Category: Pastor’s Blog

This past Sunday was the first week of Advent. Advent is that period of time during which we are to prepare ourselves for Christmas and the coming of Christ. We aren’t preparing for the Christmas that is celebrated in malls and public spaces which focuses on Santa and winter festivities. Rather, we focus on the Christmas of history – the one that celebrates the coming of the Lord Jesus in human flesh to redeem us from our sins. I thought that over the next few weeks, I would offer some Christmas verses that perhaps we don’t always think about but nonetheless describe what happened at Christmas. Here’s one of my favourites from Philippians 2:5-8 as found in The Message: “Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.” The Apostle Paul writes about the incarnation, when God himself stepped into human flesh. In coming to earth, Christ set aside the advantages and privileges of his deity in order to become a servant to all. His selflessness is an example to all of us. During this Christmas season, let’s remind ourselves that Christmas is not about having warm feelings and enjoying hot chocolate but rather giving of ourselves for others. Let’s follow the example of Jesus.

A farmer in the Swiss canton of Aargau made a profitable find recently. In July, he decided to remove a mole hill on his property. In the process, he found a bunch of old coins. In September, a group of volunteer archaeologists did some more searching and found even more loot: 4,166 coins to be exact. They were made of bronze and silver and constitute one of the largest such finds ever. The coins were from the Romans in the 3rd century, meaning some of them are almost 1800 years old. They bear the images of different Caesars from that period of time. Researchers speculate that someone was using the ground as a makeshift vault for safekeeping. The coins were kept safe all right – they remained hidden for centuries. The money would have represented a small fortune even for the 3rd century. No word yet on what their modern day value might be. So think for moment about the man or woman who hid away all those coins. I suppose they didn’t trust the banks, if there were any. No doubt they were hoping to be rich and had plans to do something with all that money. Maybe they were saving up for something special. Whatever the dream or reality, they never got to use the money. It just stayed hidden in the ground waiting for someone else to come along. Jesus had special instructions for people in his day. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21) Our world is often obsessed with hoarding money and items that are subject to decay. Jesus’ point is that ‘we can’t take it with us.’ Too often our treasures are left buried in a field for someone else to take advantage of. They don’t add value to our lives or the lives of others. So while we are here on earth, we should be investing in heavenly treasure. What’s the currency of heaven? People. So the question becomes, “Am I investing in projects and ventures that will result in people spending eternity in heaven?” We all have enough toys and gadgets to play with. While we might always hope for a larger bank account, most of us are doing just fine. So in addition to planning for retirement, make sure you are also investing in a heavenly treasure. Someday you’ll be glad you did.

My favorite city in the world is Paris – always has been and always will be. So it’s been painful to watch the events of the last few days and the attack on that beautiful city. The terrorist attacks didn’t occur in some remote and unknown place but in a location I’m familiar with. The coordinated events of last Friday evening were more than just an assault on the city of Paris. There are evil people in this world who do evil things. It was yet another reminder that there are great battles going on in our world today. It’s also been painful to watch the reactions of some people. I know our immediate reactions are often impulsive and poorly thought out…however, sometimes they reveal what is in our hearts. I am most disappointed with the way many Christians view the situation, especially as I read comments on various social media forums. It’s easy to go for the simple answer. To solve problems, we like clear solutions. We like to put things in black and white. But the world is not so easy. Labelling others because of their ethnicity or religion is really a way of dehumanizing them. Grouping people into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ categories is seldom accurate or helpful. Perhaps this is an occasion to look deep within ourselves. Perhaps we should stop and consider what role we are playing in this world. Let’s stop name-calling and finger-pointing for a few moments. Let’s check our own hearts first. In December of 1912, a small devotional French publication, La Clochette, located in a parish of Paris, published a written prayer. There was no mention of who wrote the prayer, but a couple of years later, during World War 1, it was sent to the Pope who had it more widely published. During those years of great conflict and death, many people prayed these now familiar words. In the 1920s, a French priest printed the prayer on the back of an image of St. Francis. Since that time, the prayer has been known as the Prayer of St. Francis. It’s a prayer that comes from Paris, and before I try to solve the world’s problems, it seemed appropriate to pray this first: Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console, To be understood as to understand, To be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

According to Psalm 1, people in this world are on one of two possible paths: the way of the righteous or the way of the wicked. It’s unpopular in today’s culture to say that some people are wicked. In this case, the wicked are simply those who are not on the path of righteousness. The righteous are those who seek God and his direction. The Psalmist says that the righteous man or woman is the one who takes “delight in the law of the Lord.” (Psalm 1:2) God’s law brings blessing and spiritual strength into our lives. The Bible has a stabilizing effect on people. Because God’s Word is inspired and infallible, it is completely sufficient to meet every need that we have. David writes, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” (Psalm 19:7) Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:3 that Scripture contains all we need for life and godliness. The wise person is the one who follows the path of Scripture. Scripture not only comforts us but it also challenges us. As a pastor, I often hear people say, “I know what the Bible says, but I feel…” In other words, they make a decision to ignore Scripture because they can’t bring themselves to submit to it. The Bible can be subject to various interpretations. We should engage in those discussions and wrestle with what it is saying rather than just rejecting it all together. I know there are puzzling passages. None of us have yet come to fully submit ourselves to all the ways of the Bible. But if our posture is one that continues to reject the role of Scripture, we will find ourselves “like chaff that the wind drives away.” (Psalm 1:4) We discover that our life stops yielding the fruit of the Spirit; we no longer prosper or experience the fullness of life in Christ. We are on the wrong path. As believers, we can’t afford to ignore the Bible. Reading it regularly is not enough. We must take delight in God’s Word and do what it says even when we find that hard and uncomfortable. God has promised us that when we put his Word in the right place, life will be full and rich.

He found himself in prison due to unfair accusations. He had done nothing wrong. In fact, he had acted with great moral character. But there he was, jailed, with no hope of release. Joseph would spend more than two years in that Egyptian prison. It seemed as if he was forgotten by everyone and especially by God. I wonder if he ever got angry with God. Did he, like David, ask, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1) I think that all believers go through times of trial and testing that leave us wondering where God is hiding. We know that God isn’t actually hiding – rather, it just feels like he is. We can’t seem to catch a break or get out of a difficult situation. We lose that sense of God’s presence. But God was at work in Joseph’s situation. God had a plan and he was working it out. I’m convinced that he does that for all of us. Daily struggles, long term illness, difficult family dynamics, poor working conditions – these are elements of life. But God has not forgotten us or walked away. We all face circumstances that perplex us. In these moments, our faith is challenged to trust solely in the promises of God and not to rely on our emotions or feelings about the situation. It’s the testing of our faith that causes it to grow stronger. Will we still worship God when he seems hidden? In dark times, we express our confidence in God by waiting upon him and continuing to believe in his promises. Don’t let your current situation shake your faith but use the occasion to strengthen it. Keep trusting that God is present and at work.

About once a year, when we lived in Azerbaijan, we would take the kids out to the Mud Volcanoes. The Mud Volcanoes are not really lava-flowing volcanoes. They are shaped like small cones and exude muck-like substances forming something more like large mud puddles. It was incredibly fun to go out and play in them for a day but we’d be covered and caked in a layer of mud by the afternoon. The biggest danger was getting stuck. People could easily lose a rubber boot or pair of shoes. It was possible to sink fairly deep. There are days in life that feel like being at the mud volcanoes – only it’s not so fun. The feeling is more like being in sinking sand and you aren’t sure that anyone will come and rescue you. It’s easy to allow fear and despair to grow as everything becomes weighed down. It’s in those times we need to remember that Jesus is called our rock and fortress. He’s not called our mud volcano. Jesus is there to give us strength and support – to be the firm foundation beneath our feet. American gospel singer and song writer Dottie Rambo sang about where she would go in times of trouble: I go to the Rock for my salvation I go to the stone that the builders rejected I run to the mountain and the mountain stands by me When the earth all around me is sinking sand On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand When I need a shelter, when I need a friend, I go to the Rock Maybe today is one of those days when you need a shelter and a friend. Go to the Rock; go to the one who is our foundation. Go to Jesus. “There is no one holy like the LORD, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God”. (1 Samuel 2:2)

If you are a fan of the Back To The Future movie franchise, then you know that today is a very important date. In the second installment of the series, our hero, Marty McFly, uses his time machine to travel thirty years into the future to October 21, 2015. There he discovers a very futuristic, dark and confusing world. It was a movie with an unbelievable story but it was lots of fun to watch. Now that the actual October 21, 2015 has arrived, people around the world are taking a look at some of the predictions that were made in the movie. There is general disappointment that actual hover boards don’t exist. Shoe laces still don’t tie themselves and cars don’t run on garbage. On the other hand, we do have finger print technology, cashless payments, drones and wearable software. Movies about the future are difficult to make since no one can actually predict what things will be like. Of course, that doesn’t stop people from studying trends and technology to try and figure out what might happen. It’s not an exact science and the future is never quite what is expected. I remember when those Back to the Future movies came out. I can’t believe it has really been thirty years. What will the world be like in another thirty years? Who knows? There are plenty of gloomy forecasts about the environment. Other people are optimistic about scientific advances and technology. I imagine there will be a mixture of positive and negative. The one thing I am sure about is that Jesus is coming back. He promised and he keeps his word. I don’t know if he will return this week, in the next thirty years or three hundred years from now. When he left his disciples, angels appeared and said “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) Jesus broke into our world the first time as a newborn baby. He will come again as the King of Kings. As Christians, we are to be prepared and ready at any moment for Christ to return and eternity to begin. That’s the only thing I know for sure about the future. Who knows: this could be the day!

With an IQ higher than Albert Einstein, eight-year-old Jacob Barnett started attending Indiana University. He is studying advanced astrophysics and working on expanding the theory of relativity. Jacob isn’t the only youngster to show off his genius. At 13, Sufiah Yusof from Malaysia was accepted at Oxford in mathematics. Kathleen Holtz started attending California State University when she was ten. At 15 she began law school and became the youngest lawyer in the US by age 18. By age two, William Sidis had taught himself to read. Within a couple of years he was fluent in eight languages. He wrote four original works of his own by the age of seven. Childhood prodigies or geniuses make for fascinating stories. It’s tempting to look at certain individuals and covet their abilities. We all wonder what it would be like to have such innate talent. It’s dangerous to compare ourselves with someone else’s intellect, beauty, musical ability, athletic aptitude, or giftedness. God has created each of us differently. No one has your DNA, which means the people in crime labs can find you if you do something wrong. No one smells like you, which means hound dogs can follow your scent. No one has your voice, which means a computer can recognise your speech out of 7 billion others. We are all uniquely made and gifted. God isn’t asking you to be as smart as a child prodigy. Nor is he measuring your worth by how gifted other people are. He just wants you to be a good steward of who you are – to use whatever he has given you to glorify him. Just be you. “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4)

The police in New Hampshire are resorting to strange tactics to catch people using their cell phones while driving. The use of cell phones when driving is dangerous and illegal in many places. In fact, some studies indicate that using your phone while driving can be more dangerous than driving drunk. Everyone agrees that texting while driving is the most dangerous of all. Recently, the New Hampshire police placed uncover cops at various intersections to watch for people using cell phones or other electronic devices while driving. Michelle Tetreault got a ticket because, while waiting at a stop light, her daughter asked for the phone in order to take a picture. Now here’s the interesting part for me. The undercover cop was standing at the intersection with a sign around his neck. He was dressed as a doomsday prophet and his message read, “Repent, for the end is near.” You have to give high marks to the police for creative disguises. The 14-year-old daughter wanted a picture because she didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘repent’. Given our impression at times that America is a Christian country, how is it possible that a 14-year-old doesn’t know the word ‘repent’? It’s not part of our vocabulary anymore either inside or outside the church. We don’t like the word; we don’t like the idea. Many people find it to be a negative term stirring up ideas of an angry God. It’s unfortunate that we have lost the meaning of that rich word. In Greek, it simply means ‘to turn around.’ In the New Testament, it came to mean a change of heart and direction. It also picked up the idea of regret or remorse for one’s sins. So the idea of repenting is about changing one’s heart, having remorse over sin and turning to God. It’s not something we should fear but rather willingly embrace. It was John the Baptist who preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2) Notice he didn’t say “the end is near.” For those who repent, it’s the beginning. It’s the start of something new: entering the Kingdom. It’s God’s call for people to come and join with him in his Kingdom. Repentance is part of the gospel – the good news. Let’s make sure people know that.

A young mother found her four-year-old son crying as he was tying his shoes. “Why are you crying?” she asked. “I have to tie my shoes,” he sobbed. “But you just learned how. It isn’t that hard, is it?” “No, but I’m gonna have to do it the rest of my life!”  Sometimes ordinary, everyday tasks seem too overwhelming. There are those moments when the thought of doing the same things every day for the rest of our life seems devastating. We don’t want to become boring old people.  While our lives can be filled with exciting and fun activity, most of our time is taken up with routine tasks that just have to be done. We need to keep the house clean, fill the car with gas, pay the bills, do the grocery shopping and replace light bulbs among our many chores. A few years ago, writer Gordon MacDonald noted that we must learn to “make peace with the ordinary.” That phrase has stuck with me over time. I have often found it difficult to stay interested in my everyday chores. Making peace with the ordinary is really about living a disciplined life. We can’t accomplish our dreams and desires if we can’t master the basics of everyday living. Like Mom used to say, “Make your bed before you go out and play.” There are lots of exciting and challenging things to do in this world. There are plenty of dreams to pursue and we shouldn’t make excuses as to why we can’t make progress. However, it’s necessary that we make peace with the ordinary. In order to make a difference in this world – to have an impact on others – we must first be disciplined in the ordinary areas of our private world. Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. (Proverbs 6:6-8)