"Great is Thy Faithfulness"

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for the Lord.'" Lamentations 3:22-24

As we come to the last day of September, this is a good truth to remember. Jeremiah lived during a time when great numbers of Jewish people had died. An invasion came from Babylon, and a distant monarch's army burned Jerusalem. 

In the midst of calamity brought by the sword, hunger, and plague, the weeping prophet was still able to say, "The Lord is my portion". 

This is my prayer for my friends and readers as we conclude the first 75% of this remarkable, memorable year of 2020.

I want to end each month celebrating this thought. "The Lord is my portion." 

With your Vision, How Far can you See?

One of my all-time favorite authors is Lettie Cowman (1870-1960). She often wrote under the name Mrs. Charles Cowman, and she is best known for her book Streams in the Desert. Her daily devotionals appear as a PDF, an app, and in print. They continue to be read by thousands each day. Altogether, she wrote eleven books, but Streams in the Desert continues to be the best-known.

Lettie and Charles, her husband, left the USA in 1901 as missionaries to Japan, and together with two fellow-workers, began the OMS, Oriental Missionary Society. Juji Nakada gained local prominence for his preaching, and a small Bible school opened its doors in 1903. This group of Christians flourished. Soon, Lettie started speaking about reaching every village in a large area of Japan. Ten years after founding the Bible School, Charles organized hundreds of laymen and women to go to every town in their surrounding areas. Teams were trained, and literature was left in the homes of millions of people. Five years later, the OMS considered the task complete, but Charles was now ill and back at his home in Chicago.

Communication took place through letter writing, and Lettie initiated a writing spree in 1902 that lasted until her death in 1960 at the age of 90. She had an unusual ability to describe the deep valleys and dark moments of life and interpret them in light of God's favor and abundant blessing. She loved to follow the lives of others, and frequently, her writing included stories of how people turned a potential calamity into an unforgettable moment of joy. 

As president of OMS, following Charles's death in 1924, Lettie initiated a new movement: to take the gospel to every person in India, Africa, and Europe. Her enthusiasm had already inspired thousands to visit remote villages in China and Korea. 

In Europe, individuals in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Finland followed her vision as spelled out by OMS. War War II was looming when she encouraged outreach in Egypt and Cuba. Eventually, Spanish speaking individuals in Columbia took her work and writings to South America. 

After World War II, she stepped down from OMS, and in 1949 she encouraged the formation of two new corporations. Cowman Publications was to distribute her writings, and World Gospel Crusades would carry on the proclamation of the gospel around the world. 

In Lettie Cowman, a humble servant of God born in Afton, Iowa, we see how God's power can be extended literally to the ends of the earth. She never shied away from the trials, tribulations, temptations, and disappointments of life, but her gaze every day still takes her writers to the Lord, who was her sufficiency.  

From Vindictive to Loving

Learning to be faithful is a long journey. Jesus used a word that perhaps we don't much like to delve into. Sometimes, he called it "becoming a disciple." Learning to see other people involves a journey in which we see people who are different from us as having worth. A woman or a man who walks with Jesus learns to change their perspective. Here's one sequence of events that clearly show the emotional cost of learning to be a disciple.

Remember James and John, the "Sons of Thunder." Wow! What a last name! Imagine introducing yourself: "Hi, I'm James Thunderson!" 

Think about the lessons contained in these five short stories.

One day, Jesus took his friends through a Samaritan village but the villagers wouldn't welcome them. James and John showed a vindictive reaction. "Jesus! Call down fire from heaven on these people! Remember how Elijah acted? Just destroy these people! They won't accept us!" Luke 9:54

Later, Jesus told a story. He was answering a question, "Why is my neighbor?" And the lasting image he painted was about a Samaritan. James and John were getting the picture. Jesus saw a Samaritan as having the feelings of compassion and pity. But not only the feelings. It was a Samaritan outcast who paid from his own pocket for the stricken man on the road to be cared for and healed. "Imagine that!" thought James and John. "Jesus sees something in Samaritans that we haven't yet discovered!" Luke 10:33

Jesus healed people, lots of people. One time, a Samaritan was one of a group of ten lepers. All were healed, but only one came back to thank Jesus for the miracle. He was a Samaritan. "Oh," thought James and John. "Maybe Samaritans can be polite and thankful whereas our own countrymen just walk off without any response. That's something we didn't know before!" Luke 17:16

Then Jesus walked into a Samaritan village. A woman who had been married five times and she invited her friends to meet the Master. They became witnesses, saying, "We no longer believe just because of what you said, now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." John 4:42

How do we know that James, John, Peter, and the others got the point? Not too many months after Jesus went back to heaven had passed by. James and Peter were sent to Samaria and stayed there a while. They brought the gospel to Samaritans and learned to be in fellowship with them, now making them disciples. What a change this represented! Acts 8:14-25

Learning to love others may not be easy for us. At present, we may need to examine our attitude and words to, and about, other people. Let's ask ourselves, "Do I have trouble seeing young men and women in our culture, homeless people, wealthy people, sexual harassment victims, high school graduates, Indigenous people with their unique traditions and stories, refugees, immigrants ... and many others ...as people who could also become disciples of Jesus Christ?" 

Those are the tough questions James, John, and Peter had to answer. Thank God they learned the right answer. Thank God for that Samaritan woman whose words still inspire us!

Teaching faithfulness at the kitchen table

Children take careful note of their parents' motives and actions. And faithful parents find ways to bless their children, whether young or old. There's a wonderful Psalm that helps us as parents to find ways to talk to our children and grandchildren, helping them to form the values necessary to govern their thoughts, dreams, actions, and destiny. Simply read the summary I've given for each verse and think how your talk around the family table can be used to nudge the conversation toward meaningful dialogue. You may not be able to get through all of Psalm 78 easily, but here's a start!

(I chose this picture to remind us that previous generations have obeyed the instructions listed below, and that's how we got to where we are today!) 

1. PRIVILEGES

I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden from of old-things we have heard and known, things our fathers have told us. verses 2,3

2.PROMISES

We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children. verses 4,5

3.PURPOSES

So the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they, in turn, would tell their children. verse 6

4.POSSIBILITIES

Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. verse 7.

One Problem of an Incredible Blessing

Incredible blessings come by every so often. Unfortunately, though, they are soon overtaken by other events! Our memories are short. That's a problem! We forget how much freedom costs, how much effort it takes to change the status quo. It's worth going back a bit to see how a few people can change the entire course of a nation.

One of the most memorable events in South America took place on the sloping land leading down into Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. 

It was here that the agrarian reform movement in Bolivia began. This reform movement also had ramifications in other places in South America.

The indigenous people at Hutajata form part of the Quechua population that spreads for thousands of kilometers across the Andes Mountains. Since the arrival of the Spanish, the Quechua people were treated according to a strict legal secondary status. Farms were bought and sold among the elite, but people born on that farm belonged to that piece of property, so they were serfs. A Quechua [person could never own a parcel of land.

All this changed in 1942. A fantastic moment changed everything for the Quechua people, and in 1953 for the whole of Bolivia.

A wealthy Californian named Antonio Chiriotto became a follower of Jesus Christ around 1905. He was challenged by the words of Jesus, "Sell all that you have and give to the poor." Carrying out what was in his heart, he went to Bolivia and bought the 1,000-acre Huatajata farm. After he died in 1911, he bequeathed the farm to Canadian Baptists working as missionaries in the nearby city of La Paz. He trusted them to carry out the words of Christ and bring freedom to the people on his farm.

Thus, Canadian Baptists came to be owners of serfs. They numbered 48 heads of families and 275 family members. This situation created a moral difficulty. On the one hand, the missionaries were there to show the love of Christ, but the tenants of the land at Huatajata were still slaves! Uncomfortable with the situation of "owning serfs," a plan was put into place. Mission leaders wanted to free the serfs, but to do so was against the Bolivian Constitution. Unknown to them, this unforeseen circumstance allowed Christians to bring agrarian reform, structural change to the poorest country in South America. 

The mission would take care of the farm by reopening the school. The project would maintain the work of evangelism and education, according to Antonio Chiriotto's last will and testament. The new manager would improve and mechanize the farm with modern machinery, and the gospel would be taken to neighboring communities as a witness to the project. 

To liberate the serfs, but not run foul of the Constitution, Earl C. Merrick followed a five-year plan from 1937-1942: the mission paid a wage to the laborers; free labor could no longer be countenanced; the construction of decent housing took place for all the families; they planted eucalyptus trees, and adhered to behavioral morals. 

The day came that the farm was divided between 48 families. Each household head stood at the head of his parcel of land and received his property with these words: "I declare you the legitimate owner of this property.' Then, the man lowered onto his side and rolled over and over, like a child, down the hill until he reached the water, falling in. Once in the water, he stood, raised his arms in the air, and shouted! He was free. No longer a serf. He owned his own parcel of land! He was no longer a slave.

The USA Vice-President Henry A. Wallace heard about the agrarian reform that had taken place. He and many other dignitaries went to see the results of the project. The Bolivian Constitution prohibited a gift of land being given to the indigenous people. Still, the Constitution did not prohibit an indigenous man from buying the property on which he lived. This brilliant detour around the formidable phrasing of the Constitution enabled the project to grant freedom to 48 families. In 1953 the Bolivian government subsequently took Huatajata as a model for the Decree of Agrarian Reform throughout Bolivia. 

More than 20 schools and medical clinics emerged around Huatajata as Bolivian men and women graduated from the school and showed their love for their people. Lavinia E. Wilson, Alice Booker, Doris Millson, Alice A. Clarke, Janet Holmes, Kay Rowe, Jean Pyper, and Mary Haddow are mostly forgotten names. Each one was faithful in his or her ministry. The Huatajata land reform stands as a testimony to what ordinary people can do when the Holy Spirit empowers them. (It's only one of several social changes for the better that were implemented between 1898 and 1953.)

When we as a family lived in Bolivia, I visited the Huatajata township many times. What a blessing to see how these indigenous Quechua people had used their freedom to build successful lives!

Martin Chura, an old gentleman, wept on the day he was no longer a slave. Speaking through his tears, he said, "Thirty years ago, when I was crossing the top of the mountain, entering the tropical yugas, carrying a heavy load on my back, I begged God for liberty. Today, God has answered my prayers. I am free!" (Information from Arturo Nacho, in Bridging Cultures and Hemispheres: The Legacy of Archibald Reekie and Canadian Baptists in Bolivia,  William H. Brackney, Editor, 1997)

Plodding from day to day when things get hard

We've all gone through days when things are hard. The destination seems further away than ever.  Sometimes the same routines sap our energy. Other times, all the pleasure fades away, disappearing as harsh words take away our joy. Financial pressures can creep up and suddenly overwhelm us. 

For many of my friends, heading into the fall season is hard. Memories come of what it was like last year when we could meet together, grab a cup of coffee, and sit together on a bench for an hour. School is back, but this promises to be a hard year for students, and even harder for teachers. 

University students don't know how their year is going to shape up. For international students, there's a great unknown: will they be permitted to stay in the dorms, or will circumstances force them back home?

I've been talking with a number of pastors in the last few days. The way some are viewing the next four months is expressed in words of uncertainty. Some have difficulty knowing how to recruit volunteers for church activities. Others find it discouraging that young families are staying at home, hardly able to give time as ushers or music leaders. Some have conflicts at home because every room is occupied by one of the kids doing homework, and there's no place to have a still, quiet conversation with the Lord. 

These are days when we may need to keep on plodding along. Faithful is He who called us. His name will be glorified. God is sovereign and he has not left us without the Comforter. Moses had to keep plodding for 40 years with a rebellious people, but he finally brought them to their destination. David fled from one place in the desert to another before kingship arrived. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and many prophets kept on keeping on. 

Let us remember that whatever comes our way the Lord is fulfilling his purposes in our lives. He has given us his presence. We have many around us who can speak words of wisdom. And in all things, we will make the choice to rejoice in Him. 

Will we stand with the "Least of all"?

Who was Jesus talking about when he said, "When you give a cup of cold water to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." Who was included in such a fantastic declaration?

Among the many poor in the world, my attention is drawn to a corner of India that few know about. In the eastern state of Odisha, a tribal group known as the Soura people suffer under the cast system. They are considered lower than the "Untouchables." At various times in history, a street was cleansed by townspeople after a Soura Indian had walked by. Soura villages are hidden among the thick forests on steep, mountainous terrain. Worse still, unproductive land covers most of their tribal area. If you were to go there, you would notice that productive land barely yields enough for a family's survival, so additional resources are needed. Nearly 70% of Soura people are illiterate. Poverty, illiteracy, food insecurity, under-employment, low wages, and systemic social discrimination make the Soura part of the "least of all" people about whom Jesus spoke. On top of that, imagine being a widow under those circumstances!

Ajalita Gomano is a young widow. Her husband died two years ago after bleeding from his nose and ears when walking home from work. He was declared dead at the community health center. To complicate matters, Ajalita lost her husband's land when her brothers-in-law forcibly took her property away from her. As a daily wage laborer, she now earns barely enough to keep her two young children alive. 

Ajalita, like many other widows, heard about the Soura Widows Program funded by CBM, Canadian Baptist Ministries, in partnership with Soura Baptist Christian Mndali Sommilani churches. $276 enables her, and other widows, to participate in training workshops and obtain enough to start a small business. And of course, there are other widows: Ebita, Simothy, and many others who struggle in northeastern India. 

Whatever corner of the globe God calls you to think about, listen to the probing of the Holy Spirit as he calls you to come alongside the "least of these." (Thanks to LIVE magazine for this news.)

The Hidden Power of the Gospel

We live in a day when many people look for hidden meanings behind the words of politicians. It seems that increasing distrust has begun affecting people's trust of governments in general. Conspiracy theories multiply like mushrooms. 

There was a hidden message in the Gospel as early Christians received the news about Jesus of Nazareth, but it wasn't a destructive point of view. These people lived in the Roman Empire known for an abundance of gods and goddesses. Every section of the empire had its own deity. 

Tragedy, adventure, sorrow, trials, and persecutions mostly kept families struggling for their livelihoods, and what we call the Great Commission lay as a hidden treasure for most. 

Gradually, however, the lives of Christians manifested a kind of love and courage that attracted others to God. Even though they were subject to harsh treatment for talking about the Kingdom of God, a new set of values began to be displayed. 

In times of illness and pandemics, which were frequent, Christians stayed at home, while others fled for their lives. Believers took in the ill, the sick and dyinig. Old people who had no one to care for them found a loving family and were treated well until they died. Baby girls, if they were unwanted births, were taken to the forest and abandoned, an act known as "exposure." Christian families, knowing that Jesus had sacrificed himself to show the Lord's lovingkindness, took in another child. They gladly offered their wealth and health to raise a baby born to a different woman. Whole villages came to know the power of the Kingdom of God. 

All these acts resulted in the gradual expansion of the faith. While few understood that the full scope of the Gospel, the power of the Holy Spirit gave them the ability to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth. May we in our day find ways to declate the Kingdom of God in word and in deed!

An Outstanding Bouquet of Faithfulness

All around us, I find extraordinary examples of faithful people. In this blog, I want to mention four young women who stand out in this age when many find it hard to spot hopeful signs. 

Sensing the complex rhythmsToronto's pulsing life, Abby Davidson is the ordained pastor of family engagement and outreach at Blythwood Road Baptist Church. During the three years since she was ordained, she has managed to juggle the joys of being a young mother while serving in her local church - for five years. She also acts as the moderator of Toronto Baptist Ministries, and she presented a workshop for women at a virtual conference held in April. Her insight into the complexities of declaring God's Kingdom in a multicultural city with people speaking hundreds of languages keeps leading her back to prayer, holiness, and following the Lord. God has given her his grace and wisdom as he leads her to rejoice with those who rejoice and grieve with those who grieve. 

A different setting, the Six Nations Reserve in southwestern Ontario, is the locale where Rebekah Larente serves the Lord. She states, "It's such a privilege to work on the reserve. It shows the compassion and empathy of the Canadian Baptist Women of Ontario and Quebec. It's incredible to have people supporting native ministry." By her own account, Rebekah is shy in most groups. But that didn't keep her from earning a college degree in community and justice services. She stepped out in faith in 2016 with OM, Operation Mobilization, sailing aboard their mission ship to 25 countries, starting in Columbia, and skirting many African coastlines. Cleaning the boat from top to bottom, including bathrooms, every day was her job description. Learning to be of service in whatever situation she found herself was how she learned to connect with women in diverse situations. 

Two budding writers deserve mention. Morgan Wolf lives in Calgary, Alberta, and is the author of "Altruism in Gophers." Morgan's spiritual journey, like that of many young women, involves asking questions to God and then finding conversations taking place in her mind. These thoughts lead her to imagine new characters for her books. Her blog about faith and writing is seen at anothergratuiousmdash.blogspot. Her area of ministry is writing, seeking to explain God's Kingdom work through insights she has gained as she exercises faith in prayer.

Rev. Jill Weber, who lives in the United Kingdom, is in contact with prayer groups worldwide through the 24-7 Prayer Network. It is said that a prayer meeting lasted more than 100 years, going on night and day in the 800's when pilgrims in Constantinople went up the Bosphorus to one of the two churches devoted to prayer. (Those two monasteries and church complexes were taken apart stone by stone in 1452 by the Sultan of the Kingdom of Bursa, a city near Istanbul. The recycled building blocks were used to build the Hilltop Fortress. Sultan Mehmet I gained enough space to secure a beachhead, and that helped bring an end to the Christian Byzantine Empire in 1453.) 

Based on that pattern of prayer, Jill and thousands of others have banded together to give specific times, day and night, to intercessory prayer. This is a beautiful new provision of God's grace, bringing us together. Jill's book is "Even The Sparrow: A Pilgrim's Guide to Prayer, Trust and Following the Leader."

These prayer groups are spreading around the world, usually bringing persons from different denominations together. I believe that this new prayer journey started in 1991 as the Desert Storm War was unleashed in Kuwait. Since then, in the last 29 years, there has been a more astounding gathering of Muslim Background Believers than ever before in history. (That's another story, and I'll be writing about it later.)

I'm grateful for becoming acquainted with these four servants of our Lord through the magazine "Live." Thanks too, to Diane McBeth, Renee James, Nancy Webb, and Audrey Morikawa, women who disciple and encourage a younger generation. Well done, all of you!

The Expanding Circle of Your Influence

Your life influences other people. Actions made one day are like a stone thrown into a pool. Gradually, expanding circles and ripples in the water reach further and further. 

I'm reminded of an (almost) forgotten hero. The ripples left by John Bates continue to spread, even today. John was born in 1805 in Bugbrook, England. William Carey, the amazing missionary to India, was a name well known in Bugbrook since John's father helped to support the work in India as a thatcher and hedge-trimmer. As a child, John read George Whitfield's writings and those of John Bunyan. In Sunday School, John memorized 60 to 100 verses a week. He was baptized at age 24 and became a pastor while working for a dry goods firm. His mind turned to foreign missions, and Jamaica was his first choice, but Ireland was closer to home. The ship he was to sail on to Jamaica sank with all lives lost. His first church experience in Ireland was miserable, for all nine women and one man left the church, leaving him a failure.

He married an Anglican, Sarah Stuart, and in 1841 he held his newborn daughter, Jane, in his hands and presented her to the Lord, wishing that she would become a missionary of the Gospel. In 1850, now a father of five, he immigrated to Iowa and began work as a pastor. In 1856, he visited Ontario, later moving to pastorates in Hamilton, Dundas, and St. George. Compelled by the need to train others, he began the Woodstock Ontario College. Always preaching about the need to share the Gospel, he became the first president of the foreign missionary society. The Bates home in Woodstock, an hour west of Toronto, was a busy place. Visitors read literature dedicated to overseas churches and were asked to place a coin in the mission offering box.

Jane Bates married A.V.Timpany. She served with him in Kakinada, India. When she returned to Canada, she promoted missions as president of the Women's Baptist Foreign Missionary Society of Ontario and the West. The Timpany's daughter, Ethel, also went to India as a missionary. 

Jane Bate's younger sister, Mary, married John McLaurin. This family not only served in Kakinada, India, but initiated churches in many other Indian communities. Mary and John McLaurin begat three more missionaries. By 1924, about 400 schools and churches had been started along the eastern shores of India. (Information taken from "Our Heritage Becomes Our Challenge," Esther Barnes, pages 6,7.)

In 1875, John Bates went to be with the Lord. Exactly one hundred years later, in 1975, Cathie and I applied with Canadian Baptist Overseas Mission Board, CBOMB, to serve in Angola, Africa. At the time, I had no idea where the ripples had traveled between John Bates leaving England, going to Ireland, then Iowa, and then starting the mission. Someday, in heaven, I want to have a long talk to thank John Bates. 

Remarkable. A Day to Remember

 

Only once in a while does a revival take place. And when it does, you remember the joy that it brings. You remember for a long time. 

So each of those 1,435 persons baptized recently in Thailand will remember how they came to be followers of our Lord. May they be faithful in their commitment. 

Plant a Seed - Watch a Church Grow

 

Throughout the history of the Church, the Holy Spirit has given a few persons the gift of planting the seed of the Gospel and watching a local fellowship come into being. The Apostle Paul initiated many churches in the First Century. Saint Patrick took the Gospel to Ireland, and some of his followers planted the seed in receptive soil in Europe. Irish believers continue to make an incredible impact in congregations today.

Across Canada today, we see hundreds of new churches coming into being. 

Here in Toronto, empty stores in strip malls are often rented by a new congregation getting underway. Often, new fellowships are home to immigrants. 

Hope Christian Church in Calgary is an Arabic congregation learning how to tackle the difficulties of "being the church in diaspora." Pastor Mounet helps the members of this fellowship retain the Arabic language and many familiar cultural traditions while learning to live in a Canadian context. 

Emmanuel Iranian Church in North Vancouver is let by Pastor Arash. This community consists of mostly new believers in Jesus the Messiah. About 50% are refugees, havingarrived after undergoing extreme hardships, first in Iran, then Turkey, or Europe, and finally in Canada. Pastor Arash baptized hundreds who have come to faith, and he has begun a second campus in Coquitlam.

Another example of the dynamic power of the seed of the Gospel to change lives is found in New Westminster. In the Makarios Evangelical Church, Pastor Jessica Lee provides an open door among international students. Her time is spent building relationships formed in an atmosphere that acknowledges the emotional, intellectual, and financial stress of studying in a place far away from home. 

Thanks, Pastor Mounet, Pastor Arash, and Pastor Jessica, for your faithfulness!

Switching Careers - Continuing Being Faithful

 Decades ago, young men and women began a university education or career training and expected to stay in the same employment all their lives. More recently, people switch careers, often having several different places to work during their adult lives. Such a decision involves incredible faith and courage!

We've seen this change happening across all social circles and we especially notice it in church life. One example is striking. Braemar Baptist Church was important to me before I ever went to Edmonton. One of my professors was Dr. Sam Mikolaski, flying to Vancouver to teach at Regent College one day a week. Dr. Sam became a significant person in my life. He was one of the best professors I ever had. His bibliography goes on for pages.

Recently, Kent Dixon began his ministry at Braemar. Previously, he worked in marketing and was a voice presence in corporate narration, advertisements, and on-hold messaging for a wide range of companies. Kent had served faithfully in his home church in many lay ministry roles of the years and was repeatedly told that he was well-suited for full-time ministry. Taking those comments as coming from the Lord, he enrolled at Taylor University in Edmonton. A year ago, he began ministry at Braemar. 

"It has been quite a journey so far, but God has always been faithful and continues to grow me in so many ways," Kent explains. "Along the road, I have met so many godly men and women who have helped in discerning my path and encouraging me along the way."

Blessings on you, Kent, as you follow the path God has laid out before you! 

Opposition will happen

 Opposition will take place. That's guaranteed on life's long, day-after-day journey.

A recent revival in a large building in Toronto was being led by a Messianic Congregation. Most of the residents in the condo building are survivors of the Holocaust, and praise was rising from the balconies. Many came down to enjoy the joyous concert up close. Permission had been granted by the city of Toronto to conduct two outdoor musical concerts at apartment buildings in the heart of the Jewish Community, which is one of the largest in North America. With the advent of Covid-19, there was an increasing sense of isolation for the elderly. Many Jewish people were impacted as they heard the music and the message that Yeshua is their hope and salvation. 

The next month, the Jewish magazine "Exodus" published a full-page article, "Great Deception: Missionaries attack Jews". They described the outdoor concerts of praise and worship in terms that would neutralize the message. 

The Christian life is not one of ease and comfort. Spiritual battles continue, often daily. Christian believers in the Muslim or Communist worlds often are attacked by sharp words and destructive attitudes on a daily basis. Loneliness is not uncommon for a Christian. 

But these hardships remind us that life has a purpose, that God is in control, and that Jesus Christ has gone before us. We fight with weapons of righteousness: faith, hope, and love. "But the greatest of these is love." 

Will Black Lives sing in Harmony with Whites?

 Looking back about three decades, I remember the world-wide fears that a terrible calamity was about to unfold in South Africa. It seemed that there was no way forward. Was a civil war avoidable? Would black and whites face off in a military struggle after racial segregation had been pursued with such vigor? The preceding years of apartheid had harvested bitterness and racial strife. Could peace ever come?

So, who could believe that today some of the world's finest choirs are found in South Africa? And that they are integrated with amazing Black singers and Whites who learned to sing in Zulu, Swahili, and other languages? The astounding harmony in concert halls in South Africa is beyond belief. The struggle of South African citizens for equality and justice continues, but many signs are encouraging.

It's a symbol of hope to me that wherever people determine to look beyond the immediate circumstances caused by partisan dogmas, there is the hope of people of all colors singing together. In this case, they are singing The Lord's Prayer, in Swahili, the language of East Africa ... in South Africa. Isn't it amazing what happens when young people sing a prayer? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCa8RxaOPW8

From a Mess to a Messenger

How is it that some people face difficulties with grit, resilience, and determination, while others wilt under the same circumstances, or shy away from the challenge?

It's said that an eagle has only one enemy, the crow. When an eagle comes down to catch its prey, a crow may fly above the eagle and come down its back. The eagle is vulnerable at that moment as the crow tries to remove the eagle's feathers. The eagle does not fight back. Instead, it rises higher and higher. At some point, the crow knows that it cannot breathe in the rarified air. The eagle is saved from harm because it flies higher.

I love reading well-written biographies. The inner struggles of a man or a woman become apparent. We watch that person's life unfold against a backdrop of struggles, difficulties, repeated setbacks, and discouragements. Obstacles threaten to overcome their most cherished values. 

And then we find that the person rises above complications and worries. That's why their story gets written up. Very often, it is the inner spiritual strength that gives a person the power to keep on. 

Eugene Petersen created a colorful expression for his commentary on Jeremiah: "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction." Wow! What a perfect description through which to view Jeremiah's struggles.

The Psalmist put it this way in Psalm 52. "Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit. You love evil rather than good...But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love forever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name, I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints."

Young Faithful People

 Young people in our country show amazing resilience and faithfulness. 

I'm thinking of Josh Luna, who attends the University of Winnipeg. He has spent the last seven years with youth groups as they converge on one location in Western Canada for several weeks at a time. As a teen, he learned skills in serving in community events. The youth program is called SERVE, and during the other 48 weeks of the year, he calls Filipino Evangelical Church his home. 

"During his time at SERVE, Josh gives 100% of himself to others and feels that this is how God relates to his people. His patience increased as has his willingness to work with others. These experiences have translated to his contributions to his home church. He stepped up as president of his youth group and volunteers to be a Sunday School teacher to the group about to enter the youth group" (2019 Annual Report, Canadian Baptists of Western Canada)

Keep it up, Josh! You are on the right path, you and all the hundreds of other young men and women who have impacted lives in dozens of communities across the western half of our nation. 

Being a Christian in Canada today

Reading Sam Breakey's writing, I am thrilled by what it means to be a Christian in Canada today. (Sam is the Board President of Canadian Baptists of Western Canada). 

Jesus Christ's work of redeeming lives, even before he went to the cross, involved teaching, healing, and forgiveness. As that person's faith grew stronger, Jesus sent him/her out to serve. 

Christ's gracious work continues across our land. 

Thousands are cultivating leadership, investing in relationships, and engaging in mission. Summer camps have had to adapt to Covid-19, but the emphasis on youth continues in different ways. Covid-19 is teaching us how to prepare for further leadership development without always having to move to Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, or Vancouver. 

Canadian Baptist Ministries continues its quiet, effective, and redemptive work in many nations in the

Americas, Africa, and Asia. As a federal government approved partner, refugee claimants continue to be welcomed into our nation from the most distressed places in the world. New congregations continue to be planted. And thousands of Christians in local areas maintain their efforts to live justly, showing mercy.

These are wonderful days in Canada to live out the Gospel. We are blessed to live in a country that has political and economic stability. 

Let's find new ways, using all our imaginative powers, to continue to live for God's glory.

Harmony in the Middle East!

 Yes, it's true. There is real harmony across the entire Middle East, north and south, east and west. 

Listen to music from a dozen countries, with singers joining together in ten languages and with 67 persons joining to praise the Lord together. This may be something you have never heard in your life - Well, you have heard the Lord's prayer, but never quite this way! Don't be surprised if it brings more than one tear to your eyes.

(Please make sure to get the sub-titles turned on.)

https://youtu.be/VJSQNDQI0bs