The Great and Wonderful One

You are being pursued by an evil and unrelenting monster. This monster is called Darkness and its tools are sin and death. This monster is much larger, quicker and powerful than you. You can and will fall victim to it under your own ignorance of its plot. This monster is smart. It lays out bait in the form of desires to lure you in, to fatten you up, and to slow you down with a burdensome load. Unknowingly, you collect these baits. You indulge in them freely, you consume them greedily, and you carry them along in case you find a use for them later on. In fact, you have loaded up your pockets with as much bait as you can and you have filled bags up and carry them along with you as well. From the sidelines, the monster watches in wait as the bait you have accepted makes you sluggish and distracted. You unknowingly continue preparing yourself to be the victim of this monster.

You have heard of a Great and Wonderful One. Others have spoken of Him as the One who has never consumed from the desires laid out by Darkness. These others collect the desires left as bait in wooden baskets and you rarely see one of them consume any of it. In fact, these others often encourage those consuming the desires to stop and look for The Great and Wonderful One, though many choose not to.

Suddenly, the Great and Wonderful One approaches you. With urgency and conviction, He says to you “My little one, you are in great danger. You are being stalked by Darkness that wishes to overcome and consume you!” The Great and Wonderful One tells you that He, and only He, can save you from this monster. However, you must stop picking at and consuming these desires that you have found and instead follow Him!

With a great startle, you stop picking up the bait that has been laid out for you and feel compelled to listen to His advice. You begin following the Great and Wonderful One who says He will lead you to safety. At first, the path He leads you upon is easy to follow. It seems often travelled and it inclines just ever so slightly. However, your journey on this path does not last long. The Great and Wonderful One leads you off of the first stretch of path and on to one that is much narrower and a little steeper. You suddenly realize that you find yourself losing sight of the One who is leading you.

 He calls out to you from ahead, “Drop your bags of desire little one! You cannot carry such a burdensome load and keep up with Me at the same time.”

You look to the left and see to the side of the path a large ditch filled with bags of bait similar to the very bags you are carrying. Reluctantly at first, you take the bags off of your shoulder and throw them into the pile.

“Great and Wonderful One”, you reply, “I am not the first you have led on this path.”

 “No, my little one, many have allowed me to lead them this way before you. Come now, we must continue on.”

Feeling a little lighter, you continue along where He leads you. As you continue along the path, it continues to grow narrower and steeper. You find that the bait that you have filled your pockets with is becoming uncomfortable. You also notice a familiar feeling in your stomach. You have not indulged in any of these desires since you first met the One who leads you. You reach in to your pocket and pull some out to look at it. Your hunger for some of these desires overcomes you and you put one to your mouth. Instantly, your mouth is filled with a bitterness you have never experienced and your stomach turns sour. These desires that you had held in such high value suddenly seem more of a burden than a blessing. You notice as you walk along the path that it is littered with similar looking desires that other people have abandoned before you.

“Great and Wonderful One, the path is littered with old desires. Why have so many desires been left on this path by others before me?”

He replies sweetly, “Many have found the desires they held most dearly to before this path have become a hindrance in their ability to follow Me. Some have held onto them so dearly that they have turned back down the path to collect fresh desires only to be consumed by Darkness. Others have decided to leave their old desires here and continue following me. I cannot make that decision for you.”

You turn to look down the path from where you came. Down at the bottom, you see a fresh pile of desires, many of them more wonderful looking than those you remember collecting previously. You also notice something you had never noticed beforehand. Just beyond the bait at the bottom of the path, you see Darkness for the first time. The hideousness of the monster sends shivers down your spine. How could something so terrible have been supplying you with desires so alluring?

Giving one last look at the bait in your hands, you scatter it along the path handful by handful as you continue behind the One who leads you. You still have a pain in your stomach and wish for something to satisfy your hunger. Suddenly, the Great and Wonderful One turns to you and reaches into His own pocket.

“What you have done is good”, He says. “It isn’t until you abandon the desires you have collected on your own that you are able to accept the desires that I have to offer you.”

He pulls from his pocket a single desire that is larger and more beautiful than any other you have ever seen.

 “Here, my little one. I have been waiting to give you this!”

 You reach out your hand and carefully take the desire from His. As you hold it up to your mouth, its aroma fills your senses with pleasure. One bite confirms that never before has anything sweeter and more satisfying been consumed by you. As you quickly finish off what the One has given to you, he speaks.

 “My little one, this is not the end of our journey. Darkness still pursues you. Thankfully, you have relinquished your old desires and this journey has made you leaner and stronger. If you can keep up with me, the monster will not overtake you.”

You feel like a new being. The path continues to become narrower and what was once a walk is now more of a climb, but you are able to stay within a distance to be able to see and hear the One.  Suddenly, the Great and Wonderful one comes to a plateau. When you catch up to Him, you see He is resting under a tree. The tree is filled with desires just like the ones you have collected your entire life. He stands and picks one off of the tree and hands it to you. It is as sweet and satisfying as the first desire that He gave to you on the path.

“Great and Wonderful One, why have you brought me here?” you ask.

 He begins pulling more desires from the tree and placing them in His pockets.

“I needed you to see that the desires placed as bait by Darkness come from the same tree as the desires that I give out. The difference is who they come from and what they are used for. The desires I hand out are given to strengthen you and to build a relationship between you me. I only give you the desires that you need and you are ready for. As for Darkness, it freely leaves out desires for anyone to consume. The monster ensures that there are more desires available for you to take than you should ever have. They become a trap to make you more vulnerable when the monster comes to take you and devour you.”

“I have consumed so many of those desires, Great and Wonderful One. Many more than I should have!”

 You hang your head in disgrace.  

“I did not bring you here to condemn you, my little one! I have come to show you the Way! You are to leave this place and do my work.” He hands you a wooden crate and says, “Here! You are to go and collect desires that Darkness has set as bait but do not consume them! Instead, you are to bring them back to me here and lay them at my feet. When you return to me, I will always supply you with the desires you need.”

“What about darkness? Does it not still pursue me?

“Darkness will always pursue you but it has no power over you as long as your desires come only from me. Only if you continue to partake of the desires that the monster sets as bait will Darkness be powerful enough to overcome you. Now go, my little one, and do my work. Collect desires that have been left out as bait and bring them to me. Also, tell others of the Great and Wonderful One who does not consume the desires left out as bait. Tell them to look for me so that I can lead them here as well.”

As you head down the path and begin collecting the bait left out by the monster, you realize that it no longer has the same appeal to you. In fact, as you pick it up and place it in the basket that the Great and Wonderful One gave to you, a tear rolls down your cheek in sadness for those who are still collecting and consuming the bait left as a trap by Darkness. You vow to not fall victim to those desires again and to tell others of the Great and Wonderful One who can supply all the desires you will ever need.

Mike

Who am I?

I grew up thinking I was a Pentecostal. I grew up in a Christian family that went to a church affiliated with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. I'm not sure at what point I would have started identifying myself as a Pentecostal but it would likely have been around the same time that I became aware that there were other Christians who weren't Pentecostal. Probably around my early preteen years I became aware that there were Baptists, Methodists, Anglicans, Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians, etc.... "What?!?!? Not every Christian is a Pentecostal? Why Not?" Those were the innocent thoughts of a growing boy exposed to the division of the Christian faith.

 I don't recall ever being outright told that Pentecostals were better Christians than the Christians from other denominations but it always felt like an unspoken acknowledgement between the Pentecostals and it has likely been the same within other denominations.  "Those Pentecostals are a little crazy"..."Those Baptists are too conservative"..."Those Catholics are too religious"..."Obviously the (insert your denomination here) church has gotten it right and everybody else should learn from us!" While the branches of the church can be divided into four main groups (Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican and Protestant), these four main branches branch out further into an estimated 44,000 different denominations worldwide today, in 2013. That is up from an estimated 500 different denominations around the year 1800.(1) Some of these denominations get along well with each other and share very similar beliefs. Some do not at all. At some point, some Christians stood up and said "Hey, this division by denomination is not healthy for the church as a whole and isn't the way Jesus intended for His followers to behave!" Cue the end of denominational affiliations...

I'm not sure when the whole "Interdenominational" and "Nondenominational" church movement started but I'm quite certain that it was started by those who were tired of being placed within a specific bubble of Christianity. The problem that has arisen from the lack of official denominational affiliations is that you often end up with a church full of people who came from different denominational backgrounds and therefore have slightly different beliefs. These differences in beliefs eventually pop up and create challenging times for a church body. The biggest problem is that   "Interdenominational" and "Nondenominational" have become their own category. All the denominations look at the non-denominated thinking "they don't even know what they believe!"

It almost brings me to tears to think about how divided we have become. We are meant to be unified in bringing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus to those who need it and we are often too busy disagreeing over our differences. I'm not sure what the solution is to bring healing to the body of believers that we call the church. I do know that we need to focus on that one aspect that ties all Christians together. Jesus. Every single one of us that has heard and accepted the truth of Jesus Christ as our Lord and saviour can be tied back to one simple charge given to the eleven disciples by Christ Himself:

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:16-20 NKJV)

 

 

Every one of us can trace back our relationship with Christ from today all the way back to the day that Jesus gave this command to His own disciples . The disciples went and made more disciples, who went and made more disciples, who went and made more disciples. You may be wondering, what is a disciple? The term "disciple" is derived from the Koine Greek word mathetes, which means a pupil (of a teacher) or an apprentice (to a master craftsman) The Latin word is discipulus meaning a learner. I choose to devote my life to being a student of the teachings of Jesus. I want to learn His ways and follow in His footsteps.

 

I am not a Pentecostal

I am not a Baptist

I am not a Methodist

I am not an Anglican

I am not a Catholic

I am not a Lutheran

I am not a Calvinist

I am not an Armenian

I am not a Reformist

I am not a Protestant...

 

I am a DISCIPLE and

I am affiliated with JESUS

 

 

I choose to leave it at that!

Much Love,

Mike

 

(1) http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/StatusOfGlobalMission.pdf

The Firstfruits

What is meant by the term firstfruits? To put it simply, “firstfruits” is a biblical term for the first of something. In Old Testament times, firstfruits were literally the first of a crop. Before the Israelites were able to keep and consume any of their crops, they were instructed to give to the Lord. Doing so was a demonstration of obedience and also of trust. Something terrible could very well have happened to the rest of their crop before they would get to harvest or use it. They were choosing to trust that God would continue to provide for their needs. This firstfruit principle was used for animals as well. The firstborn of an animal was to be given to the Lord. Again, this showed obedience and trust. Perhaps that animal would never give birth again. Firstborn sons were even to be given to the Lord! The cry of the Israelite’s heart was meant to be “everything I have belongs to you, Lord”.

What the firstfruits were NOT is leftovers. God did NOT say to the Israelites, “I will provide everything you need in abundance. When you have gotten enough, please give back to me whatever is left”. They did not give the runts of their animals to God, nor did they give God old animals that were way past their prime.  Their trust in God was to be demonstrated by giving FIRST and trusting in His abundant provision after the fact. His commandment to Israel was “You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.” (Exodus 22:29-30)

Here is a revelation for you. God didn’t need their firstfruits.  Let that sink in.  This is the same God that provided millions of Israelites with manna and quail. He provided them with water from a rock. This is the same God that fed thousands with a little bit of fish and bread. Twice. God was not asking the Israelites to give Him their firstfruits for any reason other than it kept them in remembrance of the fact that it was given to them by God in the first place.

 The practice of this obedience is what allowed the writer of Proverbs to say “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine”. (Proverbs 3:9-10) The Israelites were aware of the connection between giving freely of firstfruits and being able to trust that God would provide more than enough.

Let us apply this to life today. God still desires our firstfuits. We don’t all have crops and a farm full of animals. What we do have is money, time, gifts etc... This brings forth some questions we need to ask ourselves. Are we giving God the firstfruits of our finances? Are tithes and offerings on the top of our monthly budgets? Are they even on our monthly budgets? We are living in a society where it is easy to believe that the money we make is what is providing for our needs. Is your money running out before your month? The world says get another job…or maybe a better job. God says “give me your firstfruits and you will have plenty”.  How about our time? Is our quiet time with God the most important part of our day? Or is it put to the side to make room for more “pressing things” like putting in an extra hour at work, getting the kids to their latest extracurriculars, or getting that extra little sleep? The giftings that are given to us from God are also something that we can give the firstfruits of. Are we using our gifts for God? Are we using them for our own enjoyment or personal advancement? Are we using them at all?

 So what happens if we forsake God of our firstfruits and use them to serve our own purposes? Joshua 24:20 says to the Israelites, “If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good”. That’s scary. I’m thinking God has been showing that He is surely “slow to anger” based on the fact that we are all even still here.

Here is another revelation for you. God does not need your firstfruits. Let it sink in. This is the God that created the universe, the earth…and you! He is simply drawing out of you that recognition that He is your provider. By giving your firstfruits to God, you are acknowledging His provision for you. You are saying to Him, “Lord, I realize that everything I am and everything I have is from you”. God doesn’t want our leftovers. He doesn’t want us to give Him the extra money we managed to scrounge up at the end of the month. He wants us to show us that when we give him our firstfruits of finances we won’t have to scrounge up at the end of the month.   He wants to show us that when we give Him the first 30 minutes of our day, we seem to have an extra hour at the end. He wants to show us that when we use our giftings for Him, He will bless us with more giftings.

I can’t explain how it works. I know that obedience in the giving of firstfruits in this day and age isn’t a small step. It’s more like a large leap. I know what God says though. He says “try Me”.  Literally.

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,

That there may be food in my house,

And try Me now in this,”

Says the Lord of hosts,

“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven

And pour out for you such a blessing

That there will not be room enough to receive it.”

(Malachi 3:10)

With Love,

Mike

Don't Worry!

 I understand anxieties! I understand the mental, physical and emotional strain that they can have on a person.  Just in case you aren’t sure exactly what anxiety is, here is a simple definition:

 

Anxiety - a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. 

Worry is something I remember feeling for most of my life so I assumed the way that I felt was normal. I remember relating to Telly Monster on Sesame Street. There was always something to fret about, to be unsure about how something was going to turn out.

As I got older, I realized that maybe the amount of time that I spent thinking on and worrying about things wasn’t normal. Sometimes it felt like my mind wouldn’t turn off and thoughts and ideas had free roam within my mind. Physically, as a teenager, I often felt sick to my stomach. This got severe enough that the doctor had me sent for some form of test on my stomach to see if I had an ulcer or any other condition that may have been making me feel this way. The test didn’t find anything! The doctor wrote it off to possibly acid reflux and gave me a prescription to help with the symptoms.

 

Life went on and I graduated high school. I got accepted to Fanshawe College for civil engineering. In my first year of college I made it to March break before I had a breakdown and withdrew from the course. I regrouped, married Carly that summer and got in to Fanshawe again, this time for Construction and Carpentry Techniques. This time I made it through my course, but not without quitting my after school job one month into the school year. The summer after, I remember searching for an answer to the ways that I was feeling…on the internet. In the 10 months since we had gotten married, I had quit 5 different jobs, I had stopped answering the phone, and I had stopped contact with all of my friends and lost interest in doing anything. The thought of going to work, having a conversation with anyone, even being out in public caused my heart rate to skyrocket and made me feel like I couldn't catch my breath. Then I found a website on anxiety. I remember calling Carly into the room and proclaiming "I know what's wrong with me! I have anxiety disorder!" And then I remember literally collapsing into her lap on the couch and sobbing like I never had before. 

 

I was fortunate to nail on the head where my issue lied. ANXIETIES! Unfortunately, I was not at that time in a great place with my relationship with God… so rather than turning to Him with these issues I made an appointment with my doctor. The doctor put me on medication and set me up with a counsellor to help me "sort through the underlying causes of my anxiety". I also turned to a book. Unfortunately, instead of the bible, it was a book called "feeling good".  I got a little better…for a little while… I went back to work at Kelsey's (where I had worked through high school and my first attempt at college) because I knew I could be comfortable there and I wanted to be comfortable. 

 

You will notice the questions in the mind of an anxious person are often focused on something or someone other than Christ.

 

E.g. "What am I supposed to do?"

        "How am I supposed to do that?"

        "Why is this happening to me?"

        "What should I say?"

         "What if they don't like me?"

What if, how, why…the limits of my mental vocabulary at the time!

 

I needed back then to be in the Word of God. Perhaps I would have read this: (Matthew 6:25-34)

 

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25-34 NKJV)

 

I realize now, anxiety is a symptom of you focusing on something other than the Gospel. “Seek FIRST the kingdom of God..." and your other worries will fade away. Anxiety shows your priorities. The things you are most worried about are the things you won’t be able to stop thinking about. By focusing firstly on God, secondly on others and then finally on yourself, you leave much less room for the waves of anxiety to well up within you.

 

“…And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”(Mark 12:30,31 NKJV)

(also Matthew 22:37-40 and Luke 10:27)

Jesus said it and it was important enough that it was recorded 3 times! Focus on loving God then focus on loving on others! Don’t worry about your needs first! He’ll make sure you have everything you need! Loving God with all that you are is so important. When you refuse to submit part of your life to God, He can’t use that part.

 

We weren't going to church at this point in time. We considered ourselves Christians but I know personally, I didn't pray enough and I didn't read the bible at all. I turned to the doctors and counsellors for answers and they had some. The problem was that the world’s answers for anxiety are focused on controlling symptoms. "There is no cure for anxiety" is what I was told. If I wanted to feel normal I would need antidepressants and I would need to practice breathing exercises and cognitive behavioral therapy.

 

The next 5 years were a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. One day, when I had a stomach bug, I got so upset about being sick that it resulted in an ambulance ride to the hospital. I thought I was dying. My arms, legs and face went numb. My hands were having spasms so bad that I couldn't control what they were doing.  I was so concentrated on trying to not be sick that I was unable to get my own body under control. On the ambulance ride, the guy in the back with me kept saying "just calm down buddy! You need to take deeper breaths and slow down your heart rate!" At the hospital they gave me some fluids and Gravol and I finally started to calm down as the Gravol made me sleepy. I realized rather quickly that it wasn't a stomach bug that sent me to the hospital. It was my first full-fledged panic attack. 

 

You see, your concentration of thoughts dictates how you feel and ultimately how you behave:

 

Thought ➡Emotion ➡ Attitude ➡ Behavior

 

If your thoughts are making you feel angry you will ultimately act out in anger. If your thoughts are making you sad, you will be the person who walks around with a grimace on your face and nothing positive to say.

 

Proverbs 27:19 says “As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.”

 

What this tells me is that if you do not have a Christ-like attitude you will not act Christ-like. If you are not seeing Christ-like behavior in your life it is likely that your thoughts are not Christ-like!

 

Eventually there came a point where the coaster ride hit such a low that I had nowhere else to turn but back to God. A little over two years ago I went through a time that shook me to the core and broke me so badly that I realized I needed to be earnestly seeking God. My cry might have been similar to that of Jonah’s in the belly of the whale.

 

He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’ “I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.” (Jonah 2:2-9 NLT)

 

Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you realize you’ve got it all wrong! “OK God! I finally get it!” If we are trying to control our anxieties by getting our own life in order we are attempting to clean up the mess that our thoughts make rather than training our thoughts to stop making the mess. This would be like having a water pipe exploding in your house and focusing on continually cleaning up the mess of water spilling out everywhere instead of going to turn off the water. The way to stop anxiety from affecting our lives is to allow God to show us where our focus should lay. It is talked about often in the Word:

 

 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. (Romans 7:24, 25 NKJV)

If Jesus is our deliverer, should our complete attention and focus not be on Him?

 

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1, 2 NKJV)

 

Our lives are to be sacrificed to God. We owe him nothing less than our entire devotion for the salvation He has offered through Jesus Christ.  That means we won’t be able to live our lives the way the world says we should. Trying to do so can only lead to conflicts of interest which in turn can only lead to more anxiety!

 

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6, 7 NKJV)

 

PRAY! If you don’t understand something or don’t know how something could possibly work out for good, give it to God to handle. Letting it  ruminate in your mind isn’t going to make it go away.

 

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2 NKJV)

 

When you are focused on God’s plan and His works, you have much less time to be focused on your own problems.

 

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8 NKJV)

 

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8, 9 NKJV)

 

I still have rough days! I have days where I become so focused on myself and my problems that I lose track of what God has set out for me that day. These are the days that I lose out on the opportunities to share what God has done in my life with someone or help someone who is in need. We need to realize that our anxieties are provoked by the flesh in our lives. When we remove the thoughts of the flesh from our mind we open ourselves up to the peace and life available through Jesus. It takes practice! We need to pray, we need to be in the Word of God, we need to be seeking the guidance of his Holy Spirit. We need to remember that it is only through Christ Jesus that we will find peace, joy, hope…and eternal life! Turn your focus to Him. Dedicate your life to His gospel and your problems will seem smaller and of much less importance in the grand scheme of things. This has been my journey. My lack of anxieties now has opened up my life for God to use in ways I never would have thought possible even two years ago! My hope and prayer is that if you struggle with worrying and anxiety, He can and will do the same for you.

 

God Bless,

Mike

Tightrope walking

This picture spoke to me the other night as I was looking for something to write on our chalk board. I keep a chalk board in the back hallway near the kitchen with a verse on it. Sometimes for memorization, others for encouragement. Although most of the kids cannot read yet, I hope to be in the habit of writing verses around our house for when they can.

 That night after I picked it out I had a dream/vision. I told Mike I'm not really sure which because in my half asleep state I don't know which it would qualify as haha! It was a person on a tightrope walking along. Now if that's not a narrow path I don't know what is! As I watched this person on the tightrope I thought about how one misstep and they would plummet to whatever was below. Then I thought about how us Christians treat our life.
Do we treat our narrow path like a tightrope?
Do we take our steps carefully?
Do we weigh where our feet go setting our eyes on the end of the road?
Do we realize that a misstep could be our demise? Yes, there is Gods grace to pick us up when we fall, but are we relying on that so we don't need to be as cautious or is it there for when we lose our balance despite best efforts?

The verse this quote comes from (Matt 7:13-14) says "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

The image of a gate is a very different one for me. When I think of us as entering heaven through a narrow gate it reminds me of all of the baggage we carry around each day. Everything from the resentment of past hurts to the things we "need" to our obligations are all weight on our shoulders. Mike did a sermon a bit ago about us trading our burdens for Jesus' because his are light. "Come to Me all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yolk upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matt 11:28-30).

 

Can you imagine trying to enter through the narrow gate with this load on your back? I'm sure you can find a gate to fit through but is it really the one you want? The bible says that the broad gate (the one you would fit through with all your "stuff" on your back) leads to destruction and many go by it. Wow! What a picture. Drop your baggage and fit through the narrow gate that leads to life. Keep it, don't fit through the narrow gate, and enter the broad one that leads to destruction. Is your (job, stuff, music, emotional baggage) really worth it?

 

 

I just love how reading the same verse a different way can give such different pictures but with the same end goal. The path is a narrow one. Take careful thought to how you are walking if you truly want to make it to the end of the tightrope. The gate is a narrow one. Let go of that baggage so you will fit through the opening.

 

Either way a challenging but worth it end goal to me.

 

~Carly

That's not what the assignment was.

I was in a school this year as a supply teacher. That day, I was blessed to have a student teacher with me. Supply teachers know this is fantastic because you get to sit back and supervise the student teacher teaching their lesson. It doesn't happen often but when it does it is lovely! Well, while I was there the student teacher handed back assignments. Some were quite pleased with their marks, others, not so much. One stands out in my mind though. A little boy who seemed to be one of the ones who is more successful at school was quiet upset with his mark. After looking over his comments he flagged down the teacher.

"You marked this wrong," he said.
"Let me look at it.... Nope, that's right," she said as she looked over his paper.
"What is wrong with it?! It is the right length and a good paper," he said starting to get visibly upset. Clearly he had worked hard on his history paper and expected to get a good mark. He was a good student. He did a good paper. He deserves a good mark.
"You did a great paper," she explained, "but you didn't do the right assignment. I gave you the instructions. I gave you the rubric (side note for people who don't know - a rubric is a grading system used in schools. Teachers give it so students know what is expected.) You didn't do the assignment so that is why you didn't get a passing mark. I gave you the best mark I could."
"I will do another one. Please can I re-do it?" he begged.
"I'm sorry, but tomorrow is my last day in your class. There isn't time to do another one," she said.

Honestly, I didn't think much of it at the time. Funny how God will bring some things back into your mind at a later date.

Much like this little boy, we each have an assignment. It's laid out quiet clearly ahead of time if you take the time to look at the rubric and instructions. Or, like this student you can ignore it.

But you donated tones and tones of money! - Wasn't the assignment.
But you fed starving children in Africa, your neighbourhood or hundreds of other options. - Wasn't the assignment.
But you are successful and made a lot of money. - Wasn't the assignment.
But you loved your friends and family and were nice to everyone! - Wasn't the assignment.
But you (insert millions of other things in here). - Wasn't the assignment.

Much like this student, it doesn't matter what I think my assignment is. It matters that I do what it actually is. Yes, my life could be the "perfect" paper, but if I don't do the assignment then I don't pass. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

John 14:6

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

Criteria #1- Do you know Jesus? And I mean know him. Not chat with him when you need him. Not heard of him one day. Not friend of a friend. Not I met him one day in passing then we never spoke again. Do you know him? Do you talk to him and spend time with him? Not like when you sit with your guy friend watching a game on tv and don't actually say a word. Not like when you go on a date with someone at the movies and just ask them to pass the popcorn. Not like when my best friend and I talk for an hour on the phone while the kids are awake and only say about 3 minutes of words to each other. Do you spend real quality time together? You can't really know someone any other way.

 

Without criteria #1 everything else you are doing is not part of the assignment. It doesn't matter if you think the assignment is stupid (the student who rips it up and says "I'm not doing that"). It doesn't matter if you think it isn't fair ("This is too hard! Our teacher sucks!"). It doesn't matter if you even believe the assignment exists (much like that student who doesn't even come to school and thought "hey maybe nothing is even due")

 

Like my little friend in the class, there is one opportunity for you to do your assignment. You don't get a redo after the fact when you realize it was for real. Read the assignment, look at the rubric (if you haven't caught on my now they are in the bible). Get started on your paper, get a tutor (I know a few). The due date is sooner every day and may just catch you by surprise.

~Carly

The Right Time is NOW

I have often found it difficult to discern who to tell about my belief and faith in Jesus Christ and also how and when to tell them. It has often been a thought in the back of my mind that perhaps it is not the proper time to talk to someone about Jesus and what He means to me. Perhaps I have been afraid that they may find what I have to say somehow offensive, silly or unbelievable... I wouldn't want someone to feel as though I'm pressing them into making a decision about what they believe. I am sure I have even been guilty of sugar coating the gospel that I am meant to share with others in a way to make it seem more inviting and less life changing. 

I've been reading "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" by Ps. Jim Cymbala. One particular story told by Jim in the book about the late Dwight L. Moody has stirred in my spirit an understanding of this issue, so I would like to share it with you. The following excerpt is from pages 125-126 of the previously mentioned book...

Dwight L. Moody was haunted all his life by an occasion when he felt he got too clever in presenting the gospel. Six years before he died he recounted what had happened back in Chicago in the fall of 1871:

"I intended to devote six nights to Christ's life. I had spent four Sunday nights on the subject and had followed him from the manger along through his life to his arrest and trial, and on the fifth Sunday night, October 8, I was preaching to the largest congregation I had ever had in Chicago, quite elated with my success. My text was 'What shall I do then with Jesus which is called the Christ?' That night I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life. After preaching...with all the power that God had given me, urging Christ upon the people, I closed the sermon and said, 'I wish you would take this text home with you and turn it over in your minds during the week, and next Sunday we will come to Calvary and the cross, and we will decide what we will do with Jesus of Nazareth.'"

Just at that moment, a fire bell rang nearby. Moody quickly dismissed the meeting and sent people out of the building. It was the beginning of the Great Chicago Fire, which over the next 27 hours left 300 dead, 90,000 homeless, and a great city in ashes. Obviously, Moody never got to finish his sermon series. He continued:

"I have never seen that congregation since. I have hard work to keep back the tears today....twenty-two years have passed away...and I will never meet those people again until I meet them in another world. But I want to tell you one lesson I learned that night, which I have never forgotten, and that is, when I preach to press Christ upon the people then and there, I try to bring them to a decision on the spot. I would rather have my right hand cut off than give an audience a week to decide what to do with Jesus."

A wise proverb reads 'Rescue the perishing; don’t hesitate to step in and help. If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,” will that get you off the hook? Someone is watching you closely, you know— Someone not impressed with weak excuses'. (Proverbs 24:11, 12 MSG)
To be left with the guilt of what you "could have, should have" done is not how I want to live out my life in Christ. Ezekiel 3:17,18 says "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, 'you will surely die,' and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood." Similarly, today we are charged with spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to everyone. We are all wicked sinners that need a saviour in our lives. It does not matter what our sin is...only that it is sin and it is in our lives. When we remain quiet around those that need this revelation in their life, we are condemning them to an eternal death and we will ultimately be held accountable for our unwillingness to see them saved.

So, to those reading this that are born again Christian believers...speak AND act out the message of the gospel to those around you with boldness and with confidence. Remember, it is Christ's message, not yours. He will produce the results if you will act in obedience.

To those reading this that are not Christians, whether it is because you have never really been exposed to the message or because you choose not to believe it, I urge you to come to this understanding. We are all born sinners in a fallen world. There is no "good enough" that we can live out to change this fact. Sin is sin, no matter how small or large we view it as. There is not one of us that does not require someone to pay the price for our sins, whether our sins are few or many.  Jesus has paid the price for those who will accept Him. It does not matter what your sin is, He is willing and able to pay the price for it on your behalf. For those who choose to reject Him, the price for sin will be eternal death in Hell. There is no sugar coating that.

Accepting Jesus is a start, like the starting line of a race. You are not even running in the race until you accept Jesus. However, accepting Jesus and then doing nothing is like entering a race and then never leaving the starting line. Simply standing at the starting line will never see you to the finish. Jesus came and ran the race and then told us to follow Him. Run the race, walk, even crawl if you have to...only make sure you follow Christ through to the finish. Better to finish on your hands and knees than to be disqualified for not finishing!

 No one knows what tomorrow holds. Don't put off to tomorrow what you could easily do today!

With love,

Mike

Where has the line gone?

(I put all the verses in full at the bottom for anyone who chooses to read them)

When Jesus was here on the Earth, he drew a distinct line in the sand through the words that he spoke and the life that he lived out. To those who choose to follow him, he has made it known that there is no middle ground.  You are either with him or against him. (Matt. 12:30)

He also made it clear what was necessary to be with him (Matt 16:24)(Luke 9:23)

When we compromise the gospel or sugarcoat the message to make it more acceptable to others they aren't being shown where the line has been drawn. Also, when we compromise our beliefs in an attempt to fit into this world a little better, we trample back and forth over the line Jesus drew  in the sand. When we serve God on church days and the world every other day we blur the line. We have done this so often that the line that Jesus drew has become indistinguishable to the world and even to many Christians. As those who Jesus has left to continue his work until his return we need to hold the line and we need to make sure that the line is made known to the world. How will we know when the line is being drawn in our own lives? The world will treat us the way they treated Jesus. This includes being challenged in our faith not only by the world but also by those who we have called our friends and family. (Matthew 10:32-36) (Luke 21:17, John 15:18-19)

 

THE sweetest graces by a slight perversion may bear the bitterest fruit. The sun gives life, but sunstrokes are death. Charles Spurgeon

Let's get back to living out the life that Jesus called us to!

Mike

“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me. (Matthew 12:30 NLT) 

 

Then Jesus said to his disciples,  “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24 NLT)

 

Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me". (Luke 9:23 NLT)

“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.    But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. ‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household!’ (Matthew 10:32-36 NLT)

And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. (Luke 21:17 NLT)

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.    The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. (John 15:18, 19 NLT)

Sick kids and lessons through the trials

  Kids with stomach bugs are never fun and always messy. From extra laundry to emptying buckets it seems like every minute is filled with useless work that is unproductive. But amongst this chaos God shows you things that are often very timely.

  When our kids are sick, their little bodies are trying their best to expel a bug from their bodies; something that doesn't belong there. Sometimes it came through eating something they shouldn't have. Perhaps a food that was once good but was not consumed at the proper time. Maybe something that would be good in the future after the patience of waiting for it to cook properly. Other times they touched something they shouldn't have. Maybe someone else was sick and we didn't care to stay away until the bug had completely left. Whatever the reason, there is a bug where it shouldn't be and it needs to be gone. Boy do their bodies do a good job of getting rid of it and quickly.

  But wait, just when we think it's gone that bug will rear its ugly head again... and again... and again. If you aren't careful and head back to your regular food/drink/activity too soon then it will knock you back down.

  Such is life isn't it? We try to add things to our lives too soon or too late. We take up things of others that were not meant for us. These things live with us until a time when God tells us it needs to go. It's never fun, always messy, and often seems pointlessly long. We purge this thing until we are sure it is gone then out of nowhere we need to purge it again... and again... and again. The process will knock us out and make us leave our regular routine behind.

  Once it's gone through all is well though right? Wrong. Don't forget to take time to rest. Rest in God's presence. Rest in his word. Let him sing songs to you and nurture you back to health. Don't rush too fast back into the day to day or you may just find yourself back in that place of purging. God tells us to come to him and rest:

"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28)

  You may feel better, but you're not quite there yet. Our Father is that parent who truly does know what's best. He knows when something is too much to restart just as we know to feed our kids crackers and toast for days and days. Despite my little guy desiring yogurt and ice cream and chocolate, as his parent I know where that will put him when consumed too soon. You may want to continue with whatever your life looked like before the hardship but God knows where that will put you if you go back too soon.

  You may feel like the purging process was needlessly painful. Purging a friendship that was harmful, stopping those words you say, the activities you participate in, or any other thing God has decided needs to leave your life may seem unnecessarily messy. The fascinating thing though? My kiddo's bug will make his body stronger. It will provide some immunity. It will make him more able to defend against other sickies that try to invade him later. Your "needless" painful process does the same. It will provide you with faith in God's ability to get you through the hard times. It gives you wisdom to share with friends during their hard times. It gives you stories to share with your kids about God's goodness.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance" (James 1:2)

  So after your trial, rest in God. Don't return to the normal too soon. Let his guidance give you time to heal and in turn you be stronger for it.

~ Carly ~

Easter Story - The lessons you can learn from Judas

As the Easter season comes upon us, we will hear again the story of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for us. He allowed mankind to hand him over to death and place him on the cross. We will rejoice in the fact that he rose again proving he could not be overcome by death and that, through this sacrifice, he offers us salvation from our sins. This is a wonderful fact and I am excited to share in the celebration of Easter every year. As I dive into the story once more, I realize there is so much to take from it. Jesus is the main plot, but there are other sub-plots to the story that we can draw understanding from. We can learn something from the fickle nature of the Israelites, who called out to Jesus with praise while he rode into Jerusalem on the donkey (Matthew 21:9) and then less than a week later called out to have him crucified (Matthew 27:22). We can learn from the fear that led to the three denials by Peter about his association with Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75). Perhaps the largest warning given through the story is that which can be learned by taking a look at Judas Iscariot.

             Reading through all four Gospels, you would be hard pressed to find even a verse that sheds this man named Judas in a positive light. He is known simply as the betrayer. He is known for the kiss (Luke 22:48).

 

            Did Judas always intend to betray Jesus? It would seem the answer to this is no. In Matthew 24:14-16, we read that Judas found an opportunity to make some money by betraying his friend. It says “From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:16). It wasn’t until after being offered something that Judas looked to betray Jesus Christ. Judas had a price. Much like Esau in Genesis 25:29-34, Judas valued what he could get more than what he already had. Esau valued a bowl of lentil stew over his own birthright and the Bible says that, from then on, he despised his birthright. Judas valued 30 silver coins over his friendship and relationship with Jesus and, therefore, ultimately despised Jesus. Jesus himself warned about what Judas was going through when he said, ”No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24). The lesson we can learn from this is simple. Who or what do you serve? Is it God? Is it something else? Is anything worth enough to you to betray God for? If your answer is yes, I’d suggest you run as far away from that thing as fast as you can. You will regret it later. How do I know? Judas did. We will see more on that later.

Did Judas really understand what he was doing? He may have intentionally betrayed a friend but he very likely didn’t understand the consequences to his actions. Proverbs 16:25 says “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death”.  Judas likely thought he was doing the right thing by getting Jesus into the custody of the religious leaders. Judas did not truly understand or believe in who Jesus was. Jesus was aware of this fact. He told it directly to his disciples when he said, “’But some of you do not believe me.’ (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.)” (John 6:64). What do you believe? Are you on a path that seems right but ends in death? If the path does not lead to Jesus please take concern in this. Jesus himself said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me (John 6:35, 36). Jesus also said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (John 8:12). Jesus wants you to believe in him and also follow him. Judas physically followed Jesus but he could not spiritually follow Jesus because he did not truly believe that Jesus was who he said he was.

        Did Judas regret his decision? You bet he did. The Gospel of Matthew is the only one that records what happened to Judas after he betrayed Jesus:

When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.” “What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.” Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3-5)

 

Those 30 silver coins that were so valuable to Judas such a short time ago suddenly had no meaning at all. He realized that without Jesus, there was nothing of value. He realized he had traded his own salvation for a little money. I pray that all of us get to this point before it is too late like it was for Judas. The point when we realize that Jesus is all we truly need. Are you to that point? If not, what is in your way? Do you not believe? Do you serve something else over God?

 Charles Spurgeon wrote a yearlong devotional called “Morning and Evening” and on March 25^th, he writes of Judas’ kiss. Here is a selection from that piece:

 "But what if I should be guilty of the same accursed sin as Judas, that son of perdition? I have been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus; I am a member of his visible Church; I sit at the communion table: all these are so many kisses of my lips. Am I sincere in them? If not, I am a base traitor. Do I live in the world as carelessly as others do, and yet make a profession of being a follower of Jesus? Then I must expose religion to ridicule, and lead men to speak evil of the holy name by which I am called. Surely if I act thus inconsistently I am a Judas, and it were better for me that I had never been born. Dare I hope that I am clear in this matter? Then, O Lord, keep me so. O Lord, make me sincere and true. Preserve me from every false way. Never let me betray my Saviour. I do love thee, Jesus, and though I often grieve thee, yet I would desire to abide faithful even unto death. O God, forbid that I should be a high-soaring professor, and then fall at last into the lake of fire, because I betrayed my Master with a kiss."

 Mike