What Will You Remember?

Well, that time in life is upon me, the inevitable time when elderly parents begin to die. Sadly, my father appears to be dying…

I have experienced death only once before when my mother died 43 years ago. This is our first journey into old age, and the end of days. Dad suffers from dementia and has been hospitalized twice in the last month. I recently went down to Vancouver to be with him, my step-mother and siblings.

Prior to leaving for Vancouver I began to think through the impact of this situation on me emotionally… What do I feel about my father’s inevitable death? I am saddened or course, but back in his seventies I had the pleasure and privilege of leading him to Christ at a Promise Keepers event.  Then, a couple of years later my brother and I baptized him at a Young Life Men’s Malibu Camp.

Did his life significantly change after his ‘conversion’? No, not really. Does he really understand all that transpired through the decisions he made? I don’t think so. Does he love the Lord? I don’t know. Does he want to be with Jesus in heaven? Yes.

So what can I do but love him, continue to pray for him and trust God’s faithfulness.

My father and I did not necessarily have the greatest relationship. Nor did we have a terrible relationship. He loves me and is proud of me and has told me so. Sure, we had some pretty difficult times over the years and I have had to get through some painful wounds.

Actually, when I was 11 years old I closed my heart to him. I won’t go into the details, but I basically decided that I didn’t need him anymore. I was wrong to do that of course. However, it became a reality I needed to overcome years later.

I love my dad and he loves me. He was never a great communicator though. Years ago I took him away on a special weekend, just the two of us. I thought this would be our big break through, the time when all the things I wanted to hear him say would be said, and we would miraculously have the deep meaningful relationship I had always wanted. But I discovered that a good day with dad was walking along the ocean’s shore amidst the glory of the Coastal Mountains, soaking up the warmth of the summer sun, and simply talking about the weather.

That’s not a slag, nor a judgment, nor a criticism – it’s just reality. And that’s OK.

I can choose to regret what wasn’t, or celebrate what was.

I have discovered I can choose what I will remember about my dad. I can choose to remember all the bad things; the wounds, the disappointments, the shortcomings, the hurtful words, the shattered expectations, the broken promises – you know the kinds of things we tend to struggle with. Or, I can choose to remember the good things; the kind words, the promises kept, the gifts, the pleasant surprises, the values he taught, the character he modeled, the leadership he provided – the plethora of goodness I experienced through my father.

I can hold onto the bad memories, or discard them into the ocean of God’s grace, mercy and love.

I can also hold onto the good memories, to celebrate the man and father he was to me, and the extension of God’s heart he has been as well, or lose the joy of that by holding onto the bad memories.

I choose to remember the good memories, and how God worked in and through my father in my life. I choose to celebrate the man he is, in all his imperfections, and how he has loved me and led me throughout this life.

I love my dad, and am grateful for who he has been to me. We have so much to celebrate and comparatively, so little to regret.

I am sure I am not much different than you. Your father was not perfect either. I do not know your story, but I do know you have memories worthy of celebration and gratitude, and memories worthy of discarding into the ocean of God’s grace, mercy and love.

What will you choose to remember? Let’s celebrate what was, and not simply regret what wasn’t. After all, our sons will have the same decision to make about us…

Romans 10:9-11

“That if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'”

Colossians 3:13

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Exodus 20:12

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

Apr 07, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on What Will You Remember?

Do You Have ‘Scary’ Dreams?

Rocky Mountain Raspberry, Banana Fudge, Chocolate Honey Cup, Peanut Butter Binge, Mocha Almond Fudge, Mango Tango…the choices were overwhelming. Dozens of flavours to choose from. Who knew ice cream came is such a swagger of sweetness?

I perused the selections wondering if I would diverge from my ever-faithful strawberry and chocolate double tap. Still mulling over the flavour dilemma in my mind I began to visually graze around the rest of the establishment. It was one of those touristy ice cream/souvenir/knick knack/tchotchke stores you find along tourism corridors. You know the kind…

It was then that it caught my eye. It seemed to leap off the wall at me. It was calling me and I knew I had to respond. I had to buy it. It was one of those spur of the moment, impulsive decisions.

It’s now in my office.

“IF YOUR DREAMS DON’T SCARE YOU THEY’RE NOT BIG ENOUGH” – in a simple white frame, 16 inches wide by 27 inches tall.

It’s not the ‘art’ of it that caught me, it was the challenge. I had to ask myself two questions:

1. Do I have dreams beyond my own comfort and convenience?
2. Are they big enough to intimidate me?

Do I actually dream of what God wants to do in me and through me? I mean dream in such a way that it’s impossible unless God ‘shows up’? In other words, without God it’s not going to happen.

We don’t often talk about dreams in the church do we? Like, “What are your dreams you want to accomplish?” Somehow we think that having dreams is selfish and sinful. Well, dreams certainly can be selfish and sinful. However, they can also be gloriously Godly. I don’t think God has any issue with grandiose dreams that are for the betterment of others.

Our God is a big God. He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. Shouldn’t our dreams be big? If we’re indeed our Father’s sons, then our hopes, dreams and expectations should be grand and glorious. In fact, I wonder if small dreams are ‘offensive’ to God? I wonder if we have a tendency to set our sights too low, make our dreams too small and God whispers, “C’mon, go for it – let’s do something bigger than that.”

William Carey the ‘father of modern missions’ stated, “Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God.” Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Some people look at what is and ask ‘why?’, others dream of what could be and declare ‘why not!’” C.S Lewis exhorted us by saying, “The problem is not that we desire too much, but that we desire too little.”

These men had ‘scary’ dreams. All gave themselves to big dreams for the benefit of others.

I think our dreams are meant to be big because they are meant to demand faith. They are meant to be far bigger than us; something that overwhelms us. Something that scares us because we’re not sure we have what it takes to do it – the dream is impossible without God. Attempting it on our own would be ruinous.

There is a progression to seeing dreams come to fruition though. It all starts with a faith-fueled desire to see God work powerfully and profoundly in us and through us for His glory, not ours. But we can’t just have big dreams and expect them to magically happen. It starts with a dream, but from there we need to set goals, make a plan, and take action.

Dream – Goal – Plan – Action.

The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. had a ‘scary’ dream, “That one day his four little children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” His goal was to see equal rights granted to black people in the US. He had a plan to accomplish that, and then he took action to accomplish the plan.

And, I have no doubt that every step along the way he was on his knees seeking the heart and help of the One who was working with him to see this dream come to reality – his dream of what could be, all the while declaring “Why not!” In fact, I’ll bet it was the Lord who put that dream in Mr. King’s heart.

Yes, I think the Lord is looking for men to whom He can entrust ‘scary’ dreams. Lord help us to be those men…

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.”

Psalm 20:4

“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

Proverbs 21:5

“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”

Mar 31, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Do You Have ‘Scary’ Dreams?

The Decisions We Make, Make Us

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”  

This is a critical truth taken from Viktor Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning.

Frankl was a holocaust survivor who was subjected to Nazi atrocities during WWII. He knew what it was to choose “one’s attitude” in the midst of horrific circumstances.

The greatest gift God gave mankind is our will – our ability to choose. No matter what, we can always choose what we think, what we believe, what we do. Sure, that’s not easy, but the capacity for mankind to make wise choices in the face of incomprehensibly difficult circumstances is astounding. And, the converse is true as well: the ability for mankind to make incredibly poor choices in the midst of the best of circumstances and influences is confounding.

So, if you were to do an inventory of your choices how would you fair? Probably a mix of wise and foolish choices I assume. We are all similar in that regard. However, maturity is to learn from our poor choices so we make less of them and make more wise choices. Foolish is the man who does not learn from his poor choices, and is, therefore, destined to repeat his mistakes.

We all have an equal opportunity to choose what we will think, believe and do. Awareness and education certainly play a significant role in our ability to make wise choices, but even in the midst of our ignorance we can choose to recognize we don’t know what we don’t know and then seek input from those wiser than us.

Regardless of the decisions we have made, the decisions we make, make us. We are all products of the decisions we make – what we embrace and what we reject. The decisions we have made have led us to where we are. We can choose life or death, blessings or curses. We can make decisions that lead to life, or ones that lead to death.

So how can we make more wise choices? It starts with taking responsibility for making decisions. We need to reject a victim mentality – believing it’s someone else’s fault. “It’s his fault.” “It’s her fault.” It’s their fault.” No. Life is less of what happens to us and far more of how we respond. It’s not about what happens to you, but how you choose to respond to it.

Are you a victim or victor?

We can choose courage and reject cowardice. We can choose forgiveness and reject bitterness. We can choose responsibility and reject passivity. We can choose to humble ourselves and receive God’s grace and reject pride. We can choose to ask for help and reject isolation.

In order to choose wisely we also need to recognize what we need to reject. We need to reject arrogance, isolation, cowardice, apathy, complacency, bitterness, resentment, hatred, self-pity and the like. However, what we need to primarily reject is the belief we can do this life without God.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. To fear the Lord is to believe what He says is true – He means what He says. To believe His Truth and not the lies of the enemy. Surrender to the sovereignty of God is the beginning of wisdom, and that is a life-long journey.

Is it possible this side of heaven to bat 1000 in regard to wise decisions? No. Should we even expect that of ourselves? Absolutely not. “Failure is simply an opportunity to begin more intelligently.” – according to Henry Ford, and I agree with him.

Can we improve our decision making batting average? Definitely, but it is impossible without humility. We must choose humility and surrender to the Lord. In addition though, it is imperative we humble ourselves to receive input from others. We need the input of others to enable us to grow in wisdom.

We are not going to get it right all the time, but we can choose to humble ourselves to learn from our mistakes – and that’s a wise decision.

1 Peter 6:5,6

“In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

Proverbs 1:7

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but foolsdespise wisdom and instruction.”

Deuteronomy 30:19, 20A

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.”

Mar 24, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on The Decisions We Make, Make Us

Crazy Love!

You have got to be kidding me?! She did what? Thousands of dollars of perfume?

That’s crazy.

It wasn’t a joke, and she’s not crazy. She actually did it. She spent thousands of dollars on perfume and then poured it all out. Not only that, she poured it all out over Jesus’ feet and proceeded to wipe His feet with her hair.

Crazy!

And so the story goes of Mary in John 12:1-8. Judas freaked out about it, declaring that the money she spent on the perfume should have been given to the poor. Not because he really cared about the poor, but because he liked to skim a little off the top of the disciple’s cash box.

When he spoke up about the unjust, unwise extravagance that Mary had just perpetrated, Jesus quickly rebuked him. Jesus told him to leave Mary alone – this was a good thing she had done.

Bottom line: she was sacrificially, extravagantly and proactively loving Jesus.

That’s crazy love!

And Jesus loved it.

I did a little calculation in today’s dollars about the cost of Mary’s extravagant perfume action. Nard, in the day, was a very expensive perfume. Let’s say it was equivalent to Chanel #5 today. In today’s ‘Chanel equivalent dollars’ Mary’s bank account would be approximately $9,215.04 less after she bought the pint of nard. That’s a costly act of love.

Costly = sacrifice. If something doesn’t cost us it’s not much of a sacrifice. We are invited to offer our hearts – our lives – as a sacrifice of love and worship to Jesus. Jesus asks us to exchange our life for the life He has for us.

But not only that, Mary’s act of crazy love was extravagant. Sure, the cost of the perfume contributed to the extravagance, but her actions were extravagant. At a dinner party she pours the perfume all over Jesus’ feet and then uses her hair to wipe off His feet. Hey, maybe spend the money on the perfume, but use it in a special ceremony, or to anoint Jesus after He was dead. But the way she did it was crazy extravagant.

But not only sacrificial and extravagant, it was proactive. She just took the initiative. She didn’t ask Jesus what He wanted. She did what she wanted to do to honor Him. She did what she thought Jesus would appreciate. She did what she thought would best express her love for Him.

To me, the sacrifice and the extravagance are amazing, but what really caught my eye was how proactive she was. We have a tendency to ask Jesus, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” “Lord, what should I do?” However, can you imagine Mary asking Jesus that: “Lord, I want to do something special to demonstrate my love for you – what should I do?”

“Hey, if I have to tell you what to do it kind of takes the ‘specialness’ out of the ‘gift’.”

Try that with your wife sometime. “Honey, I want to show you I love you – what should I do?” I’ll bet that won’t end very well. Her desire is for you to know what would touch her heart, and then just do it.

Care enough to know what she cares about.

I want to be like that with the Lord. To know what pleases Him, and then do it. To do things simply to demonstrate my love for Him. To take initiative on the gratitude and love in my heart for Him. I don’t want to be a robot, just asking Him what He wants me to do for Him, but to understand what is in His heart – what He wants, and then take action on that.

I think Mary’s actions are a great example of sacrificial, extravagant and proactive love – crazy love – for Jesus.

Something to note: Jesus said if we love Him we will keep His commands. (John 14:15) Then He said, “A new commandment I have for you, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34)

So, if we really want to love Jesus it’s going to involve loving others.

Find out what pleases Jesus and then go for it – wholeheartedly!

A band of brothers, an army of crazy lovers!

Ephesians 5:10

“and find out what pleases the Lord.”

Ephesians 5:17 (The Message)

“Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.”

Romans 12:1

“Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.”

Mar 17, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Crazy Love!

Faith Without Words Ain’t Worth Spit!

“Hey man, you don’t look like you’re dressed for a work out.  Do you own the place?”

And so began our interaction…

I was leaving the H2O Center after doing my new swimming regimen, when a young man approached me just outside the door.   I replied simply to his initial comments as I passed by him and continued on.  Continued on until I heard him ask this question from behind me,

“Hey this is kind of a strange question, but I see lots of guys with nice cars and a big house, happy wife happy life y’know… How do you get that stuff?  What’s the best way to get the good life?”

I stopped in my tracks.  “Well, happiness doesn’t really come through that stuff.”,  I replied.

“How do you find happiness?”, he asked.

Whoa, this is a God moment…

“Well, I can tell you how I found happiness, but it probably won’t be what others will tell you…”, I offered.

“Ok”

“God changed my life.”

“You mean religion?”, he asked.

“No, more of a relationship.  Happiness comes from knowing the God who created you and loves you.  You are not an accident.”, I sputtered out.

“Yeah I don’t know, my mom had me when she was really young.”, he doubted he wasn’t an accident.

“No, I mean it.  You are not an accident.  You are not a piece of slime that crawled up on the shore.  You were created by a God who loves you and has a plan for you.  You have been created with a God-shaped vacuum in you.  You are made to know God and will never be happy without Him.  Only Jesus can satisfy your thirst for life – stuff can’t do that.”, I continued.

We interacted for quite a while.  I learned his name, about his family, his past, present and future, then referred him to a youth oriented, Jesus-centered meeting place where he could connect with people his age who know Jesus.

I kept thinking, “I have to ‘close’ this guy.  I have to get him to meet Jesus.”  And then, “I have to pray for him right now and right here.”

All the while I felt so awkward, like I was exercising a very weak muscle.

I learned about how he has a “freaky Jesus person” relative who had a negative effect on him and his mom.  I was trying to be sensitive to that and not come on too strong, but didn’t want to miss what God wanted me to do.

We ended our conversation amicably and I moved on.  I didn’t ‘close’ him and I didn’t pray for him.  My head was reeling…

What was that Lord?  I had so many thoughts…”One sows, one waters, another reaps…”, “That felt so awkward.  When was the last time I shared about Jesus with someone who didn’t know Him?  Did I say the right things?”

As I tried to walk through this encounter with the Lord I pulled out a couple of lessons:  I have to be ready to share with people about Jesus.  I also don’t need to feel like I have to do everything in one conversation – share words of life and encouragement, and trust the Holy Spirit.

I thought of that old adage, “Preach the Gospel and, if necessary, use words.”  I take this to mean we can often do a lot of talking and not a lot of practical work to help people.  I also think we can do a lot of practical work to help people and not do any talking.  For people to meet Jesus they need to hear words of life.

Clint Eastwood said in Pale Rider, “Faith without works ain’t worth spit!” (It’s a paraphrase of James 2:20) – which I believe.  However, I also believe that faith without words ain’t worth spit!”  We must be willing to share the reason for the hope we have in Jesus.

You have a Jesus story worth telling.  Your journey with Jesus is your ‘testimony’ – and nobody can refute that.  Yes, let’s do works in keeping with what we believe, but let’s also courageously share our Jesus journey.  It’s not just works, and it’s not just words – it’s words and works.

May we be men who are ready to courageously share words of life with those hungry for life.  Because, faith without words ain’t worth spit.

I Peter 3:15

“but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”

Romans 10:14, 17

“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

Romans 1:16

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Mar 09, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Faith Without Words Ain’t Worth Spit!

The Help of His Presence

I had a buddy share with me this week how he had been experiencing some significant anxiety over his business.  He wasn’t sleeping very well.  He would wake up in the middle of the night racked with worry about the potential for things to go sideways.

He was surprised at how much this difficult situation was overwhelming him – it felt disproportionate.  Sure it was trying, but the degree to which he was ‘freaking out’ was unusual.  Even though he would tell himself that it was not that big of a deal and he shouldn’t be this worried, he was still unable to sleep.  He couldn’t get on top of his anxiety…

At least, not until he intentionally set aside time to connect with God.  He got to the place of recognizing we couldn’t deal with this on his own – he needed to invite the Lord into this.  He needed to bring it to his Heavenly Father.  He needed to ask ‘Dad’ to get involved.

He shared how he took some time to sit down alone with Dad.  He had no other agenda than that of communing with God: to somehow get hold of His Heart; to somehow hear the voice of the Lord.  He sat there still and alone, and prayed one of those simple 4-letter prayers, “Help!”.  No big theologically correct supplication.  No artistic expression of his angst.  No compelling presentation of the depths of despair in his heart.

Nope, just a simple cry for help.

And then Dad simply spoke, “Have I ever let you down?”

He began to recollect situation after situation over the years that were difficult, but how Dad had been there to strengthen him in the midst of the difficulties.  Everything had turned out fine.  Perhaps not how he had thought they should turn out, but in retrospect everything had turned out fine.

His anxiety began to drop off like falling leaves.  And, he is sleeping well again.

It’s amazing how everything changes when Dad shows up.

I remember as a kid sitting in the back of our 1965 Chevelle Malibu convertible driving through storms in the mountains at night, but feeling totally at ease because my dad was driving.  Somehow everything was going to be fine because dad was in control.

I am pretty sure this is what my friend experienced: he realized that Dad was in control. Everything was going to be ok because Dad reminded him how they had driven through many storms previously and things had been fine.  This was simply another ‘storm’.

Are you facing a storm?  Is there something that is keeping you awake at night?  Is there a situation in which you are engaged that is causing you anxiety?

I suggest you learn a lesson from my friend and set aside time to be alone with your Heavenly Father.  He knows what’s going on. He knows what’s on your heart.  He knows what you are dealing with.  He is waiting for you to bring it to Him.  Surrender it to Him and invite Him in.

“Help.”

Then, listen.  Listen for Him:  a thought, a word, a scripture, a song, a memory, a peace, a presence.  There are many ways Dad can speak to you.  But one thing is for sure; just knowing He is with you makes everything ok.

Sometimes we simply need to intentionally sit alone in stillness and wait for the “help of His presence”.  We are helped by knowing He is there.  We are helped by knowing Dad is here – with me.

Nope, you are not alone.  You can certainly try to do it alone though.  You can actually exclude the Lord from whatever you are involved in, but He is there waiting patiently for you to invite Him back in.  Waiting for you to recognize you can’t do it alone.

I heard an interested quote many years ago, “If God seems far away, who moved?”

Oftentimes God seems far away because we are far away from Him.  We need to stop trying to do things on our own, take the time to sit down alone with Dad, still our heart and receive…

The help of His presence.

Psalm 42:5

“Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you become disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.”  (NASB)

Psalm 9:9,10

“The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  Those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.”

Mar 03, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on The Help of His Presence

Love is the Litmus Test

Do you remember doing a litmus test in chemistry when you were back in high school?

According to Wikipedia, “Litmus is a water-soluble  mixture of different dyes extracted from lichens, especially Roccella tinctoria. It is often absorbed onto filter paper  to produce one of the oldest forms of PH indicator , used to test materials for acidity.”

A Litmus Test has become more of a euphemism in modern culture as an indication of what the true nature of something is. It is a crucial and revealing test in which there is one decisive factor. For example, what is the litmus test for being a Christian? What is the one thing we must demonstrate as true followers of Jesus?

I gotta go with Love for 100 Alex.

I am sure it’s no surprise to any of you that love is the litmus test, but what does that really mean? Jesus said if we love Him we will keep His commandments. He then said that we need to love one another as He has loved us. He also said that He gives us a new commandment, to love one another.

I was thinking about this the other week when a man in our house group talked about ripping some old carpet out of a condo he and his wife had recently purchased. They were renoing it before they moved in: new paint and new flooring. I love this guy. He is a good man. We get along well and I respect him for who he is and what he does.

So, what would loving God and this man look like in this situation? Helping him rip out his carpet of course. But that’s inconvenient and uncomfortable. I could pull a muscle or something. I don’t have much free time and I probably need to spend more time with my wife. I’m too old for this, and he is 10 years older than me. He should hire someone to do this, that’s what people in our demographic do. We’re not in our 20’s anymore…

Blah, blah, blah. Suck it up princess.

So I went over with another friend and we ripped up carpet and underlay for a couple of hours. The more I thought about this while I worked, the more I realized that love is an action word. Love is about doing. It’s not about nice warm feelings and happy thoughts. It has more to do with rolling up our sleeves and getting involved in people’s lives. And, it is oftentimes messy, uncomfortable and inconvenient.

I am not really very good at that, but I am learning. I have people around me who are very good at it and they serve as great examples for me.

So what does it mean to love others? Well, in I Corinthians 13:4-8 we learn that love is patient and kind, isn’t envious, boastful, proud, rude, self-seeking or easily angered, it forgives, hopes, perseveres, trusts, never fails and it doesn’t delight in evil. So how do we love God? I think we try to love others according to the outline in 1 Corinthians 13.

How about you? How do you love God? How do you love others? Are you patient, kind and forgiving to others? Are you humble, and content with who you are and what you have? Are you self-centered or others-centered? Do you keep your temper in check and work through the tough stuff choosing to trust and choosing grace for others?

I don’t think there is any way we can do this in our own strength – we need to become new creations in Christ. Thank God that is precisely what He does by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

This love is not simply our best efforts, or empty actions attempting to do our duty as Christians. No, this must is a wholehearted, God-breathed love that only comes as we declare our inability to love the way we are called to love and cry out in desperation for the Holy Spirit to work in and through us for the benefit of others.

Yes, by loving others we will demonstrate that we love Him. Our willingness to love others is definitely the litmus test of God’s love in us – and then through us to others.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

1 Peter 4:8-10
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

Romans 12:10
“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

Feb 24, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Love is the Litmus Test

Are You a Gold Miner?

Have you noticed the number of reality shows about gold mining?  Gold Diggers, Claim Jumpers, Gold Rush, and Yukon Gold are all reality shows about people searching for gold in a wide variety of locales using a wide variety of methods.

I am not a student of these shows, but I had the opportunity to catch one the other night.  What I saw were a number of different groups of people trying to strike it rich in the Yukon.  They seemed to be average people wanting to hit the mother load that would set them up financially for life.  One particular man in the show had spent all his retirement savings on heavy duty equipment to mine his claim.

He has a huge excavator and a massive wash/screening plant.  He fills up the wash plant with bucket loads of gravel with the excavator where it is washed with copious amounts of water and screened through a series of screens until the small gold particles settle down into the bottom level of the plant.  Apparently the strategy is to ensure you are continuously feeding the wash plant with gravel to maximize the gold particles getting screened out.

I was amazed at the scale of the operation in which these people are engaged.  They are incredibly committed to finding as much gold as they can.  It was very impressive to see the extent to which they apply themselves to find what appears to be a small amount of gold.

They are all in.  They are focused.  They are hard working.  They are committed.  They are hopeful.  They are passionate.  They have visions of glory.

I recalled this show when our Pastor shared something this week at a “Hearing God” seminar.

Our church is doing a 5 week series to learn how to hear God and walk more closely with Him.  Our Pastor shared how he starts each day by sitting quietly with his journal.  He reads scripture, then writes down in his journal what he believes God is speaking to him.  He is practicing hearing God.  He knows that sometimes he is going to hear accurately and sometimes not.

He likened this process to mining for gold.  You have to go through a fair bit of gravel to find some gold.  So, he writes down each day what he is hearing.  Then, at the end of the week he reviews what he wrote to look for any “veins” of truth he sees in what he has written.  Amidst the gravel of his inaccurate hearing he finds nuggets of gold that the Lord has spoken throughout the week.

He is all in.  He is focused.  He is hard working.  He is committed.  He is hopeful.  He is passionate.  He has visions of glory.  He is a gold miner of God’s Word.

His journaling practice, his desire to hear God, and the recent gold mining show I watched all ganged up on me.

How committed am I to mine for the Truth?  How passionate am I about seeking for wisdom?  How hard do I work to discover God’s Word?  How focused am I to uncover nuggets of God’s heart?

How about you?

If I’m honest, if I mined for gold with as much passion, commitment and hard work I apply to hearing God’s heart, then I fear I would be a very poor miner indeed.

How about you?

I propose we take a lesson from these crazy, fanatical, passionate and overzealous gold prospectors and dive wholeheartedly into mining for wisdom, Truth and God’s heart.  Let’s set aside time to focus our efforts on studying God’s word and listening to God’s heart to discover the riches of the Kingdom of God.  The riches there to uncover are exponentially more valuable than gold.  These are riches that do not decay and can never be stolen.

True wealth and countless riches are discovered when we give everything we have to stake our claim in the Kingdom of God.

Are you a gold miner?  What gold are you working for; the treasures of this world, or the riches of the Kingdom?

Let’s be gold miners of wisdom, Truth, and God’s heart to discover the true riches of His kingdom in us and through us.

Psalm 19:9,10

“The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.  The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.  They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.”

Proverbs 8:17-19

“I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.  With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.  My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.”

Matthew 13:44

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

Feb 17, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Are You a Gold Miner?

Melody or Harmony?

Can you sing harmony?

Maybe first I should ask if you sing?

A lot of men get a little subconscious when they sing. I saw an awesome shirt a man was wearing at a men’s conference, “Real men sing real loud!” I love it!

So let’s assume that you do sing. Do you have the ability to sing harmony?

I unfortunately am not graced with that ability. My sons though, have learned how to harmonize and sound fabulous. Benjamin in particular has an amazing musical ability and can harmonize in ways that I find astounding. Clearly not an ability he inherited from me.

For those of you who may not know the difference between melody and harmony I will attempt to explain the two: Melody is the main music line of the song, that which you would typically sing along to. The harmony is a combination of notes that fits with the melody and dances around it – higher and lower than the melody notes. For example, the Beach Boys were famous for their multi-part harmonies. Obviously there are also innumerable other bands whose distinct sounds are generated partially from the harmonies they weave around the melody of the song.

The melody provides the foundation upon which the harmonies are built.

I heard a really profound story about harmony and melody this week. The story told of a mother who would tuck her young child into bed each night, and then they would sing together. One night the mother decided to sing a harmony to the song her child was singing. The child stopped singing and asked what she was doing. The mother told her child she was singing a harmony, which was a series of different notes that danced upon the foundation of the melody.

The child tried to harmonize, but couldn’t quite get the hang of it. However, they both continued to practice over the next number of weeks until the point where the child began to harmonize quite beautifully. The mother then shared this simple truth:

“This is like our life in Jesus. He is the melody, and our lives are a harmony built upon the foundation of His song in us.”

Wow. I was both touched and convicted.

I began to wonder if my life is built on the melody of Jesus with which I harmonize, or is it my melody with which I ask Jesus to harmonize?

How about you?

Hmmmmm – let’s ponder that…

It is so easy to fall into a mindset of asking Jesus to bless what we are doing, instead of taking time on a regular basis to get alone and get quiet to ask the Lord what He is saying – to listen to Him and follow His lead. “What is the melody You are singing Lord with which I can harmonize?”

That takes practice. Just like the young child had to practice harmonizing with her mother, we need to practice harmonizing with our Father. It’s not going to happen perfectly right at the beginning. In fact, it’s not going to happen perfectly ever – this side of heaven. We are going to sing a few wrong notes, go off key, and miss the rhythm, but that is what the grace of God is all about. All the Lord is looking for is for men who start by saying, “Lord I want to sing your melody, not mine, and I really need your help to be able to sing along with you.”

And you know what? I think to start out we first need to be able to sing the melody with the Lord before we start getting fancy with any harmonies. And if you see someone else who seems to be able to walk through life fabulously harmonizing with Jesus, don’t get down on yourself because you are just struggling to follow the melody line with Him. Keep following His lead and sing the song you hear Him singing.

I think the key lesson here is to ensure we are following God, and not asking Him to follow us to bless what we are doing. May we learn to follow the melody of God, singing along with Him to add a sound that is uniquely ours.

John 10:27

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Luke 14:27

“And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

Psalm 40:2a-4

“He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.”

Jan 27, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Melody or Harmony?

Getting Free From Offense

Have you ever been really hurt by someone?

Of course you have – everyone has. Sadly, it is part of the human experience, the common bond that binds us all together.

We are human, and, therefore, have to interact with other humans. Humans by our very nature are flawed and foolish. Hey, we’re only ‘human’.

Who hurt you?

Parent, pastor, parishioner, partner, personal friend, employee, employer, co-worker, competitor, spouse, sibling, stranger, relative, teacher?

All of the above?

Being human involves being hurt, offended, bullied, belittled, abandoned and abused by other humans. Certainly there are various degrees of pain and suffering, but typically they are all caused by another person – someone upon whom we may focus our wrath and resentment.

We must understand that resentment, wrath and offense are all prisons that do not bind the offender, but the offended. Our offense actually imprisons us, not them. So, we must do ourselves a favour and let ourselves out of prison.

And, the key to the lock is forgiveness.

However, forgiveness is not the objective, but the opportunity. Forgiveness is not the goal, but the gateway.

Let me explain…

There are seven steps to transition from victim to victor. Seven steps to getting free from offense. Forgiveness is merely the fourth, and the fulcrum.

1. Shock
2. Grief
3. Anger
4. Forgiveness
5. Gratitude
6. Repentance
7. Blessing

Initially when we are hurt we are in a state of shock. How could this happen to me? Why? What just happened? We are stupefied by the pain. We can be numb.

Then the grief sets in. We can be overwhelmed by grief and lose hope, passion, purpose, conviction, commitment – heart.

Grief then gives way to anger. Anger never travels alone, it always invites along resentment, bitterness and offense. They can be a tough team to beat. If we do not choose forgiveness we get stuck in the cycle of anger and grief, and trapped in the prison of resentment, bitterness and offense. If we do not insert the key of forgiveness into the lock of our imprisonment we stay bound into a life that is an uphill battle always fighting grief and anger; never experiencing the life Jesus has for us.

Forgiveness opens up the prison to set us free from offense, and is the gateway to true freedom. However, most people stop there. They do not move past forgiveness. It’s definitely better than prison, but there is more…

The next step is gratitude. We choose to be grateful to God for our experience. Grateful for the growth. Grateful for God’s grace. Grateful for the refining of suffering that leads to hope. Grateful that God is sovereign and the tools He chooses to use to work on us are flawed humans just like us.

We can then choose to move to the next stage of freedom, which is repentance for our own issues. We need to own our own stuff. We are not perfect. What do we need to take responsibility for in the situation? Pride, independence, selfishness, self-centeredness, greed, ignorance, ingratitude, ineptitude, indifference? When we own our own issues we have grace for other people’s issues and can more easily forgive. This repentance definitely involves the Lord, and may even involve those by whom we have been offended.

The final stage in freedom from offense is actually blessing the person who hurt you. Do something good to them. Extend kindness. Like Jesus said, “Bless those who curse you.”

A fabulous example of this is Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery. They essentially killed him. Totally malicious. If anyone had the right to be angry, bitter, resentful and offended it was Joseph. But it was in prison he learned the key to getting out of prison. When he finally had the opportunity to meet those responsible for his pain and suffering he had this to say in Genesis 45,

“And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you…So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God…You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me-you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have.  I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.”

^“And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them.”

Joseph understood that forgiveness is the key to open the door of the prison of offense. He then transitioned from victim to victor by choosing gratitude, repentance and blessing.

Forgive, be grateful for the sovereignty of God, own your own stuff and then bless those who cursed you.

Forgiveness is the gateway not the goal. The goal is freedom and life in Jesus.

Galatians 5:1

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

Jan 20, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Getting Free From Offense

Don’t Ruin Your Appetite!

Have you ever noticed how much food teenage guys can pack away?

If you have had teenage males in your house you probably noticed your grocery bills went way up during that time. I was amazed at how much food our guys could consume. They are in their twenties now, so things have slowed down a bit, but they could sure pack it away during their teen years.

I remember when I was in junior high my brother, who was in his twenties at the time, would take me to the Dragon Inn All-You-Can-Eat Smorgasbord.  For $2.95 you could pile as much as you wanted on as many plates as you wanted. I seem to recall eating my way through 3 plates full of Chinese Food, when I only weighed less than 100 pounds. I probably ate about a third of my body weight in Chow Mein, Chicken Balls, Sweet & Sour Pork and Mushroom Fried Rice.

We would then go outside after our feast and engage in the brainless pursuit of ‘belly-bucking’ – the details of which I will leave for another time…

Why is it guys at that age seem to have an endless need for food?

I think it’s because those are years of intense growth. Anne figured she could always predict when the guys were in the middle of a growth spurt by the amount of food they consumed. Major growth requires major food intake. If you want to grow you need a big appetite.

You have probably also noticed, if you are middle aged, that our appetites seem to naturally decrease as we age. This, of course, is a good thing to a certain extent because if we consumed food at the rate we did when we were younger we would surely continue to grow – out instead of up.

Appetite is a curious thing. Oftentimes we can have an appetite for the things that are not prudent for us to consume, and we don’t have an appetite for those things our bodies need to be healthy. I remember the boys would come home from school and begin to rummage through the fridge and the cupboards to prepare an after school gastronomic extravaganza.   When they would continue to eat closer to the dinner hour Anne could invariably be heard saying…

“Don’t ruin your appetite!”

I know you know the line because we all heard it when we were teens. Our mothers knew if we filled ourselves up on snacks we would lose our appetite for dinner and not be able to eat the balanced meal that would actually contribute to the health of our growing bodies. The only way not to lose our appetite for that which was important was to not consume too much junk food.

There is a profound spiritual principal in there…

Spiritually can consume too much junk food so that we actually start to lose our appetite for the true spiritual food we need to grow strong and healthy. We can start to lose our appetite for God and the things of God.

Have you lost your appetite for Jesus?

We can consume lots of things that cause us to lose our appetite for Jesus: busyness, selfishness, pleasure, laziness, apathy, TV, lust, complacency, greed, money, adventure, popularity, bitterness, anger…there are myriad ‘snacks’ we can consume that cause us to lose our hunger for Jesus.

We can choose to feed on lots of things to try to fill our hunger for life that do not ultimately satisfy – and they can steal our appetite for God. They do not fulfill us of course, and do not lead to strength and health, but we oftentimes continue to try to feed on them and then find ourselves with a very small appetite for the things of God.

Jesus said that He is the only source of life. We need to feed on Him. And thankfully, He can also change our hearts and give us our appetite back. It has been said that it is not really the hungry who seek the Bread of Life, but the Bread of Life who seeks the hungry.

If you find yourself with a small appetite for Jesus I would suggest you pray very simply:

“Jesus, increase my appetite for You!”

And then limit your consumption of spiritual junk food – don’t ruin your appetite!

Psalm 34:8

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”

John 6:58

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

John 20:31

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

Jan 13, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Don’t Ruin Your Appetite!

We Gotta Get Back to the Fundamentals

Have you ever watched a post-game show with the coach of the losing team?

When a coach is sick and tired of losing, of enduring one more game where his team was overwhelmed by the opposition and got their butts kicked, he will often say,

“We gotta get back to the fundamentals of the game.”
Every sport has fundamentals that need to be mastered in order to be a winner. The fundamentals are those basic skills players must be trained in; the skills they must practice over and over again in order to be proficient. There is no winning without being skilled in the fundamentals of the game.

This got me thinking, “What are the fundamentals for Godly living?” I figure there are 5:

1. Courage
2. Confession
3. Communion
4. Community
5. Combat

1. Courage

No one can deny it takes courage to walk with God. We have to choose to move forward in the face of fear. Courage is simply not letting your fears stop you from following Jesus where He is leading you.

“Courage is being scared spitless, but saddling up anyway.” John Wayne

It is impossible to apprehend all that for which God has apprehended you without courage.

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” I Corinthians 16:13,14

2. Confession

We are going to mess up. We are going to sin. We are not perfect, nor will we be this side of heaven. We must, therefore, choose humility, repentance, surrender and submission. This is not a one-time act. No, this is a lifestyle. We must choose a lifestyle of “laying aside the sin that so easily besets us” – that’s confession and repentance. (Hebrews 12:1)

“If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9

Confession and repentance are a gift from God – it’s a Miraculous Mulligan, a Divine Do-Over, a Spiritual Start Again, a Righteous Reboot. It’s not a burden – it’s a gift of grace, a privilege, a pleasure. We get to start over!

3. Communion

Communion with God is the journey and the destination. We have been created to be in relationship with Him. He invites us as beloved children into His family, to relate to Him as a loving Father made possible by the redemptive work of the Son and the renewing work of the Holy Spirit.
We are invited to commune with God through prayer, praise, worship, work, play, solitude, silence, art, music, study, His Word – myriad ways our Creator invites us to find life in Him, connect with Him and feed on Him. The basis of our communion is worship: a wholehearted surrender and submission to His loving will and work in us and through us.

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” Luke 4:8
4. Community

Following Jesus is a team game. If I told you that I played hockey, but didn’t play on a team you would tell me that I really wasn’t a hockey player. The very essence of hockey is that it is a team sport. So is Christianity. Jesus came to birth a Body, a People, a Holy Nation – the Church.
A man alone is easy prey. We are dead if we do not walk in community. Living in community amongst allies in the Body of Christ is fundamental to life in Jesus.
We must choose to give our time, talent and treasure to others, and receive by listening to, learning from and leaning on others. It’s called love.
“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.” Hebrews 10: 24, 25

5. Combat

Open war is upon us whether we would risk it or not. The reality of your life, of our life in God, is that it is opposed. We cannot put our head in the sand and hope we can escape spiritual opposition.

“Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring-those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.” Revelation 12:17

There is no way we will experience the life that God has for us, and for others through us, if we are not willing to fight for what Jesus has purchased for us. Jesus has defeated sin, death and the enemy, but His victory is contested by the Enemy who wants to know if we know that Jesus has all authority in Heaven and on Earth – and has given it to us in His name.
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
There you have it, the 5 Fundamentals for life in Jesus. By choosing to become proficient in these 5 spiritual fundamentals we will appropriate the life Christ purchased for us, and for others through us – we will start winning!
We gotta get back to the fundamentals!

Jan 06, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on We Gotta Get Back to the Fundamentals

Are You Starving Yourself?

New Year’s resolutions – do you make them?

Every year millions, perhaps billions, of people all over the world resolve to make things different in the New Year. The resolutions that are made are as varied as the people making them. However, one resolution that frequently appears at the top of the list has to do with improved health.

“I want to be healthier in the coming year – to lose some weight.”

Health is a fairly significant concern for many, many people.

Recently I have had the privilege of hearing some very educated speakers on the topic of health. We tend to primarily focus on exercise when we want to address issues of health, but from what I have been hearing we need to focus more on what we put into our bodies.

Is exercise important? Yes. Is what we put into our bodies really important? Absolutely.

I am a swing and a miss on both counts: I don’t exercise regularly and I don’t fuel myself well. In fact, I was chatting with Anne just before dinner as I sat down to write this, and realized that I haven’t had anything to eat today. A caramel macchiato at 10 AM has been my only sustenance all day. And, when I do eat, it’s not necessarily the best ingredients I put in my body. Habits like that do not lead to a healthy body, soul or spirit.

I can starve my body of the nutrients it needs to be the best it can be. It’s not out of ignorance, it’s out of laziness. I know what I should eat and drink, I’m just too lazy to actually do it – I don’t care enough. That’s a bad habit that needs to change.

We can do the same thing spiritually. We can starve ourselves of the very “food and beverage” we need for life; to survive, grow and be healthy. We starve ourselves of the spiritual food we need that leads to the life we so desire.

My question to you is simple: Are you starving yourself of the spiritual food you need to be vibrant and alive? The very spiritual food you need to experience the life you are looking for from Jesus?

I have met many men who confess they feel empty; they aren’t experiencing the life Jesus promised them. There can be numerous reasons for this, but I want to look at it through the lens of personal responsibility…

What would you think of a man who was sick, losing weight and slowly fading away because he refused to eat? And, he was complaining that God didn’t seem to care about him because he keeps getting worse.

You would probably say something like, “Buddy, wack your head with a stick – you need to eat. You’re starving yourself. God hasn’t abandoned you, you have abandoned yourself – and God.”

It seems ridiculous when we look at this in the natural, but this is what we often do in the spirit. We starve ourselves of what the Lord has given us to ensure we are healthy and growing in Him. There are myriad spiritual foods the Lord has given us, but some of the basic food groups are the following:

1. Communion with God through prayer, worship and study of His Word.
2. Communion with others through giving of our time, talent and treasure; and through receiving by listening to, learning from and leaning on others.

Fellowship with God and with others.

If you feel empty, if you feel like you are starving for the life God promised you, then perhaps you are not feeding on what the Lord has given you for life.

I think there is one great impediment inhibiting us from feeding on that which the Lord has given us for life…

Pride.

We think we can do life on our own without what God has said we need for life in Him.

Are you starving yourself of the life God has for you? Are you insisting on disregarding that which God says leads to life and instead are doing your own thing?

Let’s resolve for this coming year to humble ourselves and feed on that which the Lord says leads to life – may 2014 be our healthiest year yet.

Isaiah 55:1-9 (The Message)

Seek God while he’s here to be found, pray to him while he’s close at hand. Let the wicked abandon their way of life and the evil their way of thinking. Let them come back to God, who is merciful, come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness. 

“I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” God’s Decree. “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think.”

Dec 30, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Are You Starving Yourself?

What do You Want for Christmas?

Click to watch the WestJet Commercial.

Wow! Have you seen it?

Have you seen the WestJet Christmas ‘commercial’?

Totally awesome.

If you haven’t seen it, click the link under the photo to watch it.

Here is the gist of the campaign…

WestJet put a huge Christmas present in the departure lounge of an airport somewhere in Canada. They installed a large TV screen in the front side of if that invites waiting passengers to scan their boarding pass. Upon doing so, Santa begins interacting with the passengers via live video. He knows their names (because of the scanned passes) and asks them what they want for Christmas.

Passenger after passenger, amidst squeals of delight at the remarkable technology, share with Santa what they would like for Christmas: socks, underwear, a flight home to family at Christmas, a camera, a warm scarf, new boots…the list goes on and on, with one family even asking for a 50″ TV.

As soon as the passengers give their requests, WestJet staff race off to purchase the requested gifts. There is an army of WestJetters who buy, wrap and deliver the gifts.

When the flight arrives the passengers head to the baggage carousel for their luggage, but the first luggage to arrive – amidst much regalia – are all the wrapped gifts heading down the luggage belt like a merry Christmas gift train spilling onto the carousel with the names of the recipients brightly displayed on each gift.

The passengers are “gobsmacked” – to borrow a fitting English term.

Joy and excitement fills the room as passenger after passenger unwraps the very thing they asked for merely hours before. Tears are shed. Hugs are shared. Joys are exclaimed. Thanksgiving is offered. It is an amazing site – just incredible.

There was one particular line that Santa shared on the blooper reel that caught my attention. A woman had just shared her desire with him for new socks. He indicated that was no problem, but then said, “You are going to wish you asked for something more.”

Something CS Lewis said popped into my mind,

“The problem is not that we desire too much – it’s that we desire too little.”

When all the gifts were being unwrapped by the passengers I have no doubt that a number of passengers looked at what other people were getting – especially the family who got the 50″ TV – and said to themselves, “I should have asked for more.”

Jesus asks us, “What do you want?”

We are told in scripture to ask in prayer and we will receive – the only limitation is our faith. Perhaps our only limitation is the lack of audacity to go for it. To really shoot for the moon in our request of God.

I am not talking about the things of this world – a new car, house, boat, money, etc. No, I am talking about significant, earth shaking, eternally significant and  seemingly impossible things. There is no limit to God’s power and resource.

What would you think of someone who, when asked by Bill Gates what they wanted as a gift – and that money was no object, asked for some new underwear? How about asking for a billion dollars to care for orphans, or to provide clean water around the world, or to build schools and train teachers for those children who go without education, or to feed the poor, or do research and development into fighting disease, or myriad other needs we have in the world?

My point is this: the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings is asking us what we want – are we aware of significant issues of eternal importance and engaged with God in stewarding His unlimited resources to see His joy, right living and happiness come in people’s lives? Or, are we more concerned about a new car or a set of golf clubs? There is nothing wrong with a new car or a set of golf clubs, but if that is the extent of our desire, then we have missed the heart of God.

Oh Lord, have mercy on us. Help us to engage with you in the deeper issues of life and ask for what is already in Your heart for us and through us for mankind.

So, what do you want for Christmas? Are you asking for enough?  Ask and you shall receive…

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.”

John 1:38

“Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’”

James 1:17

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Dec 24, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on What do You Want for Christmas?

Please sir, I want some more.

Slowly and fearfully he gets up from his seat and moves toward the object of his fear. He is driven forward by hunger.

The pain of staying the same has finally overcome the pain of the change he wants. No one has done this before – at least they haven’t done this and not suffered any consequences.

The object of his fear is also the only one who can help him. Will he be punished or rewarded? He doesn’t really know, but he is willing to find out.

Slowly, cautiously, fearfully, timidly, yet tenaciously he approaches the one to whose authority he must submit. He doesn’t really like this, but he has no option. So, ‘cap in hand’, he makes his way forward in the hopes that he won’t be rejected, or worse, punished for simply wanting a better life.

Does he deserve a better life? Probably not. Has he earned a better life? Probably not. Does he even have the right to ask for more? Probably not again. The cards are stacked against him, but his hunger is relentless.

He makes his way to front, lifts his bowl and asks the stern, angry and fear inducing master for more food:

“Please sir, I want some more…”

Things quickly go sideways and Oliver is soon extremely regretful for daring to hope there could possibly be more for him.

Do remember the story of Oliver Twist?

It was Charles Dickens’ second novel.  Oliver Twist has been the subject of numerous film and television adaptations. It is also the basis for a highly successful musical and the multiple Academy Award winning 1968 movie entitled Oliver.

The scene I described above is when Oliver dares asks the orphanage/workhouse master for more food at dinner. These are the lyrics to the song sung by the master that follows his request:

“Oliver, Oliver – Never before has a boy wanted more
Oliver, Oliver – Won’t ask for more when he knows what’s in store
There’s a dark, thin winding stairway without any banister
Which we’ll throw him down and feed him the cockroaches served in a canister
Oliver, Oliver – What will he do when he’s turned black and blue
He will rue the day somebody named him Ol-i-ver
Oliver, Oliver – What heavens pray will the governors say?
They will lay the blame on the one who named him.”

Sadly, I think this is sometimes how we picture our interaction with God.

Cap-in-hand we fearfully approach God knowing that we don’t deserve anything but punishment and dare to ask for more, or for help of any kind, hoping that somehow we won’t make things worse by making Him aware of us. Perhaps better is we stay lost in the crowd and resign ourselves to the fact that we are on our own and this is as good as it gets.

Can you relate?

Well, I am very pleased to tell you that that is not an accurate picture of God’s heart toward you. If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, received His gift of forgiveness and new life, you have been born again into the family of God as a beloved son. He has loved you with an everlasting love. He has drawn you with loving kindness.

We actually can’t even imagine all that God has prepared for us as His beloved children. We can boldly approach His throne of grace like dearly loved princes of a benevolent king. No fear – perfect love casts out all fear. No need to come cap-in-hand when we are in Jesus. Jesus makes a way for us to connect with our Father who aches for His children to come to Him for all we need. He also pours out good gifts to us. There is no fear in asking for more – He invites us to ask so He can provide.

No, there are no Olivers in the family of God – only beloved sons who can boldly come to their Father for all their needs.

Hebrews 4:16

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

James 1:17

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Jeremiah 31:3

“The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”

Matthew 7:11

“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”

Dec 09, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Please sir, I want some more.

Get Up On Your Feet!

Click to see an amazing intro of Jesus

He stepped up on the stage and blew the crowd away.  You could say he brought the house down.

Nobody had an inkling of what he was about to do before he did it.  He is a comedian.  He’s supposed to be funny; he’s not supposed to be serious.  But what he did was no comedy act – he was dead serious and it brought thousands to their feet in solidarity with his message.

The comedian is Steve Harvey and his message was given to an arena full of spectators there for a good time.  For a reason I do not know, he decided to present how he would introduce Jesus if he ever got the chance.  His presentation drew a spontaneous standing ovation, in the middle of his intro, from those in attendance. Because the crowd knew that is what we owe Jesus – a standing ovation.

I won’t attempt to describe his presentation – you have to see it to believe it.  So please take a little break right now and click on the photo to watch the video.

His introduction got me thinking about how we worship during church meetings.  Oftentimes we can be quite reserved during praise and worship times.  We might be struggling with feelings of unworthiness, shame and guilt.  We might simply be feeling a little bummed out.  We might be angry or upset about something.  Whatever the reason, we can sometimes disengage and not really ‘enter into’ corporate worship.

In light of this I thought about how I would respond if I had had the opportunity to be at an event where Mother Theresa was introduced.  It wouldn’t matter how I was feeling, I would give her a standing ovation.  Who she is and what she has done demands my utmost respect and admiration – and how we typically express that admiration when in an audience is to give a standing ovation.  I am sure you would respond in the same manner.

Our response to Mother Theresa wouldn’t be based on what we were feeling – it’s irrelevant.  Our response would be based on the honor that is due her.  Our response would be based on what she is worthy of.  We would step out of whatever negative mindset we may be in to give an appropriate response to being in the presence of someone worthy of honor.

Now, let’s apply that same thinking to times of praise and worship during church meetings.

Is Jesus worthy of our worship?  Yes.

Is the purpose of our worship to honor God for who He is and what He has done?  Yes.

Should how we feel have any impact on whether or not He is worthy of our worship?  No.

In light of this I think Steve Harvey’s introduction of Jesus could be played before every church worship time – to help us focus on the fact that our worship is in response to who God is, and has nothing to do with what we are feeling at the time.

King David understood this.  He would speak to himself to remind himself that worship is about God’s worthiness, not his.  “Praise the Lord O my soul!”  He would exhort himself to praise the Lord even when he didn’t feel like it.  I think that is the heart the Lord wants us all to have; to choose to step out of ourselves and give the Lord the honor due His great goodness and His good greatness.

Let’s remember Steve Harvey’s profoundly powerful exhortation, “Get up on your feet!  Put your hands together and show your love for the second coming of the One and Only!”

Let’s choose to wholeheartedly give the Lord the honor, glory and worship due His name, which has nothing to do with who we are but everything to do with who He is and that He has chosen to pour out His love on those who are so unworthy.

Yes, get up on your feet and praise the Lord O my soul – all that is within me praise His holy name!

Psalm 103:1, 2

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name.  Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits…”

Psalm 106:1

“Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”

Psalm 147:1

“Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him.”

Dec 03, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Get Up On Your Feet!

Let Your Light Shine

Click to see Bruce Springsteen singing “This Little Light of Mine”

It happened in a flash. I didn’t even see it coming. I have no idea how it happened, but I was immediately impacted by the result.

It flowed across my thigh, onto my crotch and then puddled on the seat between my legs.

Bummer.

I quickly reached for the upturned cup to stop the continued flow of water making things worse, but the damage was done. I made a feeble attempt with my hand to squeegee the water that had pooled between my legs. Even in the midst of my relative success in pushing volumes of water off the front of my seat, I could feel the water seeping into my pants soaking my rear end.

This was going to be an uncomfortable flight…

I flagged down the attendant for a napkin to dry things off a bit. I also thanked her for not serving tomato juice.  We laughed. This was funny. The saving grace was that it was only water, which would dry, and the fact that I was wearing dark jeans. The wetness was, visibly, barely perceptible.

I immediately thought of a principle I learned many years ago that I call “Dark Suit Faith”. It’s having faith that is like wetting your pants in a dark wool suit – it gives you a nice warm feeling, but nobody notices.

Let that soak in for a minute. (Forgive the pun.)

Ok, now that you have that image indelibly imprinted into your mind, it’s having faith that isn’t really that obvious to anyone else. Sure, you have a faith that makes you feel good, but it doesn’t necessarily impact anyone else. And, I don’t think that’s the kind of faith the Lord wants us to have.

Our faith is meant to make a difference. It is meant to have a positive impact in the lives of other people.

Back to the airplane…

After cleaning myself up a bit I settled into the flight and began to do some work. Head phones on listening to music, I began to put together a leadership exercise for my work with The Executive Committee Canada. After close to an hour of this the young man next to me asked me what I was doing – while my headphones were still on. Now this was a clear violation of flight etiquette. “Never try to engage a passenger sitting next to you when they are wearing headphones – it is a clear indication they are not interested in human interaction.”

Regardless, his engagement led to some encouraging interaction as I learned about the exciting new job offering he had flown to San Francisco for from small town Texas. I encouraged him about many things regarding life and leadership, but nothing specific to faith in Jesus.

I was going to invite him to join me in the lounge during his layover. I thought I would bring up the idea of gaining the world, but losing your soul, but did not get the chance as he had to head immediately to his connecting flight.

I began to think about my brother, who is a pastor. He has an ability – or perhaps more accurately stated ‘the willingness’ – to bring up Jesus with everyone he sits with on a plane. In fact, on his last trip he led the guy next to him to Christ. Not me, I tend to tune the world out. Sure I engage on numerous occasions, but not with intentionality to shift the conversation to faith.

I don’t want to have a dark suit faith. I want, with all discretion, discernment, insight and understanding, to sensitively bring Jesus into as many conversations as possible. No, I don’t want to have a one track mind, but I do want to be more intentional to simply ask the Lord what He would have me say to those with whom I interact.

Jesus told us that we are the light of the world and we need to shine. We must be ready to give an account of the hope that is in us. Let’s shine. Let’s be willing to share hope, life and love with people as the Spirit leads us.

No more ‘dark suit faith’ – let’s let our light shine.

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.”

1 Peter 3:15

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”

Nov 25, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Let Your Light Shine

Mighty Fine Fruit

Do you like Mandarin oranges?

I love Mandarin oranges. They have been an important part of our family Christmas tradition for decades.

Do you remember when you were a kid and they would come in those little wooden crates, each orange wrapped in paper?  I used to make parkades for my Hot Wheels out of the crates. I can still feel the roughness of the wood and those little nails that held it all together in the annuls of my mind.

Our Christmas stockings would always have an orange in the toe. After eating through the other goodies in my stocking it was always good to dig into that Mandarin orange to wash it all down. And, you always had to peel it in one peel.

Back then my dad used to call them Jap oranges, which of course I did for years until I realized that it was a bit of a derogatory term. Now they are called Mandarin oranges and we seem to be able to get them all year round and not just at Christmas. And I am very glad we get access to this delicious little fruit 12 months of the year.

Mandarin oranges have to rank right up there with some of my favourite fruit. Strawberries, cherries, watermelon, mandarin oranges, raspberries, bananas, grapes – man, there are so many mighty fine fruits out there. Anne bought a bunch of Mandarin oranges this week and it got me thinking about fruit, as I just happened to be reading John 15 where Jesus talks about being fruitful.

In fact, scripture speaks a lot about fruit and fruitfulness. Healthy followers of Jesus “bear fruit”, they “produce fruit” and are said to be “fruitful”. Jesus said that He chose us so that we would produce fruit – fruit that will last.

So what does that mean? What does it mean to bear fruit in our lives?

I think it is helpful to remind ourselves about the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Paul tells us in Galatians 5 that this is the “fruit” of the Spirit in our lives. The evidence of the Spirit of God in our lives is demonstrated by the aforementioned list.

Is your life full of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?

Obviously those qualities are meant to be demonstrated by our actions. So how do we ensure our lives bear fruit – the fruit of the Spirit?

Jesus said that unless we abide in Him – unless we remain in Him – we cannot bear fruit. He also said that it glorifies God when we bear much fruit. It’s in this way that we show we are followers of Jesus. So the only way that we can bear fruit that demonstrates we are followers of Jesus is to walk closely with Him. To abide in Him. To live in and through Him. To stay plugged into Him. To remain in Him.

Remember, He is divine and we are de branch. The only way we can produce fruit is to stay in Him.

We must make a daily, and moment by moment, decision to walk in dependence on Jesus – to draw our life from Him. To surrender and submit to Him. To get out of the driver’s seat and give Him the keys to our life. To live a life of humility and repentance continuing to move forward and lay aside the sin that entangles us to pursue Him and His life in us and through us. And, continue to ask the Holy Spirit to fill us and transform us.

It is interesting to note that in Acts 6 the apostles chose men to serve who were “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit”. That suggests to me that we are not necessarily always full of the Spirit – so I keep asking to be filled up with the Spirit, because I am pretty sure that I leak.

So, how do we bear fruit, glorify God and demonstrate that we are followers of Jesus? By living in love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. How do we do that? By continually walking in surrendered relationship with Jesus and asking Him to fill us with the Holy Spirit.

In this way I trust we can start to bear some might fine fruit in our lives.

John 15:4

“Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.”

John 15:8

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Matthew 7:19, 20

“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

Nov 18, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Mighty Fine Fruit

Way More Dangerous

“I not fixed yet, but I’m waaayyyy more dangerous.”

This was one of the most memorable testimonials from one of our Band of Brothers Boot Camps. This particular man had a profound experience during the weekend, but knew that he was on a journey of increasing restoration, healing and freedom.

He hadn’t arrived yet. In fact, he knew he would never “arrive” this side of heaven. However, he knew that in the midst of his brokenness and imperfection he could still do some damage to the forces of evil in the spirit realm.

We seem to sometimes think that we have to be perfect in order to be effective warriors in the battle to see God’s Kingdom come and His will be done in us and through us. Or perhaps more accurately, we think that we have to at least be better men than we are currently in order to fight well against the enemy.

I remember years ago commenting to a close friend that I didn’t feel like I could step into a certain area of ministry until I knew my motives were pure. He very quickly indicated that my motives would never be pure this side of heaven, and God knew that full well. He can refine my motives in the midst of my service. The penny dropped and I realized that the Lord delights in working with broken and flawed people.  In fact, that is all He has to work with.

We have an enemy who is very effective at convincing us that we cannot effectively fight him unless we are better men than we are. It’s quite ingenious really: convince the army that has the authority to live in the victory that Jesus has won on our behalf that we can’t really fight against our enemy to get hold of that victory until we are better men.

And so we don’t. We stay imprisoned by guilt and shame.

Crazy.

The Truth is, we are weak, foolish, broken, sinful men who Jesus has called to embrace the strength, wisdom, healing, forgiveness and freedom He has for us. And, in doing so, we fight against the enemy of our soul who would convince us of anything other than that. We are called to fight against the strategy of the enemy in our lives, and on behalf of those in our sphere of influence and authority, to pull down the lies of the enemy and see the Truth of God’s Kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy become increasingly evident in our lives.

Yes you are broken. Yes you are weak. Yes you are a sinner. Big deal – that’s who Jesus came for. That’s who Jesus came to transform – over the course of your lifetime. You will never arrive this side of heaven. You will always be in process.

You can get in the game. you can get in the fight. You are not disqualified.

Here is what qualifies you to be in the army of God:

1. You must be a sinner.
2. You must be weak and foolish.
3. You must be humble – willing to admit you are a sinner and weak and foolish.
4. You must repent – admit you screw things up regularly and need God to continue to transform you.
5. You must believe the Truth, not the lies of the enemy.

Your sin doesn’t disqualify you, it actually qualifies you to get in the fight. Jesus came for sinners, not the healthy.

There is only one thing that will disqualify you:

Pride.

Pride will isolate you, stop you from opening up to others who can fight alongside you, and stop you from repenting and experiencing the life of Christ. Pride will keep you alone and in the dark with your sin, which leads to guilt and shame, which leads to timidity, apathy, complacency, hopelessness and defeat.

Pride will kill you if you let it, but the reality is you don’t have to let it. You can choose to open up to other men. You can choose to walk in the light.  You can choose to repent.  You can choose to believe that Jesus came for the broken, weak, foolish sinners – you qualify!

We will never be fixed this side of heaven, but we can be way more dangerous if we step into the Truth in the midst of our brokenness.

Fight.

Matthew 9:13

“…for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

I Corinthians 1:27

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”

I Peter 5:5, 6

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

Acts 3:19

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”

Mark 1:15

“The time has come,” He said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Nov 04, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Way More Dangerous

Hell is Paid with Good Intentions

My dad was always a cliché man.  He had a cliché for everything – that’s how he imparted wisdom.  Sadly, or perhaps quite endearing, was his ability to get the clichés slightly wrong.

One of his favourites was, “Hell is paid with good intentions.”

I have since learned that the actual idiom is, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”, but the meaning Dad imparted was the same:  It doesn’t matter what you intend to do, what matters is what you do.

It’s not about what you say, what you think, or what you believe – it’s about what you do.  Don’t tell me what you intended to do, just do it.  “The proof is in the pudding.” Is another idiom he would use to hammer home the idea that it’s our behaviour that matters most.

Culturally, how we think and behave as a people is influenced by many factors – not the least of which are the ancient ideologies from which we have risen.  In light of this it’s interesting to note the difference between a “Greek” mindset and a “Hebrew” mindset, and the influence each has on culture and how we live.  The Hebrew mindset is a decidedly Biblical perspective, whereas the Greek mindset is largely reflected in worldly thinking.

Within the Greek mindset there is room to believe something and not necessarily do it – or do anything about it.  A Greek mindset enables someone to justify believing something, but not doing anything about it.  “Sure, I believe in God…”, but their life is no different from anyone else who doesn’t believe in God.

However, this is not the case in the Hebrew or biblical mindset.  If you believe it, then you live it.  Your actions demonstrate what you believe.  This is really called integrity.  If you are not living what you say you believe, then you don’t really believe it.

To believe is to do.

Jesus talked about this.  He said that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments.  If we say we are Christians, then our life needs to be marked by obedience to what Jesus has taught us.  Belief equals obedience.

How will they know we are Jesus followers?  By what we say?  By what we believe?  By what we pray?  By where we go on Sundays?  Nope, by our love.  Love is not warm fuzzy feelings, it’s action: service, sacrifice, compassion and caring toward other people.

In other words, “love does” – as Bob Goff in his book “Love Does” so compellingly communicates.

What has Jesus commanded us to do?  Love God, love people.

James also tells us that faith without deeds demonstrating our faith is useless.  Or, as Clint Eastwood said the movie Pale Rider, “Faith without works ain’t worth spit.”

So what do your actions demonstrate?  Is there a disparity between what you do and what you say you believe?  Do you believe that your love for Jesus is best demonstrated by telling Him you love Him, or by obeying what He said?  Are you actively loving other people as a means of demonstrating your devotion to Jesus?

I know, I know, there is always more we can do – I’m not talking about trying to earn God’s love or acceptance.  I am simply saying it’s important for our faith to be active.  For our devotion to be demonstrated.  For our love to do.

If we say we believe it, then let’s do our best to do it.  If we are not doing it, let’s ask the Lord to help us to do it and ask our band of brothers to keep us accountable to do it.  Hey, none of us are perfect, but we can certainly do our best to “do” as an indication of what we believe.

The road to hell may or may not be paved with good intentions, but the road to life with Jesus is definitely paved with love – that is demonstrated.  If we love Him, we will obey Him and love others.

John 14:15, 21A

“If you love me, keep my commands…Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.”

James 2:17,19

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead…You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”

John 15:12

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

Oct 28, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Hell is Paid with Good Intentions

It Takes a Team

Click to see the Haka

My son David has been bitten by the rugby bug. He played a little in high school, but has not had the opportunity to play further. However, in that short period of time he got bitten bad and now loves the game.

He’s an All Blacks fan – the New Zealand All Blacks. Arguably the greatest rugby team of all time. He inherited his love of the All Blacks from his Grampa, who is another rabid New Zealand fan. When the boys were little they learned the famous All Blacks Haka and would perform it for Grampa when he came to visit. There is a lot to love about the All Blacks, not the least of which is the Haka and their ability to consistently produce world class teams.

I know nothing about rugby. I played football when I was in high school and then coached high school football for a number of years. Football was my game of choice. It’s a tough, manly, hard-hitting, aggressive game with lots of action and excitement. David has been evangelizing me though. He wants to convert me.  He has consistently and effectively been waxing eloquent about the merits of rugby and its superiority as the manly, hard-hitting, exciting game of choice.

He is winning me over.

We watched the 2013 championship game between New Zealand and South Africa the other night. Wow. End to end action. Little or no stoppage in play for 40 minutes each half. Tough, tough men battling it out together to move the ball down field with a tenacity that is nothing short of inspiring.

However, what really impressed me was how this game is all about team. It takes a team to play this game well. There is no room for “independents”. One man cannot win this game. Every inch of progress down the field is a team effort. The ball is continually passed from man to man. When a man goes down his team mates form a “ruck” over him to protect him from the opposition coming against him. Play starts with a “scrum” where 8 men battle as one to gain an advantage over the opposition. Line outs come into the team lifting each other up to catch the ball.

And, most importantly, the team doesn’t seem to be infected with the mindset of “independents”. When someone scores a try he runs to his team and celebrates with them. He knows the only way he was able to score was because the team worked together and he happened to be the last man with the ball.

Wow – this game screams team like no other.

Here is my point: rugby is a great picture of how we are created to live. It takes a team to do life. It takes a team to walk with Jesus. Life is a team game filled with hard hits, tenacious opposition and great rewards for those who give it all they have to play hard and work as a team.

In team there is camaraderie, there is encouragement, there is challenge, there is support and there is strength. When you are overwhelmed your team mates ruck over you to cover you. When you are tired your team mates help you find that little extra you need to keep going. When you are playing it safe and not engaging, your team mates will challenge you to up your game.  When you play hard and give it all you’ve got your team mates celebrate who you are and what you contribute to the team and the outcome of the game.

Like rugby, life is not meant to be played alone – its very essence is that of a team game.

Why on earth would we ever want to play the game of life alone.

I encourage you to recognize your need for team. The team needs you and you need the team. Don’t do life alone. Seek out team mates who can help encourage, challenge, support and strengthen you. Following Jesus is a team game. When we choose not to live in openness and authenticity with other men following Jesus – team mates – we are not walking in team.

It takes a team to do life. It takes a team to walk with Jesus.

“Either we play as a team, or we will die as individuals.”

Romans 12:4, 5

I Corinthians 12:27

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

I Peter 2:9

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

Oct 21, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on It Takes a Team

The “I Am” of the Storm

“Ahhh, we better get out of here right now.  I have a feeling the lake might be very rough.”

From what we could see of the lake through the trees and the degree to which the trees were now swaying back and forth with the force of the wind, we knew our photographer guide was right.  This was his turf, he knew this mountainous region and this lake better than anyone.  If he said we needed to go then we needed to go now.

We had been doing a photo shoot for a client’s project at Nemo Falls in Valhalla Wilderness Park, a short hike above the shores of Slocan Lake in BCs Kootenay region.  It had been a gorgeous day as we made our way down the lake earlier in the morning.  Bluebird skies, with the lake like glass.

Oh yes, just as I had hoped it would be.

This would be the day that Anne would fall in love with boating.  She would come to love it as much as I do.  Who would not fall in love with being out on the water on a day as glorious as this?  Thank you Lord!

You may have gathered that my wife isn’t particularly fond of boating.  She hasn’t been bitten by the bug yet.  I am bitten and smitten and want her to love it as much as I do.  So, over the course of our years together I keep trying to “sell” her on boating.  I have set up some great trips, but for some reason they all seem to go sideways and she ends up less interested in boating than before our outing.

However, this would be it – this would be the one that wins her heart.  Sadly though, what looks like high winds and whitecaps on the lake, as we peer through the trees from Nemo Falls, could well spell another downfall for me.

Sure enough, when we get down to the lake it is as bad as we had hoped it wouldn’t be.  White caps had been crashing over the transom of the 18 foot closed bow runabout and swamping it.  We quickly had to turn it bow first into the waves and would drain the water out the back as we accelerated into the waves.  Two of us held the boat bow first into the waves as our guide fired up the engine, ready to take off as soon as everyone was in the boat.  It took all our strength to keep the boat from being beached stern first by the force of the storm’s waves.

We got Anne nestled up at the front of the boat right behind the windshield where we knew she would be safe.  We accelerated into the waves and everything looked good – until the first large wave came over the bow, ran up the windshield and crashed through the gap in the canvas top all over Anne.  She was drenched.

Dang, once again there go my aspirations of seeing her enamored with boating.

I can’t go into all the nerve shattering details that followed, but suffice it to say, it was a harrowing experience we will not soon forget and one that significantly set me back in my attempts to win Anne to boating.

The point is this:  we all experience storms in life.  They may be life threatening, or they may simply be uncomfortable.  Regardless, there is a key to getting through the storms of life.  Our objective cannot be to get out of the storm.  The storm may be of the Lord’s fashioning to draw us closer to Him and strengthen us.  Our objective cannot be to find the “eye” of the storm – the calm amidst the violent winds.

No, our objective needs to be to find the “I Am” of the storm.  He is our anchor of hope.  He is our safe harbour.  He is the rock on which we stand while all else seems to be shifting.  When we discover Him in the midst of the storm and seek not to escape the gale, we find a God-breathed peace that surpasses understanding.

Peace is not the absence of storm and conflict, but the ability to deal with it.  Discover the “I Am” of your storms.

Matthew 8:24-26

“Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”  He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.”

John 14:27

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Colossians 3:15

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

Oct 14, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off on The “I Am” of the Storm