A Different Side Of The Pandemic

I had the opportunity to see a different side of the pandemic this week. A side that I knew in theory existed but something I had not yet experienced.

On Thursday my wife had an appointment with her gynecologist for her weekly check up. She had four weeks left in her pregnancy so she was now being checked on bi-weekly. Due to the pandemic I was not permitted to attend the appointment with her so I ran a few errands and then sat in the parking lot preparing for my General Science class I was teaching the following day.

I didn’t notice my wife until she opened the door and silently slipped into her seat. I looked at her and asked how it went. Looking straight ahead she told me that we had to go to the hospital. Why, I asked. She calmly told me, after they took her blood pressure, they suddenly rushed her into the doctor ahead of the people who were there before her. The doctor took one look at her numbers and told her she was to go to the hospital immediately and they would take care of her there.

So we headed to the hospital.

When we presented ourselves at the birthing center we were brought into an observation area. They kept checking her blood pressure and then took blood and urine samples for testing. No one told us anything but we knew this wasn’t routine. All this time we were talking through masks and watching nurses, doctors and cleaning staff hurry about their duties in all their protective gear. It was strange to watch, like something out of a Sci-Fi movie.

They must have rushed the tests because it didn’t seem we were there very long before the results were back. A very gentle doctor came to talk to us. She informed us that the results indicated pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening condition for baby and mother if not attacked upon. She informed us that there was only one cure: delivery. They would have to induce my wife four weeks early.

We were not prepared for this physically or mentally. We suddenly realized that we were at the hospital birthing center, preparing to give birth, with no baby, mommy or daddy bags. We had the clothes on our backs. No music. No extra pillows. No snacks (for dad). And worst of all, no phone chargers.

At first the doctor said I could go home and pick up what was needed because they would start the induction in the morning. Then everything changed when the medication failed to lower Melodie’s blood pressure. I was told to stay put. Wait, what? It was the only moment that we had any apprehension. Were they going to end up doing a c-section? But thirty minutes later the doctor was back to explain they were going to transfer my wife to her room and start the induction now. The doctor turned to me, smiled, and said that I had time to go home and get what was necessary. Then she added, but don’t be long.

Armed with a long list of things I needed to get for baby and mom and where I would find them at home, I left the hospital. Round trip, not counting seek and find time, it was 34 minutes. Thankfully my eighteen year old daughter was waiting for me and gave me a hand putting things together and even packed a lunch for me. By the time I got back with everything (more or less), my wife was comfortably installed in her room and the procedure had started. 

Being people of faith and belonging to a large faith family, there were people all around the world praying for us. This was something incredibly comforting in knowing that friends in Greece, Belgium, France, the US, throughout Canada, in the Philippines and places we didn’t even know about were praying for us and little Samuel, who was being forced into this world before he was ready. We had a wonderful sense of peace in the Lord’s presence. All was well.

Over the next eighteen hours we had the privilege of meeting many incredible doctors and nurses. Their compassion and tenderness was amazing, but something happened that made me see people in this pandemic in a whole new way. The thing that changed everything, that made me sit up and take note happened at the most incredible moment of our time in the hospital.

Melodie was in active labour. Nurses seemed to be coming out of the woodwork. The doctor was in the catch position. Everyone in the room became the cheerleaders and my wife was immersed in the moment. It was loud. It was busy. And it was then, as the sweat was washing over my wife’s face and the pain was at its most intense, with her breathing deepened to the point I thought the medical mask would disappear into her breath, that one of these beautiful cheerleading women reached over and flicked my wife's mask off her face. She was free to suck in all the air she needed. In one simple motion, compassion trumped protocol. I was stunned by this act’s insane nature of beauty. It was second only to the arrival of our beautiful baby boy.

Pause and reflect for a moment. That mask on my wife’s face was not there for the benefit of my wife. It was there to protect everyone else in the room. The act of removing that mask was entirely for my wife’s benefit, to the endangerment of everyone else in that room. This significance was not lost on me.

There was something absolutely wondrous how the beautiful part of humanity overshadowed the masks, gowns and hand sanitizer. Not once did I hear these beautiful people raise doubt about the pandemic or the protocols in place because of it. There were no complaints or fussing or frowns. After a bit I stopped noticing what they were wearing because their hearts of service caused these things to evaporate in their soft tones of tender compassion. They were not focused on themselves or the inconvenience of working twelve hours in this equipment. Their focus was caring for these new mom’s and their beautiful new born babies. If they were tired of all this they never showed it beneath those beautiful voices and those healing hands.

So my take away : no matter the circumstances of the day, the best parts of humanity can outshine it when we are determined to focus on love.

PS. My wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, weighing only 5.5 lbs, just this side of being a preemie. Mother and baby are resting comfortably at home, healthy and well. We consider ourselves tremendously blessed and are eternally thankful for such a large praying family.

Is It Possible To Grow Up In The Church?

 “Go and make disciples”, Jesus said. “Teach them everything I have taught you.” I think sometimes we get a little confused about this. Sometimes it appears that we are more interested in enforcing a law than to teach Father’s love. There is a pretty big difference between the two considering that love, not law, is what empowers us to obey Jesus. We teach simply to help people understand what the Spirit is doing in them with what the Father implanted in them the moment they said “I believe”.

I know we want to explain about repenting and throwing off sin and all the rest of it but sometimes we move past teaching into manipulation. It’s like we forget that the job of conviction belongs to the Spirit. Yes, in our enthusiasm we forget we are the witnesses of who Jesus is and we try to take on the role of the enforcers. But Jesus has no interest in forcing anybody into anything. He offers an invitation.

So, we are the witnesses and when someone expresses a desire for more of what we are demonstrating, then we disciple them by teaching them what Jesus has taught us. This means we better be constantly growing and learning ourselves. You know, you can disciple someone before they believe and hopefully as you demonstrate the Kingdom to them they will encounter the reality of Jesus and move from curiosity to belief. Of course we continue to walk with them, discipling them so they can understand the lifelong transformation that is happening to them. This is that mustard seed that is growing in them so a day will arrive when they will be able to offer fruit and shelter to others.

That’s the messy part, the journey toward maturity. This is where most of us mess up, where the Church fails and we move from life to law. It is so much easier and less messy to teach a list of rules then to allow for maturing in relationship. This journey is not a light switch. We don’t shed the old and put on the new overnight. We do it step by step, as the Spirit convicts and we respond. It is a whole lot of learning, growth and transformation. What we do not want it to be is conformity to a bunch of rules that will leave us with a lifetime of guilt and failure.

I have a friend who made an observation about his university experience. He told me that there are a lot of good teachers who are good at teaching the beginning stuff. There are also a lot of good teachers great at teaching the end stuff. But there are not a lot of teachers who are great at the in-between stuff. 

In the Church we have a lot of people who are great at the beginning stuff and they are getting even better at it. Helping people discover Jesus is a very exciting thing. We also have a lot of people who are very good at teaching what a mature life in Christ looks like. A lot of the epistles have sections that give us lists of what this looks like. What we seem to be lacking are those with the patience and longevity to walk with a person from the after birth stage to the mature stage. In fact, a lot of churches don’t even make allowances for this very trying and messy stage.

The Body has not been good at building a thick skin for the many failures in the journey to maturity. Some Spiritual Parents are all too ready to kick that spiritual infant out of the house because he keeps making messes. But messes are what we are all about. The Strong are to bear with the Weak, because the Weak are on a journey to become one of the Strong. The Spirit is responsible for conviction and we are responsible for modeling relationship. We who journey with those on the road to maturity model what relationship looks like, both with our King but also with each other. This, after all, is Father’s purpose for the Body, that we would work out our salvation daily as we encourage and build up one another.

We need those who introduce people to Jesus, to see that come into this relationship through belief. We need those who can teach what maturity looks like, what we are moving towards and why. But we are also desperate for the spiritual mothers and fathers who will commit to years of patience and suffering to fulfill the role of those who teach through example the in-between stuff. We need to get better at this.

Does The News Have You Stressed Out?

 No matter what anyone tells you, none of us are hardwired for stress. It doesn't matter how much of Jesus you have, if you don't know what stress is and how to say no to it then you will face the consequences of it.

We are certainly tough and we can get through a lot of stuff but it doesn't mean we get through undamaged. Some of us say, "Well, I have Jesus", and yet we don't even know what that means or what to do with it. Many people, as much as they love Jesus, have never learned to surrender things to him. Even though he directly taught us to not worry, we worry. So understand this:

Stress can rewire our brain and cause illness in our body, without even mentioning what it does to our emotions. It will overwhelm our systems so that we can't even make simple decisions. Sure, we can make it through and survive small amounts of stress but even then it has effects on us. However, we should never try to live through prolonged amounts of stress, just shrugging our shoulders at it.

We do not want to learn how to manage stress because even managing it is only helping us to cope with it short term. We need to learn how to face things without provoking stress, and if it does get provoked, how to send it packing. The solution has a name and that name is Jesus. When we are relationship with him, a daily trusting relationship of dependence, we learn how to surrender everything so we can keep on keeping on. Why do you think he promised never to leave us? We were never intended to do any of this on our own. But there is more than just surrender.

We are in partnership with Jesus. He does his part and we do ours. Our part is to understand how our bodies work. Just like we learn what foods are best to keep us healthy, we learn what attitudes and actions help keep us stress free. Sometimes we live as if like takes no effort and that is not what Jesus said. Certainly, we do not need to strive but we were designed for work. Life takes work.

 

The first thing you should learn about yourself is what provokes stress in you. When you learn this you can avoid it. If you can't avoid it then you know enough to surrender it as it begins. But you can also take actions so you can shed the stress before it can take root. Let's consider a few things that can cause stress in this pandemic and some things to shed it:

1. Too much news. Limit your news intake to a couple of times a day.
2. Dwelling on or fixating on the problem. We need to occupy ourselves with a balance of things and also how to surrender things to Jesus.
3. Fear. We will get past this pandemic just as we have gotten past every other mountain in our past. Do what you need to do to protect yourself (stay distant, wash your hands, wear your mask) and then ... live life to the fullest, or at least as full as the protocols will allow. Live it with joy, peace, laughter, and trust.
4. Don't keep reminding yourself of what you can't do. Accept where we are at this point and consider what we can do instead of focusing on what we can't.
5. Don't worry about other people. You do you and don't worry about the neighbours. Distance yourself from people who don't take this seriously and be friendly with those who do, but you just take care of you and yours.
6. Be kind. It is amazing how therapeutic it is to do kind things for other people.
7. Be kind to yourself. You can't help other people if you are not looking after yourself. Take those bubble baths. Have that glass of wine. Take that hour to read a good book. Go for a long walk. Do some exercising. 

It's good to be aware of the big picture but don't focus on it. Focus on the small daily steps in your life. Focus on what is for supper tonight, what you need to pick up at the store, whether you should vacuum today or tomorrow, helping the kids with their homework, calling to check on a friend. Sing. Dance. Pray. Worship. Laugh. Then laugh some more.There is a lot of life to live every day.

The news will eventually chase us down, it's impossible to get away from it. But it does not need to occupy our day, our thoughts, or our emotions. It is what it is and we trust Jesus. You worry and stress won't help. You have very little impact on the news except for prayer, so don't stress about it. Take a deep breath, thank Jesus and then decide on supper.

Saying Goodbye To A Friend

I lost a friend today.

I've known Peter for over twelve years. I knew him as Peter Jackson and first met him on a new thing called Twitter all those years ago.

It was actually my wife who first knew him and he sort of just became part of our lives as he joined in with our friends and family.

He lived in Winnipeg but he grew up in Montreal. We formed our bond together as he made comments about my biking excursions with my children along the Lachine canal. That's where he went biking with his dad.

I first met Peter and Nancy in the flesh when I had to got to a meeting in Winnipeg. I had an extra night layover so Peter thought it would be a great idea if he picked up this strange man and introduce him to his wife. Of course we had to go to the Forks and enjoy that wonderful dessert together.

Peter was a big man, in heart as well as body. His generosity was known from coast to coast as he touched people all around the world. Peter had friends all along his various trucking routes. He loved people and he loved being a part of their lives.

When Peter went back to trucking we got to see him often in Montreal. I have no idea how Bar-b-barn is going to stay afloat without him. That man loved his ribs.

He managed to bring Nancy a few times to visit with everyone in Montreal. By now he had a whole gaggle of friends here. We all loved him and he made us all feel important and special. Peter and Nancy had become part of the family.

Then there was the time that Peter convinced my wife and me to drive to Winnipeg to surprise Nancy. I have no idea how we managed to keep it from her but we did. You never really know a person until you see them in the security of their home. We also got to try Nancy's homemade ribs which puts Bar-b-barn to shame. I have no idea why Peter would have ever eaten ribs anywhere else.

Then we got the news. It wasn't devastating to us at the time because our little Church had experienced many different people being healed from that ugly disease. But we had no idea the battle we were in for.

We prayed at every prayer meeting. I encouraged everyone to keep fighting. My wife and I prayed every night for him. We prayed over the phone. We sent messages. We sent videos. We made declarations. We believed and we trusted.

To tell you what kind of man Peter was, during one of my last phone calls with him I told Peter I would pray with him. As soon as I was finished he said "Now it's my turn" and he started praying over me. This man dying of cancer couldn't stop himself from encouraging others.

We knew though that there were a lot of things stirring beneath the surface. He called home one day while I was out and he spoke to my wife. He asked about all the children, the weather, the church. She got the impression that Peter felt alone and just wanted to talk so she let him talk for as long as he wanted to.

He loved telling me of the Lord's provision. They had prayed about the car loan and the next week they received an unexpected cheque that covered the entire loan. They prayed for the mortgage as well. A couple of weeks ago he was so excited because provision was coming in from everywhere. He told me in one week they had received over $2000 in grocery cards. It seemed to recharge his batteries.

I would tease Peter about wheelchair races. He was a bit mischievous. One week I called he had been in bed for over four weeks. I told him he had better start getting up, that we had to get those wheelchair races going. I didn't know it but the doctor was in the room so Peter turned to the doctor and asked when he could start the wheelchair races. The doctor was confused at first but after he clued in he told Peter not this week but maybe next. 

It began to look like Peter wasn't going to be healed but we persisted in our faith. Peter believed and so we stood with him in his faith. I figured if king David could do it for his baby son then I could do it for my good friend. But Nancy was sounding tired. She told me she released him, that if he wanted to go to be with the Lord, who he loved, that it was okay. But Peter was his own man and refused.

I am convinced that Peter fought as hard as he did because he loved his wife. The easiest thing would be to let go and arrive in the place we long for. The hardest thing would be to stay and fight, experiencing all the pain and suffering that he did. He chose to fight because he loved Nancy and did not want to leave her alone. He knew how hard it would be. It was love that kept him here as long as it did. I can understand that and, for me, it spoke even louder of his generosity.

I got the call from Nancy this morning to say he was gone. It ripped the heart out of me, not for me but for Nancy. "I don't know how I will live without him", she said to me. No, I can't imagine how she will either. But she will, because Jesus will see that she does. We can't see it right now, but it's going to be brilliant. We will all continue on with Peter but his place will always remain empty in our lives. The older we live the more empty places we carry.

I went out for a walk this morning to reflect on this relationship and process the news. When I got home I told my wife that the world feels different today. She agreed. 

Sigh

Peter, I love you man. I'm going to miss you and all the encouraging moments we would have shared. Goodbye my friend. We'll see you soon. Thank you for the privilege of calling you friend.

What The Rain Does To Me

 I was out walking my dog a couple of nights ago when I was surprised by rain. It wasn’t in the forecast and it was too dark to see the type of clouds overhead so I did not venture out expecting it. 

At first it was like “Ugh” because it was not a warm night and I had not brought a jacket. But I realized I actually didn’t mind it. In fact, I was surprised that I was enjoying it. There was a strange sense of groundedness that it gave. So I went with that feeling and decided to explore the explanation.

Lately, things have seemed a bit chaotic, out of control. The pandemic has made everything a little more complicated and there is that subconscious stress that I keep talking about. We are in control of our waking conscious thinking but we are not always aware or in control of what is beneath the surface. This may become more evident as we get back to the routine of school, realizing that this routine is very different from what we have known in the past.

Let’s face it, if we have any routines none of them are what they used to be. This causes more stress than you may be aware of. It gives a false sense of having no control.

Then there is the rain.

There are things we can control and there are things we cannot. I can control when I go to sleep but I can’t control tomorrow’s weather. I can control what I eat but I can’t control my Prime Minister’s decisions. I can control what I watch but I can’t control the content of the news. I can control the thoughts I dwell on but I can’t control what my neighbour says and does.

Did you notice something there? I can control myself but I can’t control you. I can control myself but I can’t control the world. I can control myself but I cannot control the politics. I can control myself but I can’t control the weather. The only thing I have any authority to control is myself.

So that is what the rain is doing to me, grounding me in the reality of my Father’s creation. There is nothing I can do to stop the rain. The rain is something my Father put into motion. There is nothing I can do to stop the sun from rising in the morning. This too is something my Father put into motion. There is nothing I can do to stop him from loving me, from being with me, from desiring me, from believing in me. This is something he put in motion when he said “Let there be light” and he has not looked back since and the proof of it is found on the cross.

This world might look like it is out of control but none of it comes as a surprise to my Father. He was aware before I was born and he planted things in my path that I will need in every step of my journey. He knew it all and he planned for it. But I must exercise control over me, take my eyes off the problem and discover the solution he planted before I was born and that he has made available to me now. He doesn’t make it easy but he does make it simple. I just need to look for the things of the Kingdom.

In every dark moment, I am to turn from the darkness and find that gold nugget, that glimmer of light. All good things are from above so in the dark we look for the good things, the positives and there we will find him and our encouragement. We will find the treasures, the hope, the joy, the things to celebrate and lift up.

Face it, anyone can see the dark. It does not take any discernment to see the negative, the hopeless, the decay, the loss. It takes a heart determined to seek our Father and the things of the Kingdom to discern what the darkness tries to hide : hope! Let those who have ears to hear, hear. Let those who have eyes to see, see.

So this is what the rain does for me, it reminds me that the things I do not have the authority to control are in the hands of my Father. He’s in charge and I am glad he is. So I will control what is mine to control, and I will use that to chase after the things of the Kingdom, even, or maybe especially, in the dark.

What Are We Suppose To Do In The End Times?

The world is changing. Or is the veil being pulled back? Is it possible that it is just continuing its downward spiral and we are nearing the end? Or, is this just simply our awareness and the worse is yet to come? Sounds pretty dismal and bleak. Are we just suppose to stand by and play the fiddle while Rome burns? That's what some misguided people would have you think.

Some people have gotten to the point that Jeremiah had reached. For so long he had prayed for his fellow citizens, praying that the Lord would stay his hand but the entire time he was praying for them they were abusing him. They shouted him down, beat him, threw him in jail until it got so bad that Jeremiah stopped praying for them and told the Lord, "Bring it on. The sooner the better".

I am hearing more and more this chorus going up "Come Lord come", knowing that this would bring on the judgement. We used to pray "Tary but a bit longer Lord" not because we did not want to go but because there were so many who did not yet know him. Why do you think the Lord has waited these two thousand years? He wants the banquet hall to be full.

Put away the fiddles because we have some real work to do. Apostle Paul outlined it to the Thessalonians. It is worth reading the entire fifth chapter because I am going to leave off some of the good bits just to focus on some very important instructions for us in these days.

Verse 14: "We appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, to instruct those who are not in their place of battle." Instead of cheering on the destruction of those who offend you, look around and see who is not in position. See who is in your sphere of influence who has not understood the instructions and help them by showing them. Of course, you better make sure that the Lord's new commandment of loving each other in the same manner he has loved us is your motivation.

It is important that if we are going to engage with these instructions that we are doing so because we love our brothers and sisters and not because we want to put them in their place. They are not in their place of battle because they do not know who they are, they do not know how to fight, they do not know the enemy is not people but the dark principality. Maybe they are discouraged. It is not just those who are not worshiping and praying but those who are fighting with wrong motivations. We are to come along, be their friend and influence them into position.

Verse 14: "Be skilled at gently encouraging those who feel themselves inadequate." I am sure you know plenty of Christians who feel inadequate, who feel they can't talk, teach, lead or even pray. I have heard so many say they can't understand the Bible and they could never talk to other people about Jesus. It's all a lie of the enemy because the adequacy does not come from us but by Spirit in us. We are all possessed by him so we are all equipped by him. The Body of Christ is in great need of encouragers.

Now take note of "be skilled at". This skill is more a skill of humility, understanding that we are not able to do anything outside of Jesus. The skill is the focus, the listening and the acting upon what you hear. The skill increases as you use it and we are to use it constantly. We say we are a people of faith and yet we struggle to trust that he enables us to do all this and more.

Verse 14: "Be faithful to stand your ground." Our Father loves faithfulness. He loves when we keep our word, our commitment. He loves when we are faithful to people. He loves when we are faithful to his instructions. This faithfulness is empowered by love. Stand your ground. Do what is right according to Father's heart. Stick it out with people. Be his voice in their lives. Don't be surprise by evil but stand your ground to overcome that evil by good. Be faithful to our Lord as he is faithful to us.

Verse 14: "Help the weak to stand again." People are use to friends coming and going. They are used to people being afraid of their "sins". They are used to people not sticking to the meaning of friendship. But we are called to be more than that. As the world gets darker and more confusing weaker Christians are going to need the faithful friendship of the stronger brothers and sisters.

Verse 14: "Be quick to demonstrate patience with everyone." Are you beginning to see how we might be falling short of the Lord's design for the Body of Christ? We are in this together, weak and strong. We are responsible for each other. We have a duty to each other. "No soldier is left behind." We have all heard it said that we are the only army that kills it's wounded. The thing is, we aren't even an army. We are more like a hospital and it is all hands on deck to see everyone healed and made whole again. This will require more patience than you can imagine. But remember, "Love is patient, love is kind ..."

Verse 15: "Resist revenge, and make sure that no one pays back evil in place of evil but always pursue doing what is beautiful to one another and to all the unbelievers." Yes, the Spirit inspired these words and Jesus demonstrated it. When his followers wanted to call down the fires of heaven Jesus rebuked them saying he had come to save lives not kill them. We would do well to remember this every time we feel our blood boiling and our hearty beat increasing as we read some of the garbage on social media. According to Proverbs there is a time when answering a fool is folly and other times when not answering a fool is folly. The trick is to be so intimate with the Spirit that you know the difference.

Instead of trying to think of ways you can prove someone wrong we are instructed to pursue beautiful things to do for each other. That requires our hearts to be full of love, full of mercy, full of grace. And that only comes when your roots are found in the multi-dimensional love of Christ. So, the most important thing is to be occupying yourself with him and then everything else happens from the overflow.

This is what the end times are suppose to look like to us. It is not a time to celebrate the destruction of our enemies but the encouraging of one another. It is not seeking revenge on our enemies but pursuing ways that we can do beautiful things for them. This is the Body of Christ, occupied with the mission to rescue as many as we can while supporting each other in the mission. May our Lord find us faithful to the tasks assigned when he returns.

Take A Look Around And Care

Too often we don't notice the important things around us in life because we are so focused on our projects, needs and schedules that we seldom notice our environment. We have been doing life this way for so long that we forget what it is to look around every now and then.

Sunday morning I was out for a walk with my dog before church. It was a beautiful morning in Chateauguay. It was a cloudless blue sky. The sunlight felt hot but there was no humidity. It was incredibly quiet, as it is often at this time on a Sunday morning. No cars. No people. A moment of pause in our small part of the world. Peaceful.

It wasn't until I was on my way home that I noticed them. Two young adults walking toward me on the opposite side of the street. Their body language didn't indicate they were a couple. Friends? Brother and sister? It was hard to tell but her body language screamed that she was in distress.

She had her arms wrapped around her mid-section in a self-hug, as if she was trying to keep herself together. Her voice sounded panicky although I couldn't make out the words yet. Her friend's face carried a deep look of concern and helplessness as he looked down at her. Obviously something was not right and he felt there was nothing he could do about it. Then her words reached me.

"But I'm scared for my mom! I'm scared for my sister! And I am scared for me!" Her voice seemed to choke on the words as she struggled to spit them out.

And as quick as that they were past me but her words hung heavy on my heart. What could this poor dear girl be so afraid of? What was happening in her family that even her friend felt the helplessness of the situation? The tangible fear seemed like a foreign intruder on such a beautiful morning.

The problem is that such things do not respect the moment. They will burst into our lives at the most perfect and delightful occasions. They will smear their ugliness all over the beauty of our day and they will try to rob us of all joy and peace. Whatever was happening to this family was acting like a life sucking leech and it was their little secret.

The world can be a very harsh and lonely place for those facing things that cause shame and fear. It takes a special place, a special community that is willing to walk with the suffering, the broken, with no judgement and condemnation. It takes a special people who see their responsibility to be open and available, even seeking out those who have lost their "normal".

It's all around us. It doesn't have to be a major event. A young mom who doesn't understand why her baby is not sleeping at night. Is she a bad mom? Her outlook can be renewed with a kind, encouraging word from a mom of experience.

An elderly wife who just buried her life-long partner. They had experienced everything together and now she is left to face it alone. What a difference it makes when her neighbour shows up to mow her lawn, when people stop to say hi and to share their day, when she is invited over for supper or to the backyard bbq. It's not the same but it helps knowing she is not alone.

A neighbourhood kid dragging herself home after school, wondering why no one likes her. Wondering why school seems such a lonely place. Wondering if this is what the rest of her life will look like. What a difference it makes when the people around her include her, ask for her opinion, ask what her plans are, invite her to special things, compliment her, tell her what they appreciate about her. Life won't always be like today. That may be the bit of hope she needs to make it to tomorrow.

But to be these "breaths of fresh air" we have to look up. We have to be aware of our environment. We have to see what is going on. We have to decide to care for more than just ourselves. Hurting, broken, lost, lonely, and desperate people are all around us. They have a special place in our Father's heart and he wants us to see them. He wants our heart to break over what breaks his.

"Whatever you do for these least of these you do for me."

James says it is our purpose to live out, "Love and value your neighbour as you love and value yourself". But it requires that we look around. It requires that we care.

As for that young lady and her friend, I did the one thing I know how to do, perhaps the best thing I could do given the circumstances : I prayed. In fact, I haven't stopped praying for her. I am praying that the people living life around her will stop and look around and care.

It's Time To Get Messy

 There is a basic foundation problem in the Church : honesty. Most of us have been conditioned not to be honest. Think about it. What happens when someone is honest about their failures, their sins or their temptations in the Body of Christ? Exactly. The place that is meant to be the safest place on earth is actually one of the scariest places. 

We have gotten it wrong and we can see that by what Jesus taught Nicodemus when Nicodemus came looking for answers to questions he didn't even understand. Take a minute and walk through this with me:

"God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it!" John 1:17

That is perhaps our first wrong turn right there. We spend more time condemning the world than we do in participating in Jesus' mission to rescue it. How do we miss this? How do we forget that while we were the enemy of God Jesus died for us? How do we forget that we have all fallen short of the glory of God? We came from this world. We were products of it. And those who we spend so much time condemning and tearing down have the same potential as we had to be rescued. If they are without Jesus, the source of life itself, how can we expect them to act like they do have him? Crazy.

If we get this part wrong then we probably miss the next point:

"So now there is no longer any condemnation for those who believe in him, but the unbeliever already lives under condemnation because they do not believe in the name of God's beloved Son." v. 18

So there is a condemnation, but not from us and not for what most Christians think. We spend so much energy in tearing down people for their sin that we miss this point. The real danger is not the sin but their failure to accept the solution. We keep demanding that they change their behaviour but behaviour cannot change until the heart does and the heart is only transformed by Jesus. So the solution is not conformity but transformation by knowing Jesus. Knowing Jesus is an invitation not an accusation. No one can be forced, tricked or manipulated to kneel before Jesus. It only works when it is a surrender of the heart provoked by love, in response to Jesus' love. It's not the words we speak unless those words have been empowered by an overflowing heart.

Now we get to the heart of the problem that effects all of us and the atmosphere of the Church:

"And here is the basis for their judgment: The Light of God has now come into the world, but the hearts of people love their darkness more than the Light, because they want the darkness to conceal their evil." v. 19

The purpose here is not to have the things hidden in the darkness exposed for condemnation but for healing. Disease must be revealed before it can be dealt with. If it remains undetected it will continue to grow and destroy until the result is death. When a person is willing to have their rebellious ways exposed to the Light then they are expressing a desire for healing. This is more than a one time act, it is also part of our daily growth, our "daily work out your salvation". It is not good enough to kick out the demon. If we fail to daily allow the Light to occupy that space then the demon is coming back with friends. There is constant exposure to the Light.

The problem is, how can we promote such a culture of honesty in the face of the age old culture of condemnation? This is especially true for our leaders. How can they lead by example if their example is going to get them fired? I know of no perfect person and yet we force our leaders to hide their "demons" and have the facade of perfection so that we can apply the same false expectation to the rest of the Church. Only the wicked are suppose to be hiding from the light, not the believers:

"So the wicked hate the Light and try to hide from it, for their lives are fully exposed in the Light." v. 20

Jesus never intended that the Church would be a toxic place, being a killer of grace and forgiveness. The Body is suppose to be a place of healing, reconciliation and growth. This can only exist in an atmosphere of trust and love where people are not afraid to allow the Light to expose the things that would try to separate us from God. Read this:

"But those who love the truth will come out into the Light and welcome its exposure, for the Light will reveal that their fruitful works were produced by God." v. 21

Underline "who love the truth". Love is a thing of trust. It empowers us to do things we would not do in ourselves. It is the reason Jesus said "Love will empower you to obey my commands". Love is not just the enabler of our confession but is also the atmosphere of a healthy church that can handle the truth. Love does not guarantee it wouldn't be messy but it does make sense of the mess. Love trusts that it is indeed the work God produces and not reliant on mere appearances.

I do not know where we got this desire to present perfection to the world. It fails just on the basis that it doesn't exist. What is attractive to everyone is authentic love that is powerful enough to stand up under truth and desires to see people healed instead of appear perfect.

Does that make sense to you? 

I hope so because there are a lot of hurting people sitting in our churches too afraid to seek healing for those broken places. They are too afraid because we have not developed a culture that celebrates and supports honesty. Our desire for the person must be bigger than our desire for neatness. We have that very interesting motto, "Love the sinner and hate the sin" but much of the Church has no idea what that looks like. It starts by understanding that the person is more important than the situation, the argument, the hurt and the sin. The sooner we can start celebrating people the sooner we will be celebrating their healing.

Go ahead, get messy.

What Do The Children See?

 I read long ago that a parent should never do anything on their own. From grocery shopping to going to the bank a parent should always take at least one child. Life is filled with many unexpected teaching opportunities that cannot be taught in a lecture but are taught by modelling. Parents teach by example and there is no better example than how we interact with people in our community.

We often believe that what we say to our children will have the biggest impact but the loudest thing we say is said with our actions. Children are watching our response as that crazy driver cuts us off. They see what kind of respect we give to the new bank teller. They read our body language as we wait in the grocery line as that dear old soul counts out her change.

Our children are going to become what they see in us. They will use the same words we use. They will exude our attitude toward people. How often do you hear your parents' words coming out of your mouth? How often do you see your parents' attitude in your actions? Do we need to choose better words and a better attitude?

I try to remember to bring my children along but sometimes I fail and go with the fast route instead of the slow one, but yesterday I remembered. I took my six year old son on the dog walk. We walked. We talked. We enjoyed each others company. And he observed my actions without me realizing it.

I have a habit of trying to leave the world in better condition than I found it. For this purpose I carry extra dog bags on me to clean up where someone else failed to. My son was a few steps ahead of me when I stopped to clean up someone else's mess. I didn't think he noticed. But when we got home he announced to his mom, "Alison didn't go poo but dad used a bag to clean up another dog's poo". My wife gave me a look that conveyed "good job". But it's not just children who are watching.

Last year I was walking with the dog past our local park. There was a lot of litter so I picked up a few pieces and put them in the garbage. When I turned around I almost bumped into a man who was walking with his children. I hadn't seen them walking behind me but he had seen what I was doing. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up. Because they were walking faster than my dog they went ahead of me. To my surprise the dad suddenly stooped down and picked up a discarded coffee cup. He said something to his kids who suddenly ran ahead and started picking up garbage. I thought, "Wow!"

This is the world in which we live, raise our kids and minister. We are told not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good. But it can seem overwhelming. It can make us feel powerless and insignificant. We are only one person so what are we compared to all that? But Father did not tell us to do all that. He told us to be faithful to what he has given us. I can't impact my whole town but I can impact my children and the people I meet today. I may not be able to preach but I can demonstrate Father's heart by the way I honour and value people. I may feel insignificant but I can do significant things by doing the next right thing as defined by Father.

This is the attitude and the demonstration that will most impact our children. I can tell them I love Jesus or I can show them in the way I treat their mother, our neighbours and the workers in our community. I can demonstrate it in the way I talk about leaders in the church and politics. I can demonstrate it by living an attitude that tells them people are more important than possessions. My children may forget my words but they will remember what they have seen. To Father, there is nothing more important in our lives than people. They are the objects of his love and I want my children to see this reflected in my actions.

The children are watching. They are suppose to. It is how they learn. What are we teaching beyond our words?

Show Me Your Ways, That I May Know You

I was out for a walk with my dog early this morning. I really enjoy my neighbourhood on a Saturday morning. Everyone is relaxed and most are puttering around in the yard, assessing the work that needs to be done while drinking their morning coffee. So it is quiet, friendly, and , on this Saturday morning, warm.

As I was passing in front of one home I saw that the family who lived there was already busy at work. They were speaking a slovik language to each other so I figured the parents were first generation immigrants. They were working together.

Dad was pushing the mower and giving directions to the young children. The children, about five and six years old, were gladly running around the front yard and moving things as per their father's instructions. Mom was busy weeding the flower bed while keeping an eye on the children. It was good to see.

I remembered when my older children lived at home how much they would help in and out of the house. Sometimes they didn't want to but eventually we were all hard at work, mowing, weeding and raking. They were especially helpful when we had a forty apple tree orchard. There was always plenty to do. But somewhere along the way that attitude didn't continue down to the rest of the children.

At some point it just became easier and more convenient to do things myself, without help. It was faster and more efficient, sure, but something very important got lost along the way. It isn't just the training that the children need but the relationship that gets built.

One of my clearest memories with my dad was when the well pump burnt out and he had to replace it. There were only two problems he had to overcome. The pump was 400 feet down and it was January. So my dad enlisted my help and we went out in the middle of winter and pulled up four hundred feet of piping to get to the pump. I did not want to be there but I learned what price had to be paid to protect the family.

Another memory was when my dad had to go into a septic tank because something had stopped working. I appreciated my dad on that day. My job was to hold a flashlight and to keep talking to my dad. If he stopped talking I was to go get help. That's pretty important when you are only thirteen years old. That was one smelly day. I won't forget the sight of my dad coming up out of that hole, gasping for clean air while gagging. But I learned a lot about my dad on those two occasions. My dad was a "get 'er done" sort of guy.

When it comes to work, our Father does the same thing. He didn't need to build his plan around us, to include us with him. He could have handled all this work on his own. He did not have to make us co-workers with Jesus, but he did. And he did it for a reason. He wants us to know him intimately. He wants us to know how he thinks, feels, and what is important to him. There is no better way to know him then by working along  side him. It's important.

As for me, it's time for me to re-evaluate my "To Do" list to see who I "need" to help with a few projects.

Simplifying The Complicated, part six - Love Each Other In This Same Manner

This is the last blog on my short series on uncomplicating the things of our Father. He has made it simple and we have complicated it by adding our ideas and traditions. So far we have considered the simplicity of loving Yahweh, of loving ourselves, of loving others and of valuing everyone. These are straightforward commands that are only empowered by love. The last thing I want to consider is Jesus' final command that we, in the Body of Christ, must love each other as the Lord has loved us.

Jesus loved us in simplicity and largeness. Maybe the theology behind it can be complicated by the tremendous depth of it when we examine it from beginning to end, but the application is simple. Jesus loved the Father to the point of laying down his life in obedience. This huge act of love also carried the message that Dad loves us so much he was willing to sacrifice everything. It is simple, straightforward and uncomplicated. While we were still enemies of God Jesus sacrificially paid the only price demanded so that we could be redeemed from our rebellion into life with Father. Nothing is asked of us except to believe.

This is how love is defined. This is the measuring rod. Simple.

Now Jesus turns around and says even before he gave us the measuring rod, love each other in the same manner I have loved you. No lesser definition of love will do other than the sacrificial love that is willing to go the distance:

"For the greatest love of all is a love that sacrifices all. And this great love is demonstrated when a person sacrifices his life for his friends." John 15:13 TPT

So I ask the question, how do we define love, because in our current season we are not going the distance. The division in the Body is growing among believers over the silliest things. "Should we wear a mask or not?" "Should we trust our government?" "What is the origin of COVID-19?" I kid you not, this type of thing has Christians at each other's throats. It is like we do not even consider the prayer of our King that we would be united, at one with each other as he is with the Father.

In Kingdom reality, it doesn't matter how wrong we think a brother of sister's opinion is, it does not give us the right to change the standard of measurement of love that has been given to us by our King. We can be wrong and we can do wrong but don't try to cover it by changing the measurement and coming up with excuses. We are to confess when we get it wrong, change our thinking according to the conviction of the Spirit, seek forgiveness and keep moving forward.

I get it wrong all the time. I have had to apologize more often than I can remember. I sometimes work myself up in defending an opinion so much that I forget there is a real person on the other end of that opinion who I am under obligation to love to the point of laying down my life. Here I am fighting over opinion (some would consider them facts) and failing to walk in obedience to my King. Praise him though that he said love would empower me to obey his commandments. This is dear to my heart so when the Spirit speaks I am quick to listen and to act.

If a brother tells you that Jesus was not raised from the dead you may defend the faith in love. But if a brother argues that COVID is a conspiracy for a one world government, you do not have the right to destroy your relationship with them over an opinion. If you think they are lacking discernment and are falling for a lie, your responsibility is to tolerate them, pray and trust that they Spirit will teach them, if they need to be corrected. Love does not mean we act the part of the Spirit, it means we sacrifice our right to prove ourselves right. Paul told us to do our best to be friends with everyone.

Love is and always has been the key. Not just any love but Jesus' perfect love that empowers us to obey. It's simple. There are no gray areas. Love God. Love your enemy. Love your neighbour. Love your fellow believers. Love is sacrificial. Love requires us to put other people first. It requires us to consider their needs along with our own. It requires us to lay down our life. There is no lesser standard.

I am going to end this thought with a passage from Romans 12. This is not some ideal. This is what a transformed heart looks like. This is what the Spirit is growing us into. This leaves us with no excuses and with a wonderful measuring rod for measuring our attitude and actions. Consider the simplicity of the Lord's ways and thus the simplicity of the Lord himself. This is what our life has been designed to look like.

"Let the inner movement of your heart always be to love one another, and never play the role of an actor wearing a mask. Despise evil and embrace everything that is good and virtuous.
Be devoted to tenderly loving your fellow believers as members of one family. Try to outdo yourselves in respect and honor of one another.
Be enthusiastic to serve the Lord, keeping your passion toward him boiling hot! Radiate with the glow of the Holy Spirit and let him fill you with excitement as you serve him.
Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.
Take a constant interest in the needs of God’s beloved people and respond by helping them. And eagerly welcome people as guests into your home.
Speak blessing, not cursing, over those who reject and persecute you.
Celebrate with those who celebrate, and weep with those who grieve.
Live happily together in a spirit of harmony, and be as mindful of another’s worth as you are your own. Don’t live with a lofty mind-set, thinking you are too important to serve others, but be willing to do menial tasks and identify with those who are humble minded. Don’t be smug or even think for a moment that you know it all.
Never hold a grudge or try to get even, but plan your life around the noblest way to benefit others. Do your best to live as everybody’s friend.
Beloved, don’t be obsessed with taking revenge, but leave that to God’s righteous justice. For the Scriptures say:
“If you don’t take justice in your own hands,
I will release justice for you,” says the Lord.
And:
If your enemy is hungry, buy him lunch!
Win him over with kindness.
For your surprising generosity will awaken his conscience,
and God will reward you with favor.
Never let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good."

A Clear And Present Danger

How dedicated are we to the Lord? Jesus really challenges us on what dedication looks like when empowered by love. He told us that we can't love anyone, not even our own children, more than him. He asked us of what benefit it was to gain the whole world and yet lose our soul. James warned us against being double minded and even told us that being friends with the world systems is to be an enemy of God. But this idea goes way back to the beginning.

Eve demonstrated a double-mindedness. She was able to tell the serpent the truth when he tried to cloud the Creator's instruction, but knowing the truth is not enough. Knowing the truth she still considered the value of the fruit, meditated on it and with one swift act switched allegiances. Love empowers us to obey so it tells us there was a weakness in Eve's love and dedication.

The people of Israel constantly struggled with faithfulness. Even though they had clear evidence of Yahweh's presence and love they still longed to by like other nations. They were unique in their culture, society, laws and worship. The Lord told them that it was unheard of for a nation to change their god and yet here Israel was trading their glory for something that had no worth. Just as the enemy convinced Eve to reject the Creator to possess what she already had, so Israel was convinced to trade the invaluable for the worthless.

In the end Israel had shrines on every corner, was making sacrifices on every high place, had household gods in every home, was sacrificing children, had converted Yahweh's temple to accommodate the worship of other gods and yet were still bringing worthless sacrifices to him. Is it any wonder that he felt sick at the sight of them?

We have been redeemed from the failed state of the false prince of this world. We have been transformed so that we have the capacity to love by the principles of our King as citizens of his Kingdom. We are to live fully dedicated to him and his mission but it is a state of growth. This means our dedication increases as does our knowledge and our love. This is only possible because of love. Our love for Jesus empowers us to walk in a relationship of obedience, dedication and trust.

However, there is a reason why Jesus asked if he would find faith in this world on his return. It is not difficult to become double-minded, to try to live by two systems, two governments, two heads. We categorize some things as sacred and other things as common, some things as supernatural and other things as natural. So we live some activities to the Lord and other things to ourselves. When we do this there is a failure to understand the superiority of the Kingdom over the principles of this world. We live two minds and begin to limit our King's impact in our lives and the lives of other people.

We belong to the Kingdom of "all things are possible for him who believes" and the Kingdom of "I can do all things through him who gives me strength". He is the Father who desires everyone to be saved and paid the prices of his Son to make it happen. He has invited us to himself through his Son and invites us to join him in this great mission of redemption. And the King told us that obedience is a simple matter when it is empowered by love. We need nothing else but him. We do not live for ourselves but that our King may live through us.

We cannot afford to live with a desire for the Lord and a desire for the principles of this world. We are told to make a choice before Jesus has to spit us out of his mouth. Sitting on the fence will never make the cut. Make a choice and do not be deceived thinking you are okay just because it looks like you are a follower of Jesus. Dedication to the King requires everything that you are and everything that you have. Our Father cannot be mocked.

Make no mistake about it, God will never be mocked! For what you plant will always be the very thing you harvest.The harvest you reap reveals the seed that was planted. If you plant the corrupt seeds of self - life into this natural realm, you can expect to experience a harvest of corruption. If you plant the good seeds of Spirit-life you will reap the beautiful fruits that grow from the everlasting life of the Spirit. - Galatians 6:7-8

The Importance Of Community When It Comes To Faith

Normally when I sit down to write I pretty well know what is going to be said from intro to conclusion. However, this morning I only have a simple thought, "Faith is meant to be lived out in community".

Remember what Paul wrote to the Corinthians about love? He was saying that he could be this super-sized Christian, living a faith-life large and beautiful but if he didn't have love then he had nothing and was nothing. You can be the most dynamic, Holy Spirit filled, power wielding Christian achieving great things but if you do not understand and so do not act from a position of love then it amounts to nothing.

Faith is not something we develop. It is something that has been given to us and it increases according to the Spirit. Our responsibility is to act on the faith that we have and as we are faithful to this the Spirit will increase it. That is his work. But this faith is a gift of love that is for the benefit of the community in which we continue to daily work out our salvation.

We are not to live in isolation, and I know this can be hard because not everyone thinks like us. Every Christian is at a different place in their maturity and their revelatory knowledge. This is why our community bond is not based on our knowledge but on what we have in common, which is the love of our Lord Jesus Christ and our love for each other. We are a community because of love not because of knowledge. And we are able to function together in our differences because of this supernatural, over-the-top, self sacrificing, person-focused, celebratory, selfless love.

Just as faith does not originate in us neither does love, and it is this gift of love that enables us to live in community with all our diversity. Let me repeat myself : It is not a bond of knowledge but a bond of love. This is not setting aside the importance of revelatory knowledge, just setting the priority that after everything else passes love remains. Realize, love is even greater than faith because you need love to make faith authentic.

This is important to grasp because it tells us the importance of community. Faith is worked out in community because it is in community that we get to exercise love. It is not simply loving those who love and value us. Jesus asked where the value is in that. The love gifted to us is great enough to form a bond between people who may not see the same way or accept the same things. In the world they may have been enemies but in Christ they are family, brothers and sisters. There is no getting around this. This is truth because it is Father's will and design. We must choose love.

When we try living for Christ by our old nature we will find we desire to be a lone-wolf, to be in isolation, to shout for a mountain top instead of walking with the family. We miss the principle of "iron sharpens iron" and miss the Lord's voice when we aren't paying attention. Our community, our tribe, our family is there to lift us up, encourage us and to remind us of the King's promises. We are there to laugh with each other, to cheer in times of someone else's victory and to cry in times of loss. If we see ourselves set apart from the body, who is going to encourage us in the day of evil? We are also easy pickings for the enemy because when we are alone we are weak and vulnerable.

Faith is lived out in community. Faith is increased by the Spirit when we live what we have. Community happens because of the bonds of love, not the bonds of knowledge. Love means we are united even with people who see differently from us because love is from the Spirit and it is the Spirit who unites us. Unity does not happen because we will it. Unity happens because we choose it. It already exists and we need only walk in it. In this community of love we will find all kinds of places to exercise our faith and see it rewarded with increase. We are in this together.

Faith is possible. Love is possible. Unity is possible. And it is all found in community.