AMAZING GRACE

This September 23 would have been my Dad's 90th birthday. He didn't make it that far, passing away from cancer at the age of 85. I still miss him and some days I wish we could sit down and visit like we used to. Even so, it was a glad passing in a way, since he had a solid trust in God and was looking forward to being relieved of the physical suffering he'd experienced for such a long time.

It's more than this upcoming birthday that has my Dad on my mind today. I've been thinking about God's amazing love and grace, and that made me think of Dad. He was a poster child for that grace.

My grandmother died at an early age, so Dad was on his own by age 15. Education wasn't an option but he was smart and worked hard at everything he ever did. He married early, started a family not long after, and managed to carve out a living through hard work and dependability. He was a good father and a solid provider, and it's hard to find words to describe how much he loved his family. 


Dad was not a Christian as a young man. As far as I know any thoughts of God were far from his mind. While he wasn't working or involved in family activity, he liked to have a good time in ways that were somewhat removed from what most of us would think of as a Christian lifestyle. But over the course of 1963, God began to pour out His grace in our family and things dramatically changed. The details are more than what I can include in this blog, but suffice to say the circumstances could only have been orchestrated by God. 

It started when my older sister accepted the Lord. Then it was me, and a younger brother, then my Mom got "saved". Over the months while all this was happening it became increasingly obvious that God was doing a work in my Dad's heart as well. In fact he was under the intense conviction of the Holy Spirit. Finally Dad gave in and accepted the love and grace of God in his life. It was a remarkable transformation that could only have happened through the supernatural work of God. 

Dad never did anything half way, so from the moment he made the choice to accept Jesus he was all in. Overnight he quit drinking. He quit swearing. He quit partying and fighting. In fact to me it seems the biggest struggles he faced as a new believer were not changes in his own life, but discovering and dealing with the fact that not every Christian is "all in". It bothered him a lot, and in all of his life I don't believe he was ever able to truly overcome the inner turmoil he felt over Christians who, in his eyes at least, compromised their Christian values or were halfhearted in their commitment to God. 

He was not a perfect man, but he loved God. For almost half a century he truly served God to the best of his ability. In his middle years, again by God's grace, he overcame more than one life threatening health issue. The fact that he lived a productive life to age 85, with a healthy and active mind right to the end, surprised many including his doctors. Today he lives in the presence of the God he served faithfully on Earth for close to 50 years. My Dad's life stands as a wonderful testimony of what God can do. It is one example of the amazing grace and love of Jesus. I, and so many others are recipients of that grace as well as the Holy Spirit continued to work throughout our family.

What's the point of all of this? Each of us has a story, and as followers of Jesus each of us has a story of the truly amazing love and grace of God in our lives. Unfortunately our sense of awe over what God has done sometimes fades a bit. It's like a precious metal that has been neglected and lost its shine. 

Today I'm polishing the silver,so to speak. I'm bringing to mind the wonderful work God did in my family. I'm realizing anew how blessed we are when we are the recipients of God's grace. I'm feeling just a bit overwhelmed just now that God reached down one day and transformed our lives. He called us His children and began to prepare an eternal home for us in His presence. 

I need to think about this more. I need to appreciate more what God has done for me. Instead I so often take for granted the incredible love of God and the supernatural work He did in my family, in my life. That's a tragedy.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE! REALLY?

Sunday September 11th is "Make A Difference" Sunday at The Mission. It's a catchy phrase for a service, isn't it? But is it real?

This Sunday we will be emphasizing the various ministries and opportunities for service at The Mission, and encouraging people to consider whether they should be involved in an area of service. The title of the service implies that by being involved as a volunteer you can make a difference in someone's life. Being that we are a church, the hope is that sometimes that difference will last for eternity. But is it really true? Is it worth it for you to take time away from your other activities to be involved in serving in your church? ABSOLUTELY!

I'm going to give you three reasons.

1. It's God's plan to get things done.

God equips people with gifts, and then expects them to use those gifts. Romans 12 says this. "We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith. If it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach."

The Bible is clear. We all have certain abilities that God has given us. Of course each of us is different and we have different abilities. If everyone steps up and uses the gifts God has given, everything gets done. Not only that, it gets done in the most effective way possible and no one is stressed out. Have you noticed that people don't usually get stressed out when they are doing the things they are good at and comfortable with? There are some things I can do well. They come easily to me and I don't worry about them at all. On the other hand, there are things that are second nature to other people that cause me all kinds of worry and stress. I feel totally unequipped for those things.  When a willing person has to step up to fill a gap left by someone else, doing their best in an area where they're not gifted, stress happens. And of course the job doesn't get done as well. 

God's plan is for all of us to do our part. If that actually happened in any church, that would be an amazing church with amazing things happening!


2. God rewards faithful service. 

Look at this verse from Hebrews 6:10. "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them." Did you notice in this verse that by helping (getting involved) we are showing our love for God? And the verse makes it clear that God will not forget this loving service. 

This is just one of many ways that serving others is not just good for them, but for us. When we are involved in using our gifts for God we grow and experience rewards in so many ways. It's a win-win-win situation.

3. You truly can make a difference!

Some jobs don't seem at first glance to be all that significant.  We think anyone can do them. Or we think we don't really have any gifts that count. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Here's an example. You are working in the nursery, caring for babies and changing diapers. You are far from the service, and far from most people's attention. While taking care of babies may be gratifying for some people, it may seem like it doesn't have much value from a spiritual point of view. Consider this. A parent of a baby will not attend The Mission, or any church for that matter, if they are not confident their child is safe and well cared for. Not only will they stay home and miss everything that church has to offer, but they will not have the opportunity to use their gifts in the worship team, or teaching Mission Kids, or whatever area of ministry God has called them to. The nursery worker has an eternal impact on the parents, their families, and anyone else who will benefit from those parent's opportunity to minister.

Here's another example. You are a greeter at the door. So you hold the door and shake hands, right?  Big deal. Well, as one who has been a stranger in many many churches, I can speak first hand about the importance of someone who makes people feel truly welcome and comfortable. The greeter / usher is probably the first person a visitor will see. They will form lasting impressions about the church based on that first experience. Were they made to feel truly welcome? Did someone help them know what to do?  (where do the kids go? where do they hang their coat? where are the washrooms?) Even regulars feel good about their church when they receive a warm greeting.

Every job in the church has value in God's kingdom. Every task, no matter how insignificant in our eyes, has a rippling effect that impacts lives, often for eternity.



So can you really make a difference? If you are willing to use the abilities God has given you, finding an area of service that fits your gifts and personality, you will truly make a difference. It will make a difference in your life, and in the lives of others.

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.

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?

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?

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.

HOW CONNECTED ARE YOU?

My family became Christians through the ministry of a local church when I was 10 years old. Up to that point our church experience was pretty limited. What that meant was that my Mom and Dad sent us kids to Sunday School while they relaxed at home on Sunday morning. Then, rather suddenly, everything changed and we became part of a church family. For us, and for virtually everyone who was part of that little congregation in those days, it meant we were all in. The church became our extended family and our life was wrapped up in being a part of it. If something was happening at the church, we were there. If the church was doing something special, we were involved. 

It wasn't just us. As I think back to that church of 100 people or so, I remember the Bodalys, the Pearces, the Peckhams, the Scotts, the Smiths, the Clifts,and many more who were just like us. The church was our home and the people in it were our family. We worshipped together, prayed together, worked together, fellowshipped together, and played together. We were committed to the church and to one another. 

As I think about this a particular episode comes to my mind, an example of what it was like to be part of the church family. My Dad got a call late one evening that the church basement had flooded. It was early spring and there was lots of melting snow and ice on the ground. I don't remember what the cause of the flooding was, since I was probably only about 13 at the time, but I remember slogging around with a small army of people in freezing cold water. Together we worked to move furniture and equipment and rugs made so heavy by the water it took a whole crew to carry them up the stairs. There was no question of whether or not people would show up to help. We just did.

Our church wasn't unique. Perhaps as you reflect on your home church in your early days you would have similar memories of a community that loved and supported one another. For Louise and I that kind of life continued into our adult years. Though we moved around some, wherever we lived we were totally plugged into a local church, and in many ways it became the centre of our lives. (no, I'm not taking God out of the centre - I think you know what I mean) 

This kind of spirit continues to exist for many families today. Lots of churches have a core of families that are just as immersed as we were. They support one another, volunteer, give sacrificially, and show up when the church basement floods.  There are lots of people who are just as committed to their church family as we were to my little London church in the 60's. But not as many as there used to be.

There was a time when it was simply assumed (and rightly so in my opinion) that if you were a Christian you would be a committed part of a local church. Even though the secular culture in those days wasn't nearly so separated from its Christian roots as it is today, Christians still understood that if you wanted to be strong and healthy in your Christian walk you really needed to be connected to a group of like minded people. And you needed a place where you could serve God by putting your gifts and talents to good use. Among people who were serious about serving God very few would question the need to have the strong supportive relationships, good Bible teaching, corporate prayer times, etc. that can only come by being part of a church family. 

Unfortunately, today there is a growing number of people who seem to think they can be Christians without having those solid church connections. They claim a personal faith that doesn't need the support of others, or instruction from the Word of God, or any of the other benefits that come from being strongly established in a local church. "I can be a Christian without going to church", they say. In theory, yes. In practice, not very likely. What happens so often is the disconnect from church is just one step in a life that becomes farther and farther removed from what God wants and intends for His people. Too often the path is toward a life that is indistinguishable from that of their non-Christian neighbours and friends. The end result? In far too many cases it's an almost total abandonment of faith.

Another change I see is this. Even among those who attend church, the level of commitment is often seriously diluted. "I'll go to church when I feel like it. I'm too busy to be involved. I can't give because I have my own priorities. I'll show up as regularly as I can and absorb what you have to offer, but don't ask any more of me than that." 

Sadly, in these cases everyone loses. The church loses because the potential contribution of all those capable and gifted people is lost. The individual loses because they fail to experience the wonderful blessings that come from serving and giving of themselves, and truly being part of the church family. The children of those parents who have adopted a consumer mentality lose big time, because they will never learn by example the blessings and benefits of being truly committed and connected to a body of believers. Parents beware. If you are casual about your church connection chances are high that your children will become even more tenuous in their relationship to church.

Am I just old fashioned? Are my comments simply a "good ole days" kind of nostalgia? I can be as nostalgic as anyone, but I truly think it's far more than that. I truly believe that this diminishing commitment to the local church body, and the tendency toward what I've referred to as a "consumer mentality" in church, is hurting us all. 

Would you at least reflect on this a bit? Has your commitment to church eroded from where it once was? Are you less connected to the people in the local church body? Do you find yourself coming to church to receive instead of to serve and to give of yourself? Do you have gifts that could be used for the benefit of others, but they are lying dormant? Are your children growing up without an example of parents who are thoroughly involved in the work of God?

Think about it. It's important.