Category: Pastor’s Blog

So now I’m living in the ‘happiest’ country in the world. Switzerland usually does well in any international ranking based on wealth, social development, transparency and the environment. However, I was surprised that it ranked first place for happiness in the 2015 World Happiness Report. It’s probably because we eat more chocolate than any other nation. That can’t be a bad thing. Can it? Over the years Switzerland has secured its place at the top of the list for global competitiveness, global innovation, human development, global peace and press freedom. It is often assumed that money, wealth and a healthy gross domestic product are factors in Switzerland’s success. It is easy to find a winner when you measure these kinds of areas. The recent survey on happiness used many economic factors to reach its conclusions. Canada came fifth on the list. But can we really quantify happiness? There is no doubt that a strong and stable economy with a democratic government provides more opportunity for its citizens. But for me these kinds of rankings miss out on an important part of life – spirituality. In the 16th century Switzerland was the center of the Protestant Reformation. It was a time of great spiritual vitality and recovery of Biblical truth. Granted it wasn’t a perfect period of time but there was a great spiritual awakening. Today there seems to be a great spiritual slumber. An increasing number of Swiss nationals are cutting their ties to the state church. Attendance at Sunday services has long since dropped off and now numerous church parishes are closing around the country each year. The number of people self-identifying as agonist or atheist is growing. Switzerland is moving towards becoming a post-Christian nation. While the economy offers plenty there is a spiritual famine in the land. A spiritual famine is one of those things you don’t notice right away. Having wealth and material comforts can compensate for an empty spirit – for a while. Eventually people are forced to look closer at their inner life. The material world is temporal and will fade away but the spiritual world is eternal. Deep within us we hunger for the eternal. Most days I am struck by the contrast I sense in Switzerland. It’s one of the richest countries in terms of economic wealth and yet has become one of the poorest countries in spirit. Switzerland needs a fresh renewal and revival, a new move of God’s spirit. Thinking back on the Reformation that changed this country almost five hundred years ago I remember Habakkuk’s prayer: Lord, I have heard of your fame;     I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day,     in our time make them known; (Habakkuk 3:2) That’s my prayer for Switzerland; Lord, repeat your awesome deeds in our day and age. Send fresh renewal and revival to people who have wandered away. Visit us again with something more important than happiness – the salvation of the Lord. Please join me in that prayer.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to go spelunking in the Rocky Mountains. Spelunking is also known as caving, basically crawling and climbing through damp and dark caves. It was a good experience although at time the space was very small and you had to remind yourself not to panic. We were outfitted with equipment to enable us to make our way through the various crevasses and climb over different outcroppings. The most helpful thing was the light on our helmet since the main thing I learned about caves is that they are pitch black. Our group made its way to a large open cave deep under the earth. We turned off all our lights and sat quietly in the all-encompassing darkness. I thought that after a few minutes our eyes would adjust but they didn’t. There was no light at all. You couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face. Then, one by one, we each lit a candle and soon there was a warm glow inside that deep cave. It was a highly memorable experience. Scripture reminds us that we live in a dark world. We only need to watch the evening news to be reminded about the numerous ways in which our world has fallen from God’s plan. Some days we might wonder, “How is it possible for us to make a difference?” Paul writes: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” (Philippians 2:14-15) We should never forget that our calling is to live simply and honestly before God so that we might be light to those in the darkness. Our presence makes a difference and helps other people see that there is an alternative to the darkness that surrounds us. So let your light shine. It might be the only bright spot some people see today.

As someone familiar with air travel, I have grown used to seeing the inside of an airplane. However, there’s more to the plane than just the passenger cabin. I don’t usually think about the cargo hold although I’m always grateful when my luggage arrives on the same flight that I do. I’ve been thinking more about how baggage is loaded in light of a story from Seattle earlier this week.     Just after taking off for Los Angeles an Alaska Airlines flight had to return to the airport. The pilots heard someone banging and yelling from inside the cargo bay. I image it was a little unsettling for them. But it was probably more stressful on the baggage handler who was trapped in the hold. Apparently towards the end of his shift he decided to take a nap and woke up once the plane was taking off.   I’m a little confused as to how that happens. Where exactly did he decide to take this nap and how did he get on the plane? Who naps in a baggage cart that’s about to be loaded? You’d think this kind of thing is rare but it’s happened four times in the United States in the last ten years. Rare enough but still, how does this happen? Here’s the kicker: his co-workers knew he was missing but just thought he had gone home early.   Some jobs are more high stress than others but every job has an impact on other people. Bad things can happen when we get careless and don’t pay attention to what we are doing. Or we don’t pay attention to the people around us. Our actions and behaviors have a ripple effect on others. One man’s decision to take a nap affected 140 people on a plane to Los Angeles.   It’s true in the spiritual realm as well. We need to pay attention to how we live and what we are doing. Our actions, prayers and example have an impact on people around us. John says “let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:18) In other words: watch how you live. Talk is cheap so pay attention to what really matters. Each of us has far more influence on others than we imagine. Are we paying attention to the impact we are making on those around us?

Mark Twain once offered this advice on raising teenagers, “When a child turns 12 he should be kept in a barrel and fed through a hole, until he reaches 16… at which time you should plug the hole.”   As a parent of three teenagers and one who has just passed through those teen years, I find Twain’s comments funny. But I’m sure it’s not a good approach to raising your children. There are loads of internet blogs and sites offering advice for new parents with young children. An unlimited number of books are available to help us raise pre-school kids. But when it comes to help for parenting teens – there is silence. Why? Because it’s hard work and by the time your children reach those important years you have already realized you’re in over your head. The week before Easter, when the media briefly turns to spiritual matters, there were a couple interesting news articles about teens and religion. There are some brave researchers who have attempted to interpret scientific data on dealing with teenagers and the challenges associated with moving into adulthood. Unfortunately, they have not been able to uncover much helpful information. Teenagers have managed to render empirical evidence useless since that’s often what they do best.   However, researchers in the articles I read have found two important things. First, the role of parents matters more than we think. Some people are now suggesting that there ought to be parental leave for parents of teenagers. Researchers looked at the effects of ‘engaged time’ and ‘accessible time’ that parents have for their children, especially mothers. At all stages of life parents who are engaged and available to their children make a difference but the greatest difference comes during adolescence. The more engaged time parents spent with their teenagers, “the less likely those teenagers were to engage in delinquent acts — defined as anything from lying about something important to getting arrested.” Take note, time spent with your teens is important, even when they tell you it isn’t.   The second study I saw looked more at the impact of families that have a strong faith. Here’s what they found: “Spiritually connected teens are, remarkably, 60 per cent less likely to suffer from depression than adolescents who are not spiritually oriented.   They’re 40 per cent less likely to abuse alcohol or other substances, and 80 per cent less likely to engage in unprotected sex. Spiritually oriented children, raised to not shy from hard questions or difficult situations… also tend to excel academically.” The challenge, (I speak as the parent of teenagers) is that you often feel like you aren’t making much of a difference. You don’t feel that your influence is very great and you play second fiddle to their peer group. But we shouldn’t let our feelings affect the truth. Our engagement in all areas, including spiritual activity, will help set up our children for success. It’s true; there are no guarantees for problem free parenting. But it just might be simpler than we think. “Teach (these commands) to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.” Deuteronomy 11:19-21 

Habakkuk is a strange book of the Bible. Written after the exile, the prophet begins by calling God to action. The world seems to be falling apart. Society is full of violence and injustice. The wicked are winning, good and godly people are disappearing. Habakkuk can’t understand why God isn’t doing something. Why does God allow this evil to continue? God does answer and says that he will bring judgment but will do it through a pagan nation. Habakkuk can’t understand that either and so begins a dialogue between the prophet and God. What becomes clear is that God is holy, he will bring justice but he works according to his own plan. Habakkuk must surrender himself to God’s plan and trust that God is sovereign over all things. In the end, despite not fully understanding, Habakkuk declares: Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.The Sovereign Lord is my strength;he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,he enables me to tread on the heights. (3:17-19) To many people today it might look like the world is falling apart. Sin and wickedness abound. Terrorists roam the world without restriction. The laws of the land are broken and injustice rules. Like Habakkuk we may call out to God wondering where he is. But God is just as sovereign and in control today as he was in the day of the prophet. While we are confused and distressed by what happens around us we must come to the same conclusion. Regardless of what is happening “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength.” See you Sunday, Pastor David

There was a media uproar over the weekend about a certain American televangelist who was fund raising in order to buy himself a sixty-five million dollar private jet. Yes, you read that correctly, sixty-five (65) million dollars. You see, the ‘man-of-God’ has to travel a lot. He’s in demand around the world and it would just make things so much easier if he could replace his old jet with a new one. Plus he needs to commute from his home in New York City to his church in Atlanta. It’s hard to believe that anyone could justify such a purchase let alone someone claiming to represent Christ. This week his ministry has announced that they are dropping the issue and will be looking out for a new plane only if it is ‘properly priced.’ Until then the poor man will have to travel ‘commercial’. How horrible, is there no end of his suffering for the cause of Jesus? Where in my anger do I begin? How many orphans could be fed and clothed worldwide with $65 million? How many church plants could be started in communities? How many people could be vaccinated against disease with that amount of money? How many new missionary families could be supported for years with that fund? Yet this self-deluded individual believes that he is so important to the world that he can only travel on what is considered to be the world’s most exclusive jet. Thank goodness there will be a heavenly accounting in this matter because that guy has a lot to answer for. The Bible doesn’t condemn wealth or riches. There are lots of examples of rich individuals in the Scripture. But we are warned against seeking wealth above other things. We are told to beware of those “who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:5-10) These words from Paul are sobering. We need this kind of reminder because the world around us (and certain false teachers) keep telling us that our worth comes from the size of our bank account. Nonsense. The Kingdom of God is about people not money. It’s the ‘love of money’ that causes so much grief. We need to learn to be content. As part of the fund raising campaign for the jet, the televangelist was asking for 200,000 people to give $300 each. I have decided to give $300. But not to him or his cause. Instead I know of another situation where there is a need and $300 will make a difference to a missionary and his family. I’m challenging you to do the same. Is there some ministry, some individual, or some cause – far from the media spotlight – that you can donate to this week? Be generous and gracious. The only way to break the power of money is to give it away. .

“For the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10   We all have troubles and trials that wear away at us. There are days we would prefer to stay in bed and avoid the world around us. Life is full of sorrow and conflict. But we are told that our strength comes from the ‘joy of the Lord.’ That’s what we need to draw on. That’s what we need to focus on. This kind of joy has God as its source. It’s about God’s joy over people who repent and return to him. It’s a joy that doesn’t come from our experience or circumstance but an objective joy that comes from God. In Nehemiah chapter 8 the exiles who have returned to Jerusalem are listening to the reading of God’s word. They are suddenly aware of their sinful condition and how they have broken God’s law. A sense of sorrow and sadness overtake them and they begin to weep. There is genuine repentance among God’s people. But that day was to be one of celebration and joy because God’s work had been done. The exile was over, the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt and worship in Jerusalem was once again being lifted up. God saw the tender condition of his people, their openness to his work and there was joy. Nehemiah tells the people not to weep but to draw strength from God’s joy in this moment. The people would be able to live again in Jerusalem because of God’s redemptive work. God’s plans had come to pass. We live on the other side of the cross. Christ’s redemptive work is finished and God takes joy in that. The price of our sins has been paid for and the way to eternal life has been opened. We should be conscious that Christ died for us. It brings us to repentance and sorrow over our sins.  But since God’s plan has come to pass we can also rejoice. We move forward not in our own strength or joy but in God’s. Life will continue to be challenging. There will be days full of difficulty. But the biggest issue in our lives has been settled. God has redeemed us. And if he is happy and joyful over that then we should be as well. So we can sing, “the joy of the Lord is my strength.”

If you have a cell phone, email account or use the internet then you are being watched. Your movements, conversations and personal information are being recorded and stored by any number of computers. We have been warned about this but sometimes it still comes as a shock when people find out that information sent out over digital networks isn’t private. Then again, have we ever really had complete privacy? ‘People watching’ is as old as humanity itself. We watch each other, in subtle ways.  We notice how other people dress, what kind of car they drive and how they treat their children. For better or worse, people are watching you. Your children, your neighbors, your co-workers and folks you don’t even know. It’s not the age of the internet that causes this it’s always been this way. People watch other people and we learn from one another. We are living in denial if we think people don’t notice us. As Christians we should be conscious that others are keeping an eye on how we live and represent Jesus. Jesus himself reminds you to “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) So what are people watching? Our Actions – How do we treat other people? Do we show kindness, gentleness and love? Are we honest and true? How do we handle problems? Do our words match our actions? Or, are we guilty of saying one thing and doing another? People watch for hypocrisy.   Our Attitudes – Are we judgmental towards others?   Are we considered a positive or negative person?  Do we look like we have the joy of the Lord or do we look like we suck on lemons? Is it obvious that we get hope and inspiration from our faith? Our Acquaintances – What kind of people do we hang out with? Are we known for being associated with good company? Who influences us with their lifestyle and behavior? Do the people we spend our time with share our values and focus in life? Whether we like it or not – people are watching. The question is, ‘What do they see?’ Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Ephesians 5:1

I get a lot of invitations and offers. People running conferences and seminars fill my inbox with glowing information about how their event can change my life. I get invited to meetings where the organizers want to introduce a product that I won’t be able to live without. I’m asked to try out new software that will help me get organized and make my life easier. Quite frankly I am skeptical of invitations and promises that amount to little more than over the top advertising. No conference has ever changed my life and no software has solved my problems. Their claims are simply too good to be true. I get tired of them. But there is one invitation that I can’t resist. Whenever I read it I want it. God’s wonderful invitation is found in Isaiah 55:1-3, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. This is the best invitation you will get today. It’s an invitation to take part in the life of God’s Kingdom. It’s an invitation to our hungry and weary spirits to stop wasting time on things that don’t matter and to give our attention to the Word of God. It’s an invitation to enter into the presence of the King who promises to meet all our needs. It’s an invitation to rest and enjoy life. So can you stop for a few moments today and accept that offer? Can you allow God the time to bless you with his goodness? Why work at things that can’t satisfy? Just take the offer and enjoy it. Let it refresh your soul.  

I was the quiet kid in class, the one who didn’t like to raise his hand. I never wanted to volunteer an answer in case I was wrong. But what was worse was that I never wanted to ask a question for clarification even when I didn’t understand what the teacher was saying.  I just couldn’t bring myself to voice a question. It’s taken me many years to understand some things about myself. This I know – I have trouble asking for help. That’s no surprise to the people who know me best. I guess I don’t want to appear foolish or weak. As if asking for help means someone is weak. Ironically, my inability to ask for help is one of my greatest weaknesses. It’s funny because I admire people who can ask for help. I don’t view them as weak or needy but rather honest, direct and straightforward. But when I step up to ask for help I am fearful and incredibly self-conscience. It’s as if my throat closes and refuses to let out a sound. So when I come to Matthew 7:7 I have a struggle: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Jesus makes it so simple. The way of the Kingdom, the way of salvation is simply to ask. Jesus calls me to slow down and humbly admit that I live much of my life with unanswered and unknown things. I have a long list of questions I want to ask and questions I want answers to. Jesus is willing to help me with those questions if I am willing to trust his leadership and guidance. He reminds us that God is like a Father “who knows how to give good things to those who ask him.” (7:11) Some people are afraid to ask because they were taught not to. Others simply talk too much and love sharing their own wisdom so much that they don’t have time to ask a question. There are people who have asked their questions before and felt condemned by others and so have stopped asking. Whatever our reasons, whatever our sinful conditions, we must keep on asking our questions to Jesus. So ask Jesus to help you ask.  You don’t have to have the perfect words. Just speak your question to him. If you can’t, just ask him to help you. And remember that he is always the first answer to our question. His presence in the midst of our unsolved questions is the first step to resolution.