Letters from Christ

 2 Corinthians 3:3 says that as a Christian, 'you are a letter from Christ...not written with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.'

What a beautiful picture!  And what a great responsibility!

God uses our lives to share His message to the world. We are sealed with the stamp of Jesus on our lives.  This seal is not just at face value, it should dictate who we are from all aspects of our life.

Does the way you live clearly state God's message to those around you? 
Is the content of your letter in line with God's nature, His Holiness, His love?
Do you write your letter boldly or is it faint and unreadable?
Do you write your letter consistently or are there large gaps between messages?
What does God want to say through your life today?

The Power of God's Promises

 I saw a video that showed a bird with its feet frozen to a pole.  A kind man saved it by holding it still and blowing softly on its feet.  His warm breath was all that was needed to release the bird.

What a beautiful picture for us!

How often are we frozen in fear, paralyzed by hurts and emotional hang-ups?  Yet God is right there holding us still and breathing His promises on our life that will release us from our prison.

What promises do you need to hear today?  

Compassion International has thoughtfully provided many promises in scripture in one place: https://www.compassionuk.org/blogs/gods-promises/ 

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

Seeking God's Face

Seeking the Lord means seeking his presence. “Presence” is a common translation of the Hebrew word “face.” To be before God's face is to be in his presence.

When you look at someone's face you see how they feel - what makes them laugh, what hurts them.  When you study someone's face you learn about them and get to know them.

Often we don't seek God's face.  We seek His hands.  We look for what He will do for us, not who He is.  We want handouts based on our own understanding - things that we think will make us happy.  We are more interested in gifts than the giver.  We don't realize that being in the presence of God, seeing His face is better than anything we could ask for.

In the Old Testament King Ahaz reigned over Judah (2 Kings 16).  As King he should have been seeking God's Face.  Instead, he went elsewhere and saw what other people were doing and how they were serving other gods.  He brought the pattern of these foreign altars back and made them in God's temple.  He moved God's altar out of the way and used the ones he made for everything.  Well, everything except one thing - he would use God's altar to ask for things.  

Do we do that?  Do we think we've got life covered so we move God out of the way?  Do we put Him on hold until we need Him?  And when we need Him do we ask Him for things that we want, rather than what He wants?  

We need to distinguish between whether we are seeking God's Face or His hands.  We need to be saddened by what He is saddened by, enjoy what He enjoys, see the world as He sees it.  This can only be done when we seek His face.  

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 

You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Psalm 27:8 

Unexpected Problems

 Last week I had an unexpected event.

I was doing the dishes when the hot water pipe under the sink broke.  

I would like to say that I handled this problem with calm and poise...but...honestly, there was a lot of yelling and running around.  I did manage to turn off the water main quickly and then mitigated the damage to the kitchen, but it wasn't pretty.  

Events like this happen to us all the time.  Problems that come without warning...things that you need to deal with immediately or there will be consequences...things that you can't blame someone else for (yes, the pipe broke and maybe we could blame the manufacturer...but that's a pretty distant blame!).  

As Christians we have spiritual problems popping up as well.  So how do we deal with those type of problems well?  I'll use my Water Problem as an example.

1. Notice there's a problem! 
When the water pipe broke I actually thought it was the A/C unit having an issue.  It wasn't until I turned off the A/C that I heard water running - then saw the evidence coming out the kitchen sink.  
Spiritual Application: It is tough to have spiritual eyes to see a problem in our lives, that is why it is good to have others around us who know the Lord and can point out issues with love and compassion.

2. Stop the Source of the Problem.
I turned off the water main but I could have turned off the water right under the sink.  I had forgotten that handle was there and it caused the water to run longer. 
Spiritual Application: Spiritually speaking, when we know how to halt sinful thoughts, pray over fear and listen to God's voice we actually stop an issue before it harms us.  It is amazing how powerful worship, prayer and spending time with God is for our spiritual well-being.  

3. Care for Vulnerable and Affected Areas. 
I stopped the spread of the water throughout the kitchen. I used towels to sop up water that was near walls and cabinets that would be damaged with long exposure.  
Spiritual Application: The fallout from a spiritual problem could affect relationships, attitudes and even physical health.  Spending time restoring those areas will help mitigate lasting damage.

4. Don't be Afraid to ask for help. 
I did call Dom to tell him what happened and make sure I was on the right track with my response.  He came home to help and I showed him all the things I noticed as I was cleaning.  He had expertise that I didn't and I was happy to let him take over. 
Spiritual Application: Looking at spiritual problems, God has designed the Church as a community of believers that help each other out in times of trouble.  Each of us have peaks and valleys in our spiritual walk and shouldn't be too proud to ask for prayer or support when we need it.

5. Give it Time.
We ended up using a heavy-duty bouncy castle fan to dry off the hardest hit areas.  We left it running for a couple of days to stop mould from building up in areas we couldn't see.
Spiritual Application: We hope that problems can be fixed with a one-stop shop mentality, where we pray and it's dealt with.  But problems don't always work that way.  They creep out again and again if they haven't been dealt with properly.  Take the time to heal and to get the support you need.  This goes back to the pride issue because we somehow think to be weak isn't acceptable.  

I'm sure there's much more to consider when dealing with problems, whatever type they are, but I hope that there is value in realizing that God gives us little examples like my water pipe to help us see our way through those larger problems.  I'm happy to say that our kitchen is dry, we have a new hot water pipe and there wasn't any lasting damage!

Legacy Builders

 Last week I went to Camp Aush-Bik-Koong.  Normally I would be serving at the Junior Girl's Outpost Camp but because of Covid things are a little different.  Instead I helped finish a couple of work projects.  It was odd to see the place so empty.  

As I was there one thing hit home with me.  

The importance of legacy building.  

At Outpost there is a lighthouse that was 'built' by campers a couple years ago.  I say 'built' because it was really Richard Brohart who cut all of the wood and constructed the pieces. All the girls needed to do was paint it and enjoy the final result.  But they got to leave their names on this construction as a part of the build all the same.  

Outpost Lighthouse

Isn't that the way it works with God?  He gives us His truth, salvation through Jesus, directions on how to love and serve Him, directions on how to have compassion for others, a position in a family, a position in the community and then asks us to build a legacy with the things he's provided and enjoy the result.  

But what does it mean to build a legacy?

In Joshua 4:1-7 God told each tribe of Israel to place stones together as a memorial.  Why?  It says, When your children ask in the future, 'what do those stones mean?' then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord...so these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever."  

The stones became a legacy of God's salvation when Israel needed it.  They were a reminder of what He had done for them and all who saw those stones remembered.

Our lives are to be used as a reminder of what God has done.  Every time we forgive, every time we love our enemies or respond to a hard situation with hope we are building a legacy that points others to Jesus.  The world won't understand it, they will end up asking, 'what does it mean?' and hear the good news of Jesus' love for them.

So how are you building your legacy today?

 

Raccoons and Joy Stealers

Last week Dom and I heard some noise from our neighbour's house during the night.

Only...they weren't home.

So we went to investigate and found a family of raccoons rummaging around looking for food.  There were 6 babies with their mother!

The eyes of the Raccoon family on our neighbour's fence

Raccoons are incredible scavengers and will take whatever they can get.  They are more of a pest for us as they make a mess when they go through the trash (even if they are pretty cute).  We put bricks on top of our garbage can and can see scratches all around the plastic lid from their efforts to get in.  They will steal whatever we leave out and keep coming back if they find unprotected food sources.

As Christians we have to watch out for spiritual scavengers that can steal our joy in the same way.  Right now we are living in a time where we are bombarded with bad news.  Worry can grow as we focus on the situation we are in.  Worry can lead to doubt and fear which will eat away at the peace and joy that Christ gave us.

So how do we protect our joy?

Jesus tells us this: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." (John 15:9-11)

Jesus did the work for us already - we just have to stay with Him.  What a relief!  He has set up protection that nothing can get past with His love.  When we abide with Him we stay under His protection.  When we understand the love of God for us, by really seeing that it is personal, it is direct, it is tangible, it is beyond anything we can think of or experience, it is given to us for always, it is REAL...then we see that God is here! God is with us while we are in this situation and that is something to be joyful about!

When you start to worry, choose joy!  Choose to abide in God's love!

Regular Maintenance

Dom and I went on a motorcycle camping trip last weekend...we had all of our camping gear and clothes strapped to the bikes and rode without any weather protection (except the tent).  One night we had a downpour for just 5 minutes and ended up getting all of our gear soaked.  It really was the most vulnerable moment as our tent was out but not set up!  We figured it out and were able to get things dry (sacrificing one of Dom's t-shirts by using it to sop up all of the water).

All told we rode over 1,000 km!  A couple days we rode for 6 hours straight through back roads and high heat...those were tiring days. 

At one point we took a ferry.  We were sitting on a curb on the boat directly in front of my bike.  Dom started to look at my foot brake as it was at eye level.  He was checking various parts when a bolt came off in his hand.  Dom checked all of the bolts holding the brake and foot pedal to the bike and all of them were loose.  Thankfully he had brought an emergency tool kit for this type of thing and tightened everything up. 

Considering how loose everything was it wouldn't have been surprising if that section of my bike fell off during the trip.  We thanked the Lord for protecting me and kept on riding.

Our bikes on the Ferry

Dom figured that the bolts loosened over time from vibrations of the road as the bike was ridden. These bolts might have been loose when we bought the bike last fall!   It shows the importance of regular maintenance.   

As Christians we need regular maintenance as well. 

There was a time when Jesus washed his disciples' feet (John 13:1-17).

6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean”

This exchange gives us a guide on how to apply regular maintenance to our Christian Faith.  When we have accepted Jesus as Lord of our life we have become clean completely, which is the bath that Jesus spoke of. This is permanent cleansing and only happens once.  When Jesus washed his disciples' feet he washed the part of them that was in contact with the road - the dust of travel.  Even though we, as Christians are saved we continue to live in a sinful world, which means we come in contact with sin and it affects our attitude, our worship, our faith.  It is true that nothing can separate us from God after we've put our faith in Him, but we need to take care that we don't let dirt from the world settle permanently on us or in the end there won't be a difference between us and the world.  We are told to "work out your salvation in fear and trembling, since it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13) 

Right before Jesus gave his disciples this object lesson they had been arguing about who among them was better.  This attitude was destructive and was getting their feet spiritually dirty.  Jesus showed them a way to love and serve with humility by providing an example, and then told them to do the same to each other. 

Jesus gave many examples of ways to stay pure and all of them start with communing with Him and serving each other. Can you say that you apply the examples Jesus gave in your Christian walk?  How do you keep your spiritual feet clean? 

Chased by the Storm

Sunday was a stormy day.

Dom and I had expected to go for a ride but it started to rain in the morning.

Dom and I waiting for the storm to let up.

The sun came out in the afternoon so we took our chances and rode to a public beach about a half an hour away. 

Then the sky grew dark and we realized there was an angry cloud between us and home to the east of us and it seemed to be getting larger by the minute.

We started down a gravel road hoping to skirt the storm and race ahead of it.  As we went down that road the sun disappeared, the wind picked up, the temperature dropped and we started to get hit with large drops of rain.  We turned around and amazingly broke free of the storm.  We went further south and then tried another road to the east of us.

This road had potential!

We were right on the fringe of the storm and could see lightning to the left of us and in front of us, we could also see curtains of rain gradually making their way across our line of sight.  Dom kept us moving eastward, taking any southern roads that took us where we wanted to go.

At one point we were caught.  The storm came over us from the left side and pelted us with rain and wind.  We just had to get to the next turn-off and we would be moving southward on the final stretch!  We made it and raced in front of the storm!

In the rear-view mirrors I couldn't see anything behind me, just a haze of rain, but we stayed relatively dry up until arriving at home.  It was barely a minute after we were inside the house when the rain reached us.

I believe most of us would try to avoid a storm like that and find it a success if we got home safely without getting wet - especially on motorcycles.  But sometimes we can't avoid storms in life and if we're not prepared for them when they hit, we suffer.

In the Old Testament Daniel and his two friends headed straight into a storm when they decided to not bow to King Nebuchadnezzar's image, giving glory to God even when it meant they would be given the death penalty and thrown into a furnace (Daniel 3). The King even gave them a second chance to bow down and he'd forget about their rebellion.  They didn't take it.

So they were thrown into the furnace and the people that threw them in died of the heat.  But Daniel and his two friends were fine.  The King and his servants saw a fourth man with Daniel and his friends.  They said that 'the appearance of the fourth was like a son of the gods.' (Daniel 3:25). 

That's what we need to remember.  God is present with us as we go through the storms of life.  And when we focus on Him the storm doesn't seem as great.  It doesn't mean the storm will end, it just means we can face it with Someone who is greater than it.

Daniel and his friends stayed in that furnace with God until the King called them out.  They didn't try to escape the furnace.  They stayed with God in the furnace.  When they did come out 'the fire had no effect on their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, nor their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come on them.' (Daniel 3:27)  We need to realize that it is better to be in a storm with God than try to escape the storm without God.  He will always be greater than the storm.

Spatial Awareness & Context

About a week ago when Dom and I were out on a ride, we had an experience with three tweens on bicycles.

We were in a residential area but still on a main road that had traffic.  These three young people were in the opposing lane of traffic right in front of a blind curve.  This alone would be dangerous for them, however, one of the three decided to move over into our lane.  Now they were all over the road.  Dom had passed them without any problems and I was coming through.  That was when one young girl decided it was time for her to casually go in front of me without looking.  I mean... I'm making a lot of noise!  Anyway, I slowed down and she decided to go back into the opposing lane just as casually.  I got past them without any issues but it left me shaking my head.

Now I know I shouldn't be the one to talk about spatial awareness...I am known to cut off people in grocery stores...but there's a limit.  These tweens had two problems.  They didn't have spatial awareness of what was around them, but they also didn't understand or blatantly refused to follow the context that they were in, that being the rules of the road.  Sadly, they probably will continue to have issues with these two problems until someone gets hurt.

In the same vein, we as Christians need to be spatially aware and understand the context we are in or our faith will be hurt.  We need to be spatially aware of the dangers around us that would hinder our faith or even cause us to sin.  Just blindly going where we please shows we don't respect the Will of God or the Word of God and will cause us to be on a collision course with something that could cause us pain.  Just because we don't see it coming doesn't mean we are safe.  God gave us His Word for a reason and we shouldn't ignore it.

We also need to understand the context of our life, that we are Sons and Daughters of God that are here for His purposes in a world that doesn't accept God's truths.  We don't go to the world for help as there isn't any help there.  We go to Jesus, because He has given us a way to be saved and provided promises for us to live by that give us a full picture of who we are in Him.  Acts 4:11-12 says "This Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."  If the world rejects Jesus, that means it has also rejected the only way to be saved and doesn't understand the context of life.

Are you spatially aware of the dangers and pitfalls around you?  How do you stay aware and awake as you go through your day?  Do you see a difference in how you live from understanding Jesus' sacrifice for you?  How does knowing the full picture help you?

Philippians 2:12-16
"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.  Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life"