Friday, January 6th, 2012
As we cleaned up the last of Christmas, I awakened from “peace on earth” to CNN’s latest report on world conflict. Not wanting the peace of Christmas to be a mere stoplight, just how do we have more peace in our lives? Now, aside from wishing that our mean ‘ol neighbors would move or get run over by a Greyhound bus – let’s ask ourselves, “What would God desire I do to have more peace in my life when each of us are surrounded by others having different beliefs, opinions, habits and quirks?”
I guess if we could create our own utopia, we would only hang out with those we like/love or agree with. Conversely, all others who we dislike or hurt us, disagree with us or just plain get under our skin could move to eastern Mongolia where they wouldn’t affect our otherwise happy lives.
But life does not worketh that way.
Reality says the very same people who fill us with the abounding joy, love and fulfillment can cause us pain or tick us off. And we do the very same thing to them and gulp… even repeatedly.
For this dilemma, the Bible gives us this instruction, from Colossians 3:13:
- Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. (New Living Translation)
- Put up with each other and forgive each other (God’s Word Translation)
- Bearing with one another and readily forgiving each other (Weymouth N.T.)
Listen closely to the heart of the Lord as you openly say to yourself “Put up with… make allowance for… and readily forgive”, knowing that others who love you are thinking of you in the very same way – perhaps at this very moment. Even more so, Christ did this for us and continues to do it every day.
And watch the season of “Peace on Earth” get just a little longer.
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Monday, November 7th, 2011
In the well-known parable of the prodigal son, Luke 15:20 says “So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him”.
Like many parents, we are close to our kids–we miss them when they are out of town or we can’t talk to them regularly. Each fall, our eldest son is a guide in remote Northern BC and Yukon for 3 months and our only contact is an infrequent and raspy call on satellite phone. My heart goes out to parents who don’t get to see their kids for years and are sometimes separated by oceans or continents.
The longing to see our son increases as the months go on and we begin to do things in our household like:
- Leave his last message on the answering machine just to hear his voice.
- Answer every phone call on the first ring, even if it might be one of those pesky telemarketers.
The tension builds till the day our son comes home…..then, at the first tinkle of the metal latch on the front gate, our house is instantly vacated as we all head for the driveway.
The scripture says “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him”.
I am convinced the father was looking out the window for even a glimpse of his son coming down the road. I wonder how many times did he drop what he was doing just to look down that road? A thousand times? Maybe more?
I wonder if God listens to his answering machine, just to hear your voice again? Is He looking down the road for you? I do know that God actually will see your very first step on your road back to Him. He is looking for it; He is waiting for it.
…even a baby step.
And God, your Father will run to you, wrap His arms around you and kiss you. There is an old saying that “when we take one step towards God, He takes two”. It is true.
Take a step today.
Posted in Christianity, God's Love, Jesus, Love | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011
A friend recently told me of a time when many aspects of temptation came to him all at once, reminding him of the movie “Perfect Storm” depicting the 1991 Nor’easter blending Hurricane Grace with other volatile storm conditions for a truly deadly mix. Profound thought.
Hourly CNN storm warnings update us as hurricanes such as Irene gather intensity off the Eastern US seaboard. We all intently watch as weather conditions change, with some storms becoming hurricanes and yet others fizzling as soon as they are named.
As we navigate our families in this fallen world–we know all days are not sunny skies and glassy waters. Temptation will come.
Temptation to sin, especially the sin that we have done before and said we never would do again, rarely comes on a blue sky day. The conditions need be just right, like tropical storms.
After unsuccessfully tempting Jesus to sin, Satan left Jesus for a more opportune time (Luke 4:13). Satan is an opportunist and doesn’t mind doing the legwork and waiting for the right wind conditions to obtain his desired results.
His strategies are effective with early temptations being ever so subtle, like a breeze picking up, maybe a favorable breeze, and it might even feel pleasurable.
Then comes a slight change in wind direction and a rise in temperature and humidity–all happening with diabolical coincidence. Yet the conditions seem somewhat manageable to us.
“I can handle this,” we say.
Then, out of nowhere, things get out of control; we are “dragged away and enticed” (James 1:14). Satan’s true purpose comes clear and it is the destruction of your faith–the “shipwreck of your faith” (1 Timothy 1:19).
Now shipwrecks destroy not only just the ship itself, but the precious cargo for which the ship was built by it’s Maker.
We have all seen it in families of shipwrecked marriages, spilling out the cargo of lives….so many little ones drowning and broken on the rocks like so much flotsam and jetsam.
Disgraced televangelists take the brunt of our notice, as well, where Christians are left disillusioned and awash when their leaders shipwreck their own faith and fall into disrepute.
It can happen for us common folk too, maybe not on such a grand scale, but the people we touch and influence each day are OUR cargo, united together in our heaven-bound journey–and our cargo is precious to Him.
We carry nothing into Glory aside from this cargo, so it is befitting for us to be alert and sober minded (1 Peter 5:8) at the helm, watching the horizon for the first evidence of shipwrecking temptations.
Hebrews 4:11 says “Let us, therefore, make every effort…. so that no one will perish”
And one day our ships will enter the rest of our final harbor–both cargo and ship-battered, but intact.
What a day that will be!
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Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
A few Sundays ago in the worship service, we sang the words:
Majesty, majesty
Your grace has found me just as I am
Empty handed but alive in your hands
(Majesty – Here I Am by Martin Smith)
I repeated each word one by one.
I came to know Jesus as my Saviour about 22 years ago and I was a little like the prodigal son… no, actually a lot like the prodigal son. I caroused with the world till I had more than my fill and yet, God reached down from heaven and touched my life.
I remember the first time at church, sitting in nearly the back row – I think someone had already scooped the very back row seats. As a new baby Christian, I was overwhelmed with the joy that I was now heaven bound and that God was for me, not against me. I knew deep down that it was God who did it all for me; I did nothing aside from accepting His love and forgiveness.
I brought nothing to the table; it was like I was paying for an around-the-world cruise with pocket lint… I was empty handed and yet Jesus gave it all for me…
On Sunday morning, I thought to myself, “It has been a long time since I felt this way.”
I came into the kingdom as the prodigal son (See Luke 15), empty handed and full of gratitude for a Father God who came running to me and hugged me (verse 20). Someone coined the phrase “an attitude of gratitude” and that surely was me. You couldn’t keep me out of church. I had a whole new family – I remember the first time a man called me “brother” and I thought, I really am his brother.
Sin began to fall from my life and then, for some reason unknown to me, I slowly began to take on a new attitude. Somehow, some of the gratitude was ebbing away and I now had expectations for God and “my rights”. It was as if I had paid for a piece of heaven with my own blood. My serving God joyously and being obedient to His Word had become “slaving and never disobeying orders” (verse 29) and in crept a little arrogance and judgmentalism. I was becoming the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son.
But, as the song says, we are “Empty handed but alive in Your hands”. We are indeed empty handed. He paid it all.
Remind yourself today, as I remind myself, that your Heavenly Father looked for you, as the scripture says; He saw you “when you were a long way off… He ran to you… He threw His arms around you and kissed you…” And don’t be the elder brother.
Posted in Christianity, Community, God's Love, Jesus, Love | 1 Comment »
Friday, December 4th, 2009
I was dangling about 25 feet off the ground from the eaves of my house last Monday on that cool, but gratefully dry, afternoon. I had two things going for me; no rain and free time, sort of. It was my day off and the “honey-do-list” was pressing on my conscience. I desperately needed to hang my Christmas lights up before the first winter snows fly. Besides, my wife’s Christmas nostalgia was getting restless about the seasonal necessities.
Just as I was finishing, my brother-in-law drove by, saw my garage wide open and spotted me hanging on a corner of the roof doing my reindeer impression. I waved and made a funny face at him and he returned it warmly as he passed by heading who knows where. Moments later I heard a noise and there he was pulled up in my driveway. He had deliberately turned around, put his agenda on hold, and stopped in to chat it up with me.
I tend to take my cues quite responsibly and since I had numb fingers, and had run out of garland, I quickly suggested he come in and sit down for a cup of coffee and a visit. He gladly complied — after all, he changed his plan for my sake it seems, or perhaps because we share a healthy relationship. He values my friendship and knows I value his.
This friendly encounter with my brother-in-law reminded me of God’s interest in meeting with you and I. It’s quite interesting to me how ready God is to meet and talk with us and enjoy our interaction with Him. he’s very interested in our lives and thrilled to engage with us about it in great detail and enthusiasm.
I have come to truly believe that He would love it if you would turn your truck around, put your daily agenda on hold and pull into His driveway for an assumed coffee visit. After all, it is a relationship and He’s always ready to meet and talk. Are you?
Posted in Christianity, Community, Friendship, Love | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Last Friday morning after driving my kids to work & school I enjoyed a delicious hot cup of home-brewed coffee in front of a toasty crackling fire together with my wife. We talked and thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company as we reveled in the fire’s warmth and the tranquility of the early morning alone together.
I’m always amazed and so happy that my wife loves me so much. I’m so far from perfect yet my wife loves me in spite of my flaws and mistakes. My mishandlings of her tender emotions at times or misunderstanding or somehow forgetting her needs. My impatience, my moods….I could go on and on. Now without sounding arrogant, I do believe I must possess a certain amount of quality characteristic that she loves and that makes her feel wonderful & loved but, I fail often and suffer from inconsistency. The most amazing thing is that she loves me in spite of my lack. That’s unconditional love!
It’s awesome when people love us unconditionally, but what is even more awesome is that God our Father loves us absolutely and totally with an unconditional love. So much so, that He pursues a relationship with us that is only subject to our agreement and willingness to interact with Him. You see, He wants you not for what you can give Him but for what He can give you. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Now it’s up to us to respond to His love. It’s not forced nor is it illusive. His invitation to you says, “Come to me all you who are week and feeling burdened…I will give you rest.”
He knows you and loves you as if you were the only person on the earth. You are the apple of His eye! So if you are feeling like you have to measure up or be more lovable to qualify for His love, forget it. He accepts you as you are, freely and without reserve in spite of your inconsistencies and failings. He doesn’t base his love for you on your good performance either. You can’t earn His love. He’s bigger than that. You don’t want religion nor does he. He wants a relationship with you! He loves unconditionally and He is God…not a human being.
Posted in Christianity, Church Life, Community, God's Love, Love, Relationships, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »