Month: March 2024

Poor Milan Shipper. A high school student from the Netherlands who just wanted an exciting vacation before heading off to university. His dream is to visit Australia for a few weeks, so he was excited to find an amazing deal online to Sydney. Seeing the offer, he booked it on the spot. However, when he boarded his second flight, from Toronto to Sydney, he was surprised at how small the plane was. After the flight had taken off, he discovered he was going to another city called Sydney: the one in Nova Scotia, Canada. Sydney, the Canadian one, is a lovely place on the East Coast, but it wasn’t where Milan wanted to go. The folks at the airline, being good Canadians, apologized to him. They got him on a return flight back to Amsterdam and were able to help him get a ticket to his dream location: Sydney, the Australian one. Such mistakes are not uncommon. Sometimes, despite our best attempts, our plans go wrong. We take a path that doesn’t get us where we want to go. Some mistakes are easily corrected and leave no marks. Other mistakes can go far deeper and carry far more lasting implications. That’s why we need Easter and the power of the resurrection. The resurrection is about hope. Sin and death don’t have the final word over life. The resurrection affirms that the price of our sins has been paid. God’s love has overcome. We can have confidence that we are headed in the right direction towards the right destination. “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” Ephesians 1:18-21 Christians are ‘people of the resurrection’. It impacts our outlook on life and our hope in death. It assures us that God is in control and he can work with our sins and mistakes. It’s our guarantee that we are on the right path and will reach our heavenly destiny. “He is risen! He is risen, indeed!” See you Sunday,

When I was growing up, we lived in a house on my grandmother’s farm. My father and I had an annual spring ritual which was to go ‘fencing’. That meant taking a trip around the perimeter of the farm to check the condition of the fences. It was essential to ensure that animals, mostly cattle, wouldn’t be able to get out into someone else’s property. “Good fences make good neighbours” is a favourite saying of farmers. In our physical world, it is easy to observe barriers or boundaries. There are fences, walls or signs that inform us that we are moving from one place to the other. Healthy living involves knowing and observing boundaries in the emotional and spiritual areas of life. For many people finding the boundaries between work life and personal life can be very difficult. People want a sense of fulfillment in their work and desire a rich and fulfilling private life. Finding balance can be a challenge. The teacher in the Book of Ecclesiastes seemed to understand this dilemma.  “I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me…So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun…There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw is from the hand of God.” (Eccl 2:18-25) The teacher sees both good and bad in work and recognizes that work and life enjoyment are both from God. And yet, there can be a lot of frustration in sorting out that interaction. He goes on to write that to “everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” (Eccl 3:1) To me, it sounds like he is helping us to think about boundaries in life. We are not what we do. Our value and worth comes from God. He has given us talents and skills to be used to bless others and provide purpose. We should not conclude that work is all there is in life. We need to enjoy family, good food and fun times. The teacher in Ecclesiastes reminds us that life is short and our work will not be finished but left for someone else. We need to hear this perspective today. It’s not easy in the modern world to find the right work-life balance. But then, it wasn’t easy when Ecclesiastes was written. The point is, that wrestling with finding the boundaries and balancing the good things God has provided is a part of life. There is wisdom in thinking about these things and letting God guide us to the answers.

Sue Markham really wanted a dog. Her husband wasn’t so keen on the idea. He finally relented and agreed that they could get a dog if it was a small one that wouldn’t take up too much space in their home. Sue began looking for a puppy at animal shelters and when she saw little Yogi she just had to have him.  She brought Yogi home and told her husband that he was a Jack Russell Terrier and would not likely ever be over twenty pounds. Then Yogi started to grow and Mr. Markham became concerned over the amount of food that Yogi was eating. Mrs. Markham had to confess that Yogi wasn’t really a Jack Russell. She was hoping that her husband wouldn’t notice her little “white lie” until it was too late to change his mind. She hoped he, too, would love their new pet. In reality, Yogi is a Great Dane. And not just any Great Dane but a Boston Great Dane, which just also happens to be one of the single largest breeds on the planet! A news reporter writes: “Today, Yogi is weighing in at about 200 pounds, and is around six feet, ten inches from tip to tail.  Much bigger than your everyday Jack Russell, that’s for sure.  He’s a neighbourhood favourite as well, gaining tons of attention for his very large size and gentle giant manner.” Mr. Markham must be the forgiving type because he and his wife are still living together and he has come to love the small pony that now lives in his home. The story has a happy ending but not all little white lies end so well. King Solomon offers advice to all of us in the Song of Songs: “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines.” (2:15) Solomon tells us that it is the little foxes that spoil the vines – the little things that can have a big impact. This appears to be a warning to you and me. We need to watch out for subtle dangers of so-called “little sins”. It is often the “little sins” that grow into larger problems if they go unchecked. God’s word is clear that sin is sin. We try to excuse these “little sins” by saying something like, “It was just a little white lie. It won’t hurt anyone. No one will really notice. It’s not like I murdered anyone.” Indeed, the consequences of certain sins may be more serious than others. What we need to guard is the attitude of our heart. We don’t want little things growing into big problems. It’s better not to start with any “little sins” but rather to stop them from starting. Most of us don’t have room for a Great Dane in our lives.See you Sunday,  Pastor David

It was a difficult meeting. I was right and the other person was wrong. They were explaining what they felt and I was defending myself. I got in some really good points. But after the meeting, I felt embarrassed. To defend myself and get in my side of the story I had been rude and condescending. If there was video evidence, it wouldn’t show me in a very good light. When I look back over my life, the times that embarrass me the most are occasions when I wasn’t very gracious or even a little bit gracious. These are events, conversations or behaviours that I am ashamed of. I could have responded differently but I didn’t. At the time I felt justified. I was being attacked or treated unfairly. The other person was being a jerk. I had a right to be annoyed. But now when I look back all I see is my poor conduct.Jesus faced a lot of criticism and questions. A certain group of people sought to find something wrong with him or his teaching. He was never a pushover and on occasion, he had harsh words. But he was very gracious, patient and never rude, sarcastic or demeaning to others. In the face of outright opposition and attack, Jesus remained true to his character. Colossians 4:6 in The Message reads: Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out. Sometimes it’s easy to view other people as the enemy or competition. We try to score points and stick it to them. That’s evidence of a heart that hasn’t yet been transformed, it’s simply un-Christlike. There are dozens of conversations I would like to go back and do-over. But I can’t. So, I need to make sure my interactions with people are gracious and kind. I pray that God will put a guard over my mouth so that what I say encourages and builds others rather than tearing them down. It’s important to remember – “be gracious in your speech.” See you Sunday,  Pastor David