Waiting for the trees to wake up...

As I was walking with my children recently, I thought to myself of how it felt more like mid to late March than it did like April 30^th. As I looked at the trees, I was perplexed by the fact that there were not even the beginning signs of leaves on any of the trees in our neighbourhood. Because our winter was longer and colder than we have seen in many years, the trees are behind in their growth for this year. You see, trees go into a state of dormancy over the winter triggered by the shortening of sun exposure. However, it is not the increase of sun exposure that wakes a tree out of dormancy. It is the change in temperature in the spring that signals to a tree whether or not it is time to “wake up”.  Unseasonal temperatures can cause a tree to bud leaves early in years that we have a warm spring and they can also cause a tree to delay budding of leaves in years that the spring is cooler than normal.

As we were walking, I began making connections between the trees and us. I began thinking about how many Christians, including myself, find themselves from time to time in a form of spiritual dormancy. By dormancy I mean, inexpression, underdevelopment, unconsciousness, inactivity. When we are in this state, increased exposure to the Son is not enough to spur on a season of growth. The number of people sitting in churches every Sunday without seeing any change in their lives can attest to that.  A faith that isn’t totally dead is in survival mode attempting to brave the cold state of our hearts, holding out for that moment when our hearts become warm and hospitable for growth once again.

***I recognize that dormancy is a dangerous word to use when it comes to our spiritual state. The origin of the word “dormant” originates in Latin as “dormire” – to sleep. I refer to Ephesians 5:14: “Arise, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light”. Those who are spiritually “asleep” and those who are spiritually “dead” show no visible difference. The only way to know the difference is whether or not they ever wake up. ***


Let’s take a step underground for one moment and acknowledge that for warmth to trigger growth in a tree, the tree must first be rooted into good soil and plugged into a source of life-giving water. Without water, the tree will wither and die. Jesus is the source of this life-giving water to us.  John 4:14 says, “Those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life”. How do we get this water? John 7:38 says, “Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!” It is our belief in Jesus that draws us near to the “rivers of living water” that flow from His heart. Psalms 1:3 also talks of the importance of being near this river: “They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do”. This is a stark contrast to the next verse, “But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind” (Psalms 1:4).


It is the love that we share with others that bears witness to us also loving God and having had tasted the living waters. Proof of this is found in 1 John 4:8 – “But anyone who does not love does not know God – for God is love”.  We are called by Jesus to ”love one another” with “agape” (or unconditional) love (John 13:34). Though we claim to ”love one another”, this love is usually limited to those who share our beliefs, interests, or bloodline. This is called ‘Philia’ or brotherly love. In Matthew 24:12, Jesus talked about how agape love would grow cold. I believe it is the cold hearts produced by the lack of agape love being given to others that brings on a state of spiritual dormancy. It is the love of God, His unconditional love, which has the ability to warm our hearts.  It is this agape love being given to back God and being shared with others which will build an environment of warmth that initiates growth. This is why fellowship is so important. In the metaphor of Ecclesiastes 4:11 we are shown how “…on a cold night, two under the same blanket can gain warmth from each other. But how can one be warm alone?” Fellowship is the way in which we can share our love with others and with God. 1 Peter 1:22 says “love (agape) each other fervently”. I love the definition of fervent:

/ˈfɜr vənt/ 1. having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm

2. hot; burning; glowing.

 Loving others fervently literally brings warmth of spirit!


It is when a tree is exposed to adequate warmth that buds on the branches begin to break open with sprouts which will later grow into leaves. The leaves that develop are important in accelerating growth of the tree through exposure to light via photosynthesis. A healthy, hungry tree can be identified by the leaves that it produces. The energy absorbed through the leaves allows the branch to grow. Similarly, as we are exposed to warmth and begin to wake up, we will also become hungry. We will desire to be exposed to the light (…and Christ will give you light) to be fed and to sustain energy for our growth. Yes, Christ is the source of light. John loved to talk about the light of Christ. John 1:4 says, “Life itself was in Him, and this life gives light to everyone”.  Later on, John 8:12 quotes Jesus as saying, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life”.

 Now, we know from John 15:8 that, as disciples of Christ, we are to bear spiritual fruit so it is safe to say that we are fruit bearing trees. All fruit bearing trees grow flowers. This is necessary to the process of a tree bearing fruit because pollination must happen to produce the fruit. Through pollination, these flowers will give way to fruit. These flowers are a pleasing aroma to the ones who are capable of pollinating the flowers. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 3:15, calls our lives “a fragrance presented by Christ to God”. The most natural of ways that pollination happens is that the wind blows the pollen from flower to flower. The Greek words for wind and Spirit are the same –pneuma. John quotes Jesus as using “pneuma” for both in John 3:8, “Just as you can hear the wind (pneuma) but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit (pneumatos)”. As the wind gives life to fruit, so does the Spirit give life to us. Again, in John 6:63, Jesus is quoted as saying, “It is the Spirit (pneuma) who gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing”.

This life giving Spirit is why the fruit in the life of a believer is called the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). Good fruit tastes delicious and people love to receive our Spiritual fruit from us for the same reason; it is pleasing to them. However, though the flesh of fruit is tasty, it is the fruit that also gives way to the birth of new trees. The seeds inside of the fruit, when handled properly, when germinated and placed in good soil, will break open with new life and start the process all over again for a new tree.  When we share our Spiritual fruit, we also share the seed of the Good News from within it. When handled properly, these seeds can break open and give birth to a new believer who, one day, will also mature and grow to the point of being able to produce good fruit.

How long do we have after being born again of a Spiritual seed to grow and mature to the point of growing fruit? There is no definitive answer to that question.  If we base our thoughts on the parable of the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6-9), There is a grace period given to allow us to mature to the place to be able to bear fruit; However, we do not know how long it may be before we are declared by God to be “just using up the ground” and we find ourselves being cut down. This is why it is so important to share and spread the love of God! We need to stay in an atmosphere that is permeated with the warmth of that love, not only for our own ability to grow and produce fruit, but also for the ability for seeds to be sown so that we can see the birth of new believers!

 Proverbs 11:30 - The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

Romans 12:10-12 – LOVE one another, not lagging in diligence, FERVENT in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.


Mike

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Today many people around the world, whether Irish or not, are celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day. We all love to wear green, speak with a fake accent and eat chocolate coins in celebration of this day. It has come to my attention that many of us really have no idea what we are celebrating! So, I thought I would give a little information on Saint Patrick and the origin of this holiday.


First of all, Patrick was born around 385 A.D., he was not Irish and his name was not Patrick. He was actually born into a wealthy Christian family on the English Isle. Scholars cannot pinpoint the location of the village he was born in beyond it being somewhere in England. Although he was born into a Christian family, he had little interest in Christianity during his youth. When he was about 16 years old, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland where he was forced to work for around six years as a captive herder. During this hard time in his life, he turned to God for solace. He spent most of his time calling out to God in prayer.

During one of these times of prayer he heard a voice he believed to be God telling him it was time to leave Ireland. He fled to the Irish coast, a walk of nearly 200 miles, and escaped home to Britain on a ship. After a hard journey in which he was taken captive a second time for two months, he found his way home and was reunited with his family.

From this point forward, Patrick had a burning desire for the people of Ireland to hear the gospel. It is said that an angel told him in a dream that he was to return to Ireland as a missionary. After almost 15 years of study and training, he left for Ireland to go and spread the good news of the gospel to the largely pagan populations of the country. This was what he devoted his life to for the next 40 years.

As for some of the more common symbols of Ireland, it is believed that they have their origins at the hands of Saint Patrick. It is said that he used the shamrock as a symbol to explain the holy trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is also believed that he superimposed the cross onto the sun, an important symbol to pagans. Some say he did this simply to show that the cross of Christ was superior to the sun that they worshipped. Others say this was done to help the pagans see Jesus Christ as the one who gives them life rather than the sun.  This is likely where the origin of the Celtic cross comes from.

So why do we celebrate the life of Saint Patrick on March 17^th every year? It is legend that Saint Patrick died on March 17, 460 A.D. so it is fitting that his life is celebrated on this day. To many, St. Patrick’s Day is simply an excuse to party and/or show their Irish pride. To me, it is a celebration of the spreading of the love of Christ to an entire nation and a hope for today that the good news of Jesus Christ can and will be both shared and accepted!

If interested, check out St. Patrick's own testimony, "Confessio"

Also, for children (and adults), Veggie Tales shares this story in a fun way:

Finally, a real Irish song, performed by a real Irish band:

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all! Stay safe!


With love always,


Mike

Building Towers (a lesson on pride)

My young son and I love to build together. We have spent many afternoons using our bountiful supply of preschool sized lego to build houses, bridges, towers, spaceships…you name it, we’ve built it. The past few days, my son has become adamant that it must be possible for us to build a tower that goes from the floor all the way to the ceiling. The first day we attempted this, we went with the theory of building it as quickly as possible. We attempted to make one large single cube block tower to see how high we could get. I don’t think we ever made it past a few feet tall with that tower and that was with me holding on to it the entire time. Without a strong foundation and some supports to brace the blocks, the tower was just not strong enough.

On day two I managed to convince my junior architect that we needed to build some supports around the single cubes to help keep them standing straight.  We did much better with this tower. We managed to get up to about five feet tall before I had to hold onto the tower at all times so that it would not fall. Eventually, we started running low on blocks so we abandoned the outer supports and went for the single cube ceiling touch. No matter how hard we tried, we could not get it to stay standing up. It crashed to the ground and we were done for the day.

Today, I decided that we were going to continue as far as we could with the outer supports and just see how close we could get to the ceiling...

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We managed to build a tower that not only stood on its own, it also was only a few more blocks away from touching ceiling.  If you take a look at that picture, my son was so proud of what we had accomplished. So was I! “Man, this is the coolest tower we have ever built! We are lego tower building geniuses! I’m so proud!” Proud…pride…pride comes before the fall…

“First pride, then the crash – the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.” (Proverbs 16:18 MSG)

If I’m being honest, the entire three days we were working on these towers I kept thinking about the tower of Babel.  Here was a group of people united in goal. “They said, ‘Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world’.” (Genesis 11:4 NLT)  We do not know how far the people of Babel got on their tower but we do know that God took notice of what they were building.  It was not the tower that was being built that concerned Him, it was the pride that they were building within themselves. Remember, they were building for themselves. To humble them, God came and gave different languages to confuse and scatter them.

You may be wondering what the big deal about pride is. Why does God oppose pride so much? Let’s define the word to start:

Pride - A feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired. (Oxford Dictionary, US English version)

God’s issue with pride is that it takes our eyes off of Him. We can feel something towards God for His accomplishments and His qualities - this is called “fear of the Lord”. That feeling towards God is what leads us to giving Him glory, honor and praise. That feeling is what causes us to humble ourselves before Him. When this feeling is not directed towards God and is instead turned back upon us it becomes pride. This is when we place ourselves in a place of honor above God.

Isaiah spoke of this pride: “For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars, I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’" (Isaiah 14:13-14 NLT)  

 Ezekiel also wrote on this pride: “Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings.” (Ezekiel 28:17 NLT)

These verses from the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel were words given to them by the Lord to serve as messages to the kings of Babylon and Tyre. God was referencing the fall from heaven of a “mighty guardian” or “shining star”.  God wanted them to see that as pride can be the downfall of a heavenly being, so can it be the downfall of a mere man, no matter how wealthy or powerful they may seem to be.

I am made aware that towers continue to be a symbol of pride. Every time I drive into Toronto I find myself looking for the CN Tower. It is a symbol of pride to the city of Toronto. Even by simply searching Toronto on Google in images you will flood your screen with pictures of the famous tower. If you search another famous city, New York, in Google images you will again find yourself barraged with images of skylines filled with the many famous towers, buildings and statues of the city. It should not serve as a surprise that the terrorists of 9/11 used the famous towers of the New York skyline to strike a blow on the pride of the United States. It also does not surprise me that new towers are being built on the same ground as the first ones to serve as a symbol of the rebuilding of the pride of the nation.

The fame of buildings does not stop in North America. Cities such as Dubai, Mecca, and Taipei hold their towers in high regards as the pride of their cities. Browsing the websites of these cities' towers, you will find words such as “world-class”, “magnificent” and “masterpiece” to describe them. Not every building attempted has been so successful. Cities such as Pyongyang, Bangkok, Krakow, and Caracas are home to buildings that have been abandoned in an unfinished state. These buildings serve as eyesores and embarrassments to these cities. No wonder buildings were so often used in parables and metaphors to send us a message.

“Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is useless”

(Psalms 127:1 NLT)

“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you!”

(Luke 14:28-29 NLT)

“For every house has a builder, but God is the one who made everything.”

(Hebrews 3:4 NLT)

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys me is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse, because it is built on rock. But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will fall with a mighty crash.”

(Matthew 7:24-27 NLT)

                     

My son and I had fun building the tower today but right after we took a picture of it we took it apart before it could fall down. The towers we build do not signify how intelligent, powerful, wealthy or cool we may be.   But the damage done when the towers fall will show how high our pride has taken us.

“First pride, then the crash – the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.” (Proverbs 16:18 MSG)

"Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn your back on evil"

(Proverbs 3:7 NLT)

With love always,

Mike

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