This morning, because of the weather, Mary & I decided to not ask our small band of Christ followers to risk driving...so we called a "snow day". However, some other Christian friends of ours have a house church just down the street that meets on Sunday morning. We had a standing invitation to join them. So, we walked a few yards and enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship and prayer. How good it is when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity!
Afterward I was thinking about what happened and realized that this neighbourhood model of fellowships was exactly how the early church began...meeting in homes for worship and a meal, to listen, counsel, pray, laugh and cry together. This is organic, simple and far more responsive to the real spiritual needs and desires of the people than large and impersonal gatherings where we can hide in the crowd.
Please don't misunderstand me...I love large worship gatherings and times when the whole community comes together to share at the Lord's table. The liturgy, when properly engaged is an wonderful thing. There was just something winsome and pure about a small group of believers speaking about what scares them or encourages them, lifting one another up, laying hands on the sick or injured & sharing reports of times during the past few days where they had encountered the Divine. It just seemed somehow more authentic.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Position and Privilege
As I was reading this morning through Luke 14, I was struck by the comment made by one of those at the Pharisee's table. He said, "What a privilege it would be to have a share in the kingdom." (14:15) Even as we receive teaching to the contrary from the lips of Jesus, we are often....like the Pharisee in question, bound by and reacting out of our brokenness rather than the perspective of the redemption we have received. This man spoke those words moments after hearing Jesus teach on not seeking privilege. The Lord said, "Do this instead...sit at the foot of the table." (14:10) We are to take the place of the least and not seek privilege to which we feel we might be entitled. For, "All those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted." (14:11)
This may well be the hardest lesson for a Christian to learn, and one which I have struggled with through my whole 30 year walk with Christ. When you grow up in relative poverty clawing your way out of that into a place of privilege becomes your default mode. Then Jesus happens and all that gets challenged. To be told to "sit at the foot of the table" goes against all you have struggled to over come. Therein lies the paradox. My flesh wants nothing to do with this humility and my spirit cries out for submission. My passions are at war within me.
Lord, this battle has already been won for me on the cross. Empower and enable me not to give into the passions of the flesh, but to live in the humble submission at the foot of the table, trusting that in your will and timing I will be exalted.
Bible quotes are from the ESV
This may well be the hardest lesson for a Christian to learn, and one which I have struggled with through my whole 30 year walk with Christ. When you grow up in relative poverty clawing your way out of that into a place of privilege becomes your default mode. Then Jesus happens and all that gets challenged. To be told to "sit at the foot of the table" goes against all you have struggled to over come. Therein lies the paradox. My flesh wants nothing to do with this humility and my spirit cries out for submission. My passions are at war within me.
Lord, this battle has already been won for me on the cross. Empower and enable me not to give into the passions of the flesh, but to live in the humble submission at the foot of the table, trusting that in your will and timing I will be exalted.
Bible quotes are from the ESV
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Sacred Sabbath
Is the Sabbath sacred to you? Do you even practice Sabbath or is the seventh day simply another just like the ones before it....full of commerce, play and entertainment? As a believer, we should give value to those things that God tells us are worthy of our attention. We should be concerned with that which concerns Him.
The writer of Exodus tells us that the Sabbath was so important to God that He commanded any who broke the Sabbath, that is worked on the day that God had set aside for rest, was to be put to death! Exodus 35:2 (NIV) "For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death." They were not even allowed to light a cooking fire!
Many will say that in a modern, mostly secular society, keeping Sabbath is impossible...but that is not so. Mary & I visited Jerusalem a couple of years back. We arrived on the Sabbath and were there for two more. One day the city was teaming with traffic, shopping and people going about their daily routines. The next, however, almost all of the city, Christian, Jew, Muslim and secular stopped. The silence was deafening; the peace was delightful. Businesses thrived, work was completed, the people were fed and housed...but they all stopped for a day of rest and were all the better for it.
Perhaps we in North America should reassess how we live our lives and take a page from our Israeli brothers and sisters. A day for intentional worship, rest, family...the benefits should be obvious. However, that takes commitment and unity. It takes intentional planning so that we don't shop on Sundays. If we don't work, shop, play sports & partake of entertainment on Sundays others wouldn't have to work. It is really that simple.
God has commanded that we work for six and take a Sabbath on the seventh. This is the Word of the Lord. How committed are you to God...committed enough to obey?
The writer of Exodus tells us that the Sabbath was so important to God that He commanded any who broke the Sabbath, that is worked on the day that God had set aside for rest, was to be put to death! Exodus 35:2 (NIV) "For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death." They were not even allowed to light a cooking fire!
Many will say that in a modern, mostly secular society, keeping Sabbath is impossible...but that is not so. Mary & I visited Jerusalem a couple of years back. We arrived on the Sabbath and were there for two more. One day the city was teaming with traffic, shopping and people going about their daily routines. The next, however, almost all of the city, Christian, Jew, Muslim and secular stopped. The silence was deafening; the peace was delightful. Businesses thrived, work was completed, the people were fed and housed...but they all stopped for a day of rest and were all the better for it.
Perhaps we in North America should reassess how we live our lives and take a page from our Israeli brothers and sisters. A day for intentional worship, rest, family...the benefits should be obvious. However, that takes commitment and unity. It takes intentional planning so that we don't shop on Sundays. If we don't work, shop, play sports & partake of entertainment on Sundays others wouldn't have to work. It is really that simple.
God has commanded that we work for six and take a Sabbath on the seventh. This is the Word of the Lord. How committed are you to God...committed enough to obey?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Laying it Down
After listening the other night to a talk that Rick Warren gave to TED, I returned to Exodus chapter 4, the story of Moses' "commissioning" by God, to re-read it for myself. Something that Rick said about Moses' reaction to the call struck a chord with me. I now realize that God has been dealing with me in much the same way that he did with Moses. Yahweh had asked Moses to lay down his staff...the symbol of his life as a shepherd and the instrument of his livelihood. Sixteen months ago I was asked to step down from a leadership position that I loved and thrived on, to lay down the staff, as it were. For a long time I was very hurt and angry and the first year away from those responsibilities has been very difficult for me both spiritually and emotionally.
In retrospect, I understand now that I had viewed this as a personal failure and a rejection of my leadership abilities and true calling. A lot of my self-worth was mistakenly wrapped up in that position and responsibility. Much of the performance and failure angst that I had been experiencing these last months was directly related to that brokenness. I was unwilling to lay down the staff, or when asked, to pick up the snake it had become. Like Moses, I reacted reluctantly out of fear instead of confidence in the Lord's wisdom, provision and plan.
However, God was waiting patiently for my obedience and complete surrender. As I have learned to lay it all down at the feet of the cross, some amazing things are beginning to happen in our life in Squamish and the ministry that God has called us to. Why is it, I wonder, that it we have to experience so much pain before we learn what should be a simple lesson? God really does know best! He really does, as Jeremiah tells us, have a plan to bless us and not to harm, to give us a hope and a future.
Please take some time to re-read Exodus 3 & 4. Ask yourself if there is something in your hand the God has been asking you to lay down so that he can put something else in it. Then have the courage, even in the midst of fear and trepidation, to take that first step and say..."Not my will, but thine....oh Lord."
In retrospect, I understand now that I had viewed this as a personal failure and a rejection of my leadership abilities and true calling. A lot of my self-worth was mistakenly wrapped up in that position and responsibility. Much of the performance and failure angst that I had been experiencing these last months was directly related to that brokenness. I was unwilling to lay down the staff, or when asked, to pick up the snake it had become. Like Moses, I reacted reluctantly out of fear instead of confidence in the Lord's wisdom, provision and plan.
However, God was waiting patiently for my obedience and complete surrender. As I have learned to lay it all down at the feet of the cross, some amazing things are beginning to happen in our life in Squamish and the ministry that God has called us to. Why is it, I wonder, that it we have to experience so much pain before we learn what should be a simple lesson? God really does know best! He really does, as Jeremiah tells us, have a plan to bless us and not to harm, to give us a hope and a future.
Please take some time to re-read Exodus 3 & 4. Ask yourself if there is something in your hand the God has been asking you to lay down so that he can put something else in it. Then have the courage, even in the midst of fear and trepidation, to take that first step and say..."Not my will, but thine....oh Lord."
Sunday, January 23, 2011
My Ways Are Not Yours
The Lord tells us that His ways are unlike ours, but we...in many cases, behave as if we are God. "His ways are perfect." (2Sam.22:31) They are, "..the way of wisdom" (Prov.2:20); His path is, "...the way of holiness" (Isa.35:8) We are none of those things. God's way is, "the way of excellence" (1 Cor.12:31). In it we are provided to means to "escape" from sin & death. (1Cor.10:13) That way is Jesus. (John.14:6) ...and there is no other!
I was reading in Genesis the other day, the story of the great famine, where Josephs brothers come to Egypt seeking food. It occurred to me that if the humans in this story were to have had their own way, things would have turned out much differently. God had a plan to bless and build through the younger, and even the machinations of his jealous siblings couldn't keep that plan from being fulfilled. Even Joseph, who was himself the younger, later had to be shown God's will for blessing to be bestowed not on his eldest, as was the tradition, but once again the younger.
Jacob knew God's plan. It had been revealed to him, and he continued to live according to what the Lord had shown him, even as he drew his last breath. Why? Because Jacob knew that his human perspective was incomplete, clouded with sin & coloured by the fallen world around him. So, he depended on the only thing that he knew for sure. God's perfect plan, His wise, holy & excellent plan.
Father, give me the wisdom of Jacob, that I may not presume to know better than you, the obedience of Jacob...to act according to what you have revealed to me, and the courage to witness to others the wonderful truth that You really do know better!
I was reading in Genesis the other day, the story of the great famine, where Josephs brothers come to Egypt seeking food. It occurred to me that if the humans in this story were to have had their own way, things would have turned out much differently. God had a plan to bless and build through the younger, and even the machinations of his jealous siblings couldn't keep that plan from being fulfilled. Even Joseph, who was himself the younger, later had to be shown God's will for blessing to be bestowed not on his eldest, as was the tradition, but once again the younger.
Jacob knew God's plan. It had been revealed to him, and he continued to live according to what the Lord had shown him, even as he drew his last breath. Why? Because Jacob knew that his human perspective was incomplete, clouded with sin & coloured by the fallen world around him. So, he depended on the only thing that he knew for sure. God's perfect plan, His wise, holy & excellent plan.
Father, give me the wisdom of Jacob, that I may not presume to know better than you, the obedience of Jacob...to act according to what you have revealed to me, and the courage to witness to others the wonderful truth that You really do know better!
Monday, January 17, 2011
A Believer's Influence
When the righteous fall prey to temptation, we bear responsibility not only for our own sin, but also the sin of those who have been led astray through our inattention or deliberate disobedience. "...but woe to the one through whom they come. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Luke 17:2 (ESV)
Those who have accepted Jesus as Lord have a responsibility that extends well beyond their own self-righteousness. One of the marks of a believer is that he/she become other-aware, other-centered. We are called to acknowledge the wider influence we hither-to-fore ignored, and adjust our behaviour to demonstrate Godliness, as opposed to worldliness. As Rick Warren said in the first line of 40 Days of Purpose, "Its not about you." When we become believers, the conduct of all our remaining days is to become about others rather than self.
Lord, help me today and in the days to come to become increasingly away of how my behaviour impacts others, so that I may be an instrument of grace rather than sin.
Those who have accepted Jesus as Lord have a responsibility that extends well beyond their own self-righteousness. One of the marks of a believer is that he/she become other-aware, other-centered. We are called to acknowledge the wider influence we hither-to-fore ignored, and adjust our behaviour to demonstrate Godliness, as opposed to worldliness. As Rick Warren said in the first line of 40 Days of Purpose, "Its not about you." When we become believers, the conduct of all our remaining days is to become about others rather than self.
Lord, help me today and in the days to come to become increasingly away of how my behaviour impacts others, so that I may be an instrument of grace rather than sin.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
New Intern for MVM
Mountain Valley Mission is pleased to announce that Mark Hird has been appointed as our new Intern. Although Mark will be experiencing the whole range of pastoral ministry, he has been given specific responsibility to help create a Young Adults Ministry. Mark, a first year Regent College student, comes to MVM from St. Simon s, North Vancouver. We are excited to have him on our ministry team. Please pray for Mark as we develop this new relationship, that he will quickly find acceptance in the community and be gifted by the Holy spirit to raise up a vibrant Young Adults ministry.
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