Last weekend's benediction

A couple people told me they found last weekend's benediction meaningful, and asked if I would post it here. I'm happy to do that, so here it is:

“ In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I press the cross into you. As you receive it may you be humbled by God’s capacity for grace. May you rest in the knowledge that you are blessed by God and in His eyes, counted among the first-born.

May you be used by God to bring scandalous, intervening grace to the lives of others. May you bless those who don’t seek it or you think don’t deserve it. And may you seize the opportunities that abound to bless those you love, especially those who long to receive your blessing.

And may His word continue to give you strength for today, and hope for tomorrow. Amen.

Have a great week and don't forget to pray for our troops, and reflect on those who have sacrificed for us. "Lest we forget..."

Need A Vacation?

One of my favourite Bible verses is Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God”.  One of my favourite authors is Philip Yancey. This week these two faves came together in a book Yancey wrote, entitled Prayer:  Does it Make Any Difference?  In it he talks about the fact that this little verse contains two powerful, life-giving commands.  The first is “Be still...”  He explains that the Latin imperative for “be still” is vacate.   As Simon Tugwell explains, “God invites us to take a holiday [vacation], to stop being God for a while, and let him be God”. Sounds inviting doesn’t it?  In North America we live in a time of affluence and ease and yet stillness and personal peace have maybe never been more absent. Our frenzied pace often means that even vacation time isn’t really marked by inner calm and refreshment.  My husband and I struggle with holiday time not being just a different to-do list.  I find this command to be still very inviting... but how do we stop the craziness?  I wonder if the second command isn’t the key to being able to carry out the first.

“Be still and know that I am God”. In North America one of our badges of honour is self-sufficiency.  We are conditioned to believe that your best and safest bet is to be in a position where you don’t need anyone else. Be master of your fate and maker of your destiny.  From the time we are toddlers “I can do it myself” is our mantra. While there is of course a necessary, healthy side to this there is also an insidious dark side which is reflective of what happened in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve decided they would like to switch roles and move from dependent receivers to independent controllers.  Yancey says, “To let God be God, of course, means climbing down from my own executive chair of control.”  God is God.  He is in the heavens and He is in control.  Scripture is clear that when I choose to follow Christ, to be a Christian, I am choosing to reverse the decision that Adam and Eve made. I relinquish control back to God.  I enter a place of full-dependence. I let God be God and let Him run the universe and my life. It’s tough to do, but every time I get a taste of releasing control and just being a child of my Heavenly Father I want more.  What about you?  Time for a vacation?

Steak or Spam

Recently, as I read through Genesis 4 and the account of Cain and Abel I was drawn to verses 2- 4 (NLT): “When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift – the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock.”

What stood out to me from the text were two words: some…and best. Cain presented ‘some’ of his crops as a gift and offering to God, while Abel offered the ‘best’ of his flock.

I am from a farming background. My Dad was a grain farmer so I can easily relate to Cain’s grain offering. I recall that at harvest time the circumference of the field and the outside edge was generally the worst part of the crop. This area typically yielded the least return, produced the poorest quality of grain and had the greatest influx of weeds. It was often trampled, wind-blown and scorched. And while it produced ‘some’ grain  it generally contributed the least to the harvest. So much so in fact that in some cases Dad would invite a neighboring rancher to come and bail this part of the crop for cattle feed. It wasn’t worth the fuel it took to get in off the field. It was not too difficult, costly or much of a sacrifice to offer up and give away this portion of the harvest.

Contrast that with Abel’s offering of the lamb…the ‘best’ lamb. Although farmers, my family was not into cattle farming. However, each fall my parents would purchase a full ¼ or ½ of beef and have it cut, wrapped and put into the freezer to last my family through the winter months. All of us knew that there was one meal out of that batch of meat that we wanted to show up for…T-bone steak night. In our opinion, the ultimate cut from that animal. The loin the most tender, the meat next to the bone the tastiest. Mom would fry it up on the stove - in Crisco oil - and it was a feast adequate for a king. Delicious, mouthwatering, the very best!! No one wanted to miss out, be late or absent when T-bone was on the menu. At times Mom would invite others to join us for that special meal. It was always a very special opportunity when we were able to honor others by sharing and giving the very best we had to offer.

As I compared those two scenarios of offerings I thought about my life, my ultimate offering to God... and I asked myself whether I give God ‘some’ of my life, or the ‘best’ of my life? Do I offer up ‘some’ of my time, energy and resources… but stop before it begins to cost me personally? Do I offer my King steak or spam? Do I serve sacrificially or beneficially? Do I give God the best parts of all of me or do I withhold big chunks for self comfort, self preoccupation and self control?

Lord Jesus, I want to give you the very best I have every day…all day. Forgive me for the times I have kept the best for my selfish pleasure. Show me how to give away my life…the best of my life…for You and your Kingdom cause. Amen.

Siblings

The other night my husband and I watched the CBC program, “The Passionate Eye”. I know that doesn’t sound very exciting but I found myself getting more and more engaged as they chronicled the story of JoEllen, a young woman who desperately wanted to find the anonymous donor who helped bring her into existence. As the story unfolded not only did she, through amazing circumstances,  find “Donor 150” (her biological father) and have the opportunity to meet him, but she also found 12 half-siblings! It was amazing to watch as these siblings met each other for the first time. The bond was incredible and the family resemblance unmistakable, the eyes, a hand gesture,  the way they fiddled with their hair and their artistic bent. As I watched my thoughts turned to the beautiful and sometimes surprising connection we share as children of God. I’m amazed when it happens with someone I met at church, in my own culture but it is even more surprising when it is in another country and you don’t speak the same language. Recently a friend shared with me that during his summer travels he met a complete stranger and very quickly found himself wondering whether that person was a believer, part of the family.  And sure enough --- he was. What is it? Why do we have this feeling, this sense? Firstly,  I think it is the Holy Spirit alive in each of us. Romans 8:16,17  “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children”.  I also think part of it is the family resemblance. Traits we know to be true of our Heavenly Father that we see in them. Hebrews 2:11 says “Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sister.” What a gift to be part of this amazing family that is spread all over the globe with Christ as our big brother and God as our Father. Talk about a sense of belonging! And can you imagine the party in heaven when we meet ALL the siblings! 

Child of God

Recently I was reading from Luke 2, the story of Jesus as a baby and a young boy at the temple. I was pondering what it must have been like for Jesus’ parents to manage the existing tensions of their son being fully God and fully human. On the one hand, seeing Him experience physical and intellectual growth as any normal human child would have, but also experiencing the supernatural favor of God in his everyday life in unusual and increasing measure.

I thought about Mary treasuring Jesus’ development, growth and maturity in her heart. No doubt she reflected on her encounters and conversations with the angel, Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna…all who verified that Jesus was the incarnate Son of God. Knowing in her heart His true identity and yet did she ever struggle with what she knew to be truth and what she saw playing out before her in their families day to day lives?

As Jesus’ parents I imagine there would have been moments of sheer awe and anticipation at the understanding of who their son was. Conflicting with moments of deep awareness that He was human, and so were they. I imagine they encountered insecurity in knowing that they with their limited human experience, capacity and ability they had been entrusted  to raise this God child. 

As I pondered  the text, I reflected on my role as a Mom and one who often struggles with tensions and insecurities of parenting in 2011. I asked myself whether in those moments of day to day living, when loving and parenting is stressful and difficult, do I remember that my children are a gift from God, a miracle in the making, and created in the likeness of Christ? A child of God. When I am frustrated with their seeming lack of growth and maturity do I remember that God is at work in their lives and He will complete the good work He has begun? When I am questioning their choices or decisions do I remind myself that God is Sovereign and has a destiny for each of His beloved children? And, He is the Master of taking circumstances, choices along with their consequences and utilizing them to draw His children to Himself.

When I am overwhelmed with my lacking of insight, wisdom, discernment as a parent….the list goes on…do I draw on the fact that God promises to work through my weakness’ and He is able to do more that I can humanly dream or imagine? The question I ultimately asked myself is how do I manage the tension of parenting my child in the midst of his/her humanity intertwined with their true identity as a son, or daughter, of God? 

As I pondered all those thoughts in my heart I found myself thumbing through the pages of my Bible, to 1 Cor 13, commonly referred to as the love chapter, my eyes fell to verse 13. “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
I smiled to myself and thanked God for His Word. When it comes to my children I must hold to faith and remain sure of what I hope for and certain of what I do not see unfolding before me. I need constant hope that Christ who began a good work is faithful to carry it on to completion, right up until Christ’s return. And the greatest and most important thing I can choose…always… is to love. To love my children as Christ loves. And to remember that as much as I love my children…God loves them more. They are His children, loaned to me for a season, a privilege and responsibility that I must steward well but with ultimate dependence on God. 

I Saw the Most Beautiful Thing...

This September I will have worked at SPAC for two years. In this time I have gotten to be a part of many different experiences and work with all kinds of different people.  This last Saturday however I got to do something for the very first time. I officiated a wedding.  This was both very exciting and somewhat nerve raking. It seems everyone has a good “wedding story”. You know the type, the ones where people feint or the groom’s pants fall down. The rings fall into a crack on the stage or the Pastor announces the happy couple for the first time by the wrong name... Growing up with Pastors all around me in the family tree I have certainly heard my share of these horror stories.

It is with these in my mind, which were once sources of laughter but on that day the instruments of fear, I entered the church Saturday morning.  There are certainly many stories to tell of that day however there is one story that I will most remember.

It isn’t that I arrived Saturday morning to find water pouring in through the floor in the auditorium.

It isn’t during the ceremony when the bride asked if I had a tissue and I responded, “I do... not I do, I do, but I do”

No it isn’t at the reception when the bouquet was tossed... into the ceiling fan that chopped those flowers up!

No, the story that I will most remember is the look of a young man and a young woman who are most certainly in love. What a gift from our God!  Not only the gift of love, not only that person who we feel connected to but the idea of marriage.

Having the best seat in the house while two declare their love for each other in front of friends, family and God, I was struck with how truly immense the gift of marriage is.

Saturday was more than just a new experience for me,  it was a moment which caused me to add yet another reason to thank God for his goodness to us.

Problems in large church?!

I had a conversation with a friend today that made me think about the problems associated with large churches.

I happen to believe that God wants to use churches of all sizes and shapes to accomplish what he wants to accomplish in our world. Sometimes larger churches have certain advantages, and I think small and mid-sized churches have their advantages too. Since our church is considered by some to be in the larger category, it might be worth out time to think about what this means for us. Could some of these be our blind spots?

For example, sometimes large church leaders have attitude problems. We might be tempted to think that because we're bigger, we must be better. Or more successful. The culture of large church often creates a path that leads toward hubris. Like that word? Hubris has to do with pride and arrogance. Filthy traits.

There's institutional complexity in the large church. All the 'stuff' in the website and in the weekend bulletin can easily create the wrong idea. If we're not careful, we'll start to believe that a lot of ministry activity equals ministry effectivness. That's hardly the case.

Some people like large church because they want to be anonymous. It's fairly easy to 'hide' in a crowd, and that's why some people like churches like ours. A more critical conclusion is that a crowd inhibits opportunities to be known or loved. Is there any chance we have to own this one?

Large churches often get caught up in feeding the monster. "Feeding the monster" is the constant temptation to try to out due the last thing. Larger churches are often known for polished worship sets and extraordinary holiday and special event services. Pull off a great weekend or a jaw dropping Christmas Eve service and the next question is, "How are we going to top that?" Unfortunately, try we do.

But the most sober question that went through my mind today was this one: Is it possible that we're a big fat church that doesn't need God anymore?

There's never a shortage of demands our staff and leaders. My own 'to do' list is never ending. There are weekend services to prepare for, people to care for, meetings to attend, and budgets to prepare. This is the world of large church.

But what are we doing that requires radical dependence on God and His Spirit? If my 'to do' list doesn't drop me to my knees and draw me to prayer, maybe most of my list is goofy.

So that's what I'm thinking about today. What's our church engaged in that requires radical dependence? Want to pray into that with me? Only one rule: It can't be a building program!