Anniversaries

3 years ago today my family and I, including my dad and inlaws, made our way across most of Ontario, from the west tot he east, and began to plant roots in a new community.  We drove our rented Thrifty cube van, and a few cars for nearly 6.5 hours, through valley's, over hills, around curves that seemed to never end, and got to experience some amazing country side.  We found our way to a beautiful little town called Smiths Falls.


Tomorrow will mark the day that we took possession of our house, the first house we have a mortgage on, hooray for not renting.  It was the second house we looked at on our tour of homes that were for sale in February 2008, it was the only one that we really liked.  It also had 2 others bids on it, which we now have found out, both bids were from couples in our church.  The deciding factor for ours being the winning bid?  Our closing date was only 4 weeks from the day we made our bid, the day we were to start in Smiths Falls at our wonderful church.


As we reflect on the process of buying this house, we see God in so many areas.  The neighborhood we are in, the price of the house, the fact it was on the market for a few months without selling, even down to the agent that showed us around.  Bet he was happy, he said in all his years of selling only one other time did he sell a house the day he showed the house.


Friday will mark 3 years since my first day in office, April 1st.  Imagine if that was some elaborate April fools joke, getting a family to move up here for April one, then at noon yell out April Fools, we didn't actually hire you.  Thankfully God's sense of humor isn't like that and either was our churches.


I met some inspiring and very kind people that first day in office as they came to get a sneak peak at the new blood who had taken up residence.  Each one sharing words of life and love as they shook my hand and passed through my office, which was being rearranged and stocked full of books and media.


April 6th will mark 3 years since my first Sunday at Bethel.  In this time I have learned numerous leadership and life lessons.  I have been taught many God values and preaching stand points.  I have developed my own style of ministry, and I have planted myself into a community that desires change and needs hope and love.  April 6th is a special day for my family and I, it was the day we began this journey with the people of Smiths Falls and our new family at Bethel.  It is also the day I shared what I believe was an inspired message about our church and town.  I want to reflect on that message briefly, travel back with me 3 years, lets see what God has done in our lives since that day.


Who am I?  We looked at my past, how I was brought up, the things I had experienced over the years.  I shared my heart for the people of Bethel and the community I now live in.  I expressed how I had a sense that this was home, not just a post that I had been called to for a few years, but home.  We walked through my love for spreading hope and joy to others through kindness, regardless of how that takes form.  And I concluded with a section called God of this city.  


Loosely based on the Chris Tomlin song, complete with video presentation revolving around photos of our town.  I shared about the move of God in this great town that we need to anticipate, that the spirit of revival would flow through our streets and the people would see that the heart of God was for their lives to be covered by his grace and love.  


What I have learned is that God wants to do a mighty work in this town, I know we hear it a lot, but he really genuinely does want to accomplish great things.  I have dreams and hopes for my life and those around me.  So does God.  My hope is that I can see His dreams take form in this town, see his hand move in a powerful way, and that I can be a part of what he does here.


3 years is not a long time, only a small mark on the line that is my life, but God is doing some great things, and I love the fact that he isn't done with me yet.

Follow

As I was going over the list of people I follow on twitter and those who follow me I began to question why I follow certain people.  There are a couple of 'celebrities' that are on my list.  Not anyone that you might consider to be top profile names, but those in the sports world that give updates on trades and other things that I have some interest in, OK a lot of interest.  I have some people on there that some may consider christian celebrity, mostly music related, and I follow them because I like to see where they are touring, if they are coming anywhere near my area, and too see when new albums are being released.  I have some pastors that I enjoy learning from, an organization I have a commitment to and then I have family and friends.


It occurred to me that while not all of these are important in my life, they each offer something into who I am.  The glaring omission?  I don't have the bible passage a day feed coming through, or C.S. Lewis even.  I won't get to in depth as to why, but the basic reason is that I would hate to have this as my only scripture based moment of the day, because I have fallen into that trap before.  Not with twitter but with printed devotional material, one sentence of scripture and some kind words, there I'm done for today.


As I contemplated following the person or persons who update this feed I wondered about Jesus, would he follow the feed, would he 'retweet' the passages that came across his screen.  Or would he just offer his words to those who followed his tweets.  Then my mind went a new direction.  Who would we find that followed Jesus.  Of course this is all under the pretense that Jesus would need to be physically with us right now and spend any amount of time on social media venues.


Would we see other religious figures on his list, movie stars, professional athletes, musicians, those who claim to love him, those who do.  How many people would use him in their tweets, Hey @Jesus, you the man.  Or #ff (friday follow) his name.  We live in a day where the added thanks to God and Jesus is no longer cool, it's more taboo.  How many times in years past was God thanked for a grammy or oscar by people who lived indifferent to the gospel?  Now those are not spoken as often.


People may follow him, because let's face it, if God is on the scene you want to be at least near what he is doing.  Then another tunnel swept my train of thought away.  Would we really follow?  Like the people who came to Jesus and said I want to follow you, and he challenged them to sell all their possessions or let the dead bury the dead.  Would we Friend him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter alone, or would we lay it down and follow his footsteps?  Chase after him through the wilderness, ride through the storm with him, wash feet at his side, pour out our lives for his cause?


I know where his loyalties are to me, but where would mine be if he stood behind me right now?  Where would yours be?  Would he be welcome at your dinner table, or just on the computer screen?  Would you follow the man, or just the tweets?


After all when we boil down everything in this life, one decision needs to be made above all others, where does your heart lie?  Are you seeking the Kingdom, or just the recognition of it's benefits?


Jesus called us to follow him, not the illusion of a man or deity on social media sites.  
@Jesus doesn't speak to you, @Jesus doesn't change your life.  @Jesus doesn't supply your every need.


JESUS does, follow him.


*on a related note, someone created an @Jesus twitter feed with now over 200 000 followers.  Read some of the tweets, and to my shock and surprise, it's not Jesus.  #heartbreaker

The Harvest

On Sunday morning I had opportunity to preach a message on the harvest field.  It wasn't assigned by our pastor, I did however feel some spiritual prompting to bring the message.  Why?  I've never wanted to guess at why God wants certain things spoken at specific times, so I won't speculate now, however I do find it refreshing that I find online a few other people shared from the same text on the same day.   Here are the fine or major points from the message.  


Luke 10:2 He told them "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." (NIV)


John 4:34-36  My food, said Jesus, is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.  Don't you have a saying, 'It's still four months until the harvest'?  I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!  They are ripe for harvest.  Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.


1.  Jesus is instructing those he was sending out to ask God where they should go into the fields.  Where to bring the story of salvation.  He is also instructing us to ask God to send the workers, not those around us, quite literally, US.  Jesus was giving instruction in typical form, ask God to send you.  He is the Lord of the harvest and he needs workers, not people to say, God send someone to my neighbour they need to hear about you.  He wants us to go, those who claim to know and follow Christ, we are the workers he wants in the fields.


2.  The harvest fields are the people around us that have not heard the good news, or do not have a relationship with Christ.  These are the fields God is sending us to, all we need to do is be willing to answer, Here I am Lord send Me.


3.  While in the harvest fields we may come up with a reason to not do the work.  Let's face it, the farming task of harvest is hard work and you get dirty, so is the spiritual task of working in the fields, sowing in fertile soil so God can reap, and we may not like the toll it can take at times.  Have you ever said or heard the words, some one else will get to it (read them) or I have enough time, I'll do it tomorrow.  Both can cause us to stop doing the will and work of the Lord, drifting into a sense of sleepy faith only perking up when our favorite song is played on Sunday morning.  Neither is the word of God. 
Here's why.
If we claim that someone else will do the work, we miss the blessing of sowing into someone's life the words that could bring hope and God's love.  Imagine the scene at the throne of Jesus when your neighbor runs and thanks someone you never met for sharing about Christ with them, yeah someone else did the work, but it could have and maybe should have been you (read me).  We don't need to be an extravert or an amazing evangelist we just need to care about the eternal state of those around us, those we live with even.
If we claim we have enough time, we are just lying to our selves, the truth is we don't know how much time we have on this earth.  When our last breathe will be taken, when our friends last breathe will be taken, when Jesus will return.  We need to stop fooling our selves into thinking we have more time and do the work we are called to do now, because now is the time to do the work.
Worry about their salvation not their perception, doing this only leads to more lost souls, Jesus never cared what people thought of him, only that He loved them.


4.  The workers are all those who claim to be the church, the living organism that is body of Christ.  The mouths that share the good news, the feet that bring aid to those in need, the hands out stretched to serve where needed.  


5.  We are living in the end times, no dancing around it, no trying to hide from it, this time is prophesied in scripture, we are seeing the last days right now.  I'm not a dooms dayist, I simple hope to see the return of Christ, but first I want to see my friends and family come to Christ in a moment of honest surrender to him, in salvation for their souls.  I am a harvest worker, I am part of the church, I must do the work.




If you claim to be a Christian, you are a harvest worker, get busy.

Prize and Pitfalls

Friday night we started a series looking at the pitfalls of life and the one real prize that we have to look forward to.  We began by looking at how to chase after the prize with 5 individual issues that are important in the life of a Christian when we look at life as a race.


And we concluded with the thought that the race can be won, when it is run in a specific manner.  With perseverance, passion, not being satisfied with the things of the past, not looking back, trusting that you will not fail and knowing that the one who is in you is greater then the one who is in the world.  With this in mind we all have the capacity to win the prize, but we must in the very least put effort towards it, be in training and finish strong.


But in all this one thing is catching my attention more and more.  I haven't devoted a huge amount of energy to it, because it has the appearance of a peripheral teaching to the main teaching I am in right now.  But I will take these few minutes and scribe my thoughts for you, maybe it will lead to something from there.


I this series on pitfalls and the prize I have constructed a target board for our youth to throw a dart at, in hopes of hitting the very small center circle and win a prize, from 15 feet away.  There are also 3 larger circles in which the word pitfall is written, this is where the 'game' takes place.  As an illustration to the point that we have many pitfalls to avoid in life, and the prize is center in our life, they must try to negotiate the distance and trials to win the prize, or they have to walk through a pitfall, a disgusting, yet entertaining pitfall.


The teaching on this game?  Matthew 7:13-14:


“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."


Here are my thoughts on this passage, again you may have your own ideas and images of any given passage, I'm not asking for you to agree with me, just to indulge me as I share my thoughts with you.


Life can be tough, finances, health, relationships and so many other areas take our time and attention, and soon we find our selves worn out, full of anxiety and looking for a way out.  There is a door.  Do you remember the tiny little door in Alice in Wonderland, the one that led Alice on a journey of fantasy and amazement?  Think of that door as a gate, and make it just as narrow as it is short.  Why does it have to be so small, how can I possibly fit my life style, my past, my current issues, my ego, all my wants and desires through that tiny little gate.  How can God ask me to try and fit through there as I am right now?


That road right there, the huge gate on the left side, I can fit through there with no struggle, no problems and I can be me with no fear of life.  And just as quickly as the decision is made to enter the wide gate is made the first trouble comes our way and destruction sets in on us, doom is coming, and it started because the easy road was wide and accessible. 


The narrow gate requires one thing of us, to see beyond what we have created as a small mindset, its all about me, my lifestyle, my ego, my money, my toys, me, ME, ME.


The narrow gate asks us to shed it all, and allow God to reform us into the masterpiece he originally intended.  The wide gate?  Come with all your issues, allow them to weigh you down, no need to think about others, just live your pitiful, trial stained life and the wide gate will add to it.  So much so that you will soon have no hope.


The narrow gate, it is made of hope.  Actually, the arrow gate is made of a man.  Jesus.  He is the gate, the way to the Father.  His way is narrow, but it is also a light burden, a path to reformation, a stretch of road to a prize that no man, no woman, no possession can offer.


The narrow gate is the only way to achieve real life, and it's not a fight to get through it or to walk down the narrow path.  It's aided by Jesus as you pass through the gate, which again is Jesus (John 10:7-10), so your life has a helper, a guide, a friend and an intercessor.


The way to real full life is narrow because it does not leave room or make excuses for heavy expectations and tarnished goals or faulty gods.  The way to life is narrow because it keeps you focused on the prize.


The path to destruction is wide because in it's great span, you can easily be distracted by the many 'great adventures' life can offer, ones that weigh you down, tear apart your self worth, give you a horrible image of others and eventually leaves you weeping in a corner for one person to help you.


Find the narrow road, find life, live life, win the prize.