Thank you - to Pastors

Thank you - to Pastors, Ministers, and Clergy.

(Number one in a series of eight prayers.)

Lord, God, I want to thank you for the gift you have given to your people in pastors, ministers, clergy, and chaplains. 

You gave each one a great spiritual gift, enabling them to come alongside people in the greatest moments of joy, surprise, and grief. At the child's birth, announcing to a congregation, their faces shine with joy. Baptisms bring families together in celebration. At the news of a young man and a young woman falling into love, there is the pleasure of surprise, anticipation, and beauty.

And at any moment, there may come a phone call, telling them of a death.

Thank you, Loving Father, that pastors and all who care for human souls can come close to men and women's deepest emotions. Thank you for the high calling in Jesus Christ to speak of eternal things, of salvation, redemption, the cross's message, and reconciliation between those who have been divided because of race, religion, ethnic background, or economic station. 

Many ministers walk a lonely life. My prayer at this time of the Covid-19 crisis is for stamina in the face of discouragement. Many older pastors have little experience with digital communications. May they find people to help them communicate to all members of their community. May pastors and ministers have the courage to share the Gospel when convenient and when it is not so convenient. 

In a day when training others is difficult, may they remember one of the purposes given to them: "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:12-13. 

Lord God, build up your church in the midst of these years. Amen."

Well done, Lorna Joseph!

 

"Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the presence of your Lord." 

Those are the words I imagine Lorna Joseph heard on Monday, October 12th, as she breathed her last and then passed through the valley of the shadow of death. 

I appreciated Lorna's lovely spirit. Despite needing a double lung transplant, and although she often had to carry her oxygen tank around with her, she had the most bubbly and dynamic personality one could ever meet. I didn't know her for long since Cathie and I only came into the church fellowship in more recent days. But, every time I talked with her, Lorna gave me an abiding sense of the presence of her Lord.

Paul talked about the aroma that believers give off as others come close by. Lorna Joseph was one of those whose personality caused me to linger by the church pew as she gathered her things before leaving the building. Then, as we became better friends at The Gathering Place, she seemed to take a turn for the better. One day she arrived and said, "I've been healed!" She told everyone gathered there that the doctors had permitted her to stop using the oxygen. Her lungs had shown a remarkable turn for the better. She would no longer need surgery.

But that improvement only lasted 18 months or so. Today, we are preparing to say a final goodbye, whether we are at her funeral personally or some other way. Thank you, special friend. You have been a servant to so many people, and now the Lord has called you to your eternal home. You left the presence of Jesus Christ in many lives, and because of that, we are blessed. 

A Transforming Warmth

I'll call him K.C. That's not his real name, but the trajectory of his life-long search for peace in his soul is very real. 

K.C. doesn't remember anything about his dad. Only his first name. His mother gave him up before he was one year old, and he was passed from one foster home to another. Sometimes, he came back to the same foster home. Life as a teenager became complicated. He stole from one home and then from another. At first, it was only petty crime, and the RCMP let him go after an hour at the police station. 

But then, things got more serious. As an adult, K.C. spent more than 30 years in jail. His redemption began when a Christian family made a commitment in their small community. That decision came in a service when they heard the words, "what you have done to the least of  these, my brethren, you have done to me." 

This family asked the police, "Who is the least likable, least likely to succeed person in our community?" That's how K.C. got taken into their home. The road has not been smooth, as it never is in a land that suffers 24 hours of darkness on the shortest day of the year, but K.C. is a rejoicing and happy Christian man today. His loud voice often rises over those of others in worship and prayer time. Temptations come, wanting him to go back to those days when alcohol eased the burdens of loneliness and rejection. 

But K.C. rejoices in two things. The transforming warmth of God's love, and the transforming acceptance of a Christian family on the Arctic Circle.  

Courage - Daring to Speak Out

In 1950 Communist forces in Romania convened a gathering known as the Congress of the Cults. One by one, church leaders agreed to the Communist demands. They would not seek to spread their Christian faith. All members of congregations would be made known to the authorities. Other demands were also agreed to. 

One man, Richard Wurmbrand, refused to comply. His wife, Sabina, had said to him the previous night, "I don't want a husband who is a coward."Together they had been preaching to a Lutheran congregation. He had a special place in his heart for Jews, and he spent much time sharing his Christian faith with Red Army soldiers, who were backed by Moscow. 

Refusing to submit, he spoke on the radio. Other ministers had given in to the Communists, but Wurmbrand explained that he would never change the Gospel's message. Sabina whispered to her husband, "They are spitting in the face of Christ. Will you not speak up?" 

The next ten minutes cost Wurmbrand 14 years in prison. He was sentenced to jail and spent years in solitary confinement. He had a prodigious memory, and later he could preach any one of the 350 sermons he composed during that period of silence and total darkness.  

Sabina suffered too. She was forced to work on constructing a canal to enable traffic between the Black Sea and the Danube River. 

At one time or another, all of us will face a critical moment. We'll have to define our foundational values. May each of us have the power of the Holy Spirit to be a faithful witness when our moment comes to speak what is at the bottom of our hearts!

Thanksgiving In Word and Deed

They broke bread in their homes.

How blessed we are to be part of a loving Christian community. This morning, at worship, which was both live in the sanctuary and viewed over simultaneous broadcast on YouTube, we heard almost 50 persons give thanks and praise to the Lord for what has happened during Covid-19. This was an extraordinary manifestation of what is in their hearts as people reflected on more than seven months of sudden and unexpected change to their lives. I deeply appreciated both of our pastors taking the time during the previous weeks to ask individuals to answer this question: "Why am I thankful for the Covic-19 Pandemic?" 

In our immediate surroundings, our church has come to know of scores of persons who are struggling. Most of these people do not attend our congregation, but through the friendship offered each Thursday at the Gathering Place, a warm sense of camaraderie has been formed. The Missions Committee decided to share a lovely Thanksgiving meal with several people we now consider our friends. 

For many, just coming to the end of the month with money for rent or food is a real effort. 

On Saturday morning, each home supplied part of the Thanksgiving meal with an extraordinary willingness. By six o'clock on Saturday evening, about 20 persons had received a generous meal delivered to their door. What a joy to watch this generosity in action and to participate in the distribution of a wonderful meal! Thanks to everyone who made our Thanksgiving weekend so special. 

Thank God! Finally Out of the Desert

Everyone who heard Jesus speak that day knew what he was talking about. After 40 years of wilderness wanderings, stumbling over stones, and getting worn out under the scorching hot sun, the people of Israel had come to the Jordan River. 

The last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot, had come. Eight days of living in small booths were over. 

In Jesus' experience at the Temple in Jerusalem on that day, we read, "On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.' By this, he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive." John 7:37-39

Thank God! They were finally out of the desert. Their new life was about to begin. 

I'm reminded of God's purposes as he revealed the end of thornbushes, briers, and weeds in the desert. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers, the myrtle will grow." Isaiah 55:9-13

My prayer is this. Just as Jesus proclaimed an abundant life for people who came to him, and drank from his words, so you, too, will be enriched with abundant joy and peace. 

"Living Through a Wilderness Experience for Years"

Pity the one who lives through a wilderness experience for years. Trudging along, herding a few goats, one sandy valley looks like another. One day, you wake up to a terrible realization. "I'm losing my mind. I can't remember one day from another! All the rocks begin to look the same. I can't count the number of times I've pitched my tent. When will I be home? Where, after all, is home? Does my family know that I'm not thinking clearly? Did the last several valleys even have a name? Oh, I'm lost!"

Physical problems when you're looking for food and water are terrible, but the realization that you are losing your mind comes as a terrible shock. 

We might think that during the "dry times" of life, there is little we can do to reach out to others. How can we share with them the abundance of life found in our Lord? 

Isaiah knew how distressing it is to lose our memories. He wrote, "Forget the former things: do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise." Isaiah 43:18-21

In a recent conversation with a friend, I caught a glimpse of an opportunity as he and his wife are sharing. His wife is in a senior's home because of an advancing illness of the mind. 

He writes, "My wife has been such a faithful servant of the LORD. Even during our months of separation because of the COVID-19 quarantine, the seniors' home where she resides attempted to compensate in some measure by inviting families to send e-mail “postcards” to our resident loved ones. 

"Consequently, I sent a daily e-mail in which I shared Bible promises and hymn lyrics with my sweetheart and emphasized her faith and secure hope in Christ Jesus. Because she can no longer read or write herself, a staff member would read those daily missives, and in the process, they would overhear the Gospel and learn parts of our life story which testified to the Lord’s loving-kindness. Truly the Gospel is not bound, and God works His purposes in the midst of unfavorable circumstances! May the LORD bless you and others as each one of us finds a way to speak of the Lord to others."

Good News for the Blind and Lame

I enjoyed the hospitality of a bed-ridden man in a tent. He had lived in that spot all his life. He occupied the front part of the tent, and his wife and children were in the second part, hidden behind a veil. He was so happy to receive two visitors. His nephew, the man who drove us in a four-wheel pickup across the sands of Wadi Rum in Jordan, started pumping the primus stove. Soon, thick, rich, sweet coffee was ours to sip for the hour we spent in the Bedouin tent. 

Outside, the sand was burning hot. Nearby, scrawny goats searched for nourishment.

I sat down beside the owner of the tent. The man, unable to walk after a stroke, was happy to show me his picture book, a photograph album. He had pasted postcards in it. They had been sent to him by previous guests, who also enjoyed a cup of boiling-hot coffee. They kept in touch by writing down his address, "Mohammed, Under the Cliff, Wadi Rum." 

One set of postcards caught my eye. A woman from California had been there and kept in touch. Mr. Mohammed asked me, "Do you know this lady?" And I answered, "No, but I would like to know her. She has sent you many words of comfort. She knows the most important things in life." 

Each of the half-dozen postcards from San Francisco contained words of comfort from scripture. 

Today, on the fifth day of Sukkot, The Feast of Tabernacles. I'm thinking of the blind and lame who left Egypt. How hard it must have been for their relatives! Taking care of themselves with little or no water, and having to lend a hand to a person born with a defect surely was a trial. Or, maybe someone had been injured or punished for not producing enough bricks for the Egyptian Building Program!

Isaiah's words are so appropriate for Mr. Mohammed and all who are blind and lame, both physically and spiritually. "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.: Isaiah 35:5-8

During these days of Covid-19, friends, please take a moment to ask yourself, "Who do I know who is blind or lame or afflicted in some other way?" Then take a few minutes to reach out to them. Let your words be like water in a dry and thirsty land. You might also want to pray for children who live, even today, in the desert.

In Desert Places, God is Close to the Broken Hearted

A broken-hearted woman cries, "I'm a widow. A few years ago my husband passed away. I miss my husband so much. The loneliness is unbearable. When I play music or pray or talk on the phone I seem to gain strength. Thanks for calling me." 

We hear the pain in her voice and the loneliness that other widows have experienced down through the centuries. During Sukkot or The Feast of Tabernacles, I'm pausing to consider the lives of millions who passed through very tough times after gaining their freedom from slavery in Egypt. Today is the fourth day of this Feast.

I try to imagine women in the wilderness. I hear wailing because a husband lost his life. Perhaps from thirst while caring for the animals. Or during a drought. Pestilence, serpents, famine, and plague took lives as well. Enemies killed soldiers and left families bereft. Is that her voice I hear? "Who would help me move our tent? How will I take care of the children and the animals? Can my little children go out on their own and collect the manna? Who will bring me water?"

In the desert experiences of life, Isaiah, whose voice still thunders down through the ages, brings great comfort.

 "The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir, and the cypress together. so that people may see and know, may consider and understand that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it." Isaiah 41:17-20 

I love the olive tree. You trim its branches every seven years, but the olive tree comes right back. It continues, year after year, century after century, to give forth fruit and life. 

Friends, if you know a widow during this time who has suffered the loss of her husband, please take the time to reach out. Send a card, make a phone call, or use some meaningful way to bring her comfort. God still has much for her. His promises are ever sure!

Even in the Desert - God Will Make a Way

Even in the desert, where there is no water. Even on the sandy soil, where nothing grows. Even during the hardest times of life, when there seems to be no escape. God is with us.

It's no surprise that we go through "dry" periods of time in our lives. We speak of distress, depression, feeling isolated, being bullied, and losing a loved one. Some have lost a job or an opportunity.

This is the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, and Jewish people worldwide remember the trials that their forefathers suffered. 

Almost two million Jews spent 40 years in the desert before coming into their inheritance. Those who left Egypt died in the wilderness because they did not have faith in the Lord's ability to open up a way. All died except Joshua and Caleb.

Jesus also went through a period of testing in the desert. It was 40 days of fasting, and during that time, he experienced temptations that we all experience. We want easy access to food, popularity, and the power to awe persons around us. Jesus came through this time of testing and arrived at Nazareth, his home town. Luke records, "He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit."

In our church, we love to sing a song: 

God will make a way where there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see. He will make a way for me. 

I'm celebrating these desert experiences with my friends this week, during Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, because it's one of the major times in Jesus life that he spoke about the Spirit. My you, my friend, be empowered with God's Holy Spirit through the toughest of times. May he comfort your heart today.

(I found this lovely scene on the road close to Philadelphia, Alasehir in modern day in Turkey. At the time, people I loved were going through a difficult time. The trees' position and the bend in the road caused me to stop and take this photograph. It reminds me that God was opening a way for those who were in my prayers at that moment, and he did! An amazing way was opened up, one I could never have imagined.)

When the Way Ahead Seems Impossible - Refreshment!

We all come to a point in our lives when the way ahead seems impossible. This can take the form of a troubled marriage, a broken instrument on which our income depends, a voice problem for the singer-performer, or a difficult relationship between an employer and the employee. Thousands of individual circumstances bare out this truth: Life is often hard. 

I'm not just thinking of Covid-19 as I write this blog post this evening. Front and center, in my mind, is the story of the Jewish people in the desert. They have left their old life behind. Egypt offered nutritious food, evidently, but slavery's whips on the backs made it a miserable place to live. And now, in the middle of the desert, they have no water and no food.

That's what Jewish children are experiencing this evening as they live in makeshift dwellings. Tonight is the second night of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. For eight days, they remember the gracious provision of the Lord when things seemed impossible for their forefathers. 

Psalm 78, and other psalms, too, recount those ancient hardships. but they also tell of God's provisions at a moment when things seemed impossible. "He split the rocks in the desert and gave them water as abundant as the seas; he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers." Ps. 78 15,16.

In Wadi Rum, Jordan, I saw this happening. Water flowing in the desert! Amazing.

When Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, he astounded his listeners by talking about water, about refreshment. "If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this, he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. 

Welcome to tough times. And welcome to the refreshment God gives his people, comfort through his Holy Spirit!

I love old sailing ships. Probably that had something to do with enjoying the Hornblower Series. The first book of a trilogy, Mutiny on the Bounty, got me hooked. I spent the next two weeks reading Men against the Sea, and then Pitcairn Island. From then on, and I was in Grade 8, I admired sailing and those who faced the wide oceans' challenges. 

Ships carried a sense of purpose. They were always going to a destination. That impressed me and still does today. Having a sense of purpose is what I enjoy searching for as I listen to a speech, a sermon, or when watching a movie. 

I love the amazing workmanship, the care, the cleanliness, and the details that sailors appreciate. Even the way they tie the knots is an art form. Everything has to work right, or some kind of a crisis can arise. Teamwork and commitment are essential.

One day, in May 2010, a dozen tall ships lined the dock in Istanbul. I appreciated the opportunity to wander along the decks of all but one of those beautiful vessels. Two of the ships have a modern purpose: to teach young men and women how to sail. 

As I examine the scriptures, I find dozens of places, hundreds of them, where God's purposes are laid out in breath-taking detail. Looking at a sailing ship, you see the care that sailors take in preparing the vessel for visitors. In the Bible, God's purposes are often found after the words "in order that" or "so that." 

Here are a couple of verses that always stir me. They act as a wind in my sails. A tall ship's mast holds many sails, and the wind powers the ship, perhaps around South Africa, or through the towering waves around the tip of South America. 

Here, fill your sails with this:

"God raised us with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace, you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:6-10

What Holds Your Community Together?

Years ago, I watched as land developers bought land and planned an extension to the city. For more than a hundred years, the ground yielded corn and other foods. Cows, horses, and other animals shared that space, and now, the old Ontario farmhouse was coming down. One day a sign went up: "A NEW COMMUNITY! Your home will be your greatest asset!" I drove past the sign and wondered, "How can these land developers think they are capable of creating a 'community'?"

Is a community simply defined as a bunch of houses grouped in one location? Well, yes, we do speak of a community center where ice hockey, swimming, youth events, and other activities take place. One meaning of the word does refer to people who live in a specific area. We also talk of soldiers, students, or car manufacturers, like this, "A community of university students." It's because they share a particular aspect of identity. 1) Note that the word "unity" is found in the term "comm-unity." 2) Note, as well, that usually what is found in common is only temporary. People often move to another city. The highschool student goes on to college, and then she finds a job. Young mothers learn its harder to keep their friends once the demands of infants cut in on their sleep at night.

But when we talk of Christians as a community, we are referring to something much more profound. We share fundamental values that are rooted in eternity. Fundamentally, we belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:8) 

What God has done for us changes everything! "When the kindness and love of God, our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God. may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone." Titus 3:4-8

WOW! That's a whole different basis for a community. Our entire existence is wrapped up in the purposes of God. Thank you, Lord, for giving us this kind of a community.