Bradford Baptist Church

Welcome to E-votional; thoughts about life, faith and spirituality.  (I was recently away being trained as a chaplain with the Canadian Armed Forces and was unable to produce an E-votional during that time.)

Now here is an interesting story:

PATNA, India (Reuters) – A rich 80-year-old Indian widow has spent thousands of dollars on a feast for 100,000 people in the hope it would please the gods and open the doors of heaven for her, local officials said. People from surrounding villages and towns were fed lunch over two consecutive days by Phuljharia Kunwar, who lives in the eastern state of Bihar and has no family or relatives. Kunwar spent $37,500 on the feast. Local officials said she spent lavishly on the meal because she had no one to bequeath her property. “She told us she could now begin her final journey and her soul could rest in peace in heaven,” Ajay Kumar Bulganin, a local lawmaker who attended the feast, held over Wednesday and Thursday, said. “She was worried that no one would care about throwing a feast after her death.”

As I read this a number of thoughts came to me.  The first is how thankful I am that we do not need to ‘appease’ the gods for our salvation.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

The second thought was, even though we do not need to ‘appease’ the gods what are we doing to ‘please’ our God.  God’s love for us is faithful and unchanging but our actions can and do please or displease Him.

But the thing David had done displeased the LORD. 2 Samuel 11:27b (NIV)

The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 1 Kings 3:10 (NIV)

Have you ever made plans to do something simply because you knew it would please someone you loved?  What plans are you making simply because you know it will please your God? 

Finally, I was left with the thought, what things are we doing for God that would get recognized by the community?  What this woman from India did not only cost her significantly, but it blessed her neighbours and ended up being known half way around the world.  What are we doing for the sake of serving our God that would gain such a reputation?

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)

Some ‘Indian’ food for thought.

 It was a great question.

When I arrived at my office on Monday morning I received an email from someone who had attended our service on Sunday morning.  The email had one question;

“I just have a quick question, besides the 10 commandments what exactly does obedience to God mean?”

Great question, and as I think you can tell our theme on Sunday was obedience.  What makes this question great is if we can answer this one how different all our lives would be.  Not only our lives, but our families, communities and our country. 

Couple of things regarding obedience.  One is to know God’s word – the Bible.  In the Psalms we read;

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalms 119:11 (NIV)

Our hearts are the seat of our will and emotions.  What this means is we have made God’s word a very part of who we are.  Scripture tells us to ‘guard our hearts’ (Proverbs 4:23) because everything of life comes out of it.  If we are to know what pleases and displeases God we must be regularly consuming His word. 

After 23 years of marriage I have an idea of what some of my wife’s likes and dislikes are.  If I brought her breakfast in bed I know she would like that.  But if I brought her a fresh fruit cup of nothing but cantaloupe and honey dew melon, the whole breakfast in bed thing would lose its lustre because I know she dislikes those two melons. (If you are a producer of these two, please do not take this personally!)  Knowing my wife’s likes and dislikes makes it much easier to please her.  Knowing God’s likes and dislikes makes it much easier to please Him. 

Next, Jesus was basically asked the same question when He was asked what the greatest commandment was.  His answer;

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)

Simply put, a life that is obedient to God is one that demonstrates love to Him and love to others in everything we do, say or think.

So now you have the answer to the great question.   The issue is not knowing the answer, but living out the answer.

(To listen to the Sunday message click on Audio Sermons, “Why Does This Always Happen To Me?”)

  It was the perfect storm for church attendance.  This past Sunday we had three events all converge on one day, any one of them would affect attendance.  They were; 1. The first Sunday of the March Break.  Many families had headed south to try and find some sun and warmth.  2. We set our clocks ahead which means we lost an hour of sleep and for those who forget to do so the night before they would not make it to church in time.  3. We had what has been called the worst storm of the season the day before.  Almost 40cm of snow fell the day before and did not end until the wee hours of Sunday morning.  As a result only the few and the brave (and those who could get themselves dug out) came Sunday morning.  The message that Sunday; ‘Don’t let the Red Sea determine where you go’. We are doing a study in the book of Exodus and we had arrived at the story of the Red Sea (Exodus 13:17-14:31).  In the Red Sea story we see the nation of Israel facing a huge obstacle (which God had led them to!) and being faced with a choice.  Continue on where God wants us to go, though it looks difficult or turn around and surrender to bondage once again.  We looked at how, when we are faced with an obstacle in our lives, we often let the obstacle determine what we do. 

It appears I needed to listen to my own message.  The ‘perfect storm of attendance’ was an obstacle for that day.  When so few came it was easy to think of other things to do.  Should we cancel the service?  Should we all just go out for breakfast?   Should we go down to Tim Horton’s and have coffee (my personal favourite).  But my sense was God had the message for that day and so He must have purpose in it.  So we pushed on, going in the direction I believe God wanted us to go.  Raise the staff and part the sea as it were.  As a result two people have said how applicable the message was to their lives right at that moment.  But see God knew that (and when you consider how few were there, two is a pretty high percentage!)

What obstacle are you facing in your life right now?  Don’t let that obstacle determine where you go.  Jesus said it this way;

“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 (NIV)

A mountain was always an obstacle when traveling.  In ancient times when a king planned a trip workers would be dispatched to level the ground and remove any obstacles.  God says;

 ”Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.” Isaiah 57:14 (NIV)

Sometimes God will bring obstacles in our path to test us but ultimately His plan is to see us cross our Red Sea.  Sunday’s obstacle may seem rather insignificant compared to what you are facing but the principle is still the same, go where God wants you to go, don’t let the obstacle determine where you go.

As an aside, it is unfortunate that all those people who went south, suffering the ill effects of the sun, avoiding the snowstorm of the year, missed hearing the message.  No really, I’m not bitter!

  As I sit here watching yet another snow storm settle across the region knowing that the lovely white stuff will all need to be shovelled I cannot help but think of warmer places.  And as powerful as the imagination is, it is no substitute for the real thing. I recall nine years ago taking my first trip to Florida with my family.  It was -10C when we left and by the time we stopped for the night it was +10C.  What a wonderful change, then reaching our final destination at +28C.  Okay, how soon can we pack our bags!!

I remember one particular night there, it was a clear night, we were walking along the beach playing games, chasing one another, collecting shells, it was just such a wonderful moment I simply thanked the Lord for the experience and I can remember thinking “I just want to stay right here.”  Have you ever had one of those moments where you just want time to stand still? 

Three of Jesus’ disciples had just such an experience, but a million times more intense. 

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Matthew 17:1-3 (NIV)

On top of all of this we are told that they heard the voice of God speaking directly to them.  Yes, this was one of those moments – to the extreme.  What was the disciples’ response? 

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters-one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Matthew 17:4 (NIV)

I know how you feel Peter.  An experience like that would have me wanting to construct something permanent and just stay where I am.  This is wonderful; I do not need anything more than this in my life.  Even sitting here looking at this snowstorm, their experience definitely beats Florida. 

What was Jesus’ response – it was time to move on, down the mountain and right into the battle.  One of the dangers of wonderful experiences, and especially wonderful spiritual experiences is that they can become points of getting us stuck, of not moving on.  I want to sit and soak in this experience but if we do, we can get left behind because Jesus has already headed off into the next battle. 

If I had stayed on that beach in Florida with my family what kind of life would we be living now?  Images of Tom Hanks in Castaway come to mind.  We might all be sitting around talking to a volleyball.  Those ‘mountain top’ experiences are wonderful refreshing moments, moments of great insight and revelation but there is a hurting needy world just at the bottom of that mountain who desperately need the Lord.  And since today Christ is ‘in us’, they desperately us. 

Have you constructed any shelters in your life that have actually led to you being stuck?  Maybe it is time to do a little demolition work and head out to where you are needed. 

It’s the thought that counts…

Can you recall having to be taught this lesson back when you were young? Or possibly you have children of your own and as you have watched your child open a particularly ‘unusual’ gift you realized you should have reiterated this concept simply by seeing the expression on their face. It’s the thought that counts…

I can even remember needing to remind myself of this when I received a gift a little while back. Now, I knew it was a nice gift but I also knew it would most likely find a permanent resting place in my garage. Each time I look at it now I must remind myself, it’s the thought that counts…

Then there is that particular (read ‘unusual’) relative who has the great ability to remind us of this axiom annually. For us growing up it was the relative who gave my teenaged sister a new frilly apron every year. It would join the collection of the other unused frilly aprons. (Please take under advisement if giving frilly aprons!)

Then again it is not easy to find that perfect gift. And really, let’s be honest, how many of us can remember everything that everyone gave us last year? For those of us who can’t even remember where our keys are right now, remembering even one gift may prove challenging. We know certain people did give us gifts but at this point it really does come down to the fact that, it is the thought that counts…

As we look at the true meaning of Christmas, as we think about the supreme giver of gifts and as we consider the greatest of all gifts we must also understand the thought behind it. God had planned to give us the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ for a long time. He looked forward to it with great anticipation. He had been thinking about it for a long time. The thought that really counts in this gift is how much God loves us. Here is what the Bible says;

“Long before God laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.” Ephesians 1:4-6 (The Message)

It is my hope that this Christmas you will take time to consider the greatest of all gifts and the magnificent thought behind it.

Welcome to the weekly E-votional; thoughts about life, faith and spirituality.

This past Sunday my oldest son donned his uniform and headed off to a Remembrance Day ceremony with the rest of his unit. He has been a member of the Canadian Forces since last February training with the Reserves.

Last February we attended his Canadian Armed Forces Swearing-in Ceremony. There were 34 recruits, all of whom promised to protect Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors. At the end of the session, an officer spoke directly to the recruits and told them that as of now they function under a different law. Their laws come from the Department of National Defence whereas civilians’ laws are mandated from Parliament (or more to the point, our courts!) The recruits were told that if they showed up the next day in the wrong clothes, wearing jewellery other than what is allowed, hair not cut right, they can be thrown in jail! That seems harsh to me. But I’ve never lived a soldier’s life. Every time he puts on his uniform he is, in a way, a different person. He is no longer a civilian, he is a soldier.

It got me thinking about our walk with Jesus. In scripture our walk is often described in military terms;

So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light… Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Romans 13:12,14 (NIV)

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:11 (NIV)

So we put on a new uniform and once in that uniform we operate under a different law;

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2 (NIV)

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 (NIV)

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ then you are a different person, wearing a new uniform and operating under a different law.

But my son came home Sunday took off his uniform and became a civilian again until the next time he puts on the uniform. I wonder how many of us try to live our lives like this. We put on our uniform Sunday but once we get home we take it off and go back to the old way of life. How’s your uniform looking today?