No perfect people allowed

I am beginning to read this great book by John Burke. It's about creating a culture within the church that is welcoming and accepting to even the worst of sinners. John told a story in the book that really got me thinking. Here is a condensed version of the story


"In 1986 I was traveling through Asia with a couple friends when we decided to tour a Buddhist temple. Every sight and sound provoked a new question.Why was there a tree with money all around it? where we supposed to throw money down? would they be offended if we didn't? Why was there a woman standing by the gate with her head shaved? What was she doing with the beads in her hand?


as we stood by the wall listening to the mesmerizing hum of the chants rise and fall a million questions began to form in my head. why do they do this? What does it do for them? Am I an intrusion or will I be welcome here? Will they be mad at an "outsider" an "unenlightened one" has invaded their space?


Then everything changed. A gong sounded and everyone got up. Some went over and kissed the statues. My heart raced as I looked around the room for clues as to what to do. Were we supposed to bow? why were they bowing? Will I be insulting them if i don't bow?.... I wanted to escape the awkwardness that I felt.


Just then a kind-looking young man came to us signaling us with a smile to follow him. we made our way out to the courtyard as the lamas resumed their chants. He spoke to us in plain English, but his words were still foreign to us, as he tried his best to explain the things we saw and heard."
From "No Perfect People allowed" pg 55


This story really got me thinking. Every time new people come into our church, it can seem as strange to them as going to a Buddhist temple would be for us. They don't know the rules, so they automatically feel out of place. They don't know if they should sit or stand, will we be offended if they don't sing? They don't know the bible, or how to decipher the christian lingo that we speak. and they don't know if their questions will offend us, or if we'll still accept them if they voice their skepticism.

so it's up to us to be patient, and lovingly explain our culture to those who come into our doors, and to be accepting of everyone who comes in, despite our prejudices, and expectations. In fact, I think we need to get rid of any expectations that we have. Christ came and spent time with the worst society had to offer. Thieves and sinners, even a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. The law said she should be stoned to death, but Jesus chose to forgive.

So my question is... If the very scum of the earth started to attend the church that you attend, how would you react? Would our response be to conform them to our image, or could we accept them as they are and let God work in their lives?

Peace in our time

Peace. The second Sunday of Advent.

I was looking at my facebook page today, and noticed someone talking about needing peace. Christ came into the world to bring peace. His name is prince of peace. So why do we live in a world that seems to be without it. Wars in the middle east. famine and genocide. Unhappy and broken marriages. Troubled children, dysfunctional family units, trouble with the in-laws.

Christ came to bring peace. We need to let it rule in our lives. Collossian 3:15 says "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

Advent: Hope

Stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
-Luke 21:28 (NRSV)

Wow, here it is, Advent season again. A time when the church basically remembers to be watching for Christs return. A few years ago, I decided to give up something for Advent, I tried to give up rich foods and desserts until Christmas, hoping that my heart might be more open to the presence of Christ. It was a challenging sacrifice, and I didn't fair so well.

When suffering, hardship, or disaster come, are we ready to stand firm and place our hope God? I recently read an article online about a South African who spoke about her families history, they lived during the beginning of apartheid. Families were taken in trucks from their homes and towns and taken into exile to the so-called homelands. Singing arose on those trucks as loving parents comforted their children and offered songs of hope.

In dark times gifts of memory and hope comfort us, bringing strength to stand in the face of cruel injustice. God give us the strength to stand for you. To hope in you, and to find strength in You during this Christmas advent season. Remember to reach out to those around you who find this time of year difficult. Show them the Hope of Christ

Live it out

Today is the time to begin to live Worship! Not tomorrow, not yesterday, not the new year.

Everyday we have to choose. We can choose to live the same old way or we can start to live it to our best through living a life of worship. Does this mean we need to go around singing, dancing and praising every minute of the day? By no means. What I mean is living in integrity and being thankful for what God has done, and is doing.

So how do we begin to live a life of worship? Forgiveness is a place to start. If we hold anything against anyone or towards God we can't live our lives in worship.

Next, give honor and glory to God. God does so much for us each day that we don't give Him credit for, So take time to thank God for the simple things.

Next, pray. The word says to pray without ceasing. This doesn’t mean that every word from your mouth should be a prayer, it simply means that we need to stay in contact with God through our thoughts. When we do, we have less time to think about distractions that try to take us out of our lives of worship. We tend to forget about distractions and difficulties when we are focused on prayer!

Then we should take time each day to read the bible. when we do this we are actually hiding God's word in our heart. God will help us to understand His word and hide it in our hearts. You don’t have to memorize large parts of scripture. But if you take verses and meditate on them you can absorb these truths. They will help you to make better decisions while you are living your life of worship.

Last but not least you must take time to worship and praise. take the time to worship God in the way he designed for you. Whether it's on your face, or bouncing around the room, just take the time. You will find your freedom in praise when you are by yourself, but I encourage you to bring it to the sanctuary on Sunday. It is contagious. the more people who begin to feel free on Sunday, the more others will join, and soon we will all be worshiping freely in many different expressions

In Hard Times

In Loving Memory of a beautiful person. You will be missed.


Sometimes we wonder, "Why me???" or "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God allow this to happen to me?" I came across this article in an e-mail I received. It kinda hits home and it is a thought provoking explanation...



A teenage daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.

Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake."

"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers.
"Yuck" says her daughter.
"How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Mom, those are all yucky!"

To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! "

God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times.
But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

"Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." Nehemiah 4:14b

Isn’t this a powerful statement! You can almost feel the zeal of Nehemiah. Watching Kevin say the words, was almost like seeing Nehemiah speaking. He had authority, he had power. He was ticked because people around him were starting to fall to the lies of the enemy. Now we all know from what we have heard and read in our Bibles that God is, as the text says “great and awesome”, but do you know that for yourself? When you personally think about God, do the words great and awesome come to mind? If they don’t, I assure it is not because God has ceased to be great and awesome.
Author Henry Blackaby says in experiencing God. “Right now God is working all around you. One of the greatest tragedies among God’s people is that even though they long to experience Him they do not know how to recognize him at work in their midst”
If this has been the case for you, take some time to pray for God to reveal to you where he is working so that YOU may be able to say, with all sincerity of heart, “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome”.

Thanks to advance notice from Kevin (our pastor for those of you who follow this blog from elsewhere) I've been reading nehemiah with the attitude "God, what are you saying in this book that you want to say through me, and what songs can I play that you will use to help us remember." So while I've been doing this, I've had a couple of thoughts that I thought I'd share.

What impresses me about Nehemiah is his humility and wisdom in this chapter. When Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem, he must have made an impressive entrance. The king had sent army officers and cavalry with him, so I’m sure everyone was curious why he was in Jerusalem. But he doesn’t tell them right away. He tells us that he “had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem” (Nehemiah 2:12). He stays for three days and then–at night–he inspects the Jerusalem walls. He keeps his own counsel and instead makes a full inspection before announcing his purpose. He is thorough. He gathers all the “facts” before making a decision.

If I’d been Nehemiah, I’d have ridden into Jerusalem proudly, announced my plans right away. I’d have done this before I’d inspected the situation and had a good grasp of the whole situation. Good thing Nehemiah wasn’t like me, which is probably why God picked him for the task. Instead, Nehemiah is humble. the fact that he quietly examines the walls before making any decisions or plans shows me his wisdom. He is careful in his planning and wants to have first-hand knowledge of the situation before he proceeds any further into his mission.

I could stand to learn a lot from Nehemiah’s actions. How many times do I make plans without considering all the “facts” beforehand? How many times do I barge into a situation, proudly thinking I can make it right, when I don’t know the full situation to begin with?

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. See you on Sunday when Kevin speaks from Nehemiah 3. I don't know about you, but this series is definatly got me paying attention, and it's got me digging into the word a little deeper than I have in awhile.

Be Ready

You know, what’s so good about our God is how He can deliver to us exactly what we need exactly when we need it. Matthew 25 has proven to me again that He knows exactly what I’m going through and knows exactly how to handle the situation.

There are three powerful parables in this chapter:

1) The story of the ten bridesmaids
2) The story of the traveling man with 2 wise and 1 foolish servant
3) The sheep and the goats

All of these have to do with being prepared and being good stewards with our time, our treasure, and our talent. As I read this chapter over a few times, it really hit me how important it is to have things in order; to be ready at all times.

See you Sunday

Raise your hands

Do you raise your hand during worship at church? I do! I love doing it. Let me share why...

For me, raising my hands means surrender...several different surrenders:...like when a police officer tells a suspect "hands up" surrender - I am guilty, please pardon me surrender......or "these burdens are too heavy for me..take it", surrender...or I don't know what else to do surrender....

For me, it also means adoration. I once watched the Beatles Anthology...I saw these girls screaming, crying, and raising their hands while they were listening to Beatles sing their song in a concert. They adored Beatles! And it struck me that we don't express our adoration to Jesus as much as we express our adoration to our favorite rock band! When i worship and I feel like expressing my adoration to God, I raise my hand freely.

I know I cannot be still during worship. I mean, I have to express my worship through my hands while I sing. I even dance (ok, sway) and cry....

I am not saying that I am more spiritual by raising my hands...no...that's not what it means. It just means that that's how express my love and adoration...to the one I love the most!

A Life Of Worship

The longer I lead worship, the more I realize just how much of an incomplete idea we have of what it means to worship God.

I don’t believe that worship occurs solely in a moment in time but is more of a lifelong pursuit of God and glorifying His name in all we do and say. It's not just singing songs on a Sunday morning but is moment by moment obedience to God. Jesus said that all the law and the prophets were summed up in two laws, one of which is to, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.” This is at the very core of what it means to worship God. The Lord desires that I worship him not just at specific times in specific places, although it is important that I do this, but that my whole life would be devoted to him.

Here are some definitions that have helped me understand worship better:

To love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength is to completely devote our lives to Him and, in so doing, consider every thought and action to be to the glory of God, (cf. 1 Cor.10:31; Col. 3:23)

“Worship is a posture of life that takes as its primary purpose the understanding of what it really means to love and revere God.” (Ravi Zacharias, Jesus Among Other Gods, Pg.91)

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6v5)

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans12v1)

“ The complete devotion of our lives to God while considering every thought and action, through submission to the Holy Spirit, to be done to the glory of God, (cf. 1 Cor.10: 31; Col. 3:23)

The way I think about worship will affect how I worship. Sometimes, I think Sunday morning is the only time we worship God. Why? The answer lies in what we think it means to worship God.

The greatest switch that ever took place in the history of the universe was when a holy God chose to make human beings His dwelling place. Since I am a ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 6:19), worship can and must move beyond time and place. Worship is grounded solidly in real life and begins and ends with my daily life where attitude is crucial (see Philippians 2vs5-11).

The degree to which I carry out my daily activities with a heart of gratitude (1 Cor. 10:31) and thankfulness towards God will determine the depth of my worship on a daily basis which will, in turn, greatly impact my weekly gathering with the body when I can offer my week – my life, to God in worship.

Which areas of your life could you consider as acts of worship?

Do you want Him enough?

As I look around and sense the season we are in I can’t help but wonder how people live without Jesus. How do they survive the pressure of this world and all its disappointments, temptations and empty promises? Even as a believer it is a challenge to keep my eyes focused on Jesus and His promises to me and not on what is going on in the world. Our eyes fool us at times. We see things as they appear and not as they really are. The perspective we have is limited by our humanity and our culture but God sees the end from the beginning. Scripture says that He will keep us, that even if our mothers abandon us He won’t let us go, that He will be with us in the fire and in the flood but He does not say that it will be easy. The vision of being a Christ follower in our western culture seems to be one of comfort and convenience. I wonder how long we would last in Eastern Europe or in China where life is hard and being a Christian means loosing your family, being imprisoned or giving up your life. How many American Christians would have made it through Nazi Germany or the arenas of Rome? I wonder how long I would last in a Muslim country where giving your heart to Jesus could cost you your head?

I remember leading worship at church one day and sensing God saying “ You don’t want me enough.” I thought He was talking about the congregation I was leading in song but weeks later I realized He was speaking to me directly. I wanted the things of Jesus, the healing the good feeling the protection but He wants me to want Him. I pray we will learn to want Him with everything in us for every moment and every thought for every day.

back to basics

It's good for us to go back to basics and question why we do what we do. One of my favourite Bible verses, Romans 12:1, says "...in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of
worship."

I don't think God necessarily wants or needs our worship. What we sing or do does nothing for God in the same way that the burning carcases in the Old Testament did nothing for God either (see Isaiah 1:11-17).

Worship to me is what we do naturally in response when we grasp God mercy, his grace, all that He is and all that He has done for us.

And how do we honour God and acknowledge His worth when He everything we could try to give him is already owned by him? I believe it is by honouring those who he made in his image (1 Tim 5:4, James 1:27).

Character Quality

I've never been one to make resolutions at the beginning of the year. I've always felt that if the Lord challenged or convicted me in an area, I should respond in obedience right then and there. Of course, setting goals and striving to attain those goals is a good thing whether it is renewing a spiritual discipline, getting in better shape, eating more healthily, etc.

What I like to do with a new year is take the opportunity to pause, listen to God, and hear what He is calling me to pursue. This is one that has been ongoing for me, and hopefully for you too. Character development should always be uppermost in our walk with God

Character Quality
Philippians 2:1-8 says,

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yoursleves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross?

WOW! Paul begins by encouraging the Philippian church to be like-minded and selfless. He then moves us to put the interests of others above our own. Then he throws in the pinnacle of example - Jesus Christ.

He says that our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Obviously, I have a long way to go here. Christ sets the perfect example of humility and humbleness by becoming a servant and dying on a cross.

By God's grace and the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, I seek to pursue in my life the character of humility and humbleness. I will seek to live it out personally with my family and friends, but also to demonstrate it with my neighbors and those out of my circle of relationship.

I have to admit that this last year has had a more than fair share of struggles, and a couple of the big ones we are still struggling with as a family, and inside of those struggles is the battle to do all things in love toward those that I feel are in the wrong. This is a perfect example of what this passage is telling me (us) to do.