tarnished by sin and the things of this world.

We can, however, choose to get regularly shined up.  Jesus has paid the price for our sin, once for all.  He knows we need regular shining to be the glorious sons of God we have been created, crafted and called to be.  We need to choose to be shined up so we can profoundly reflect the Lord; so His heart can shine in and through us.

So, how can we get shined up?  Well, I believe there are four profound ways we can get shined up: Surrender, Confession, Repentance, and Worship.  It all begins with surrender to the Lord, to want what He wants to do in us and through us.  We need to confess our sin and ask Him to forgive us and cleanse us from unrighteousness.  We need to walk in repentance: to think differently, believe differently, and act differently.  And then we worship Him: focus on and declare His great goodness and His good greatness realizing it’s not about us, it’s about Him.

This has got to be an ongoing life-style.

We are going to get tarnished in this life, but that doesn’t change the fact that we are glorious sons of God.  It simply means we need to continue to surrender, confess, repent and worship Him in order to shine and reflect His life in us and through us.

Don’t settle for a tarnished life.  It’s time for a shine.

James 1:27

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Psalm 51:10-12

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Sep 01, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Time for a Shine

Demonic Trash Talk

Have you ever played sports at a high level of some kind? If you have, then you know what I mean by “trash talk”.

Trash talk is the chirping that goes on between competitors in an attempt to psych each other out.

Dictionary.com defines trash talk as, “disparaging or boastful language used especially to demoralize or intimidate opponents”. Classy players don’t use trash talk. It’s the players who lack class who typically engage in trash talk.

It is solely meant to throw an opponent off his game so he can be beaten.

If we traced the history of trash talking I have no doubt we would discover that one person lifted this competitive strategy to an entirely new level – boxer Mohammed Ali. Ali was the king of trash talk. He would belittle and berate his opponents prior to the fight and during the fight. He would make up songs, he would make up rhymes: all in an attempt to anger his opponent and throw him off his game.

He would give his opponents a nick name and mock them incessantly. For the 1975 Thrilla in Manilla fight with Joe Frasier he called Frasier the “Gorilla”. He made up a rhyme and repeated it ad nauseam,

“It will be a Killa and a Thrilla and a Chilla when I get The Gorilla in Manila.”.

He would trash talk during the fights as well. It is widely believed it was his rope-a-dope technique combined with relentless trash talk during the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle with George Foreman that lead to Ali’s victory. He’d cover up, lean against the ropes and let Foreman tired himself out punching him. Ali would tie up Foreman to rest and whisper in his ear,

“They told me you could punch, George! They told me you could punch as hard as Joe Louis. That all you got, George?”

The trash talk infuriated Foreman, got him off his game, he tired himself out with wild punches, and opened himself up to Ali’s potent offense. Ali won the fight, though considered a significant underdog.

If we continue to go back to trace the history of trash talk we’ll discover Mohammed Ali is not the king of trash talk, Satan is. He invented it.

A very good friend of mine was recently asked to share his testimony at a large corporate event. My buddy is a good communicator and has spoken publicly many times. He typically talks about business though. This time was different, and so was the opposition. He called me to talk and to pray together. He couldn’t get his thoughts straight, he felt overwhelmed, insecure and unqualified to speak. When we talked again after the event he felt terrible about what he did, questioned if he added any value, and really felt like he blew it.

Demonic trash talk.

Just like Mohammed Ali trash talked his opponents to get them off their game in order to beat them, so our spiritual enemy trash talks to get into our head, get us off our game, get us to question our value, and get us to embrace insecurity, fear and timidity and ultimately concede defeat.

If you were a boxer or MMA fighter whose opponent was trash talking would you agree with them and concede the fight? No, of course not. On the basketball court, hockey rink, or football field would you quit playing just because a member of the other team taunted you…

“You don’t have what it takes to be here. You don’t belong here. Get off the field and leave this to real men – not wimps like you. Who do you think you are? You got nothin’!”

Of course you wouldn’t!

You would ignore the opposition’s taunts and play your game. You would shut him up by playing your best, focusing on what’s true, and working with the team toward victory.

We have to do the same in life. Our spiritual opposition trash talks incessantly in an attempt to put us off our game. Don’t cave in to the trash talk. Ignore it, counter it with the Truth and work with your team toward victory.

Recognize demonic trash talk for what it is: a ploy to get you off your game by an opponent who is intimidated by who you are in Christ.

John 8:31, 32

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

John 8:44

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Revelation 12:10

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.”

Aug 25, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Demonic Trash Talk

God Plays Hide and Seek

Did you ever play hide and go seek when you were a kid?

I have no doubt that you probably did. Were you the one whose goal was to hide so well no one would ever find you? Or, were the one who wanted to hide just well enough so your friends would have to work to find you, but ultimately you would be found? Or, were you so afraid your friends would not bother looking for you that you hid in an obvious place where you would be easily found at the beginning of the game?

Did you want to win or be found?

I must confess, I was the guy who wanted to win. I wanted to hide so well no one would ever find me. It never even crossed my mind that my friends wouldn’t care enough to look for me and that somehow I would be abandoned; deemed unworthy of their efforts to seek me out.

I know many people live with that fear. A fear of abandonment that perhaps was born in a game of hide and seek as a young child when you were left unfound, not because your hiding spot was so good, but because you were unsought.

I experienced something like this in university. Our church college and career group would get together on weekends to hang out, have some fun and eat together. This particular night we were playing Hounds and Hares in the forest behind my buddy’s house in North Vancouver. The gist of the game is that all the hares hide while one hound is left to seek them out after a loudly counted out period for hiding. When the hound finds a hare, that hare becomes a hound as well until everyone are hounds looking for the last hare.

Anne and I hid together. We found a very cool hiding place where we squeezed side by side under a log – totally hidden. We waited and waited to be found. We must have waited for 30 minutes thinking we must be the last ones. We finally revealed ourselves only to find out everyone had left. Gone, all of them. We couldn’t believe it.

We wandered down to another friend’s house where we found the gang getting ready to eat some dinner. Apparently they had looked and looked for us – even calling out our names. When we didn’t come out they simply left, figuring we wanted to be alone. We simply wanted to win, but apparently our friends did not want to find us as badly as we wanted to remain hidden.

There is something deep in our hearts that wants to be pursued. We love the feeling of hiding, knowing full well people who care about us are pursuing us, seeking us out. I believe there is a God-given desire in all of us to be pursued, to be sought out. We want someone or ones to pursue us. It makes us feel wanted, worthy, and desired.

God is no different. He wants us to pursue Him. I believe that He even hides Himself sometimes to see if we value Him enough to seek Him. Sadly we often want God to immediately reveal Himself to us so we don’t have to work to find Him. What kind of message does that send to God?

“I really don’t want to work hard to find you – you are not worth my effort.”

Ouch!

God says to us, “If you seek me you will find me – if you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you declares the Lord.” Doesn’t that sound like a game of Divine Hide and Seek where the Lord invites us to find Him? “I am worth your effort. Come and find me…” He seems to be saying.

The Lord wants to be pursued. He wants to be found. He is worthy of our pursuit.

Are you wholeheartedly pursuing God, or do you expect Him to reveal Himself with little effort from you? If God seems distant, perhaps He has invited you to play a game of Divine Hide and Seek.

How much do you value Him? Are you willing to seek Him out? He wants to be found by you…

Jeremiah 29:13, 14A

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord…”

Proverbs 25:2

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.”

Aug 18, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on God Plays Hide and Seek

Thinking About Thinking

Metacognition.

It’s important we practice metacognition: “Higher-order thinking that enables understanding, analysis, and control of one’s cognitive processes, especially when engaged in learning.”  (Dictionary.com)

Basically metacognition is thinking about thinking, and then taking charge of your thoughts.  It is an understanding and awareness of what you are thinking about, and what you will choose to think about.

When I was a teenager in Young Life we would sing this song,

“Thinkin’ about thinkin’, thinkin’, thinkin’, thinkin’.  Thinkin’ about thinkin’, thinkin’, thinkin’, thinkin’.  Thinkin’ ‘bout thinkin’ in a song, tell it to the people as we’re passin’ along.  Singin’ glory, glory, glory hallelujah, praise the Lord in a song – doo doo n doo wah, doo doo n doo wah, doo doo n doo wah.”

What does it mean?  I don’t know, except that it was a song about metacognition – thinking about thinking.

So, what do you think about?

If I am honest I spend far too much time thinking about the things of this world:  auto repairs, auto purchase, purchases of all kinds, travel plans, dinner plans, home repairs, business issues, relational challenges, etc.  It is very easy for the things of this world and the demands of this world to occupy my thoughts and my heart.

Scripture tells us to set our heart on things above, not on earthly things.  That must be a conscious decision – it won’t happen accidentally.  We must be intentional about our thoughts and our heart.

I just got off of a Skype call with a young man who is at a Christian conference over 5,000 km from his home.  He has flown there on his own, spending his own hard-earned money, taking time off work, to simply spend time with his Heavenly father.  He wants more of God.  He is hungry and thirsty for all that is in God’s heart for him and for others through him.

He listens to sermons on his I-Phone.  He listens to worship music on his I-Phone.   He is reading his Bible regularly.  He was excitedly telling me about the “awesome” Christian messages and videos he accesses online.  He wants to get hold of more of God, so he is intentional about what he is thinking about and that to which he is giving his time and attention.

Wow.  After our call I thought, “Lord, I need more passion.  I want more of You.  I want to be more into You and Your Kingdom than the things of this world.”

Do I spend more time researching a purchase of some kind than I spend in prayer and study of the Truth?  Sadly, oftentimes “yes”.  Do I oftentimes spend more time trying to figure out how to solve a problem than spending time with the Solution – the problem Solver?  “Yes” again.

When Jesus came to visit Mary and Martha, Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet while Martha was distracted by all the work that needed to be done.  Jesus said to Martha, “…you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.”

Only one thing is needed – Jesus.  Set your mind and heart on things above.  Get a hold of God’s perspective on things.  Don’t get distracted by the things of this world.

This young man shared with me a profound experience he had while worshiping in the shower.  His Godly grandfather had recently died.  He saw a picture of His Grandfather worshiping in Heaven to the same song he was singing in the shower.  Then he heard his grandfather say this,

“Jesus is all that matters.”

His heart began to change in that moment and he began to passionately and intentionally set his heart and mind on things above – on God’s heart for him and through him to the people in his life.  God’s Kingdom coming and His Will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

Blessed are the hungry and thirsty for righteousness for they shall be satisfied.  If you are not hungry and thirsty ask God to change your heart and start setting your mind and heart on things above, not on earthly things.

Begin to practice metacognition.  Think about what you are thinking about and then set your heart on the things of God.

Colossians 3:1, 2

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Matthew 5:6

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

2 Corinthians 10:5

“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.”

Matthew 6:21

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Aug 11, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Thinking About Thinking

Show Up, Stand Up, Speak Up

“Hi, I’m Dave.”

“Hi, I’m Rich”, he replied.

“Hey Rich, I don’t know if you are aware, but nudity is not permitted on this beach.”

“How long has that been the case?”, he asked.

“A few years now.  It used to be, but not now.  This is a family neighbourhood and a family beach – kids come to this beach.  So, I would appreciate it if next time you came here you kept your shorts on.”

Rich seemed amenable to by request and agreed he would do so.  I pointed out the sign at Cedar Creek Beach indicating that nudity is not permitted nor condoned.

I thanked him and left.

Whew!  I can’t believe I just did that…

Benjamin and I had walked down to the beach to take a little dip on a hot August afternoon.  There were a number of people at the far end of the beach, but there was one guy at the farthest end of the beach sitting between a berm of rocks and an umbrella on its side.  I could see a couple of bare feet sticking out from the umbrella.  However, it wasn’t until we swam out and looked back that I could see “Rich” in all his glory.

At one point he got up and went for a swim, wearing only his birthday suit.

That’s when I felt the nudge…”You need to go talk to him.”

“I don’t want to go talk with him.  He’s discreet enough.  He’s at the far end of the beach.  It’s probably only this one time this happens and he’ll soon be gone…”

I came up with a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t confront this man, but at the end of it all I was simply scared.  I did not want to confront him because I was scared, but I believed it was the right thing to do.  I thought of that old expression, “Silence is golden, but sometimes it’s just plain yellow.”  I didn’t want to be cowardly so I saddled up, faced my fear, marched down the beach to introduce myself and confront the naked guy.

We actually ended up walking up the path from the beach at the same time – after he got dressed.  He said to me, “If you’re not a diplomat you should be.  Most people would have sworn at me, called me a pervert and been very angry.”

“Well, I wanted to be firm but friendly so I’m glad that’s the way it came across to you.  Thanks for your response.  Have a good night”, I offered and we parted ways.

This whole interaction got me thinking that we need to be willing to stand up for what’s right.  We need to be willing to put words to our convictions in a respectful way.  Each of us has a voice and we need to be willing to graciously speak up and share our perspective, even if it may not be that popular.

We are not called to be Mr. Nice Guy.  We need to be men who are bold and brave as well as compassionate and kind.   Men who can catch a lightning bolt in one hand and a tear in the other.  Daring, not demure; tenacious, not timid – yet both gallant and gentle, heroic and humble.

Now I know there are some men who need to learn to reign in their opinions and their bravado, but there are many who need to show up, stand up and speak up.

We need to show up: be present, informed and engaged.  We need to understand what is wise and what the heart of God is.

We need to stand up: take a stand on issues.  We need to have convictions based on a biblical world view.  We need to understand what the Truth is, what we believe and where we stand on a wide range of issues relevant to our world.

We also need to speak up with grace and respect.  Don’t be afraid to share what is right and good.  I am not talking about preaching at people, but I am saying we need to say what needs to be said and not shrink from sharing the Truth even if it isn’t that popular.

Show up, stand up and speak up – you have a voice that needs to be heard.

Galatians 4:5,6

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Matthew 5:13

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

2 Timothy 2:24-26

“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

Aug 04, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Show Up, Stand Up, Speak Up

Do You Entrust and Trust?

One strap around my waist. That’s it? Then I sit on the wide strap under my butt? This is a glorified playground swing with a seatbelt. Sure, there are two straps loosely around my legs, but there has got to more to this than that. Where is the full body harness?

“Ok amigo?!”

My new Mexican friend then clipped the vertical straps onto the parachute.

“Ok amigo, walk forward quickly, now sit down…”

Hey, wait a minute…is this really safe? I‘m not sure I am ok. I’m not sure this whole thing is ok. Those aren’t locking carabiners…in fact, they’re not even carabiners…are you sure this can hold my weight? How old is this contraption anyway? Are you regulated by some governing body to thoroughly check this equipment to ensure it meets or exceeds high safety standards?

And in the nanosecond it took for those thoughts to race through my mind I was off. I catapulted upwards as the boat accelerated forward. Before I knew it I was a couple hundred feet up in the air on my first parasailing adventure.

I was definitely exhilified – a combination of exhilarated and terrified.

I was yelling praise at the top of my lungs. Partly to vent the exhilification that was rapidly spilling out of me, partly to let the Lord know I was alive and very much wanted to stay that way, and partly because I was having an awesome time.

The fear I was feeling made me feel very much alive. Yeah baby, this was awesome!

Hey, now that I’m up here, those triangular metal “thingys” I am clipped into don’t look very strong. I wonder what the tensile strength of those is? They are the only things holding me up here.

Scenario after scenario began to pass through my mind about how this whole adventure could end: parachute detaches from boat and I float down into ocean. Boat stalls and I float down into ocean. My harness breaks and I drop into the ocean very quickly – that could hurt. Or, it ends the way hundreds have ended before me – I land softly on the beach after having a fabulous time.

I chose to trust the equipment, believe the latter scenario would be the case and have a fabulous time.  I shifted from fear to faith.  I did have a fabulous time and would do it again in a heartbeat.

I learned something from my little Mexican parasailing adventure. I had 2 choices to make: I had to “entrust” myself to the men running this operation, their expertise and their equipment, and I had to then “trust” the equipment once I was in the air and there was no turning back. If I had merely entrusted myself to this adventure and not then chosen to trust the equipment once airborne I would have spent the entire time in fear, with no peace, and not experienced the freedom and joy of this exhilarating ride.

This is a picture of our walk with Jesus. He invites us to “entrust” our lives to Him, to surrender ourselves, and to exchange our life for His. He then asks us to “trust” Him on a daily basis, to believe He will love us, lead us, guide us, counsel us, watch over us, provide for us, and protect us. To believe what He says is true, to trust His Word is true, to believe the Truth and not the lies of the enemy.  To shift from fear to faith.

Even after we “give our life to Christ” – entrust ourselves to Him – we can often choose not to trust Him on a daily basis. We want to take control to protect ourselves and miss the peace, freedom and joy Jesus has for us in the midst of the adventure of life. Why? Because we do not trust Him.

Is this perhaps where you find yourself? You have entrusted your life to Christ, but you are not trusting God on a daily basis. Do you find yourself in the midst of an exhilifying adventure in Jesus without peace, freedom and joy? Perhaps you have entrusted yourself to Jesus but have not chosen to daily trust Him. He is trustworthy and worthy of your trust.

You will not experience all the peace, freedom and joy Jesus has for you until you choose to wholeheartedly trust Him and celebrate in the thrill of the journey.  Until you shift from fear to faith.

Then hang on and enjoy the ride!

Proverbs 3:5, 6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Philippians 1:6

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Hebrews 12:9

“Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!”

Jul 28, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Do You Entrust and Trust?

You are the Light of the World

The doors of the freight elevator rattled closed with a clunk. The appropriate button was pushed and we began to descend deep into the earth. Down, down, down we went – hundreds of feet down into the heart of the Canadian Shield. Solid rock surrounded us.

At the conclusion of our adventurous journey to the center of the earth we exited into a massive corridor hewn out of solid rock. An array of other corridors headed out in all directions like the tentacles of an octopus stretching into a subterranean maze of storage sites: nuclear waste storage sites.

We were in one of Canada’s underground nuclear waste storage facilities.

The Canadian government had created this facility to dispose of the radioactive waste created in the production of nuclear power. The radioactive waste would be transported in specialized containers and put to rest in the end of the long rock corridors, then back-filled with a special sand and sealed off for all eternity.

I was escorting a small group of middle school students from the Christian school in which I was teaching. We had been learning about nuclear power and I thought it would significantly enhance their learning to enable them to actually experience an aspect of the process. One particular moment of our adventure had a significant impact on me…

Our guide brought us into a corridor hundreds of feet down in the solid rock of the Canadian Shield. The only light was obviously that which was created by the dim man-made overhead lighting. He asked us if we would like to see what total darkness looked like. Of course we did.

He turned off the lights.

It was so dark I felt encompassed by a blackness I had yet to experience in my time on earth. A darkness so dark I could almost feel it. I held my hand up to my face – inches away in fact. I perceived no evidence I even had a hand, except for my internal nervous perception that told my brain where I had placed my hand.

I could see nothing, absolutely nothing.

When he switched on the lights I marveled at the power of light. The darkness that seemed so overwhelming fled in a nanosecond when the light entered the corridor. The darkness was no match for the light.

Light overpowers darkness. Period.

Jesus said we are the light of the world. You and I are the light of the world. When we ‘shine’ darkness flees. When we do what is good, right, loving and just, the darkness flees. When we live in love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, darkness flees. When we praise and pray, darkness flees. When we give generously, darkness flees. When we shine things get better.

So, what kind of light are you? We can’t all be the same kind of light you know. You bring a special kind of light that I can’t bring, and likewise. The world needs all kinds of lights.

Can you imagine if the dash lights in your car were spot lights? Or the light on the end of the surgeon’s arthroscopic operating instrument was like a lighthouse? Or what if traffic lights were like the light of your bedside clock, or your car headlights were like the light of your computer – or vice versa?

Every light has a particular purpose. Every light is specifically designed for a particular function.

As are you.

You bring a special light to the world in a way only you can. Don’t look at someone else and wish to be just like them. Be yourself. Be your unique you. Sure, learn from others and grow in Godly character, but be the light you were meant to be. Shine in the way you were designed to shine.

“We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Mary Williamson

Let your light shine – you are the light of the world.

Matthew 5:14-16

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Luke 11:35, 36

“See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

John 8:12

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

Jul 21, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on You are the Light of the World

What Can I Give You? Ask.

We were hauling 5 gallon pales of concrete on our shoulders up ladders to the second floor where we would dump them into the wall forms. It was hot. It was dirty. It was exhausting, but we were happy to be there.

It was a tiny rural community in north central Mexico. A group of us had come down by bus from Winnipeg to do some outreach work. On this day we were partnering with a group from the states who were working here long term. We were helping them build a school, or church building – I can’t really remember now.

During one of our breaks a number of us were sitting around with the leader of this work. I was trying to learn more about his vision, what he wanted to accomplish and what some of their needs were. I asked him a simple question,

“What is your greatest need?”

“Money”, he replied.

It struck me as somewhat shallow. Really?

“Yup, give us more money and we can do some great things…”

Hmmmmm. It got me thinking about the question God asked Solomon in 1 Kings 3:5:

”What can I give you? Ask.” (The Message)

Wow, what would I say if God spoke to me and asked that?  How would you answer?

I have pondered that question a number of times over the years. I know I am not in a good place when my answer revolves around “things”, or money. What God is really asking is what we want. What is deep in our hearts? It is easy to answer at a surface level, it’s tougher to get to what is really at the core of our desires.

It’s a good exercise to see where your heart is at. Are you aware of your desires? Are they solely carnal? Do they involve the deeper things of God? Are they simply legitimate daily needs?

So, how would I answer?

There are certainly some immediate desires/needs I have that I am confident the Lord cares about and will provide what I need. But I want to go deep to the big, hairy, audacious ask – that which is impossible without God.

The God of the universe, He who is without beginning and end, He who is infinitely powerful and able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine asks you,

“What can I give you? Ask.”

I have 4 thoughts:

1. To be filled with the breath of God and come alive together with others as a vast army for good, and be empowered to facilitate the breath of God breathing on the dry bones of men’s lives. Ezekiel 37:9,10
2. To have the Lord open the eyes of my heart to see the hope of our calling, the riches of our inheritance and God’s incredibly great power that is at work in us, so that I could powerfully and profoundly compel others to Christ. Ephesians 1:18-20
3. To be filled with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Christ more and make Him known. Ephesians 1:17
4. To live in the height, depth, and length of Christ’s love and be filled with the fullness of God, overflowing to bring freedom and life to others. Ephesians 3:18,19

I don’t know if I’d get 4 cracks at the question, but I think that’s how I would respond. Next month I may respond differently, but that’s what comes to mind now. I am sure if I heard some of what you would ask for I’d think, “What a great idea – I think I’ll ask for that too.”

So, how would you respond? There is no right or wrong answer.

What’s in your heart?

And you know what? We don’t have to wait for God to appear in a dream and ask us this question like He did with Solomon, because He has already asked us this question. Jesus tells us to ask, seek, knock – He is good and has put good desires in our hearts. He has put desires in our hearts He wants to draw out. Scripture tells us if we delight ourselves in the Lord He will give us the desires of our heart, because the deepest desire in our hearts is God.

He wants to help us discover the deep desires He has put in our hearts, because He is the deep desire in our hearts. We hunger and thirst for Him above all else.

He is able to do immeasurably beyond all we can ask or imagine, so go ahead, answer His question:

“What can I give you? Ask.”

Ephesians 1:17

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

Ephesians 3:16-19

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Matthew 7:7, 8

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Jul 14, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on What Can I Give You? Ask.

Redirect Your Anger

I had an incident with my son the other night. Not a big deal, but it’s an issue we have been struggling with for years.

I reached my boiling point.

I got really angry. I got disproportionately angry. No yelling. No hurtful words. Just silent rage. Inside I was yelling, screaming and saying things that are meant to stay in my inside voice.

I left the dinner table and started doing the dishes – steaming.

To his credit my son came over and apologized for what he did; taking ownership for his behaviour he asked for forgiveness. I forgave him…but not really. You see, we have repeated this scenario over and over again. The same attitude, the same response, then the same apology and repentance.

But repentance is really a change in behavior, and that’s what I want to see. He keeps repeating this behaviour and frankly I am fed up.

I couldn’t stick around, so I told Anne I was going to wash her car and left. I washed her car, vacuumed it, had a caramel macchiato at Starbucks, went to the bank and then drove around for an hour trying to think and pray through this…

“All he has ever known is a supportive and engaged father – it’s time for him to experience what an unsupportive and disengaged father looks like. Maybe then he won’t take me for granted and appreciate me more.”

Ouch, that really looks ugly when I write it down, but that was what I was thinking was the best way to deal with this.

Sure there were lots of other thoughts running around my mind, but it pretty much boiled down to that. He had disrespected me once too often and now I was done.

“If you are going to treat me like that then f-you, I don’t need you anyway.”

Ouch again – there is that horrifically ugly sinful response to wounding that I have been working for years to get free from.

Whoa, this is really disproportionate…I think the Lord needs to show me something here.

I came home in no better mood than when I left. Anne confronted me to ask how I was. She saw the black storm cloud that was my attitude and indicated this was way out of proportion to what happened.

My anger pushed her away too.

I sat outside alone on the deck in the dark trying to find God in this whole thing, but was feeling quite justified in my anger. I was still thinking I needed to start acting disengaged and unsupportive toward my son so he will grow to appreciate who I am.

And, that’s when it happened…

I was looking to my left at a large maple tree in our yard, praying, thinking, whining, complaining, plotting, scheming, and wallowing. As I began to move my focus to my right I saw it.

Or should I say I saw him.

Standing right beside me, lurking over me, lying in wait for me, was a tall, black, cloaked figure. I saw the figure for an instant then it was gone. Fear shot through my body like lightning. Every hair on my body stood wildly to attention.

And then the Lord stepped in. In a nanosecond I realized my anger needed to be redirected. There is an enemy lying in wait to destroy all the life God has for me, and my son.

I redirected my anger from my son, to the enemy.

I began to vehemently pray against the strategy of the enemy. I rebuked rage, pride, arrogance, self-pity, division, discouragement, despair and the like. I realized if the enemy is lying in wait to destroy me he is doing the same with my son, so I began to rebuke the strategy of the enemy set against him: diminishment, self-hatred, pride, division, hopelessness, despair and the like.

I asked the Lord to forgive me for my pride and self-pity, and to fill me with the Holy Spirit. My heart shifted. My rage toward my son was gone.

I want a precious, engaged, loving, strong father/son relationship with my son and with my Father. But that is not what the enemy wants.

Wow, what a revelation. I realize how important it is to redirect our anger. Don’t deny your anger. Don’t pretend it’s not there. Don’t try to bury it under religious platitudes. Don’t vent on those you love. No, redirect it toward the one who wants to destroy those you love, you, and all the life God has for you and through you.

Redirect your anger toward the enemy, and humbly submit to the Lord, then watch the miracle of how He changes your heart.

James 4:7

“So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper.” (The Message)

1 Peter 5:8

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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.”

Jul 07, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Redirect Your Anger

The Lawn of Our Heart

This isn’t my lawn, but I wish it was.

Do you have a lawn?  Do you take pride in your lawn?  I mean in a good way – in a pride of ownership sort of way.

That’s really another way of saying that you take good care of what’s yours.  Or, in biblically correct terminology: you are a good steward.

I really appreciate a good lawn.

I drove past a guy the other day who clearly was a lawn guy.  He definitely had pride of ownership.  Wow, it was beautiful.  He was mowing it with absolutely straight lines.  It was deep green, thick, and weed-free.  I wanted to stop and talk with him to congratulate him on his awesome lawn, but my wife gave me one of those looks and I knew it was best for me to just keep driving.

I certainly appreciate the work of lawn perfectionists.  I am not a perfectionist – a term I do not use with any sense of negativity.  I appreciate the heart of a perfectionist.  I see them as someone who is simply into excellence; who won’t settle for less than the best.  Oftentimes people with high standards – who are passionate about excellence – are accused of being perfectionists by those people who do not adhere to their high standards.

My lawn used to be a decent lawn.  Not perfect, but decent.  I hired a lawn service to do what needed to be done.  I would mow it each week and make sure the sprinkler system was watering it consistently and evenly, but the service would fertilize and do all the necessary work to make sure the lawn was lush, green and healthy.

However, I cancelled the service.  The lawn looked good so I thought I could take it from there; water and mow and all would be great.

I was wrong.

It’s amazing how badly things can go sideways in one year.  My lawn is a disaster: sparse, weeds, moss, thin…embarrassing actually.  So, I called the service back in and we are embarking upon the painstaking process of getting my lawn back into shape.

I have realized that to have a consistently great lawn there are a few key ingredients necessary in my lawn care plan: sun, watering, mowing, aerating, dethatching, fertilizing.  I slacked off and now I am paying the price.

As I stared despondently at the lawn in my yard, I thought of the lawn of my heart.  I can do to my heart what I did to my lawn.  Things look good, we’re feeling good about where we are at, and we stop doing that which created our health in the first place.  We slack off the key ingredients of a healthy heart plan and the next thing you know, we are weed invested, mossy, thin and patchy.

So what are the key ingredients to ensure the lawn of our heart is lush, thick green and healthy?  Truth, prayer, worship, praise, community, serving, and giving are a few key elements in a healthy heart plan.  The Truth of God is like fertilizer to our heart – we grow strong in the Truth of God’s Word and we must consume copious amounts on a regular basis.  Prayer, worship and praise enables us to connect and commune with God, to be refreshed in His presence, to be filled with His Spirit and have the well-spring of life bubble up inside us, to come alive through the breath of God, have our faith renewed, and be refreshed in His love

Community – doing life with other people – serving, and giving enable us to connect with others, to learn from and grow with each other, to have our weeds identified and removed, to trim our selfish tendencies by loving and being loved by others, to experience the heart of God for us through others, and to demonstrate the heart of God to others through us.

An awesome heart, like an awesome lawn, is only possible if we walk consistently in relationship with God and His Truth, and with each other in the sunshine of God’s love.   If you don’t want your heart to begin to look like my lawn, then it’s time to make sure you consistently choose the key ingredients in a healthy heart plan.

May the lawn of our hearts be lush, thick, healthy and a thing of beauty.

John 15:5

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Proverbs 4:23

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Matthew 4:4

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””

John 7:38

“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

Jun 30, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on The Lawn of Our Heart

Don’t Forget to Remember

Click for an EF Hutton commercial

If you were a TV watcher back in the late 70’s you may remember a broker by the name of EF Hutton.  Do you remember the tag line for the commercials?

“When EF Hutton talks, people listen.”

There were a number of commercials in the series, all with the same concept: two people talking about investments; one would indicate what his broker was saying then the other would reply,

“Well, my broker is EF Hutton, and EF Hutton says…”

At that point in the commercial whatever was going on in the crowd surrounding the two primary characters would come to a complete halt.  Everyone would stand still to listen to what EF Hutton had to say.

Brilliant!

In a very simple fashion you got the message that EF Hutton knew what he was talking about and you would do yourself a favour to listen.

Do you believe God speaks?  Jesus said in John 10 that His sheep know His voice and listen to Him.  We need to choose to listen to Him.  One of the ways we do this is through listening prayer – not simply presenting a litany of requests we want God to respond to, but to draw near to Him to listen; to hear His voice, His heart for us and for others.

We can also fine tune our hearts to be listening to Him whatever we are doing.  To be aware God speaks to us far more than we may realize.  Reminders, affirmations, encouragements, checks in our spirit, conviction, validation, confirmation, direction, can all come from God at any time in the day.

When God speaks it’s a game changer – way more profound and powerful than EF Hutton.  But are we listening?  And then, do we care enough about what God says to write it down so we don’t forget?

I was taught to write down what I wanted to remember. My mentors all taught me to care enough about the Word of God to write it down.  I was always encouraged to take a notebook and pen, with my Bible, to any meeting.  And, no matter wherever I was to have a notebook and pen with me – in the car, on my bedside table, in my briefcase – to be ready to make note of what God may whisper to me.

You know why that’s important?  Because we forget.

What God says is noteworthy, we would be wise to make note of it.

We are often encouraged in scripture to remember what the Lord has said to us and done for us.  In fact the appointed festivals for Israel were to remember what God had done.  God’s people were also often chastised for not remembering.

So, how do you choose to remember?

Do you keep a journal?  If not, why not?

Do you never forget?  Can you at will remember all that God has said to and done for you?  Or, do you not care enough to remember – it’s not that important to you?

I have to confess that I fall into the latter category.  How often has the Lord whispered to me and I enjoy it in the moment and then forget to write it down?  I had something more important to do…

There is another element to that: we can write down in our journal what the Lord is saying to us, and then never look at it again.  We never review it.  Out of sight, out of mind…

Guilty on that one too.

I sat down the other night and reviewed what I had written in my journal over the last couple years and was amazed at all I had forgotten.  Wow, what an encouragement, but when was the last time I did that?

Let’s take a tip from the old EF Hutton commercial: when God talks let’s listen.  Let’s care enough to write it down in a journal.  Then, let’s ensure we take the time to review our journals on a regular basis.  If we fail to remember, we choose to fail.

How will you choose to remember?

Don’t forget to remember.

Nehemiah 9:17a

^“They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them.”

Psalm 63:6-8

“On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.  Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.   I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.”

Deuteronomy 4:9

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

Jun 23, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Don’t Forget to Remember

Sing a New Song

Click to see a Rend Collective video.

Do you ever get tired of the music you listen to?

Do you find yourself listening to praise and worship songs from years ago?  Have you lost your motivation to worship perhaps?  Tired of the same old songs over and over again…

I found myself in this very place a few months ago.  I had put together a playlist of some great worship songs a few years ago.  It is on the IPod in our ensuite bathroom – for listening in the shower.  It’s on my other IPod on a portable docking system – for listening on the patio, at the pool, in the boat, working in the garage, or anywhere else appropriate.

I also have the playlist on my IPhone for listening in the car and on our home stereo system.  It was fabulous and served to lift my heart in praise and worship all over the place.  However, it began to get stale.  I had been singing the same songs for a few years and began to get less and less motivated to engage with a heart of worship.

It was time to sing a new song.

I realized I had the choice to slowly lose motivation to worship, or further engage and sing a new song – engage in new songs that glorify God.  Not that there was anything wrong with the old songs.  They were anointed songs, but I had become a little dull to their significance and power.

Scripture speaks about the need to sing a new song – songs that are a fresh expression of the glory and goodness of God.  Songs that are a fresh representation of our heart toward the Lord.

It is important we understand the power of praise and worship.  This isn’t simply some cute sing-song of sorts we do on Sundays.  Praise and worship is not about singing sentimental campfire songs that make us feel better.  The reality is, we were created for worship.  It is an act of surrender, submission and adoration.  Peter tells us in I Peter 2:9 that we are created to declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into God’s wonderful light.

There is a profound power in worship.  In fact, scripture tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people.  When we choose to praise and worship God with open, engaged hearts we experience breakthrough, freedom, deliverance, revelation, healing and all manner of other benefits as we connect with God and get our eyes off ourselves and onto Him.

Praise and worship is a choice.

We can choose to keep our eyes on ourselves and focus on our own issues and shortcomings, or we can look to God, offer our hearts to Him and be transformed by His presence and power in the midst of praise and worship.

Back to singing a new song:  I needed some input to help me discover some new music, so I asked my son Benjamin for help.  Wow, he plugged me into some great music I was totally unaware of.  I simply searched for the songs and artists on ITunes he told me about, and downloaded them into a new playlist.

My new playlist is awesome.  It has breathed new life into my everyday worship.  I even added in some cutting edge Christian music from the 70’s – retro is new again 35 years later.

Bethel Music, Keith Green, Andrae Crouch, Chris Tomlin, John Mark McMillan, Will Regan and United Pursuit, Second Chapter of Acts, Jesus Culture – all great new (some very old/retro) songs for me.  However, I gotta say that my greatest discovery has been Rend Collective.  Wow – their music is profound. There is an underlying tone of joy in their music that is transcendent.

My intent here is not to promote any particular band or artist, but simply to awaken our hearts to the need to sing a new song to the Lord.  To discover the power of praise and worship by wholeheartedly engaging with artists who have been gifted and called to facilitate and inspire praise and worship in God’s people.

Let’s choose to continually sing a new song of praise and worship to God – to give Him the glory due His name.  And in the midst of our surrender, submission and adoration we, in turn, are transformed by His great love.

Psalm 96:1-4

“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.  Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day.  Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples.  For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods.”

Revelation 19:5

“Then a voice came from the throne, saying: ‘Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, both great and small!’”

Hebrews13:15

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.”

Psalm 29:2

“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness.”

Jun 09, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Sing a New Song

Increased Capability

I had more speed than I realized.  I knew I wasn’t going to make the corner.  I was going to skid out and end up with some significant injuries, but I had to try to make the turn…

What happened next blew me away.  In fact, it was a paradigm shift – I would never see things the same way ever again.  I took the corner like I was on rails.  No skidding.  No wipe out.  No injuries.

Man – this is an awesome skateboard!

It was the mid-seventies, the second wave of the skateboard craze.  Skateboarding had started in the 50’s, but really got rolling in the 60’s.  It was called side-walk surfing because it was mainly the pursuit of surfers when there was no break to surf.  The technology was fairly antiquated and continued that way until the mid-seventies and the advent of polyurethane wheels.  This was the game changer that catapulted skateboarding into a new era.  This was the wave I was now riding.

I originally bought a pretty basic board at a skateboard shop in West Vancouver.  But then my family was taking a trip to California – the epicenter of the skateboarding universe – where I knew I could buy the latest and greatest gear.  So, I emptied my bank account and bought Road Rider wheels, Bennett Hijacker trucks, and a Santa Cruz fibreglass board.  Wow – I had the coolest board in North Van.  (At least in my neighbourhood.)

My old board had a certain degree of capability, but my new board…well, I really didn’t know what it was capable of.  Or, what I was capable of on it.  My first taste of my new board’s capability was that high speed corner.  On my old board I would have been dead, but on my new board I hugged that corner like the roller coaster at the PNE.

My whole understanding of what I was capable of took a seismic shift.

It was such an “ah ha” moment that I still remember it over 35 years later.  What I thought was impossible was now possible.  It has been said, “Most things worth doing were once thought impossible before they were done.”  I thought it was impossible for my skateboard to take that corner, but it did – my paradigm was shattered.

It seems like a trite lesson from a crazy kid on a silly skateboard, but it’s not…

What do you believe about your capability?

How many corners in life have you come flying into wondering if you were going to make it?  In some you may have crashed, but in others you may have come through with increased capability.

The Lord sees what you are capable of more than you do.  He will push you to your limit to show you that you are capable of far more than you realize.  He will lead you and guide you in the way you should choose – which may be very difficult sometimes.  You may feel like you are careening into a corner at high speed wondering if you will survive.  Wondering how on earth this can work out.  It’s in those times we need to trust that our Lord is far greater than we realize, and that we are far more capable in Him than we realize.

Yes, the Lord loves you where you are, but He wants to take you further than you ever thought possible.  When we get our eyes off of ourselves and our own incapability, we will see the Lord and His capability – and that’s when we end up going places in God we never imagined.

Offer your limitations to the Lord and He will offer you His limitlessness.  God is God and that changes everything.  It’s time for us to stop living life looking at our own capability – living like we are riding on an antiquated skateboard.  It’s time to start believing that God is who He says He is and in Him we can ‘take corners’ we never dreamed possible.

His capability is infinite, which means in Him we are capable of far more than we realize.  Let’s get our eyes off our own incapability and trust Him – we’ll be amazed the corners we can take!

Ephesians 3:20

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,”

Philippians 4:13

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Psalm 32:8

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”

Jun 02, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Increased Capability

Worship Softer

Click for hilarious Hand Raising Comedy

My son Benjamin and I took a little road trip recently.  After his last exam we took off to California.  Our objective was two-fold: 1. Have some great father/son time.  2. Have some great Father/son time.

We wanted some alone time together to sweeten our relationship and make sure we’re connected with open hearts.  We also wanted to spend some time together at Bethel Church in Redding California marinating in our Father’s love.  So, father/son time, and Father/son time.

I created a special eclectic road trip play list of awesome ‘worship’ music.  Some I had never heard of and some Benjamin hadn’t heard of:  Rend Collective, Will Reagan and United Pursuit, Bethel Music, John Mark McMillan, Andre Crouch and the Disciples, Van Morrison, Earth, Wind and Fire, Phil Keaggy, and schwack of others.

We did some cool guy stuff like driving a dune buggy on the sand dunes of Oregon, and firing a Tommie Gun at an indoor shooting range.  We ate like kings, watched cool shows in our hotel rooms, amongst other male bonding activities.  However, our ultimate objective was time with our Father at Bethel.

Benjamin has experienced a few struggles the past few years.  He’s had a tough time connecting with God.  His heart had been hardened over to a certain degree, so he wanted to step out and step into a fresh openness with the Lord at Bethel.  During times of worship at church meetings, Benjamin had tended to stand with his arms crossed in front of him.  This was a bit of a sign of what was going on in his heart.  He was a little closed, guarded and hardened.

During times of worship at Bethel Benjamin was struggling to open up his heart.  Arms crossed, heart closed he was present, but not necessarily ‘engaged’.  He made the choice to open up his heart and engage.  His arms came down and he tenderly opened them up to Jesus as if to say, my heart is open to you Lord.

The Lord wonderfully began to move in Benjamin’s heart ministering to those secret places of woundedness.  We shared a beautiful time together of open-hearted worship, offering our hearts to the Lord and receiving God’s love in a profound way.

Later we talked about how we can continue walking with and worshiping the Lord wholeheartedly back home.  Amongst many other things we agreed we need to be present and engaged in worship, and open our hearts to God regardless of how we feel.  He is worthy of our worship no matter what is going on with our emotions.

One of the ways we can do this is raising our hands as an indicator of our heart’s posture.  For example, arms low and palms up is a way we can say, “Lord, my heart is open to You.  I receive You and all You have for me.”  Arm, or arms raised above our head is a way we declare, “Lord I surrender to you.”, or, “I declare…your greatness, goodness, majesty, worthiness”, etc.

‘As a sign of surrender’ like when confronted by the police – “Hey, I give up, I surrender to your authority.”  Or, arms raised in celebration like at a sporting event.  When our team scores we thrust our arms in the air in celebration – it’s a natural autonomic response.

Tim Hawkins, a Christian comedian, has a very funny routine about raising hands in worship.  Click on the photo to see his routine, it’s hilarious.

So, after we had been home a few weeks I asked Benjamin how his times of worship had been going at his church.  He indicated it was OK, but not great.  We talked a little about what we had agreed upon on our road trip and then he said this to me,

“OK Dad, I will worship harder.”

Wow, it hit me hard.  That really isn’t the point.  I don’t want Benjamin to think he has to try harder, to work harder to worship God.  The objective is really the opposite…

…to worship ‘softer’.

Our objective is to soften our hearts and simply offer our hearts to God in adoration, love and surrender.  We can choose to have a soft and open heart to our Father, even if we are struggling, feel bad, are angry, disappointed or any other myriad emotions that keep us from worshipping the Lord.

Yes, we want to be men who worship softer, not harder.  Let’s engage and open our hearts to God – He is worthy of our wholehearted love.

Isaiah 66:2b

“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my word.”

Psalm 42:5

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 108:1

My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul.

Psalm 146:1,2

“Praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord, my soul.  I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”

May 26, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Worship Softer

A Piece of the Picture

I couldn’t believe what I was looking at.

It was massive. It was complex. It was incredibly detailed. It was unlike anything I had ever seen in my life. I was overwhelmed by its creativity, or should I say by the creativity of the people who made this happen.

Who would have thought we would see something like this in downtown New York? Totally unexpected…

I was in New York with an employee attending a sports marketing conference. At the time I owned a sports marketing agency. We created and sold revenue generating game day promotions to pro sports teams. Our clients were mainly in the NBA and the NHL, but we worked in over a dozen pro and semi-pro leagues across North America.

The conference itself was a bit of a bust, but our time in New York was amazing. A highlight was watching the Rangers play the Leafs at Madison Square Gardens and nearly getting my butt kicked by an angry, drunken New York fan who stood to his feet and yelled at me, “Kill the Canadian! Death to the Canadian!”

We spent a fair bit of time touring New York, taking in shows, seeing the sites, interacting with locals and heading off with other conference attendees to taste the local fair. It was on one of these junkets I came across the picture I would never forget.

We had arrived at the ESPN Sports Bar and Restaurant in Times Square. I don’t know if it still exists, but in the late 1990’s it was a happening place near the epicenter of Manhattan. We entered through the front doors into a cacophony of sights and sounds. Large TVS were everywhere playing every kind of sporting event imaginable – all ESPN of course.

The place was alive with activity, but as I scanned around the enormous open two-story premise I saw the picture along the back wall. It went from the first floor to the second. It was equally as wide. From what I could see it was a magnificent backdrop for the open zig-zag stair case leading to the second floor perimeter which over looked all the activity of the first floor below.

It was a huge picture of Babe Ruth. It was not really clear though. It almost looked like it was out of focus – a bit like a gigantic Leroy Niemen painting.

Thankfully we were seated in an upstairs lofted table which required we take the stairway. This afforded me the opportunity to see the picture up close. It was then that the full weight of this picture’s glory began to dawn upon me.

You see, the entire picture was made up of countless individual baseball cards.

Someone, or more accurately many someones, had painstakingly put together myriad regular-sized baseball cards to create a marvelous picture of Babe Ruth. I can’t begin to imagine the complexity of such an undertaking, and the incredible creativity and attention to detail required to execute such a feat.

I was speechless.

A thought began to slowly dawn on me though: this is a little bit of an example of what Jesus meant when he said we all make up different parts of Him. Each one of us is a piece in a much bigger picture displaying Christ to the world.

Jesus said we are all members of the Body of Christ. We all have a place. We all have a role. Like each one of those baseball cards, we have a place in displaying Christ to the world. Each one of those cards was just a baseball card on their own, but when placed by a master artist into a bigger picture, they each became far greater than they were alone.

The picture is only possible when each player is placed beside others by the creator.

We need to recognize each one of us has a place within the Body of Christ to together display Jesus to this world. Who you are, and what you do is far more significant than you may realize.

You are a piece of a much bigger picture. Together we display Jesus in a marvelously, spectacular and creative fashion, only possible when we submit to the Master Creator who sees the masterpiece He is creating.

Yes, you are a piece of the picture of Christ the world sees. Let’s stick together and not mess up the picture.

1 Corinthians 12:27

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

Romans 12:4,5

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

Hebrews 10: 24, 25
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

May 19, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on A Piece of the Picture

Look Away and Lurk Away!

Click for Alexander Keith’s Commercial

Lust – every man’s battle.

Love is seeking someone else’s good at my expense; lust is seeking my own good at someone else’s expense.  Love leads to life, lust leads to loneliness.  Love is of God, lust is of the enemy.

How do we effectively battle lust so we can wholeheartedly love “Eve” in our life, even if she has yet to be revealed to us by God?  My son and I were recently talking about this on a road trip we took after he finished exams.

There are two significant battlegrounds in our war with lust: our eyes and our mind.  We need to be able to set up an effective perimeter around our eyes and our mind to stop lust from penetrating into our heart.

I had a strange thought cross my mind as we were devising an effective strategy.  I thought of an old Alexander Keith’s beer commercial.  There’s a crazy kilt-clad Scotsman in the commercial who attempts to launch a misguided revolt in a pub because the bartender has allowed the Alexander Keith’s draft to run out.  The bar tender then presents a bottle of Alexander Keith’s, the emboldened Scot realizes his folly and commands everyone to “Look away!” while he gets down from the table upon which he has been grandstanding.

“Look away!” is our first defense against lust.

Noticing an attractive woman is not the problem, it is the examination that’s problematic.  The second look can trip you up.  So, if you happen to notice an attractive woman or an attractive ‘part’ of a woman – look away!  Hear the voice of a crazy Scotsman shouting , “Look away!”  It is also important to know if there is any particular part of a woman’s body you are attracted to, then don’t let your eyes wander there – “Look away!”  Focus on her eyes, or look away all together.

Job indicated he had made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully upon a woman.  He promised himself he would “Look away!” – He wouldn’t take the second look.  He then talked about the battleground of his mind when he indicated he would not “lurk at his neighbor’s door”.  This speaks of Job not allowing his mind to think on, or fantasize about a woman who is not his wife.

You know how this progression works men.  First a woman catches your eye, you take a second look, you then begin to think about…well, you fill in the blank.  It could be as simple as, “I wish my wife would dress like that”, or it could be something far more suggestive or overtly sexual.  We can’t go there.  That is lurking at your neighbour’s door.

Our next battle cry needs to be, “Lurk away!”

Don’t let your mind go there.  The most powerful weapon you have is your will: wield it well and don’t think those thoughts.  If you have to start quoting scripture, praying, singing or reciting the elements of the periodic table, then do it.  Shift your thoughts.  Scripture calls this “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”.  The MacLean Anti-lust Translation for this verse is, “Lurk away!”  If your thoughts are not God-honoring, or Eve-honoring, then take them captive and toss them out – “Lurk away!”

This all starts with settling the issue that you are ‘not for sale’.  You have chosen to flee, not flirt with lust.  You have chosen to honor God and Eve by choice, and by the grace of God.  Being ‘not for sale’ means you are not cultivating attractions with women and not giving out signals you are ‘for sale’.  Godly men are not for sale, they are sold out to God.  Firmly plant a ‘not for sale’ sign in your heart.

So, in the battle against lust let’s set up strong perimeters around our eyes and minds.  Let’s make our battle cries, “Look away!”, and “Lurk away!” and stop lust from penetrating our hearts – for God’s sake, and Eve’s sake.

Job 31:1

“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.”

Job 31:9,10

“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her.”

2 Corinthians 10:5

“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.”

May 12, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Look Away and Lurk Away!

Lord, Kill Me Good!

“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship.

I was at my whit’s end…

Why is everything so difficult? Why does God seem so far away? Why do I always feel so lousy? Where was the life we were supposed to experience as Christians? My walk with Jesus seemed to consist of me wanting to experience the life He has for me, and me being disappointed because He wasn’t doing what I wanted Him to do, or was hoping He would do. Or perhaps more accurately, what I expected Him to do.

So, one more time I was being prayed for by some people after the church meeting and one of them suggested I pray a certain way…he suggested I pray this prayer:

“Lord, kill me good.”

What?! Are you kidding me? What does that mean?

This person was seeing more accurately than I was the process God had me in. Jesus was bidding me to come and die. I wasn’t really seeing that, but my friend was. Jesus was indeed inviting me to surrender my life to Him so that His life could live in me.

Hey, I was already a Jesus follower though. I had been walking with Jesus for years by this time. However, I had not really surrendered to Him. I had not really shifted out of the mindset that life was about me, and Jesus meeting my needs. I still wanted Him to do what I wanted Him to do, not the other way around.

This process is called surrender. If we want to walk in all the life that Jesus has for us, to truly follow Him where He is leading then we must surrender to Him. And, this is not a one-time decision, it’s a life-style. We are called to a life of surrender.

“Not my will, but yours be done”, needs to be our prayer.

It starts with us laying down our expectations, hopes, dream and rights. That is tough to do, but it is absolutely critical for us to discover the life of Christ. Our emotions can often get in the way. We want to do what feels good, so difficult decisions like surrendering to Jesus, like trusting God, like choosing humility and vulnerability even though it freaks us out, can be very threatening.

Worship for example: do we worship because it makes us feel good? Or, do we offer a wounded, broken and humble heart to the Lord because He is the only source of life? Do we declare praises to God for His great goodness and good greatness because we feel full of faith, or do we also declare His praises simply because He is worthy even if we feel faithless?

There is no blueprint for surrender though. I wish I could give you the formula, but I can’t. It looks different for everyone. The way the Lord beckoned me to come and die will look different from how He beckons you. The end result is the same – Jesus being Lord in your life and you walking in the life He promised.

Surrender is more than simply giving Jesus your brokenness, pain, wounding and sin. Those are all things we want to be rid of. As I mentioned earlier, surrender also involves giving to Jesus all that you want, dream of, hope for and expect from Him. We must come to the place of believing that He is enough – period. All we need is God and there is life nowhere else but in Him.

The door to your future in Jesus is in the shape of a coffin. Death to self leads to life in Christ. As Bonhoeffer indicated, Jesus beckons us to come and die to our self that we might find true life in Him. We often resist surrendering our ragged comforts and convictions and miss acquiring the riches of Christ.

Surrender is the beginning to the life you are truly looking for in Christ. That which may threaten you the most is the very thing that leads to what your heart deeply longs for. May I suggest a prayer to help you surrender and truly exchange your rags for Christ’s riches…

“Lord, kill me good.”

Matthew 16:24

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

John 6:67-69

“‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.'”

Philippians 3:7-8

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ”

May 05, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Lord, Kill Me Good!

See With Your Fingers

My son David drives a 1993 Honda Accord given to him by his grandparents.  It’s got over 300,000 kms and still works great.  It needs the odd repair, but for the most part it’s a reliable vehicle for him.

Last night we did a little father/son repair on the old Honda.  David ran out of water last week and we discovered he has a leaky water pump.  Sadly, a new water pump will be over $700, which is probably worth more than the car, so we have to improvise.  We drained the radiator of the water we poured in to get him back on the road last week.  We then added anti-freeze/coolant, as well as some ‘stop-leak’ goop which will hopefully plug the leaks in the water pump.

The tricky bit was taking out, and then putting back in, the drain plug at the bottom of the radiator.  Of course it was jammed into a very hard to reach location with minimal room to manoeuvre and get an appropriate wrench wrapped around it.  And, wouldn’t you know it, it was snug for the entire length of the threads so we never really got to experience the joy of free spinning it with our fingers.

Decades ago I was very mechanically adept.  I rebuilt a Fiat sports car when I was 16, and then did lots of major work to my 1964 Valiant years later.  And, I would tinker on cars and small engines for a few years after that, but I really haven’t done much mechanical work for over 20 years.

However, tonight as we were struggling to get the pliers wrapped around this plastic butterfly-headed bolt I began to hearken back to my back-yard mechanic days when I had a valuable skill I have all but lost: I began to see with my fingers again.  You guys who are mechanically inclined know exactly what I mean.  There are so many occasions when you can’t see the nut or the bolt you need to loosen or tighten, and you learn to see with your fingers.  You feel around with your fingers and adjust your tools accordingly.  You don’t have to see anything with your eyes, you learn to ‘see’ it by feeling it.

I was trying to teach David this lesson.  He was having a heck of a time learning to see with his fingers and not with his eyes.  He began to get it, but we both realized this is something that comes with practice.  The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

A good mechanic doesn’t necessarily need to see much of what he has to deal with.  Sure, it would be great to be able to see very clearly the part that needs to be dealt with, and the nuts, bolts or screws needing to loosened, but that is just not the reality of many mechanical scenarios.  So a good mechanic learns to see things differently.  He can either whine and complain he can’t see much, or he can learn to ‘see’ things differently and get the job done.

This got me thinking about our walk with Jesus.  We are called to walk by faith, not by sight, and that can be pretty tough sometimes.  There are many situations when we can’t see very clearly what the Lord is up to…  God, is this you?  What on earth is going on?  Am I hearing you clearly?  Why aren’t you speaking Lord?  Where are you Lord?

Like a mechanic, we can either get frustrated we can’t see things very well, or we can learn to ‘see’ without our eyes.  We can learn to see with the eyes of faith.  We learn to see beyond what is seen, to that which is unseen – and that takes faith.  The only way we can do that is by walking closely with Jesus, hearing His voice, and by knowing His will through scripture.  This enables us to see beyond our circumstances to the bigger picture.

Just like a good mechanic who sees with his fingers, we can learn to see with the eyes of faith to understand what the will of the Lord is.  So let’s choose to ‘see with our fingers’ as-it-were, and practice walking by faith, not by sight.

Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

2 Corinthians 5:7

“For we live by faith, not by sight.”

Ephesians 5:17

“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

Luke 4:4

“Jesus answered, “t is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’””

Apr 28, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on See With Your Fingers

Just Do It – Completely!

Obey.

Not a command we really like hearing do we?

Obedience.

Again, not something we are eager to do.

If we take a look at our lives, at first glance there is not a lot of obedience to which we are called.  We enjoy remarkable freedoms.  Being free from tyrannical rule we are not commanded to obey on a regular basis, so we are free from the need to obey regularly.

Or are we?

Because we live in a democratic society we believe in the Rule of Law.  Therefore, we must obey the law.  If we don’t we will suffer the consequences.  Sure, we can choose whether or not to obey the law, but choosing to disobey the law will certainly lead to very unpleasant consequences and repercussions.

It has been said that freedom is not the license to do what you want, but the liberty to do what you aught.

The law in our society, that which we have chosen to obey, actually enables us to be free.

Have you had any run-ins with the law?  I have.

I have had very few run ins, but at one point in my younger more impetuous and impatient days I had a bad habit of speeding.  I had a number of encounters with the law (aka “speeding tickets”) that led me to ultimately lose my license.  For a very short period of time, thanks to the kindness and mercy of the Manitoba Motor Vehicle branch, my dear wife had to drive me everywhere.  The lesson of that weekend, repeated to me over and over again as we drove together, reformed me and I have not had a problem since. (For the most part.)

The freedoms we enjoy as a society are only possible because we choose to submit to and obey the laws that govern us.  Obedience is critical to freedom.  Partial obedience doesn’t really work either.  Not speeding on most of the road and only speeding on the part of the road with the radar trap is not an excuse.  Total obedience is required.

King Saul didn’t really get this principle.  He was asked by God to do something fairly specific.  He was commanded to totally wipe out the Amalekites, including all their livestock.  He obeyed – partially.  He didn’t wipe out the livestock.  He took the livestock as the spoils of war under pressure from his men.  However, he told Samuel the prophet he kept the livestock to sacrifice to the Lord.  That was a ruse of course; he caved in to the pressure of his men.

You see, he was more concerned what the men thought about him than God.

He feared men more than God.  Because of this, he obeyed partially.  And, that was his downfall.

Samuel told him he messed up and didn’t obey God.  He insisted he had not messed up, he had obeyed.  He didn’t fess up to his mess up until after Samuel pronounced God’s judgement on him.  But then it was too late.  God told him the Kingdom was being taken from him and given to another.  (King David of course.)

Saul caved in to the pressure of men and shorted God.  He didn’t obey God completely.  He tried to please man and God.  That doesn’t work.

What about you?  Is there some area in your life you know God has spoken to you about?  Has He asked you to obey Him in something you are not doing?  Or, have you partially obeyed Him?  Are you caving in to the fear of man?

Disobedience, or partial obedience to God does not end well.  God wants our whole hearts and our complete obedience.  Even Jesus said if we love Him we will keep His commands.  The commands of God lead to our freedom.  Obedience to God leads to freedom and life.

When God speaks to us through His rhema and logos Word we need to obey completely, wholeheartedly.  Blessing is found in our obedience to God.  And if you mess up, then fess up – don’t try to hide it.

So, when it comes to God’s Word just do it – completely.

1 Samuel 15:22

“But Samuel replied: ‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.’”

Luke 11:28

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

John 14:23

“Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’”

Apr 21, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Just Do It – Completely!

Spiritual Dementia

My father is almost 90 years old.  He suffers from dementia.

He has been slowly declining into reduced ability for a few years now.  Initially it began with a simple loss of memory.  He could communicate well, but would forget the odd detail and need to be reminded.  He then began to forget more and more details.  He would ask certain questions over and over, forgetting that we had already discussed what he was asking.

He has always been very pleasant and lights up when he sees me or talks on the phone.  In fact, he used to always answer the phone, but now he never does.

However, there are other symptoms surrounding his dementia that are fairly concerning.  He withdrew more and more in social contexts into his own little world.  He became quite isolated.  He would not initiate conversation, but would respond when asked a question.  He slowly grew more and more detached.  Now, when asked a question, he often replies with, “I don’t know”, or “I forget.”

One of the most disconcerting effects of his dementia is Dad’s loss of appetite.  He just doesn’t eat or drink much anymore.  And, it’s actually that which may ultimately lead to his death.  He may slowly starve himself to death.  No one can make him eat or drink – he must choose to do so himself.

Watching the impact of dementia on my father has been very difficult.  There is really not much we can do except love him in the midst of this and ensure he is well cared for.  It is hard to see a man who was so strong, robust, and full of vitality, decline into such a state.

Seeing Dad’s decline has led me to recognize a similar malady negatively impacting the lives of many Christian men – I call it “Spiritual Dementia”.  The big difference between physical dementia and Spiritual Dementia is that Spiritual Dementia is self-inflicted.  Let me explain…

I have seen many men over the years who begin to “forget”.  They choose not to remember what God has done in their lives, what God has said to them over the years, how the Lord has worked in them and through them.  They choose to withdraw and isolate themselves.  They do not interact with other believers.  They do not create community or choose to be part of Christian community.  They slowly become more and more detached.

When you ask these men about what the Lord has been saying to them, what He has said to them, or how He is leading them, they often respond with, “I don’t know”, or “I forget”.  But perhaps that which most greatly leads to their spiritual demise is their gradual refusal to ‘eat’ – to feed on God’s Word.  Jesus said we don’t live on bread alone, but on the Word of God.  We have to choose to feed on God’s Word or we will slowly starve ourselves.  If we refuse to feed on God’s Word we will end up spiritually empty, not ‘alive’, and feeling spiritually ‘dead’ – our faith dies.

‘Spiritual Dementia’ is far more prevalent than we may think.  However, there is a cure.  There is hope.  If you find yourself suffering from these symptoms you can experience renewed life, but you must engage your most powerful weapon – your will.

We must choose to come to Jesus for our life.  We must choose to feed on His Word.  We must choose to walk in community with allies in our faith.  We must choose to drink the living waters He offers us.

Healing from Spiritual Dementia begins by admitting our choices have led us to this place – we have forsaken the well of living water and tried to find life outside of God.  We must return to Him, ask forgiveness and ask for the real life He has for us.  We must choose to feed our heart and soul on the Word of God on a regular basis.  We must also choose to interact with the people of God to walk in authentic, open and honest relationships allowing others to care for us, and to care for others.

Are you suffering from Spiritual Dementia?  God is waiting to heal you when you turn to Him in humility; repent, remember, feed and fellowship.

Matthew 4:4

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””

Psalm 103:2

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – “

Jeremiah 2:13

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

Isaiah 55:1

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”

Hebrews 10:24, 25

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Apr 14, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Spiritual Dementia