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And So It Begins

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #andsoitbegins, #gotellallpeople, #pentecost on June 9, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day that we celebrate the arrival of the promised advocate, the Spirit of God.

While the resurrected Jesus was walking and talking with his disciples for the forty days, he told them that they had a job to do … to go and make disciples of everyone (all nations) (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, Acts 1:8). He said that once he was gone, he would send the Spirit to them and then they would need to go throughout the world and share what he had taught them.

So, Pentecost arrived, the Holy Spirit entered them and an odd thing happened … they (mostly Jews) started to speak something other than their own languages. As a matter of fact, they were speaking languages that they had no previous knowledge or training.

Why would they have the ability to speak a new language once the spirit had come to ‘lite’ on them?

Recently, I saw a young man who is the son of a someone I know. I introduced myself, and he remembered my hubby and I. We chatted a bit, then went our separate ways.

A few minutes later he returned and told me a story of his experience with an individual from a Christian organization I was once a part of. It was a sad, shameful story of how this mutual acquaintance reduced the work of God to a very small group of believers (of which he was a part, but this young man was not). I, guiltily, apologized for this other believer’s attitude and words.

I spent the rest of the day vacillating between sorrow for how this young man had been hurt by the arrogance of a follower of God, and anger that one, who knows of the love of God for all people, could be so wrong in his assertions that his (any) particular group of Christians were superior.

This recent story actually relates to Pentecost. You see, Jesus said to go and make disciples of all nations. To ensure that they could fulfill this calling, the holy spirit enabled them to speak the languages, or tongues, of other people … not just the Jews, but the Gentiles.

This was day one of the Christian church.

We, as Christians, have never been called to stay in our churches, our cultural communities. We have received the Great Commission to go and share this love that has been shared with us … with all people.

” … as high priest (Caiaphas) prophesied
that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation,
and not only for that nation
but also for the scattered children of God,
to bring them together and make them one.”
John 11:51-52

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Remission

Posted in Walking with God, tagged #remission, #remissionofsins on June 6, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Sometime a word can change your day …

The other day our daughter messaged to share with us the news her doctor had delivered … the Crohn’s disease that she was diagnosed with would appear to be in remission.

This is the ultimate goal of the extremely expensive (thank-you to her work health care plan, but especially to our province’s Fair Pharmacare Plan) medication she has been taking. This does not mean that the Crohn’s is gone, but that the inflammation in the intestines and colon is gone, resulting in healing, absence of pain and a reduction in fear if she is out where there are not bathrooms. Remission has been achieved … now to pray it can be maintained!

Since the disease will not ever be gone (unless medicine advances change that reality) remission means that the effects of her disease are suspended.

As that word has been sinking into my mind I couldn’t help but think of remission in regards to sin.

This remission is a bit different, for, with regard to sin, remission means both forgiveness as well as passing over. With God our sins are forgiven, because, at the cross, Jesus took our sins (past, present and future) and covered them with his blood, as a magic eraser.

Acts 10:43 says:

“through His name whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

Acts 2:28 says:

“through His name whosoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

The effects, the pain of our disease of sin are gone … we are no longer condemned, no longer have our heads hanging in shame when we stand before God.

Sometimes a word can change your day … sometimes it can change your eternity.

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The Chase

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #stalkedbygod, #thechase on June 4, 2019| Leave a Comment »

It’s been happening again … the stalking.

Every once in a while it will seem as though a word, or phrase of meaning will be in my face, sung on the radio, preached from the pulpit, whispered in my ear … over and over and over again. I refer to such occurrences as God’s way of stalking me with a message he wants me to know.

Sometimes I am alert and catch on right away, other times it seems to take quite a few attempts until my eyes and ears are open to what I need to know.

I just realized the other morning that he’s doing it again, that he’s been whispering this message in my ear for many, many weeks … months even. How could I have been so deaf, so unaware that he was speaking to me?

Proverbs 3:6-7 seems to speak to this stalking of God:

“Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!”

I know I have been guilty of assuming that I know it all … or at least relying on my own abilities and knowledge. I know I have been guilty of not running from evil … sometimes it is evident in how I apathetically just let the stuff of life happen, rather than living purposely, walking closely with God.

I also know that I can keep myself quite busy, quite preoccupied with running my race, that I start running in the wrong direction and I easily get off track.

So, now I am on a mission. I need to uncover and understand the whole message that has been shared with me. I need to be still, just breathe and and listen for his voice, his leading.

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Who Do You Say I Am?

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #doordonot, #notlukewarm, #whodoyousayiam on May 30, 2019| Leave a Comment »

A wise man (who I happen to live with) has said that the most important question for any of us is the question that Jesus asked (Matthew 16:15) of Simon Peter:

“But what about you?” he asked.
“Who do you say I am?”

I have been thinking of this question this week after helping a student through Revelation 3.

Revelation 3 contains letters to three (of seven) churches in Asia (modern Turkey): Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

I admit that I often avoid Revelation … more out of it’s complex mysteries, metaphors and multiple interpretations of experts. Quite simply I just struggle to understand this book.

The letters to these three churches make sense to me, both as letters to churches (then and now) as well as letters to followers of Christ.

To Sardis the author (possibly the apostle John) says, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” (v. 1) This church did all the stuff that was expected of an early church and they probably did it bigger and better than everyone else, but there was little substance in who they were in Christ. He referred to their style of Christ-following, to them as “dead”. They were cold to Christ.

To Laodicea he says, ‘you say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing’ (v.17). This church didn’t have a care in the world, for every worldly need was met, and more. This church chose just enough religion. You know, prayed before a meal, gave money to good causes, but never really made a life with Christ a priority. They were lukewarm to Christ.

Then to Philadelphia he praises, “I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (v. 8). Though this church has little, is under threat (or will be), and has gone through great struggles … they have not denied the name of Christ. They are holding firm to their faith. Their faith in Christ was hot.

In verse 16, to the church at Laodicea, he say, “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

We cannot hear what the Spirit says when we our faith in him is lukewarm, our hearing is most clear when our faith is hot, fully given to him … no matter our circumstances. Faith is not about how others see us, but how we answer the question:

“But what about you?” he asked.
“Who do you say I am?”

‘

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It’s in the Details

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #godsdelight, #itsinthedetails on May 16, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Last spring, as we were packing up our belongings, our lives, in preparation for our move from a larger property to a townhome, I would wander our garden, drinking in the changes we had made, the flowers, shrubs and trees I had planted.

There was one tree that I remember standing in front of for quite awhile. It was a magnolia tree, planted a number of years ago, after receiving it as a gift one Mother’s Day. Once just three to four feet tall, it reached well above my height to over twelve feet in height.

Magnolias are my favorite tree (along with Japanese maples, Forsythia, Dogwoods … okay, I love trees that flower, have colors beyond just green). They are an ancient tree, believed to pre-date bees (pollination was done by beetles). Their flowers can be white, pink, coral or the creamiest white. Mine was pink, with large, sturdy ‘teacup’ flowers. They smell of spring and bloom early in the season. As they lose their petals the ground underneath appears to have experienced isolated snowfall.

It was as though that tree represented the very growth and changes of our family, and I remember standing in front of it, mourning my loss of this history holder, this memory of a gift from the ones I love the most.

I probably mourned this loss over all others when we moved.

Then, this spring, while driving home one day, my eyes were opened wide to see that there was a magnolia just in front of our townhouse. Actually, the street is lined with them … dozens of pink flowered magnolia trees right in front of our new home.

I smiled every day as they decorated our street with visual beauty.

Coincidence? I think not.

“He delights in every detail of their lives.”
Psalm 37:23

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You Cannot Come

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #eastertide, #keepthem, #youcannotcome on May 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

People have often faulted the Bible for inconsistencies. Rarely in the lessons or the life of Jesus is this true.

Recently though, as the Easter story was read at church, I found what seemed an inconsistency as a verse was read and another popped into my mind.

The verse read was John 13:33:

“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.”

The one that popped into my mind was just a few verses away, in John 14:3:

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

On first glance it would seem that Jesus is giving contradictory messages to his disciples (the audience he is addressing in both accounts).

As I investigated these verses I learned a few things. In the first verse, Jesus address “my children”. This is a tender address, and this is the only time Jesus ever addresses his disciples this way. It is akin to saying my darlings and is usually reserved for use with children.

It is as though he is saying is that it is not their time to go with him … that they are not ready. He knows what is to come in the following hours … the suffering, death. That is his lot, not theirs.

They lacked maturity, courage … shown after his arrest when they fled and hid, completely denying their close relationship with him.

Ah, then in the second passage, as tenderly as the one who addressed them as “my children” he continues his parental love and care, much like we might do if we were leaving our children with a babysitter. He gives assurance that he will return, that he is always with them.

I loved what I read in the Pulpit Commentary, on the first passage, which actually brings the two together (as did my mind, initially thinking they were contradictory). Restated, as though Jesus himself were the one to expand on the grander connection of these two verses:

“The time is not yet come for you to enter into my glory; you cannot yet come, you have to continue my earthly ministry, to prolong the testimony which I have given concerning God, and which God has given concerning me. The time will come when “I will receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also;” but now he prays, “though I am no more in this world, these are in the world holy Father, keep them” (John 17:11).

So folks, as the Eastertide season (from Easter Sunday to Pentecost) continues, as we continue to consider Jesus’ resurrection from the dead … we need to be reminded that we still have purpose in being here, in being left behind, as it were. But, there is a place, personally prepared by Jesus himself, and one day we will be with him in that place.

Until then, we have the assurance that Jesus is still interceding on our behalf.

“though I am no more in this world,
these are in the world holy Father,
keep them”
John 17:11

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just breathe

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #justbreath on May 2, 2019| Leave a Comment »

It’s that chill inching up your back, that voice that you thought you heard in a crowded room, that unbelievably peaceful feeling that forces your breath out … nice and slow.

Social media can’t do it, the news can’t do it, shopping in a favorite store can’t do it, Netflix can’t do it either.

It’s the little, unexpected moments, feelings, breaths that remind us that we are not, not ever, alone. That there is a presence so grand, so intimately aware of … us. It stalks us, hunts us like a hound, embraces us like a loving father, yet whispers to us like an intimate lover.

In the midst of the most busy public place, the most chaotic arsenic hour before a family dinner, in the most turbulent moments of a day, the hairs in our ears bend and sway with the breath of the breather of our life, whispering to our souls …

I am here
You are not alone
You are mine
You were made with a purpose
and I love you

Just the hint of his presence, made known to only us, in his own timing, gives us hope, confidence and a sense of what has been called a hedge of protection … all around us.

A number of years ago a friend introduced me to a song, on a not so good, chaos-filled day. Though I couldn’t hear the words of it, without my emotions pouring down my cheeks, I listened to it over and over as I was reminded to breathe … to inhale to my lungs capacity, then to exhale completely … as though my life depended on it.

Since then, at various times of craziness, I will be spinning myself into a tizzy and hear the words “breathe, just breathe” and I will be reminded that the giver of my very breath is whispering to my soul through this song …

and my life begins again.

“And the LORD God …
breathed into him the breath of life;
and man … the woman,
became a living soul.”
Genesis 2:7

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The Best is in the Middle

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #middleofthebible, #thebestisinthemiddle, #trustgod on April 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »

I think it was Oreos that said the best was in the middle (or maybe it was a middle school …).

Not long ago I heard the perfect story about the middle, at the perfect time.

The story goes like this …

the middle of the Bible is the Psalms
the middle of the book of the Psalms is chapter 118
Psalms 117 has the smallest number of verses (2)
Psalms 119 has the largest number of verses (176)
There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118, and 594 after it
594X2=1188
Psalm 118:8 is the middle of the Bible
Psalm 118:8 tells us”

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.”

So cool, right? What a beautiful story of God ensuring that the the very middle of his Word be such a significant verse.

Except that it may not actually be the center of the Bible, as there is the Catholic canon and the Protestant canon, some versions end up with a different middle and, well … the numbering of verses is not necessarily original.

So, it’s a cool story, but maybe not one to put too much stock into … except …

Except that I was introduced to this story when I was was struggling with the issue of trust.

So, Psalm 118:8 may not be the center of the Bible, but it is definitely the central message that God had waiting for me.

We (when I say ‘we’ I really mean ‘I’) often and so easily put our trust in all the wrong things … all the temporary things. We put our trust in our wealth, our health, our friendships, our family, our spouses, our jobs, our abilities our (name it … it’s right there on the tip of your tongue).

The thing is that there is only one solid, unwavering, always loving us, trustable one, and that is God.

After being reminded of this verse, I found myself asking of myself:

“can I trust in God alone?
can I trust in God if the ‘ifs’ of life happen?
can I trust in God if he is all I have?”

He is my middle, my center … I might need to say this on repeat for the rest of my days, but the best really is in the middle.

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The End is Written

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #eastersunday, #heisrisen, #livinghope, #theendiswitten on April 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Today followers of Jesus greet one another with the words,

“He is risen”

and the response is:

“He is risen indeed”

So, what does that traditional greeting mean?

It is in Luke 24:34 where the pair who had met the risen Jesus, announced to the other disciples:

“It is true! The Lord has risen”

In this statement is announced the miracle of Jesus overcoming death and rising from the grave … but, there is more to this.

Jesus rising from the dead, overcoming death … death, the major tool of Satan himself … means that Jesus has defeated death, Satan, evil … sin itself.

He is risen means that we know how this story ultimately ends.

In the rising of Jesus from his death bed, we can have confidence that in the end everyone who follows Jesus lives happily every after, for EVER! We can have confidence of life without death, disease, heartbreak, pollution, floods, cruelty to animals, environmental disasters, evil human leaders, starvation, homelessness etc., etc., etc.

He wins! Jesus is our living hope! Death and Satan are defeated!

He is risen!

He is risen indeed!

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Reality … Inside or Outside?

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #godlooksattheheart, #realityinsideoroutside on April 16, 2019| Leave a Comment »

The way they looked at each other made others blush, envying the affection between them.

This couple had a love that showed in how they worked together, talked to and about each other, the sparkle in their eyes … that gateway to their souls, proclaiming that what others saw was real, authentic love.

I remember the shock that I felt in every fibre of my body, mind and soul when I heard that he had left her, left their family for the arms of another woman.

How could we, who believed in the love they were exhibiting, be so wrong? How could a love that seemed so real be such a sham?

This memory from the past came to my mind as I participated in communion, last weekend.

There is a reckoning, a getting real that happens when one is being invited to participate in communion.

Often there is a moment of opportunity to privately deal with our sin-stuff prior to participating. This opportunity always tugs at my heart, for I know I do not come to the communion table EVER with clean hands and heart.

You see we can shower and dress carefully, shave and ensure our make-up is applied expertly. We can shake hands and smile warmly, with seemingly abundant joy emanating from us. We can sign up to help with an outreach event, a dinner for the homeless, childcare during church. We can place our tithe in the basket, or direct deposit our giving. We can offer to pray to our social media friends. We can dine with the pastor …

But, when we come to take communion, to share in communion, share in the taking of his body, his blood …

None of what we do matters. None of how we look to others matters …

Like the seemingly perfect couple, it is who we are when we stand with the one we are linked to, in a convenant relationship.

It is who we are when stand before our God. How we pray, speak to him … when no one else is around. How we represent him, when no one is looking.

He knows our hearts. He knows we come to the table dirty.

We simply have to recognize that it is only he who can make us clean enough to come to his table.

“But the Lord said to Samuel,
“Do not consider his appearance or his height,
for I have rejected him.
The Lord does not look at the things people look at.
People look at the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7

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