Red Deer Church of Christ

A Fellowship of Believers

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Time We All Have It

           Time In a Bottle; is a hit single from Jim Croce that caught me ear in my childhood in the 1970’s.  Not knowing the story behind the song simply seeing life before me as an eternity. In the 70’s I was just starting school, and yet those summer days left me with childhood memories that still bring warm smiles to my heart. Long before girls were of interest to me the opening line proved a model of those good ole days of my childhood; “If I could save time in a bottle the first thing that I like to do is to save every day.” After-all if I was putting butterflies and bugs into a bottle then so why not time?  

            Life works around time, and so to sound important we schedule our day around time.There is a time to wake up, some much more earlier than others, but still this becomes the start of one’s day. How one schedules their day can reflect that individual’s management of time which reminds me of a conversation I had with a Christian sister some time ago who observed; “We have become a culture of ‘doing people’ we can certainly make ourselves appear busy doing things but are we doing the things that will help us grow and strengthen our relationship with God?” Where you work can consume one third to one half of your day then there is hockey practice, dance recitals, the cat has to go to the vet and the dog is late for obedience training. So while you attempt to figure out how to best manage your time let me share with you the following illustration.  

            Suppose someone with the financial means offers to put $86,000 in your bank account every day with only one instruction, “You have to spend the entire $86.000 each day, the funds could not be invested nor spent frivolously. You have to show accountability of how you spent the money to improve the life of another. If you were unable to spend the whole amount the remaining funds were lost but another $86,000 – this is not a top up – would be deposited and a new balance of $86,000 would appear the next day.”  Would you be up to the task?  Well this is what God does every day if you were to calculate how many seconds there are in a day you will discover that there are 86,400 seconds in one day. The unused seconds of yesterday are gone you only have the seconds of this day so how will you spend what God has blessed you with today?  In Matthew’s gospel witness of Jesus the writer preserves a question asked by Jesus “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matt. 6:27)  The words of Jesus draw you to examine how you walk in each day. Too much dwelling in your past will prevent you from seeing the blessing of this day similarly too much worry in the future might inhibit your responsibility of this day.  

           Learning from your past that is what the Bible calls wisdom, the Book of Proverbs found in the Old Testament has a lot to say about wisdom.  Equally important is to plan for your future that is the hope of what is preserved in God’s promise of salvation. Now should we invest in our future yes even my wife and I have a small retirement investment. The future Jesus warns against is the one that places you living so far in the future that you might miss the blessing of this day. It’s never too late to peak at your bank account and see how much time you still have to spend in this day that God has blessed you with and how your investment of time to read this blog will ready you for the blessing that God will deposit into you day tomorrow.  

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When One Year Passes A New One Begins

Wow, can you believe that another 365 ¼ days has come and gone, and as I look at the year ahead I’m about to complete my 50th revolution around the sun. So what does the start of a new year hold in store for you?  A few years back I resolved not to make a New Year’s resolution after hearing a local news broadcasts which identified the top three New Year’s resolutions. Not surprising but here are the three top resolutions made at the start of every new year; 1) diet, 2) improve personal fitness, and 3) spend more time with loved ones. The broadcast then concluded their findings by adding, “Only 1 in 5 who make New Year’s resolutions actually hold true to their committed resolution.”

Have you ever looked to the coming of a new year as a chance to commit of improving relationships to include your relationship with God? A Christian brother challenged me with a recent post on Facebook, asking for a scriptural reference that compels us to read our bibles every day. As the comments ensued my friend expanded his thought asking for suggestions of how to read Scripture. Pointing to the many schedules that enable you to read through the bible in one year. If your interest is chronological, you can find a reading schedule. If your interest is blending a reading of Old Testament and New Testament then you can find a schedule. If your interest is to read the Bible from beginning to end just pick it up and start reading but try not to rationalize the Levitical law with a 21st century mind. What my friend was pointing out, if the focus is only on the reading of the bible, how does the meditation on Scripture impact the speed at which you read scripture? There are 66 chapters in the Book of Isaiah, you could spend a week dwelling in this and still feel a hunger to read it again.  

So what does this have to do with New Year’s resolutions, reading the bible and your commitment to improve your relationship with God? We are now four days into 2018, if I don’t bring this blog to a close I will find myself three days behind in my plan to read the bible daily. To help you plan your bible reading schedule I would like to take you into the word;

“43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” 50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.” (John 1:43-51)  

Much of the focus found in commentaries about this conversation between Jesus and Nathanael point to the connection of Jesus and Nazareth. But some like to draw attention to the observation of the character of Nathanael as described by Jesus, “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Jesus sees Nathanael before Philip brings Nathanael to Jesus proving Jesus is very much aware of those whom he will draw to himself as the Twelve Apostles. For instance, you might be more aware of the encounter of Jesus and Simon whom Jesus names “Cephas or Peter – meaning Rock.” Simply to prove Jesus sees you for what you might become in his presence and from where you might come from. Jesus saw Nathanael under the fig tree, in the Old Testament the fig tree was seen often as a place to gather and because of its shade the fig tree also became a place of prayer and meditation. Pointing back to Nathanael’s introduction to Jesus, his observation, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Suggests Nathanael is not just a reader of Scripture but also one who takes time to contemplate and reflect on the Word. News of Jesus is spreading in Galilee, John the Baptist has pointed to Jesus; “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn. 1:29) While Jesus comes calling his disciples, the Scriptures, John the Baptist and now by the whispers of the people who have encountered Jesus some have been challenged to see in Jesus the Messiah as promised in Scripture. Looking again to this encounter between Jesus and Nathanael, the voice of criticism becomes a voice of reason, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Clearly Nathanael is now acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah, the anointed one to whom the Scriptures had borne witness to.

Now as Nathanael and the others step forward to follow Jesus this journey these followers embark on will reshape their pre-conceived views of the Messiah until they see the Messiah Jesus is. This is why we continue to read Scripture, to discover for ourselves the Christ that Jesus is rather than seeking the Jesus we want. So if your plan is to read through the bible in a year and somewhere along the way you find yourself stalled in a passage that has you reading it over and over again.  My encouragement is to keep reading because it is there that you will find the Jesus you need.

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“And the Word became Flesh” The birth of Jesus as told by John

The Word became flesh; (Jn.1:14) what a profound statement for a people longing to witness the mighty acts of the God who made his presence known through Abraham, Moses, King David and spoke to the people through the prophets of a time past. It happened somewhere between my ministry training and my own searching of scripture when a voice from a colleague helped me link what I was reading.  John’s introduction to Jesus is a birth narrative not set in a time or place but rather it looks heavenward. The focus of John’s reflection of the birth narrative points us to where Jesus came from. To comprehend the significance of this statement, “The Word became Flesh,” is to tie a link to how Moses introduces us to God in the book of Genesis, “In the beginning God…” Both writers emphasis the eternal existence of God to include the eternal existence of Jesus and let me add the eternal presence of the Holy Spirit (a Blog subject for a later date).  

This is the time when Christians reflect on the story of the birth of Jesus as told in Sunday-school and from the pulpit. To use John’s gospel witness to tell the story of the birth of Jesus might not be your first choice however, there is something unique as to how John introduces us to the coming of Jesus. John’s gospel witness is his expression of this great wonder as to the significance of the birth of Jesus. John’s gift is not to recount the historical events surrounding the birth of Jesus but to point us to the truth of who really is entering into creation through the birth of Jesus. Jesus is the incarnation of God, in the person of Jesus all that is God is revealed in human form. To read the opening verses of John’s gospel witness is not to devalue the birth narratives of Matthew’s Gospel or Luke’s historical recollection but to complement our understanding of just who it was that the angels sang their praises of when they appeared to the shepherds proclaiming and singing “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to all humankind on whom his favour rests.”(Lk.2:14)

The reality that Christ Jesus dwelt among us means he lived, he hungered, and he thirsted, just like the rest of humankind. When he stubbed his toe on his journey through Galilee did it not hurt? The contrast “he made is dwelling among us,” reflects back to the Ancient Near East world. Consider the god’s of the Greeks and Romans, their gods were of myth; stories were told of their gods descending to the people but their interaction was manipulative. Never longing to dwell with humans and definitely never to the interest or betterment of humankind.

When remembering the birth of Jesus I often reflect on the Christian reformist Martin Luther who wrote, “Take hold of Jesus as a man and you will discover that he is God.” This is how I read John’s introduction to Jesus in his gospel witness; “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We (the apostles) have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn. 1:14) To see in Jesus that this ‘Word’ which became flesh is wholly God and wholly man is how John sets out to introduce us to the coming of Jesus. So that, as you journey along with John in his eyewitness account of Jesus you discover God in the person of Jesus through his life and ministry and most important through his resurrection. Later at the end of John’s gospel witness we encounter one of the most profound confession ever recorded about Jesus and it comes from the one most remembered as the doubter, Thomas called Didymus; “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side I will not believe.” (Jn. 20:25). When Jesus presents himself before Thomas, Thomas falls before Jesus and proclaims, “My Lord and my God.” (Jn. 20:28) In the words of Thomas you are my sovereign and my God. The Story of Christmas is more than the story of the birth of a King, it is the story that reminds us just how far God will reach to show his love for the whole of creation.

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Hope Comes In The Birth Of A Child

Hope, what is hope? The month of December is here one year is ending another is about to begin. I don’t know what your year was like, personally mine has me hoping in a better year to come. Still with the arrival of a new year it is often greeted with Hope. Hope which is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation. To borrow a phrase from an old friend from Texas; “Hope is what keeps us keeping on.” Still for Christians, December is a month of renewing our hope in God’s deliverance by marking the birth of Jesus. Now I sometimes get the attention for suggesting that December 25th is not the birth date of Jesus, like you might celebrate when the day of your birth appears on the calendar. I look at December 25th to mark something greater by the witness of the birth of Jesus. The marvel behind the birth of Jesus is the truth that our God, our creator chose to be born into his creation. Think about what this means, God in all his infinite wisdom chooses through this birth to become completely dependent upon his creation as a child so that at the right time our God might die to save the whole of his creation. The birth of Jesus fulfills the expectation of hope, hope that was spoken to Abraham “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:3). Hope that God planted in the heart of Adam and Eve before putting them out of the Garden of Eden. In the presence of Adam and Eve, God spoke to Satan “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heal” (Gen. 3:15). Hope in a God who will act in a time yet to come who will deliver his creation from the bond of sin.  

Hope is a recurring theme that flows through Scripture and the hope preserved in Scripture demonstrates the faithfulness of God. Expectation of hope is the theme Luke opens us to in his gospel witness. The one whom the people of God have longed for as preserved in Scripture has now come as the angel appeared before the shepherds in the field that night to proclaim; “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Lk.2:10) Out of this silence under the darkness of night a message of hope is spoken, hope that God has not forgotten to act as God spoke in his promise to Abraham. This same hope God planted in the heart of Adam and Eve as they stood broken by sin. I think it’s amazing when one finally grasps the completeness of what God fulfills through the birth of Jesus the story of our hope in God continues the story of our hope is fulfilled.

I look at the birth of Jesus this way; not as something that happened a long time ago in a place where some may never travel to. I look at the birth of Jesus as hope in what is to come. Jesus came once and left us a promise “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3) a promise first realized by the birth of Jesus. It is truly amazing how our God chose to enter into creation, of all possible ways our Creator might enter, the God of Heaven chooses to be born. This is what perplexes me when I reflect on the birth narratives in Scripture, Jesus becomes as we are so that through God’s plan of salvation we might become as he is. Now the hope in what is to come – the promise of resurrection – is validated that a long time ago in a place called Bethlehem Jesus was born.  The miracle of the birth is that since Jesus came once, Christians today are witness to the truth as reflected in John; “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

Hope came into this world through the birth of a child, hope which was proclaimed by angels, witnessed by shepherds and sought out by kings. In closing, I share from me to you may you see a new understanding of the hope which Christmas brings to your life.      

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Hearing God’s Voice in His Church Part VI

The game ˜Simon Says presents for us a learning situation to understand movement as a body. It requires an attention to instructions, an understanding of our body’s positions, like knowing our right hand from our left hand. Those who succeed in this game are not the ones who attempt to anticipate the next move but those who listen to the direction of the leader. Here is another example I sometimes use when preaching just to check who’s awake. Drawing the audience in I will ask, “Can anyone one here lift their right arm without thinking about it. Surprisingly a couple of hands do go up and sometimes it is even the right hand. Now I will pause here not to single anyone out, rather the pause is to ponder the instruction. Did the person lift his or her hand unknowingly? The very mention of this instruction has you thinking about lifting your right arm am I not right? Yet the instruction was for you to lift right arm without thinking about it. The simplest of movements requires the cooperation and communication of many parts of your body. Would you lift an infant out of a crib with the same approach as reaching into the pantry to grab a bag of potatoes? The ears hear the crying maybe the infant is hungry? The eyes see a child the size and weight almost the same as a 5kg bag of potatoes.

However, the brain recognizes the cries of the infant and tells the arms and the eyes this is not a bag of potatoes. The journey to become better listeners for the voice of God now shifts from the practice of making oneself a better listener for God’s voice to discerning how a body of believers can become better listeners for the voice of God. Allow me to take you to the words of the Apostle Paul “Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” (I Cor. 12:15-20) The challenge amongst this body of believers in Corinth has created a divisive body where the focus is on the parts and not the whole. Imagine if all you were was an eye-able to see the beauty of God’s creation and yet not be able to hear the sounds within God’s creation. I think a challenge to hear God’s voice presents when you see yourself as a body part other then what God sees you as. You might see yourself as an eye, a sort of window of the church able to see the work that is not being done. You might even be wondering why God is not speaking to the hands to do the work of the congregation. This is where you might have to become a better listener to hear the direction of God’s voice calling you as the hand to do the work and not the eye who sees what is not being done. 

I hope in this journey of discovery I have shared these past few weeks has helped to lead you to become a better listener for the voice of God. Whether you seek to hear God’s voice in your own heart or in the heart of a body of believers. Remember the tip is to pray and listen not pray and wait.

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Hearing God’s voice from the Bottom of the Well – Part V

Have you ever had an experience where you have looked up from where you were and asked, “Why me Lord?” While you ponder the many times this question has passed through your mind, I want to tell you a story of a young man we meet early in God’s story who discovered that it was in his moments of doubt where he heard God’s voice the clearest. The young man I speak of is Joseph, son of Jacob, who gifted Joseph with a coat of many colours. Joseph was the second youngest and to know his story is to discover that Joseph was a spoiled brat. This might be a surprise for some but God does work in mysterious ways. The real mystery as some might say is how does this spoiled brat become the Governor of Egypt? The answer to this question is found at the bottom of a well. When there is no place to look but to look up is where you will sometimes hear the voice of God.  

It is in the book of Genesis (c.37 – 50) where you will find the story of Joseph, the young man in need of hearing God’s voice. Joseph came to his brothers; “Listen to this dream I had; we were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it” (Gen. 37:6-7). Joseph is daddy’s favourite, and now he struts before them in his coat of many colours and tells his brothers that the God of Heaven has chosen him for something great. Now this is where Joseph needs to listen for God’s voice and not simply assume that he hears God. We cannot deny the legitimacy of the dream or dreams. There was a second (see Gen.37:9-11) that God uses to prepare Joseph to be a vessel through which God begins to lay down his path for your salvation. This is why Joseph finds himself at the bottom of the well; his brothers were angered by his arrogance and sought to get rid of their brother (ref. Gen. 37:19-36). It is also here at the bottom of this well that the pride of Joseph is humbled so that this young man might better hear the voice of God. Sold by his brothers to a band of Midianites, who profited by selling Joseph to Potiphar one of Pharaoh’s high officials. Now in Egypt, Joseph sees a little hope gaining favour of his new master; he ascends to become the head of the servants. In the house of Potiphar, Joseph became the Mr. Carson to the Earl of Grantham for the Downton Abby fans. He served as head over all the household servants; this was a little glimpse of greatness that drew Joseph back to his dreams. Just when things look good for Joseph he finds himself in prison again this time for standing for his moral integrity (see Gen. 39)

The point I look to share in this journey to become better listeners for God’s voice is that out of circumstance Joseph’s heart is humbled so that he is better able to hear the voice of God. He was thrown into a well by his brothers, sold into slavery by his brothers, then put into prison by one who trusted him Joseph needed to hear God’s voice. Joseph hope of in God’s faithfulness is rekindled when God uses him to explain the dream of Pharaoh, which readies the land of Egypt for seven years of bountiful crops and seven years of famine. God had placed in the heart of Joseph that something great was to come of his life and something did. When we look to the life of Joseph we are often drawn to the high points in his life, for example; his integrity to resist the temptation of Potiphar’s wife, his gift of interpreting dreams, his ability to lead a nation in a time of plenty to prepare it for a time of famine, and his maturity to say to his brother’s “I forgive you” (Gen. 50:19 – 21). On the other hand, when Joseph found himself at the bottom of a well, or imprisoned in Egypt can we be so certain that Joseph in his circumstances didn’t begin to doubt? Can we be absolutely certain that Joseph did not look up from the bottom of that well or from the dark prison cell and cry out, “Why me Lord – Why?” Sometimes our need to hear God’s voice is when we find ourselves in our moments of doubt.

God used Joseph, a once spoiled brat, not only to save a family but to save a people, the descendants of Israel through whom the nation of Israel comes. The nation through whom the saviour of the world would come. At the end of Genesis, we see the brothers reconciling, restoring a broken relationship, and confessing as; “Joseph said to them…Don’t be afraid…. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Gen. 50:19-20). At the end of Genesis we see in the life of Joseph and his brothers God’s purpose to his plan, to reconcile the whole of humankind from the sin that separates. You might not always understand why you are looking up from the midst of a circumstance asking “Why me Lord?” However, if your heart is listening you will hear God’s voice leading you through. If you have a story of how God led you through a dark circumstance and would like to share, please find me at [email protected].

-Ed

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Hearing God’s Voice When We Pray – Part IV

    The opening verse of Psalm 4 might prove challenging even to the most faithful of Bible readers.  How dare one call out to God with such a demand? “Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.” (Psalm 4) The opening words as hard as they appear express a conviction of faith. The Psalmist walks in a relationship with God believing that God hears our prayers even if the words express the distress on one’s hearts.

    Hearing God’s voice when you pray is not about hearing an answer as much as how well you are at listening for God’s reply? Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and discovered that you have not heard the last ten minutes? If you have been married six months or have been in a deep committed relationship for some time if you are a man reading this, you know exactly what I am speaking about. You must be engaged in a conversation to hear a conversation. If you have just found your way to this page I encourage you to look back a couple of weeks where I introduced my central theme; “As one who yearns to hear God’s word how well do you listen for his voice?”

    Prayer is the means by which one is able to share the deepest thoughts with God, and prayer is the way individuals and the community of believers communicate with – the God who is. When the psalmist begins “Answer me...” he is not demanding God’s attention and immediate reply. The psalmist speaks from experience that God truly does hear our prayers. This might catch you by surprise, but prayer is not a religious activity; God does not need us to pray. However, God desires that we call on him through prayer. Some might be familiar with the “Lord’s Prayer” (Mt. 6:6-11prefered or Lk. 11:2-4). The disciples ask Jesus; “Lord teach us to pray…” what Jesus teaches in this prayer is designed to adjust your heart to be more in tuned to listen for God’s voice. First by acknowledging God as “Father”, which instills an image of God as the giver of life a sense of intimacy, and that God is involved in his creation. Second is to acknowledge God’s reign over creation and over your life. Sadly, most of our personal prayers – mine included – are one-way requests presented as a wish list with negotiations; “God if…God please…God I will…if you will…” just to list a couple examples.

    The biggest challenge we might find in our prayer life is to pray and listen rather than pray and wait. This is what the psalmist demonstrates regardless of how harsh his cry to God is, his faith prepared him to listen for God’s voice; “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” (Psl. 4:8) To come before God in prayer is to come to a place in your heart where your approach is to seek the voice of God leading you to listen as you pray for his direction in your life to understand his will and his purpose as you walk in his kingdom. So why do we pray? Prayer allows us to open our heart to God, to bear our concerns, our hurts, our struggles, even our thankfulness for God’s blessings.  Still, prayer also opens your heart to listen, not wait but listen to God for his voice and his answer.      

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Hearing God’s Voice Part III

What is it about reading; either you love to read or you despise it. If you asked me to describe myself, I might say that I am a transformed reader. In elementary school I despised reading; I don’t know why maybe it was a confidence thing. Back when I was in grade school it was common for the teacher to break us apart into reading groups based on the student’s ability to read. The rabbits and roadrunners were the fast readers, the turtles and turkeys were the slow readers, and then there was me.  All through elementary school I fell in with a couple classmates who weren’t even fast enough to be put in the group with the rest of the turkeys. Anyway, somehow and somewhere my desire to read changed. Do I read any faster? Well a little bit faster, but my interest to read is what keeps me reading. About ten years ago I came across a book that had helped nurture my growing desire to read. The book; “Read and Grow Rich” by Burke Hedges. Now some might be thinking as I did that this title is a disguise for one of those get rich quick schemes, but as the author presents in his book the whole gist of his book was to get people to read. His thesis was simple, the hidden power of reading can make you richer in all areas of your life. People write books for one reason which is to transfer knowledge. This leads me to recall a greeting I read on the signboard of a church I visited one day, “Many books inform but the Bible transforms.” Why does God’s story have such a profound impact on the lives of those who hear the voice of God in his word? When looking to the transforming power of God’s story how does the quality of your relationship with God affect your willingness to hear his voice? The Bible tells the story of God’s interaction with humankind. The Bible also tells the story of the faith shaping of a people and it is out of this story that the voice of God speaks to us today. Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” (John 14:23-24) God’s word transforms; therefore, God’s word must become something to you. The Bible is not a collection of stories about people and things that happened a long time ago in a place you may never travel to. God’s story is to comfort the reader to understand that if the God who is cared as much for people like Joseph, for David, and even Rahab, could not that same God have as much love and care for you? Many books inform but the Bible transforms. If you are ready to be transformed by God’s love as revealed in his story, then let me invite you not only to read the book of transformed lives, but to drop in someday and meet others whose lives have been transformed by God’s Story.  

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Hearing God’s Voice - Part II

     There is a formula to knowing God’s voice but it might not be as simple as those math questions of elementary school you know (X+Y=Z). The key to knowing God’s voice is knowing him and as the bible reflects our coming to hear the voice of God grows out of our experience with the God who is. If you are yearning to hear the voice of God, then the question becomes are you listening to his voice? If your desire is to hear his voice and to understand his voice where do you turn? To hear God’s voice today is to hear his voice through his story, as preserved in the Bible “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,” (Hebrews 1:1-2). The writer of Hebrews is helping us to understand is that God desires to communicate with those who are his. One method God used to communicate as preserved in scripture is through experience. When God called the descendants of Israel out of Egypt, we have to remember that for some the God of Abraham was only a faint memory. The ten plagues witnessed in Egypt was a demonstration of God’s eternal presence. So when God led the descendants of Israel out of Egypt and they find themselves at the edge of the Red Sea, some are in desperate need to hear the voice of God. There in the commotion all the people see is death; the Egyptians are pressing hard from behind as they seek to take them back into bondage. The people of God stand as the edge of the sea wondering which way to turn. Do they turn to the south and head to the mountains? Do they turn to the north heading to the Land of the Philistines? Fleeing in either direction, it would only be a matter of time before the Egyptians would overcome them. Still here at the edge of the Red Sea, God delivers His people because God hears His people; “The Lord said, (to Moses) “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land…” (Exodus 3:7-8) God reveals through Moses that he does hear our voice so why is it so hard for us to hear his voice?  Have you ever found yourself stuck between the proverbial; “rock and the hard place?” Well the Israelites were not stuck between rocks but they were stuck. The faced uncertainty there at the edge of the sea and all they were asked to do was to be still; “Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus. 14:13-14). God delivered his people that day, but there was something required of his people. They had to step forward. God made a way for his people; his people needed to hear his voice and to follow his voice. A voice that directed the people to step forward and to walk the dry path while the hand of God held back the water. If you want to hear God’s voice the first step is to know in your heart that God does in deed hear our voice.  Hearing God’s voice in the wisdom of His Word is where I invite you to join me in our continued journey to hear God’s voice in your life.    

- Ed

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Hearing God’s Voice - Part One

One of those things I enjoy most when I get away from the busyness of the city is to escape down a wooded path deep enough that the sounds of the highway are silenced and all you hear is the voice of the wilderness. Maybe it’s to drift out into the middle of a lake and just listen. For a boy growing up in Northern Ontario, the call of the loon was in some ways for me a welcoming to share its realm. It does not matter where you are listening, whether it be at the corner of Bloor and Younge in Toronto ON or somewhere high in the Rockies of Western Canada, there are different sounds you will hear. Listening...it is the challenge of defining the sounds of your day while tuning out the sounds around you. When listening for the voice of God as a Christian what are you listening for?  Are you listening for a discernable voice that you can state without any doubt “that was the voice of God”? If yes, what does that voice sound like to you? Do you hear a voice like Morgan Freeman or Elmer Fudd?  Is God’s voice loud or is it a whisper? In the book of Hebrews we read, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,” (Heb.1:1-2a). The observation preserved by the writer of Hebrews tells us that God spoke to us in many ways and many forms. The point, Yahweh – the God who is, the one through whom we have life is a god who chooses to communicate with his people. (Let me assert that I believe the god we read of in the Bible to be the one and only true God). So what does the voice of God sound like? Well the answer is, you will never know the voice of God if you are not listening for the voice of God. The prophet Elijah stood on Mt. Carmel challenging the people of God and later the prophets of Baal; “Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21ff). There was no denying, that which the prophet Elijah witnessed (1 Kings 18) was without a doubt a mountain top experience as he defeats the prophets of Baal. Yet, in this success the prophet still needed to hear the voice of God because the voice piercing his ears shortly after Elijah defeats the prophets of Baal was the voice of Jezebel ordering Elijah be put to death (ref.1 Kings 19:1-2). Fleeing for his life Elijah takes refuge in a cave in desperate need to hear the voice of God. Their God calls Elijah and leads him to the mouth of the cave; through this encounter the prophet is witness to a powerful wind that tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks. But God was not in the wind. Then came an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. Then came a fire consuming all in sight, but God was not in the fire. Then came a whisper and “When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” (1 Kings 19:13). Sometimes our zeal to do God’s will interferes with our listening to his voice of direction. The noise of the day, and the busyness of the day at times can be louder than the voice of God. There is no lack of passion in the heart of Elijah as we meet him on the mountain top or later in the cave. The prophet’s desire was to do God’s will, however, sometimes the challenge comes when the voice of God is drowned out by the voice of this world.  

-Ed

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Adversity

A proud grandma once shared with me the great hockey comeback of her grandson’s team. She shared they fell behind 6 – 1 late in the second period. With a little more than a period left, her grandson’s team started chipping away at the lead.  The final score 8 to 7 for her grandson’s team. To come from behind and work our way through the adversities of life.  To use the comeback of a pee-wee hockey game as encouragement to help you through adversity might seem a little like a cliché.  It does not matter if it is on the ball diamond or the local ice rink; there are two ways to approach a game or as I reflect, when adversities of life come your way.  You can hold on until the final whistle is blown or you can dig in and try to turn the game around one shift at a time.      

I thought about that game. The excitement of the cheers as one team soars ahead, and the groans in the crowds as one team seems to crumble. Now consider the cheers as the momentum in the game shifts, as cheers become groans and vise-versa.  Then, the biggest challenge of all, when the boasting comes as the final horn sounds to end the game.  

When you overcome adversity in your Christian life in whom do you boast? Paul writes in to the Christians at Rome: “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Rom. 5:1-5; NRSV)

Boasting… I am going to caution you to be careful in how you boast.  There is no denying as a follower of Jesus you will face adversity at different times in your life.  How you draw attention to yourself in your adversity is what will be remembered. To boast in your faith is not to draw attention to your suffering so that when you get to the other side you stand and shout, “Look at me now, remember where I was a year ago?”   Boasting in adversity comes in recognizing that even in your dark times you hold to the confident assurance that Christ Jesus is with you.  “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom. 5:6) As a Christian, there is only one in whom you can boast, that being Christ Jesus the one who died for you.  

I think back to the conversation with the proud grandma and ponder the challenge of adversity.  There were two lessons taught on the ice that game, both in the challenge of adversity. First is to cheer for the great comeback; the team who found themselves behind chipping away at the lead refusing to give up.  Second is to witness the collapse of the other team.  Still, this is pee-wee hockey, but what about when you hold to a confidence of being ready to face adversity?  A team still ahead 6-3 with 13 minutes scrambled to hold on to some pride as they managed one goal after falling behind 8-6. Out of adversity comes growth.  To think you are far enough ahead in your walk with Jesus will present as a false confidence in your faith. A five goal lead in pee-wee hockey is sometimes not enough. When you face adversity how far ahead will you run in your faith before you reach out to Jesus and whisper, “I need you.”

-Ed

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Finding Solitude

To appreciate this reflection let me encourage you to take a moment to read the first chapter of Mark’s gospel witness.  In the opening chapter we meet Jesus, and wow is he ever busy; it is no wonder Mark shares; “Very early one morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to pray in a solitary place.” (Mk. 1:35ff) Although he was alone while he prayed, have you ever wondered how lonely Jesus might have been? To remove yourself from people, the office, the children, the busyness of the day to find that solitary place to pray; can you do that?  I do not doubt the busyness in the lives of some people.  We are so busy that a popular French Fry company is now selling already pealed frozen potatoes exclusively for mashing.  Yes, all you need to do is boil from frozen drain add butter and mash.  Really how busy have we become that a marketing manager believes someone else needs to peal your potatoes so you can have mashed potatoes with your ready to serve pot roast that also comes in a box?  

In this lesson Jesus is teaching that in order to find that solitude with God sometimes we have to separate ourselves from everything and everyone to be alone. Think of the day Jesus had when he himself experienced a firsthand assault from Satan; he had exercised his authority over demons and in compassion for humankind Jesus healed those who were sick and lame. Jesus was indeed busy but in his need for solitude how much of what Jesus experience did he shut out of his life.  I think the challenge in finding our place of solitude is thinking we have to clear our mind of all distractions before we feel we can connect with God.  However, the unkind words I spoke to my son the other day keep circling in my mind. How can I be at peace in my place of solitude if I cannot detach myself from my distractions?  The answer is easy...it is the distractions that have to be contemplated in our solitude.

Just think of Jesus in his moment as he went off to this solitary place to pray. Would you not agree that Jesus was thanking God for God’s guiding presence when he was confronted by Satan?  Would you not expect Jesus to be praying for the lives of those he has touched so far?  What about those he has called to follow him? (calling of the disciples – Mk.1:14ff) Would this not be an appropriate time for Jesus to appeal to his Father to strengthen the hearts of those he has called?   Finding solitude in prayer can never be reached if we think we have to detach ourselves from the world we live in or those we love.  Finding solitude in prayer comes at a place where we can speak our heart to God and share our concerns to him about our world and those we love.  

-Ed

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What did you see?

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Masks

We often compare the image we have of ourselves to the image we see in others. So to feel important or significant or to find worth we sometimes mould ourselves into the likeness of those we admire. We might put on the masks of famous clothing designers because of the clothes we see our favourite pop star wearing. We gear up for Friday night shimmy and don the colours and number of our hockey hero. The masks we wear might do not always cover our face. However there is a haunting truth behind the masks we wear which is, they help us hide or they can help us to stand out and be seen.

Often the things we usually base our significance on are things that can often be masks that others wear like beauty, I know it is important for all to look their best however if external beauty is the focus do our efforts on appearance become a mask that hides the true self?  What  about brains do we try at times to look smart in front of others to gain a position in the classroom or office? Then there is the mighty dollar, using money and materialism as a mask. Is our desire to be rich because we admire the achievements of a famous person or are we attracted to the lifestyle the money permits this famous person to have? Even our skills as an athlete can at times become a mask for those who want to be recognized as the best of their sport. I have seen those guys on the ice, the toughest and meanest player on the ice but off the ice they wouldn’t hurt a fly. 

When we look at ourselves and try to make ourselves look like others who we think have a more attractive lifestyle then the image of our self will become hidden behind masks that are hollow and empty. If we were to reflect on the story of Samuel’s visit to the farm of Jesse where God commands Samuel to anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be the next king over God’s people we learn a very strong message. As Samuel arrives he sees Eliab the eldest son, he was strong tall and good looking and Samuel thought surely this must be God’s anointed. However, God saw differently and told Samuel; “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

When God looks at us he does not fix his eyes on our outward appearance he looks at the heart because God’s love is based on who we are and not on what we think we need to be. If we don’t want others to know what we are really like then we just have to put on a mask of the image we want people to know us as. Hiding behind a mask to build a friendship leads to an even greater danger. If we have to put on a mask to be a friend to someone or to be popular, how sincere will that relationship be? When we stand in front of the mirror in the morning do we see ourselves for who we are or do we see ourselves for what others want us to be. If we start looking for the image others want us to be that is when we begin to put on our masks and hide our true self. It is the time of year again when our young people will be returning to school, some will be reconnected with friends they left behind only a couple of months ago.  Some will be navigating the halls of the local high school for the first time and some will be venturing off to university and all will have the same challenge. Will you hide behind a masks of popularity, brains, even money, or will you tear off the masks you have been hiding behind and let those in your world see the real self that God desires you become. To hide or not to hide that is the real truth behind the masks we wear.

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What if?

What if…?  My wife and I do a lot of highway travelling, and I will say we have always made it to our destinations safely which has me reflecting on a return trip a couple of years back. We were returning to Sudbury, Ontario, after a long day of appointments in Toronto.  A little south of Perry Sound the northbound traffic came to a standstill.  It was a long day and we were tired. We wanted to do was get home and for us that particular day this traffic backup was a huge inconvenience.  Then I began to ponder… a daughter away at university, family in Niagara Falls, Ontario, trips to the Toronto area for business and appointments meant we travelled Highway 400 a lot. That’s when it struck, “What if…?” What if we had been thirty minutes ahead of schedule? The roads were icing over and the weather took a drastic change. What if we were at the lead of this pack? What if we were involved in the accident that caused the backup on Hwy 400 that day?   Now I have presence of faith to dispute that our delay was God’s providence to protect us because of what that might imply about the accident. If it was God’s will that he delay us then we would have to accept that it was also God’s will for someone else to be harmed in that accident. Accidents are just that, they are accidents.  To say God delayed our departure time to protect us is a misapplication to what faith is.  We were delayed because my wife’s doctor was behind in his scheduled appointments that day. Do you see the layers of confusion? For each thirty minute delay in the office that day it meant someone else was inconvenienced. To say our delay was “of God” than all who were delayed in the office that day could blame God and not the doctor.  The complication which arose in the patient which caused an interruption for the surgeon that day delaying all who came for appointments must have also been of God. Sometimes the “What if’s…” just cannot be rationalized and must simply be accepted.  Our situations in life sometimes are just that, they are our situations and any analysis of “What if…” is not going to change the past but it can influence our future.  The “What if’s…” are not our excuses to lament about the past, they are to shape our evaluation for our future.  The “What if’s…” allow us to examine a situation or a circumstance and if we cannot see God’s guiding hand then we need to pause and listen.  When tragic events unfold before us, “What if” is not the question we should be seeking to answer; the real question we need to ask, “Is my heart right with God?”  Even if we become victims of a tragic event being in right relationship with God gives comfort in knowing His presence is to help and not harm us.

-Ed

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Scripture Reading: Psalm 30:1-12

GOD’S GRACE ~

    It is interesting to read Psalm 30 since it is identified as a ‘song’ for the dedication of the temple.

    The temple, seen by those in our past as the House of God and yet to know the story of David, is to know that Yahweh would not allow David to build the House of God.

  Instead, as scripture reveals in 2 Samuel  7:5-17, God announces that He will build a house for David.

  What does David teach us through this Psalm about understanding the Grace of God in our homes today?

Ed

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Psalm 136

Give thanks…two little words that draw us into prayer, but how thankful are we when we pray? If your prayer life is slightly similar to mine than your prayers might sound more like petitions, a list of requests. We often thank God for our health, our blessings of this day, but how about just thanking God for being God? The focus of Psalm 136 is thanking God for being God. This psalm strikes at our very hearts to become more in tune with giving thanks to our God simply for being our God.

-Ed