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Wednesday 31 August 2016

MAKE IT REAL

I recently read a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a famous German theologian from the first half of the 20th century. Bonhoeffer was imprisoned, and then killed near the end of the war for being part of a conspiracy to assassinate Adolph Hitler.The fact that a prominent Christian could choose to be part of an assassination plot is a problem for lots of people, but I'm not going to struggle with that issue today. There's something else I want to write about.

Something really caught my attention while reading this book. Bonhoeffer was a brilliant theological student. He completed his first PHD at the age of 21 and as a very young man kept company with men who were considered to be some of the greatest theological experts of the day. Over his lifetime Dietrich Bonhoeffer developed a rather conservative theological view based on a solid acceptance of the Bible as the word of God, and the need for a personal relationship with Jesus. However, it seems this was an uncommon point of view among the most prominent theologians of the day.

Pre-war Germany was a "Christian state". For the most part, if you were German you were "Christian". It was not unusual in that culture for people with an academic bent to choose theological studies, much the same way that others might choose to study philosophy, or Greek literature. For many young men and women, the Bible was simply a field of study, and they were prone to treat scripture as an interesting historical document rather than God's message to humanity. 

Many of the most prominent teachers of theology had a strongly liberal point of view. They dismissed the deity of Christ and even questioned the existence of God.They were experts in their knowledge of what the Bible said, but what the Bible taught had never become part of their personal experience. Among the great theologians of the day it seems that most never even went to church unless asked to preach at a special event.


My first thought is how odd that a person would choose to devote their entire lives to studying the Bible when they didn't even believe it. I suppose it's not unlike someone who spends their life becoming expert in Greek mythology. Interesting purely from an academic point of view, but life changing? Clearly not.

The other, and more important thing to occur to me is that knowing the Bible inside and out, being expert in what the word of God says, is clearly not nearly enough when it comes to truly being a Christian. Christianity is not about knowledge, it's about relationship. It's not knowing about God, it's really knowing Him and His Son Jesus Christ in a personal way.

I've shared this concept before, coming at it from a different direction, but it is so important. Knowing the Bible does not make me a Christian any more than studying about dogs makes me a Golden Retriever. The Pharisees of Jesus' day were experts in the Old Testament, in fact were required to memorize huge portions of it, yet the reality of what those scriptures were teaching had never sunk in. God's words had never changed them in the way He intended.

There are so many ways to go through the motions of Christianity without it really becoming part of our personal reality. Reading the Bible isn't enough. Living a pretty good life is not enough. Being kind and generous is not enough. Going to church is not enough. Even being a minister or church leader is not enough. These things may give a semblance of Christianity, and they may well convince others of something that really isn't there. But real Christianity is about accepting the word of God, coming to genuine faith in Jesus, and allowing scripture and the Holy Spirit to change us into the people God wants us to be.

When you think about it, it's amazing how many people have gone only as far as knowing stuff about God, or looking religious, without allowing God to transform their lives. The Bible is far more than a field of academic study. It is the living word of God.  Hebrews 4:12 says this.

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

The Bible is so much more than a piece of classic literature. Consider this. What if our Creator wanted to communicate with us? What if He wanted to tell us how we can be in relationship with Him, and give us instructions for life? Wouldn't we want to devote ourselves to not just understanding the words, but doing what they said?

Well, we have those words right in front of us. Are you past the point where knowing the Bible is more than head knowledge, and where Christianity is more than a label? Is every part of your life guided by your faith in Jesus Christ and what God has to tell us through His word? You can be there.




Wednesday 24 August 2016

WHO'S THE REAL ENEMY?

When I was a teenager we sometimes had missionaries come to our church with stories of Christians being persecuted in various places around the world. The greatest evil in those days seemed to be in communist countries, such as the (then) Soviet Union and China. We heard of Christians having to meet secretly in underground house churches because Christian gatherings were forbidden. We learned of brave missionaries smuggling Bibles into places where spiritually hungry believers had to circulate pages of scripture because no one had access to a whole Bible. There were many stories of people being dragged away to prison when their meetings were discovered, sometimes betrayed by government agents planted among the Christian communities. 

In those days Christianity in Canada was still relatively strong and healthy, though clearly beginning to show signs of apathy and compromise. 

As young people we looked at the persecution happening in far off places and wondered whether we would ever face that kind of trial as Christians here in Canada. I remember making this statement to my friends.  "Why would Satan want to bring persecution to North America? From what we've heard, when Christians are persecuted they become stronger, more serious, and more committed. If he wants to destroy the church in North America he's better to just let our apathy and laziness and compromise grow."

I wasn't speaking prophetically, just logically. And I think what lots of us foresaw back in the 60's has come to pass.

Yes we get annoyed that we can no longer pray in schools and public institutions. And we get in a huff and circulate emails when it seems our rights as Christians are being trampled on for the sake of giving more rights to people of other faiths. Things have changed for us, but we can still go to church without being fined or jailed. We can still proclaim Christ on radio and TV. We can still educate our children in the word of God. What we hold as truth isn't the popular opinion anymore, and it's not quite as "comfortable" being a Christian in Canada as it was forty years ago, but we are still a very long way from being persecuted as Christians experience even now
in many parts of the world. 

No, the greatest enemy of the Christian in North America is not a hostile government. It is our apathetic, "who cares" approach to our personal faith. There are individual exceptions obviously, but in general we are just not very serious about what should be the most important element of our lives, our relationship with our Creator.

I don't mean to get on a soapbox with finger pointing at anyone. I'm just trying to bring attention again to what is really quite obvious, that we Christians in Canada could stand to be a whole lot more serious about our faith in Jesus. 

Do we believe that God is our Creator? Do we believe that Jesus is our Saviour? Do we believe we are destined to spend eternity in a spectacular place called heaven where God Himself lives? Do we believe there are rewards in heaven that will last forever, and they are based on what we've done with the 70 or 80 years we spend here on earth? Do we believe people all around us who don't know Jesus are headed toward an eternity without God, in a place the Bible calls hell?

These are things most of us as Christians profess to believe, but somehow we continue to go about our lives as if they hardly matter. The most important thing in the whole world is our relationship with God, but we somehow lack the passion to know Him. We let so many other things distract us from praying, reading our Bible, growing in Jesus, and serving Him as He wants us to. 

Since first taking on the role of Director of Spiritual Formation, I have said often the biggest challenge is not providing programs or encouragements to help people in their spiritual growth. The biggest challenge is that not many of us want it enough to personally invest the time and effort. And sadly, on far too many days I have to include myself in that statement. 

I suppose we have lost some of our "Christian rights" in Canada. But I still say the greatest threat to Christianity in this country is not persecution. Most of our freedoms are in tact, and our leaders are not being jailed or tortured. Our numbers are diminishing and our impact is waning because apathy and other priorities have caused us to lose focus on what's really important; a growing relationship with the one who created us. God wanted that relationship so desperately that He suffered and died so it could happen. What about us? What are we willing to do to walk with God?

Thursday 11 August 2016

GO FOR THE GOLD!

Are you a fan of the Olympics? I do look forward to them coming around every couple of years. I can't really account for the fact that for two weeks I watch sports I would never consider watching at any other time.  Somehow that's what the Olympics accomplishes with me, and I suppose a lot of other people too.

I suppose one of the things that make the Olympics fascinating for me is the level of commitment from young athletes. These young people, many of them teenagers, sacrifice many of the things their peers would be pursuing, and give themselves over totally to achieving their goal. Certainly they have to be born with certain physical attributes, but I believe what separates them from the rest of us is not only their athletic gifts. It is their single minded dedication to develop what they've been given to achieve their goal. Most of us simply don't have that drive.

It strikes me that the Olympics are a metaphor, much like the parables Jesus told about the servants who were given talents of silver. Each of them had to decide what they were going to do with the talents they had been given. The story teaches us that some people, like the fellow with ten talents, will strive to make the most of what they've been given, and will become the champions.  Others start out with less but still apply themselves to accomplish the best they can with what they have. Others, like the servant with one talent, aren't really willing to put out any effort at all. That fellow ended up worse off than when he started.

Each of us has been given abilities and resources and opportunities. God has granted them to us for a purpose. He wants us to invest them in accomplishing something for His kingdom. Just like the swimmer does not excel on the gymnastics court, we won't be able to do everything with excellence. Part of our task is to discern where we are gifted and make the most of developing and using that gift. Some will become world champions and some will have more moderate accomplishments, but like the Olympic athlete we can work and train and commit ourselves to doing the very best we can with what God has given us. Or like the man in Jesus' parable, we can bury our talent and accomplish little or nothing.

Can you imagine what would happen if Christians had the same drive and commitment to use their talents as what an Olympic athlete has? The Olympian strives to stand on the podium and receive a gold medal around their neck. The Christian goal is to stand before God and have Him say, "well done". Medalists are eventually forgotten and their prizes locked in a trophy case. For the Christian the rewards of a life dedicated to God are eternal!

We will begin this fall at The Mission with "Make A Difference" Sunday. It's simply an encouragement for every Christian to identify how God has gifted them and use that gift in some way for the benefit of God's work. The truth is we all have two choices.

  1.  to use our gifts with dedication and commitment and strive to do our absolute best
  2. bury our talent and not really accomplish anything
I can't help but wonder what it would be like if we had more of an Olympian spirit in our churches. How would things be different if large numbers of us were truly committed and working hard to do our best for God, to receive the prize God has in store for us when we stand before Him one day?

Wednesday 3 August 2016

WHAT IF TODAY WAS MY LAST?

Do you remember what you were doing this past Sunday afternoon? I was in London enjoying the day with my grandchildren, and keeping an eye on the gathering clouds in case we got rained out. I had no idea that at that time, just a few blocks from my home in Tillsonburg, a man was about to be struck by lightning. In the blink of an eye, with no warning, this well liked man in the community was suddenly facing eternity. While my life and the lives of those close to me were going on as normal, the lives of the Johnson family were about to be dramatically changed, forever.

What a reminder of the uncertainty of life. How many of us have known people who got up in the morning assuming that all would go on as usual, only to be struck down suddenly in a car accident or with a heart attack. Only God knows how our day will end.

Matthew 6:27 says "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life." While the message of this passage has to do mostly with trusting God, it reminds us as well that our lives are in God's hands. We can eat right and exercise properly and see the doctor regularly, all things we should do, and still have no guarantee that we will see tomorrow.

Perhaps you think I'm trying to scare you. I'm really just wanting us to ask the question Peter asked when he was talking about the end times in 2 Peter 3:12 "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives..."

Peter asked a pretty important question, don't you think? In light of the fact that our lives can be ended or forever altered in an instant of time, what should our lives look like? How should we act? How should we spend our time? What should our priorities be considering that any day could be our last?

When I was younger I was like most young people. I felt like I was immortal. The idea of death or old age seemed very remote. Now that I'm getting older it's not quite as abstract as it once was. Even though I'm still in my early sixties, quite a few friends and relatives I've known over the years who were my age or younger are already gone. Maybe you can attest to the fact that attending the funeral of someone younger than yourself has a way of making your own mortality seem a bit more real. This is certain. One day my life will end and I will be face to face with God. It could be thirty years from now. It could be today. So what does that mean?

Some would say it means I should live as if each day could be my last. That sounds right in a way, but is it practical or even possible? The truth is if I knew I was going to die tomorrow this wouldn't be anything like any other day. I would be scurrying around seeing people and passing on my "last words" to loved ones, and putting my final affairs in order. In that sense living every day like it's my last is not realistic. And the problem with setting unrealistic goals is that we are doomed to failure.

So what is realistic? How should I live each day knowing that it probably won't be my last, but it might? Let me put it another way. If I suddenly find myself in heaven will I be able to look back over the past few days (or weeks, or months) and be content with the way I have lived and what I have done with my life?

What would my life have to look like in order for me to have that sense of contentment? I suppose it has to do with things like:


  • how I treated my family
  • how I treated other people I know
  • how I showed love to people I don't know
  • whether I have served God and others the way he wants me to
  • whether I have spent my time and talents and resources appropriately
  • whether I have had a healthy spiritual life and a good relationship with God
  • whether my lifestyle and behaviour was pleasing to God

Hearing of the sudden death of someone, like the tragic case of Dave Johnson in Tillsonburg, may cause us to reflect on our lives. Here's the question that comes to my mind and that I challenge you to consider as well. If I were to be face to face with God today, would I be able to stand before Him in confidence, knowing I have lived in a way that is pleasing to Him? I suspect we all feel we come short of that high goal. So let's use this question as an opportunity to move closer to the ideal in our relationship with God and what we do with the days He gives us.