Category: Pastor’s Blog

A couple in my home province of Ontario celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary this week. Clem and Millie Mintz are officially the longest married couple in Canada. Millie has Alzheimer’s disease now. Clem spends each day with her as they talk and listen to music together. Clem was asked if there was a reason that their love has lasted this long. “First thing is, you have to think of your spouse more than you think of yourself,” he said. “You have to put them first.” That’s good advice. No one goes into a marriage relationship with a plan to fail. People marry because they really do want to spend the rest of their life with that special other person. But it’s seldom smooth sailing. Marriage takes work and a determined intention to succeed. So how do we keep the magic alive? Recently I saw a headline that said, “11 things every husband should do for his wife every day.” 11 things! Every day! I don’t know; that’s a lot of things to keep track of. I looked at the headline and thought, “I can’t do that. It’s too much work.” So I was encouraged when I came across a new study that suggests there are only 2 important traits for a successful marriage. Two things! That I can do. So what are they? Kindness and generosity. Kindness and generosity. That seems so obvious, doesn’t it? This is probably the foundation of any good relationship. A healthy lasting relationship means you need to work on acknowledging your spouse, showing kindness to them and being generous with time and words. The researchers found that noticing the little things matter. A comment about the weather or an encounter at work might seem unimportant but paying attention to those interactions are critical to keeping the relationships going. We know that being rude, thoughtless and selfish will kill a relationship. Practicing kindness and generosity, actually interacting with our loved ones in this way, takes intentional work. Thankfully as believers we aren’t on our own. The Holy Spirit is at work within us to help us be Christ like in any situation. I believe that includes our marriage and other personal relationships. You are encouraged as believers to, “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Col. 3:12) This becomes part of our daily attire, what we need to put on when we get up each morning. Lasting healthy relationships take work, they don’t just happen. As Clem says, “First thing is, you have to think of your spouse more than you think of yourself.” Ain’t that the truth!

As Christians we can’t count on everything going our way all the time. Rather we need to train ourselves to be content in whatever our circumstances. We need to depend on the Lord for our joy. Along the way we need to watch out for things that can steal our joy. Comparing ourselves with others. This is so common and a huge joy killer. We start out thankful for what we have until we see what someone else has. Comparing ourselves to others will always leave us with a discontented spirit because there will always be someone else with more. This means we can’t enjoy what God has provided for us.  A constantly critical spirit. Some people see the glass half full and others see it half empty. How we perceive and judge reality around us is important. But a constantly critical spirit seems to disable any ability to see the beauty and good in God’s creation. We can’t enjoy the people in our lives because we only see their faults. If everything we smell stinks then the problem may be with our nose rather than with everything else. A critical spirit does not reflect Christ-like character and will not only bring us down but those around us.  A mindset of scarcity. I don’t know if you have ever seen those shows about people who hoard but it’s rather hard to believe. They can’t let go of anything. There are stacks of old newspapers, empty yogurt containers, clothes that no longer fit and more random items than you’ll find in a second-hand shop. They can barely walk in their home due to all the clutter. The hoarders are driven by a fear of scarcity; a sense that they must hold on to everything in case they need it someday. When our lives are driven by scarcity rather than trust in God’s abundance, it’s hard to experience joy. We can never rest in the sense of God’s provision and care. That robs us of joy.    Biblical joy is not based on our circumstances. In fact, James 1:2 tells us to consider it joy when we go through difficult trials and hardships. Scripture teaches us that joy is a fruit of the spirit, a product of God being at work in our lives whatever the situation that we find ourselves in. This is hard but important to remember. Joy doesn’t depend on me having more than others, it can’t develop if I’m always critical of everyone else nor can it characterize me if I’m driven by not having enough. I need to hold the things in this life lightly and look deeper at the spiritual work that God is doing in my soul. I can’t manufacture joy but I can let God produce it in me. Joy comes through our relationship with Jesus. My time and energy needs to go to knowing him more and worrying less about my circumstances. “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12

Here in Switzerland there are three official languages – German, French and Italian. In the canton of Graubünden there is a fourth language, Romansh, which has official status. But those are just the official languages, the ones you find on the cereal box at breakfast. In addition to those, there are various dialects of Swiss German plus other languages like Arpitan, Franco-Provencal, Lombard, Walser and Sinte. The combinations are mind boggling to a uni-lingual kid from rural Ontario. The E.U. has 24 official and working languages but there are hundreds of languages and dialects in Europe alone. When you start looking at the languages of Asia and Africa the number grows even larger. All told there are over 6,800 living languages in use around the world today. There is a beautiful picture of heaven found in Revelation 7 where John sees a multitude of people gathered around the throne of God, people from “every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.” They were standing in worship and saying “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne.” I said this is a beautiful picture because it is so inclusive of God’s love. He is not a tribal god, not focused on just one group of people, not partial to one language but the population of heaven is made up of people from everywhere. This month we are focusing on missions at Crossroads. We believe that God desires to see people saved from every nation. While we work daily in Switzerland, praying for neighbors and co-workers, we must also see the big picture of God at work in the world. Jesus told his followers that they would be his witnesses at home and in the outermost parts of the world. The mission of the church that began on the Day of Pentecost continues in our own era. It is estimated that 43% of the world’s people groups are unreached. An unreached people group is “a people group within which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians able to evangelize this people group.” In many cases there are no believers within those communities. It may be hard to believe but the truth is that in 2014 there are still people in this world who have never heard about Jesus Christ. There are still 1,800 languages that have no translated Scriptures. There is still work to be done in sharing the good news about Jesus. I hope that you’ll take part in our Missions focus this month. Take time to hear one of our guest speakers and learn more about how our church is helping to share the gospel. Missions is close to God’s heart, my prayer is that it will also be close to our heart.

This weekend, in many places around the world, is the end of day light savings time. Early Sunday morning the time will change, it goes back one hour. Ah, blessed sleep! Time zones can change but also the times change. We aren’t living in 1982 anymore, the world around is very different. The political issues of the day, the technology we use, and the economic powers in the world – these have all changed. Some of the changes have been for the better and others perhaps have been not so good. It can be hard to adapt to the changes going on around us. But people change as well; there is change going on inside of us. I’m not the same person I was in 1982. At least I hope not. I don’t want to be judged today based on the kind of person I was then. I have grown and matured. That’s the wonderful thing about our human nature, we can change. Change however isn’t easy. I think it gets harder the older we get and yet we tend to notice more things that need to be altered. Christian discipleship is about growth and change. God is changing us, transforming us, into the image or likeness of his son Jesus. This process won’t be complete until we reach heaven but we can still see incredible transformation here and now. The Holy Spirit is at work in us producing the character that is pleasing to God. I’m glad I’m being transformed but have to admit that many times it is painful. Growth, even good growth, can be excruciating. Some days I wonder if it’s worth it. But of course it is. Staying the same with all my sins and imperfection is worse. While I know that I have changed some days I feel like I’m right back at the beginning. There are days when I feel like I haven’t made any progress in this thing called the ‘Christian walk.’ There are days when I feel like I’m a child all over again full of selfishness and immaturity. That’s why it is important to remember that while we still fail and are slow to change God doesn’t give up on us. Paul says, “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” That encourages me because it tells me that God is committed to my progress and that the work is his. Of course, I need to cooperate with him but ultimately I can’t change myself. I can only place myself before the presence of God and know that he is working in me. I know that he is also working in you. Let’s be encouraged by that thought today.

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1 Let’s face it, sometimes we aren’t all that excited when we go to church. The preacher is boring, the music is not to our liking, the greeters at the door didn’t notice us, the coffee is cold and the seats are hard. Some weeks we leave church and can’t remember why we went in the first place. It’s true that every now and then some things are off. There are times I didn’t enjoy listening to my own sermon. But what happens if you feel that way every week? What happens when you start resenting having to go to church? When worship gets boring? If you are consistently unhappy each week in church maybe the issue lies more within you than with the church. Each week the music team, preacher, Sunday School teachers and other volunteers prepare ahead for the time of worship. What does your preparation look like? If you just show up are you really ready to be there. How do you prepare to offer your worship to God? Here are a few thoughts on being ready for worship on Sunday morning. Be regular with your devotions throughout the week. Daily bible reading and prayer keeps you in touch with God and open to his Spirit. If you go from Sunday to Sunday without any thought about spiritual matters it may be harder to enter into the worship service. Saturday night, before going to bed, pray for yourself and others. Ask the Holy Spirit to be at work in the preaching, music and fellowship so that you are able to receive from God. Ask the Holy Spirit to prepare you to offer your sacrifice of praise and that you will be completely present in the service. Arrive on time, or even a little early. In our services we start with a ‘call to worship’; a prayer to settle our hearts. It’s an invitation to worship God and to receive from him. It sets the tone for our time together. If you wander in late you have missed an important part of our worship time together. It always takes time to greet people and get seated so allow for that time in your planning. Be engaged. Sing the words of the songs as your prayer to God. Close your eyes and free yourself from distraction when there is corporate prayer. Listen for the reading of God’s word. (If the preacher is bad at least you can mediate on Scripture.) Follow the sermon, take notes and listen for what God is saying. If that sounds like work, well, it is. We aren’t to be passive in worship. We aren’t there for our entertainment. We are called by the Living God to enter into his presence and worship him. Finally, if you have opportunity later on Sunday, talk with family or friends about what they found encouraging in the service. You might be surprised by how the service ministered to them. While not every week might ‘ring your bell’ others may leave church feeling very blessed. Of course, it is possible that the preacher is disorganized and the musicians are off key but I tend to believe that if God is present it is worth being there.

This seems to be the year of the ‘Christian’ movie. Hollywood has found a new profitable market and is trying to cater to the tastes of believers but with limited success. Released so far this year has been Son of God, Noah, God’s Not Dead, Heaven is for Real, The Song, and Left Behind. Those films are based on biblical characters and themes that movie producers hope will attract a ‘Christian’ audience. There are also a number of other movies being promoted for their Christian viewpoint or positive, family friendly message. But can a movie be ‘Christian’? Did Jesus die for movies? No, he died for people. Yet we continue to speak of Christian movies, Christian books, Christian songs, Christian video games or anything else in the area of ‘Christian’ entertainment. What makes any of these things ‘Christian’? No doubt many books, songs and movies have biblical themes or seek to deal with the challenges of living a God centered life. These we find helpful and even encouraging. But I have also encountered movies and books that come from a ‘non-Christian’ perspective that deal with similar themes and challenge my thinking about certain topics. How do I know what is ‘Christian’? J.S. Bach used to write Soli Deo gloria on all his music. Is Bach’s music Christian music? The expression means Glory to God alone. It was used by musicians and writers to say that their work was produced for the sake of praising God. Their motivation was God’s glory and not self-glorification or pride. Christians are to be motivated and inspired by God’s glory and not their own. The Apostle Paul says, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col. 3:17) Each of us has a work to do, a calling or vocation. Whether as a movie maker, sales rep, lawyer, researcher, teacher, parent, nurse or taxi driver we are called to do it for the glory of God. God should be glorified by our work, by our devotion to serving him and not ourselves. We are the ones who are “Christian” and bring our perspective to bear on any work that presents itself before us. What we produce may not be Christian. The question is, “what is the work dedicated to, who is being glorified?” If we ask that question about our own work or about the creative work of others we might be surprised at the answer. Not every movie that asserts itself as ‘Christian’ has been produced for the glory of God. Not every ‘non-Christian’ song has been written for the self-promotion of the writer. We don’t always do our daily jobs for the glory of God even though we call ourselves Christians. I am not the judge of what is or isn’t a Christian work of art. I need to examine my own calling and ask myself, “As a believer in Jesus, is everything I do for the glory of God?”

Last week, after being seated in a restaurant Mackenzie and Steve waited almost 20 minutes for water. They waited 40 minutes for their appetizers to arrive. It was more than an hour after they ordered before their main course arrived. The service was terrible. So the couple decided to tip their waiter $100 for the evening. How crazy is that? Mackenzie and Steve used to work in the restaurant business. They understood the challenges their server faced that night. He was looking after 12 tables and handling the bar. He was run off his feet. Most people were not likely to give much of a tip. But Mackenzie said she remembered what it was like and wanted to ‘pay it forward.’ She wanted to encourage her server who was having a rough evening. That’s a great picture of grace. I’m sure that in that situation I would have complained and been cheap on the tip. It helps when we can put ourselves in someone else’s situation and understand what they are going through. But Mackenzie and Steve did more than that; they acted with grace and kindness. This is what we are encouraged to do for one another: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:12) I must confess that many days I forget to do this. I love it when others act this way but sometimes I am slow to act first. Often, we think that to get what we want we must be pushy and loud; don’t let the world walk on you. But our faith calls us to a different path. It’s quieter and less noticed but one that makes a huge difference. Who needs some compassion and grace in your life today?

This is my year of Jubilee. Last Saturday I turned 49. That means I am now in my 50th year. They say some things, like cheese, get better with age. I hope that’s true of me! In the Old Testament the Israelites were commanded to observe the year of Jubilee. After 7 sets of 7 years the Jubilee would be declared. It’s not clear to scholars whether that was the 49th or 50th year. Furthermore, we don’t really know if the year was ever properly observed. The Jubilee dealt mainly with land and property rights. However slaves and prisoners were to be set free as well. Debts were to be forgiven so that the poor would have a fresh start and not be subject to generations of poverty. “You shall make the fiftieth year holy, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee to you; and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family.” (Leviticus 25:10) In addition, they were not to work the ground that year but to let it rest. The year of Jubilee was all about freedom and restoration. It was to be a kind of ‘re-set’ button that would enable everyone to begin again, get out of debt, reclaim their inheritance and declare that God was the true ruler of everything. The laws relating to the Jubilee in the Old Testament were for the nation of Israel. But it pointed towards the coming of Jesus and something even better for those of us who come to faith. Jesus is our Jubilee. Jesus has come to give us liberty and freedom. Paul tells us, “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.” (Galatians 5:1) Christ has come to set us free, not just once every fifty years but each and every day. I’ve been thinking about what Christ sets me free from: from sin, from the need to conform to the power of this world, from the opinion and oppression of others, from fear, from guilt, from jealousy, from bitterness, from unforgiveness and, even from a sense of inadequacy. Sin had once enslaved me but Jesus declared me to be free and then, by his Holy Spirit, empowers me to live in this new freedom. There is nothing magical about my 50th year. Each and every day I have the opportunity to walk in the freedom that Jesus offers me. This is also true for you. While people in the Old Testament had to wait for good things to come – our wait is over. Jesus has appeared and says to all of us: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) I pray that you are experiencing the freedom that comes with knowing Jesus and the joy of Jubilee.

Sometimes we don’t know how to communicate our love towards others. One night, a man decided to show his wife how much he loved her. After dinner he began to recite romantic poetry, telling her he would climb high mountains to be near her, swim wide oceans, cross deserts in the burning heat of the day, and even sit at her window and sing love songs to her in the moonlight. After listening to him go on for some time about this immense love he had, she ended the conversation when she asked, “But will you wash the dishes for me?” If you have ever heard of the five love languages you will understand that story. Gary Chapman wrote the book, The Five Love Languages, explaining that all of us have different love languages. He says that we need to learn to express our love towards others in a way that they will understand. Here’s a quick overview of those languages. 1. Words of Affirmation. Some people need to hear a verbal expression of love and appreciation. They like to be complimented on their appearance and achievements. If they never hear words of affirmation they feel uncertain about the status of the relationship. 2. Acts of Service. The woman in the story above wasn’t interested in words, she wanted the dishes done. Her love language was likely acts of service. When someone does a caring and thoughtful act to help her she feels love and support. 3. Receiving Gifts. Who doesn’t like to get a gift? We all enjoy receiving a gift but it speaks louder to those who enjoy getting something tangible as an expression of one’s feelings. Remembering a gift on a special occasion is particularly important. 4. Quality Time. Giving someone your undivided attention can be a powerful sign of commitment and love. We’d all like to multitask but sometimes we just need to put everything else down and be present for the person we care about. 5. Physical Touch. There is emotional power in physical touch. When we carefully pick up a baby and gently hold him in our arms we are communicating love and care in an unspoken way. Touch continues to be a primary way of expressing ourselves and showing love for others. Paul reminds us that God took the initiative to love us first. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8) God didn’t wait for us to love him but reached out to love us. That’s the pattern we need to follow. So what’s your love language? How do you like people to show love to you? Are you able to show love to others in a way that is meaningful to them? The thing we have to watch out for is always expressing our love in the same way that we like to receive it. We need to reach out to others first. If we truly want to communicate with those closest in our life then we need to understand what is meaningful to them. The best way to find out is to ask them.

In Grade Nine I studied my first Shakespearean play, The Merchant of Venice.  We had to memorize Portia’s speech which begins, “The quality of mercy is not strained.” While I have long remembered the first verse I had forgotten how the rest of it goes. The quality of mercy is not strain’d,It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven, Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”   Mercy is a natural virtue and not a legal one.  Mercy is freely given and not an obligation. Of course he was right – mercy is twice blessed. Jesus said that long before Shakespeare was writing plays. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7). What Jesus was saying, and Shakespeare was echoing, is that when you extend mercy you also receive it. It is not that you show mercy just to get mercy, that’s not it. You don’t give in order to get. That is not the spirit of mercy. But it just happens that the merciful become the obvious recipients of mercy. Mercy is never earned; it is unmerited. The merciful are humble people who also receive mercy. They have seen what sin and pain has done in people’s lives and rather than judging them – they provide mercy. We need more mercy in our world today. There are those who have been forgotten and abandoned, those who have been beaten up by various events in life, those who are aching with a pain that never ceases and, those who carry guilt and grief with no idea how to get rid of it. Most people know they need mercy, they just don’t expect to find it. How sad. Perhaps you have already discovered that since God has reached out and shown you mercy, you can reach out and show others mercy. We are here because of God’s mercy in our lives. He started it; he gave before we could do anything about it. When others around us need mercy we can be the first to offer it because mercy was freely given to us. Who do you know today that needs mercy? Does someone need a phone call, a friendly visit, an offer of forgiveness or, just your presence in the midst of their pain? Because you have received mercy, it is twice blessed – pass it on.  See you SundayPastor David